In late spring 2026, Zou Shiming faces debt from failed sports projects, his kids lack Shanghai hukou to sign up for events, his prior 2018 hukou offer was rejected, and reapplication fails.
The Boxing Champion Blocked at the Door by Workers Demanding Wages
In late spring of 2026, the front door of Zou Shiming’s home was pounded so hard that the walls shook, and the hallway was packed with workers from the construction crew who had been upgrading the venue and were demanding payment—there wasn’t even enough room to turn around.The sports IP project he’d managed two years earlier had incurred losses of over 200 million yuan, and the spacious downtown apartment he’d just listed through a real estate agent bore the conspicuous label “Urgent Sale” in the property listing.
Registration Form for Children with Learning Difficulties
My two teenage sons were curled up in a corner of the living room sofa, tears streaming down their faces as they clutched the notification that they’d made the cut for the youth martial arts competition. My second son has been living in Shanghai for nearly ten years but still hasn’t obtained local household registration, so he didn’t even qualify to sign up.The youngest was filling out his junior high school enrollment form, but no matter how many times he went back to the “household registration” section, he couldn’t get it stamped.
The Residency Approval Letter That Was Rejected Back Then
The letter of approval for talent-based residency issued to him by the relevant Shanghai authorities in 2018 is still tucked under the glass on his study desk.back when he had just won his final gold medal at an international competition before retiring from the military. As an Olympic champion known to everyone in the country, he rejected the offer without a moment’s hesitation, saying that his roots were in Guizhou and he could not forget his origins. He treated that residency permit as nothing more than a piece of insignificant paper and didn’t give it a second thought.
A Dead-End Path to Household Registration
Now that I want to go through the household registration process again, I’ve been looking into it for three whole months, but all four publicly available options have hit roadblocks due to strict eligibility requirements—I can’t find even the slightest wiggle room.
An Old Boxing Glove with Scars
Zou Shiming, 43, has only 0.1 vision in his left eye due to an old injury sustained in competition many years ago. Fluid has been building up in his knee for nearly three years, and on rainy days, the pain is so severe he can barely stand.That evening, he dug out an old pair of boxing gloves buried at the very bottom of his locker. After putting them on, he unleashed punch after punch on the punching bag in the training room, his knuckles going numb from the impact.
My Wife Who’s Always on the Go
Her wife, Ran Yingying, spent three straight days in front of the live-streaming camera selecting products and promoting sales—she couldn’t even find a moment to sit down and have a sip of hot porridge. All the household chores and project responsibilities fell on her shoulders, and the dark circles under her eyes were so deep they couldn’t be concealed.
The bold choice you made back then
No one could have predicted that the straightforward choice made all those years ago would bring so many hardships to the family’s life today.When we’re young, we’re always eager to prove ourselves and stay true to our convictions, so we inevitably make decisions based solely on what feels right in the moment. It’s only as we grow older and look back that we realize the ripple effects of some of those choices were completely unforeseeable at the time.When making decisions in the future, it’s always wise to leave some leeway for the elderly and children in the family.
