Daughter Spends Nearly $140,000 Building Parents a New Home – Then Discovers She Was Left Nothing in Their Will
In many Asian cultures, the expectation that daughters will marry and “belong” to another family still lingers, even in modern times. One woman from China, who goes by the online name Trương Lệ (Zhang Li), spent four years proving that love and duty know no gender — only to face a heartbreaking reality when her parents passed away.
A Labor of Love That Cost Nearly 1 Billion VND
Four years ago, the old three-story house that Trương Lệ’s parents had lived in since the 1990s began falling apart. Rain leaked through the roof, walls were cracked, and the structure was no longer safe for elderly residents.
Trương Lệ, the younger of two siblings and the only daughter, immediately stepped up. She emptied her entire savings, borrowed from friends, and personally oversaw every detail of the renovation for three exhausting months.
Total cost: approximately 280,000 Chinese Yuan — nearly 1 billion Vietnamese Dong or about US$140,000.
A Sudden Loss and a Shocking Will Reading
Tragically, within just 18 months of moving into their beautiful new home, both parents fell seriously ill and passed away.
At the reading of the will, Trương Lệ discovered that the entire estate — including the house she had paid for almost single-handedly — was left solely to her older brother. Her name did not appear anywhere.
“I Didn’t Expect Half — I Just Hoped for Fairness”
In an emotional post on Xiaohongshu, she wrote:
“I’m not asking my brother to split the inheritance 50-50. I just wish he would repay at least half of the renovation cost — I’m still in debt because of it. But he hasn’t said a single word.”
A Story That Resonates Across Cultures
Thousands of readers, especially daughters in traditional families, shared similar experiences of paying for parental homes or medical bills — only to be reminded that “daughters are guests after marriage.”
