“There’s no place like home!”, I believe the saying goes, and this modest migrant family proves it applies even when home is an abandoned public toilet in the city of Shenyang.
有句谚语说得好，“没有任何地方可以像家一样好” ，来自辽宁沈阳的这个三口打工之家对这句话的体会最深刻，他们的家安在一个废弃的公共厕所里。

Zeng Lingjun was born in a small village, in the Jilin Province of Northeastern China. As a boy, he dreamed of one day attending college, but because his family was too poor he had to abandon his dream and settle for becoming a cobbler and repair shoes for a living. Being a hard worker and a skilled cobbler helped Zeng make a living in the big city, and he was soon earning around 2,000 yuan per month. But this wasn’t enough for him to get his own place.
男主人曾令军的老家在吉林省通化市的一个小村庄，年少的他也有过上大学的梦想，但家里实在无法负担起高额的学费，曾令军也只能黯然放弃梦想以修鞋、擦鞋为生。曾令军吃苦耐劳技艺娴熟，很快他在沈阳站住了脚，每个月能赚到2000块钱。但这点钱根本不够让他拥有自己的房子自己的家。

Six years ago, a friend tipped him off that an abandoned hotel toilet was available for rent at a very low price. He immediately borrowed the money he needed and rented the derelict toilet as his new home. He took down the old door and all the wooden cubicles, and laid down some planks to cover up the toilet bowls and make room for a bed. The dismantled cubicles were converted to storage space and, even though the place is just 19 square meters in size, he somehow found space for his own little cobbler workshop.
六年前，有朋友告诉他附近有一个废弃的男厕出租，房租很便宜。他立刻向朋友借了点钱租下了厕所，打造成现在的小家。他卸下了厕所老旧的门和所有的木制隔板，又在地上垫了一些厚木板遮住厕所的蹲位，为床铺腾出空间。拆下来的隔板被他打造成了储藏室，虽然这个男厕只有19平方米，但他还是给自己的小小擦鞋铺腾出了地方。

In 2008 Zeng Lingjun met his current wife, also a migrant worker. They married in 2010 and had a baby shortly after. Now the three of them live in the abandoned toilet. At one point, they saved enough money to move into a normal 80 square meter apartment, but they found themselves coming back to their old home just days after they had moved out, unable to afford all the expenses.
2008年曾令军遇到了现在的妻子王志霞，她也是来沈阳打工的外乡人。2010年他们喜结良缘并很快有了孩子，如今他们一家三口就住在这个废弃的男厕里。他们曾经一度攒够钱搬进了一个正常的80平米的公寓，但没几天他们就又搬回来旧居，因为他们无法负担新公寓的所有开支。

Although the smell never lets them forget they live in a toilet, Zeng and his family just flush the toilets whenever the stench becomes unbearable, and just enjoy their life together. After all, who needs luxury when your loved ones are near and you have your health?
虽然难闻的气味让他们无法忘记自己是住在厕所里，当恶臭味难以忍受时他们需要冲一下厕所，但曾令军一家还是幸福在生活在一起。毕竟只要亲爱的家人在身边，大家都健健康康的，生活平淡朴素点又何妨？