Over the past 23 years, Yu Meili has become the grandma — a sort of godmother, actually — to 160 police officers at the Dadai Border Inspection Station in Raohe county, Heilongjiang province.

Yu, 60, and her family moved to Dadai Forest Farm in the county from Jilin province in 1993. But as she and her husband, Wang Qingan, were striving for a better life on the farm, Wang was involved in a serious traffic accident that led to both his legs being amputated.

That was in 1998. Wang lost all his ability to work on the farm and had to stay in bed.

At virtually the same time, Yu was diagnosed with severe diabetes.