For the first trade, Yan made 3,800 yuan, an entire year's salary back then for the divorcee, who was taking care of her 4-year-old daughter.

Yan lost her job at a State-owned grain and oil company in Kunming among a wave of massive layoffs in China in the 1990s. She lived on monthly unemployment payments of 150 yuan and money she earned from working as a loader.

"When a woman is willing to give up her decency and challenge her physical strength to do manual labor with men, it must be because she has a baby and elderly parents depending on her, so she deserves admiration," she said.

Yan heard that in Thailand, apples are rarely planted, and just one of the fruits could be sold for as much as 50 yuan. Shocked at this knowledge, she decided to take a risk.