She Turned 20 iPhones Into a House: 2016’s Wildest Tech Story Is Going Viral Again

Forget extreme couponing or side hustles – back in 2016, one woman in China pulled off the ultimate real estate hack. Known by the pseudonym “Xiaoli,” she managed to convince not one, not five, but 20 different boyfriends to each buy her Apple’s freshly launched iPhone 7. Once she’d collected the full set, Xiaoli sold them to a mobile recycling site, pocketed around 120,000 Chinese yuan (about $18,000), and promptly put the money down on a house.

The story first surfaced on Chinese blogging platform Tian Ya Yi Du, where a writer under the name “Proud Qiaoba” spilled the details. According to the post, Xiaoli stunned her friends when she revealed her brand-new home and explained how she’d paid for it. “Everyone in the office is talking about this now,” Proud Qiaoba wrote, adding, “Who knows what her boyfriends think now this news has become public.”, as reported by The BBC.

MORE: PayPal in talks to buy Pinterest for $45 billion

DISCOVER: 10 Best Tech Podcasts To Listen To In 2025

And the internet did what it does best – lost its mind. A hashtag translating as “20 mobiles for a house” went viral on Weibo, racking up over 13 million mentions. Users were divided between admiration, disbelief, and outrage. One commenter wrote: “I can’t even find one boyfriend. She can actually find 20 boyfriends at the same time and even get them to buy her an iPhone 7. Just want to ask her to teach me such skills.”

Apple iPhone 7 Plus

Another praised her hustle, saying she has “a bright future.” Others were less impressed, with one user branding Xiaoli “the most shameless person.”

MORE: Wearable Tech Is The UK’s Biggest Wellness Trend

DISCOVER: 5 Best Fashion Tech Moments from AW25 Fashion Month

While some suspected the story was clever product placement for the recycling site Hui Shou Bao, the company confirmed to BBC Trending that they had indeed purchased 20 iPhones from a female client in October 2016, paying 6,000 yuan each. They also confirmed Xiaoli declined interviews, saying: “Her day-to-day life has been affected (from the local media attention) and she doesn’t want the media to continue covering this story.”

MORE: Tech Detox: how to set healthy boundaries with your devices

DISCOVER: The Most Profitable Retro Phones

What makes this tale fascinating is not just the audacity but the timing. The iPhone 7 had only launched weeks earlier, retailing at a premium. By flipping them immediately, Xiaoli turned Apple’s cult product into bricks and mortar. It’s a reminder of just how valuable tech can be in economies where property prices are out of reach for many – and how creativity (or cunning, depending on your view) can literally change someone’s life.

Nearly a decade later, the story is resurfacing across Instagram and TikTok, sparking the same mix of admiration and outrage. Love her or loathe her, Xiaoli cracked the code: turning 20 iPhones into a house is the kind of “girl math” that still blows up the timeline.