A woman from Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu Province, secretly mortgaged her home in order to donate thousands of yuan as a good deed before doomsday, the Modern Express reported Tuesday.

The 54-year-old woman, who wished to use the surname Jiang, is a retired engineer. Her husband works as a university professor and her daughter is currently earning her PhD.

Jiang's husband, who wished to be called Luo, recently received a phone call from a colleague who told him that his wife had borrowed 70,000 yuan ($11,127) from him, a sum she promised would be paid back on December 25.

Subsequently, Luo discovered that his wife had taken out a million-yuan mortgage on their house, which is worth 3 million yuan.

When Luo asked Jiang what she did with the money, she refused to tell him. He then turned to the local mediation commission for help.

Jiang disclosed that she had wanted to do something meaningful before the world ended. She planned to donate the cash to children who cannot afford an education, hoping to bring them happiness even for a few days.

Jiang promised to pay the lenders back on December 25 because she was convinced that the world would end on December 21.

Luo explained the situation to the property agency and the family paid a penalty of 20,000 yuan. Luo and his daughter are still worried about Jiang and are trying to convince her that doomsday is nothing but a rumor.

Modern Express