Reporter Wang Zichen
"For the sake of the children, keep going"
Apart from the monthly rent of 700 yuan, the expenses of 500 yuan and the child's living expenses of 2,000 yuan, the rest of the money is used to pay off the debt. Last year, I paid 70,000 yuan, and this year, I have to pay back 100,000 yuan. I plan to pay off all the debts within 4 years.
"Today is the meal made by my partner. If I make it myself, it must be cabbage and potatoes, and there is very little meat." At 3 pm, at the Wuhan Jiedaokou takeaway station, Zhang Yuqing, a 32-year-old female rider who had just finished the lunch rush, opened the lunch box. The fragrant lettuce fried meat fills her appetite.
Since she ate breakfast around 7:00 in the morning, she has not eaten a grain of rice for nearly 8 hours, and this is her only meal a day.
Zhang Yuqing did this to save every penny as much as possible.
A few years ago, Zhang Yuqing and her husband were doing business in Xinjiang. Due to various reasons, the business failed and owed nearly 600,000 yuan in debt. The couple also separated due to emotional breakdown.
In early 2021, she sent her two children back to their hometown in Honghu, Hubei, and came to Wuhan alone to find work.
It seems that Zhang Yuqing decided to become a rider. She set herself a goal of running 1,300 orders per month and earning seven or eight thousand yuan.
1,300 orders a month is equivalent to running more than 40 orders a day, which is easier said than done for new riders.
On the second day of joining the company, Zhang Yuqing received an order to deliver the food to the exit of a square, but the customer was actually in a hotel not far from the exit.
Due to the unfamiliar environment, she caused customers to lose their temper because she couldn't find the hotel. She sat on the square and cried aggrieved. Fortunately, with the help of kind-hearted people, she successfully delivered the takeaway to the hotel.
"I'm actually a 'road idiot', and I can't tell the difference between east, west, north and west." During the first time as a rider, Zhang Yuqing had to prepare 3 power banks every day because he had to use his mobile phone for navigation at all times.
It took her nearly a week to familiarize herself with the environment around the site, and it took her nearly half a month to figure out some shortcuts for food delivery.
If the road is unfamiliar, run more, and wait a little longer if the single quantity is not enough.
In the first month of her employment, Zhang Yuqing just ran 1,197 orders and earned more than 6,900 yuan.
Since joining the job, she has run more than 1,500 orders a month and earned more than 12,000 yuan.
No matter how much money he earns, Zhang Yuqing does not dare to spend it indiscriminately.
"Sandals are seven yuan and eighty-one, and pants are nine yuan and nine. The most expensive piece of work in the body is this work clothes, which cost forty-five yuan." She said, excluding the monthly rent of 700 yuan, 500 yuan of expenses and children For living expenses of 2,000 yuan, the rest of the money will be used to repay the debt. Last year, I paid 70,000 yuan, and this year, I have to pay back 100,000 yuan. I plan to pay off all the debts within 4 years.
Running around for a long time will inevitably lead to bumps and bumps, but in order to run more orders and earn more money, Zhang Yuqing will not rest more when he is injured.
On April 25 this year, she was hit by someone on the right knee. The doctor diagnosed that there might be a bone fracture and ordered her to rest for 5 days for a review. However, after 3 days of rest, she endured the pain and continued to go out to run orders.
"For the sake of the children, I will definitely persevere." Zhang Yuqing said that the most pleasant moment of the day is to tell stories with the children through video at night. Every time she sees the children listening to the stories seriously, she feels extraordinarily happy.
"The separation of the parents has brought harm to the children. As a mother, as long as I can earn more money, no matter how hard or tired I am, I must give the children the best life possible."
"It's not shameful to make money with both hands"
Although it was hard work as a rider, Shen Haiyan felt that she was no longer out of touch with society because of this, and she also found a long-lost sense of existence and gain.
"I'm lucky today, this customer placed 5 orders, and I made five trips for one trip." At 11:00 in the morning, the rider Shen Haiyan drove the battery car to leave the Yuxin Garden Community in Wuhan City happily. Earned $20.
Shen Haiyan, 44, is the mother of two children, her son is 25 and her daughter is 10.
Before becoming a rider in July 2021, she lived the life of a housewife at home, school, and the market every day. In addition to cooking and laundry, she was picking up and dropping off children.
A husband who drives a long-distance bus for all his income.
In the past two years, the passenger transportation market has not been good. Her husband's income has dropped from more than 20,000 yuan per month to several thousand yuan. After paying off the 3,600 yuan mortgage and 2,400 yuan car loan, there is not much left.
While her daughter goes to school, her son gets married, and she buys insurance by herself, she has to spend money on everything, so Shen Haiyan decided to find something to do.
After being introduced, she came to the Wutai Zha takeout station in Wuhan and became a female rider.
"Delivering food looks simple, but it's actually very hard work." Shen Haiyan said, in the hot summer, after running for a while, she was sweating profusely;
Shen Haiyan said that she remembered that when she first joined the company, she encountered heavy rains for several days. Due to her lack of experience, the mobile phone was not put into the waterproof bag, which caused the water to fail. Therefore, she could not contact the customer. It took more than half an hour for the food to be delivered to the customer.
Although being a rider is hard work, Shen Haiyan said that she is no longer out of touch with society because of this, and she has also found a long-lost sense of existence and gain.
Shen Haiyan listed her daily schedule to the reporter: get up at 7 am to take her daughter to school, go to the site for a meeting and have breakfast at around 9 o'clock, run orders from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock in the afternoon, buy food for the whole family after the rush hour People make dinner, go online again at 4 pm and run orders until 8 pm, and then go home to rest.
She said that this arrangement can not only take care of the family, but also have an income of five or six thousand yuan per month.
Shen Haiyan told reporters that although she was very satisfied with her work as a rider, she still had some lumps in her heart when she first joined the job.
Once, Shen Haiyan wore work clothes to send her daughter to school, which attracted a lot of attention.
The daughter felt a little embarrassed, so she asked her why she had to wear work clothes to send her to school. She was speechless at the time, but after a while, she told her seriously, "I don't care about labor, I don't steal or rob, and it's not ashamed to earn money with my hands. what."
Shen Haiyan said that since then, she has gradually let go, and her daughter has also gained a new understanding of the riding profession, and began to take the initiative to introduce her mother to her classmates and teachers.
"Fall and stand up"
Zhang Xia, who lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in starting a company a few years ago, and who still owes hundreds of thousands of dollars after selling her house and car, feels that her job as a rider has given her the opportunity to earn money and repay her debts, and it has also given her new goals.
"Let's start checking the appearance." At 9 a.m. at the Wutai Zha Takeaway Station in Wuhan, Zhang Xia, the 43-year-old station manager, was calling the riders to have a morning meeting to measure body temperature, check health codes, publicize the discipline of delivery orders and traffic safety precautions. Everything is proceeding step by step and in sequence.
Zhang Xia joined Meituan Food Delivery in October 2020.
Before, she worked in a supermarket, getting up at 5 o'clock every day, resting one day a week, with a monthly salary of 2,600 yuan. She had to leave because of her meager income and the difficulty of handling hundreds of kilograms of goods.
"I used to have a good time. I lost money when I started a company a few years ago, and I still owe hundreds of thousands of dollars after selling my house and car." Zhang Xia said that after leaving the supermarket, family expenses suddenly became tight.
Knowing that the income as a rider is high, Zhang Xia tried to submit her resume online, but she was notified of her arrival soon after.
Because of her cheerful and easy-going personality, Zhang Xia quickly got along with her colleagues. With everyone's help, she quickly hit the road. Within a few days, Zhang Xia's daily delivery volume reached 20 to 30 orders, and her daily income topped 200 yuan.
This kind of salary keeps her motivated.
However, being a good rider is not easy. In addition to being familiar with the road and driving skills, you must be able to walk and run well.
Since Zhang Xia's job site is mostly in old neighborhoods, she has to climb the stairs for almost every order. After half a month, her knee "strikes" and her knee is swollen and unable to walk. She has to go home to recuperate.
After more than a month of recuperation at home, Zhang Xia returned to the site to continue running orders. After comprehensive consideration of the site, it was decided to arrange for her to send a small number of orders, focusing on team management.
"I have been controlled by others since I was a child, and I have never been controlled by others." Zhang Xia said that the task of team management is extremely challenging for her.
Under pressure, she worked hard to learn and actively asked for advice, while patiently communicated with the riders. "Take more consideration for the riders and become their caring eldest sister." Zhang Xia said.
Zhang Xia's ability has been recognized by everyone. One year after she joined the company, she was promoted to the deputy station manager of the site. In March this year, she was promoted to the station manager again.
"This job as a rider has given me the opportunity to earn money and pay off debts, and it has also given me a new goal in life." Zhang Xia said that the biggest difficulty now is that most of my time is spent on work, and I have less time to spend with my children. time.
She said that it will take a few more years to keep life on the right track and give the children a better living environment.