Speeding all the way, the streets of Beijing are full of Chinese New Year flavor. Meituan delivery rider Xin Yunfei, who has been busy for a year, did not return to his hometown to celebrate the New Year, but still walked through the streets of Beijing.
"Usually, we run about 35 orders a day. During the Spring Festival, the number of riders dropped by more than half, and the order volume was actually more." On the fourth day of the first lunar month, as usual, Xin Yunfei started at 9 a.m. from the suburbs more than 10 kilometers away from the Wangjing takeout station. Depart from home and start the day's work.
About an hour later, Xin Yunfei arrived at a food court in Wangjing to pick up food. He took the still warm meal, turned around, put on his helmet, quickly got on the motorcycle, and rushed to the next location.
"I usually officially start delivering orders around 10 a.m. and get home around 8 p.m." Xin Yunfei has summed up his experience in delivering food for many years. During the day, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. These two time periods are the peak ordering times for users, “and this is also true during the Spring Festival.”
Xin Yunfei delivers food near Wangjing and knows the streets and alleys around Wangjing well. Starting from Laiguangying in the north, Datun Street in the west, and extending to Jiuxian Bridge in the southeast, there are thirty or forty residential areas, commercial centers, and office buildings of various sizes around Wangjing... He can always find his destination accurately.
Xin Yunfei, 28, is from Shangqiu, Henan. This is his fourth consecutive year in Beijing to celebrate the New Year. His wife and children came to Beijing with him, and his wife worked as a teacher in a private kindergarten. "My parents are both doing business in Xi'an and are very busy at ordinary times. They also support my decision not to go home during the New Year. Besides, I can earn more if I stay."
Liu Pengju, a Meituan delivery rider from Changchun, Jilin, has not been home for the New Year for seven consecutive years. He said that on the one hand, he wanted to make more money when he stayed; on the other hand, he was worried about the cost of train tickets. A round trip from Beijing to Changchun cost more than 1,000 yuan, and he really couldn't bear it.
Liu Pengju is 41 years old and lives an extremely frugal life. He earns money every day by grabbing orders, taking orders, and delivering food, leaving him with almost no free time. He said that his life was stressful and most of the money he earned had to be sent to his wife and children at home. His monthly expenses were rent, motorcycle gas, and food.
In the first few years after arriving in Beijing, Liu Pengju was the famous "king of orders" at the Wangjing site. In the first year, in order to make his family's life better, he worked hard to deliver food. He was so tired that he fell asleep while waiting for the meal. In one year, he earned 270,000 yuan. However, he said with a smile, "My health is not as good as before, so I don't dare to work so hard."
"I have been living outside these years." Liu Pengju said that he has not been home to celebrate the New Year for seven consecutive years, and his family is not without complaints. His wife works as a farmer at home and has two children, the eldest daughter is 15 years old and the youngest son is 13 years old. Not long ago, after her daughter learned that he would still stay in Beijing for the New Year this year, she said, "I have grown up and you have spent three years with me."
"The platform rewards are strong, and there are more orders during the Spring Festival, so I still stay." Liu Pengju said that Meituan's platform award is one of the reasons why he stayed. "Staying job subsidies, Spring Festival red envelopes, winter cold protection subsidies, etc., these In total, we can get 4,200 yuan."
Although he cannot go home during the Spring Festival, Liu Pengju video chats with his family almost every day. He often asked the children what they liked and wanted. "Fortunately, technology has developed, so I can video chat with them even if I stay in Beijing for the New Year," he said.
Xin Yunfei feels that now society generally recognizes food delivery workers more and their social evaluation is also higher. They stayed in Beijing during the Spring Festival and insisted on delivering meals, delivering warmth and feedback to society.
The relevant person in charge of Meituan said that during the Spring Festival this year, Meituan increased its subsidies for riders to stabilize their jobs. The Spring Festival delivery subsidy includes points rewards for long-term activities covering the entire February, weather subsidies, real-time activities, etc. Among them, long-term activity point rewards can reach up to more than 10,000 yuan, and weather subsidies and real-time activities will provide riders with a subsidy of 1-5 yuan per order based on actual conditions.
Since January, Meituan Delivery has also successively carried out Spring Festival celebrations for riders in nearly 100 cities across the country, holding riders’ New Year’s Eve dinners, offline cultural themed flash mobs, annual honorary commendations and other activities to add a festive atmosphere to the riders who stay on the job.
"There are many additional subsidies and incentive mechanisms for staying in Beijing during the Spring Festival, as well as various activities. It feels warm and worthwhile to stay." Xin Yunfei said.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily trainee reporter Li Yue reporter Ning Di Source: China Youth Daily