Take-away life of three ＂female riders＂ in Beijing： no matter how hard you work, you will move forward firmly

　　Nowadays, take-away food delivery staff has become a beautiful landscape in the city. They ride electric cars and shuttle through the streets of the city, delivering steaming food to customers no matter whether it is windy or rainy. Among them, most of them are takeaway brothers, but few female riders. Statistics show that at present, the proportion of female food delivery staff in this industry does not exceed 3%.

　　Recently, the reporter interviewed several "female riders" and listened to their career stories.

　　"I’m not afraid of anything for my son."

　　Si Jingjing, a 35-year-old native of Yonggu Village, Xiangfen, Shanxi, has been working in Beijing for nearly ten years. "I like the city of Beijing. I have many opportunities and earn a lot."

　　Two years ago, Si Jingjing and her husband ran a breakfast shop. Although the income was not high, it was not hard to make ends meet. But Si Jingjing told herself at that time that this was not a long-term solution. "My son is in high school, and there will be more and more places to use money in the future. Going to college, buying a house, marrying a wife and having children all need money." When she mentioned her son, Jingjing showed a faint smile on her face.

　　By chance, Si Jingjing heard that the take-away food delivery staff had a high income. After thinking twice, she closed the breakfast shop and became a "female rider" of Meituan Company. "My family didn’t want me to do this at that time, because it was usually men who did this, and it was very hard to go in the wind and rain. But I can eat this bitterness, wear a helmet and a mask, who knows that you are a man or a woman. " With that, she quickly picked up her helmet and put it on her head, grinning at the reporter. "I’m not afraid of anything for my son."

　　"She is the first lesbian to come to the station. She has been working for two years. She is hard-working and has always achieved excellent performance, which is not worse than that of male riders." The stationmaster of Huajiadi site in Chaoyang District where Si Jingjing is located is very recognized by her.

　　Although she has the spirit of not being afraid of hardship, as a female rider, Si Jingjing admits that she will indeed encounter some difficulties in her work, the most obvious of which is physical strength. "I have received several beer orders, and there are 24 bottles in a box. Some communities don’t allow battery cars to enter, and they really can’t move. " She said helplessly. Whenever this happens, neighboring colleagues will always help, which makes Si Jingjing feel very warm. "They can’t get any money for this kind of’ mutual aid’, so I’ll buy a bottle of water to thank you."

　　After working as a food delivery clerk, Si Jingjing gradually had savings, but she still could not bear to spend a penny more. She and her husband rented a small single room in an old quadrangle outside the East Fifth Ring Road. A bed occupied most of the room, so it was very inconvenient to go to the public toilet outside. Although the conditions are tough, Si Jingjing feels that it is worthwhile to suffer these hardships as long as the rent in 800 yuan is paid every month.

　　For Si Jingjing, the biggest pain in life is not the poor external conditions, nor the hard work, but the yearning for her son. "At 10 o’clock in the evening, my son will call me from the public phone of the school after self-study next night, but the school stipulates that each student can only talk for two minutes. Sometimes I smiled and said goodbye to my son, and I just cried when I hung up the phone. " She said that it was this two-minute call every day that filled her with motivation to work the next day.

　　"If you can earn more, you can count on me at home now."

　　Yang Xue, who lives in East Wang Zuo Village, Fengtai District, is an authentic Beijinger and the mother of a 2-year-old child. Born in 1995, she looks slightly vicissitudes. When talking with reporters, her hearty laughter is very infectious. But no one knows how much life pressure this smiling girl has suffered.

　　Two years ago, Yang Xue’s father was diagnosed with gastric cancer, and several chemotherapy treatments slowly hollowed out this ordinary rural family. "Dad is a particularly optimistic person, and now he always advises me not to be sad for him and not to tire myself for him. But I am his daughter, and I have to do something for him. "

　　When the child was over 1 year old, Yang Xue entrusted her to her mother’s care and began to deliver food to make money, becoming a "female rider". "The Yungang site is different from the site in the city. If you send 400 orders every month, you will get a guaranteed salary of 4,000 yuan." Yang Xue said that in Yungang, the food delivery staff is a "high-paying job", but the money is still not enough for her family. In order to increase her income, she also works part-time as a cashier in the breakfast shop. "It is a point to earn more, and the family depends on me now."

　　Half a year ago, Yang Xue’s mother suffered a recurrence of her back injury, which made her waist ache after standing for a while, and Yang Xue’s burden was heavier. Fortunately, the work of the delivery clerk can make it convenient for her to take care of her family. "It only takes me more than ten minutes to ride a battery car from home to the site. I usually deliver food nearby, and I can take care of everything at home in time." She said.

　　Thankfully, the hard life has not changed Yang Xue’s cheerful personality. Five years ago, Yang Xue met her husband when she delivered a courier in Changping. "He said that he was attracted to my optimism." Yang Xue said with a smile.

　　Children are always the biggest concern of parents, but Yang Xue thinks she is not a competent mother. "I can earn more 2 yuan per night shift. The webmaster didn’t want to let me go at first, fearing danger. This opportunity was hard won by me." Yang Xue said. Because of this, she often comes home late at night, so she has less time to spend with her children. "My daughter loves me the most. She doesn’t want to sleep every day. She has to wait for me to go home." Yang Xue’s eyes are a little wet. She told reporters that what she fears most is that when she knocks on a customer’s door, she sees a child of several years old in the other family. "When I think of my daughter, I always secretly wipe my tears when I go downstairs."

　　But optimistic Yang Xue knows that no matter how hard she works and how much she cares, she will keep going, and "life will always be better".

　　"I don’t think it’s bad to be a takeaway."

　　A month ago, Zou Mingyue and her husband left their hometown where they had lived for 25 years and came to Beijing with thousands of dollars borrowed and longing for a new life. "The first time I left home, I didn’t expect to come out to work." She said.

　　Zou Mingyue’s hometown is in the rural area of Jinzhou in Northeast China. She has never suffered anything under the care of her parents since she was a child. After getting married, she bought a house of more than 100 square meters in the county town and planned a better life with her husband. But life didn’t go according to their plan. "My husband and I packed a cart to collect grain in our hometown. The benefits have been quite good before, but last year, we lost more than 100,000 yuan and owed money to others." Zou Mingyue sighed. "I haven’t owed anyone money since I was so big. I don’t want my husband to carry it alone. Two people can work together faster."

　　In order to pay off the debt as soon as possible, Zou Mingyue and her husband came to Beijing, worked as take-away food delivery staff, and delivered food at the third station of Guomao. "Sending a takeaway in Jinzhou earns 3 yuan, while in Beijing, you can earn 10 yuan."

　　For the average person, the daily meal time is a time to rest and relax, but for Zou Mingyue and her husband, it is the busiest time for them. Sometimes she and her husband meet, because both sides are carrying meals in their hands, it is not convenient to take off their masks, so they can only nod and smile, even if they say hello, and then turn around and throw themselves into their work.

　　"I know he is smiling at me." Zou Mingyue said. She basically works from 9 am to 9 pm every day, and only at noon can she rest for a few more minutes. "When I went to work in the first week, my legs were numb, heavy and swollen, and I had no feeling at all. It took about half a month to gradually adapt to this kind of work intensity. "

　　Zou Mingyue is an introverted girl in Northeast China, and others’ incomprehension often makes her feel wronged. Once, when she was delivering food to a young female customer, the other person’s sentence "What’s wrong with being so young" made her sad for a long time. "I don’t think it’s bad to be a takeaway. What’s wrong with us making money by our own legal labor?" Zou Mingyue’s words are full of grievances.

　　But there are also times when Zou Mingyue feels warm. "Several times, customers saw that I was a female food delivery worker and thought that I was not easy and gave me a tip."

　　"This year, we will work harder and try to earn more money to go back, and we will all get better gradually." Zou Mingyue’s words are full of firmness. (Reporter Zhou Wei)