Recently, when taking a taxi, I often ask Didi drivers these questions:
How much money can I make per month doing this now?
Why do this now?
What did you do before?
Are you confident about the future?
1. Half a year ago, the first Didi driver I intentionally interviewed was actually a native of Nanyang, his hometown of Xichuan.
The South-to-North Water Diversion Project was launched, and as immigrants, they received a settling-in allowance and moved into Xichuan County.
In 2018, he joined Yang Guofu Malatang, and his family worked in the store, earning more than 20,000 yuan per month, which made him full of confidence in the future.
In 2019, after discussing with his parents, he sold the house in Xichuan County, scraped together enough for a down payment, bought a house on the third ring road of Zhengzhou, and moved his family to Zhengzhou.
The house price in 2019 is almost the highest point, they paid 50% of the down payment, and the monthly payment is more than 6,000 yuan.
Half a year after buying a house, when the epidemic came, the catering industry was generally closed, he lost his income, and he had to bear the rent and rent of the Malatang restaurant every month, as well as the living expenses of his two children, and all the family's savings were quickly depleted.
He first swiped his credit card turnover, and then swiped his online loan turnover, just thinking about surviving the epidemic, the business of Malatang restaurant is improving again, and there is still hope for the future.
Everyone knows what happened next.
The time that the epidemic has been raging repeatedly is beyond the imagination of all ordinary people.
In 2021, he was locked by the landlord because he stopped paying the rent of the Malatang restaurant for three months, and he was not allowed to move out even on a bench.
He didn't graduate from high school, and the monthly salary he could find didn't exceed 5,000 yuan.
In 2021, running as a Didi driver, running for more than 10 hours a day, and earning more than 8,000 yuan, has become the best choice in front of him.
His wife also has a high school degree and works in a small company with a monthly income of 4,000 yuan.
The combined income of two people cannot cover the repayment pressure of housing loans and online loans.
I can support it for two more months at most, and after two months, I will definitely stop one of the mortgages and online loans. Xiao Zhou sighed helplessly.
His helplessness made me feel distressed.
Yicai reported in the first half of 2022 that the number of foreclosure houses in Zhengzhou has jumped to more than 50,000.
This means that there are more than 50,000 families in Zhengzhou who are in the same predicament as Xiao Zhou.
I asked Xiao Zhou's *** to take the initiative to share two small business opportunities with him, but he didn't reply positively, so we broke off contact.
I understand him. He can't even pay the mortgage now, and he has the capital to start a business?
The current economic situation, the entrepreneurial opportunities we see, all coexist with risks, and he no longer has any ability to resist risks.
However, he has sold the house in Xichuan County, and the house in the countryside of his hometown has also been demolished.
His two children are not yet 10 years old......
2. The first impression that Master Zhang, who is in his 50s, gave me was calm.
Master, I'm sorry, it's raining, the road is slippery, and you can't walk fast with children, so you have to wait for a long time. "I apologized to him as soon as I got in the car.
It's okay, I can understand, don't worry! He replied with a smile, nothing pretentious, completely from the heart.
I immediately realized that he must have a special story to tell, unlike other Didi drivers.
Master, how long have you been a Didi driver? I asked him.
I have been driving for 20 years and have been a Didi driver for less than 2 years. He replied cheerfully.
20 years ago, you had a driver's license? I complimented him, "That's amazing!" ”
Or a photo! Master Zhang said proudly, "I ran a truck in 2000 and earned more than 8,000 a month, which was a good day at that time!" ”
20 years ago, you could earn more than 8,000 yuan a month? "I was really surprised.
In 2000, when I was still in college, I remember that the average salary in Zhengzhou at that time was definitely less than 800 yuan.
That's right. After two years of work, I bought a piece of land in Shamen Village, Zhengzhou, and built a three-story building. Master Zhang laughed loudly.
Okay, you're a landlord. I laughed.
I'm also damned. Think about it, like a dream, 20 years ago, I ran a sports car, earning more than 8,000 a month, 20 years later, prices have risen 10 times, Zhengzhou's housing prices have increased 15 times, I still earn more than 8,000 a month by sports cars. Master Zhang smiled and sighed.
In this sigh, there is a sense of incomprehension, but also a sense of rejoicing.
The rent he received from renting out his empty three-story house was more than what he earned as a Didi driver.
3. Two weeks ago, my wife stopped her footing, I took a taxi to take her to the orthopedic hospital, and met a special Didi driver.
Because my wife had difficulty moving, I helped her walk slowly, and it was still raining lightly, so I asked the Didi driver to wait for us outside the gate for five minutes.
I'm sorry, but my wife stopped walking and couldn't walk fast, so I delayed you. When you give me a *** system checkout, I will pay you an additional 5 yuan compensation fee. "I'll punish myself first.
No, who doesn't have a time when they are in trouble? "This master is in his 40s, about my age.
Master, you're welcome, I'm really sorry not to go. Transfer a few more yuan to you, and I'll buy peace of mind. "I still don't want to owe a favor, even if it's just a stranger, even if I may not see each other again.
Hehe, really no, you sit down, let's go. "I was touched by the master's kind attitude.
Does your platform have a tipping function at checkout? If so, I'll give you a tip of $5 later. I asked him.
I don't know about this, and no one has really rewarded me. He laughed, "You're a good guy too." ”
His word "also" made me feel more moved.
It's not easy to live these days. After repeated tossing and turning of various difficulties and pressures, there are still many people who say that they are good people verbally, but there are not many who dare to think that they are good people in their hearts. I sighed.
Oh, indeed. "He resonated.
Master, you have such a good mentality, what did you do before? I asked him.
Those who do engineering construction are contractors. He replied.
Is it also Party A's failure to pay on time and drag you down? "I've heard too many similar cases this year.
After doing 20 million yuan of the project and closing more than 5 million yuan, he didn't give me cash, and used all the houses to pay off the debts. The master smiled bitterly, but I felt that he had already seen it, "If you want to sell the house, you have to give it at least a seven-percent discount, and the wages of migrant workers cannot be in arrears. ”
Able to bend and stretch, big husband! I sighed, "People who have made millions, tens of millions of dollars, are used to being bosses, and they are really not good in the industry, and there are too few people who can come out to serve others in sports cars in a down-to-earth manner." ”
How much money can you make from this? He smiled, "I'm running this to distract myself." I am bored at home every day, thinking about those troubles, and after a long time, people will be abolished and depressed. After running for half a year, I can see clearly, too many people are not easy, and I am really not ranked in the rankings. ”
How much money can I make per month now running Didi? I asked him.
Five or six thousand. He replied, "The car is my own, and I don't need to pay a taxi." I didn't work that hard, running seven or eight hours a day, and then I rested. ”
When I arrived at the orthopedic hospital, after I got out of the car, I thought this person was too interesting, so I wanted his *** but he smiled and waved away.
I sent my wife to hang up, opened the billing information of the taxi software, and gave him a reward of 5 yuan.
Finally, a few sentimental comments.
There are more and more female drivers who come out to run Didi, and there are more and more bankrupt bosses, but the amount of money they can earn every month has dropped from more than 8,000 yuan to 5,000 yuan to 6,000 yuan.
Among the dozens of Didi drivers I interviewed, there were only two who did not complain, that is, Master Zhang above and the master who had been a contractor.
The other masters, 30% are women, 70% are men, and the ages range from 30 to 50s, and there is no one who does not cry out.
However, they all have one thing in common that I admire:
They can shout about difficulties, but they will never sit idly by in the face of difficulties.
They can shout hard, but they do their best in the face of all possibilities.
It is possible to cry out for hardship, but the love for their family prompts them to constantly search for hope in despair.
They can cry out for difficulty, but they are willing to do the most menial work, and they do not want to cause chaos in this society and do not harm others.
They love their families, they deserve to be loved by their families, and they also deserve the respect of our society.
This is the background color of the Chinese people at the grassroots level.