Summary of Key Points
Xiaogui, a 23-year-old man from Zunyi, worked at a driving school in his hometown after graduating from college. After the driving school closed, he came to Guangzhou to make a living. He first tried driving for a ride-hailing company and then, through a friend's introduction, went to work at a hardware factory in Foshan. However, due to the strict management and lack of freedom at the factory, he resigned and returned to the ride-hailing industry. Although the factory offered a higher salary and provided housing and meals along with social security, Xiaogui valued the freedom that ride-hailing provided more. Currently, he works 12 hours a day, and after deducting all expenses, he hardly saves any money; he also has a three-year car loan to pay off. The cost of getting married and buying a house is out of reach for him, so marriage and romance are not in his plans for now. He focuses on ensuring that he can provide for himself first.
Career Choice: Freedom or Stability?
Xiaogui's career choice is quite typical—on one hand, there is the factory job, which is "unfree but profitable," and on the other hand, the ride-hailing job, which is "free but less lucrative."
The conditions at the hardware factory were not bad: a hourly wage of 20 yuan (200 yuan per day for 10 hours of work), provided housing and meals, and social security, with additional pay for overtime. The problem was the strict management—no holidays, no leave, and the assembly line-like work environment made him feel confined, as his colleagues were all older adults in their thirties or forties.
As for ride-hailing, he works 12 hours a day for an hourly wage of only 16.6 yuan, without social security or fixed rest times. However, the freedom to decide when to work, avoid traffic, and even chat with passengers outweighs these drawbacks. Xiaogui would rather earn about 2000 yuan less per month for this sense of autonomy, which is a common choice among many young people. They prefer to have some control over their lives rather than a stable job with a clear path ahead.
The Real Cost of Ride-Hailing
Xiaogui has carefully calculated his expenses and earnings:
- Daily Fixed Expenses: 100 yuan for renting a car and charging it (essential costs for ride-hailing), 22 yuan for rent (a single room in Baiyun District near the airport, costing 650 yuan per month), 10 yuan for electricity (probably for charging or air conditioning), and 30 yuan for meals (two meals during shift changes) plus 30 yuan for cigarettes and mineral water (to stay awake while driving), totaling 200 yuan a day.
- Daily Income: After the initial training period, he earns around 300 yuan per day. After deducting 100 yuan for car rental and charging, his net income is 200 yuan. Subtracting another 100 yuan for living expenses, he only saves 100 yuan daily.
- Monthly Income: Working 30 days a month, his gross income is 9000 yuan, with a net income of 6000 yuan. However, he needs to pay a car loan (the exact amount is not mentioned, but he says he can't save any money in three years), so he doesn't save much.
The downside of ride-hailing is the lack of social security, meaning he has to cover any medical expenses or accidents on his own. Moreover, missing a day's work results in a 300 yuan loss in earnings, and he still has to pay rent and car rental fees, effectively costing him more.
Factory Work: Appealing but Unendurable
Many might wonder why Xiaogui doesn't choose the factory job, which is more profitable. Besides the lack of freedom, there are other issues:
- High Intensity: The repetitive work on the assembly line can be monotonous and tiring for young people.
- Social Isolation: His colleagues are older, and he feels out of place without common topics to talk about.
- Difficulty in Getting Advance Payments: The factory doesn't offer advance payments, while ride-hailing provides cash daily.
- Lack of Career Progress: Working on an assembly line doesn't allow for skill development, and after ten years, there's no clear path for advancement.
Thus, the factory's advantages (stability and income) come at the cost of the young people's desire for autonomy and opportunities.
Marriage and Housing: Unattainable Goals
Xiaogui faces additional pressures related to future milestones:
- Marriage Costs: Getting married in his hometown requires buying a house in the city (80 square meters at 5000 yuan per square meter, totaling 400,000 yuan) plus renovation (100,000 yuan) and a dowry (200,000 yuan), for a total of 700,000 yuan. At his current savings rate of 33,000 yuan per year (after working for 11 months), it would take 21 years to save that amount—by then, he will be 44 years old, not to mention paying off the car loan.
- Realistic Challenges: More and more young people in his hometown are staying single; they either get married early at 18 or 19 or miss out on marriage by 30. Xiaogui's parents come from a rural background and can't help much, and even with a mortgage, the monthly payments are overwhelming.
Therefore, he has decided to put off marriage and focus on ensuring his basic needs first.
Surviving in a Big City: The True Cost of "Tolerance"
Guangzhou is often described as tolerant, but Xiaogui's experience shows that tolerance comes with conditions:
- Living Conditions: He had to settle in the remote Baiyun District near the airport because rent there is cheaper (650 yuan per month) and parking is free. His neighbors are also ride-hailing drivers, so they share similar struggles.
- Social Life: With few friends from his hometown, he avoids extra expenses like dining out and gift-giving, but this also leads to loneliness.
- Skill Limitations: Since Xiaogui only knows how to drive, he has no other skills and can only work in ride-hailing. Big cities offer many opportunities, but you need specialized skills to thrive.
Xiaogui's story reflects the struggles of many young people from rural backgrounds with lower education levels in big cities. They want to change their lives through hard work, but the costs (rent, car loans, marriage) and limited options (skills vs. stability) make it difficult for them to achieve a better life. This story doesn't preach grand theories; instead, it shows the real choices and frustrations young people face in today's society. Despite these challenges, Xiaogui still says, "Life must go on," embodying the resilience of ordinary people.