The Great Depression Inside the Wall, the CCP Can't Hide It Anymore! In China, This Thing Blew Up During National Day, the Whole Internet Is Talking About It! 7788 TALK Episode 993 20261008

This episode explores the current severe economic depression and widespread social survival crisis in mainland China. From the chaos of electric vehicle drivers queuing for hours during the National Day holiday, to the relocation of manufacturing factories, large-scale shop closures, skyrocketing unemployment rates, youth struggling to find jobs, middle-aged people facing employment discrimination, and various real videos and netizen self-narratives of grassroots people struggling to survive, it comprehensively reveals the despair and helplessness of all social classes in Chinese society under the current economic downturn.

Video Link:

Full Text:

Hello, hello everyone, welcome to Qiqi Baba, I am Qiqi.

Fucking can't stand it anymore! Took a few days off for the holiday to go out and play, spent nearly three days on the road, either charging, looking for charging piles, or stuck in traffic. Went on a trip with a friend during the National Day golden week, the round trip was only a little over a thousand kilometers, from Nanjing to Nanyang, and then from Nanyang to the Laojieling Scenic Area. For a round trip of just over a thousand kilometers, he charged a whopping seven times. Before we left, I told him, I said let's drive a gas car, but no, he wouldn't do it, saying gas prices are too high, gas is over nine yuan now. I said can we take a fuel-efficient one? Like this Toyota Sienna, it doesn't consume much gas, but no. He said his car has a color TV, a fridge, and a big sofa. I said I'll get you a Maybach, look, my Maybach is just sitting there idle, isn't that better than your color TV, fridge, and big sofa? He wouldn't do it, saying my car doesn't have smart driving, while his has smart driving, and he wants to be "far ahead." Alright, brothers, we finally got home. I did the math for him. I drove my Sienna. When I left, I had gas, and on the road, I actually only filled up once, which cost five hundred yuan. Adding the gas from before, it was only six to seven hundred yuan for gas. Do you know how many times he charged? He charged a whopping seven times. Later I asked him how much he spent on charging? He said electricity on the highway is a bit expensive now, so he also spent over five hundred, saving only a little over a hundred yuan compared to me, which made me so angry my liver hurt. Do you know what the main thing was? On the way there, the longest time he spent queuing for a charging pile was over four hours. I couldn't wait, so I booked a hotel, which cost me several hundred. At three in the morning, I got up and saw his room was still empty. I leaned out the window and looked, and he was still queuing there to charge. Alright.

You said you have smart driving, and you want to be "far ahead."

I am truly speechless. On the way back, just as we were about to enter Nanjing, there was a Wuzhuang toll station. His "far ahead," his smart driving, hey, crashed right into the barrier. Say no more, just venting. A round trip of just over a thousand kilometers, and you took me nearly three days, my friend.

Uh, this electric vehicle charging issue during the National Day holiday, this matter has completely blown up inside the Great Firewall. Uh, because there weren't as many electric vehicles before, but now there are more and more, so this National Day holiday has had a very, very big impact. Because every time it comes to this National Day holiday, the highways are free, right? Yes, so at this time there will be many, many cars, and many people will choose to drive themselves. And then on the highway, at the charging piles—the ones in the service areas along the longest and most crowded routes—you might have to queue for seven or eight hours just to get a charge. Yes, and then later, the service areas got so overcrowded that they actually required cars to leave once they charged to 75%. That is, once you charge to 75%, you cannot continue charging and must leave. So, sometimes I feel that the netizen commentary and thoughts actually make a lot of sense. You clearly know that during the National Day holiday, the highways are free, and for long-distance travel, many people might choose to drive themselves to save money, right? And yet, you still choose to drive an electric vehicle; is your daily common sense not lacking? Because electric vehicles take a long time to charge, right? It's not like refueling, where I can fill up in a flash, plus the driving range cannot compare to gas cars. Then you might constantly need to go charge, go charge, especially when you are far away on a long trip, for example, if you drive for five or six days straight, then basically you are charging everywhere, because you might not even reach the next tourist spot before you need to charge again. So if you calculate the time cost, you would know that you cannot drive an electric vehicle. Well, of course, having said that, just like what was said in the video, "But my car has a big fridge and a big color TV, so I absolutely must drive this electric vehicle."

My heart is panicking so much! If I keep holding on like this, I will end up with nothing. I don't know how to go on, where to go? Hmph! What on earth should I do? What should I do? Why am I so useless? They can all make money, but I can't.

What should we do? Have you noticed a brutal truth? In the next three years, our China might lose 30% of its factories—not going bankrupt, but directly moving away. A massive amount of production capacity is flooding into Vietnam. If you have been in manufacturing, running after orders, or managing factories over these past two years, you must have felt this deeply: orders have plummeted.

See you at the next stop, Vietnam! Moving to Vietnam, machinery manufacturing, moving the factory to Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City.

Why are there so many shops closing down one after another now? Have you thought about the reason?

Sigh, it's too hard, they've all closed down, both the left and right sides have closed down, only my family is left. Sigh, I can't hold on much longer either, what am I going to do with a whole room full of stock? I'm so worried, it's really too hard.

Let me show you, how bad can business get now? Hmm, such good fish, and they can't be sold. I've been setting up my stall all morning, all morning, and such good shrimp, not even an ounce has been sold.

Oh my father, oh my mother! I really don't want to do this line of work anymore! I'm so busy every day, so tired every day, suffering so much from the wind and the sun. I work from dark to dawn, waking up early, and it's hard to even feed myself three meals a day. I have no weekends, no holidays, I can't rest all year round. There is no one on the streets, and many shops have closed their doors.

Back when I was high-spirited, I had twenty or thirty workers, but now it has dwindled to just one, and I lose money every month.

If this goes on, life...

You have to leave.

Yes, slaughtered until mid-afternoon like this, at least still taking fifty catties of lean meat, there's really no other way. Almost fifty years old, working for others still leads nowhere, with the elderly above and the young below, there's really no way to retreat. Going to different places to eat, I come out to cook, I...

Still good! There's no one in the mall anymore, look, not a single person, look.

What is this?

Not a single person, why is there no one inside South China City? Is South China City going bankrupt? This.

It is really hard to find a job right now. My husband works in a small private enterprise in our county. Last year, three or four months of his wages were left unpaid. This year, the environment isn't great either, so he just said he'd keep at it. Well, right now, there are a lot of people in their factory, and the boss has the intention to lay off some of them. But he came up with a way: he doesn't let people leave work on time in the evening, and he arranges some overtime work. He basically says, 'Take it or leave it, this is the arrangement in the factory.' So two people quit and went out to deliver food. Of course, the income from delivering food in our small county isn't very high, and maybe they weren't used to it at first. They chatted with my husband and said they regretted it a bit. My husband said, 'Since you've already left, then look for another way out.' Given the situation this year, if things keep going like this, there's a possibility that even half a year's wages will be in arrears. It's really not easy.

It's so hard for me to even find a job. Brothers and sisters, I really have no money left. I really don't have money to eat. I bought three steamed buns this morning, it's so hard to find a job, brothers and sisters, I really have no money left. I really don't have money to eat. I bought three steamed buns this morning, this is my dinner for tonight. I was hoping to find a place here that provides food and housing. My requirements aren't high, just food and housing, maybe 6,000 a month, not even 7,000, just 6,000, food and housing included would be fine. But I haven't found anything for 6,000 yet. If they don't provide food or housing, it's just hourly work; you work today, but you might not have work tomorrow. That's just how it is, there's really no other way. Many people from other places want to come to Beijing to make money, but is it really that easy to make? It's so hard for me to even find a job, isn't it?

Do you think this milk that expired two days ago is still drinkable? I feel like it shouldn't be a big problem, right? Will you drink it, son? I'll drink it, it doesn't matter, I feel it doesn't matter. What could be the problem with drinking it just two days after it expired? Right? It tastes good, it's the same taste. Hmm, you take a sip, it's still the same taste, right? It doesn't matter.

Hey, brothers, finally got a meal! In the past, I would have looked down on a 12-yuan fast food meal, but now that I can eat it, it really hasn't been easy.

The doctor said: 'Given your current physical condition, you shouldn't be eating this non-nutritious stuff. You can't eat anything with slightly high sugar content, ah, don't eat noodles, don't eat steamed buns, don't eat porridge.' Are you kidding me? 'You need to eat beef, you need to eat chicken, eat duck, eat seafood.' Do you not know what my situation is? And you want me to eat beef, chicken, and seafood. I can't even afford white steamed buns now, and you're telling me it's bad for my health because the sugar content is too high? Then what does it matter if my health is good or not? I'm not even afraid of death, so why would I care if it's good or not? I'm doing well if I can just get full and survive now. I haven't had any income from last year until now. I wasn't rich to begin with, and not only do I have no income, but I have to go to the hospital for follow-ups every other day or so. God, just bring it on! Honestly, I'm not afraid of you, I'm not even afraid of death.

Lost, lost! Who told you to buy that? Don't buy this, you know? Hurry up and go!

Please, state, let us people over forty retire. Companies don't even want to hire us anymore, we simply can't find jobs. I'm over forty now, I've been unemployed for over three months, and I haven't been able to find a job. I've been reduced to doing day labor now. Look at this, hurry up and let us retire, stop working.

What did he say?

Come back tomorrow, come back tomorrow, or you better hurry up. Li Hai, Li Hai, Li Hai Ming, what's wrong?

Where is the uncle from? A turn, what kind of work are you doing at this construction site? Odd jobs, doing odd jobs. How much a day? A little less, a few dozen yuan. No way? A few dozen yuan, eighty or ninety yuan, that little? Hmm, uh, how many hours do you work a day? Six, how many hours do I work a day? Ninety yuan, does that meet your satisfaction?

As long as.

One step slow, one step slow. Fighting a war, hmm hmm, is the work tiring?

Earthquake.

I am.

Seven five five five.

Wood, not practicing for a day, working non-stop, hmm.

New.

How old is the uncle this year? Over fifty.

Old times, you actually didn't.

How much is this bowl of rice? This restaurant.

Family, I want to ask, how many people are not working? Let me start, I was born in '96, and now my whole family is unemployed. The little savings I have left will be gone soon. If I don't go out and make money, I'll be starving. How about you? Share in the comments section.

How hard is it to make money now? I don't know what is going on with this general environment. My husband said that for those working together with him, the direct supervisor above them told two other people below them to leave, just like that. They were still working today, and tomorrow they were told, "You two don't need to come tomorrow." Just like that. And they have no security at all. This general environment is making everyone live such a miserable life. Moreover, in Chengdu, wages are generally low, and everyone is a super, super hard-working beast of burden (cow and horse) with basically no security.

Now everyone is keeping their pockets tightly shut; they are really reluctant to spend money. Look at the streets, there are more stall owners than customers, and there is no one wherever you go.

Today is the second day of October. Let me show you the instant noodles in the wardrobe; I can't even afford to eat anymore. I originally planned to use the salary from this job to pay next month's rent, but now there is no prospect for next month's rent. It's so painful, brothers.

Brothers, the sky has fallen! The daily rental housing in Zhonghuayuan has gone up so much recently, but the daily wage is getting lower day by day, making life harder and harder. Brothers, even the guys from Guangdong couldn't hold on and went back. Me too.

I feel like for poor people, there is really no point in living. Working every year, working every day, doing chores and making money day after day, and in the end, still not saving much money. Sometimes I wonder: if I knew I would still be this poor, I shouldn't have worked so hard in the first place.

Sigh.

Our generation comes from ordinary backgrounds, running around for a living all our lives, putting in so much effort, yet life remains the same. The more I think about it, the more heartbroken I feel. Is all the suffering in this life really worth it?

Today is my first day in Chongqing looking for a job, and I interviewed with the first and second companies in Chongqing outside of our city. One was recruiting; on their resume on BOSS Zhipin, it said they were recruiting for HR, but actually, once you get in, it's just doing ground promotion. They just want you to do ground promotion. Many jobs in Chengdu and Chongqing are just ground promotion. The other one was for a livestreamer, so I learned a bit about the livestreaming industry. This makeup was also put on when I went for the screen test. But I'm very afraid of being scammed, and I feel the livestreaming industry is very shady with high pressure. Then, the HR kept asking me how I was considering it. I browsed BOSS Zhipin for a week or two, and it was either loan assistance or ground promotion. I want to find a normal sales job, I want to find a normal HR job, not the kind that scams people against their conscience into KTVs, not the kind that scams people over just to fill quotas—just normal HR.

Look, they said to come out and set up a stall, saying it's easy to make money! But even with a machine gun, you couldn't count ten people here.

Still.

Lost.

Oh well, screwed again! This year is even more screwed than last year. More than half the year has passed, and the wallet is still an empty shell. Waking up early and staying up late every day, earning a lot, but spending quite a bit too.

I spent over two million yuan to open this shop. Look, everyone, today is Saturday, how much did we make? Two thousand and sixty-six yuan. A flat-out loss. On a big Saturday, doing just over two thousand yuan of business in such a big shop, what do you think I should do?

I lost my job again today. I've been graduated for a year, and I've already been unemployed twice. I actively fought for it, I fought with my group leader, with my monitor, and I even proposed that I could go without pay, hoping they could give me another chance to prove my ability, but it was useless. I have already tried my best to fight for it, but it was still useless. I don't know what to do next.

What should we do? The two of us couldn't find any work, so we came out to pick up trash. This is, this is what we picked up today, quite a lot. It's very meaningful.

Ah! You guys said to come back, come back to farm, come back to till the land, come back to raise pigs, chickens, and ducks. Look, I shoveled manure all morning, look, look, I still need my mom's help!

Have to wait for my younger brother.

This wheelbarrow is almost eighty wheelbarrows. Is there any woman who wants to come and help me shovel manure? Are you afraid of getting dirty? This rural life, if you're not shoveling chicken manure, you're shoveling pig manure every day. Ah, take a look, I'm here, look at this scenery! Look at that huge pile of manure. If anyone needs to help, come quickly! I'm already exhausted.

China's brutal economic downturn is revealing a chilling dark side. The former economic miracle has now been reduced to a desperate struggle for survival across all social strata. The exodus of manufacturing factories and the shrinking of the consumer market have shattered the livelihoods of tens of thousands of small vendors, while also leaving middle-aged workers over forty as a group ruthlessly abandoned by the market. Equally tragic is the fact that tens of millions of young people and young intellectuals are being ground up in a fierce competitive machine. They are even willing to beg for unpaid work just to secure a meager foothold in an era of skyrocketing prices. Even the last straw—the food delivery industry—is sinking under the pressure of labor surplus, creating a heartbreaking and absurd scene. Crowds of delivery riders wait bitterly on the streets, competing for sporadic, low-paying orders. The shadow of this recession is stifling the desire to rise out of poverty from bustling metropolises to remote villages, pushing ordinary people into a cruel survival battle for basic necessities. And in this bleak future, no way out is yet in sight. Thank you all for watching. What are your thoughts on China's current economic and social situation? Feel free to leave a comment below and share with us. If you want to keep up with more in-depth analysis and reporting, please be sure to subscribe, like, and turn on the notification bell. See you in the next video.

Economic depression is something that cannot be covered up, because it concerns everyone in society and will be reflected in every individual. Alright, that is all for this episode. If you would like to support me, please join the membership channel. I especially look forward to chatting with everyone in real-time during member-only live streams. That is all for this episode, see you next time.