Going Against the Heavens, Is the Situation in China Hopeless!? Three Major Encirclement Zones, Almost No Chinese Can Escape! Qiqi Baba TALK Episode 1031, 20261115

This episode explores the severe unemployment wave, the difficulty of finding work, wage arrears, and the survival pressure faced by ordinary people in the deteriorating environment of China today, by sharing a conversation between a young couple about job hunting, saving money, and their attitudes toward life. It reveals the inescapable, invincible vicious cycle that the grassroots population is trapped in.

Video link:

Full text:

Hello everyone, welcome to Qiqi Baba, I am Qiqi. Today, I want to share a conversation between a young couple. Although they say it is their own experience, after watching it, everyone will realize that it contains too many social issues and social situations.

Do you only spend two thousand yuan a month? And you still want to be fashionable, loving this and that; why don't you solve your most basic survival needs first, okay? You still want to play chess, is that a necessity? You don't even have money for food, and you still buy so many things? What are you doing this for? To satisfy your vanity? To show others? Hey, look, I have this too, hey, I'm so great, envy me, be jealous of me? Is it to satisfy this kind of thinking of yours? I just want both of us to make money, and you think that a girl staying at home to take care of children is a nanny, a girl working outside is suffering and getting tired, and only when a girl goes traveling, eating, drinking, and having fun is it a normal life.

What is this?

Doing housework at home, taking care of children, doing laundry and cooking, these are all jobs for a nanny, not jobs that a girl should do. Going out to work is also not a job that a girl should do, going out to work is also suffering, so the only thing a girl can do is go traveling, go take pictures, go check in at places, this is what a girl's daily life is like. Your thinking is like this: you just don't have money right now. If you had received twenty thousand yuan in unemployment benefits, you wouldn't be seen in February. Aren't you like this? You aren't going out now because you don't have money in your pocket. If you had money in your pocket, wouldn't you be going out?

But rich people go out every day.

Does what rich people do have anything to do with you? Are you a rich person?

What counts as being rich?

At the very least, it's the kind where you don't have to go to work and can still achieve financial freedom. This financial freedom means you don't have to work, and your other income supports your daily expenses? Do you have any other income? Like, even when you're sleeping, money is being generated—that kind of financial freedom. Why do I go to work? I work to make money. What is money for? Money is to avoid having to work. The purpose of making money is to achieve financial freedom for yourself, not for you to spend 100,000 yuan the moment you earn 100,000 yuan, or 200,000—the purpose of making money is to let money make more money, not for me to earn 100,000 yuan, spend it all first, and then go back to making money. If you earn a little bit of money now and go spend it, don't you still have to go to work later and make money? The ultimate goal is that you earn money, I earn 1,000,000 yuan, and I live off the interest every day so I don't have to work. I won't have to work for the rest of my life. That is the ultimate goal, instead of saying I earn 10,000 or 20,000 yuan and spending it first to enjoy myself. The process of saving money is very painful; the first twenty years are all so you don't have to work in the future, you know? Your kind of YOLO, selfish mindset—you just don't understand. You just say, "I have 10,000 yuan, so I'll just live with that 10,000 yuan." When I speak, you always feel like I'm the one who's wrong. That kind of mindset is really identical to what's said online. Like a netizen casually posting a joke saying women should be independent and strong and shouldn't listen to their husbands, right? Hey, right, listening to the husband is wrong. Oh, and then you say women should go traveling and check in at photogenic spots, and you think you're right, that you shouldn't have to work—that's your exact mindset.

And me? I am.

It's about satisfying your own thoughts, whatever hobbies you have—can't you let me take a break for a bit?

The problem right now is we don't even have money to pay the rent, and you still want to take a break for what? The situation forces us now. If I had money, with a few hundred thousand yuan lying here, I'd have no problem letting you take a break. Right now, we don't even have money to eat, what break are you talking about? A break, a break—taking a break has to have a limit. How long are you going to take a break for? Are you going to take a break for 3 to 5 months, a year, two years, or ten, twenty years? Tell me, set a limit for your break! You tell me, go on! Are you going to take a break for a lifetime? You want to rest until you've had enough, until you've had your fun—you'll never have enough fun in this lifetime, when will you ever have enough fun? When I was young, I wanted to play when I was young, because if you don't play now, you'll get old. Oh, when I was young, I already—I don't have much time left to live, when I'm old I still have to play. Is that how you think? You don't think about living a modest life, you don't think about how difficult things are at home. I'm thinking about how the two of us can live a good life together, not—oh, right now everyone is at rock bottom with no money, and you want to kick the other person aside and live your life. Anyone you meet, you have this kind of mindset. Nothing with you lasts long with that kind of mindset. Everyone is an ordinary person; why would someone wealthy with a net worth of several million look at you? You're going to gamble on those odds? How long do you think you'll look? You go spend 30,000 to 50,000 yuan on a VIP membership at one of those high-end single matchmaking agencies, you go to those places? You swipe your card, you take out loans to make yourself look all exquisite, and then others trick you in, knock you up with two kids, and kick you out—do you think, do you think you are suited for that kind of life?

I'm not.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy for a few more years first, that's what you say.

Then can I go vagrant by myself?

Then why can't you think about how the two of us can work hard to make money and live a good life together? Instead of saying, "If I have money, we'll talk when we have money; if we have no money, we'll talk when we have no money, I'll go vagrant, I'll go do whatever, I'll go pick up trash, I'll go deliver food," and not thinking about working hard to find a regular job and living a normal life through diligent effort?

Social insurance and housing fund—do you even have social insurance right now? Otherwise, what else do you want, social insurance and housing fund?

I'm saying, I'm asking you to go find a somewhat normal job.

And you?

You're always saying, "Oh, the economic situation is bad right now, it's so hard to find a job." Have you submitted even a single resume up to now?

Hey.

Companies are rushing to come here! Wishing so much that you'd come work for them, but you always refuse.

It's hard to find a job right now, you know that.

I do know, that's why I'm looking every day. Have you looked? It's already so urgent that we won't even have rent for next month, and you're still laughing and joking there without a single ounce of risk awareness. Right now, we don't have any ability to resist risks at all. Living your way, it's not that I want to put pressure on you, I just want you to return to a normal mindset, a normal psychology. You just think from morning till night, "This month I'm going to travel here, next month I'm going to travel there." Who doesn't like going out to play? Do you have the actual capability for it? Seriously.

I only went out to play twice.

It's like you're out having fun; your heart is wild and restless. I just want you to return to a normal mindset. Everyone is just an ordinary person; just honestly go to work, earn and save some money, and then you'll have some ability to withstand risks. It won't be like, for example, if you're not working, you won't even have rent to pay here. The point is to save money. Do you think that when you are forty or fifty, you will be able to earn more money than you do in your twenties or thirties? You are thirty now, at least; do you think it will be easier to find a job when you are thirty-five? If you rest at home for three or five years, do you think, 'Oh, when I'm thirty-five and go out to look, it will be easier than it is now'? Do you know that right now is the best time in your life to find a job? You are forty, and you say, 'I'll find a job easier than when I was thirty,' and people will look up to you—what do you think? You always say it's hard to find a job, but do you know that right now is the best time in your life to find a job? The longer you wait, the harder it will be. What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the situation to improve, for the general environment to get better? Is everyone living in a prosperous and upward-moving time right now? How long are you going to wait? Until you are fifty? Until you are fifty and the country's population is aging, and there are fewer young people, so it's easier to find a job? Do you think it's like that? How long are you going to wait until it's easy to find a job? You always say the general environment is bad, but what does the general environment have to do with you?

How does it have nothing to do with it? If the general environment is bad, it only affects you if you let it; it doesn't affect you personally. You only need to improve yourself. If you stay at home and read more, improve your inner self, enrich your knowledge, and when you go for an interview, you can say more things, people will think you have something to offer. It's not that because the general environment is bad, I won't work hard, won't read, won't learn—that's not a reason for you not to learn, you know? Do you think that if you lie flat until you're thirty-five, and the general environment gets better, they will want you? You lie at home for five years, for ten years.

That's just me.

It will be better.

I just feel like I'm not suited for working.

Not suited for working? Who is suited for working? Nobody wants to work. If you go and ask the people down there at six in the morning, are they willing to get up at six every morning to catch the bus to work? Are they willing? They have responsibilities on their shoulders; they have social responsibilities. They are thinking about suffering a little now so they can have a better life later. You have no responsibilities; you are thinking selfishly, with an indifferent attitude. In that office building, go look at the people doing street promotions, licking their faces and running up to ask people, 'Do you need this? Do you need that?' Are they willing? Is it easy for them to be salespeople? With that one or two thousand yuan base salary, running around doing business every day, going on business trips—when there's no one around, they cry too. Are they willing? It's not easy for anyone! What are you waiting for here? Are you waiting for the general environment to get better? Is it that if the general environment gets better, it will be easier for you to find a job after lying at home for five years? Or is it that if you use your years of work experience now, and look at some things, and study for some certifications, it will be easier to find a job? You can't see the problem clearly; you really can't see it clearly.

I really am not suited for that kind of thing.

I'm not suited for it either. Who is suited for it? Nobody is suited for work, nobody is suited to be a beast of burden; everyone is forced by life, everyone has responsibilities, pressure, and obligations. That is a person's sense of responsibility. You don't have a shred of responsibility; you just think, 'It has nothing to do with me,' just that as long as I have a mouthful to eat, it has nothing to do with me. All social responsibilities and social obligations have nothing to do with me. A partner, children, everyone—it has nothing to do with me. In this world, only I am me; everyone else is not, and others don't seem important.

That's not it, it is. You have that kind of psychological state. You don't care if your future children have better conditions or a better life; you don't care if you have a better retirement life when you are old; you don't care if your parents need care when they are old; everything in society has nothing to do with you. You only need to care about whether you eat well this meal, whether you have fun when you go out next week. You will never have that kind of thought. So, you will always feel that they only owe you. So, do you think it's easier to find a good job now, or? Wait until you've rested enough and want to go out to find a job, and then it will be easier to find a job? Think about it yourself, how long can you collect unemployment benefits? Three years, five years, ten years? Can you collect them forever? You can only collect them for a short time, right? They'll be gone soon, what can you do then? Your desire for consumption doesn't go down; you have fixed monthly expenses of three or five thousand here, losing money every month, and your unemployment benefits and all kinds of messy subsidies have already been spent here. Haven't you spent money on messy things for yourself before?

I spent four or five thousand on traveling.

My point is, you can play around, but you at least need a legitimate source of income. You can't just say, 'I have unemployment benefits, two thousand yuan a month is enough for me.' Don't you have a day when those run out? I don't believe you can collect them for that long; a year at most, right? And then what? You've already been resting for half a year; don't you need to work later on? Why are you doing this? Do you think it's easier to find a job now, or will it be easier eighteen months from now? Does it make sense? Tell me, do you plan on not working for the rest of your life?

You haven't figured out what you want to do.

You haven't figured out what to do? You can try more things! Do you have the capital to make mistakes right now? You want to do live streaming? You can go do live streaming. You want to dance? Then go dance; you can even lose weight. You can apply for jobs and give it a try. Just don't sign those messy contracts, that's all. What do you want to do? You want to be a server? Go try it first. If you don't know what to do, go try things out. You want to do mental labor? Go do some mental labor. You don't want to do mental labor? Do physical labor. Go be a server, go carry plates in a mall, go give it a try. You're just like my cousin. After she finished university, she had a two-month summer break. She came to Nanchang to find work for those two months; she worked for two months. She didn't say, 'I'll just rest at home for two months during the summer break.' She made over ten thousand yuan in those two months. And it included room and board. You keep saying you don't know what to do, why don't you go try something? Should I contact my cousin and have you go try it out, would that work? But you can't bring yourself to do it. Why? Isn't she a person just like you? Why can she do it?

She's been doing it all along.

She's been doing it, so can't you start doing it now? Did she start doing this from the moment she was born? Didn't she start later on too? Can't you go try it? You just keep saying you don't know what to do, and when I tell you to try more things, you're unwilling to do this and unwilling to do that. You haven't done it, so how do you know you don't want to do it? Since you haven't done it, you should even more so experience how painful the things you haven't done can be. You say you want to do wedding photography? Go do it! Take a camera, put it on your back, and say, 'I don't need money, just cover my food and lodging, let me learn some technical skills.' Say it! Call and ask. Tell them you have your own camera, you don't need a salary, go try it. Can you do that? Just cover my food and lodging, that's all. Can't you try that? Wedding photography? Just ask, 'Uh, what kind of photographers do you have?' I'll just follow behind them and learn the photography techniques. Let them teach me a bit, and I'll help you shoot some things. Bring your own camera, can't you do that? You never take the first step, and you always say you don't know what to do. Isn't your hobby photography? Why did you buy a camera? Didn't you say your hobby is photography? Tell me, is it or isn't it? When I actually let you go, you back down? You say you don't want to work? You're not even willing to try to work at something you like, so you'll be even less willing to do things you don't like. You like photography now, you said you like photography and you bought a camera, so go do wedding photography, or go to those influencer-style shops or places where influencers check in. Tell them you don't really need a salary, just a base pay of one or two thousand yuan, and follow them to learn a bit. Can't you do that? That's also trying. Those are your hobbies, after all. You get to photograph different young ladies and beautiful people every day, isn't that good? You already like doing this, and then you can learn photo editing on the side, learn video editing, and then you can start filming your own Vlogs and uploading videos. Isn't that better than not knowing what material to use every day? You can say, 'Uh, I followed and filmed a few people today,' then blur them out, and say, 'Yeah, post-production, what else?' Take some beautiful photos, and when you have followers, people will book you for offline shoots. Can't you do that? That's also a path! You just don't want to try? Your hobby is already there—it's self-media, and you can take orders online. If you don't want to do this kind of public-facing work, do some office work. Go find an office job at a company. This is the youngest you'll ever be in your life, the time when you have the most capacity to make mistakes. Do you have to wait until you're forty or fifty, when you're old and past your prime, and people don't want to look at you or hire you, before you go? Aren't you at your youngest and most beautiful right now? In this life.

But there will always be people younger and prettier than me.

Then for you personally, this is the youngest day of your life. You'll be older tomorrow than you are today, you know that?

You know it all.

You always say 'I know, I know.' I talked to you half a year ago, and you just felt it didn't matter. Now, actually, in the past half year, I've talked to you about finding something to do. Either you go freelance, or you go learn something, learn a craft, or something.

It doesn't cost money.

Do you have any connections? It has been so long, have you checked if you have any relatives or friends? Just go learn something, what are you doing? It doesn't cost money; just tell them you'll work for them in exchange for food and shelter, learn a skill, and be able to earn some money, even a little bit is fine. Why are you thinking about opening a shop? Why? You would definitely lose money. Only people who are very diligent and willing to do everything can make a shop profitable. Like those things that were very popular before, like nail salons or Perler beads, they were profitable at the beginning.

I feel like Pinduoduo isn't profitable anymore, just for a day.

I'm just giving an example, I'm not saying you must do it. You haven't done any research. Do you know what real research is? You know, I watched that catering industry program before, people would sit at the entrance of a shop and count how many people went in. They count, head by head, then estimate the average spending per person, calculate the costs, and figure out if it's worth doing. That's how it's calculated, you know? Do you think you can know what's profitable and what's not just by lying at home? 'Oh, is opening this kind of shop on this street profitable?' People literally squat at the entrance of similar shops to count the foot traffic, how many people go in per day. After deducting ingredient costs, rent, storefront expenses, labor, and utilities, how much can you actually earn? That's when they start to decide if it's necessary to do it. All of this requires thinking. You are at the youngest point in your life right now, the best time to find a job. If you rest at home for three or five years, when you turn thirty-five, do you think it will be easier to find a job than when you were thirty? When you write on your resume that you are thirty-five, compared to writing twenty-nine or thirty now... It's not like the longer you lie at home, the better the general environment will get, and it will change things for you. For an individual, it doesn't have much of an impact, at least in the short term, it has no impact on you. You can only enrich yourself, and then you can find a good job. If you say you are unwilling, go to my cousin's place and do a part-time job, just let her show you the ropes. Do you think you can work in the service industry? You stand there, a customer comes over, and you're just... you're timid and hesitant.

What do you want to do?

Ah! What did you say? I didn't hear you clearly. You are clearly like this, if others question you, and you want to question back, then forget it, I'll take it.

I didn't think that way.

You ask, are you very smart?

Only people who bring their emotions to work would be like that.

You haven't seen the world. If you were working there and kept running into picky customers, wouldn't you know? They nag you every day about this and that, saying 'Why are you so slow? Why isn't the food here yet?' They urge you ten or eight times at one table, aren't you annoyed? After they urge you, you go to the kitchen, and the kitchen staff scolds you, saying 'Don't you think I need time here?' You get scolded every day, do you feel good? Can you digest these emotions? You are someone who needs others to provide you with emotional support, yet you are being scolded every day, and you are expected to provide emotional value to others? Can you do that? Provide me with some emotional value right now. The service industry requires people with excellent patience, a great temper, and the ability to provide emotional value to survive. I feel like you think every industry is simple and you are too proud to do them. You have nothing to do now, can't you try it out? Anyway, you act like you don't care. Just go do it, if you're not happy, it doesn't matter, you can just stop doing it.

They.

Let's see, see until when? See until you are thirty-five, forty, is forty enough? Or maybe fifty, let's go out to work then. Meaning, you rest for ten or twenty years, or just rest until you are sixty, or maybe go out to work after you retire at sixty.

It sounds like, it sounds like I'm going to be homeless after I turn sixty.

According to your situation, you'll be homeless at thirty, and homeless at sixty...

That day I'll be sixty.

You'll be homeless next month. Your thirtieth birthday is next month, you have no money to pay rent, if you aren't homeless, who is? You are truly ridiculous.

Don't be a fortune teller, okay?

Then why did you mention sixty? It's clearly thirty, saving thirty years of detours, going straight to being homeless. That's ridiculous, people are so angry they're laughing. Hey, I'll be homeless at sixty, homeless next month.

That's impossible, still paying rent.

What about the month after next, or the month after that? Life still has to go on. What was saved up has already been eaten through, and it is all gone now. You need to go and create income. Why don't you go and try out multiple industries now? If you don't try in your twenties or thirties, are you going to wait until your forties or fifties? Everyone gets old and won't have that kind of energy anymore. Aren't you still young and willing to move around now? Instead of cooping yourself up at home every day doing nothing, why not do something you like? You won't even be chasing a high salary; just treat it like traveling. Why don't you go be a follower photographer? You can go to other cities, you can go out and play with others. When other people get assignments for Jiujiang, Shanghai, Hunan, or wherever, can't you go along as a follower photographer and get your expenses reimbursed like traveling? You always share things with me saying, "Oh, this person is traveling while getting paid, that person is traveling while getting paid." I am trying to figure out a way for you, but you won't try it yourself, always thinking others have it better, not wanting to put in any effort. Otherwise, you just lie there every day, waiting to be fed and dressed, waiting for someone to chew your food and spit it into your mouth. Alright, starting these few days, just think about it. Think about what hobbies you have these few days, and you can try doing work related to your hobbies. If you work for three to five years—for example, lying at home until you are thirty-five versus doing travel photography until you are thirty-five—after five years you will have five years of work experience, and you can start your own business! Can't you start a small follower photography studio yourself right now? Is that not possible? The most it takes is you earning tens of thousands of yuan in these few years.

So wonderful.

If I don't paint a wonderful picture for you, are you willing to move? Can you get yourself to move? In these few years—in five years—can't you save seventy, eighty thousand, or one hundred thousand yuan? When you are thirty-five, can't you open a small shop of your own? Can't you make even one or two ten-thousand, two or three ten-thousand yuan a year? Making twenty thousand yuan, and after five years having one hundred thousand yuan... saving twenty thousand, earning... after five years you have one hundred thousand yuan, spend tens of thousands of yuan to buy some equipment, hire a couple of people, and then do offline street photography and follower photography together with them, build up some popularity so people look for you every day, is that not possible? Is it that hard to save twenty thousand yuan a year? Now, if you go get a job making three thousand yuan a month, a little over three thousand, that's thirty or forty thousand a year, can't you spend half and save half? Isn't that good? Is it really that difficult for you? If you make three or four thousand yuan, save one or two thousand, and spend one or two thousand a month. Life isn't that bitter, right? It would be a bit better than your current situation, right? Is it better than your current situation? You can even go traveling. Where your hobbies lie—your hobbies mean you don't have to smell other people smoking every day, sitting in an office smoking along with them, and getting cancer together. You always find a reason to escape, to evade, to evade work, always thinking about sleeping until you wake up naturally, and scrolling through Douyin until your hands cramp.

You've been scrolling through Douyin too much.

How much have I scrolled? I've awakened! I've awakened! Have you awakened? Or are you still addicted to it? You need to think more, think about it! I am exhausted this month, yet you've been unemployed for half a year, laughing and happy every day, completely without anxiety. I'm just giving you a bit of anxiety, giving you a bit of intensity so you can think some things through, you know? Don't I know what you're thinking in your heart? Isn't your plan just to coast through the eighteen months and see what happens? Around this time next year, you'll be thinking about whether or not to look for a company, and then you'll think about it. Why do you want to waste this year? What are you going to do with this year? Wouldn't it be good to try something? You don't necessarily have to pay into social security! What are you saying about not paying social security? You can still collect unemployment benefits. Haven't you figured it out? You say you won't pay social security? Many places don't even pay social security in the first place. You can tell them, "I'll just follow you and learn for a while. It doesn't matter if my salary is lower, I won't pay social security," and you can still collect unemployment benefits. Can't you collect unemployment benefits?

That's true.

Then why won't you try it, why won't you do it?

I'm right now...

Staying at home, what are you waiting for then? What are you doing staying at home?

Fine, fine.

Are you planning to have a child, or are you trying to recover your health? Did you suffer some major injury? What I mean is, since you are currently collecting unemployment benefits, you could try jobs you haven't attempted before. Just take a look. Don't say you'll wait until you're thirty-five or forty, when you're past your prime, to try. Do you think it will be easier to try then than it is now? You can try any industry! I'm not saying you must go and get that certification you had before. I know you really don't want to read or study. Then why not do something physical? If it tires you out, if you're physically exhausted, see if you can handle it. What if you had to travel for work every day, running around, doing manual labor—see if you can accept that. You always say you don't want to do mental labor, so go do some physical labor. I'll find you something next month; my former colleague works at the post office, why don't you go move some express packages? Let's have you try it, okay? Try some physical labor. That colleague of mine works at the post office, I'll have him call you to go inside and move packages.

Let's go together.

You like physical labor? I don't like physical labor either. You go exercise, you'll lose weight, right? Isn't that what you want? Working the night shift.

Let's just go for a walk in the park.

Hey, walking as a civil servant is different. Walking as a civil servant isn't high intensity; that's not what you'd call physical labor at all. As a girl, they won't make you do very heavy work; they'll just have you move the lighter stuff, you know? They'll have you sort them—like this package goes to Jiangxi, that one to Hunan, that one to Anhui—you just sort them, it's very easy. It's the night shift, and I've been under a lot of pressure, I've been thinking about a lot of things.

Thinking until your hair turned gray?

I just feel that after so many years of university, what I talked to you about before is that you shouldn't give up on this industry. You have so many years of work experience now; if you go take that exam and find a job, a related job, it would be very easy, very easy to find. It's basically your comfort zone. You've been in this line of work for four or five years now.

But this industry is suitable for men.

There's no such thing as what's suitable for men or women. Isn't there a single woman in your general manager's office? I don't believe it. Your general manager is a woman, and there are no others? Why did your general manager start this company? Isn't it because she is familiar with this industry? Hasn't she done this before? Does she know nothing at all and just decided to open this company? Your general manager must have started from the bottom herself; it's just that later on, either her family had money, or she saved up enough money, and then she opened this company. You know that your top general manager is a woman, right?

Chairwoman.

Yeah, your chairwoman is a woman, right? I'm asking you, why is she willing to accept this industry? When she was young, at twenty, wasn't it hard for her? Didn't she start from the very bottom just like you? You know it, it's not like you don't understand it now. Once you understand it, it's basically your comfort zone. Do you know this industry? Like, if you need to produce a report, what things do you need to do? You know it; you just haven't passed the certification, that's all. Do you think your chairwoman understands this industry? Does she know more than you? Did she put in more time and effort than you? Did she spend more time on this than you? You also know that she spent energy and money to open this company; does she worry more than you? Is she more tired than you? Is your chairwoman more tired than you?

Yes, she is.

She is responsible for the entire company's operations, the company's turnover, everyone's salary, everyone's social security—isn't she more tired than you, doesn't she have more things to worry about? How can you say you are so tired? Isn't she tired? You need to put yourself in her shoes! Isn't your chairwoman tired? She has to manage a company.

Educational resources are being sold.

She has resources and connections; does she not have to go out and drink with them? Was it given to her for free? When she negotiates a deal, doesn't she have to go drink and eat with them? What have you contributed? Do you go eat and drink with them?

Yes.

You don't like it, but does she like it? Do you think she likes it?

I just like it.

How do you know? When it is late at night, when he is crying, have you ever seen it? When the pressure on him is so great—meaning when he is worried about company performance and racking his brains—have you seen it? You only see him joking around, like someone with high authority. You only see the superficial things about everyone. What is it that you hold onto? What you hold onto is that this report is hard to write. What gives you a headache? What gives you a headache is that someone is smoking in the office. The only thing that gives you a headache is this superficial problem. You entered this industry; for you, would you be willing to restart and find something relatively developmental, but requiring a huge investment of time, very hard work in learning, and even more tiring than what you are studying now? Are you willing? You just don't want to study anymore. You don't want to study, but you know your current industry—you just lack one certificate to get a huge promotion. If you work in another industry, it's either physical labor, only physical labor, or coming to make quick money, or it's very simple with no lifelong development, meaning you could be laid off at any time. And also this thing—you are doing something right now that has a bit of technical content and a bit of a threshold. Why don't you want to do this industry? You haven't tried other industries, so how do you know whether you yourself can handle it or not? Go try being a waiter, go try being a behind-the-scenes photographer, go try it! Try doing express package sorting, do you think any of those is easier than what you have now? More comfortable? Pay more? You have nothing. Learn a skill, go learn cosmetology, alright? Just like learning cosmetology, instead of massaging and pushing points all day, alright? Go out tomorrow and study, go work in a beauty salon, apply facial masks for other people. Go try it, go try it alright? Every day, or whatever industry you do, go try it alright? Take a look and see whether writing reports now is harder, or their industry is harder. You always think other industries are very easy, have you tried them?

No, beauty salons require buying cards.

Is that right? Is that hard or not? You always say your industry is very hard, so is selling cards in their industry hard or not? They beg you to buy, have you ever bought a card? How many times have you bought one? You just say no, no, no. They get rejected a hundred times, a thousand times, maybe just a few times they succeed. Then every day you come back saying it's so hard and you don't want to do it anymore. You are young now, you can try more things. Why don't you go to a beauty salon and try that out, see if you can even bring yourself to say it? Is writing reports now harder, or writing that harder, or that harder? Have you ever thought about it? Do you think any of them is easy? Therefore, go try it. Since you haven't tried it and just sit here fantasizing, how would you know? Tomorrow I'll ask my cousin to pick you up and see if his place still needs someone to work, it's right close to your aunt's place, just ride an electric scooter and you'll be there immediately. There are some things you can't let go of your pride for, and I'll let you experience it. Don't say your industry is very hard, I'm saying all industries are very hard. It's not that writing reports is very hard for you, or that you don't want to go on business trips, or whatever. Which reason is it, do you think? You also say there are many guys, every company has many people smoking, which place obstructed you? The hardest problem to solve is still that you are lazy, you aren't willing to read books, you aren't willing to take exams. There aren't that many reasons, there is just one core problem: you are lazy.

Wage arrears, layoffs, difficulty finding jobs—uh, all of these appeared simultaneously on these two people. So that is the invincible vicious circle for ordinary people inside the wall in China that I mentioned before: either you can't find a job, or you find a job but suffer wage arrears, or you've been working for many years, hey, suddenly you get laid off while carrying mortgage and car loans, with elderly people and children to support.

If you say, fine, then I'll just find a daily-wage job where the pay must be settled with me, then what's left? Food delivery, ride-hailing, factories, and manual labor jobs like that. And then? Dual mental and physical torture. As for the food delivery industry right now, the number of delivery workers who suffer mental breakdowns or sudden deaths is truly countless, it's already too exaggerated. Moreover, income keeps dropping and being compressed, and it's not like if you work fifteen hours a day, you are guaranteed a stable monthly income of over ten thousand. Right now, if you do food delivery and work fifteen hours a day, at the end of the month you might look and see it's still four or five thousand. In addition, it's extremely unstable, and as long as you stop for a single day, today equals zero income, just just.

All friends outside the wall, those overseas, listen up: how can anyone live like this? Alright, the above is all the content for this issue. If you want to support me, please join the membership channel. And I especially hope that during member live streams, we can chat in real time, and I can answer some questions one-on-one. So that's all for this issue, see you in the next one.