Only 150 in Shanghai, nowhere to run!! Chinese people are about to witness history together, a situation that has never happened before! Delivery riders really can't escape!! Qiqi Baba TALK 'Wake Up Call 823' 20261108

This video focuses on the extreme living conditions of unemployed youth in Shanghai, showcasing the plight of food delivery riders facing strict crackdowns and fines for vehicle modifications. It also delves into the disintegration of traditional clan relationships and the underlying social and political-economic roots behind the "severing ties" (duanqin) trend among young people in China.

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Full transcript:

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

After watching this, to be honest, I am a bit impressed by him. To prevent you from feeling anxious, let's take a look at my life. Because I couldn't find a job, I am working in a factory in Shanghai, keeping my food expenses down to 150 yuan per month, wishing I could split every coin in two. I didn't eat breakfast, and I am starving. My favorite protein is tofu skin. Family, what do you think of my knife skills? The account doesn't have high-quality content in the early stages, does anyone have any suggestions? Adding some noodles. I like eating tofu skin, one reason is that it's very filling. The money for groceries each month is 80 yuan, usually eating potatoes and vegetable leaves. Some of you said Chinese cabbage is cheaper than baby cabbage, so I switched to Chinese cabbage. Making a sauce: 40g sesame oil, 40g vinegar, 50g light soy sauce. Done. What do you all eat for your daily meals alone? Another day just getting by. Sigh.

He can't even afford instant noodles, which is why he chooses to eat noodles this way. Why do I say that? Because a pack of instant noodles costs 1.5 yuan, uh, the bagged kind. Even if he only eats two meals a day, that's 3 yuan for instant noodles, and he has to eat some vegetables, right? Otherwise, his body won't hold up. Eating vegetables costs at least 3 yuan a day for two meals, so that's 6 yuan a day, which means 180 yuan a month. A 150 yuan budget wouldn't cover that. So you see, he uses cheaper dried noodles because that's the only way to strictly control his living expenses to 150 yuan per month. Some might say, if you're living like this, why stay in Shanghai? Just eating these dried noodles, greens, and cabbage every meal, why stay in Shanghai? Uh, perhaps because he really has nowhere else to go. Shanghai is already the best choice; at least he can still have a bowl of dried noodles.

You're fining me 100! Can you fine me less? You...

What's wrong?

It's modified.

Right, it's not modified.

Modified, it's modified.

It's modified, this thing.

Need a rack? Did it have a rack when you bought it? A rack.

It has one.

This price, this, this rack was bought.

Okay, okay. When we register vehicles, we register based on the photos.

Ah, then.

Then the shop...

Ah.

Men have value.

Yes, I bought it secondhand, it had one, I bought it secondhand and it's fake.

Is the license plate also?

License plate, does the license plate owner have one? Doesn't it have a license plate? This isn't it.

I know, I mean the license plate was already on it when you bought it, right? Ah, yes.

Yes, it was just attached.

This vehicle, this vehicle, when you bought it, wasn't... when you started working, it definitely didn't have this bracket.

Oh, well, well, I... well, I don't know.

That belongs to custom modifications, including this crash bar, that is too.

Is this crash bar for work? Isn't it?

Otherwise why mention it, these all belong to custom modifications.

Ah! Please, can you, can you speed up a bit, my order is about to time out.

Director Cao, let's first check the photo when you registered. Sometimes it's like this, you just need to go with the flow.

Ah, okay, sure, sure.

Recently when buying the car.

Ah, this is a second-hand car, this is... I... I'm not the first-hand... that... that car owner is... who is it?

Um, only a penalty, right? ID card number, this... this isn't often said, this... this.

This... this penalty, this. Um, this person.

It's customized modification stuff, a hundred yuan penalty, fined one hundred. Um, ah, let's look at the ID card number, you better get it fixed quickly, don't want it anymore, huh?

If we actually do that, how are we supposed to work? The point isn't... it's not like I necessarily wanted us to add this thing. Then if you don't add this thing, then how am I supposed to work? I have no way to work, that's mainly the issue. Then... then I do this for a living. Then you say if I don't add this, how am I supposed to work?

You should go communicate with your company! After it's done, you go.

The company's vehicles basically.

Otherwise they're all like this.

On the record, why wasn't it on the record?

To put it bluntly.

Then I feel so wronged by this.

That thing, you just.

Looked at the record and there was nothing like this, right? After your driver's license is done, you go register it, right? Without recording this thing, it's going to... this... this isn't this.

How is registration done? Can you tell me?

How are you going to change it now? Can it be repainted again?

How could that be possible!

It couldn't be changed before either! When you started working, it had already changed, how could they change it for you again?

To put it bluntly, after you finish customizing it, you go get it registered. Like this, now you've already finished registration, and you go add it again a while later.

They won't even give you a license plate.

This is just like a car, you can't get a license plate. Um, after your driver's license is done, they just won't give it to you. Besides, your electric vehicle probably can't get registered now either.

Um, well, it definitely can't be registered, because I bought this earlier, I bought it before the new national standards came out, but.

He told me, it indeed is. Right?

Let him drive it, just drive it normally, let's.

Top-up number, right? You're issuing a hundred? Can you issue a bit less? You're issuing... no, no, no? The code is just a code, the amount code, the amount cannot be changed.

And a day... a day you only make about two hundred yuan, you're essentially working for nothing, you.

Actually, I know you're struggling, but you.

No, this... this, I know this policy, this pol... policy, can we make it a bit more humane? This thing, we... we aren't willing to have you crack down on this stuff either. Then you do this kind of work, if you had that kind of small alley before, I would dismantle mine. We do this kind of supermarket delivery, the stuff is all for supermarkets, look, all of this is like this. Can you be a bit more lenient? It would be fine if we could be fined a little less. This thing.

The rule is to make you dismantle it on the spot, you know? What we say doesn't count, the provisions are written this way.

Um.

Legal provisions are just written this way, the money isn't set by us, how much the fine is isn't set by us either.

Um.

No, you... this... this, we aren't saying to make a big deal out of it, you guys work your jobs, you work every day, we.

After eating, you go to work, it's not like you.

This.

I know.

I know.

Shanghai only has 150, nowhere to run!! Chinese people are going to witness history together, a situation that has never happened before! Delivery workers really can't escape!! Qi Qi Ba Ba TALK "Refreshing Brain 823" 20261108

I know, when I bought it back then I didn't think about doing this job, didn't I start doing it later?

Pingfang (Oriental).

That's why. Um, then... then... then.

It's fine, it's fine, just now I was too nervous, this... this, there's no way to talk about this.

Um.

Certificate.

Really?

This is just like a car, after you modify it, you go get it registered, right? Through a series of inspections, if you are compliant, they issue it to you; if you are not compliant, you dismantle whatever needs to be dismantled.

Well, um, if you put it that way, I can't even do my job anymore. I'm running around here every single day, so why don't you communicate with the leaders? Well.

If it's torn down, it's torn down, torn down, it's no big deal.

Sit quietly for him.

Logically speaking, they should make you restore it to its original state before leaving. The front parts here, like the guardrail, this was definitely added later too, all of it.

Yeah, well, this guardrail and that one are the same.

This complies with the regulations, no matter where it falls short, am I right? They all have requirements.

Just like this, how is this work supposed to be done? This, this.

This is a bike that complies with the regulations.

Ah.

Report it to the leaders.

Think about it, right? See how we can play it differently.

Well, report it to your leaders, to your, to your shift leaders, or whatever, team leaders, station masters, and so on.

Reporting this, they won't even reimburse us! This stuff.

Actually, I really want to know the answer to this question too. From now on, they won't even allow phone mounts on these e-bikes? Then how do you expect delivery drivers to deliver food? Should they stick their phones to their foreheads? Every time they use my safety as an excuse, isn't it actually just that you want to issue fines? Right? Where do all these reasons come from? How many years have phone mounts been used on these e-bikes? How much of an impact do they have on safety? Where is the data to prove it? Why suddenly roll out this policy? You at least need to have some reason, excuse, or explanation! Is it because of this that so many accidents happen, or did an accident happen because of its existence when there wouldn't have been one otherwise? You at least need some data to prove that! Ah, and then the front part, for nearly ten years it's been totally fine, and suddenly it has to be a problem. You, you suddenly roll out helmets, which is understandable. Helmets should indeed be worn. You don't allow passengers, which is also understandable. Fine, fine, that's also for safety. You don't allow rain tarps on them, and everyone can understand that too. Yes, blocking vision and stuff, even though all of this is done without presenting any data proof. Fine, you can say it's all for the sake of safety. But by doing this, this time aren't you directly making it impossible for delivery drivers to do their jobs? They are already the group of people struggling the hardest to survive, otherwise who would choose to deliver food? Right? Ah, who wouldn't like to sit in an office all day? Oh, just like those cadres inside the system, sitting there every day drinking tea, reading the newspaper, passing the day wandering around, and then making tens of thousands of yuan a month, who wouldn't want that? Right? They are already the ones having the hardest time, and the hardest working ones too. You still insist on bleeding them dry? Actually, I think leaving people a way out is good for everyone. After all, even a rabbit will bite when pushed into a corner.

The trend of cutting ties with relatives—congratulations, you are witnessing the largest-scale unloading of kinship in China in thousands of years. A recent survey by Professor Hu Xiaowu of Nanjing University in 2022, which involved 1,200 people, found that among young people under 18, 63% have basically no contact with relatives and absolutely never call them unless necessary. A 2015 survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences was even more striking: over 80% of young people only contact relatives once or twice a year, and 21.6% have stopped interacting with them entirely. Many people get angry when they hear this, saying that young people today are cold, selfish, and lack social graces, but that is really not the case. This is not a moral issue at all; it is a shift in the era. In the past, relatives were your survival system; now, relatives are at most an emotional liability. So, asking young people today to follow that old set of rules is simply making things difficult for them. Think about it: what were relatives back then? Relatives were your social safety net. You relied on relatives to help with farming, to help build houses, and to pool money and effort when children went to school or the elderly fell ill. Back then, it wasn't about loving your relatives; it was about being unable to survive without them. Clan relationships sound warm, but they were actually the most rational way to live in that era—you had to stick together to survive. Moreover, everyone lived in the same village, seeing each other constantly, and their social circles completely overlapped. Relationships were productivity; you couldn't survive without interacting. But today's lifestyle has changed long ago. First, there is economic independence. Young people today survive on salaries, social security, and credit services like Huabei. If they are unemployed, there is unemployment insurance; if they are sick, there is medical insurance; if they need money, they can get it with a few taps on their phones. Ordinary people can live decently without relying on any relatives. The function of the clan as a safety net is long gone, leaving only the sentiment. But sentiment takes time, and spending time means spending energy, which is a cost. Conversely, young people have all moved to big cities. The total time they spend with relatives throughout the year is less than 72 hours. During the Spring Festival, it is just an art of being present—making polite small talk. There is no real kinship at all, at most ritualistic greetings, and this kind of greeting is precisely the direct fuse for cutting ties. If you look closely, what do people talk about when visiting relatives during the Spring Festival? How much do you earn a month? Did you buy a house? Do you have a partner? When are you having kids? Elders think this is concern, but young people hear it as judgment—it's using a ruler to measure you, comparing you to other people's children. They are already drained by the 996 work schedule and crushed by the three mountains of housing loans, education, and medical care. When you use the old ways to interrogate them, their first reaction isn't warmth, but escape. Honestly, every Spring Festival, being surrounded by aunts and uncles asking all sorts of questions and being compared to other people's children—who wouldn't have a breakdown? There is something even more realistic: in the past, visiting relatives had tangible value. Pooling labor to build houses, chipping in for events, pulling strings to help children find jobs—every interaction could be exchanged for something. Now? If you have money, you can hire people to do the work; if you have problems, there is insurance and the law. There are fewer and fewer things relatives can help with, and all that remains is the formality. You bring gifts during holidays, sit down for awkward small talk, and secretly compete behind each other's backs—comparing who earns more, whose child is more successful, who is doing better. After all that comparing, all that's left is mental exhaustion. Even worse are the endless gift money obligations. Whenever something happens, you have to take out a red envelope. If the relationship is distant, you don't want to go but fear gossip; if the relationship is close, you fear offending them if you give too little. Many people have done the math: the money spent on gift envelopes in a year can equal half a month's salary. Yet, when something happens to you, many relatives have long since cut contact and are nowhere to be found. The most absurd thing is when some distant relatives, once they find out you are successful or have made money, start asking to borrow money or asking for favors. Tell me, is this blood relationship a bond or a debt? If you ask me, many people who criticize young people for being cold and selfish are just speaking from a position of privilege. How can you expect a young person with a monthly salary of 5,000 yuan, half of which goes to rent, to resonate with relatives who live in villas and drive luxury cars? Forcing interaction when there is no common ground isn't maintaining kinship; it's self-torture. There is a very biting term online: NPC-style relatives. They are like background characters in a game—triggering fixed dialogue, unable to help with anything, draining your emotional energy, and once used, you discard them and do it all over again next year. Even more heartbreaking is that many young people today still visit relatives entirely for the sake of their parents, not wanting to make things difficult for them in the family, so they reluctantly stay at that awkward dinner table for a few hours. Once the parents are gone, these so-called relatives are just the most familiar strangers in their contact lists. Just thinking about this scene feels sad. The last thread maintaining kinship is not blood, but the faces of our parents. Of course, cutting ties is not entirely a good thing. You dismantle the mutual aid system of relatives and rely on the market and social security to fill the gap—that works fine in peaceful times.

But once a major crisis hits—a serious illness, unemployment, or the loss of an only child—atomized individuals are extremely vulnerable. The ease with which people cut off family ties today may be a foreshadowing of loneliness tomorrow. Japan and South Korea have long demonstrated the endgame, known as a 'society of no connections' (muen shakai), where one lives alone and dies alone, and no one discovers the body for two weeks. That is not 'cool' or 'carefree'; that is the desolation of modern society. In my opinion, it is not true family affection that we are cutting off, but rather the moral blackmail disguised under the banner of family ties. It is not that we do not need family affection; it is that we do not need that kind of fake affection that has form but no warmth. Truly good family relationships are never held together by forced, frequent visits; they are built on treating each other with sincerity when meeting, lending a hand when trouble arises, living our own lives peacefully in between, and interacting more when we get along. If we don't get along, we keep our distance, free from the moral blackmail of how relatives 'should' behave.

I know that what I am about to say next might shock everyone a lot, but it is truly a real fact: the fragmentation of the Qing Dynasty-style family structure is actually what the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) wants to see the most. For a dictatorial government, it is best when every single person pays taxes as an individual, because if you live alone, you have to work by yourself, you will have an income, and then you will pay taxes. But if the bonds between family members are very strong, then perhaps you support them and they support you; in this way, a big family of a dozen or so people might only have a few actually earning an income and paying taxes, and for the whole dictatorial state, it loses a huge amount of revenue. Another very important point is that solidarity makes them fearful. Compared to the inexplicable solidarity that arises among strangers, people with blood ties naturally form connections much more easily, so being able to break these people apart is the thing the CCP wants to see most. After all, they will feel fear at the solidarity of any group in any sense. Well, the above is all the content for this episode. If you want to support me, please join the membership channel. I also especially hope to be able to chat with everyone in real-time during the live stream. So that's all for this episode, see you in the next one.