Tan Xiao's selfie during childbirth.
Encounter changes at home.
Girls in Melbourne deliver takeout.
Tan Xiao introduced that he just turned 23 this year and lives in Shapingba District, Chongqing. At the beginning of this year, her family sent her to study in Melbourne, Australia. Tan Xiao said that both parents are engaged in small businesses, and the economic conditions are not bad since childhood. Although they are not very rich, they have never been troubled by economic problems.
But just a month ago, everything changed. Parents told Tan Xiao that because of business failure, there was no cash at home, and the situation was more serious. Tan Xiao's living expenses for studying in Australia for only one month will be10.5 million RMB, which parents have been unable to afford recently.
"I think I can earn my own living expenses." Tan Xiao said that parents can find ways to solve the tuition problem, but she decided to earn her own living expenses. So, she registered the local takeaway platform "ubereats" and prepared to take out.
Delivery needs a car first. After many comparisons, Tan Xiao found a Chinese-run car rental company and rented a domestic electric bicycle. The reason for this choice is that the life of domestic electric vehicles is nearly twice that of local brands. At the same time, bicycles can be on the road immediately without a driver's license.
Nearly a month ago, Tan Xiao officially became a local distributor, and started the daily 10 hour distribution work. At first, my family was worried. Tan Xiao said that her parents were mainly worried about the danger of her walking around the streets, but she insisted on working, and her parents didn't object in the end, just asked her to report her safety to her family every morning and evening.
Tan Xiao's friend Xiao Wan in China confirmed her story. Xiaowan told reporters that he is 29 years old and has known Tan Xiao for more than five years. She went to the airport to see her off when she went to study this year.
Xiaowan said that she also studied in the United States, so it is not surprising that she knows the situation in Tan Xiao, and she also knows that she delivers food abroad. It is normal to have a part-time job to support your life after studying. However, the situation now facing Tan Xiao is indeed more severe. Her friends are very supportive and hope that she can tide over the difficulties.
Tan Xiao is on his way to deliver takeout.
I can earn more than 1000 yuan a day.
My thigh is still hurt.
"It's hard to make takeout, and sometimes I feel wronged." Tan Xiao said that although she had worked before, she only did odd jobs. Now working 10 hours a day, it is impossible to say that it is not hard. On the first day of work, because the car was too heavy, she accidentally sprained her foot, went home to apply ointment, rested for a day, and then went to deliver food.
Another time, when crossing the bridge, her helmet was about to be blown off because of the strong wind. She lost her balance with a helmet in one hand. The whole person flew out of the bike and her thigh was cut for a long time. But she just buys medicine, simply wraps it up, disinfects it, and then delivers it. "What I thought at the time was that I must not give up."
Bandage the injured thigh.
According to Tan Xiao, many local homestays don't allow takeout staff to enter, and using ubereats platform to deliver takeout is different from that in China. When the rider arrives, you can start waiting. After five minutes, if the customer doesn't pick up the goods, you can cancel it without taking responsibility. At this time, if the customer leaves a message at the door, just take a photo at the door. But in many apartment buildings, there is no place to put takeout. And no one helped to receive it. The food delivered after cancellation can be handled by herself, and because of this rule, she ate a hamburger that was not delivered.
"The income is ok, I feel that I can support myself." It's been almost a month since Tan Xiao delivered takeout food. When he was busy, he earned 400 Australian dollars a day, with an average of about 200 Australian dollars a day, equivalent to nearly 1000 yuan. This money can fully cover my living expenses during my study abroad. "I am really happy to lighten the burden for my family."
Xiao Wu, Tan Xiao's roommate in Melbourne, told reporters that she knew Tan Xiao's family situation and was very supportive of her self-reliance. The income from delivery is relatively good, the planning and construction of local cities are very "square" and the roads are relatively easy to find, so it is relatively easy to get started.
Xiao Wu said that the cost of living in Australia is relatively high. Take the house they shared as an example. The weekly rent is 700 Australian dollars, equivalent to more than 3,500 yuan, which is almost14,000 a month. Therefore, she supports Tan Xiao to do "open source" work. As friends, she and Tan Xiao also made a savings plan, trying to reduce the expenses of water, electricity and food, and save some.
Photo courtesy of upstream journalist Peng Guangrui