In the haze of the epidemic in 2020, we have experienced the rise and fall of many industries, but the food delivery industry has gone against the current and become a unique scenery of urban life. Wu Dehong, a 49-year-old ordinary man, quietly ended his life in a rented house in Nanjing on December 3, 2019. On his mobile phone, there were still unfinished takeaway orders, and 13 yuan was ruthlessly deducted from his account. Why does an ordinary person living at the bottom have such an ending?
Wu Dehong, originally an ordinary worker in Ma'anshan, Anhui Province, came to Nanjing in 2005 with the dream of changing his fate. At first, Mr. Wu partnered with a friend to open a small restaurant, hoping to find a place in the bustling city. The thread of fate does not always extend according to people's wishes, and the hotel closed due to poor management, which not only made him lose all his savings, but also saddled with a debt of 200,000 yuan. Life is like a war without gunpowder, and Wu Dehong has nowhere to retreat.
Debts hung like a sword of Damocles over his head, forcing him to start anew. The rise of the food delivery industry has provided him with a chance to start anew. At that time, takeaway was not as competitive as it is today, and a diligent takeaway brother could earn more than 10,000 yuan a month. Wu Dehong also had a brief period of glory in the golden age of the food delivery industry. He used his hard work to pay off most of his debts, leaving only the last 30,000 or 40,000 yuan, and the pace of 2020 seemed to herald that he would regain his freedom.
As the rules of food delivery platforms become stricter, the competition is becoming more and more fierce. The life of the takeaway brother is not easy, they need to complete the fast delivery in a short time, and often run red lights and go against the road in order to hurry, and their life safety is always threatened. Wu Dehong is no exception, and his mobile phone keeps a record of countless fines for violations. Even so, he still insisted on running on this road, because he knew that only in this way could he pay off the last debt as soon as possible.
I remember one time, Wu Dehong received an order from an upscale neighborhood, and when he arrived, he found that the community had a power outage and the elevator was unusable. The customer lives on the 27th floor, and in order not to affect his reputation score, he climbed to the 27th floor step by step. After the delivery, he was covered in sweat and woke up the next day with unbearable muscle aches. Such an experience was undoubtedly a great torture for him in his forties.
The life of the takeaway brother is full of hard work and hardship. Every day, we face not only the wind and rain on the road, but also the pressure from life. Wu Dehong's mobile phone has become his only work partner, and the prompt sound of every order is the motivation for him to continue to struggle. Just when he was about to see hope, fate dealt him another heavy blow. On December 3, 2019, on this day, he went out to deliver food as usual, but never returned.
That day, he took a seemingly ordinary order, but because of the long distance and traffic jams, he was late. According to the platform's rules, being late means being fined for being late. This time, he was deducted 13 yuan. It may not be a large amount of 13 yuan for us, but for Wu Dehong, who is trying to repay his debts, every penny is extremely precious. This incident may have been the last straw that broke him. That night, he sat quietly in the rental house, surrounded by those unfinished orders, but his life passed quietly without realizing it.
The progress of society and the development of technology have brought convenience to us, and also gave birth to new industries such as food delivery. Behind these seemingly glamorous is the reality that countless ordinary people like Wu Dehong have supported with sweat and even their lives. They are the invisible heroes of this era, but few people pay attention to their lives and feelings.
Wu Dehong's story is the epitome of the stories of countless takeaway brothers. Many of them live at the bottom of the city and face great stress and physical challenges. Every day, they shuttle through the streets and alleys, just for the meager income of one order after another. They are often overlooked by society, and their hard work and dedication are rarely remembered, but they are an important part of the normal functioning of the city.
Wu Dehong's story makes us think deeply about what such a social phenomenon means to us? In the pursuit of maximizing economic benefits, have we neglected the basic humanistic care for these low-level laborers? When we enjoy the convenience brought by technology, should we also stop and pay attention to the living conditions of ordinary people who serve us? Let us remember that every hard work has its own story and dream. They are not just a delivery boy, they are fathers, husbands, and an integral part of this society. Their happiness and dignity are also worthy of our preservation and respect.