Not long ago, I went back to the mainland.
I was eating noodles at a small shop downstairs, chatting with the owner.
He said they don’t hire full-time staff anymore; they use gig workers for serving and washing dishes. They just call through an app, and they're there in a flash, settling up at the end of the day.
I said that’s pretty smart, saves money. He gave a wry smile and said it does save cash, but do you know what kind of people show up?
There’s a young guy who delivered takeout for three years last month, a lady who used to be a head teacher at a training institution, and a fresh grad who drives for rideshare during the day and comes here to wash dishes for four hours at night.
After he said that, I paused with my chopsticks. This tiny noodle shop, under twenty square meters, with just a few people in the back kitchen, is like a snapshot of the Chinese job market.
I was eating noodles at a small shop downstairs, chatting with the owner.
He said they don’t hire full-time staff anymore; they use gig workers for serving and washing dishes. They just call through an app, and they're there in a flash, settling up at the end of the day.
I said that’s pretty smart, saves money. He gave a wry smile and said it does save cash, but do you know what kind of people show up?
There’s a young guy who delivered takeout for three years last month, a lady who used to be a head teacher at a training institution, and a fresh grad who drives for rideshare during the day and comes here to wash dishes for four hours at night.
After he said that, I paused with my chopsticks. This tiny noodle shop, under twenty square meters, with just a few people in the back kitchen, is like a snapshot of the Chinese job market.