外卖骑手大军靠“爱心餐”维持生计

外卖骑手大军靠“爱心餐”维持生计

After the lunchtime rush, it's time for China's food delivery drivers to eat.

午餐高峰过后，中国的外卖骑手们该吃饭了。

Liu Lijie, halfway through a 13-hour workday, parked his electric scooter in front of a restaurant in Beijing for his go-to choice, lamb noodle soup with a side of pickles, for 12 yuan ($1.65), a discount of 6 yuan off the regular price.

一个13小时的工作日已经过去了一半，刘力杰把电动车停在北京一家餐馆门前，准备点他常点的羊肉泡菜面，价格是12元，比原价便宜了6元。

The reduced-price meal is part of a movement that offers free or discounted meals to people in need, no questions asked.

这是一份“爱心餐”，旨在为有需要的人提供免费或折扣餐食，不问任何理由。

Known as “aixincan” (eye-sheen-zan), or “loving meals,” they are available at some restaurants in major Chinese cities, home to large populations of migrant workers who come looking for jobs.

中国大城市的一些餐馆里供应“爱心餐”，这些城市聚集了大量外出打工的农民工。

“There is a lot of pressure in life since I came to Beijing to work, so eating aixincan is both economical and practical,” said the 40-year-old Liu, who arrived two years ago from nearby Shanxi province.

“自从我来北京工作以来，生活压力很大，吃爱心餐既经济又实惠，”40岁的刘先生说道，他两年前从山西来到北京。

Eager to get back to earning money, he digs into his meal at a branch of the Yushiji restaurant chain without even stopping to remove his helmet, branded with the name of the popular http://Ele.me food delivery app.

为了尽快去赚钱，他在店里狼吞虎咽地吃了起来，甚至都没摘下饿了么的头盔。

Luo Shuai, a driver for Meituan, China's largest food delivery service, learned of Yushiji’s discounted meal initiative through colleagues and has since become a daily customer at the Beijing chain, which serves food from his native Henan province.

罗帅是一名美团骑手，他从同事那里得知了这种优惠套餐，从此成为了常客。这家店的菜品来自他的家乡河南。

“It reminded me of my hometown,” said the 27-year-old Luo, who moved to Beijing at the end of last year.

“这让我想起了家乡，”27岁的罗帅说道，他去年年底来到北京。

Among China's nearly 300 million migrant workers, an increasing preference for gig-based work such as delivery driving over factory work has emerged in recent years. There are now more than 200 million gig-economy workers, according to government data.

近年来，近3亿农民工越来越倾向于从事外卖员等零工工作，而不是去工厂打工。官方数据显示，目前有超过2亿零工经济从业者。

For a full-time driver, the average monthly pay at Meituan can reach more than $1,500. But only 11% of the app's drivers work full-time. Part-timers in the biggest cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, averaged closer to $1,000 a month in 2024.

美团全职外卖员平均月薪可达1500美元以上，但只有11%是全职工。2024年，北京、上海等大城市的兼职外卖员平均月薪接近1000美元。

The existence of discounted meals reflects a shift in China's urban landscape, according to Xiang Biao, head of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology in Germany. Previously, migrant workers could carve out their own spaces by helping each other, he said, but those networks have disappeared with the erosion of informal restaurants in cities for hygiene and safety reasons. “They will have to seek help from strangers,” Xiang said.

德国普朗克社会人类学研究所所长项彪表示，爱心餐反映了中国城市格局的转变。以前，农民工可以通过互相帮助来拓展生存空间，但城市中非正式餐馆由于卫生和安全原因减少，这种人际网络也随之消失。“他们不得不向陌生人求助。”

The state-implemented cleanup since the late 2000s of “urban villages” — spaces where migrant workers would live that grew alongside urban development — has increased those pressures.

自21世纪初以来，对“城中村”（随着城市发展兴起的农民工居住空间）的清理，加剧了农民工的生存压力。

The stigma of asking for free food exists in all societies, Xiang said, though it may not be an issue for delivery drivers in China, as they are already socially marginalized.

在所有社会，索要免费食物都被视为耻辱，但对于中国的外卖骑手来说，这不成问题，因为他们已经被社会边缘化了。

Feng Yong, the 43-year-old manager of “Doornail Meat Pie" — so named because its food resembles the round wooden nail covers on classical Chinese doors — spends much of his day kneading, filling and wrapping the pies at the Muslim Chinese restaurant in Beijing.

43岁的冯勇是“门钉肉饼”的经理。他每天大部分时间都在北京这家清真中餐馆里揉面、填馅、包馅。

He said the restaurant began serving aixincan to help people in need and inspire others to do the same. A Shandong province native who moved to the Chinese capital more than 20 years ago, Feng said he has a deep understanding of being an outsider struggling in a new city.

他说，餐厅提供爱心餐是为了帮助有需要的人，并激励其他人也这样做。冯勇是山东人，20多年前来到北京。他深刻理解外地人在新城市的挣扎。

The key, he said, is to avoid any embarrassment for customers who are in need. Some hesitate at the entrance. The staff do what they can to help and don't inquire about a potential customer's circumstances.

他说，关键在于避免让有需要的顾客感到尴尬。有些人会在门口犹豫不决。工作人员会尽力提供帮助，不会询问他们的情况。

“We don’t refuse them anything, just as long as they’re full,” Feng said.

“我们不会拒绝他们任何事，只要他们吃饱就行。”

员工吃不起饭，公司不管，让社会管，真有意思，那这个公司存在的意义是什么？

不如说是什么样的管理和制度导致了这种公司堂而皇之的产生

For a full-time driver, the average monthly pay at Meituan can reach more than $1,500. But only 11% of the app's drivers work full-time. Part-timers in the biggest cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, averaged closer to $1,000 a month in 2024.

这段统计太失真了，累死累活4000-5000才是常态

前两年骑手/外卖员还可以拼到一个月1-2万的 不过一般只有在北上广深才行

现在估计难了 人多了 太卷了

谁让你说实话的

粉丝群一直在更新，欢迎进群

粉丝群每天都在更新，欢迎大家加入

可惜很多小县城，连爱心餐都没有

2亿零工？外卖骑手+滴滴司机+快递员也就几千万吧

显然是包括了工地工厂路政和其他服务业的临时工和日结大神

那么问题来了，他们为啥不去工厂