preface
More than 20 years ago, When Zhang was in his 20s, he was assigned to the post and telecommunications system as a reinstated soldier and became a postman. At the time, he said, he was proud to work in the post and telecommunications system. “High status, high pay, better pay than a bank,” he said. In 2009, Xia hongxiang, in his 20s, applied for a job at a post office and became a postman. “I’m just a migrant worker in the city,” he said.
1
On September 28, 2012, at 8 o ‘clock in the morning, the light rain kept falling and the cold wind and rain came rushing to the people on the way to work. People wrapped themselves in ponchos and walked gingerly in the rain.
Half an hour ago, Xia Hongxiang had arrived at the place of work. I got up at 7 am, packed up and set out from the old dormitory building of a unit in Chuanjin Road, where I was renting, to the Jinshi delivery branch, ready to start the day’s work.
Around 9 am, jinshi delivery branch inside a busy scene, Xia Hongxiang and colleagues skillfully sorting the day to be delivered letters, newspapers, parcels and so on.
Three years of postman life, every day to face the daily sorting work, Xia Hongxiang has been at home. Through his hands, letters and newspapers are carefully sorted and placed in designated places.
When busy with work, Xia Hongxiang has been silent. He was a little worried about his sick wife. His wife had been ill for a long time and had to stay at home because she was weak. The child is still small, Xia Hongxiang is busy with work at ordinary times, the thing in the home can rely on weak wife to support only.
‘I’m sure I am, but what of it? Somebody has to make money.” Living in Kunming, where the rent is nearly 1,000 yuan a month, xia hongxiang often becomes anxious and frowns when talking to others.
His text message boomed out. He stopped sorting, took a look at his cell phone, stuffed it back into his trouser pocket and went back to work. The moment he looked down and up, a smile lit up the 26-year-old’s face – it was payday. That means the family won’t have to worry about living next month, except for the high cost of living in cities like rent and utilities.
The narrow reality seems to have overthrown this young man once had a variety of beautiful fantasy.
In his first years in Kunming, Xia hongxiang, like most ambitious young people, had always dreamed that he would one day make it on his own.
Now, in The eyes of Xia Hongxiang, although in this city than his hometown Zhaotong “much more prosperous”, but he only has confidence to do, only to support his family. As for the rest, “I can’t even think about it.” For Xia Hongxiang, the bustling City of Kunming brings him more feelings of strangeness, insecurity and no sense of belonging…
A mail truck delivers newspapers, letters and parcels in the morning at the entrance of jinshi Delivery Branch of China Post in Kunming, Yunnan province, On September 27, 2012. The heavy load often made the masters sweat like rain. A mail truck delivers newspapers, letters and parcels in the morning at the entrance of jinshi Delivery Branch of China Post in Kunming, Yunnan province, On September 27, 2012. The heavy load often made the masters sweat like rain.
The sorting work soon ended, around 10 a.m., Xia Hongxiang needs to deliver more than 100 letters, newspapers, parcels, etc., put them on the motorcycle parked outside the door. It was still raining, but Xia Hongxiang didn’t care. Cover your letters, newspapers, and papers with a poncho, and get on your bike.
Xia hongxiang drives faster, and even with the pedals and backseat stacked to the brim, he is able to move freely through the gaps in the ever-moving traffic.
The concierge of the community, the downstairs of the residents, the unit building and the community office did not have too much pleasantry. When Xia Hongxiang handed over the letters and other articles to the other party, most of them did not even say “thank you”. It seemed that they were just completing a simple handover procedure.
Xia Hongxiang had been used to such scenes and did not feel left out.
Three years as a postman, he says, taught him that as a postman, he had no advantage. “At the end of the day, it’s just like being a door-to-door delivery guy.”
1 o ‘clock in the afternoon, last more than 2 hours of delivery work finally ended, Xia Hongxiang a suit of water rushed back. The sorting is still to be done at 2pm and all the staff must be on duty.
It was a bit cold, and Xia Hung Xiang sat in a chair, his trousers muddy from the knees down to the heels of his shoes. Now and then he shivered, and presently there was a puddle of mud under his feet. His lunch was a boxed lunch bought at a roadside snack bar. He took a cup of boiling water and gulped down cold food and food.
From 2 to 5 p.m., repeat work, do it again.
2
Xia hongxiang’s immediate boss is Zhang Wenke, the 47-year-old director of jinshi Delivery Branch. He has been working as a postman for more than 20 years. Years of mailman work experience, brought up his a glib mouth, speak loudly, neat.
The postmen at The Jinshi Delivery branch are more than 10 young people with an average age of over 20. In addition to his daily work schedule, Zhang wenke often listens to his subordinates’ opinions and views on their work during breaks, or simply listens to them complain and complain about their unhappiness in their work.
“I am very protective of our mailman, because I know how hard they work.” Interview that day, because one of his subordinates was wronged outside, Zhang Wenke ran to the other side in person, arguing. Finally, he got back a justice for his subordinates.
Being misunderstood is a “nightmare from which postmen cannot escape”.
Daily delivery of registered, express mail, and other mail, often encounter receiving households are not at home in the situation. When the mail fails to reach the addressee for the first time, the postman usually posts a “notice note” on the door of the flat below the house. The purpose is to let the addressee know that the mail has arrived and there is no need to worry that the mail will be delivered again the next time the mail is delivered.
“There are always idle people who read notices, tear them down, read them and throw them away. The recipient, who is not at home and does not see the notice, blames us for not receiving the email on time.” Zhang wenke said that compared with his experience as a postman, the current environment for mail delivery is “strange”.
When delivering parcels and registered letters in Kunming, Yunnan province, on September 27, 2012, the postman had to contact the signatory, so he had to go from house to house. When delivering parcels and registered letters in Kunming, Yunnan province, on September 27, 2012, the postman had to contact the signatory, so he had to go from house to house.
The “odd difference” zhang wenke said is probably: the property management is indifferent to the mail of the residents of the community, thinking that it is not their responsibility; In the newly built fashionable residential area, there is a serious lack of supporting facilities such as mail boxes, and the postman does not know how to deliver letters to the recipients after entering the community; Some communities don’t even allow postmen to enter the community to deliver mail…
In xia Hongxiang responsible for the delivery of the jinshi area, the vast majority of the community did not set up the mail box, even if the postman has arrived at the recipient of the community, but do not know where to send the mail.
“More often than not, the mailman has to beg the guard to help him pick up the mail. Then we pay our own money, buy some little chalkboards to put there and write the name of the addressee on our own so that the addressee can see it and look out for it when it comes in and out of the neighborhood.” Zhang Wenke’s words are full of helplessness.
3
In the late 1980s, Zhang Wenke entered the post and telecommunications system as a reformer soldier and worked as a postman.
“Back then, I was proud to work in the post and telecommunications system.” Mr Zhang remembers that when he first entered the post and telecommunications system, acquaintances would occasionally ask him “where do I work?” and he would proudly reply: “The post office.” This is usually followed by a look of envy.
In those days, working in the post and telecommunications system was the most desirable thing for most people. To get a temporary job in the post and telecommunications system, you need strong connections. “At that time, if you didn’t have an internal system of acquaintances, you couldn’t get in.”
In Zhang’s opinion, there were few people riding bicycles in the streets of Kunming at that time, but he could ride the bicycle issued by his company to turn around in the streets.
‘When I was younger, I was just driven by a desire to keep up with the jock,’ Mr. Zhang says. ‘The work itself gives me a sense of superiority.’ His salary in the postal system, he remembers, was “higher than the bank”.
Zhang’s salary went up from January 52, when he started working. “At that time, the post office was very profitable, and his salary increased every year. The salary we get at the post office is more than 10 yuan higher than that of other units.” That extra ten dollars is a lot of money.
In those days, many of Zhang’s friends earned only about 20 yuan a month, while his own expenses were only about 19 yuan a month. “Nineteen dollars was enough for me to live on for a month. Just think, what is more than ten dollars?”
A postman collates newspapers and periodicals in Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, On September 27, 2012. A postman collates newspapers and periodicals in Kunming, Southwest China’s Yunnan Province, On September 27, 2012.
Besides a good income, Zhang was also satisfied with his daily work and “delivery environment”.
Work at 8 a.m. and deliver the mail around 11 a.m. Start work at 2pm and finish mail delivery around 5pm. Riding the bicycle, Zhang Wenke is in charge of the area, easy to complete the daily work content. In addition to fixed salary, daily mail delivery, as long as there is no delivery quality problems, to the end of the month will generally have 8 yuan of reward.
“At that time, letters were very easy to deliver. If you went to the courtyard and shouted out the name of the addressee, the people in the courtyard did not care whether they were the addressee or not. As long as you knew that the letter was for someone in the courtyard, someone would surely come out to collect it for you.”
At that time, Zhang wenke was responsible for the delivery of the victory Hall area. “Every time I went to a courtyard to deliver letters and newspapers, as long as I stood in the courtyard and shouted, there would always be someone answering.”
In the past, people living in the same courtyard would communicate with each other for a long time, so that they became familiar with each other, and even knew clearly about other people’s families. Now, a longtime neighbor across the street might not even be able to say a word.
“At that time, the human touch is very strong, to send letters to people, they would usually catch some melon seeds, peanuts, chestnuts to me. Meet to send a letter to the unit, for example, I sent to the food bureau before, every year and festival, their own unit internal welfare will always want to keep for me.” Today, it’s hard to believe, but it’s something Zhang has experienced firsthand.
4
In 1999, the state carried out the post and telecommunications separation reform; A year later, the low point of Zhang’s 20-year career as a postman came.
At the beginning of the year 2000, Zhang wenke noticed that businesses such as delivery and express delivery began to appear in the society. He felt “unbelievable”, but the reality was clear.
In the same year, his monthly salary dropped to half of what it used to be, which was hard for him to accept. “At that time, I really couldn’t understand, I could hardly see any hope. I thought about leaving.” Mr. Zhang said he was shaken by the sharp decline in his income and had thought about leaving the industry several times, but in the end he stuck with it.
In 2000, As arranged by his employer, Zhang and his colleagues began delivering milk.
“Can you imagine that? Our postman delivers milk as well as letters.” “We often asked ourselves in those days, why did the post office still send milk? What will the outside users think of us? Why would someone want to order milk from your post office? Is this still the post office?”
As a postman, besides delivering letters, He also delivered milk, subscribed newspapers and sold moon cakes. These things are now seen by Zhang as an important channel for him to expand his postal business. Similar to these businesses, the use of the post office is a good channel and platform.
According to Zhang wenke, the reason why he can accept the “post office to send milk” is because he has figured it out and changed his mind. The more immediate reason is that they get real benefits while doing these things. “One more job, one more money.” When his extra salary was clearly shown in the payroll account at the end of the month, everything fell into place.
Liu Li, marketing manager of Yunnan Post Company, said that in the early stage of the post and telecommunications branch reform in 1999, yunnan’s postal business revenue was only about 600 million yuan. By 2011, yunnan Post’s comprehensive revenue had more than quadrupled to 2.415 billion yuan. At the same time, since 2006, Yunnan Post has entered a period of rapid development, with an annual growth rate of more than 10%.
On August 27, 2012, Yunnan Enterprise Confederation and Yunnan Entrepreneurs Association released the ranking of “Top 100 Enterprises in Yunnan in 2012”, and Yunnan Post Company ranked 80th on the list.
“Right now, our mailmen don’t earn as much as some of the best businesses in the world, but our wages have been going up for years. I’ve been through the heyday of the postal service, and we are moving in a good direction, and I believe it will get better and better in the future.” Zhang Wenke said.
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