Novels: Start reading 《我在北京送快递》- I Deliver Parcels in Beijing by Hu Anyan

Advanced 2026-03-31 Novels source ↗

This is the first part of the first chapter of the modern literary sensation, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing by Hu Anyan, an autobiographical book about life as a gig worker in China’s platform economy.

物wù流líu夜yè班Bān生存shēng cún指南zhǐ nán：一个yī ge理货员lǐ huò yuán的de真实zhēn shí记录jì lù

第dì1章Zhāng 我wǒ在zài物wù流líu公gōng司Sī上夜shàng yè班Bān的de一yī年Nián

其实qí shí我wǒ在zàiD物wù流líu公gōng司Sī就jìu干gān了le十shí个gě月yuè多duō一些yī xiē，还Huán不到bù dào一yī年Nián。我wǒ是shì2017年Nián5月yuè12日rì入职rù zhí的de，那天nà tiān是shì汶川Chuān地震dì zhèn九jǐu周年zhōu nián。我wǒ在zàiD公gōng司Sī的de顺德Shùn dé某mǒu枢纽niú做zuò理货员lǐ huò yuán，那里nà li是shì当时dāng shí全国quán guó最zuì大dà的de一个yī ge货运中转中心huò yùn zhōng zhuǎn zhōng xīn。不过bù guò我wǒ是shì在zài离开lí kāi后Hòu，才cái从cóng网上wǎng shàng了解liǎo jiě到dào这zhè一点yī diǎn的de；当dāng我wǒ还Huán在zài那里nà li上shǎng班Bān时shí，虽然suī rán也Yě为wéi它tā的de规guī模mō所suǒ震zhèn撼hǎn，但dàn老实说lǎo shí shuō，我wǒ没有méi yǒu心思xīn si去qù关Guān心xīn它tā能Néng排pái第dì几jī大dà。

我wǒ们men的de货运中转中心huò yùn zhōng zhuǎn zhōng xīn在zài一个yī ge物wù流líu园Yuán里lǐ，那里nà li除chú了leD公gōng司Sī以外yǐ wài，还有hái yǒu京Jīng东Dōng、唯wēi品pǐn会huì和hé百Bǎi世Shì快kuài递dǐ等děng公gōng司Sī的de货运中转中心huò yùn zhōng zhuǎn zhōng xīn。我wǒ上shǎng的de是shì长夜cháng yè班Bān，每天měi tiān晚上wǎn shang七qī点diǎn干gān到dào第dì二èr天tiān早上zǎo shang七qī点diǎn，每个měi gè月yuè休Xīu四sì天tiān。那里nà li几jī乎hu所有人suǒ yǒu rén都Dū上shǎng长夜cháng yè班Bān，白天bái tiān分拣fēn jiǎn场cháng不bù运转yùn zhuǎn。我wǒ干gān的de这个zhè ge活huó儿ér虽然suī rán不bù看kān学历xué lì，但dàn也Yě不bù招zhao文盲wén máng，因为yīn wèi不bù能Néng认字rèn zì的话de huà，就jìu没méi法fǎ辨认biàn rèn货物huò wù标biao签qian上shǎng的de地de址zhí。所以suǒ yǐ有些yǒu xiē不bù认rèn识shí字zì的de老lǎo乡xiang，就jìu连Lián这个zhè ge工作gōng zuò也Yě干gān不了bù le了le。

所suǒ谓wěi的de面试miàn shì只是zhǐ shì走zǒu走形式zǒu xíng shì，实shí际jǐ情况qíng kuàng是shì来lái者zhě不bù拒jǔ，但dàn入职rù zhí前qián要yāo无mó薪xin试工shì gōng三Sān天tiān。这zhè应Yīng该gāi违反wéi fǎn了le《劳动láo dòng法fǎ》，但dàn我wǒ打听dǎ ting了le一下yī xià，物wù流líu园Yuán里lǐ的de企qǐ业Yè都Dū这zhè样yàng操作cāo zuò，假gēi如rú你nǐ不bù能Néng接受jiē shòu，就jìu只zhī能Néng不bù干gān这个zhè ge活huó儿ér了le。

从cóng实shí践jiàn来lái看kān，试工shì gōng也Yě确实què shí有yǒu必要bì yào。初次chū cì干gān这zhè活huó儿ér的de人rén，很hěn多duō其实qí shí并bìng不知bù zhī道具dào jù体tī要yāo干gān什shén么má、怎zěn么má干gān。试工shì gōng是shì一个yī ge互相hù xiāng了解liǎo jiě的de机Jī会huì。就jìu我wǒ所见suǒ jiàn，试工shì gōng后Hòu留下líu xià来lái的de人rén还Huán不到bù dào一半yī bàn。有的yǒu de人rén甚至shèn zhì试shì两liǎng个gě小时xiǎo shí就jìu走zǒu了le。不过bù guò，公gōng司Sī应Yīng该gāi给gěi留下líu xià来lái的de人rén补bǔ上shǎng那Nā三Sān天tiān工资gōng zī才cái对duì。

当然dāng rán公gōng司Sī也Yě有人yǒu rén性xǐng化huā的de一面yī miàn：很hěn多duō从cóng外地wài dì来lái打工dǎ gōng的de人rén，身上shēn shang盘缠pán chan5并bìng不bù多duō，所以suǒ yǐ入职rù zhí干gān满Mǎn二十èr shí天tiān后Hòu，公gōng司Sī会huì提前tí qián发放fā fàng头tóu半个bàn ge月yuè的de工资gōng zī，而ér正常zhèng cháng应Yīng该gāi是次shì cì月yuè15日rì才cái发fā的de。

货运中转中心huò yùn zhōng zhuǎn zhōng xīn就jìu像xiàng一个yī ge大dà埠头tóu，我wǒ们men在zài一yī米高Mǐ gāo的de水Shuǐ泥nī工作台gōng zuò tái上shǎng干gān活huó儿ér，这zhè台子tái zi我wǒ们men叫jiào它tā分拣fēn jiǎn场cháng。分拣fēn jiǎn场cháng有yǒu八bā到dào十shí个gě足球场zú qíu chǎng那么nà me大dà，上面shàng miàn盖gǎi着zhāo巨jù型xīng的de铁皮tiě pí顶dǐng棚pēng，四周sì zhōu是shì编bian了le号háo的de一个个yī gè gè装zhuāng卸xiě货huò口kǒu，一排yī pái排pái货车huò chē屁pǐ股gǔ朝Cháo工作台gōng zuò tái停tíng靠kào着zhāo，打开dǎ kāi车Chē厢xiang门Mén装zhuāng卸xiě货物huò wù。晚上wǎn shang登上dēng shàng分拣fēn jiǎn场cháng，立即lì jí就jìu能Néng听见tīng jiàn一阵yī zhèn延Yán绵mián不绝bù jué的de隆lōng隆lōng响声xiǎng shēng，低dī沉chēn而ér浑hūn厚hòu，好hǎo像xiàng从cóng远处yuǎn chù传chuān来lái的de雷鸣léi míng，那是nà shi上shǎng百Bǎi辆liàng叉车chā chē碾轧地面dì miàn时shí发出fā chū的de声音shēng yīn。这些zhè xiē叉车chā chē就jìu像xiàng工gōng蚁yí，把bǎ从cóng货车huò chē上shǎng卸xiě下xià的de快kuài件jiàn送sòng到dào各个gè gè组分zǔ fèn拣jián，然rán后Hòu再zài把bǎ分拣fēn jiǎn好hǎo的de货物huò wù送sòng到dào对应duì yìng的de装车zhuāng chē口kǒu。

我wǒ被bèi分配fēn pèi到了dào liǎo小xiǎo件jiàn分拣fēn jiǎn组zǔ，工作gōng zuò内容nèi róng是shì把bǎ到dào站zhàn的de快kuài件jiàn按ǎn照zhào目的地mù dì dì分拣fēn jiǎn、打包dǎ bāo。我wǒ喜欢xǐ huan这zhè份fěn工作gōng zuò，虽然suī rán不是bù shì喜欢xǐ huan所有suǒ yǒu方面fāng miàn：它tā不用bù yòng跟人gēn rén说话shuō huà，不用bù yòng开动kāi dòng脑nǎo筋jin，撸起qǐ袖子xìu zi干gān就jìu行háng了le。因为yīn wèi那是nà shi在zài广yǎn东Dōng，一yī年Nián里lǐ有yǒu九jǐu个gě月yuè是shì夏天xià tiān，白天bái tiān太阳tài yang把bǎ顶上dǐng shàng的de铁Tiě棚pēng晒shài得dé发fā烫tǎng，晚上wǎn shang也Yě凉Liáng快kuài不了bù le多少duō shǎo。一般yī bān上shǎng班Bān后Hòu个把gè bǎ小时xiǎo shí，我wǒ就jìu已经yǐ jīng汗流浃背hàn liú jiā bèi，直到zhí dào第dì二èr天tiān早上zǎo shang。后Hòu来lái我wǒ买mǎi了le一个yī ge三Sān升shēng的de水Shuǐ壶hū，每měi晚wǎn喝hē掉diào满Mǎn满Mǎn一yī壶hū，试shì过Guō整zhěng晚上wǎn shang没有méi yǒu小xiǎo便biàn，水Shuǐ都Dū从cóng汗hán腺xiǎn排pái掉diào了le。

试工shì gōng的de三Sān天tiān，我wǒ被bèi安排ān pái去qù倒dǎo包Bāo，这zhè是shì我wǒ们men组zǔ里lǐ最zuì累lěi人rén的de岗gáng位wèi。营yīng业Yè站点zhàn diǎn送sòng来lái的de快kuài件jiàn是shì用yòng纤维Wéi袋dài扎zha成Chéng包Bāo裹guó的de，我wǒ们men组zǔ要yāo把bǎ这些zhè xiē包Bāo裹guó拆开kāi，把bǎ快kuài件jiàn按ǎn照zhào目的地mù dì dì分拣fēn jiǎn，再zài重新chóng xīn打包dǎ bāo起qǐ来lái。而ér倒dǎo包Bāo就是jìu shì把bǎ营yīng业Yè站点zhàn diǎn送sòng来lái的de包Bāo裹guó破开pò kāi，把bǎ里面lǐ miàn的de快kuài件jiàn倒dǎo到dào分拣fēn jiǎn台上tái shàng。那些nà xiē包Bāo裹guó有yǒu轻qīng有yǒu重chóng，轻qīng的de几jī斤jīn，重chóng的de五wǔ六十lìu shí斤jīn。如rú果guǒ只是zhǐ shì倒dǎo两liǎng三Sān个gě小时xiǎo shí，大dà概gài多数duō shù人rén都Dū可以kě yǐ应Yīng付Fù，可是kě shì不bù停tíng地de倒dǎo一个yī ge晚上wǎn shang，对duì体力tǐ lì的de消xiāo耗hào就jìu很hěn大dà，有些人yǒu xiē rén就jìu扛不住káng bù zhù了le；这个zhè ge岗gáng位wèi也Yě是shì组zǔ里lǐ唯wēi一yī不bù让ràng女工nu:3 gōng上shǎng的de岗gáng位wèi。

所有suǒ yǒu到dào我wǒ们men组zǔ来lái试工shì gōng的de男工nán gōng，都会dū huì被bèi安排ān pái去qù倒dǎo包Bāo，女工nu:3 gōng则zé去qù打包dǎ bāo。只有zhǐ yǒu在zài工作gōng zuò强qiāng度dù最zuì大dà的de岗gáng位wèi上shǎng，双方shuāng fāng才cái能Néng看清kàn qīng楚Chǔ彼此bǐ cǐ是shì否fóu适kuò合gě，从而cóng ér减jián少shǎo因为yīn wèi误wù解Xiè而ér产生chǎn shēng的de没méi合gě作zuō多久duō jǐu就jìu“分手fēn shǒu”的de情况qíng kuàng。实shí际jǐ上shǎng试工shì gōng的de几天jǐ tiān是shì最zuì累lěi人rén的de，因为yīn wèi身体shēn tǐ这时zhè shí还Huán没méi适应shì yìng陌mǒ生shēng的de工作gōng zuò方式fāng shì和hé强qiāng度dù，动作dòng zuò的de生疏shēng shū也Yě会huì造zǎo成Chéng额外é wài的de体力tǐ lì浪lǎng费Fèi，这zhè也Yě是shì很hěn多duō人rén试shì了le两liǎng小时xiǎo shí就jìu走人zǒu rén的de原因yuán yīn。但dàn只要zhǐ yào你nǐ扛下xià来lái，干gān久jǐu了le，慢màn慢màn都会dū huì适应shì yìng，感gǎn觉jiào就jìu没méi那么nà me累lěi了le。我wǒ记得jì de有次yǒu cì来lái了le个gě大dà姐jiě试工shì gōng，干gān活huó儿ér没有méi yǒu问题wèn tí，但dàn到了dào liǎo半夜bàn yè突然tū rán走zǒu掉diào了le。后Hòu来lái我wǒ听说tīng shuō，她tā因为yīn wèi不bù识shí字zì，被bèi组长zǔ zhǎng劝quàn退tuì了le。我wǒ觉得jué de她tā不是bù shì完全wán quán的de文盲wén máng，否fóu则zé不可bù kě能Néng干gān了le几jī小时xiǎo shí都Dū没méi出错chū cuò。可kě能Néng是shì她tā认rèn识shí的de字zì有限yǒu xiàn，频pīn繁fán地de问wèn人rén，导致dǎo zhì带dài她tā的de同事tóng shì越Yuè来lái越Yuè害怕hài pà，最zuì后Hòu通知tōng zhī了le组长zǔ zhǎng。因为yīn wèi一旦yī dàn她tā贴tie错Cuò了le标biao签qian，整zhěng包Bāo快kuài件jiàn被bèi发fā往wǎng错Cuò误wù的de城市chéng shì，我wǒ们men整zhěng个gě组zǔ都Dū要yāo扣kǒu钱Qián。

初次chū cì干gān这zhè活huó儿ér的de人rén，都会dū huì掉diào一些yī xiē体重tǐ zhòng。我wǒ有yǒu一个yī ge同事tóng shì，入职rù zhí只zhī比Bǐ我wǒ晚wǎn几天jǐ tiān，他tā在zài三Sān个gě月yuè内nèi从cóng一yī百Bǎi八十bā shí几jī斤jīn，掉diào到了dào liǎo一yī百Bǎi三十sān shí几jī斤jīn。我wǒ原本yuán běn就jìu不bù算suàn胖pǎng，但dàn干gān了le几个jǐ ge月yuè后Hòu，也Yě掉diào了le十几shí jǐ斤jīn。

我wǒ们men每天měi tiān工作gōng zuò十二shí èr个gě小时xiǎo shí，一般yī bān情况qíng kuàng下xià，早上zǎo shang下xià班Bān前qián的de两liǎng个gě小时xiǎo shí会huì相对xiāng duì慢màn下xià来lái，可以kě yǐ干gān一会儿yī huì r歇xiē一会儿yī huì r，而ér从cóng晚上wǎn shang十shí点diǎn到dào早上zǎo shang五wǔ点diǎn这zhè段Duàn时间shí jiān最zuì忙máng，基jī本běn上shǎng一刻yī kè都Dū不bù能Néng停tíng。具体jù tǐ是shì这zhè样yàng的de：我wǒ们men晚上wǎn shang七qī点diǎn上shǎng班Bān，先xiān干gān到dào九jǐu点diǎn，然rán后Hòu有yǒu半个bàn ge小时xiǎo shí吃饭chī fàn时间shí jiān。货huò场cháng里lǐ有yǒu两liǎng个gě食堂shí táng，被bèi不同bù tóng的de承chēng包Bāo商Shāng承chēng包Bāo，提dī供gong不同bù tóng风fēng格gē的de食物shí wù。菜品cài pǐn是shì自己zì jǐ舀yǎo的de，像xiàng自助餐zì zhù cān一yī样yàng，称重chēng zhòng付Fù费Fèi，米饭mǐ fàn则zé无限wú xiàn供gong应Yīng。如rú果guǒ想xiǎng省shěng钱Qián，可以kě yǐ少shǎo打点dǎ dian儿ér菜cài，多duō吃chī几jī碗wǎn饭fàn。平Píng心xīn而ér论Lún，饭堂fàn táng的de价jiǎ格gē还Huán算suàn公道gōng dào，而ér且qiě比较bǐ jiào卫生wèi shēng。吃完chī wán饭fàn后Hòu，我wǒ们men就jìu从cóng九jǐu点diǎn半bàn一口气yī kǒu qì干gān到dào早上zǎo shang七qī点diǎn，连Lián续xù九jǐu个gě半小时bàn xiǎo shí不bù再zài有yǒu进食jìn shí时间shí jiān。有些人yǒu xiē rén会huì自带zì dài面包miàn bāo或huò饼干bǐng gān，半夜bàn yè抽chōu空kōng往wǎng嘴zuǐ里lǐ塞sai点儿diǎn r。有些人yǒu xiē rén就jìu连Lián着zhāo十shí个gě小时xiǎo shí不bù吃chī东Dōng西Xī，他tā们men已经yǐ jīng习Xí惯guàn了le。我wǒ一般yī bān都Dū带dài饼干bǐng gān，偶óu尔ěr忘wàng了le带dài，肚dǔ子zǐ就jìu饿è得dé咕咕叫jiào。

记得jì de我wǒ试工shì gōng的de第dì一yī天tiān，没méi人rén告gào诉sù我wǒ这些zhè xiē时间shí jiān安排ān pái，我wǒ是shì吃chī了le晚饭wǎn fàn才cái去qù的de。这zhè导致dǎo zhì九jǐu点大diǎn dà家去jiā qù吃饭chī fàn时shí，我wǒ根gēn本就běn jìu不bù饿è，所以suǒ yǐ什shén么má都Dū没méi吃chī，我wǒ以为yǐ wéi半夜bàn yè还有hái yǒu机Jī会huì去qù吃chī东Dōng西Xī。万万wàn wàn没有méi yǒu想到xiǎng dào，接下jiē xià来lái从cóng九jǐu点diǎn半bàn开始kāi shǐ，一直yī zhí干gān到dào早上zǎo shang七qī点diǎn，其间qí jiān我wǒ只zhī喝hē过Guō水Shuǐ，再zài没méi进食jìn shí的de机Jī会huì。我wǒ又yòu没méi带dài干粮gān liáng，到了dào liǎo第dì二èr天tiān早上zǎo shang，我wǒ已经yǐ jīng饿è得dé晕yun头tóu转向zhuǎn xiàng了le。

我wǒ发现fā xiàn在zài这zhè地方dì fāng干gān活huó儿ér的de人rén，大多dà duō不bù喜欢xǐ huan交jiāo谈Tán，完全wán quán不bù热情rè qíng主动zhǔ dòng，就jìu像xiàng沉chēn默mò的de老lǎo农民nóng mín——虽然suī rán他tā们men并bìng没méi那么nà me老lǎo——对duì陌mǒ生人shēng rén报bào以yǐ冷Lěng淡dǎn和hé警jíng惕tǐ的de态tài度dù。恰qiǎ好hǎo我wǒ也Yě不bù喜欢xǐ huan攀pan交jiāo情qíng，大家dà jiā闭上bì shang嘴zuǐ巴Bā干gān活huó儿ér很hěn好hǎo，在zài这种zhè zhǒng人rén际jǐ环Huán境jǐng里lǐ我wǒ感gǎn觉jiào很hěn舒适shū shì。可是kě shì当dāng我wǒ有事yǒu shì情qíng向Xiàng他tā们men请教qǐng jiào时shí，他tā们men会huì先xiān腼miǎn腆地de笑xiào笑xiào，然rán后Hòu讪讪地de回答huí dá——其实qí shí他tā们men并bìng不bù高Gāo傲ǎo，只是zhǐ shì大多dà duō孤僻gū pì而已ér yǐ。

每天měi tiān早上zǎo shang下xià班Bān前qián，我wǒ们men都Dū要yāo开kāi个gě例会lì huì，由yóu组长zǔ zhǎng和hé经理jīng lǐ发言fā yán，总zǒng结jiē当天dāng tiān工作gōng zuò中Zhōng发生fā shēng的de问题wèn tí，一般yī bān两liǎng三分sān fēn钟Zhōng就jìu讲jiǎng完wán。晚上wǎn shang上shǎng班Bān前qián也Yě要yāo开kāi个gě短duǎn会huì，说shuì一下yī xià注zhù意yì事项shì xiàng或huò最近zuì jìn的de工作gōng zuò要点yào diǎn，但dàn都Dū是shì些xiē无mó聊liāo的de内容nèi róng，几jī句gōu话huà就jìu讲jiǎng完wán，我wǒ一般yī bān都Dū不bù听yǐn，毕Bì竟jǐng革gé命mǐng不是bù shì耍Shuǎ嘴zuǐ皮子pí zi。

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Lesson vocabulary 637 words · 10 curated by the source

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
理货员	lǐ huò yuán	sorter/warehouse worker
货运中转中心	huò yùn zhōng zhuǎn zhōng xīn	freight transfer center
分拣	fēn jiǎn	to sort (packages)
试工	shì gōng	trial work period
叉车	chā chē	forklift
汗流浃背	hàn liú jiā bèi	to be drenched in sweat
盘缠	pán chan5	travel money/funds
孤僻	gū pì	unsociable/introverted
扛不住	káng bù zhù	cannot handle/bear
例会	lì huì	regular meeting
第	dì	(prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4 liu4] "sixth"); (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed; (old) residence of a high…
章	Zhāng	surname Zhang
我	wǒ	I; me; my
在	zài	to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress)
物	wù	(bound form) thing; (literary) the outside world as distinct from oneself; people other than oneself
流	líu	to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade
公	gōng	public; collectively owned; common; international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar); make public; fair; just; Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 w…
司	Sī	surname Si
上夜	shàng yè	to be on night duty
班	Bān	surname Ban
的	de	of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to…
一	yī	one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out …
年	Nián	surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2]
其实	qí shí	actually; in fact; really
就	jìu	(after a suppositional clause) in that case; then; (after a clause of action) as soon as; immediately after; (same as 就是[jiu4 shi4]) merely; nothing else but; simply; just; precise…
干	gān	old variant of 乾\|干[gan1]; surname Gan; variant of 乾\|干[gan1]; tree trunk; main part of sth; to manage; to work; to do; capable; cadre; to kill (slang); to fuck (vulgar); (coll.) pissed off; annoyed
了	le	(completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly
十	shí	ten; 10
个	gě	used in 自個兒\|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個\|个[ge4]
月	yuè	moon; month; monthly; CL:個\|个[ge4],輪\|轮[lun2]
多	duō	many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly-
一些	yī xiē	some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er
还	Huán	surname Huan
不到	bù dào	not to arrive; not reaching; insufficient; less than
是	shì	to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4]
日	rì	(bound form) sun; day; day of the month; (bound form) Japan (abbr. for 日本[Ri4 ben3]); (vulgar) to fuck; to have sex with
入职	rù zhí	to commence employment; to enter a company
那天	nà tiān	that day; the other day
汶
川	Chuān	short name for Sichuan 四川[Si4 chuan1]
地震	dì zhèn	earthquake
九	jǐu	nine; 9
周年	zhōu nián	anniversary; annual
顺德	Shùn dé	see 順德區\|顺德区[Shun4 de2 Qu1]
某	mǒu	some; a certain; sb or sth indefinite; such-and-such
枢
纽	niú	to turn; button
做	zuò	to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien…
那里	nà li	there; that place
当时	dāng shí	then; at that time
全国	quán guó	whole nation; nationwide; countrywide; national
最	zuì	variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world")
大	dà	big; large; great; older (than another person); eldest (as in 大姐[da4 jie3]); greatly; freely; fully; (dialect) father; (dialect) uncle (father's brother)
一个	yī ge	a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc)
不过	bù guò	only; merely; no more than; but; however; anyway (to get back to a previous topic); cannot be more (after adjectival)
离开	lí kāi	to depart; to leave
后	Hòu	surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post-
才	cái	ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only
从	cóng	variant of 從\|从[cong2]; surname Cong
网上	wǎng shàng	online
了解	liǎo jiě	to understand; to know about; to learn about; to find out
到	dào	to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug…
这	zhè	(pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing)
一点	yī diǎn	a bit; a little bit; (used in negative expressions) (not) the least bit; (after an adjective, used to form the comparative) a bit more, -er; a point (in a discussion etc); (calligr…
当	dāng	(onom.) dong; ding dong (bell); to be; to act as; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; should; match equally; equal; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at
上	shǎng	used in 上聲\|上声[shang3 sheng1]
时	shí	old variant of 時\|时[shi2]; surname Shi
虽然	suī rán	although; even though (often used correlatively with 可是[ke3 shi4] or 但是[dan4 shi4] etc)
也	Yě	surname Ye
为	wéi	as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為\|为[wei2]
它	tā	it; it (pronoun for an animal)
规	guī	variant of 規\|规[gui1]; compass; a rule; regulation; to admonish; to plan; to scheme
模	mō	to imitate; norm
所	suǒ	actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive; CL:個\|个[ge4]
震	zhèn	to shake; to vibrate; to jolt; to quake; excited; shocked; one of the Eight Trigrams 八卦[ba1 gua4], symbolizing thunder; ☳
撼	hǎn	to shake
但	dàn	but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just
老实说	lǎo shí shuō	honestly speaking; to be frank, ...
没有	méi yǒu	haven't; hasn't; doesn't exist; to not have; to not be
心思	xīn si	mind; thoughts; inclination; mood
去	qù	to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);…
关	Guān	surname Guan
心	xīn	heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆\|颗[ke1],個\|个[ge4]
能	Néng	surname Neng
排	pái	to arrange in order; to line up; to exclude; to eliminate; to repel; to expel; to discharge; (literary) to push aside; to force open; to rehearse; row; line; platoon; (bound form) …
几	jī	small table; (literary) almost
们	men	plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals
园	Yuán	surname Yuan
里	lǐ	variant of 裡\|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏\|里[li3]; surname Li
除	chú	to get rid of; to remove; to exclude; to eliminate; to wipe out; to divide; except; not including
以外	yǐ wài	apart from; other than; except for; external; outside of; on the other side of; beyond
还有	hái yǒu	there still remain(s); there is (or are) still; in addition
京	Jīng	surname Jing; short name for Beijing 北京[Bei3 jing1]; Gin or Jing, ethnic minority of China, descendants of ethnic Vietnamese people living mainly in Guangxi; Kinh, the ethnic major…
东	Dōng	surname Dong
唯	wēi	only; -ism (in Chinese, a prefix, often combined with a suffix such as 主義\|主义[zhu3 yi4] or 論\|论[lun4], e.g. 唯理論\|唯理论[wei2 li3 lun4], rationalism)
品	pǐn	(bound form) article; commodity; product; goods; (bound form) grade; rank; kind; type; variety; character; disposition; nature; temperament; to taste sth; to sample; to criticize; …
会	huì	can; to have the skill; to know how to; to be likely to; to be sure to; to meet; to get together; meeting; gathering; (suffix) union; group; association; (bound form) a moment (Tai…
和	hé	old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2])
百	Bǎi	surname Bai
世	Shì	surname Shi
快	kuài	rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant
递	dǐ	to hand over; to pass on; to deliver
等	děng	to wait for; to await; by the time; when; till; and so on; etc.; et al.; (bound form) class; rank; grade; (bound form) equal to; same as; (used to end an enumeration); (literary) (…
长夜	cháng yè	long dark night; fig. long period of misery and oppression
每天	měi tiān	every day
晚上	wǎn shang	evening; night; CL:個\|个[ge4]; in the evening
七	qī	seven; 7
点	diǎn	to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to admini…
二	èr	two; 2; (Beijing dialect) stupid
天	tiān	day; sky; heaven
早上	zǎo shang	early morning; CL:個\|个[ge4]
每个	měi gè	each; every
休	Xīu	surname Xiu
四	sì	four; 4
乎	hu	(classical particle similar to 於\|于[yu2]) in; from; than
所有人	suǒ yǒu rén	everyone; owner
都	Dū	surname Du
白天	bái tiān	daytime; during the day; day; CL:個\|个[ge4]
场	cháng	threshing floor; classifier for events and happenings: spell, episode, bout; variant of 場\|场[chang2]
不	bù	no; not so; (bound form) not; un-
运转	yùn zhuǎn	to work; to operate; to revolve; to turn around
这个	zhè ge	(pronoun) this; (adjective) this
活	huó	to live; alive; living; work; workmanship
儿	ér	child; son
看	kān	to look after; to take care of; to watch; to guard
学历	xué lì	educational background; academic qualifications
招	zhao	to recruit; to beckon; to infect; a move (chess); device; to confess
文盲	wén máng	illiterate
因为	yīn wèi	because; owing to; on account of
认字	rèn zì	to learn to read; able to read; literate
的话	de huà	if (coming after a conditional clause)
没	méi	(negative prefix for verbs) have not; not
法	fǎ	variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國\|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law
辨认	biàn rèn	to recognize; to identify
货物	huò wù	goods; commodity; merchandise; CL:宗[zong1]
标	biao	mark; label; to bear (a brand name, registration number etc); award; target; (old) the topmost branches of a tree; classifier for military units
签	qian	to sign one's name; inscribed bamboo stick (; )
地	de	-ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct
址	zhí	(bound form) site; location
所以	suǒ yǐ	therefore; as a result; so; the reason why
有些	yǒu xiē	some; somewhat; rather; a bit
认	rèn	to recognize; to know; to admit
识	shí	to know; knowledge; Taiwan pr. [shi4]
字	zì	letter; symbol; character; word; CL:個\|个[ge4]; courtesy or style name traditionally given to males aged 20 in dynastic China
老	lǎo	prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl…
乡	xiang	country or countryside; home village or town
连	Lián	surname Lian
工作	gōng zuò	to work; (of a machine) to operate; job; work; task; CL:個\|个[ge4],份[fen4],項\|项[xiang4]
不了	bù le	no thanks (used to politely but informally decline)
谓	wěi	to say; to call; to be called; meaning; so-called
面试	miàn shì	to be interviewed (as a candidate); interview
只是	zhǐ shì	merely; only; just; nothing but; simply; but; however
走	zǒu	to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form…
走形式	zǒu xíng shì	to go through the formalities
实	shí	real; true; honest; really; solid; fruit; seed; definitely
际	jǐ	border; boundary; between; to meet; occasion
情况	qíng kuàng	circumstances; state of affairs; situation; CL:種\|种[zhong3]
来	lái	to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來\|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來\|自古以来[zi4 gu3…
者	zhě	(after a verb or adjective) one who (is) ...; (after a noun) person involved in ...; -er; -ist; (used after a number or 後\|后[hou4] or 前[qian2] to refer to sth mentioned previously);…
拒	jǔ	to resist; to refuse
前	qián	front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly
要	yāo	(bound form) to demand; to coerce
无	mó	used in 南無\|南无[na1 mo2]
薪	xin	(literary) firewood; fuel
三	Sān	surname San
应	Yīng	surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4]
该	gāi	should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned
违反	wéi fǎn	to violate (a law)
劳动	láo dòng	work; toil; physical labor; CL:次[ci4]
打听	dǎ ting	to ask about; to make some inquiries; to ask around
一下	yī xià	(after a verb) a bit; a little (indicating brief duration, or softening the tone, or suggesting giving sth a try); all at once; suddenly
企	qǐ	(bound form) to stand on tiptoe and look; to anticipate; to look forward to; (bound form) company; firm; enterprise; corporation (abbr. for 企業\|企业[qi3 ye4]); Taiwan pr. [qi4]
业	Yè	surname Ye
样	yàng	manner; pattern; way; appearance; shape; classifier: kind, type
操作	cāo zuò	to work; to operate; to manipulate
假	gēi	used in 假掰[gei1 bai1]; to borrow (variant of 假[jia3])
如	rú	as; as if; such as
你	nǐ	you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.)
接受	jiē shòu	to accept (a suggestion, punishment, bribe etc); to acquiesce
只	zhī	variant of 隻\|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc
践	jiàn	to fulfill (a promise); to tread; to walk
确实	què shí	indeed; really; reliable; real; true
有	yǒu	to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional)
必要	bì yào	necessary; essential; indispensable; required
初次	chū cì	for the first time; first (meeting, attempt etc)
人	rén	person; people; CL:個\|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2]
很	hěn	very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element)
并	bìng	and; furthermore; also; together with; (not) at all; simultaneously; to combine; to join; to merge; to combine; to amalgamate; short name for Taiyuan 太原[Tai4 yuan2]; variant of 並\|并[bing4]
不知	bù zhī	not to know; unaware; unknowingly; fig. not to admit (defeat, hardships, tiredness etc)
道具	dào jù	(theater) prop; paraphernalia; (gaming) item; artifact
体	tī	used in 體己\|体己[ti1 ji5]; Taiwan pr. [ti3]
什	shén	what
么	má	exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼\|么[me5]
怎	zěn	how
互相	hù xiāng	each other; mutually; mutual
机	Jī	surname Ji
所见	suǒ jiàn	(literary) what one sees; (literary) opinion; view
留下	líu xià	to leave behind; to stay behind; to remain; to keep; not to let (sb) go
一半	yī bàn	half
有的	yǒu de	(there are) some (who are...); some (exist)
甚至	shèn zhì	even; so much so that
试	shì	to test; to try; experiment; examination; test
两	liǎng	two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old)
小时	xiǎo shí	hour; CL:個\|个[ge4]
给	gěi	to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier)
补	bǔ	to repair; to patch; to mend; to make up for; to fill (a vacancy); to supplement
那	Nā	surname Na
工资	gōng zī	wages; pay; CL:份[fen4]
对	duì	right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui…
当然	dāng rán	only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt
有人	yǒu rén	someone; people; anyone; there is someone there; occupied (as in restroom)
性	xǐng	nature; property; attribute; sex; suffix forming adjective from verb; essence
化	huā	variant of 花[hua1]
一面	yī miàn	one side; one aspect; simultaneously... (and...); one's whole face
外地	wài dì	parts of the country other than where one is
打工	dǎ gōng	to work a temporary or casual job; (of students) to have a job outside of class time, or during vacation
身上	shēn shang	on the body; at hand; among
满	Mǎn	Manchu ethnic group
二十	èr shí	twenty; 20
提前	tí qián	to shift to an earlier date; to do sth ahead of time; in advance
发放	fā fàng	to provide; to give; to grant
头	tóu	head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個\|个[ge4]
半个	bàn ge	half of sth
而	ér	and; as well as; and so; but (not); yet (not); (indicates causal relation); (indicates change of state); (indicates contrast)
正常	zhèng cháng	normal; regular
是次	shì cì	(formal) this time
发	fā	to send out; to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds); hair; Taiwan pr. [fa3]
像	xiàng	to resemble; to be like; to look as if; such as; appearance; image; portrait; image under a mapping (math.)
埠
米高	Mǐ gāo	(HK) (name) Michael
水	Shuǐ	surname Shui; Shui ethnic group
泥	nī	mud; paste
工作台	gōng zuò tái	workbench; work station
台子	tái zi	desk; (pool etc) table
叫	jiào	to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4]
八	bā	eight
足球场	zú qíu chǎng	football field; soccer field
那么	nà me	like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ...; then; in that case
上面	shàng miàn	on top of; above-mentioned; also pr. [shang4 mian5]
盖	gǎi	to cover; to build; a lid; since; approximately; surname Gai
着	zhāo	variant of 著\|着[zhao1]; a move in chess (Taiwan pr. [zhuo2]); trick; tactic; (dialect) okay; all right; (dialect) to put in; to add
巨	jù	very large; huge; tremendous; gigantic; (coll.) very; extremely; variant of 巨[ju4]
型	xīng	mold; style
铁皮	tiě pí	galvanized iron sheet (for building construction)
顶	dǐng	apex; crown of the head; top; roof; most; to carry on the head; to push to the top; to go against; to replace; to substitute; to be subjected to (an aerial bombing, hailstorm etc);…
棚	pēng	shed; shack
四周	sì zhōu	all around
编	bian	to weave; to organize; to arrange; to compile; to compose; to make up
号	háo	(bound form) to wail; to howl
一个个	yī gè gè	a number of; each and every one; one by one; one after another
装	zhuāng	adornment; to adorn; dress; clothing; costume (of an actor in a play); to play a role; to pretend; to install; to fix; to wrap (sth in a bag); to load; to pack
卸	xiě	to unload; to remove; to detach; to get rid of
货	huò	goods; money; commodity; CL:個\|个[ge4]
口	kǒu	mouth; classifier for things with mouths (people, domestic animals, cannons, wells etc); classifier for bites or mouthfuls
一排	yī pái	row
货车	huò chē	truck; van; freight wagon
屁	pǐ	fart; nonsense; (not) a damn thing
股	gǔ	thigh; part of a whole; portion of a sum; (finance) stock; share; strand of a thread; low-level administrative unit, translated as "section" or "department" etc, ranked below 科[ke1…
朝	Cháo	abbr. for 朝鮮\|朝鲜[Chao2 xian3] Korea
停	tíng	to stop; to halt; to park (a car)
靠	kào	to lean against or on; to stand by the side of; to come near to; to depend on; to trust; to fuck (vulgar); traditional military costume drama where the performers wear armor (old)
打开	dǎ kāi	to open; to show (a ticket); to turn on; to switch on
车	Chē	surname Che
厢	xiang	box (in theater); side
门	Mén	surname Men
登上	dēng shàng	to climb over; to ascend onto; to mount
立即	lì jí	immediately
听见	tīng jiàn	to hear
一阵	yī zhèn	a burst; a fit; a peal; a spell (period of time)
延	Yán	surname Yan
绵	mián	silk floss; continuous
不绝	bù jué	unending; uninterrupted
隆	lōng	prosperous; thriving; grand; to bulge; a becoming prominent; surname Long
响声	xiǎng shēng	noise
低	dī	low; beneath; to lower (one's head); to let droop; to hang down; to incline
沉	chēn	to sink; heavy; deep; to immerse; to keep down
浑	hūn	muddy; turbid; (bound form) simple; natural
厚	hòu	thick; deep or profound; kind; generous; rich or strong in flavor; to favor; to stress
好	hǎo	good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (…
远处	yuǎn chù	distant place
传	chuān	to pass on; to transmit; to transfer; to conduct (electricity)
雷鸣	léi míng	thunder rolls
那是	nà shi	(coll.) of course; naturally; indeed
辆	liàng	classifier for vehicles
碾
轧
地面	dì miàn	floor; ground; surface
发出	fā chū	to issue (an order, decree etc); to send out; to dispatch; to produce (a sound); to let out (a laugh)
声音	shēng yīn	sound; voice
这些	zhè xiē	these
工	gōng	work; worker; skill; profession; trade; craft; labor
蚁	yí	ant
把	bǎ	to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob…
下	xià	down; downwards; below; lower; later; next (week etc); second (of two parts); to decline; to go down; to arrive at (a decision, conclusion etc); measure word to show the frequency …
件	jiàn	item; component; classifier for events, things, clothes etc
送	sòng	to send; to deliver; to transmit; to give (as a present); to see (sb) off; to accompany; to go along with
各个	gè gè	every; various; separately, one by one
组分	zǔ fèn	components; individual parts making up a compound
拣	jián	to choose; to sort out
然	rán	correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly
再	zài	again; once more; re-; further; beyond this point of time; (before an adjective) more; then (after sth, and not until then); no matter how ... (followed by an adjective or verb, an…
对应	duì yìng	to correspond (to); to be equivalent to; to be a counterpart to
装车	zhuāng chē	to load onto a vehicle
被	bèi	quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, …
分配	fēn pèi	to distribute; to assign; to allocate; to partition (a hard drive)
到了	dào liǎo	at last; finally; in the end
小	xiǎo	small; tiny; few; young
组	zǔ	to form; to organize; group; team; classifier for sets, series, groups of people, batteries
内容	nèi róng	content; substance; details; CL:項\|项[xiang4]
站	zhàn	station; to stand; to halt; to stop; branch of a company or organization; website
按	ǎn	to press; to leave aside or shelve; to restrain; to check or refer to; in the light of
照	zhào	variant of 照[zhao4]; to shine; to illuminate; according to; in accordance with; to shine; to illuminate; to reflect; to look at (one's reflection); to take (a photo); photo; as requested; as before
目的地	mù dì dì	destination (location)
打包	dǎ bāo	to wrap; to pack; to put leftovers in a doggy bag for take-out; (computing) to package (i.e. create an archive file)
喜欢	xǐ huan	to like; to be fond of
份	fěn	classifier for gifts, newspaper, magazine, papers, reports, contracts etc
不是	bù shì	no; is not; not
所有	suǒ yǒu	all; to have; to possess; to own
方面	fāng miàn	respect; aspect; field; side; CL:個\|个[ge4]
不用	bù yòng	need not
跟人	gēn rén	to marry (of woman)
说话	shuō huà	to speak; to say; to talk; to gossip; to tell stories; talk; word
开动	kāi dòng	to start; to set in motion; to move; to march; to dig in (eating); to tuck in (eating)
脑	nǎo	brain; mind; head; essence
筋	jin	muscle; veins visible under the skin
撸
起	qǐ	to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta…
袖子	xìu zi	sleeve
行	háng	(bound form) row; line; (bound form) line of business; trade; profession; (bound form) commercial firm; (bound form) to rank (first, second etc) among one's siblings (by age); (in …
广	yǎn	"house on a cliff" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 53), occurring in 店, 序, 底 etc; surname Guang
夏天	xià tiān	summer; CL:個\|个[ge4]
太阳	tài yang	sun; sunlight; sunshine; temple (on the side of the human head) (abbr. for 太陽穴\|太阳穴[tai4 yang2 xue2])
顶上	dǐng shàng	on top of; at the summit
铁	Tiě	surname Tie
晒	shài	variant of 曬\|晒[shai4]; (of the sun) to shine on; to bask in (the sunshine); to dry (clothes, grain etc) in the sun; (fig.) to expose and share (one's experiences and thoughts) on the Web (loanword from "…
得	dé	to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished
烫	tǎng	to scald; to blanch (cooking); to perm; scalding hot
凉	Liáng	the five Liang of the Sixteen Kingdoms, namely: Former Liang 前涼\|前凉 (314-376), Later Liang 後涼\|后凉 (386-403), Northern Liang 北涼\|北凉 (398-439), Southern Liang 南涼\|南凉[Nan2 Liang2] (397-41…
多少	duō shǎo	number; amount; somewhat
一般	yī bān	same; ordinary; so-so; common; general; generally; in general
个把	gè bǎ	(coll.) about one; one or so
已经	yǐ jīng	already
直到	zhí dào	until
买	mǎi	to buy; to purchase
升	shēng	to ascend; to rise; to promote; to elevate; liter; unit of dry measure for grain (= one liter or one-tenth dou 斗[dou3]); to ascend; to rise (variant of 升[sheng1]); to promote; to elevate (variant of 升[sheng1]); to ascend; to rise (variant of 升[sheng1]); to promote; to elevate (variant of 升[sheng1])
壶	hū	pot
每	měi	each; every
晚	wǎn	evening; night; late
喝	hē	to drink; variant of 嗬[he1]
掉	diào	to fall; to drop; to lag behind; to lose; to go missing; to reduce; fall (in prices); to lose (value, weight etc); to wag; to swing; to turn; to change; to exchange; to swap; to sh…
过	Guō	surname Guo
整	zhěng	(bound form) whole; complete; entire; (before a measure word) whole; (before or after number + measure word) exactly; (bound form) in good order; tidy; neat; (bound form) to put in…
便	biàn	plain; informal; suitable; convenient; opportune; to urinate or defecate; equivalent to 就[jiu4]: then; in that case; even if; soon afterwards
汗	hán	see 可汗[ke4 han2], 汗國\|汗国[han2 guo2]
腺	xiǎn	gland
安排	ān pái	to arrange; to plan; to set up; arrangements; plans
倒	dǎo	to fall; to collapse; to lie horizontally; to fail; to go bankrupt; to overthrow; to change (trains or buses); to move around; to resell at a profit
包	Bāo	surname Bao
累	lěi	to accumulate; to involve or implicate (Taiwan pr. [lei4]); continuous; repeated; rope; to bind together; to twist around
岗	gáng	post; sentry post; hillock; mound
位	wèi	position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential
营	yīng	camp; battalion; to operate; to strive for
站点	zhàn diǎn	a place set up to serve a specific function (train station, bus stop, toll plaza, bike rental station, meteorological station etc); (Internet) site (website, FTP site etc)
用	yòng	to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte…
纤
维	Wéi	abbr. for Uyghur 維吾爾\|维吾尔[Wei2 wu2 er3]; surname Wei
袋	dài	pouch; bag; sack; pocket
扎	zha	to prick; mug or jug used for serving beer (loanword from "jar")
成	Chéng	surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1]
裹	guó	to wrap around; to press into service; to pressgang; to make off with (sth)
拆
开	kāi	to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, …
重新	chóng xīn	again; once more; re-
就是	jìu shì	exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if
破开	pò kāi	to split; to cut open
里面	lǐ miàn	variant of 裡面\|里面[li3 mian4]
台上	tái shàng	on stage
那些	nà xiē	those
轻	qīng	light; easy; gentle; soft; reckless; unimportant; frivolous; small in number; unstressed; neutral; to disparage
重	chóng	to repeat; repetition; again; re-; classifier: layer
斤	jīn	catty; (PRC) weight equal to 500 g; (Tw) weight equal to 600 g; (HK, Malaysia, Singapore) slightly over 604 g
五	wǔ	five; 5
六十	lìu shí	sixty; 60
果	guǒ	fruit; result; resolute; indeed; if really
概	gài	(bound form) general; approximate; without exception; categorically; (bound form) bearing; deportment; old variant of 概[gai4]
多数	duō shù	majority; most
可以	kě yǐ	can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good
付	Fù	surname Fu
可是	kě shì	but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed
体力	tǐ lì	physical strength; physical power
消	xiāo	to diminish; to subside; to consume; to reduce; to idle away (the time); (after 不[bu4] or 只[zhi3] or 何[he2] etc) to need; to require; to take
耗	hào	to waste; to spend; to consume; to squander; news; (coll.) to delay; to dilly-dally
有些人	yǒu xiē rén	some people
让	ràng	to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4])
女工	nu:3 gōng	working woman; variant of 女紅\|女红[nu:3 gong1]
男工	nán gōng	male worker
都会	dū huì	city; metropolis
则	zé	(literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then; (bound form) standard; norm; (bound form) principle; (literary) to imitate; to follow; classifie…
只有	zhǐ yǒu	only have ...; there is only ...; (used in combination with 才[cai2]) it is only if ... (that one can ...) (as in 只有通過治療才能痊愈\|只有通过治疗才能痊愈[zhi3 you3 tong1 guo4 zhi4 liao2 cai2 neng2 qu…
强	qiāng	strong; powerful; vigorous; better; to force (qiang3); stubborn (jiang4); surname Qiang
度	dù	to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences
双方	shuāng fāng	bilateral; both sides; both parties involved
看清	kàn qīng	to see clearly
楚	Chǔ	surname Chu; abbr. for Hubei 湖北省[Hu2 bei3 Sheng3] and Hunan 湖南省[Hu2 nan2 Sheng3] provinces together; Chinese kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (722–22…
彼此	bǐ cǐ	each other; one another
否	fóu	to negate; not
适	kuò	see 李适[Li3 Kuo4]; surname Shi
合	gě	100 ml; one-tenth of a peck; measure for dry grain equal to one-tenth of sheng 升 or liter, or one-hundredth dou 斗; variant of 合[he2]
从而	cóng ér	thus; thereby
减	jián	to lower; to reduce; to diminish
少	shǎo	few; less; to lack; to be missing; to stop (doing sth); seldom
误	wù	mistake; error; to miss; to harm; to delay; to neglect; mistakenly
解	Xiè	surname Xie
产生	chǎn shēng	to arise; to come into being; to come about; to give rise to; to bring into being; to bring about; to produce; to engender; to generate
作	zuō	(bound form) worker; (bound form) workshop; (slang) troublesome; high-maintenance (person)
多久	duō jǐu	(of time) how long?; (not) a long time
分手	fēn shǒu	to part company; to split up; to break up
几天	jǐ tiān	several days
身体	shēn tǐ	the body; one's health
这时	zhè shí	at this time; at this moment
适应	shì yìng	to adapt; to fit; to suit
陌	mǒ	raised path
生	shēng	to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu…
方式	fāng shì	way; method; manner; mode; pattern (of behavior etc); CL:種\|种[zhong3]
动作	dòng zuò	movement; motion; action; to act; to move
生疏	shēng shū	unfamiliar; strange; out of practice; not accustomed
造	zǎo	to make; to manufacture; to fabricate; party (in a lawsuit or legal agreement); classifier for crops
额外	é wài	extra; added; additional
浪	lǎng	wave; unrestrained; to stroll
费	Fèi	surname Fei
走人	zǒu rén	(coll.) to leave; to beat it
原因	yuán yīn	cause; origin; root cause; reason; CL:個\|个[ge4]
只要	zhǐ yào	so long as; provided; if
扛
久	jǐu	(of a period of time) long
慢	màn	slow
感	gǎn	to feel; to move; to touch; to affect; feeling; emotion; (suffix) sense of ~
觉	jiào	a nap; a sleep; CL:場\|场[chang2]
记得	jì de	to remember
有次	yǒu cì	once; on one occasion
姐	jiě	older sister
问题	wèn tí	question; problem; issue; topic; CL:個\|个[ge4]
半夜	bàn yè	midnight; in the middle of the night
突然	tū rán	sudden; abrupt; unexpected
听说	tīng shuō	to hear (sth said); one hears (that); hearsay; listening and speaking
她	tā	she
组长	zǔ zhǎng	group leader
劝	quàn	to advise; to urge; to try to persuade; to exhort; to console; to soothe
退	tuì	to retreat; to withdraw; to reject; to return (sth); to decline
觉得	jué de	to think that ...; to feel that ...; to feel (uncomfortable etc)
完全	wán quán	complete; whole; totally; entirely
不可	bù kě	cannot; should not; must not
出错	chū cuò	to make a mistake; error
可	kě	(prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however
有限	yǒu xiàn	limited; finite
频	pīn	frequency; repetitious
繁	fán	old variant of 繁[fan2]; surname Po
问	wèn	to ask; to inquire
导致	dǎo zhì	to lead to; to create; to cause; to bring about
带	dài	band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條\|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise
同事	tóng shì	colleague; co-worker
越	Yuè	generic word for peoples or states of south China or south Asia at different historical periods; abbr. for Vietnam 越南
害怕	hài pà	to be afraid; to be scared
通知	tōng zhī	to notify; to inform; notice; notification; CL:個\|个[ge4]
一旦	yī dàn	in case (sth happens); if; once (sth happens, then...); when; in a short time; in one day
贴	tie	to stick; to post (e.g. on a blog); to fit snugly; allowance (e.g. money for food or housing); classifier for sticking plaster: strip
错	Cuò	surname Cuo
往	wǎng	to go (in a direction); to; towards; (of a train) bound for; past; previous; old variant of 往[wang3]
城市	chéng shì	city; town; CL:座[zuo4]
扣	kǒu	to fasten; button; knot; to confiscate; discount; to smash, spike or dunk (a ball); (fig.) to tag a label on sb
钱	Qián	surname Qian
体重	tǐ zhòng	body weight
比	Bǐ	Belgium; Belgian; abbr. for 比利時\|比利时[Bi3 li4 shi2]
他	tā	(third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2])
内	nèi	inside; inner; internal; within; interior
八十	bā shí	eighty; 80
三十	sān shí	thirty; 30
原本	yuán běn	originally; the original; original copy; original version
算	suàn	to calculate; to figure out; to include; to count in; to count; to be valid; to carry weight; to regard as; to consider (to be ...)
胖	pǎng	healthy
几个	jǐ ge	a few; several; how many
十几	shí jǐ	more than ten; a dozen or more
十二	shí èr	twelve; 12
相对	xiāng duì	relatively; opposite; to resist; to oppose; relative; vis-a-vis; counterpart
一会儿	yī huì r	a moment; a while; in a moment; now...now...; also pr. [yi1 hui3 r5]
歇	xiē	to rest; to take a break; to stop; to halt; (dialect) to sleep; a moment; a short while
段	Duàn	surname Duan
时间	shí jiān	(concept of) time; (duration of) time; (point in) time
忙	máng	busy; hurriedly; to hurry; to rush
基	jī	(bound form) base; foundation; (bound form) radical (chemistry); (bound form) gay (loanword from English into Cantonese, Jyutping: gei1, followed by orthographic borrowing from Can…
本	běn	(bound form) root; stem; (bound form) origin; source; (bound form) one's own; this; (bound form) this; the current (year etc); (bound form) original; (bound form) inherent; origina…
一刻	yī kè	a quarter of an hour; 15 minutes; a moment; an instant
具体	jù tǐ	concrete; specific; detailed
先	xiān	beforehand; first; earlier; at first; originally; for the time being; for now; (prefix) my late (in referring to deceased relatives older than oneself)
吃饭	chī fàn	to have a meal; to eat; to make a living
食堂	shí táng	dining hall; cafeteria; CL:個\|个[ge4],間\|间[jian1]
不同	bù tóng	different; distinct; not the same; not alike
承	chēng	to bear; to carry; to undertake; to inherit; to continue
商	Shāng	Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC); surname Shang
提	dī	used in 提防[di1 fang5] and 提溜[di1 liu5]
供	gong	to provide; to supply
风	fēng	wind; news; style; custom; manner; CL:陣\|阵[zhen4],絲\|丝[si1]
格	gē	used in 格登[ge1 deng1]
食物	shí wù	food
菜品	cài pǐn	culinary dish
自己	zì jǐ	oneself; (attributive) one's own
舀	yǎo	to ladle out; to scoop up
自助餐	zì zhù cān	buffet; self-service meal
称重	chēng zhòng	to weigh
米饭	mǐ fàn	(cooked) rice
无限	wú xiàn	unlimited; unbounded
想	xiǎng	to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of)
省	shěng	to save; to economize; to be frugal; to omit; to delete; to leave out; province; provincial capital; a ministry (of the Japanese government)
打点	dǎ dian	to bribe; to get (luggage) ready; to put in order; to organize things; (baseball) RBI (run batted in)
菜	cài	vegetable; greens (CL:棵[ke1]); dish (of food) (CL:樣\|样[yang4],道[dao4],盤\|盘[pan2]); (of one's skills etc) weak; poor; (coll.) (one's) type
吃	chī	to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1]
碗	wǎn	variant of 碗[wan3]; bowl; cup; CL:隻\|只[zhi1],個\|个[ge4]
饭	fàn	cooked rice; CL:碗[wan3]; meal; CL:頓\|顿[dun4]; (loanword) fan; devotee
平	Píng	surname Ping
论	Lún	abbr. for 論語\|论语[Lun2 yu3], The Analects (of Confucius)
饭堂	fàn táng	dining hall; canteen; cafeteria
价	jiǎ	(literary) messenger; servant
公道	gōng dào	justice; fairness; public highway
且	qiě	and; moreover; yet; for the time being; to be about to; both (... and...)
比较	bǐ jiào	to compare; to contrast; comparatively; relatively; quite; comparison
卫生	wèi shēng	hygienic; sanitary; hygiene; sanitation
吃完	chī wán	to finish eating
半	bàn	half; semi-; incomplete; (after a number) and a half
一口气	yī kǒu qì	one breath; in one breath; at a stretch
续	xù	to continue; to replenish
半小时	bàn xiǎo shí	half an hour; 30 minutes
进食	jìn shí	to eat; to take food
自带	zì dài	to bring one's own; BYO; (of software) preinstalled
面包	miàn bāo	bread; CL:片[pian4],塊\|块[kuai4]
或	huò	maybe; perhaps; might; possibly; or
饼干	bǐng gān	biscuit; cracker; cookie; CL:片[pian4],塊\|块[kuai4]
抽	chōu	to draw out; to pull out from in between; to remove part of the whole; to inhale (esp. smoke); (of fabric etc) to shrink; (of certain plants) to sprout; to bud; to whip; to thrash;…
空	kōng	empty; air; sky; in vain
嘴	zuǐ	mouth; beak; nozzle; spout (of teapot etc); CL:張\|张[zhang1],個\|个[ge4]
塞	sai	to plug; to stop up; to stuff in
点儿	diǎn r	erhua variant of 點\|点[dian3]
西	Xī	the West; abbr. for Spain 西班牙[Xi1 ban1 ya2]; Spanish
习	Xí	surname Xi
惯	guàn	accustomed to; used to; indulge; to spoil (a child)
偶	óu	accidental; pair
尔	ěr	variant of 爾\|尔[er3]; thus; so; like that; you; thou
忘	wàng	to forget; to overlook; to neglect
肚	dǔ	tripe
子	zǐ	son; child; seed; egg; small thing; 1st earthly branch: 11 p.m.–1 a.m., midnight, 11th solar month (7th December to 5th January), year of the rat; viscount, fourth of five orders o…
饿	è	hungry; to starve (sb)
咕
告	gào	(bound form) to say; to tell; to announce; to report; to denounce; to file a lawsuit; to sue
诉	sù	variant of 訴\|诉[su4]; to complain; to sue; to tell
晚饭	wǎn fàn	evening meal; dinner; supper; CL:份[fen4],頓\|顿[dun4],次[ci4],餐[can1]
点大	diǎn dà	(of a child etc) small as a mite; minuscule
家去	jiā qù	(dialect) to go home; to return home
根	gēn	root; basis; classifier for long slender objects, e.g. cigarettes, guitar strings; CL:條\|条[tiao2]; radical (chemistry)
本就	běn jìu	by nature; fundamentally; inherently
以为	yǐ wéi	to think; to believe (often with the implication that the belief is mistaken – unless referring to one's own current belief)
万万	wàn wàn	hundred million; (fig.) enormous quantity; absolutely; certainly (usually followed by a negative expression)
想到	xiǎng dào	to think of; to call to mind; to anticipate
接下	jiē xià	to take on (a responsibility)
开始	kāi shǐ	to begin; to start; beginning; start
一直	yī zhí	straight (in a straight line); continuously; always; all the way through
其间	qí jiān	in between; within that interval; in the meantime
又	yòu	(once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway
干粮	gān liáng	rations (to take on expedition)
晕	yun	confused; giddy; to swoon; to pass out
转向	zhuǎn xiàng	to change direction; fig. to change one's stance
发现	fā xiàn	to notice; to become aware of; to discover; to find; to detect; a discovery
地方	dì fāng	region; regional (away from the central administration); local
大多	dà duō	for the most part; many; most; the greater part; mostly
交	jiāo	to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends; (of lines) to intersect; variant of 跤[jiao1]
谈	Tán	surname Tan
热情	rè qíng	cordial; enthusiastic; passion; passionate; passionately
主动	zhǔ dòng	to take the initiative; to do sth of one's own accord; spontaneous; active; opposite: passive 被動\|被动[bei4 dong4]; drive (of gears and shafts etc)
默	mò	silent; to write from memory
农民	nóng mín	peasant; farmer
生人	shēng rén	stranger; living person; to give birth; to be born (in a certain time or place)
报	bào	to report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for; to register for (abbr. for 報名\|报名[bao4 ming2]); to reward; to recompense; to take revenge; to retaliate; new…
以	yǐ	old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4]
冷	Lěng	surname Leng
淡	dǎn	insipid; weak; light in color; indifferent
警	jíng	to alert; police
惕	tǐ	fearful
态	tài	(bound form); appearance; shape; form; state; attitude; (grammar) voice
恰	qiǎ	exactly
攀	pan	to climb (by pulling oneself up); to claim connections of higher status
情	qíng	(bound form) feelings; emotion; sentiment; passion; (bound form) situation; condition
大家	dà jiā	everyone; influential family; great expert
闭上	bì shang	to close; to shut up
巴	Bā	Ba, a state during the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Chongqing and the eastern part of Sichuan); the east of Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality; surname Ba; (bound form) abbr. for 巴…
这种	zhè zhǒng	this kind of
环	Huán	surname Huan
境	jǐng	border; condition; circumstances
舒适	shū shì	cozy; snug
有事	yǒu shì	to be occupied with sth; to have sth on one's mind; there is something the matter
向	Xiàng	surname Xiang; to tend toward; to guide; variant of 向[xiang4]; variant of 向[xiang4]; direction; orientation; to face; to turn toward; to; towards; shortly before; formerly
请教	qǐng jiào	to ask for guidance; to consult
腼	miǎn	used in 靦腆\|腼腆[mian3 tian3]
腆
笑	xiào	old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at
讪
回答	huí dá	to reply; to answer; reply; answer
高	Gāo	surname Gao
傲	ǎo	proud; to despise; to defy
而已	ér yǐ	that's all; nothing more
由	yóu	to follow; from; because of; due to; by; via; through; (before a noun and a verb) it is for ... to ...
经理	jīng lǐ	manager; director; CL:個\|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2]
发言	fā yán	to make a speech; statement; utterance; CL:個\|个[ge4]
总	zǒng	(bound form) general; overall; to sum up; in every case; always; invariably; anyway; after all; eventually; sooner or later; surely; (after a person's name) abbr. for 總經理\|总经理[zong3…
结	jiē	(of a plant) to produce (fruit or seeds); Taiwan pr. [jie2]
当天	dāng tiān	on that day
中	Zhōng	(bound form) China; Chinese; surname Zhong
发生	fā shēng	to happen; to occur; to take place; to break out
三分	sān fēn	somewhat; to some degree
钟	Zhōng	surname Zhong; a (large) bell (CL:架[jia4]); clock (CL:座[zuo4]); amount of time; o'clock (CL:點\|点[dian3],分[fen1],秒[miao3]) (as in 三點鐘\|三点钟[san1 dian3 zhong1] "three o'clock" or "three hours" or 五分鐘\|…
讲	jiǎng	to speak; to explain; to negotiate; to emphasize; to be particular about; as far as sth is concerned; speech; lecture
完	wán	to finish; to be over; whole; complete; entire
短	duǎn	short; brief; to lack; weak point; fault
说	shuì	to persuade; variant of 說\|说[shuo1]
注	zhù	(bound form) to pour into; to flow into; to inject; (bound form) to focus (one's spirit, gaze etc) on a single point; to concentrate; (bound form) stake (in gambling); classifier f…; to annotate; to provide explanatory notes on a written text; an annotation; an explanatory note; (bound form) to put on record; to register
意	yì	(bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4])
事项	shì xiàng	matter; item
最近	zuì jìn	recently; soon; nearest
要点	yào diǎn	main point; essential
些	xiē	classifier indicating a small amount or small number greater than 1: some, a few, several
聊	liāo	(coll.) to chat; (literary) somewhat; slightly
句	gōu	variant of 勾[gou1]
话	huà	dialect; language; spoken words; speech; talk; words; conversation; what sb said; CL:種\|种[zhong3],席[xi2],句[ju4],口[kou3],番[fan1]; old variant of 話\|话[hua4]
听	yǐn	smile (archaic); to listen to; to hear; to heed; to obey; a can (loanword from English "tin"); classifier for canned beverages; to let be; to allow (Taiwan pr. [ting4]); (literary) to administer; t…
毕	Bì	surname Bi
竟	jǐng	unexpectedly; to go so far as to
革	gé	animal hide; leather; to reform; to remove; to expel (from office)
命	mǐng	life; order or command
耍	Shuǎ	surname Shua
皮子	pí zi	skin; fur

Chapter 1: My Year Working the Night Shift at a Logistics Company

Actually, I only worked at D Logistics Company for a little over ten months, not quite a year. I started on May 12, 2017 – the ninth anniversary of the Wenchuan earthquake. I worked as a sorter at one of D Company’s hubs in Shunde, which was the largest freight transfer center in the country at the time. However, I only learned this from the internet after I left. When I was still working there, although I was impressed by its scale, honestly, I wasn’t in the mood to care about how it ranked.

Our freight transfer center was located in a logistics park that housed not only D Company but also transfer centers for JD.com, Vipshop, Best Express, and other companies. I worked the long night shift, from 7 PM to 7 AM the next day, with four days off per month. Almost everyone there worked the long night shift – the sorting yard didn’t operate during the day. Although this job didn’t require any educational qualifications, they didn’t hire illiterate people either, because if you couldn’t read, you couldn’t identify the addresses on the package labels. So some folks from my hometown who couldn’t read couldn’t even get this job.

The so-called interview was just a formality. In reality, they accepted anyone who showed up, but you had to do three days of unpaid trial work before officially starting. This probably violated the Labor Law, but I asked around, and all the companies in the logistics park operated this way. If you couldn’t accept it, your only option was to not take the job.

From a practical standpoint, the trial period was indeed necessary. Many first-timers actually had no idea what the job entailed or how to do it. The trial was an opportunity for both sides to get to know each other. From what I saw, less than half of the people who tried out ended up staying. Some people left after just two hours. However, the company should have paid those who stayed for those three days.

Of course, the company did have a humane side: many migrant workers didn’t have much money on them, so after working for twenty days, the company would advance the first half-month’s wages early, whereas normally they wouldn’t be paid until the 15th of the following month.

The freight transfer center was like a massive dock. We worked on a one-meter-high concrete platform that we called the sorting yard. The sorting yard was as big as eight to ten football fields, covered by a giant corrugated metal roof. All around were numbered loading and unloading bays, with rows of trucks backed up against the platform, their cargo doors open for loading and unloading. When you stepped onto the sorting yard at night, you’d immediately hear an endless rumbling sound, deep and resonant, like distant thunder – that was the sound of over a hundred forklifts rolling across the ground. These forklifts were like worker ants, transporting packages unloaded from trucks to various groups for sorting, then delivering the sorted goods to their corresponding loading bays.

I was assigned to the small parcel sorting group. My job was to sort incoming packages by destination and pack them up. I liked this job, though not every aspect of it: you didn’t have to talk to anyone, didn’t have to use your brain – just roll up your sleeves and work. Since it was Guangdong, summer lasted nine months of the year. The sun would bake the metal roof during the day, and it didn’t cool down much at night. Usually, within an hour or so of starting work, I’d be drenched in sweat, and it would stay that way until the next morning. Later, I bought a three-liter water bottle and drank the whole thing every night. There were times I didn’t urinate the entire shift – all the water came out through my sweat glands.

During my three-day trial, I was assigned to bag dumping, the most exhausting position in our group. The packages sent from local service points came in fiber bags tied into bundles. Our group had to open these bundles, sort the packages by destination, and repack them. Bag dumping meant cutting open the bundles from the service points and dumping the packages onto the sorting table. These bundles varied in weight – some weighed just a few jin, others fifty or sixty jin. If you only had to dump for two or three hours, most people could handle it. But doing it non-stop for an entire night was extremely draining, and some people just couldn’t take it. This was also the only position in our group where women weren’t allowed.

All male workers who came to trial in our group were assigned to bag dumping; women went to packing. Only by working at the most demanding position could both sides clearly see whether they were a good fit, reducing the ‘breakups’ that happened shortly after starting due to misunderstandings. Actually, the trial days were the most exhausting because your body hadn’t yet adapted to the unfamiliar work style and intensity, and clumsy movements caused extra physical waste. This was why many people left after just two hours. But if you toughed it out, you’d gradually adapt and it wouldn’t feel so tiring anymore. I remember once a woman came for a trial. She worked fine, but suddenly left at midnight. Later I heard that she was let go by the team leader because she couldn’t read. I don’t think she was completely illiterate – otherwise she couldn’t have worked for several hours without making mistakes. Maybe she only knew a limited number of characters and kept asking people, which made the colleague training her increasingly nervous, until they finally notified the team leader. Because if she put the wrong label on something and a whole bag of packages got sent to the wrong city, our entire group would have money deducted.

Everyone new to this job loses some weight. I had a coworker who started just a few days after me. In three months, he went from over 180 jin to around 130 jin. I wasn’t fat to begin with, but after a few months, I’d also lost over ten jin.

We worked twelve hours a day. Usually, the two hours before clocking out in the morning would slow down a bit – you could work a while, rest a while. But from 10 PM to 5 AM was the busiest time, when you basically couldn’t stop for a second. Here’s how it worked: we started at 7 PM and worked until 9 PM, then had a half-hour meal break. There were two cafeterias in the freight yard, run by different contractors offering different styles of food. You scooped the dishes yourself, like a buffet, and paid by weight. Rice was unlimited. If you wanted to save money, you could take less dishes and eat more rice. To be fair, the cafeteria prices were reasonable, and it was pretty hygienic. After eating, we’d work straight from 9:30 PM to 7 AM – nine and a half consecutive hours with no more meal breaks. Some people brought their own bread or crackers to sneak bites during the night. Others went ten hours without eating anything – they were used to it. I usually brought crackers, but occasionally forgot, and my stomach would growl with hunger.

I remember on my first day of trial, nobody told me about this schedule. I ate dinner before going in. So when everyone went to eat at 9 PM, I wasn’t hungry at all and didn’t eat anything. I thought there’d be another chance to eat around midnight. Little did I know, from 9:30 PM onwards, we worked straight through until 7 AM, during which I only drank water and had no chance to eat. I hadn’t brought any food, and by the next morning, I was so hungry I was dizzy.

I noticed that most people working here didn’t like to chat. They weren’t friendly or proactive at all, like silent old farmers – though they weren’t that old – treating strangers with indifference and wariness. Fortunately, I didn’t like making small talk either. Everyone keeping their mouths shut and working was fine with me; I felt comfortable in this kind of social environment. But when I needed to ask them about something, they would first smile shyly, then answer awkwardly – they weren’t actually arrogant, just mostly introverted.

Every morning before clocking out, we’d have a brief meeting where the team leader and manager would speak, summarizing problems from that day’s work. It usually took just two or three minutes. Before the night shift started, we’d also have a short meeting about precautions or recent work priorities, but it was all boring stuff that could be said in a few sentences. I usually didn’t listen – after all, revolution isn’t about running your mouth.

Novels: Start reading 《我在北京送快递》- I Deliver Parcels in Beijing by Hu Anyan

物wù流líu夜yè班Bān生存shēng cún指南zhǐ nán：一个yī ge理货员lǐ huò yuán的de真实zhēn shí记录jì lù ▸

Lesson vocabulary 637 words · 10 curated by the source

物wù流líu夜yè班Bān生存shēng cún指南zhǐ nán：一个yī ge理货员lǐ huò yuán的de真实zhēn shí记录jì lù