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Journey from Bike Courier and Bakery Apprentice to Acclaimed Writer

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Journey from Bike Courier and Bakery Apprentice to Acclaimed Writer

Hu Anyan’s book chronicles his 20-year experience in 19 low-wage jobs in Beijing, blending humor and detailed observations on survival’s absurdities and harsh realities while navigating a challenging urban landscape.


Key Points

  • Hu Anyan’s book, I Deliver Parcels in Beijing, details his 20-year experience across 19 low-wage jobs, showcasing the absurdities of survival with dry humor and keen observation.
  • His roles range from delivery work to convenience store clerk, cleaner, and even an anime designer, revealing a persistent struggle at the bottom of the employment ladder.
  • With a blend of hope and resignation, Hu candidly reflects on the challenges of urban life, portraying the harsh realities of precarious work and the comical absurdities he encounters.

Hu Anyan’s I Deliver Parcels in Beijing offers a compelling chronicle of his two-decade journey through 19 low-wage jobs across Beijing, illustrated with a blend of dry humor and vivid observational detail. The narrative captures the absurdities and stark realities of survival on the fringes of urban life, depicting a world where hope is entwined with disillusionment.

In his extensive exploration of jobs—from parcel delivery and convenience-store work to cleaning and stints in a vegetable market and an anime design company—Hu reveals the precariousness of labor for the city’s underclass. Notably, the duration of these positions varies dramatically; some last mere days or weeks, highlighting an unstable employment landscape rife with vanishing bosses, illusory contracts, and arbitrary rules. This chaotic environment necessitates resilience, where the essential qualifications for survival become a strong back, a flexible sense of dignity, and a high tolerance for absurdity.

At the age of 47, Hu, who originally hails from Guangzhou, reflects on his experiences in various cities, including a brief tenure in Vietnam. He encapsulates the paradox of urban life where places brim with potential yet leave individuals feeling stagnant and exploited. With a nuanced perspective, he conveys an innocence marred by the harsh truths of labor, paired with a remarkable aptitude for self-reflection.

Hu’s writing style marries humor with a documentary’s precision. He meticulously details the minutiae of his experiences—tracking wages to the cent, timing shifts, and cataloging fines and injustices—without descending into melodrama. His observations often portray the absurd: security guards overseeing nothing, managers fostering chaos, and delivery algorithms dictating lives with apathy.

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Completing his trial as a parcel deliverer epitomizes his journey through a world filled with contradictions and challenges, underscoring the complexity of urban survival in modern China. Hu Anyan’s narrative ultimately illuminates the resilience of those navigating life on society’s margins, serving as both an engaging autobiography and a social commentary.

Read the original article : China’s new literary star had 19 jobs before ‘writer’ – including bike courier and bakery apprentice

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The dollar fell on Monday as traders took the U.S. Supreme Court‘s decision to strike down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs as supportive for global growth, though confusion and risk of conflict in the Middle East kept moves relatively small.

The euro was up 0.4% to $1.1823 and sterling rose by a similar margin to $1.3521 early in Asia trade, which was lightened a little by a holiday in Japan and China’s Lunar New Year break. The dollar fell 0.4% to 154.42 yen.

The Supreme Court found on Friday Trump’s sweeping tariffs exceeded ‌his authority. Trump has ⁠responded by ⁠lashing out at the court and imposing a blanket 15% levy on imports, as well as insisting higher-tariff deals with trade partners should stay.

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The New Zealand and Australian dollars were a little higher in morning trade, with the Aussie breaching 71 cents and ⁠the kiwi hovering ‌just shy of 60 cents.
The safe-haven Swiss franc jumped 0.5% to 0.7716 francs per dollar. “This decision is another chip away at Trump’s power … so that’s a positive for markets,” said Jason Wong, strategist at BNZ in ⁠Wellington.

“But there’s so many factors, there’s all these moving parts, it’s not tradable.”

Besides tariffs, markets have an eye on a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East as it pressures Iran to drop pursuit of nuclear weapons, and are looking ahead to Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday.

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Trump’s replacement levies run for 150 days and it is not clear if the U.S. owes importers refunds on duties already paid, with the Supreme Court making no ruling on that issue.

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“I don’t think this will change too much about the global economy.”

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 “Rosina Food Products, Inc., a West Seneca, N.Y. establishment, is recalling approximately 9,462 pounds of ready-to-eat (RTE) frozen meatball products that may be contaminated with foreign material, specifically metal,” regulators said. 

The issue was discovered after a consumer reported finding metal fragments in the meatballs. There have been no reports of confirmed injuries, but the department said anyone concerned should contact a healthcare provider.

MULTISTATE OUTBREAK OF HIGHLY DRUG-RESISTANT SALMONELLA LINKED TO TRENDY ‘SUPERFOOD,’ FEDS WARN 

package of Bremer FAMILY SIZE ITALIAN STYLE MEATBALLS

Federal regulators announced a recall of frozen, ready-to-eat meatballs on Feb. 22,2026. (Department of Agriculture / Fox News)

The impacted packages were distributed to Aldi supermarket locations nationwide. 

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The products were produced on July 30, 2025, and have a 15-month shelf-life, according to officials.

MORE THAN 3M POUNDS OF FROZEN CHICKEN FRIED RICE RECALLED OVER POTENTIAL GLASS CONTAMINATION

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An exterior view of an Aldi grocery store. (Photo by Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Consumers should look for bags with a “BEST BY” date of “10/30/26,” timestamps between 17:08 and 18:20 printed on the back, and the establishment number “EST. 4286B” located inside the USDA mark of inspection.

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FSIS urged consumers to check their refrigerators and freezers and advised not to eat the meatballs, but to either throw them away or return them to the store where they were purchased.

For questions regarding the recall, consumers can contact Rosina Food Products Customer Service at 1-888-767-4621 or via email at CService@rosina.com

FOX Business reached out to Rosina Food Products for more information. 

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