After delivering 11 orders of takeout, 49-year-old takeout clerk Wu Dehong collapsed in his rented house in Nanjing.
The second homeowner, Ms. Zhang, was the first to notice the anomaly. 8 p.m. on December 3, she came home from square dancing, and as soon as she entered the door, she saw the tenant, Wu, lying on the floor of the living room, and the person had no signs of life.
After investigating the scene, the police contacted Wu Dehong's ex-girlfriend Chen Lizhen, the phone only said Wu Dehong, "have a disease". Chen Lizhen asked in which hospital, the police did not answer, let her directly to the Chaotian Palace near the Anpin Street.
Chen Lizhen had a bad feeling, squeezed into the living room of the moment, she realized that people are certainly not. The first time I saw this, I was able to get a good look at it, and I was able to get a good look at it, and I was able to get a good look at it.
That night, the medical examiner made a preliminary judgment: sudden death, excluding criminal cases.
Three cars
Less than 5 meters away from the location of Wu Dehong collapsed, parked in the electric car he relied on.
Delivery three years, Wu Dehong changed three cars. The first time I bought a second-hand car, did not ride for a long time on the run. He spent another 3800 yuan to buy a new car, the results of one morning woke up, the car disappeared. He had to replace the old car with a new battery to continue to run. Just a few days later, the battery was stolen again.
The one he rode before he died was bought after the Spring Festival in 2019, and the car still looks new.
Wu Dehong's traces have been branded on the car. A pair of cotton cuffs wrapped around the handle, the cuffs are worn to lose hair. A cell phone holder was mounted next to the dashboard, and a helmet and a black cotton mask hung below.
What best describes the owner is the insulated box at the rear of the car. The box is fixed very firmly, the opening hung a lock. Wu Sheng, who works in Nanjing, has heard his cousin mention many times about his stolen meals. Meals lost, can not catch people, only by the rider compensation. There was also a time when the crayfish placed in the box turned over and spilled on the way to delivery, and the cousin lost more than 190 yuan, "equivalent to that day for nothing."
Wu Dehong died a week later, the insulation box residual odor still lingers. Between the cracks of the box, stuffed with a data cable, a waterproof bag for cell phones, and a takeaway platform vest.
According to family members, in addition to briefly trying to UU errands and other platforms, Wu Dehong has been doing a takeaway platform crowdsourcing distributor. The equivalent of a part-time form of delivery, time is relatively free. But the specific monthly income, the family was not clear, Wu Dehong never take the initiative to mention.
Until he passed away, the face of this "secret" was revealed.
The platform data show that from July to the present, Wu Dehong received a maximum of 508 orders a month. That was in November, when he rode nearly 2,000 kilometers around the city of Nanjing in exchange for 5,630.55 yuan in revenue.
The other time he exceeded 5,000 yuan was in August, when he completed 471 orders. And the month with the least income, he earned less than $3,000.
On the day he passed away on December 3, Wu Dehong rode 47.4 kilometers and completed 11 takeout orders, earning a reward of 140.8 yuan.
Two days before his death, Wu Dehong went home to see his parents. His hometown in Maanshan Dangtu County, only 60 kilometers away from Nanjing, driving an hour to. In the past, every one or two months, Wu Dehong will go home to see. Every time he came back, he was never empty-handed, cakes, salt water duck, have brought home. Going to my sister's house to walk, will also bring a bottle of wine to my brother-in-law.
Once home, and the family talked about the price of pork, Wu Dehong mentioned a mouth, said pork is too expensive, he even the skin of the meat has not been dipped for a long time. The sister heard in the heart, quietly bought 50 dollars of pork marinated, before leaving stuffed him.
This time before his death, Wu Dehong returned to the village did not go to his sister's home. The family was a bit surprised, guessing that he was strapped for cash and couldn't afford to buy a gift, so he simply didn't go.
Wu Dehong lived before the room still maintains the original appearance. In front of the bed on the cabinet with a glass ashtray, which left a Nanjing cigarette butts. Next to half a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
Wu Dehong's bedside cabinet with a glass ashtray, which left a Nanjing cigarette butt. New Beijing News reporter Zu Yifei photo
The family had cleaned up Wu Dehong's clothes, only found two one-dollar coins, a pack of red Nanjing and a lighter. Wu Sheng told reporters, "The package of Su cigarettes on the table or his last home my uncle gave, he usually only smoke 12 dollars of red Nanjing."
The nearby shopkeeper's wife's statement corroborates this. Wu Dehong came to her store to buy cigarettes during his lifetime, and each time he asked for Red Nanking. Other than that, the delivery man made no impression on her.
Wu Dehong's room in the trash can, thrown two tickets were folded up. Chen Lizhen confirmed that he usually do have the habit of buying lottery tickets, but buy less, like many people, fantasized about the day after winning 5 million to turn over a new leaf.
After divorcing his ex-wife, his son was sentenced to be raised by Wu Dehong. This one meter tall guy in Wuhan University, usually living expenses sometimes from his father, sometimes to rely on his own part-time solution. As for tuition, he is not quite sure where the money from his grandmother comes from.
More than 200,000 yuan in debt
People who know Wu Dehong said that in addition to making ends meet and subsidizing the family, Wu Dehong will also have to take the money earned to pay off the debt. He is carrying a lot of financial pressure.
More than 20 years ago, Wu Dehong contracted fish ponds in his hometown, the expiration of the bidding lost the qualification to continue contracting. After this, he came to Nanjing to develop, with a few friends to start a business, opened a small-scale restaurant. The result is less than a year on all the losses.
This business failure, let Wu Dehong back more than 200,000 yuan of debt. Until his death, there are still 30,000 to 40,000 yuan has not yet been paid off.
"He was anxious when he couldn't pay back the money." Chen Lizhen can feel the psychological changes of Wu Dehong. In the past, he also went out with his friends, and then rarely socialized again because he had no money on him.
The last year of his life, in addition to delivering takeout, Wu Dehong spent most of his time in a partitioned room in a small two-story building.
The building is tucked away in a row of old houses on Anpin Street. Through a brick house with a collapsed roof, inside is the small building where Wu Dehong lives.
The building is long and narrow, like a double container stuck in the ground. The old man on the street revealed that originally this place is also an old mansion, more than ten years ago a fire, and then the landlord built a new building on the site, the room will be rented to some working people.
The two-story building where Wu Dehong lives. New Beijing News reporter Zu Yifei photo
Many foreigners live near Anpin Street. The length of not more than 500 meters on both sides of the street, scattered distribution of more than a dozen antique stores, the second landlord Ms. Zhang family is also doing the antique business. The couple rented the whole house from the landlord, and then rented one of the rooms to the delivery Wu Dehong.
This small building was built more than ten years ago, and the internal structure is similar to the popular Loft type. The living room, kitchen and bathroom are located on the first floor, while the second floor is divided into three separate rooms, each less than 10 square meters. Ms. Zhang and her husband live in the sunny side, Wu Dehong live in the dark side. The empty room in the center, Ms. Zhang's children occasionally come back to live.
In a limited space, resources are maximized as much as possible. The partition not only separates the rooms, but also divides the air conditioner into two, so that the two neighboring rooms can "**** enjoy" an air conditioner.
After the tenant's accident, Ms. Zhang's family quickly moved out. The reporter came to the interview, her husband did not want to talk about it, only said that each other time staggered, usually very little contact. After taking away the last batch of items, he rode an electric car and left quickly.
The morning of December 9, the entire building in addition to utilities, leaving only Wu Dehong's belongings were not taken. On the table in the living room, two dishes he made were fastened under the plastic basket. One of them is garlic fry scrambled eggs, the other plate, baby vegetables and bok choy mixed together, the soup has not completely evaporated.
The only meat dish was in the rice cooker, the cured meat that my sister had made for her, and the small bowl containing the meat sat on top of the rice, a layer of white grease caked on the surface.
The cured meat in the rice cooker that my sister made for Wu Dehong. New Beijing News reporter Zu Yifei photo
According to the position of the head and feet, the family speculated that Wu Dehong may be back to make dinner suddenly collapsed. But no one can give a definite answer as to why the exact cause of death.
The family believes that Wu Dehong was overworked, resulting in sudden death. Chen Lizhen also said, Wu Dehong's body as good as a cow, never heard of him getting any disease before.
Wu Sheng remembers that his cousin mentioned it to him once. "The elevator at the customer's house was broken at the time, and he climbed to the 27th floor to deliver the food, and his underwear was soaked."
The police had asked the family at the scene to find out if Wu Dehong had a drinking habit, Wu's family said he usually drops of alcohol does not dip, and never drink when he went home for New Year's Eve to gather with friends and relatives. Although smoking, but not addicted to cigarettes, a pack of cigarettes enough to smoke a few days.
The forensic pathologist at the scene gave the conclusion of "sudden death", and asked whether it was necessary to send the body to the autopsy. Wu's family thought it was no longer necessary, called the funeral car, the night will be sent back to his hometown Wu Dehong. The next day, the body cremated.
After the news spread
On the night of the incident, when the police lights were flashing on Anpin Street, the news of the deliveryman's death had already spread around. Most people in the neighborhood knew there were delivery men living in the neighborhood, but they rarely crossed paths with each other.
Neighbor Wang Hu once greeted Wu Dehong, and the two stood on the street and complained that the street had been repaired for a long time and why it was not finished. They didn't talk about anything else.
The woman from Anhui who sells vegetables at the street corner just moved here a month or so ago, and at noon not long ago, she saw Wu Dehong sitting in front of the door, sunbathing, and asked him if he would buy vegetables. Wu Dehong said he basically does not cook, to buy if you come to her home, take care of business.
A woman at a barbershop around the corner also heard about the death of a deliveryman, but she couldn't figure out who it was, and couldn't remember if he'd ever come to the store to get a haircut.
In a courtyard just a few meters apart, there are five crowdsourced delivery workers. I've heard that some of my peers are "dead", and Zhang Bin, a young man from Henan, was so scared that he stayed in bed for two days. He recently felt very tired, but has not dared to stop to rest.
Others earn a few thousand a month, Zhang Bin sometimes earn more than ten thousand. He was called "single king" by his roommates, and ran 15 or 16 hours a day, turning his part-time job into a full-time one.
Zhang Bin said he had no other tricks, relying on the fight. A rainy day platform activities, he could not bear to miss the temporary increase in unit price, 48 hours only 8 hours of sleep, day and night are running outside, two days time earned more than a thousand.
Zhang Bin once rushed to the platform of the Nanjing takeaway rankings of the first, but soon brushed down by others.
Liu Haike lives in the bed opposite Zhang Bin, talking about the phenomenon of crowdsourcing in the takeaway industry, he said, "Now every platform does not limit the time, as long as there is the ability to you just run, the platform will not be forced to go down."
Liu Haike runs about eight hours a day, picking up forty or fifty orders, earning two or three hundred dollars. Most of the usual time spent on delivery, he went home to charge the car also point takeaway, want to save time and energy as much as possible, and then run a few more orders.
In the crowdsourcing riders, Liu Haike has seen some of the 40- and 50-year-old "single king". These people from their homes or construction sites, found that delivery is quite free, they have been doing it. Because of the need to support a family, often more than the young people are still fighting.
Long time on the road to grab time, the delivery process will inevitably have a bump. Not long ago, Liu Haike cycling accidentally fell on the way, the right side of the forehead was torn open a small mouth. He used a tissue to cover the wound and finished the rest of the meal before bothering to seek medical attention.
"Otherwise sent late, was complained about a single fine."
Liu Haike went to the clinic first and was advised to go to the hospital because the wound was directly above his eye. Later, he had four stitches in the ophthalmology department of a tertiary hospital, and the medical expenses cost nearly a thousand dollars.
Liu Haike's wound above his eye. New Beijing News reporter Zu Yifei photo
After coming back from the doctor, Liu Haike remembered the 3 yuan insurance premium that was deducted every day after taking orders. He contacted the platform customer service, hoping to reimburse the medical expenses. After several submissions still failed to review, he chose to give up.
Wu's family also noticed the $3 insurance premium that was automatically deducted by the system. The policy details show that the 3 yuan insured insurance is crowdsourcing rider accident insurance, but the rider page does not show what the accident matters include, and the corresponding compensation amount.
November 12, PICC commissioner responsible for handling this matter, said crowdsourcing rider accident insurance can cover sudden death, recently has been together with the labor company and the deceased's family met to discuss, but the specific amount of compensation has not been determined, it is inconvenient to disclose to the public.
Wu Dehong cell phone in the labor agreement shows that he signed a labor relationship with a service outsourcing company called "Bangmang". Wu's family contacted the company, the relevant person in charge said in addition to the insurance compensation, will give a certain amount of humane compensation. But it will take time for the public security department to understand and verify the cause of death and other information.
It's too late
Despite having been separated for a year, Chen Lizhen is still running around after learning about Wu Dehong's death, and is busy with the aftermath.
In 2016, she and Wu Dehong met because of their hometown relationship, and slowly, had feelings for him, "you could say I chased him."
Chen Lizhen came to Nanjing at the age of 15 to make a living, from the paintworker dry to the cab driver, half a lifetime of hard work to save a suite. Like Wu Dehong, she is divorced and lives alone with her daughter.
The relationship between the two developed well, but because Wu Dehong back debt, and family conditions, the relationship by the Chen family against. Wu Dehong has also been torn, he feels that he has nothing, worried about dragging Chen Lizhen.
Chen Li Zhen's daughter at first also refused to attitude, worrying that her mother will have no future to rely on. Later, she realized that Wu Dehong was very good to her mother and herself, and slowly accepted him. She had made a promise that she would earn money to support both of them, Chen Lizhen was very pleased to hear.
In order to pay off the debt, Wu Dehong in the restaurant has been a dishwasher, a monthly salary of four thousand. Later, Chen Lizhen heard that delivery is more money, and time is free, so he advised him to do this business. The company's business is a very important part of the company's success," he said.
But for the sake of face, when asked about his occupation, he did not say he was a deliveryman, but only said he was working outside.
There was a time when Wu Dehong did very hard work, two electric cars to ride, from nine o'clock in the morning until one o'clock at night. Later, because of the impact of Chen Lizhen rest, only to the end of the time advanced to ten o'clock at night.
He wrote at the WeChat personality signature: melodious singing, cozy world, a piece of joy joy always belongs to the strongest of your life.
Wu Dehong's Karaoke software homepage. New Beijing News reporter Zu Yifei photo
However, real life is not as good as this. In their last year together, the Chen family objected even more, and they had to separate for a while.
Wu Dehong moved out of the house the pair shared. The reason why he later moved into a rental house on Anpin Street was that, apart from being slightly cheaper, the fact that the car was kept in the yard without fear of loss was also a reason.
Although separated, the two are still attached to each other. Every time Wu Dehong went back to his hometown in Anhui, Chen Lizhen would lend him his private car. She helped him make a plan, wait for next year, do not do takeout, switch to open the network car.
But everything is late.
After Wu Dehong's accident, Chen Lizhen always felt sorry for him, and regretted not letting go of his worries and leaving him behind.
The day before the first seven, Chen Lizhen and Wu's family came to the rental house to pack things. In the room, she packed things while recalling the previous days together, said Wu Dehong love clean, clothes always folded neatly.
Chen Lizhen packed the clothes and brought them back to her house. She said the clothes have his smell, can not afford to lose.
Wu Dehong's ashes were temporarily stored in the funeral parlor. When the compensation comes down, Chen Lizhen and Wu's family want to find a cemetery and give him a better place.
(Chen Lizhen, Wang Hu, Zhang Bin, Liu Haike are pseudonyms in the article)