The Beijing courier who went viral: how Hu Anyan wrote about delivering parcels and became a bestseller

"As a courier, Hu had to work to an exacting schedule, making a delivery every four minutes so as not to run at a loss. Couriers were paid 1.6 yuan, the equivalent of 17p, for every parcel they delivered, but the task was much more involved than that of couriers in the UK. He sometimes had to wait while people tried things on and then repackaged rejected items on the spot. Plus, he had to pay compensation for every parcel that went missing."

"He soon worked out that if a minute was worth 0.5 yuan, then the cost of urination was 1 yuan. Eating lunch, he calculated, needed 20 minutes, which would cost 10 yuan. Basically, I skipped a lot of lunches, he recalls in his memoir. I also hardly drank any water in the mornings to reduce the frequency of restroom breaks."

Hu Anyan worked as a courier in Beijing delivering around 10–20 parcels most days, often to large construction sites where recipients could be hard to reach. Couriers had to make a delivery every four minutes to avoid losses and were paid 1.6 yuan per parcel, while also handling tasks like waiting for customers to try items, repackaging returns, and covering compensation for missing parcels. Hu calculated the monetary value of time, skipped lunches, and reduced drinking to avoid restroom breaks. The relentless pace eroded his sense of achievement and raised concerns about his self-worth.

Read at www.theguardian.com