Highways, Hunger, Home (Afterword: Q&A)

February 17, 2025:

Ms. Li (Li Mei) driving me toward Huizhou

Q&A: A Conversation with Li Mei

Q: What time do you usually start your day?

A: Usually around six. Quite early. If I want to get a head start during the morning rush hour, I have to be early. That’s just part of the routine now. I wake up before the sun (Editor’s note: this interview was done in February, so sunrise typically happens between 6:00 and 6:30 a.m.), put on a shirt, heat up a kettle of water, grab a boiled egg, stretch a little, then head out.

Q: Do you ever sleep in or take days off?

A: No, nah. No, if I sleep in, I miss the first few orders, and that throws off the whole day. We don’t get as many orders as you think. Sometimes I rest on Sundays or Mondays, but not often anymore. Maybe once or twice a month, if earnings that week were okay. Shenzhen is a migrant city, so every now and then there’s an important festival for reunion, and there’d be more people exiting the city than entering. The streets are empty, and drivers compete for the orders left. I typically rest on these days, if I do.

Q: What’s the hardest part of the job?

A: Hardest part? There’s not much that’s hard about it. Driving taxi is driving taxi. What’s there to it?

Q: If I were to drive a taxi, you think I can make it through a day of work?

A: I’m not sure. Maybe.

Q: What’s going to be challenging for me?

A: Well, it’s probably the hours. You never really stop. You drive a long, long day. Even if you’re home, you’re checking the App, seeing if there's a bonus or a surge. It’s like your brain never shuts off. And it repeats six, seven times a week. There’s very little rest. You might ‘make it through’ a day. A week or a month? That’s a whole other thing.

Q: Do you think driving taxis in Shenzhen is different from other cities? 

A: I don’t know. I barely drove in other cities. People say that Shenzhen is different in that it’s fast. It’s like the city itself is rushing. I used to work in Liuzhou—it’s busy, I mean, it’s still a city by all standards. But not like here. Here, if you're not quick, someone else gets the ride. If you're not early, the station's full. People blame you for wasting their time. The city’s got no patience, and you get used to it, get faster, lose your own patience.

Q: What about passengers?

A: Passengers are passengers. You’re a passenger. Quite of an extraordinary one—rarely does anyone keep up a conversation this long with me, especially not at this time.

Q: How do most passengers interact with you?

A: Just normal, I guess. Nothing too different or outrageous. I make sure I do my part and get what I deserve in return. That’s not always the case, but it’s not like doing anything else would help.

Q: Yeah, that sounds like a solid strategy. What do you mean by “not always the case”?

A: Oh, some passengers agree to pay road tolls but don’t, and once they step out of my car, there’s no way I can find them. I can call them, Didi can message them, but they can do whatever they want. Nobody’s suing them for 20, 30 yuan. Didi wants them to continue placing orders, so the platform makes no real efforts at punishing or pressuring them into paying. And then some passengers have weird requests. Some tell me to drive to extra stopping points and pick up other passengers. Some tell me to drive them to destinations farther than they put in on Didi App. Some are very picky and alert; they report me, command me to stop, and get off my car as soon as they find the slightest deviation between the map’s route and my trajectory. And then some just hold stereotypical impressions about women.

Q: I’m sorry to hear these. You must’ve endured through a lot over the years. To be honest, I was somewhat surprised at you repeatedly checking that I’m not tricking you with the road toll, but now I understand. Would you mind explaining the part you mentioned of those holding “stereotypical impressions about women”?

A: Yeah I figured. Well, I had to make sure we’re square on the fees. As for the women thing, sometimes, some are surprised at seeing a female driver. “Oh, it’s a lady driver!” Like it’s a circus act or something. Others assume I don’t know the roads, I can’t go through a narrow lane, I can’t handle a U-turn; or they talk down to me. I don’t take it personally anymore. I just do the job well.

Q: With all sorts of people riding your car, have you ever had to deal with danger on the job? 

A: Danger? Nothing peculiar. I mean, if I have to say, driving has its risks, and taking passengers presents another set of risks. So a few times, yeah. All sorts of people get in the car. One guy got drunk and tried to grab the steering wheel. I pulled over and pushed him away. Another time, some guy refused to pay, saying I took the long way intentionally. I have the route on the App, so I just showed him. He still cursed me out. Totally unreasonable person. But what can you do?

Q: Among your passengers, what kind of people do you remember the most?

A: I’m not sure. You’re a memorable one, haha. Others? Most rides are mundane, streamlined. And there’re so many rides—hundreds per month—that it wears my memory out. There are girls crying in the backseat after breakups. Or the middle- or old-aged man recounting his history of starting a million- or billion-yuan business. Over time, I don’t find them extraordinary anymore—not at Shenzhen.

Q: Do you still talk to your mother often?A: Somewhat, every few days or weeks. She worries. Every time we talk, she says, “Eat well. Rest more. Drink warm water.” You know, the usual mom stuff. But sometimes she asks if I’ve thought about remarrying. I don’t know how to answer. I honestly don’t know. There’s just no space in my life for that. And I don’t want someone who comes into my life from out of nowhere. If someone comes but doesn’t fit in, what’s the point? How will someone fit in? I can’t even start approaching marriage.

If I do marry something, we aren’t going to see eye to eye often—my job stretches me, and that of his, whoever he is, is probably no different. I work long hours. My ex felt like I was choosing work over family when we broke up. Maybe I was. But then, I’ve got to make money, cover bills, and start my city life. He wanted someone to cook dinner, fold laundry. I wanted someone who could understand this life, and fit into it. Last time I tried, in the end, everyone gave up.

Q: Do you think you could ever find someone who fits well with you?A: Maybe. But that’s not really something I spend time thinking about. I’m more tired than lonely. I have my son, my job, my car. Sometimes I joke that the GPS voice in the car is the only one that talks to me all day.

Q: Have you made any close friends through your work?A: Not really. It’s a solitary, sort of, job. You see faces, hear voices, but they don’t stay. The longest journeys are like an hour or two—very rarely do I get a big order like yours. Sometimes I chat with other drivers at charging stations. We share tips, complain about rates, both in person and on WeChat. But everyone’s just trying to get through the day. We don’t exchange anything deeper than WeChat IDs. I guess it’s all like this nowadays.

Q: What’s your favorite part of the day?A: Early morning. Before the city fully wakes, sometimes before I fully wakes. When the roads are empty and the sky turns that soft pink. The air is cool, and it’s a new day.

Q: Have you ever thought about doing something else?A: Not really, but then at the same time, I’m thinking about quitting taxi driving all the time. I used to think about opening a rice noodle shop. Guangxi is known for its 螺蛳粉 and 杀猪粉, two ways you cook rice noodles. But rents are sky-high, and it takes a lot to start a business like that. One failed month and you’re done. Ideas like this are just…random ideas. After my thoughts drift everywhere, I have to continue driving. If I don’t earn, I don’t eat—but I don’t owe anyone either. I’m always thinking of doing something else, something different, when things get better or when I’m more established, so to speak. But that attitude just kept me on the road year after year after year, before I realized it.

Q: You’ve seen the city change over the years. Do you think it’s gotten better or worse?A: I’m a driver, so I guess I do see how the roads change. I don’t really know the city on a personal level. I’d say it really depends who you are. For rich folks, maybe better. I drive through new CBDs with new roads, tunnels, bridges, trees, flowers. But for workers like me, I wouldn’t say it’s gotten better. Everything costs more. The fare rate declined. Riders tip less. The platforms cut bonuses. I used to rent a room in Futian, but that was too close to the expanding Futian CBD to stay affordable. I moved to the periphery years ago. On the other hand, there’s more infrastructure, more lights, more roads. You can’t stop a city like Shenzhen.

Q: If you could change one thing about your job, what would it be?A: One thing…I’m not sure. Maybe the pay? Who doesn’t want to earn more? Or maybe…a break. A real one, like paid days off.