Baby girl Li Fei'er accompanies her father on food deliveries in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, on December 6, 2021. Photo: VCG

Editor's Note:  

Harmony, or "He," lies at the heart of the Chinese civilization, representing a core spiritual value that has shaped the ethos of the Chinese nation.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of preserving and promoting China's outstanding traditional culture, with harmony as one of its most essential elements. At the BRICS Summit held in Kazan in late October, he extended this philosophy on the global stage, calling for harmonious coexistence among civilizations and closer cultural exchanges between nations.

In China, the value of "He" is deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture, guiding the country through a complex, interconnected world. The Global Times is launching a series titled "He Culture in Xi Jinping's Quotes of Classics." Drawing upon ancient Chinese literature and illuminating examples from President Xi's speeches, the series delves into the essence of "He" through five interconnected dimensions: Self-cultivation, family management, state governance, bringing peace to all under heaven, and reverence for nature. By highlighting these core aspects of "He" culture, the series aims to share China's unique cultural wisdom with the world, promoting values of peaceful coexistence, mutual prosperity, and harmonious living.

This is the third installment in the series. It shares how a delivery worker in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, settled down in the big city through the joint efforts of government and family. This narrative illustrates how the Chinese government strives to build a harmonious society where people can live "a better life."

Li Yuanyuan celebrates the 2024 Spring Festival with family members in the new house in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province. Photo: Courtesy of Li Yuanyuan

Li Yuanyuan had previously worked in many places. After becoming a delivery worker in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu Province, in 2016, he met his wife and developed the desire to settle down in this city. 

In 2018, they welcomed the "fruit of their love" - their daughter Li Fei'er. Due to economic limitations and the lack of helper to take care of the young child, Li had no choice but to place the baby in a delivery box from when she was only months old and take her along as he worked. 

Despite being put in a delivery box, Fei'er always carried brilliant smiles on her face. Videos of the father and daughter accidentally went viral on Chinese social media platforms and social media users were impressed by their optimism. Fei'er was dubbed the "delivery baby" by netizens. 

In 2022, after years of strenuous efforts, Li and his wife finally saved up enough money to realize their longtime wish of buying an apartment in Changzhou with a mortgage. 

The next year, the Changzhou government started a project to renovate local old residential communities, including the area where Li bought his 60-square-meter apartment. 

By the end of 2023, the family finally moved into the new house and spent a warm Spring Festival in 2024.

"Although the house is only 60-square meters, it is always filled with laughter and happiness. I feel like it is 'so big,'" Li told the Global Times. "I am just an ordinary person with no grand ambitions. I simply hope to live in the moment with my family and watch my child grow up healthily," he said. 

Li's simple wish is also the heartfelt desire of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people. Since the Third Plenary Session of 18th Central Committee of Communist Party of China (CPC) in November 2013, China has been striving to build a harmonious society that provides everyone with the opportunity to shine in life and allows every Chinese people to realize their dream of living and working in happiness and contentment. 

Throughout history, a safe and harmonious society where the common people can live happily has always been a vital value advocated by Chinese traditional "He" culture. 

On January 18, 2016, during a study session on implementing the decisions of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee attended by officials at provincial and ministerial level, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, quoted a classic saying from Chinese philosophical anthology The Huainanzi to emphasize this value: "There are some fixed principles in governing a state, among which benefiting the people should be the root."

In the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, Xi once again cited the phrase and stressed "Bringing benefit to the people is the fundamental principle of governance. Working for the people's wellbeing is an essential part of the Party's commitment to serving the public good and exercising governance for the people. We must ensure and improve the people's wellbeing in the course of pursuing development and encourage everyone to work hard together to meet the people's aspirations for a better life."

Under this governance of "putting people first," the Chinese government has been always working together with the Chinese people to build a harmonious society where people can live "a better life." 

Simple pursuit

Li, 34, comes from Tangshan county in East China's Anhui Province. After going through wind and rain on the streets of Changzhou for eight years, his face now bears several lines. But he says he still enjoys his work as a delivery man. 

Li still remembers the hard times, but when the Global Times asked how he overcame those days, he simply said, "everything has passed. Our life is getting better and better."

In March 2019, when Fei'er had just turned six months old, she started to sit in the delivery box on the footboard of her father's electric bike every morning and bumped along the way with his father as they began their journey to deliver meals. During that time, Li said he really couldn't think of any other solution - Fei'er had suddenly contracted pneumonia when she was five months old, and the family's savings were nearly depleted because of it. 

At that time, his wife had just found a new job selling meat at a market. She had to start working at 4 am every morning. The elderly family members of the couple were also unable to help. 

The family decided to stand together to overcome the hardship. Each day became a relay of love. In the morning, little Fei'er stayed in the delivery box, weaving through the city's streets and alleys with her father; by 11 am, she was dropped off at the market to be looked after by her mother. "Others at the market say that Fei'er is so little but has to work two jobs," her mother joked.

Despite the difficulties, Fei'er grows up in an environment filled with love and companionship. She has become exceptionally considerate and optimistic. When Li is driving, she treats the electric bike like a rocking chair, sitting obediently in the delivery box. Sometimes, when Li rides with one hand free, Fei'er would remind him to be careful. 

Her smile is particularly infectious. A photo of her smiling while sitting in a takeout box is still circulating widely on social media platforms.

At that time, some colleagues and customers would remind him that it was not safe to take his daughter with him during delivery work. He felt sorry for Fei'er, but had no choice. "I believed that as long as the family is together, everything will get better," he told the Global Times. 

The family gained online fame accidentally. At the very beginning, Li would share her daughter's moments on social media platforms as a record of their life. However, at the end of 2019, some unscrupulous social media page stole his videos and made up a story titled "a father and daughter abandoned by mother had to deliver meals together." 

Upon discovering this, Li immediately reported it to the police and created a new social media account to clarify the truth. 

So far, Li's account has posted 659 pieces of content, gaining 2.18 million followers and receiving 75.15 million likes. With the love of millions of followers, Fei'er grows day by day, learning to feed herself with a spoon, washing the dishes, and moving into the new house. 

Global Times

Work together

When Li started his food delivery work in 2016, the industry just entered a rapid development period in China. Now, as of the end of 2023, the number of people engaged in new forms of employment represented by food delivery workers, express delivery workers, freight drivers, and online streamers had exceeded 140,000 in Changzhou, according to Xinhua. 

The Changzhou authorities have also been optimizing its policies and service to make workers in new forms of employment feel the warmth of the city and gain a stronger sense of belonging.

According to Li, many rest stations have been set up in the city for food delivery workers. They can rest, and have water and food at the stations. Labor unions have also been established to help those in need. Now, if delivery workers encounter difficulties like Li used to face, they can turn to the labor union for help.    

To help the group settle down, in December 2021, Changzhou officially implemented a pilot program for flexible employment personnel to participate in the housing provident fund system. Flexible employment personnel engaged in part-time, temporary, and flexible work in Changzhou can voluntarily participate in the housing provident fund system by signing a contribution agreement, enjoying policy benefits for housing provident fund withdrawals and loans.

On a national scale, approximately 84 million workers are engaged in new employment forms. In February, China published guidelines to improve the protection of the rights of workers engaged in new employment forms, such as ride-hailing and food delivery. The guidelines stipulate detailed and practical rules to guide platform businesses in improving labor management and addressing problems, including excessive working hours and platform rules lacking sufficient transparency, according to a report by the Xinhua News Agency.

According to the guidelines, workers involved in the platform economy, such as delivery, transport and home services, will start to enjoy minimum wage protection.

With the efforts of the government and the attention of society, the conditions for delivery workers have improved significantly in recent years. 

According to a research report on blue-collar group employment released in early December, the average monthly income of food delivery workers in China in 2023 was 6,803 yuan ($934), which is notably higher than the average monthly income of the blue-collar workforce at 6,043 yuan, placing it among the top three income groups for blue-collar workers. 

Now, the baby girl has started kindergarten and no longer needs to accompany her dad on deliveries. The popularity of "delivery baby" has gradually faded on the internet, but in real life, this family's enthusiasm for a better life continues.

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