Topic: What do you have to share about the underlying labor?
Taiwanese writer Lin Liqing is also a worker.
After graduating from university, he worked as a contractor at the construction site.
10 years, he has seen all the various aspects of the lower class.
cannot tolerate the outside world always mocking workers.
"If you don't have the education, you will move bricks."
So he wrote one article after another on the construction site experience.
From the story of the workers themselves,
to the construction site environment and living structure,
through the front line observation,
reveals the sadness and treatment of workers, and
has attracted attention on the Internet.
In 2017, his posts were compiled into a book.
"The Man Who Works" won numerous awards,
Lin Liqing was also selected as the most anticipated local writer of the year by Eslite Bookstore
.
"I am a person who grew up from the construction site,
and I believe that one day,
people will affirm the value of workers."
Self-report Lin Liqing Edit Bai Wenping
My name is Lin Liqing. I was born in 1985. I am a contractor and a writer. I have been a person living at the bottom of society since I was a child. I followed my parents to set up stalls and switched to the market. I studied in the civil engineering department in college. I actually had no choice after graduation. Compared with other jobs with lower salaries and worse salaries, I decided to enter the construction site.
At the construction site, I am a contractor, with groups of workers, assigned them to work, and belonged to the management team. I stayed for 10 years. I think I am a person who grew up from the construction site and started writing by chance. Even though I am a writer now, my past has made me the present.
I published one book in 2017 and 2018, namely "The Worker" and "Such Life". Both of them describe the helplessness of the lower class society.
It was also a surprise that I could write books at the beginning. In 2016, because my mother was sick, I took leave to take care of her at home. When I was free, I found that many keyboard warriors on the Internet mocking workers, "I go to work without studying", "Workers are just uneducated". I was very angry when I saw it, and I retorted them: Is it good to be a serious worker?
After a long time, I felt that it was meaningless to quarrel with these keyboard warriors. I must write some things with content . So I began to draw materials from my side, write about the stories of the workers I brought, write about the betel nut stalls around the construction site, the workers' families, etc.
Gradually, some people discovered that these articles were really written by a "worker". They began to follow me, and later the publisher came to me and I embarked on the road of writing.
The whole book "The Worker" talks about labor. I have known the people mentioned in it for an average of 5 years and have a good relationship with them. When I was writing, I deliberately changed their names, but no matter how I changed them, many friends at the construction site felt that I was writing about them.
If there is any similarity, please be kind and not happy. If you read this book and know who I am writing, or if you think this story is very similar to whom, please don’t be happy because of this. Everyone’s life is not bright, but they should be respected.
Aguo who borrows money all day long
Aguo is a worker who went halfway through the journey. He is not good at making mud and water and electricity, so he can only do odd jobs everywhere. In fact, he used to do textile factory equipment, made a lot of money, and lived a comfortable life. Until the company encountered a crisis, the goods were exported to Bangladesh, and the equipment was burned out due to different voltage specifications. In order to save the company, he borrowed money through various channels and rebuilt a batch of hopes, but he didn't expect that the equipment was sent to the local area and it still couldn't be used. Aguo went bankrupt instantly and hid debts everywhere.
For the sake of his life, he went out to do odd jobs. When he stepped into the construction site, he was already 50 years old and couldn't learn anything. Aguo borrowed money from us at the construction site all day long. He also borrowed money from me during the New Year a while ago, and I would lend him.
I think what is valuable is his mentality. Even in such a difficult environment, he still smiles every day. I wrote his story and he told me, why don’t you write my real name? I don’t care if people know that I’m becoming like this now.
Brother who is infected with bad habits
Aqin and Aqi, the brothers, used to help people repair iron nets and repair walls in their hometowns, but as such work gradually became saturated, they had to take jobs in other places. Some people would be uncomfortable and stressed when they went out. This is normal. Just like why some people smoked, it was also to seek channels to release stress. The same is true for the brothers, but they accidentally got into bad habits and the demand was getting bigger and bigger. They almost spent money on it, and even borrowed money...
Finally, my brother Aqin passed away. What impressed me the most was that he was a very family-oriented person. He went out to make money in order to live a good life for his family. But before he left, he felt that he was a burden to his family. As for his younger brother, I don’t know where he went, and he had broken contact.
A Zhong who is dominated
A Zhong is a mildly mentally retarded, stuttering and slow movements. After his mother passed away, his brother and sister-in-law were responsible for taking care of him. His money was also managed by his brother and sister-in-law. He worked for more than ten years. In fact, A Zhong has strong experience and practical ability, but his master did not understand, so he squeezed him and gave him very little salary.
Later, he changed to work on the construction site, his income was better, and he saved some money. His brother and sister-in-law didn't ask what he wanted, so she insisted on helping him find a partner. She hired an agent to go to a rural village in mainland China and spent 15,000 yuan to "bring" a wife to Azhong.
A Zhong's wife came to Taiwan and did housework all day long. Her life was also controlled by A Zhong's brother and sister-in-law. They kept asking her to help A Zhong give birth to a child. Of course the woman didn't want it, so she ran away later.
Before she left, she said to Ah Zhong, "I hate you." Ah Zhong always remembered it in her heart. The failure of marriage had a big blow to him, not to mention that this was not what he wanted at all.
After Azhong returned to work on the construction site, I actually worried about working with him because of his personal conditions. He looks and moves are not flexible, and he often gets into trouble, so I didn’t look for him even if I have a case. Azhong’s marriage and career are not going well.
Once again, I received the news from him that I received the news of his death. I felt very guilty and regretted not giving him more care at that time.
The construction site sister-in-law
The construction site is a very masculine place, but there are also women on the construction site, such as the surrounding betel nut stalls and tea stalls, which are almost women operating.
I especially admire the "construction site sister-in-law". They usually get married early and follow their husbands to the construction site to be responsible for handling cases. They not only have to take care of their husbands and their apprentices, but also have to contact contractors, run around the construction site, and even learn some professional skills in the early stages of construction. So I feel that they are like experts in interpersonal relationship processing, know how to deal with each other and arrange everyone well.
The most valuable thing for workers is realism, speaking directly and thinking simple. I observe many labor families, who are also very free to their children. Let them do whatever their children want. Compared to ordinary families who set goals for their children, which school they ask their children to go to, and which place the exam, it seems that there are arrangements, but in fact they set a framework.
These are my experiences. On the construction site, you will see many aspects of life, and more may be helplessness, and "helplessness" comes from the perspective of imperfect social systems and public discrimination.
In the past, many of these workers worked everywhere and did not get the guarantee they deserved. If there was an accident, they had to bear the responsibility.
There is a lot of dust and ash in the construction site, and the workers' lungs are more likely to break; the strong light during welding will damage the workers' vision over time; moving heavy objects will cause damage to the knees, waist, and joints, not to improve the building needs to climb up and down, which are all high-risk jobs, and our salary is exchanged for life.
Many people think that workers are dirty, and we know that we are also afraid of disturbing others. When entering the supermarket, we will wipe off the dust and mud on the carpet outside to avoid dirtying the polished tiles in the store. When dining, we will avoid restaurants that look decorated, or would rather buy a lunch box and squat on the side of the road to eat. Even if others are willing to respect workers, workers will still feel inferior.
After the publication of "The Worker" was selected by Jinshitang as the "Top Ten Influential Good Books" and the "most wanted to sell" book at the Eslite Reading Professional Awards. I was selected as Eslite's most anticipated local writer of the year. People's Literature Journal also wrote me in. I think I am very lucky.
In fact, my source of income is no longer earned by working, but by writing books and speaking. But I am confused and am beginning to blur my future direction.
Do I want to be a full-time writer or continue to work?
I haven't thought about it yet, but I will continue to work hard on both. This dual identity can make me closer to local life. I also hope to present the labor side that no one pays attention to to the public through writing.
A good worker, his equipment, clothing, and appearance, will make people feel that he is taking his work seriously. This requires all workers to devote themselves to and reverse the stereotypes imposed by the outside world.
I hope there will be more excavator drivers, truck drivers, etc. in the future, and use actions to tell everyone what the dignity of our work value is, so that people in society know how to respect us.
Good things are left slowly, they will surpass death, perhaps not now, but people will one day re-recognize the value of workers.
article reprinted one
