Before the SARS in 2003, the plastic packaging in my newly-bought car had not been removed when I drove it to an auto beauty shop named "Yuefu" near my office. Then I bought a car washing card. After all, it is a new car and should be cherished. To find a seemingly luxurious automatic car wash made me feel that I am worthy of this golden car. For several consecutive years, every time I needed to wash my car, I would go to this "Oupai Lijie Yuefu" to enjoy standard process services. But big car washes have their own problems. For example, this car wash is on the opposite side of my way to work, so I need to make two U-turns to complete the entire car washing task and get back on the road to work. Besides, I usually go to work at 7 o'clock in the morning, but "Yuefu" has not opened yet. And when I finish work, this place is already closed. Moreover, most of the cars washed there are government vehicles. Among a group of Buick Excelle and Audi, my small car looks like a spoiled child. Therefore, I always feel strange when going to wash my car there.
This summer, I found a manual car wash by the roadside on my way to work. Although the storefront is not large, the operation is relatively regular, and they also issue car washing cards. Moreover, they open as early as 6:30 in the morning. This small car wash is also suitable for the identity of my nearly four-year-old private car. Therefore, my main battlefield for car washing has shifted to this small car wash. The young men who wash the cars gradually became familiar with me. Sometimes when I'm lazy and only wash my car once a week, some kids will ask, "Sister, you haven't come for a long time. Are you on a business trip?"
Although the cleaning is sometimes average, I feel very down-to-earth and close. Winter has arrived, and I really don't want to see those young men in rubber clothes washing my car in the cold wind, even though they wear rubber gloves. But if I don't go to this small shop and choose "Yuefu", I have to make two U-turns and wait in a long queue. Therefore, after sleeping late this morning, I still chose this small shop. There were many cars waiting at the shop's entrance. A big pot using honeycomb coal to boil water was placed outside the spray room. The people wiping the cars use hot water to clean the towels and then dry the cleaned vehicles for the car owners. This stove and the puddles of water on the ground made me feel uncomfortable. Although I pay them, they work hard; if I don't wash my car, everyone may not be able to earn wages because it's too cold to wash cars. But I still feel strange. I took a picture casually and went to "Yuefu" to queue up. Even though "Yuefu" also uses machine spraying and manual wiping, there is no such awkward feeling.
After working all day, I took out this photo and thought about many things. The images of those happy young men came to mind. They were singing along loudly with the songs played in my car, such as "I Actually Always Understand You" and "Flowers Quietly Bloom". Beijing, this so-called world metropolis, needs both prosperity and tidiness, but cannot unify and standardize service industries. This disorder and chaos, which superficially expands employment and increases service coverage, fundamentally reflects the imperfection of urban management.
I remember one summer when I took several foreign friends to drink at Houhai. After drinking, we were stopped by beautifully decorated rickshaws soliciting foreigners to take a ride around Houhai. Two of my foreign friends and I firmly refused, while another foreign friend told me that he knew that if he took these rickshaws, it would actually help the rickshaw drivers. Thus, they reached a consensus to hire these rickshaws. After seeing them off, I turned away, but I didn't feel comfortable at the time. Thinking about it today, I still don't feel comfortable. I don't want my compatriots to serve those countries that invaded us a hundred years ago with physical labor. But if they don't make a living this way, how will my compatriots feed themselves? The same goes for those car wash workers in the cold wind. They work with the youth and vitality they possess, just like us. However, they use physical labor, while we do not. In fact, unconsciously, we are exploiting the physical labor they share with us. It feels uncomfortable, but there seems to be no solution.
Just like the rickshaw tours forming the so-called "Beijing Hutong Tour" company, these car wash workers become "Yuefu" car wash workers, but the substantial situation remains unchanged, and their income might even decrease. I also know Chairman Mao's classic statement, "Work has no nobility or baseness, only different social divisions." But since we know that social divisions exist, why can't city managers show a little care for these lives surviving in the corners? Simply issuing permits does nothing more than to further exploit these children without providing them with more training for the service industry or basic working conditions. Talking about it makes me feel somewhat helpless. Perhaps, this is how society works, but a harmonious socialist society dominated by harmony should not be like this. Everyone has their own perspective. But if I have children, I will definitely not use these examples to threaten them to study hard. Instead, I might require them to learn respect and develop a peaceful, equal, and ordinary mindset. I don't have the insight to worry about the country and its people, nor do I have the power to change anything. Therefore, I often fantasize that there are social managers who can create a comfortable cultural atmosphere for me.