Our company just finished moving, but there’s still some work to wrap up. So I rented a car a few days ago to move my stuff and do some weekend shopping. The right rear tire had low pressure, so I stopped at a tire shop this morning. A young guy came over and asked what I needed. I told him about the low tire pressure and that I needed a new valve cap. He got to work right away. When he finished, I pretended to ask how much it cost, though I already knew - and just as he said - it was free.
I said thanks with a smile and drove off. At the first red light, I started thinking: there I was, afraid to touch the tire to keep my hands clean, while he was handling the dirty air gun and checking the tire with his hands without a care. That moment felt really familiar, weren’t we just like my past self and that customer from ten years ago? Back then, I naively thought that being “too good to get dirty” was just how Shanghai people were. Ten years later, this role reversal was so funny that I missed the green light.
Today is the last day of 2024. Looking back to 2014 when I first left school, my first job was washing cars. Ten years have passed, and honestly? I don’t think I’ve changed that much. Still that guy who loves having fun, always looking for new stuff, and has zero interest in marriage or kids. But I guess some things did change - got more wrinkles now, random body aches, and yeah, slowly getting fat. 😅
Not all changes are bad though. Got myself a decent job (way better than washing cars lol), a cozy little home that feels just right even if it’s rented, 2 cats who own my ass, and a girl I actually wanna spend forever with. Sometimes I wonder what life would be like in another universe where I stuck with car washing. Better? Worse? Who knows. But this life? No regrets.
I’m 27 now, and in about 2 hours I’ll be 28. Here’s to another year of taking it easy (maybe work juuust a bit harder so I don’t get fired 🤡), and hey, to all my fellow 打工人 out there - hope you get that raise, that promotion, stay healthy, and keep living that easy life!
