Young people make money during the Spring Festival: cooking for 8 days is equivalent to a month's salary, feeding pets for half a month earns 20,000

The designated drivers in Wuhan earn more than 1,000 yuan a day, which is about three times the usual amount; the chefs in Beijing earn as much as the past month's money in one holiday; the delivery boys earn more than 2,600 yuan in three days, which is equivalent to almost half a month's income in the past... While many people are carrying their bulging bags back home to celebrate the New Year and to reunite after a long absence, some people are practicing the "delayed gratification" advocated by Zhang Yiming: they choose to go home during off-peak hours, give up rest during the Spring Festival holiday, and instead concentrate on making money.

During the first Spring Festival after the epidemic was relaxed, when many people returned home with bulging bags to celebrate the New Year and welcome the long-awaited reunion, some people were practicing the "delayed gratification" advocated by Zhang Yiming: they chose to go home during off-peak hours, gave up resting during the Spring Festival holiday, and instead concentrated on making money.

Designated drivers in Wuhan earn more than 1,000 yuan a day, which is about three times their usual salary; chefs in Beijing earn as much as they did in a month during their holidays; food delivery boys earn more than 2,600 yuan in three days, which is equivalent to half a month's income in the past...

Over the past year, many people's wallets have become more or less empty. People hope to make up for the lost three years bit by bit. Making money during the Spring Festival is just the first step.

1. Chef of a star hotel: Cooking at customers’ homes, earning a month’s salary in 8 days

I used to be the head chef of a star-rated hotel. The demand for business trips and tourism has decreased, and our industry has been greatly affected by the epidemic in the past three years. I just bought a house in 2019, and I have a mortgage to pay every month. Life is very stressful, so at the beginning of 2021, I accidentally started a side business - cooking at home.

Our team has a lot of experience, with at least 9 years of work experience. The company provides two types of services. One is that the owner buys the ingredients by himself, and we are only responsible for processing and cooking them. The other is that we take care of everything, from buying food to cooking. For the former, a table usually costs 500-800 yuan, while the latter is basically charged per person, starting from 200 yuan/person, but requires a minimum of 5 people. Based on nutrition, we have prepared different New Year's Eve dinner packages, and customers can choose from the packages, and of course they can also replace them according to their preferences.

Now the Spring Festival holiday is only 7 days, and many people do not have enough time to prepare for the New Year, so more people choose the second option. Of course, at this price, we basically only serve first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.

I basically started on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and I had at least one order every day, and often two orders. When the whole family got together, there were rarely 5 people, but usually more than 7. On the most profitable day, I made nearly 4,000 yuan. Of course, that day was also very tiring. I basically spent the whole day cooking. I left at around 8 a.m. and returned home at 9 p.m.

Many people say that it is better to eat at a restaurant than to pay thousands of dollars to hire someone to cook at home. But in fact, our customers told me that they want the atmosphere of eating at home. Customers who choose to have their New Year's Eve dinner cooked at home are generally in a better financial condition and of high quality. After the meal, they will say to us: "Thank you for your hard work, chef." Some customers will also give me extra small gifts, such as wine, fruit, etc. Some customers think the food tastes good and will add me on WeChat to make reservations for birthday banquets, Mid-Autumn Festival and other festival dinners at home.

The title of star chef sounds good, but in fact, the income in our industry is not high. The income of an executive chef in a star hotel may not be as high as that of a programmer, which may be only 20,000 yuan. Taking advantage of this Spring Festival holiday, I basically earned the salary of the past month.

2. Delivery drivers: The number of orders has decreased by two-thirds, but they earn twice as much

After the epidemic was lifted this year, many people returned to their hometowns for the New Year. Since my wife is also in Shanghai, I decided to stay in Shanghai and continue delivering food. I didn’t rest from New Year’s Eve to the second day of the New Year, so I wanted to make more money.

During the Spring Festival, there were actually very few takeout orders, less than one-third of the usual number. I only delivered 52 orders a day at most. But there were a lot of subsidies. I ran 52 orders on New Year's Eve, and the delivery fee for each order was 8.5 yuan, which was much higher than usual. Then there was a subsidy of 1.5 yuan, so I could make 10 yuan per order. In this way, I made 520 yuan a day just delivering takeout. The government department has a special subsidy of 150 yuan a day, and the distribution station subsidizes us 200 yuan a day. In this way, on New Year's Eve, I made 870 yuan.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I ran 49 orders, and with the subsidies from the station and the government, I earned a total of 740 yuan. On the second day of the Lunar New Year, I ran 30 orders, and the income was relatively small, earning 535 yuan. Then there was a duty bonus, which was 550 yuan for these three days, so the total profit was 2,695 yuan.

You can see that the main income during the Spring Festival is the bonus. Overall, it is much better than usual. Because I am usually a medium-level deliveryman, not the king of our station. I can't earn as much as them. During the Spring Festival, we don't have many relatives in Shanghai, so I can do takeout and earn a good income without delivering many orders.

This year I plan to work hard and take more orders, because I heard that they are going to implement a new power plan, and then they will pay according to the score. I will try to set a higher target for myself, and it is always right to work harder. After all, we cannot compare with white-collar workers, who can get triple their salary for working overtime during the Spring Festival, while we can only earn bonuses through hard work.

I recently posted my real income from food delivery during the Spring Festival on a short video platform. It attracted a lot of attention, and many people commented on the hard work or paid tribute to those who persevered. I didn't think it was a big deal. Many people also wanted to be food delivery riders after seeing the money they could make. I want to say that this place is recruiting special deliverymen, and the stations will provide clothes, vehicles, etc. for a fee. But I have to say something up front. In fact, ordinary riders are usually very hard-working. We deliver hundreds of orders a day when we are busy. Only during the Spring Festival do we make more money with fewer orders, and we also give up the holidays to rest.

3. Designated drivers: The orders are so full that they are overwhelmed with big orders and don’t even bother to look at small orders

I did not go back home for the Chinese New Year this year. On the one hand, it was far away from home. On the other hand, after the epidemic was relaxed, there were more dining and drinking and socializing, and the designated driver business became good. It was based on this consideration that I thought I might receive more big orders during the Spring Festival, so I did not plan to go home, thinking about making a fortune during the Spring Festival. Later, my judgment was proved to be correct. For the first time, I felt the pleasure of making a lot of money in a short period of time.

I usually take driving orders from dinner time to the early morning of the next day. We can usually earn more than 300-500 yuan a day, and may earn two or three hundred yuan more during holidays. I have never done driving during the Spring Festival before, and this year is the first time. I heard from friends that there will be a lot of orders during the Spring Festival, and there will be no worries about not getting orders, so I am full of confidence and stay in Wuhan to make money.

The business of designated drivers has been very good since the eve of the Little New Year. As the Spring Festival approaches, more people return to their hometowns to celebrate the New Year and have dinner with relatives and friends. Alcohol is indispensable, so many car owners who have drunk alcohol will choose to call a designated driver. Starting from 18:00 in the evening, during the period from the Little New Year to the New Year's Eve, it is easy to receive orders for designated drivers after drinking.

After New Year's Eve, the order hall of our designated driver APP was full, and we also charged a service fee of 9.9 yuan per order. We had no worries about not getting big orders. Starting from the first day of the new year, I could earn 1,200-2,000 yuan every day for 4 consecutive days. It was really great. It was the first time I felt that designated driving during the Spring Festival was really profitable. I even broke a folding electric bicycle for commuting.

Moreover, I found that there are quite a lot of people who stay to work as designated drivers during the Spring Festival. Because one time I received an order from Wuhan across the river in the early morning. When I took the bus across the river, I found that most of the people on the bus were designated drivers. They took the bus from Hankou to Wuchang, and then after arriving in Wuchang, they would ride folding electric bikes to the owner's location. I asked them on the bus about their earnings during this period, and they were similar to me. They were very busy with big orders, and they would not even look at small orders.

Anyway, from the beginning of the Chinese New Year to the eighth day of the first lunar month, I earned more than 16,000 yuan, which is higher than my previous monthly income. Although I lost the opportunity to go home for the Chinese New Year, I was really happy to finally make money. I hope that I can continue to enjoy the joy of making big money in these days when orders are likely to explode.

4. Home pet feeding: Book a date one month in advance, earn more than 20,000 yuan in half a month

I used to rescue stray cats, and later I became a full-time pet caregiver. I have been doing this in Shanghai for four or five years.

In the past three years, this industry has also been greatly affected. People don't go out, and they don't go out to travel during holidays, and the demand for door-to-door pet services has also decreased. Starting from the Spring Festival this year, it is obvious that the industry has begun to recover, and it has almost recovered to 70% to 80% of the pre-epidemic level.

During the Spring Festival, the cost of home feeding is 100-150 yuan. Unlike part-time jobs, I take care of a pet for more than half an hour. Some cats are clingy and may take up to an hour. They are reluctant to leave and play with you for a long time.

The demand for home feeding began to peak on January 19 (the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month) and lasted until January 31 (the 10th day of the first lunar month). During this half month, I left home at 6:30 in the morning and returned home after 10:00 in the evening, taking care of more than a dozen pets a day.

During the Spring Festival, the income can reach 15,000-23,000 yuan. But it is hard-earned money and very tiring. I have almost no time to eat every day. I always carry a piece of bread with me and eat when I have time on the road. I don’t have much time to spend with my family or relatives. I go to work by subway every day, which is more convenient than driving. I don’t need to find a parking space. Each trip takes about half an hour to 45 minutes.

Eighty percent of my customers are old customers. For example, home feeding during the Spring Festival requires an appointment one month in advance, and the schedule is quite tight. Because the orders are large, the daily routes must be arranged. How to run the most time-saving route must be arranged in advance, and temporary appointments cannot be inserted. The route must be arranged every day, and some people must be added and some people must be removed.

In February, the daily business volume may be reduced by half, and reservations are no longer required a month in advance. But the business is much better than before. When the tourist peak season comes, the business will not be bad during normal times.

5. Part-time job in the cinema: only 3 times the salary from the first to the third day of the Chinese New Year, some people earn 400 to 500 yuan a day

After I finished my postgraduate entrance examination, I had nothing to do, so I went to work part-time at a movie theater near my home during the Spring Festival. There are two types of part-time jobs in the theater: social part-time jobs pay 20 yuan per hour, and student part-time jobs pay 15 yuan per hour.

Cinemas do not triple their wages for all seven days of the holiday, only the first three days of the Chinese New Year are tripled. Cinemas generally do not give the opportunity of triple pay to part-time workers, and the three days are reserved for regular employees.

So we didn't get the good thing of tripling the salary from the first to the third day of the Lunar New Year. I started working on the fourth day, and my working hours were no more than 8 hours a day, which meant I earned 160 yuan a day.

The salaries of cinema staff in different cities are also different. Some cinema ticket sellers in Beijing can earn about 400-500 yuan a day with the basic salary plus three times the salary in the three days before the Spring Festival. But the workload is also relatively large. Everyone needs to sell tickets, check tickets, clean up after the show, sell popcorn, drinks and other snacks. They are not fixed to a certain position every day, but go wherever they are needed.

I work part-time as a cinema attendant in our city cinema, which requires me to check tickets, patrol the hall, clean, and guide the audience. These work contents are not particularly detailed and specific to each person's workload. Several people take turns to do it. If they get tired of standing at the back, they can come to the front. It is very flexible.

The biggest disadvantage of working part-time at a movie theater is that my feet hurt and I have to stand for too long. But when there are not many people, I can sit in the movie theater at the back, which is much more relaxing than a restaurant, and I can watch movies for free.

During the Spring Festival, many of the audiences who came to the cinema were parents who brought their children to watch "Boonie Bears" and "Deep Sea". With so many people, it was easy for children to get lost, so there were a lot of children who got separated from their parents in the cinema, but they were all found in the end through surveillance.

The front desk of the cinema is also very busy, and I have to keep roasting popcorn, so I have almost no time to rest. So the triple salary is hard-earned money, and it can be regarded as a kind of compensation for not taking a break during the holidays.

To avoid peak New Year holidays and make money in reverse, many cinema regular employees work during the Spring Festival and then go home to celebrate the New Year after the holiday.

Author: Tech Planet Team

Source: Tech Planet (ID: tech618)