Life in China 🇨🇳 My Routine as a Low-Income Person (No Friends, Just turned 40)
About this video
A quiet look at turning 40 in China without a high income or a big social circle, filmed from a simple, old neighborhood in Huizhou. The creator shares the small daily rituals that bring contentment, from cooking affordable meals to finding moments of peace, while honestly acknowledging the pressure of returning to a hometown where family expectations feel heavy. It’s a gentle, relatable portrait of navigating solitude and societal judgment with grace and small, homemade joys.
Video transcript
Two years ago, I lost almost everything in Shenzhen. My career, my friends. I was even scammed by an old classmate. Then, I made the decision to relocate to Huizhou to start a new life. It's been a warm winter in Guangdong this year, well, so far. The morning sunlight feels really comfortable, but the wind at night gets so strong. Look, it even blew the boy's grass toilet over. Most days, after I walk the dogs, I get ready to start work. I hardly ever eat breakfast. Most morning, I make myself a cup of drip bag coffee at home. coffee at home. I get the
packets from Sam's Club. Comes out to about 2.9 yuan a cup, like 40 cents. I skipped it today because I planned to go to a coffee bar to do some work. Luckin Coffee is the most popular coffee chain in China right now. As long as you don't drink it every day, you can almost always get a coupon. With the coupon, an Americano is 9.9 yuan, yuan, about $1.4. about $1.4. I usually come here twice a week. Lately, sometimes I just really want to sit in a busy, noisy place and get my own work done. Anyone else feel the same way? Oh, right. Oh, right. Besides
making my own YouTube videos, I'm also a freelance video editor. Even though it's work I enjoy, it's probably just a temporary thing while I'm figuring out my career. The pay for video editors in China is pretty low. Getting feedback like this from a client makes me really happy. But even if I work over 10 hours a day, in a good month, I only make about 4,500 yuan, less than $650. less than $650. Some months, it's only around 3,000 yuan, yuan, under $450. under $450. I also tried applying for a video localization job for Mr. Beast on a remote work
website, but I didn't get it. it. Of course, I'm still learning and trying new things. new things. Something will work out eventually. The market, hair salon, clinic, and restaurants are literally right downstairs. downstairs. Everything is so close and convenient. That's one of the perks of living in an old complex. old complex. And of course, the biggest perk is how cheap everything is. cheap everything is. You wouldn't believe how cheap. Honestly, that's the only way I'm able to keep things going right now. Been rushing a client edit and totally lost
track of time. I'm going to have a very late lunch today. Things at markets, Things at markets, especially in a senior community like this, are much cheaper than a chain supermarkets. And the ingredients are really fresh. Pretty much all delivered the same day. At markets like this, you can pick out what you like. Put different items into separate bags. Then go line up to have them weighed. them weighed. After that, you line up again at the cashier to pay. cashier to pay. Since it's already pretty late, there aren't many people shopping. So no lines now.
Chinese New Year is almost here. A lot of people have already returned to their hometowns to be with family, soaking up the festive mood. But me, I've been hesitating, putting it off. It's not that I don't miss my parents. It's just It's just my current situation. my current situation. I'm 40, no kids, no real career, living in a rented place. I didn't listen to my parents' advice, got scammed, lost most of the savings I'd worked a whole decade for, and I'm still in debt. I already carry so much guilt towards them. Back home, in everyone's eyes, I'm
pretty much the definition of a failure. Going back means facing the well-meaning nagging from my parents and some relatives. relatives. Though I know they genuinely want what's best for me. best for me. But in China, a lot of those so-called friends and relatives around our parents, they gossip. They ask all these questions pretending to care, but then make sure to say hurtful things right in front of my parents, comparing their own kids to me, highlighting their success, and by contrast, my parents' failure. I don't know if this happens where you're
from, from, but it's pretty common in smaller Chinese cities. Chinese cities. Every time it happens, the guilt I feel towards my parents just gets heavier. But during New Year, when all the relatives and family friends are constantly visiting, constantly visiting, you have to face it. There's no way around it. For this lunch, I only used half of the pork and half of the tomatoes I bought today, plus one egg. The total cost comes to about 7.93 yuan, roughly $1.15. I've been rewatching this animation from my university days. my university days. It's really
calming and helps me find some peace. What do you all usually do to unwind and feel at ease? At 40, At 40, I'm already on two long-term medications. medications. So, I really hope you start taking care of your health in your 30s, or even your late 20s. Now I'm just trying to stay as healthy as I can. as I can. I usually try to squeeze in 40 minutes of exercise a day. Light strength training or some cardio. This elliptical is 8 years old now. It's pretty ancient, but it still works well. well. I bought it back when I had a steady income. It was 3,000
yuan, around $430. My workout gear is one of the three purchases I've never regretted. Let's go get some traditional Chinese street food. That could be my dinner for today. today. Across the street from where I live, there's a street market. This market has all kinds of traditional Chinese street food and fresh vegetables and fruit. The vendors usually don't show up until around 4:00 or 5:00 in the afternoon. It's almost Chinese New Year now. So it's busier than usual. Which one of these street foods would you most want to try? I'm not getting any of
these today, though. though. There's also plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit here, and they're actually even cheaper than the market downstairs from my apartment. from my apartment. Living in China really gives you a lot of options. of options. You can live an expensive, luxurious life if you want, but you can also easily find affordable places to live and buy things cheaply, even on a low income. Life doesn't have to be all that bad. Okay. Time to go eat the traditional street food I'm actually here for. This is what I'm having today. Do you know what
this is? It's traditional Chinese burger. It's called you dan bao. Literally, meat egg burger. Back in the day, before McDonald's entered China, these traditional Chinese burgers were everywhere. burgers were everywhere. When I was in primary school, vendors, mostly middle-aged uncles and aunties, would park their carts by the school gate and cook these burgers this old-fashioned way. old-fashioned way. Running to find that stall was the first thing I did after school. Then, over 30 years ago, McDonald's and KFC came to China and started opening branches
in every city. Under that kind of competition, the traditional Chinese burger pretty much disappeared. And sure, disappeared. And sure, American burgers taste richer and more layered, no question. layered, no question. But sometimes, I really miss the taste of my childhood. of my childhood. I searched all over Shenzhen for this Chinese burger and never found it. Then, 2 years ago, I moved here to Huizhou, and it turned out to be right across the street from where I live. Life's funny that way. When you're not really looking, it quietly surprises you.
Well, I guess it's like if you hold on to something long enough, it eventually finds its way back. I also remember having a red bean version back in primary school. Same cooking method, but filled with sweet red bean paste. red bean paste. I still haven't found the red bean burger anywhere, burger anywhere, but someday, I will. This Chinese burger is 4 yuan each, about 58 cents. about 58 cents. I got two, so that's $1.16 total. Sometimes it's the simple things that make life a little better. You don't need to spend much to feel a bit happier. Do you also
have something from your childhood that you really wish you could find again, but it's just gone? There's a group of students playing basketball over there. It's starting to get dark. I should head home now. My mind's a little all over the place with the whole going back to my hometown for New Year's thing, but what needs to get done today still needs to get done. Hopefully, I can focus and get another 6 or 7 hours of work in before bed. Before I go, I truly hope you all had one or two little things today that made you happy. you happy. I'm J Q. See you
next time.
