After I graduated, I started working right away. These past few years I have always been doing jobs here and there. Nothing special. Just work. But I think as long as you are healthy, life can still be happy. That is enough, right?

Life, to me, is just about the basics. You get married, you have children, and before you know it, you get old. That is how it goes. People always talk about old traditions, things passed down for generations. They say when you die, you go up to the sky. That there is another world after this one. But I do not believe it.

I think this is it. This life is the one we get. So just live it well. Be healthy. Be kind. That is already not easy.

I drive a van and deliver packages around the city. Been doing it for almost eight years now. It is tiring, but the city keeps moving, and so do I.

I have delivered everything you can imagine, clothes, electronics, books, sometimes even strange things like plants or big stuffed animals. Most people just take the package, nod, and go back inside. But once in a while, there is something different.

There was this one time last winter. I had a delivery to a nursing home on the edge of the city. I thought it was a mistake, because the name on the package was a kid’s name. An old man came to the door with a caretaker. He looked surprised, almost emotional.

The package was from his granddaughter. A small box with a drawing and a handwritten note. The caretaker told me the old man had been feeling forgotten. He hadn’t seen his family in over a year. He allowed me to read the letter, and I it was just a child’s drawing of their family together, with a message that said, “I miss you, Grandpa. I love you.”

I deliver hundreds of packages a week. Most of them are just boxes. But that one stayed with me. Sometimes we are just part of the logistics, you know.

Those rare deliveries that make you feel like you are doing something that matters.

I am originally from Handan, Hebei, and I work here as a cleaner. Health is the greatest happiness. As long as you are healthy, everything else can be solved. But if your body is not healthy, then nothing can be resolved.

To me, the meaning of life is simply being with family and staying free from illness. Being healthy is the greatest happiness, greater than anything else. I do not have high demands when it comes to money, but it has to be enough to live on. It is something you cannot do without in life.

Why do I value health so deeply? Because my mother passed away from lung cancer. That is why I believe that only when there is health can a family truly be happy.

Happiness is also being with your colleagues. When you are with them, you can forget your troubles. Getting along with those around you, being a bit more understanding and tolerant with each other, that is the greatest kind of joy, the most fulfilling feeling.

Yes, you are right. Only when you get along with the people around you can you truly feel happy, right? As for those who are not close to you, no matter how much you want it, you cannot get that same feeling of connection as when you are with someone by your side.

I came to Beijing when I was nineteen. Slept in a shared room with six others. Ate cheap noodles every night. Sent most of the money home.

Then one day I got injured. Nothing dramatic, just a slip and a sharp pain that never really went away. Could not carry loads anymore. Boss stopped calling. I spent a long time doing nothing.

One morning, I walked past an old woman selling flowers by the road. She had hands like bark, and she was humming. I stood there for a long time. Bought a pot of mint. Took it home. I do not know why, but watching that plant grow gave me something I had not felt in a while.

So I started selling them. Learned how to care for each one, slowly. I talk to them sometimes. You don't believe me, it's okay, I know. But they listen better than most people.

Now I sell flowers full time. Rain or shine. Some days are quiet. Some days I go home with just enough for dinner. But every day, I feel like I am doing something good.

I have just been doing the same work all along. It is a bit hard sometimes, sure, but at least it gives me freedom. With a regular job, you have someone telling you what to do, right? But this, no one controls me. If I feel like working, I do. If I do not, I just sit and take a break. When there is time, I water the flowers, maybe trim them a little. That is freedom, isn’t it? The best part? I do not know. I just sell flowers and make some money from it.

I am retired. I live by myself, just me and my dog. He goes everywhere with me. He does not talk, but he understands everything.

After I retired, I did not want to just sit at home. I have seen many old people who stop moving, stop talking, and then slowly get sick. I do not want to be like that. So I go out every day and collect bottles and cardboard. Not for money, but to feel useful. I like walking around. I like hearing the city sounds, even if my ears do not catch all of them. I like watching people live their lives.

Some say I am just picking up trash. I do not think so. I think I am picking up time. At the end of the day, I can sit down, eat a simple meal and feel at peace.

I am retired now. I used to work as a captain. I was born and raised in Beijing, and I have always enjoyed having fun throughout my life.

When it comes to the meaning of life, I think it is alright. Life is long anyway. These days, I just take walks when I feel like it or stay at home. I try to find small things to keep myself busy, but at my age, nobody really wants to hire you anymore. So I mostly stay at home. I am sixty two now. This is just how things are for me.

The work I do now is just a way to pass the time. I stay occupied, but it is not because I need the money.

I was born in Beijing. Now if you compare life today with how it was before, it is completely different. When I was a child, my family lived in a courtyard house near the Summer Palace in Haidian. Life was simple back then.

But over the past twenty years or so, things have really improved. Living conditions got much better. The income has been decent. We managed to buy an apartment. At home, everything has been steady. No big troubles. Some people might say that kind of life sounds plain, but I think a plain life is a very happy one. A calm and peaceful life is true happiness.

Since you are here, let me say this. Life can be long or short. Some people live to eighty or ninety. Some only make it to sixty or seventy. No matter how long we have, I believe this. If we were given this life, we should treasure it.

While we are here, we should try to do something meaningful. Something that helps others. Something that helps ourselves. Even if we cannot change the world, we can still give back a little. We can still make a small contribution.

When it comes to raising children, I always say just walk a good path. Study well. Be kind. That is enough.

And most important of all, take care of your health. When we were young, we never thought much about it. But now, you start needing medicine. So I tell the younger ones, take care of yourself early. Your body matters. Health is everything.

My life has not gone smooth. You ask why? I joined the army when I was sixteen. Came out in nineteen seventy, twenty one years old. Thought things would turn out good. I was a good soldier. Did what I was told. Worked hard. But my old father, back then during the Cultural Revolution, he stood with the wrong people. So our village secretary, folks called him Uncle Qiu, he stepped in and brought me back home. Said I had to leave the army.

If it were not for that, maybe my life would have taken a different road.

Came back and got a job at the county fertilizer plant. Worked hard there too. Being a soldier teaches you that. Thought maybe I could move up and become workshop head. But the plant was in bad shape. Always short on things. Falling behind. So I left and went back to farming.

My whole life has been one hardship after another. That is how it is for folks like us in the countryside. If you do not suffer a little, you do not survive. We just bear it. Got no choice.

I was a soldier so I know how to endure. Got used to holding things in. Now I help my daughter raise flowers, just lending a hand. Flowers do not make you angry. You water them and watch them grow. That is peace. It is easier and I get to breathe a little.

You ask if I was lucky. Maybe. But this life of mine was too bitter. Too bitter for luck.

I was a left behind child since I was little, stayed at home alone until now after graduating from college. I lived with my aunt and took care of my younger siblings when I was young. Then I went to college and after graduating I came to Beijing with my parents to look for work. I guess I will just follow the usual path of getting married one day and having a baby. What is the meaning of life? Is not the meaning of life just about searching for meaning? I don't need to find the purpose in live, living itself is the purpose. Xu Sanduo once said, the meaning of life is to live well, you know? You should watch that drama, it really gave me a lot of inspiration and motivation. Truly what Xu Sanduo said, the meaning of life is just to live well, was a lesson for me.