A 57-year-old citizen of Xi’an, Wang Ping (pseudonym), used to drive large trucks with an A2 license. He has been unemployed and at home for half a year. Under the high consumption pressure of first-tier cities, finding a stable job is extremely urgent. Wang Ping saw a job posting on a recruitment platform for a truck driver at Xi’an Chengxingyun New Energy Company located on Fengcheng 8th Road, with a salary of over 8,000 yuan. After a simple interview, the company offered two work modes: one is renting a company truck, paying a deposit of 8,000 yuan, and a monthly rent of 4,800 yuan; the other is a “lease-to-own” scheme, where he pays a down payment of 28,000 yuan to pick up a vehicle from the company, then pays a service fee monthly—3,805 yuan in the first year, slightly less afterward, and after three years, the vehicle belongs to him. After obtaining the vehicle through these methods, both ways involve running cargo via the company’s app to grab orders on LaLa.
“Once you hear about these two options, most people would choose the lease-to-own, because it feels more cost-effective. Compared to directly renting, the total cost is higher, but the vehicle is ultimately yours,” Wang Ping said. The other party’s pitch was full of embellishments, claiming that after becoming proficient, he could earn 700-800 yuan daily. Hot-headed, he signed the contract on May 23, paid the first installment of 15,000 yuan, and did not carefully review the dozens of pages of the contract.
Just the leasing contract alone spans dozens of pages, not to mention the various clauses and “rigorous” legal language inside. Unless one has specialized knowledge, how could they see through the tricks at a glance? It’s clearly an obvious attempt to deceive and exploit the “ignorance” of laborers, rooted in the barbaric deprivation of farmers’ educational rights since the Zhongxiu Restoration. In their eyes, workers and farmers are uneducated and easy to deceive, while they use despicable means to plunder money and mock their simplicity. This reminded me of landlords and rich peasants in old society—wasn’t it just like how they tricked many poor farmers into selling themselves?
After returning home, Wang Ping’s wife carefully read the contract and found that it did not mention key information such as the vehicle brand, price, income guarantee, or vehicle ownership after three years. When they raised questions, they were told to pick up the vehicle anyway, and then went to the company to demand contract termination and a refund. However, they were met with unilateral rejection. During subsequent disputes over their rights, the police even came to “mediate.” At this point, the greedy capitalist’s “calculations” were exposed: Wang Ping and his wife wanted to cancel the contract, but were told they had to pay more than 30,000 yuan in “liquidated damages”! This amount is a shocking high price for workers. Despite multiple attempts to negotiate, the capitalist resorted to counter-revolutionary tactics, trying to persuade Wang Ping and his wife with kind words, but in reality, they used the high penalty as leverage to force them into compromise.
On June 4, Wang Ping’s wife told reporters that her husband had been running trucks early in the morning for four days after picking up the vehicle, earning only 400 yuan in total. “There aren’t many jobs on the platform, and they’re hard to grab. He’s older now, and his speed in grabbing orders isn’t good. He can’t keep doing this,” she said. With this income, they couldn’t even cover the vehicle payments to the company each month, let alone make a profit, and might even lose money. Wang Ping, after a few days of driving and feeling stimulated, once again requested to terminate the contract but was unsuccessful. He then returned home and fell, experiencing increased blood pressure and unstable emotions.
“Wang Ping was diagnosed with depression last year, and it worsened after this recent stress,” Wang Ping’s wife said. They had already returned the cargo truck to the company’s parking lot and requested to cancel the contract, but the company said they would calculate the penalty. Now they are in a dilemma: continuing operations might mean they cannot afford installment payments, but stopping operation and breaching the contract would incur a penalty. The situation is a catch-22. Moreover, the vehicle sold by the company is expensive—over 90,000 yuan, but according to the contract, they have to pay more than 110,000 yuan. She believes the company’s false advertising is suspicious, claiming daily income of 700-800 yuan to lure job seekers with high salaries, and they should bear responsibility.
“Additionally, because Wang Ping has a mental illness, he is unable to rationally sign and judge the consequences of the contract. Can the contract be considered invalid because of this?”
The capitalist’s lackey, Manager Li, appeared sinister when interviewed by reporters. He boasted that Wang Ping signed the contract voluntarily, and both the couple knew about it—they are adults, and “no one held a gun to his head.” Isn’t it just because of life pressures, or because unemployment threatens every worker? He also emphasized that the company’s procedures are complete and legal, and even after Wang Ping’s complaints, the Market Supervision Bureau came to check and found no issues.
“Contracts are meant to bind both parties; if there’s a breach, the penalty should be paid. If everyone signs a contract and then refuses to continue, how can the company operate?”
This shows that the Market Supervision Bureau is colluding, making appeals impossible and justice unreachable. What kind of society is this? It’s a rotten old society that makes laborers suffer twice and endure double hardships!