Photo: Douban (Still from the film Blind Massage)
Note from Kuang:
陈师傅是一位盲人按摩师，他按摩技法娴熟，也爱聊天。他工作的地方叫苏杭盲人按摩，就在东大桥附近，藏身在一栋居民楼里，很不起眼，地方不大但很干净。
Chen is a visually-impaired massage therapist working in a massage parlor called Suhang Blind Massage, tucked away inside a residential building near Dongdaqiao. It’s not a big place, but it’s cozy and clean. He is cheerful and easy to talk to, and he’s very experienced and professional at massage.
“Number Five”, male, name and age undetermined, from Hebei
My family name is Chen. Only a few know my full name here, they just call me “Number Five.” That’s how we address each other here—by the number. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember my colleagues’ real names.
I’m from a village in Xingtai, Hebei province. Special education was not available in my village. I went to the same primary school everyone else did. My parents never bothered to keep an eye on my studies. Guess they just weren’t expecting anything from me. Not surprisingly, I did very badly at school.
My most memorable childhood experience was hitting my head real seriously when I was running wild just like the other kids who could see well. I was in a coma for seven days. My memory was a little affected afterward, but otherwise no serious damage.
I went for special education after primary school, and learned massage afterward. That’s when I started my career as a masseur. I worked in both Hebei and Fujian for a few years, and then I came to Beijing with my wife.
My wife and I are from the same village, we’ve known each other since we were kids. She is working at another massage parlor as a receptionist. We don’t want to work at the same place in case people think we’re giving each other preferential treatment.
We have two boys, one is 14, and the other 10. They are with my parents in my home village for school. I visit them every two months. Luckily my parents are both in good health.
Having kids gives me more to worry about. I’ve been trying hard to save money for the sake of the kids’ future. I need to get them houses to help them get married. The housing price is increasing like crazy. Even buying an apartment in the small town near my home village costs 700,000 to 800,000 kuai. Even building a house in our village would cost more than 300,000!
Providing them a house is probably the best I can do for them. We’re living in a small bubble comprised of visually-impaired people and the sorts of things this group knows. I don’t have much to offer that would do my children any good.
My wife and I are hoping to save some money from working here, and then start a small massage place back in our hometown. No one would choose to live far away from home if they could live near their family. But I’m worried that the business wouldn’t earn much back home—the economy is much slower there.
After doing massage all these years, I can easily tell what health problems people have as soon as I start working on them. Many 20-somethings today are suffering from problems that in the old days just older people would have, like frozen shoulders. Sometimes we have foreign guests too, but I only know three English words: ok, yes, and no. Shame I can’t hold a proper conversation.
We have nine massage therapists here—two women, seven men. Our working time is 9 am to 11:30 pm. We are asked to work in the order of our numbers. When it’s busy, I can massage a dozen guests a day, but sometimes it’s only five or six, or even fewer.
I basically try to avoid any entertainment activities, because going out means spending money. And if you’re not here, you of course get less work, which also means less pay. So I prefer to stay here.
When it’s not my turn, I usually stay in the store’s dormitory taking a nap or chatting with my colleagues. I sometimes listen to audiobooks on my phone, and I also take online massage lessons. They’re free for us.
Both my phone and computer come with VoiceOver mode. I rely on the audio instructions to use them. It’s not very convenient but I don’t have any other options. Things would be so much easier if I were like you.
Am I happy with life right now? I’d say life is not too bad! Also, is there any individual who is completely happy with life? Everyone yearns for a better life no matter who they are or what kind of life they have.
I see myself as optimistic. I’m pretty chatty too if the other is willing to talk. My colleague told me that someone left a comment on Meituan saying I’m a bit too talkative. I’m not sure if he’s just teasing me. Can you check on Meituan for me? And perhaps read the comment to me next time you visit.
Edited by David Huntington
“五号”，男，姓名不详，年龄不详，河北人
我姓陈，没多少人知道我的全名，你也不用知道，来了这里说找五号就可以了。我们店里互相之间也都是喊号码，时间长了有时候还真想不起来对方真名叫啥了。
我是邢台农村的， 农村没有特殊教育，我小学跟着村里其他孩子上的普通学校，父母对我没报什么大指望，学习上从不过问，我三天打鱼两天晒网，次次考试都差不多年级垫底。
说起小时候印象深的事，还真有一件。我小时候也皮，跟其他孩子一样。有一次从楼梯上摔下来，撞到脑袋，昏迷了七天七夜才醒。好在后来没有大碍，就是记忆力有点受影响。
小学毕业之后我念了几年特殊学校，后来在盲人按摩培训班学了一段时间的按摩，就开始干这一行了。河北福建都待过，前几年才跟我媳妇来了北京。
我媳妇跟我是一个村的，我们打小就认识。她在另一个按摩店工作，做的是前台。干按摩的两口子在一个店上班不好，可能会让人觉得有偏钟的情况，招人意见。
我们有两个孩子，都是男孩，大的14岁，小的10岁，在老家跟着爷爷奶奶上学。我两个月回去一趟，看看孩子也看看老人。父母身体还行，没什么大毛病。
有孩子操心的事就多了，钱也得省着花。没办法呀，儿子长大了不得帮忙张罗娶媳妇？娶媳妇就得有房子。按现在的房价，在我们那里的一个小镇上买个房子也得七八十万，就算是在村里盖个房子也得花三四十万。对于孩子以后的生活，我们能做的也就只有这个了。我们这群人跟社会是脱节的，平时关注的都只是些盲人相关的事情，对他们的人生道路提供不了什么帮助。
我跟我媳妇想在这里攒够一点钱，以后回去开个自己的按摩店，如果能回老家谁愿意在外面漂泊呢？但是老家消费能力低，干这行怕是赚不了什么钱。
做按摩时间长了，来的客人身体有什么小毛病，我手一捏就能捏出八九不离十。现在二十几岁年轻人，多的是以前五六十岁的人才有的问题，像肩周炎什么的。我们这里有时候也来外国客人，可惜我只会说三个单词，就是ok yes no, 聊不上天。
我们店里九个按摩工，七个男的两个女的，上班时间从早上九点到晚上十一点半，按号轮着上钟，忙的时候一天能上十几个钟，冷清的时候五六个，差的时候可能只有三个。
我们没什么娱乐活动，因为出门就得花钱，而且你人不在店里，轮的钟就少，所以干脆哪都不去。我们住的集体宿舍就在店里，可以在里面等着叫号上钟。
不上钟的时候我们要么睡觉要么就大家一块瞎聊天，天南地北的啥都聊。有时候用手机听书，随意打开一个频道，喜欢的就接着听，不喜欢的就换下一个。我也在上网课，学一些中专课程，这些课程对我们是免费的。
我用的手机和电脑，都设置了盲人模式，用的时候是靠听的，用是可以用，但是不方便啊，如果有得选，谁还愿意靠这种方法？像你们就省事儿了，什么信息一眼扫过去就行了。
对现在的生活满不满意？还可以吧！再说了，人有完全满意的时候吗？不管是谁，不管生活过得怎么样，都会想要更多的更好的。
我还是挺乐观的，也爱跟人聊天。我同事跟我说美团上有人评论我呢，说五号话有点多，也不知道是不是真的。你回去替我上美团看看人家是怎么说的，下次来可以念给我听。
Kuang is the founder of Beijing Lights. She would love to hear your thoughts about the column and is open to new collaborations. She can be reached at kuang@spittooncollective.com.