Chinese Laid-Off Workers Finding A Niche

Chinese who are laid-off need to be creative and innovative in finding jobs, according to an officially published book titled 下岗怎么办 (What To Do If You Are Laid-Off, 1998)

How? Well, for a start, they should emulate "the Green Vests" (绿马甲) living in Beijing's Fangzhuang (方庄) estate.

Dressed in bright green vests, these former laid-off workers would make their way to the vegetable wholesale market every morning to purchase fresh produce. They'd then spent the rest of the morning washing, cutting and packaging the vegetables.

And later from 2 to 5 in the afternoon, they'd deliver the washed, cut and packaged vegetables to their customers, usually double-income families who were too busy to go shop for and prepare fresh produce.

Beaming with approval, the book's authors noted that such "vegetable cooperatives" required little investment and skills, but yet were able to meet the needs of both laid-off workers and double-income families.