Spider-Men

CHINA PICTORIAL MAGAZINES

Lifestyle

Spider-Men

High Times

Sheng and Wang are now accustomed to their work. No longer fearing high altitudes, they try their best to clean every corner of the glass walls when working in the air. Wang tells me that it is now the loneliness that he most fears while in the air. Far below is a bustling city, while inside the building in front of the spider-men are people busy at their own work, curtained off by thick glass. Working at the height of several dozen meters, the only entertainment here is an occasional chat with a co-worker. However, they must shout. “We may be close to each other, but they cannot hear me at all if I talk at an ordinary volume. I gave utterance to my loneliness,” jokes Wang.

There are happy stories in the air. On one suffocating summer day, Wang was very thirsty after several hours of work. Suddenly a window in front of him opened and a glass of water was brought out. “Sir, take a rest and have some water,” the person inside the building said. “Still now, I feel warm when thinking of that glass of water,” says Wang.

As a skilled worker, Sheng now earns a monthly base of 800 yuan, with another 100 yuan for each day’s work. Thus, his monthly income is about 2,500 to 3,000 yuan. Given limited time, spider-men must work fast. Generally speaking, a spider-man can clean about 300 square meters of glass walls per day, if he works eight hours. For the benefit of the spider-men, Sheng’s company purchased for each of them an insurance policy. However, instead of thinking of his job as being perilous, Sheng is proud of his work.

“Do you like to be addressed as Spider-Man?”

“Absolutely. I heard that in the American movie, Spider-Man has a strong sense of justice and is always ready to help the weak. Although I don’t think I do anything heroic, I get a strong sense of accomplishment when seeing the glass wall being thoroughly cleaned. My job is demanding in terms of physical strength. As long as my body permits, I will continue to work,” says Sheng.

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