You can distinguish between raw and cooked by listening to the sound, and the "Gua Pai Shi" has become popular! Shooting tens of thousands of melons every day | Economic development | Melon master

In the scorching summer heat, a bite of sand filled watermelon can instantly make people feel comfortable. Recently, the melon farmers in Panggezhuang, Beijing have also entered a peak period of sales. Some young figures appeared among the farmers, gently tapping the watermelon twice with their fingers to determine whether it was raw or ripe by listening to the sound. Netizens gave them an interesting name - Gua Pai Shi.

In recent years, with the development of platform economy, new professions such as paparazzi have emerged one after another. What new changes in society are reflected behind the emergence of new professions?

01

Watermelon sales are driving new professions

"Gua Pai Shi" listens to the sound to distinguish between raw and cooked fruits

At 7 o'clock in the morning, boxes of watermelons were being weighed and ready for shipment in the greenhouse, all of which had just been picked from the orchard, amidst the sound of the truck's horn. In front of the half person tall watermelon pile, a tall girl with rosy cheeks and beads of sweat on her forehead put on gloves and started her day's work. Zhang Linghui, a melon photographer, introduced to the reporter that the loud sound of the melon being patted indicates that it is ripe, while the sound of the raw melon is relatively crisp.

△ Zhang Linghui in the workplace

Zhang Linghui, born in 1998, comes from Handan, Hebei. A year ago, she came to Panggezhuang, Beijing and accidentally became a watermelon photographer. Her job is to select qualified watermelons through her eyes and hands. Ordinary consumers cannot distinguish between good and bad watermelons. They can tell whether they are delicious or not by just looking or listening. "Every melon has a different sound," she said

Talking about watermelons, Zhang Linghui is now an expert. The melon skin is hard and lacks elasticity, causing pain in the fingers when bouncing; The sound of overripe melons is muffled. After cutting open, the flesh of these melons often cracks and will spoil after being left for two days, which does not meet sales requirements. In recent days, Beijing has been particularly hot, and the cooperative where Zhang Linghui works has also reached its peak period of producing melons. She said that when the order volume was high, they needed to shoot tens of thousands of melons every day.

According to data from a certain shopping platform, small watermelons suitable for one person or households with a small population are increasingly popular among consumers.

Since its launch at the end of April this year, the sales of Panggezhuang watermelons have skyrocketed, with the sales proportion of small watermelons such as Xiaolonggua, Early Spring Hongyu, and Linglong watermelons increasing year by year. During the peak period, more than 5000 watermelons can be sold in Panggezhuang every day. In the first half of June, nearly 50000 watermelons have been sold, and in addition to Beijing, they are also widely sold in southern markets such as Shenzhen.

△ Zhang Linghui in the workplace

02

Expert: Develop career standards for new professions as soon as possible

In recent years, new professions such as paparazzi have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. Zhang Chenggang, Director of the China New Employment Forms Research Center at Capital University of Economics and Trade, stated that the emergence of new professions is a manifestation of social progress and a result of the continuous refinement of social division of labor.

Zhang Chenggang: Firstly, the advancement of advanced technologies represented by digital technology has brought new impetus to the operation of the entire economy and society; Secondly, the continuous refinement of social demands and the upgrading of consumption levels have given rise to some more interesting new professions, such as paparazzi; Finally, the improvement of social needs will also generate some new professions.

In recent years, with the birth of new professions, labor rights issues related to new professions have also received much attention. From the traditional perspective of workers' rights, in the past, China's laws and regulations on workers' rights were based on the unit system or the enterprise employment model. Nowadays, there are differences between the platform business model and the traditional employment model, and the mismatch between the labor legal system and the existing platform business model has led to some conflicts.

Regarding this, Zhang Chenggang suggests that the platform business model can first be incorporated into the traditional labor legal system, and the system should also be updated and improved in the area of protecting the rights and interests of workers.

Zhang Chenggang: On the other hand, it is the protection of consumer rights. Because many new professions have just emerged, there are imperfections in their professional norms, industry norms, entry barriers, and so on. If the threshold is not perfect, people with different qualifications may harm consumer rights when they enter.

Zhang Chenggang believes that after the emergence of a new profession, the skill level and qualification qualifications of the new profession should be confirmed as soon as possible, including occupational standards, industry standards, etc., which should be gradually established in the development process.