This is a true story happening around us.
Ms. A and Mr. B are the epitome of countless strivers in Shenzhen—transitioning from campus to society, plunging into the currents of this city, and over twenty years, slowly shaping their lives into what they wanted, only to be capsized by the tide of the times.
In 2007, they established their home in Xicheng, in the central area of Bao'an. That 103-square-meter house cost 990,000, a combination of the couple's savings and contributions from both parents.
The walls of the new house still gleamed with fresh paint when the 2008 financial crisis hit. When the house price fell to 700,000, Ms. A often couldn't sleep at night, leaning on the windowsill counting the streetlights below. Mr. B held her hand and said, 'Don't be afraid, a house is for living in, not to be measured by numbers.'
Perhaps those who live earnestly will not have too much bad luck. In 2009, house prices rose again, and in 2014 they sold their house for 1.8 million and moved to Xuelin Yayuan in Nanshan District. For their child's schooling and for convenience in commuting, this 113-square-meter three-bedroom cost 3.3 million. At that time, there were rumors that the nearby primary school would merge with the Second Foreign Language School, and Ms. A, with her keen sense from working in foreign trade, decisively made the purchase. Two years later, their child successfully enrolled, and the couple felt that this move was indeed the right one.
They moved steadily forward with the rhythm of life, paying off the mortgage early whenever they had extra money. Watching the house prices double during the two waves of rises in 2015 and 2019, they felt both secure and gratified.
But the inevitable changes eventually came. In 2020, a call from the agency broke the calm: 'Someone is willing to buy your house for 12.8 million.' This sentence was like a stone thrown into still water, stirring up ripples.
Ms. A was tempted: to exchange for a better school district house, and the money in hand could still be leveraged to earn a bit more. After all, the last time they changed houses, they made a profit—couldn't a house in a good location with a good school district still drop in price? Mr. B, however, wanted stability; the mortgage had just been cleared, and at forty years old, he thought, 'Living comfortably is enough, why stir things up?'
Unable to withstand his wife's insistence, and hoping for a better educational path for their child, the house prices continued to rise during the two months of stalemate, with buyers increasing to 13.5 million. The agency urged them, and they finally signed the contract after some gritted teeth.
With the house sale proceeds in hand, they hurriedly bought a 148-square-meter three-bedroom in Huazhong City, Phase II, with taxes and commissions nearing 30 million, and a down payment of 10 million. At that time, walking through the community and seeing the sunlight shining on the glass curtain walls of the new building, Ms. A felt that life had finally climbed to the top of the mountain.
But the wind at the top of the mountain is much fiercer than imagined. In 2021, Shenzhen introduced reference prices for second-hand houses, and the market hit a pause button, causing the prices in Huazhong City to begin to fall. Worse still, the pandemic caused Ms. A's foreign trade business to plummet, with staff reduced to just her sister, brother-in-law, and one friend, leaving only a profit of 300,000 for the year.
In 2022, Mr. B was laid off from Tencent and later, after much effort, found work at Alibaba with an annual salary of over one million, but he had to work in Hangzhou.
Family income plummeted, but the monthly mortgage payment felt like a mountain—nearly 100,000 each month. Ms. A's company struggled to survive, Mr. B traveled far for work, and the two of them talked on the phone at night, their tones filled with unshakeable anxiety.
In October 2024, when Shenzhen relaxed purchase restrictions, the house could still be sold for 22 million. Mr. B looked at the increasingly shrinking savings and for the first time seriously thought: should they stop the losses? The school district had already been used; even if they lost a bit, at least they could keep some cash to start over. But as the words were about to leave his lips, seeing the unwillingness in Ms. A's eyes, he swallowed it back. She always said to wait a bit longer; maybe next month it would warm up.
By April of this year, there was only 600,000 in cash left at home, just enough to cover six months of mortgage payments. Mr. B had to leave Shenzhen to work in another city, and before he left, with red eyes, he told Ms. A: 'If we keep this up, this family might fall apart. We still owe 19.7 million on the mortgage, and our annual income is only enough to cover the mortgage without eating or drinking. But who can guarantee they won't get sick or lose their job? Our parents are getting older, and the child needs to go to school; where doesn't money need to be spent? Even if house prices rebound in the future, I accept it; but now, every day upon waking feels like carrying a mountain, I'm almost going crazy.'
Ms. A was silent for a long time, tears streaming down. It wasn't that she didn't understand, but she was unwilling. That was the home they had earned through twenty years of hard work; how could it become a burden? But looking at her husband's tired face and the dwindling numbers in their bank account, she finally nodded.
Mr. B worked in another city, and all matters regarding the house relied on Ms. A to run around. The listing price was set at 19 million, lower than the market price, hoping to sell quickly. Over three months, the agency showed the house to dozens of potential buyers, some negotiating down the price, others picking at details; each time after hanging up the phone, Ms. A would need to sit on the sofa for a long while to recover. Mr. B repeatedly said on the phone, 'If it can be sold, just sell it,' his voice filled with uncontainable helplessness. Finally, after three and a half months of listing, the house was sold for 18.6 million.
On the day of the transfer, Ms. A didn't go. Mr. B returned to handle the procedures, using a calculator to calculate the final account: for a house price of 18.6 million, deducting 100,000 as the agency fee, and repaying 19.7 million of the mortgage, they still had to pay an additional 1.2 million. The savings they accumulated over twenty years were wiped out just like that.
While moving, Ms. A looked at the floor-to-ceiling windows of Huazhong City, recalling that when they first moved in, she measured her child's height here and planted greenery on the balcony. Mr. B walked over, gently embracing her shoulder: 'It's okay, the school district has been used, and the child has successfully enrolled; we still have hands and feet to start anew.'
As the car drove out of the community, Ms. A glanced back, the sunlight was blinding, and she squinted. In this city, they had exchanged their struggles for dignity, only to stumble in the tide of the era.
No one can clearly say where they went wrong. Working hard, buying a house with a mortgage, wanting to provide a better life for their children—aren't these the genuine and tangible pursuits of ordinary people? But fate's jokes sometimes come unexpectedly, causing twenty years of hard work to return to the starting point in an instant.
This is not just a family's dilemma, but a microcosm of a generation of strivers under the gears of the times. They once believed that 'hard work can change destiny,' and witnessed the myth of 'real estate appreciating several times,' yet ultimately became a leaf tossed around in the massive waves of market cycles.
When a house can exhaust the family's lifetime savings, and the desire for a stable life becomes precarious, we must ultimately face such a question: should not the ordinary people who infuse their youth and blood into urban development receive more solid protection? Can the hopes regarding home have less pressure from leverage and more support from the system?
May there come a day when those who strive to live do not have to gamble everything on a single choice; may the progress of the times catch every falling figure.
After all, the measure of a society's civilization is not how high the people at the top can fly, but whether those at the bottom can stand firm on the ground.
