On March 26, 2026, Liu Ming celebrated his 40th birthday.

At 6:50 in the morning, he opened the short video live broadcast on time and shared fitness tips in the live room. His account has only one or two thousand followers, and he is not prominent in the short video blogger circle that often has millions of followers.

But he still appears on time every day, with audiences ranging from a few at times to over a hundred at times. Liu Ming observed that those who persist in following up on exercise are mostly elderly people who hope to keep fit, and occasionally there are also some young people who want to exercise. He launched some highly relevant products in the storefront, such as whole wheat bread, protein powder, and zero calorie, zero fat black coffee.

During the live broadcast, as long as someone asks a question, he will answer it without hesitation. An hour and a half passed, and the fitness routine was repeated several times. He was already sweating profusely.

Liu Ming works for about thirteen or fourteen hours a day. After the live broadcast ends in the morning, he has to clock in at the company before 9 o'clock. After finishing work at 6 pm in the evening, he livestreams for another one to two hours. After operating and maintaining his short video shop, the day's work truly comes to an end.

Liu Ming's job is relatively flexible, with a base salary of 6000 yuan, performance-based pay, and income from live streaming sales, earning over 10000 yuan per month. In the working class, this income is decent, but when faced with a debt of over one million, it appears somewhat meager.

In January 2026, Liu Ming's debts began to default on a large scale. The house and car have already been mortgaged, and there are not many assets left. How can we repay the debt with only that income? At night, he pondered many times: after two startups, how did he come to this point?

It's useless to think about it, we still have to live on. On his birthday, he wrote a sentence on his social media: "Suddenly reaching the age of no confusion. Wishing me a happy birthday and a good life

Don't lose heart, look forward to everything. "43 year old Wang Xinyu often comforts himself in this way. He used to be a restaurant owner earning a million yuan a year, but now he works in a factory with a monthly salary of 4000 yuan. Like Liu Ming, he also has an elderly family and a young family, living in extreme financial difficulties.

The gap is too big! "Wang Xinyu joked to himself with a smile

The 44 year old "second-generation" Chen Lin also experienced similar suffering and a different ending. He once fell into a debt quagmire of over 2 million yuan due to his entrepreneurial project, and was constantly urged by phone calls. In 2025, after a long wait, a turning point was reached: a project payment that had been delayed for several years finally arrived - he paid off all his debts.

At present, the personal non-performing loan transfer market is entering an explosive period, with the transaction volume of non-performing asset packages rising from 18.648 billion yuan in 2021, reaching 36.9 billion yuan in 2022, 96.53 billion yuan in 2023, exceeding 150 billion yuan in 2024, and exceeding 200 billion yuan in 2025. In these transferred packages of non-performing assets, entrepreneurial failures form a distinct customer profile (see Economic Observer's report on the "Crazy Run" of non-performing asset transfers in personal loans).

Wang Xinyu said that there seem to be many entrepreneurs like him - they have seized the dividends of the times, encountered the storms of the times, and finally moved forward in debt at around 40 years old, far away from youth and close to retirement.

Have tasted the sweetness of entrepreneurship

20 years ago, Wang Xinyu had just walked out of the gate of Jilin University and started teaching at a secondary branch of a local higher art college. However, less than two years later, due to strategic adjustments, the school transferred his secondary branch to other departments. Faced with a "bleak" future, he left the school.

In 2009, Wang Xinyu joined Taiping Life Insurance as an insurance marketer. At that time, the company was in a period of rapid development - the total premium exceeded 20 billion yuan that year, and a new branch was established in Jilin to recruit talents. After being recommended and going through the recruitment process, he was successfully hired.

He has been working in insurance for 5 years, and this professional resume has honed his eloquence and resilience, as well as helped him accumulate connections. Gradually, he had an idea in his heart: he didn't want to work anymore and wanted to be his own boss.

In those years, the upsurge of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" came, new technologies, new business types and new models emerged vigorously, and the streets were talking about "Internet plus" and entrepreneurial dreams. There are also many friends around Wang Xinyu who have devoted themselves to entrepreneurship, opening online stores, franchising, and exploring emerging industries. The air seems to be filled with the restlessness of "love to fight is what wins".

Where did it start? Wang Xinyu thought of doing catering. That year, the catering industry developed rapidly and experienced differentiation: on one hand, many restaurants closed down, and on the other hand, the development momentum of specialty catering was good. He pondered that he had not studied technology and did not understand the operational logic of emerging industries, blindly following the trend would only lead to a setback. But he is good at dealing with people and familiar with the local consumption habits, so it's better to start with the most down-to-earth and low threshold catering industry. Wang Xinyu confidently opened his first barbecue restaurant.

The barbecue restaurant has good profitability, with a store of over 700 square meters and a net profit of over one million yuan per year. Not long after, he opened a second one and aspired to expand its branches nationwide, not just as a barbecue restaurant.

At that time, fusion restaurants quietly emerged in first tier cities, blending different cuisines and even Chinese and Western flavors, attracting many consumers to try them out. Wang Xinyu selected an address and opened two integrated restaurants in the local area. At that time, he lacked funds and not only borrowed 2 million yuan from the bank, but also borrowed some from his relatives and friends. Seeing his barbecue restaurant thriving, his friends and family were happy to lend it to him.

The scenery is flourishing, and diners flock in. By the end of 2019, with two barbecue restaurants and two fusion restaurants, Wang Xinyu's cash assets had accumulated to 4 million yuan. In his words, although not wealthy, he is already a definite "winner in life" among his peers

In those years, Liu Ming also completed his primitive accumulation.

In 2015, Liu Ming was already a senior executive at a communication company in Beijing, earning an annual salary of four to five hundred thousand yuan and accumulating a considerable amount of resources. At that time, the company encouraged internal entrepreneurship, which involved undertaking internal business content or work projects, starting a business, and sharing the results with the company. From 2015 to early 2016, Liu Ming earned nearly 4 million yuan through internal entrepreneurship projects, and for the first time, he felt that the imagination of making money through entrepreneurship was much greater than going to work.

In 2016, Liu Ming, who had been "drifting north" for 6 years, faced a choice: his child was 3 years old and about to start kindergarten, but neither he nor his wife had a Beijing household registration. Should he return to his hometown in Wuhan to work hard?

At that time, he was 28 years old and the company leaders highly valued him, stating that even if he returned to his hometown in Wuhan, he could work remotely. At that time, he had already saved several million yuan in savings and had a house in his hometown, so he could almost 'lie flat'.

But Liu Ming chose to resign. He always feels that he is still young and can continue to tinker around. So, he returned to Wuhan with the "first bucket of gold" from his entrepreneurship and started a plan to improve his life: he bought two cars, renovated his house, brought his parents from his rural hometown to the city and rented a long-term apartment for them... a total of 2 million yuan was spent. His wife takes care of the children full-time, and he has saved enough for his living needs, investing the remaining over one million yuan into entrepreneurship.

Compared to the solitary exploration of many entrepreneurs, Chen Lin already holds a roadmap handed over by his parents. Chen Lin's father initially worked in the central air conditioning cooling tower industry and benefited from it. Having been exposed to it since childhood, Chen Lin has an extremely strong hands-on ability. His father thought that perhaps his son could take over his job. So as soon as Chen Lin graduated, he was "brought" into this industry by his father.

That was the era when high-rise buildings were rising from the ground in cities. At that time, the cooling tower industry was truly a sunrise industry. "There were so many projects that we couldn't take over, and the profits were so high that we couldn't imagine. In the early days, the profit margin of a project could reach 200% to 300%. As long as we were willing to run, endure hardships, and dare to advance funds, we could make money," he said.

Chen Lin is engaged in what is commonly known as the "second package" in the industry, which means he does not have his own factory and is affiliated with a large fiberglass factory in the local area. The manufacturer provides equipment and technology, responsible for producing cooling tower blades, customized fans, and processing iron parts. Chen Lin is responsible for running business, liaising with the client, coordinating logistics, and organizing workers for on-site installation and after-sales service.

The advantage of this model is that there is no need for heavy asset investment, factories, or fixed workers. As long as you have connections and abilities, you can get a share of the industry chain. Of course, Chen Lin also needs to pay a certain deposit to the factory to ensure smooth production.

Continue to invest or give up?

From 2016 to 2017, Liu Ming has undertaken two entrepreneurial projects: university retail and education and training.

At that time, in universities, dormitory convenience stores were a must-have for many students, and facial recognition management had not yet been popularized on campus. There was a strong demand for instant consumption of snacks, instant noodles, and other items in student dormitories.

Liu Ming met a corporate executive who was also optimistic about this track, and the two hit it off and started a business together: the other was responsible for market development, while he was responsible for funding and external cooperation. Relying on WeChat applet and official account, they set up an online order platform for colleges and universities, and launched operations in several colleges and universities in Hubei.

The entrepreneurial project started smoothly, and the warehouse was rented from the school's family campus. The employees were recruited from college students - most of whom were fresh graduates, some were preparing for their graduation thesis, and some were part-time due to the temporary inability to find suitable jobs. These students are responsible for promoting dormitory delivery, driving the project's monthly revenue to reach tens of thousands to 200000 yuan.

That year, the winter in Wuhan was particularly cold. In the severe cold, most of these college employees find it difficult to bear the high-intensity delivery work, and with graduation approaching, they are facing career choices and have been resigning one after another after the winter vacation. This entrepreneurship ultimately ended in a loss of over 100000 yuan.

Not long after, Liu Ming started his second entrepreneurship. By chance, Liu Ming met a partner with extensive experience in vocal training. The other party has three stores in Wuhan, covering training programs such as adult and children's vocal teaching, with an annual revenue of over one million yuan and a mature operating system. Both parties have reached a cooperation agreement to open a direct operated store in Xuhui District, Shanghai: Liu Ming is responsible for investing and expanding the market, while partners provide teacher training according to their own operating system and curriculum standards.

At that time, the store renovation cost nearly 200000 yuan, plus the salaries of three teachers, rent, utilities, etc., the monthly operating cost was about 50-60000 yuan. However, the partner's own store business is stable, and their investment in this joint venture new store is limited, with only one week of visits per month. The store has also been unable to find a suitable store manager for overall management, and its operation is extremely unstable: when the performance is good, the monthly revenue can reach two to three hundred thousand yuan, but most months it is only a few tens of thousands of yuan, which cannot cover the cost.

After 14 months of hard work, the store lost nearly 900000 yuan and had to close down.

At the end of 2017, Liu Ming was very tempted to hear that his relatives had made tens of millions of yuan in stock trading in a year. But at this time, he renovated his house, bought a car, and with two entrepreneurial struggles, the savings he had accumulated in his early years were very small.

Liu Ming decided to borrow money to invest in stocks. At that time, his and his wife's bills were relatively high, so credit cards, bank consumer loans, and other amounts were all relatively high. Liu Ming borrowed all of this money, totaling 600000 yuan, for stock trading, with an average interest rate between 8% and 10% on these loans.

No one expected that 2018 would be particularly difficult for investors in the secondary market. The continuous occurrence of "black swan" events such as trade wars has put pressure on the stock market. In less than a few months, Liu Ming lost 600000 yuan in stock trading. At the end of that year, he cleared all his stocks. The following year, he went to Shenzhen and joined a company founded by a friend. The company's main business is online education. In 2021, the "double reduction" policy was officially introduced, and the industry underwent drastic adjustments. The education and training business was basically unable to continue, and Liu Ming once again faced a career turning point.

At the same time, the pressure from his family also makes it difficult for him to focus on working hard outside. He has been separated from his family for two years, and his wife is alone at home taking care of the children, bearing all the parenting pressure for a long time. At that time, his son also needed his father's company. My wife earnestly suggested to him, "If you can't make a lot of money in Shenzhen temporarily, why don't you come back

After returning to Wuhan, Liu Ming joined an adult online education company and planned to settle down first before taking a long-term approach. However, an unexpected event occurred again - the mother was diagnosed with lung cancer at this time. Liu Ming resigned immediately and went home to focus on taking care of his mother. After his mother's condition stabilized, he reorganized his plans and couldn't let go of the idea of starting a business, so he decided to set off again - short video live streaming.

During the days of debt outbreak

2020 has arrived, and Wang Xinyu's restaurant has almost no offline dining, with very few online takeout orders. Rent needs to be paid, the supply of goods needs to be renewed, employees need to be supported, and the initial decoration loan needs to be repaid.

He can't hold on until the end of 2023. The flow of people on the street has resumed, but the previous consumption boom has disappeared. However, Wang Xinyu's four stores have closed down one after another. On the day of closing the store, he gave an extra month's salary to the employees, allowing everyone to leave safely. But he himself owes nearly 10 million yuan in debt - except for 2 million yuan in bank loans, the remaining seven to eight million yuan comes from the trust of relatives, friends, and elders.

Looking back on those days, Wang Xinyu remained silent for a long time and said, "Entrepreneurship is just gambling, it's just reasonable and legal. Winning the bet brings glory to the past; losing the bet means losing everything. We must think twice before acting

Chen Lin was also trapped in a debt of over 2 million yuan.

At his most difficult time, the collection phone rang from morning till night, but the project payment was far away. There are still children to take care of at home and elderly people to take care of. He forcefully spins around during the day and stays awake until dawn at night, not even daring to sigh too loudly.

Around 2018, Chen Lin clearly felt that this industry was declining. More and more companies are entering the industry, and the price war is becoming increasingly fierce, with profit margins dropping to 8% -15% at one point.

He calculated an account: for a 2 million yuan cooling tower project, he had to advance funds to buy raw materials and produce them for the factory, which would take about two months; Logistics delivery, finding someone to install, it will take another half a month to a month; Final acceptance, follow the process, and wait for payment. After completing the entire process, the profit may only be 100000 to 200000 yuan, and we still need to pray that Party A pays on time.

It was also during that time that he saw the industry changing - many glass steel mills that used to rely on central air conditioning for their livelihoods were transforming into wind turbine blades, new energy supporting equipment, and so on. Chen Lin understands that the old path won't last long. In those years, the real estate industry was still in the limelight, and many people around me entered the field of building subdivision to do fire engineering, with considerable profits and many projects. Chen Lin followed into the game, still doing the familiar 'second package'.

But in a few years, the overall environment suddenly changed.

Around 2021, the payment environment in the construction industry deteriorated sharply. Chen Lin has several fire protection projects in his hands, but he has been unable to receive payment after completion. One of the projects, which he invested over two million yuan in, was successfully completed and accepted, but the project funds went unanswered. The funding gap is getting bigger and bigger, and Chen Lin has not only exhausted his savings, but also owes over one million yuan.

On one hand, Party A is delaying payment, while on the other hand, workers' wages must be paid, material costs must be paid, and daily expenses cannot be stopped. He felt very uncomfortable being stuck in the middle.

Throughout 2022, Chen Lin received almost no income. During the Chinese New Year, his phone was hacked by workers. Everyone has to celebrate Chinese New Year and support their family. But he really can't take the money from his hands.

By early 2023, Chen Lin couldn't bear it anymore. In order to settle the arrears of workers' wages and material supplier payments, he borrowed from bank credit cards, relatives' loans, and online loans such as Jiebei, borrowing all available channels and collecting one million yuan, repaying them one by one.

Along with it are credit card delinquency, online loan delinquency, and personal loan maturity, with debt collection information constantly circulating day and night. He can only explain and negotiate repeatedly, providing evidence to prove that he is not refusing to return, but just temporarily unable to do so. Several banks and online lending platforms finally agreed to only repay the principal, reduce interest and penalty interest, giving him a breathing space.

What should I do if I can't fill the hole?

In 2025, the project that had been delayed for several years finally showed signs of repayment, and the big stone weighing on Chen Lin's heart finally landed. After using project funds to repay all debts, he opened a hair salon for his wife in his hometown, while he himself is still on the path of entrepreneurship.

Unlike Chen Lin's experience, for many people, the reality of "slacking off" and "landing" has never been a multiple-choice question, and only a few may be able to turn things around against the wind.

According to incomplete statistics by reporters from the Economic Observer, in the transfer notices of personal non-performing loans released by banks, consumer finance and other institutions on the Yindeng website, the weighted average age of borrowers is concentrated between 34 and 48 years old.

Several middle-aged people in their forties interviewed by the Economic Observer newspaper said that currently, most of them are under debt pressure. They are not so-called 'losers', just ordinary people trapped by reality: on one hand, there are debts that cannot be let go, and on the other hand, there are family members that cannot be let go. The handling of debt is mostly through negotiation or acceptance of overdue payments, lawsuits, etc.

In 2025, Wang Xinyu contacted the branch manager and credit officer of the loan bank at that time for repeated communication and negotiation. The bank did not make things difficult for him, and finally managed to secure a 5-year installment plan. On the side of relatives and friends, he was once sued by a friend. He said, "I don't blame him. He's also under a lot of pressure. We've known each other for 20 years and know what kind of person each other is. Later, we withdrew the lawsuit

Wang Xinyu said that he doesn't want to default on his debt, he really doesn't have the ability to repay it all at once. If the personal bankruptcy system could be implemented earlier, he would definitely be the first to apply. At the most difficult time, he even thought of committing suicide, 'But God has confiscated me.'

In 2024, Wang Xinyu left Northeast China and went south to Suzhou alone to work in a factory. Production line, night shift, repetitive labor, and staying away from family.

Just stay alive, there is hope, "he said. Recently, Wang Xinyu invited all creditors to a meal and said to them, 'Please give him another chance, give him some more time.'.

In January 2026, Liu Ming's debts also experienced widespread delinquency. His car and house are all mortgaged, and he has almost no assets that can be realized. He began to negotiate with financial institutions one by one. Different institutions have provided vastly different treatment plans: some banks have corresponding policies and are willing to negotiate repayment with them, repaying several hundred to one thousand yuan per month in installments of up to five years, with the principal settled in the final installment; Some banks refuse to negotiate repayment and explicitly state that they will no longer accept mediation. They have entrusted law firms to initiate legal proceedings.

For example, in terms of mortgage loans, Liu Ming has reached an extension agreement with the bank. The more than 200000 yuan that he originally needed to repay this year has been extended to next year, and only 30000 yuan needs to be repaid in the current period. For the Internet platform loan borrowed during turnover, the other party has entrusted a third party to collect the company and call the company every day to urge repayment. He has repeatedly proposed to negotiate repayment, but the other party has stated that there is no relevant plan, neither advancing the litigation process nor providing other disposal methods, and only continuing to conduct telephone collection.

Faced with the current situation, Liu Ming joked that he was a "planned overdue" - from now on to later becoming a non-performing asset and being packaged for transfer, the process also takes two to three years. He still has time. Nowadays, he is still rushing to pay off his debts and restart his career.

(At the request of the interviewee, Liu Ming and Chen Lin are given pseudonyms)