When officials from his Chinese village approached Hou last month, urging him to work at the world's largest iPhone factory for at least twice the usual pay, he knew it was risky.
Tens of thousands of workers had fled the plant in central China in previous weeks and violent protests had erupted over a COVID-19 lockdown and confusion over hiring bonuses.
But Hou, 24, who asked to be identified only by his family name, said he took the job at the Zhengzhou plant belonging to Foxconn, Apple's biggest iPhone-maker, making 70% of iPhones globally.