Fortune Recycling Station
Old Wang opened a "Fortune Recycling Station" in a corner of a waste recycling center on the edge of the city. To put it nicely, it's recycling, but in reality, it's just reselling. Reselling what? Certainly not bottles and cans, but the "Five Blessings" that Alipay promotes every Spring Festival.
These days, who cares about those few yuan in red envelopes? Old Wang knows that people collect blessings for the sake of the excitement and the sense of ritual. But Old Wang doesn't think that way. He thinks it's a big business.
Old Wang's method is simple: he first uses his own and his relatives' and friends' accounts to scan all kinds of "Fu" characters, collecting enough "Devotion Blessings". Then, he sells these "Devotion Blessings" for five yuan each to those who have difficulty collecting them.
Of course, he's not stupid enough to trade directly. He posts on social media, using advertising slogans like "Fortune Surplus, Help You Fulfill Your Dream" to attract those who have repeatedly failed on the path of collecting blessings.
"Boss, I haven't scanned a Devotion Blessing in three days. Do you have any here?" a programmer wearing a plaid shirt with messy hair asks cautiously.
Old Wang squints his eyes, revealing a merchant's characteristic smile: "Yes! But you have to understand the rules. Five yuan each, no bargaining."
The young man hesitated for a moment, then took out his phone to pay. "Okay, it's better than not getting a blessing in the end."
In this way, Old Wang can sell dozens of "Devotion Blessings" every day. His small shop, in this seemingly lively "national blessing collection" event, seems out of place yet extraordinarily prosperous.
Old Wang is very proud, feeling that he has discovered the code to wealth. He even began to study the algorithms and rules of blessing collection, trying to find more loopholes. He believes he has seen the essence of this event: everyone is pursuing that illusory "fortune," while he can turn this "fortune" into real money.
As the Spring Festival approaches, the blessing collection activity reaches its climax. Old Wang's "Fortune Recycling Station" also welcomes its busiest moment. Every day, people come to him to buy "Devotion Blessings," some even buying several at a time, saying they want to collect them for their families too.
Old Wang looks at the constantly increasing numbers in his account, his heart blooming with joy. He seems to see a mountain of gold waving at him.
Just then, a man in a suit and tie with gold-rimmed glasses comes to the door of Old Wang's shop. "Are you Old Wang?" The man pushes up his glasses and asks in a cold tone.
Old Wang is stunned for a moment, then nods. "I am, and you are?"
"I'm from Alipay." The man finishes, taking out a business card with the Alipay logo on it. "We have found that your actions have seriously undermined the fairness of the blessing collection event. According to our regulations, we will permanently ban your account."
Old Wang is instantly dumbfounded, and the teacup in his hand falls to the ground and shatters. He looks at the notice handed to him by the man, which is full of dense regulations, each word like a knife piercing his nerves.
The man turns and leaves, leaving Old Wang alone, stunned in place.
Old Wang looks at the empty shop and the banned account, and he suddenly understands. It turns out that he thought he was the operator of this game, but in the end, he was just a pawn being played.
It turns out that this "fortune" is not something he can control, it only exists in the rules of the game, in the Alipay program. When he tries to use the rules to gain profit, the rules will turn around and devour him.
He feels ridiculous, that he actually sacrificed his own account for a few yuan. His so-called "fortune" is just a string of code in someone else's program, which can be cleared at any time.
At this time, he notices the broken teacup on the ground. The teacup contains the blessings he collected for a whole month, which he planned to use for the New Year. Now it's broken, like his shattered "fortune dream."
He squats down, wanting to pick up the pieces, but finds that he doesn't know where to start.
He suddenly remembers that the "Devotion Blessings" he collected are also like this broken teacup, meaningless, aren't they?
Old Wang looks at his empty account again, sighs, and closes the door of the "Fortune Recycling Station".
What he doesn't see is that on the other side of the city, there is a person staring at the phone screen, repeatedly scanning the "Fu" character, murmuring, "This time, I must scan a Devotion Blessing!"
And this is the true meaning of this "blessing collection" game: it is always in progress, there are always people participating, and there are always people trapped in it.