Deposit Maze

Li Mei pushed open the heavy glass door of the bank. A blast of cool air hit her, dissipating some of the heat from outside. She clutched the bank card tightly in her hand. It held the 800,000 yuan she and her husband had worked so hard to save. Originally, they planned to use this money to pay a down payment for their son, but now, the money seemed to have turned into an unreachable number.

"Hello, what kind of service do you need?" The teller's smile was a formulaic one, and her voice was a little unrealistically sweet.

"Withdrawal, 800,000 yuan." Li Mei tried to make her voice sound calm, even though the little drum in her heart was beating wildly.

The teller expertly took the bank card and typed a few keys on the keyboard. The smile on her face gradually faded. "Ma'am, your account shows an anomaly and cannot be withdrawn at this time."

"What? Anomaly? My money is here, how can it be an anomaly?" Li Mei's voice involuntarily rose an octave, drawing the attention of several customers waiting to handle their business.

The teller seemed used to this kind of reaction, still using the practiced speech: "Please calm down, it may be a system malfunction, or it may be that you have been involved in some risk management. Please go over there to the lobby manager for consultation."

Li Mei took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She went to the lobby manager and described the situation in detail. After listening, the manager frowned slightly. "You do belong to an abnormal account and further verification is required. Please fill out this form and provide relevant supporting documents."

The form was three pages long, densely filled with all kinds of questions, requiring her to provide her ID card, household registration book, marriage certificate, real estate certificate, and even proof of the source of the money. Li Mei patiently filled them out one by one, running to three or four departments, stamping seven or eight seals, spending a whole day.

The next day, Li Mei came to the bank again and submitted all the materials to the lobby manager. The lobby manager carefully reviewed everything, and then took her to another office. A man with gold-rimmed glasses sat in the office, claiming to be the person in charge of the risk control department.

"Ms. Li, there is indeed a risk with your account, and we need to investigate this fund." The man's tone was cold and unquestionable.

"Investigate? My money is here with you, how can it become a risk? My money is clean, it was saved up by me and my husband after working so hard!" Li Mei could no longer hold back, her voice trembling with questions.

The man was unmoved, still using the standard official response: "Please cooperate with our work, we will handle it as soon as possible."

In the following days, Li Mei felt like she had fallen into a huge maze. Every day, she ran between the bank and various departments, submitting various supporting documents, explaining again and again where her money came from. The answers she received each time were "under investigation," "please be patient." She felt like she was a transparent person, being manipulated by various processes and systems.

A month later, Li Mei came to the bank again, looking haggard and exhausted. The lobby manager, seeing her, showed a hint of sympathy on his face: "Ms. Li, there was indeed an issue with your account, but after our investigation, we have ruled out any risk."

A glimmer of hope ignited in Li Mei's heart, and she quickly asked, "Then can I withdraw my money now?"

The lobby manager nodded and said, "Yes, but because your account was previously frozen, we can only follow the procedure and allow a maximum withdrawal of 5,000 yuan per day."

Li Mei completely broke down. She loudly questioned, "800,000 yuan, you let me withdraw 5,000 per day, how long will it take? Is this even my money anymore?!"

The lobby manager shrugged, indicating his helplessness: "This is the bank's regulation, we are also unable to help."

Li Mei stood in the bank's lobby, looking at the busy figures, she felt incredibly absurd and powerless. Suddenly, she noticed a detail: on the counter was a delicate potted plant, and in the plant, there was a lush money tree, with a string of gold coins hanging on the tree, shining brightly under the lights. Li Mei was stunned, and she suddenly understood something. Isn't this a perfect metaphor? For the bank, the depositors' money is like the gold coins on the potted plant, shining there every day, but can never be taken away.

That day, Li Mei did not continue to withdraw money. She walked out of the bank calmly, as if relieved of a great burden. She understood that not only could she not withdraw her money, but she also could not regain any trust in this absurd society. She decided to live her life well. Maybe one day, she would tell the story of this 800,000 yuan to others, as a dark and humorous joke. As for the money, she no longer had any illusions about it.