The Secret of Spring Couplets

Old Li had been working at the Shenzhen Metro for fifteen years. He couldn't remember how many spring couplets he had put up, but this year was definitely the most unusual. In previous years, they were all red with gold characters, festive and joyous. This year, however, a batch of white couplets with black characters had appeared out of nowhere, plastered all over every corner of the station, even the ticket machines were covered with a sheet saying "Have a smooth journey and arrive home safely."

"Who did this?" Old Li complained to the new intern, Xiao Zhang. Xiao Zhang pushed up his glasses and said carefully, "Uncle Li, I heard this is what was requested from above, to reflect...to reflect a new kind of cultural creativity?"

Old Li scoffed. Cultural creativity? He just found it eerie. The white couplets, illuminated by the fluorescent lights, were even more glaring, as if a shroud had been draped over the metro station. Passengers initially discussed it a lot, but soon got used to this strange sight. Everyone was in a hurry every day, rushing to work, rushing home. Who had the time to care about the color of the spring couplets?

"Unlucky!" Old Li muttered, but he was helpless. He was used to all kinds of bizarre rules in the metro station, such as having to wear a uniform blue mask, having to eat breakfast in designated areas, and having to shout "I love the metro!" into the surveillance camera before going to work every day. Although he really didn't love it.

"Uncle Li, look at this." Xiao Zhang pointed to a spring couplet posted on a pillar. "Peace and joy, may all your wishes come true," Xiao Zhang read softly, with a hint of doubt in his voice, "This... the content doesn't seem to be a problem."

Old Li leaned over to take a closer look. Indeed, the content was all auspicious phrases, but the color was too glaring. He couldn't understand who had come up with such a bad idea.

In the following days, Old Li noticed some small changes happening in the metro station. Some people would take off their blue masks and replace them with white ones; some people would no longer eat breakfast according to the rules, but instead stand under the spring couplets and slowly nibble on their bread; and some people started making peace signs at the surveillance cameras instead of shouting slogans.

"This won't do!" Old Li panicked. He went to the station manager and reported the situation.

The station manager, a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses, took a sip of the wolfberry water in his thermos cup and said slowly, "Old Li, you still haven't understood the intention of the higher-ups. This is cultural innovation, a new management concept, it's to liberate us from the shackles of tradition."

Old Li was confused. He felt like he was falling behind the times. What liberation? He just wanted to tear down all these white spring couplets.

"Then... then why are these spring couplets white?" Old Li asked.

The station manager adjusted his glasses and smiled mysteriously, "You wouldn't understand this, would you? White represents purity, represents... represents starting everything from scratch, starting over."

Old Li wanted to ask more, but the station manager waved his hand, "Alright, Old Li, do your job, don't think too much."

Old Li had no choice but to leave, feeling defeated. He thought the station manager's words made a little sense, but it also felt like he hadn't said anything at all. He started to carefully observe the white spring couplets, and the words on them seemed to be getting more and more blurred.

One day, Old Li was doing his routine patrol when he saw a little boy pointing at a spring couplet and asking his mother, "Mom, what do the words on this mean?"

The mother crouched down, pointed to the four words "Peace and joy," and patiently taught him how to recognize the characters. The little boy read them several times, but still couldn't remember them and anxiously grabbed his mother's hand.

Old Li suddenly felt a stirring in his heart. He walked over, crouched down, and pointed to the words on the spring couplet, saying slowly, "Little friend, this says, 'Peace and joy,' which means I hope you are happy and safe every day."

The little boy looked at Old Li, then at the spring couplet, and suddenly broke into a big smile.

Old Li was stunned. He felt like he understood something, but also like he didn't understand anything at all. He looked at the bustling crowd on the platform. Some were looking down at their phones, some were rushing on their way, and some were on the phone with their families. They seemed to have long been used to the white spring couplets, used to this absurd daily life.

That night, Old Li had a dream. He dreamt that he was standing in an empty metro station, and all the spring couplets had turned white, even his uniform had turned white. He felt like he had blended into the background, becoming a prop in the metro station, a symbol.

When he woke up, it was still dark. He opened his phone and scrolled through the news, only to see a push notification: Shenzhen Metro Fully Replaces New Spring Couplets, White Background and Black Characters Spark Controversy, Experts Say This is a Perfect Combination of Traditional Culture and Modern Aesthetics.

Old Li turned off his phone and sighed deeply. He put on his uniform, put on his blue mask, and prepared to start a new day.

When he reached the entrance of the metro station, he saw a cleaner tearing down the white spring couplets. He was carefully tearing them, as if uncovering an ancient secret. Old Li walked over and saw that the back of the torn spring couplet was actually blood red.