The Truth About “Add Oil“

Old Wang had been working at the gas station for ten years. Every morning, he put on the blue uniform that could never be completely clean, stood beside the cold gas pump, and began his mechanical day. “Hello, welcome! What kind of fuel do you need?” “Okay, fueling, please wait a moment,” “Fueling complete, please drive safely!” He had to repeat these words hundreds of times a day, like a programmed machine.

Recently, the company introduced a new “incentive system.” Each attendant wore a small loudspeaker on their chest, which would automatically play a pre-recorded pep talk whenever a customer drove into the station: "Add oil! Let's be full of energy today!", "Add oil! Life is like a gas tank, full of power!", "Add oil! Speed up for your dreams!"

At first, Old Wang thought this gadget was quite novel. Customers were amused by the sudden “add oil” sound from his chest, sometimes returning with a smile. Old Wang even felt that his work had a little bit of meaning. He began to silently cooperate with the loudspeaker, when the speaker shouted “Add oil!”, he would follow up in his mind with “Fill it up, fill it up!”, thinking it was a positive attitude.

But soon, he grew tired of this mechanical encouragement. The loudspeaker was like a chattering parrot, repeating the empty slogans over and over again. He began to wonder, he was “adding oil” for others every day, then who was adding oil for him?

One day, a young girl drove a red sports car into the gas station. She wore huge sunglasses, carried a designer handbag, and exuded an aura that was incongruous with the gas station. As she stopped the car, the loudspeaker on Old Wang’s chest went off right on schedule: "Add oil! Speed up for your dreams!".

The girl seemed to freeze for a moment, and then a mocking smile appeared on her lips. "Add oil? Do I even need to add oil?" she said with a disdainful tone.

Old Wang was choked by the girl’s words. He felt the loudspeaker on his chest like a branding iron, scorching his self-esteem. He began to observe his surroundings, and those who came to the gas station in old vans and electric bikes seemed indifferent to the mechanical encouragement from the loudspeaker. He saw the exhaustion and bewilderment on their faces, which was very similar to his own.

He suddenly felt that he and they were all trapped in a huge gas station, “adding oil” to other people’s dreams every day, and their own dreams were long drowned out by those empty "add oil" slogans.

He began to try to change things.

The next day, when a black sedan slowly drove into the fueling area, the loudspeaker once again mechanically shouted, “Add oil!”, but Old Wang didn’t follow up with “Fill it up, fill it up,” as he usually did. He just walked silently to the car and asked with a smile, "Hello, what kind of fuel do you need?"

The driver was a middle-aged man, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and looking very tired. He glanced at Old Wang, seeming a little unaccustomed to this opening without “add oil,” but he still stated the fuel type.

Old Wang carefully fueled the car, without saying an extra word or allowing the loudspeaker on his chest to make any sound. The man seemed to sense this difference, a hint of doubt and inquiry appeared in his eyes.

When Old Wang handed him the receipt, the man suddenly spoke up, “Why aren’t you guys shouting ‘add oil’ here today?”

Old Wang paused, pointed at his chest, and said softly, “Maybe, sometimes, what we need is not ‘add oil,’ but real rest.”

The man was silent for a while, nodded, said “thank you,” and drove off.

Old Wang felt he had done something remarkable. He turned off the loudspeaker on his chest, and at that moment, he felt an unprecedented sense of relief. He began to observe the customers who came to fuel up every day, fuel their cars carefully, and talk to them attentively. He found that everyone had their own story, everyone was struggling in the torrent of life, and he was not just a gas station attendant, he was someone who could listen to them.

But the good times didn’t last long. A week later, the gas station supervisor stopped Old Wang: “Old Wang, what's going on with you lately? Why is that loudspeaker always turned off? Have you forgotten the company’s incentive policy? Today’s sales have declined, you have to turn the loudspeaker back on!”

Old Wang was stunned. He wanted to explain why he did what he did, he wanted to say that mechanical encouragement was meaningless. But looking at the cold expression on the supervisor’s face, he knew his explanations were futile.

He silently turned on the loudspeaker, and at that moment, the familiar sound of “Add oil! Let's be full of energy today!” rang out again.

Old Wang lowered his head. He felt that what he was wearing on his chest was not a loudspeaker, but a huge fuel tank, filled with empty "add oil" slogans. He was a tool responsible for "adding oil," mechanically repeating the same thing every day.

That night, he had a dream. He dreamt that he was not fueling cars, but fueling a huge fuel tank. The sound coming from the fuel tank was exactly the “Add oil! Add oil!” that was repeated in the loudspeaker on his chest. He frantically filled the fuel tank until the fuel tank exploded, blasting him into pieces.

When he woke up, it was already dawn outside. The gas station outside the window was as usual, and a new day began. He put on his uniform, wore the mechanical loudspeaker on his chest again, and walked towards the gas station.

When the first car drove into the gas station, the loudspeaker went off again, “Add oil! Speed up for your dreams!”.

Old Wang closed his eyes and silently said in his heart, "Fill it up, fill it up!" He thought, at least on the surface, he was still the energetic gas station attendant.