The Secret of “Dumpling Filling“

Old Wang was randomly assigned to the dumpling-making session at the annual party. He rubbed his hands, looking at the various colored dumpling fillings in front of him, feeling like an elementary school student attending a handicraft class. The theme of the annual party was "Technology Empowerment," and even making dumplings had to be tech-savvy—each filling was associated with a QR code, and you had to scan the code to know what the filling was.

Old Wang picked up a ball of meat filling with a small QR code attached. He took out his phone, aimed it at the QR code, and with a "beep," a word popped up on the screen: "A17 Data Stream."

He was stunned for a moment, then scanned another green vegetable filling, and the screen displayed: "B23 Algorithm Optimization." He tried scanning again, and the results were all technological terms he didn't understand. Something like "C42 Cloud Storage," "D08 Artificial Intelligence Interaction."

"What... what kind of filling is this?" Old Wang scratched his head, asking his colleague Xiao Li next to him.

Xiao Li was busy pinching a dumpling skin labeled "E11 Quantum Entanglement," without looking up, he said, "The company said this year's dumplings, the fillings are all technology. What filling you eat depends on your 'technology comprehension'."

Old Wang felt like he was in a giant science fiction movie set. He looked around at the others, who were all diligently making dumplings, their faces beaming with enthusiasm for technology. Only he, like an old farmer who had strayed into a peach blossom spring, was filled with confusion and bewilderment.

At lunch, everyone was presented with a plate of "technology dumplings." Old Wang cautiously picked up a dumpling, took a bite, and an indescribable strange taste spread in his mouth. He felt it was neither meat nor vegetable, but more like the burnt smell of circuit boards, with a faint hint of despair.

The colleagues next to him were eating with relish, discussing their "technology dumpling" experiences while eating. "Mine is C42 Cloud Storage, and I feel so light!" A young programmer said excitedly.

"Mine is A17 Data Stream, and I feel like my coding skills have improved!" Another colleague chimed in.

Old Wang looked at everyone, feeling like he had entered another world. He lowered his head and picked up another dumpling. This time, he didn't bite into it but carefully observed the dumpling skin. He found that even the dumpling skin had densely packed QR codes printed on it.

He instinctively took out his phone and scanned the QR code on the dumpling skin. A line of small words appeared on the phone screen: "Employee Data Analysis, No.: 0823."

He was stunned, his hands trembling. He scanned another dumpling skin, which showed: "Employee Performance Appraisal, No.: 1107." He quickly scanned all the QR codes on the dumpling skins, and each one corresponded to different employee information, attendance records, pay slips, and even his medical examination report. A chill ran down his spine.

He suddenly understood that the so-called "technology dumplings" were not meant to be eaten, but were pieces of data that could be controlled. They were not eating dumplings; they were eating themselves.

He slowly raised his head, looking at the colleagues around him who were still excitedly savoring the "technology dumplings." Their faces were filled with loyalty to the company and yearning for technology. He suddenly felt ridiculous, that he was still foolishly caring about what kind of filling was in the dumplings.

After the dinner party, Old Wang silently returned home. He opened his computer and typed a line: Today's dinner was dumplings with a "self-data" flavor. He felt a wave of nausea. Then, he set the company's WeChat group to Do Not Disturb.