41 posts tagged with "Absurd"

Old Wang had been with the company for fifteen years, growing from a naive intern to a balding, middle-aged man. He had participated in countless projects, witnessing the company's entire journey from a small workshop to a listed corporation. His workstation, much like himself, was old but carried too many memories.

Recently, the company launched a "trade-in" event, encouraging employees to bring in their old computers, old phones, and even old office supplies. The company would provide a trade-in value based on an assessment, allowing employees to purchase new products. Old Wang thought it was just a normal promotion, but it turned out to be a grand performance art by the company.

Before retirement, Lao Li was an accountant at a factory, adept at the abacus. After retiring, he became addicted to the internet. Not for news or chatting, but for enthusiastically “reconciling accounts” in various forums. Not really for money, but for the pleasure of precise, error-free numbers. He often said, "This world is full of fluff, only numbers are real."

Recently, he became engrossed in reconciling accounts with a group of American netizens. It began with several mysterious lists of goods, with a mix of items ranging from Chinese tea to American coffee, and prices in both RMB and USD, like a large global trade mystery box. Most of these netizens were Americans. Lao Li guessed they were probably from the finance industry, very sensitive to numbers.

The day Lao Wang decided to resign, the sky was gray, much like his current mood. He had worked at this company for a full ten years, transforming from a fresh graduate to a "Lao Wang" with thinning hair. He liked it when people called him that, it had a touch of self-deprecation and a helpless kind of intimacy.

In these ten years, he had written countless lines of code, like a craftsman polishing his work. He was used to the sound of the keyboard, used to the glow of the screen in the late hours, and used to struggling in countless bugs. He thought he had become one with these codes, like a part of his body.

Wang Meilin's fingers trembled slightly as she typed the express delivery tracking number into her phone. Two boxes of yogurt, or rather, "special supply" yogurt worth 125,000 yuan, were about to fly thousands of miles to her "boyfriend," a man she had never met.

Old Li has recently become obsessed with watching the 999 Cold Remedy commercials. Not because he has a cold, but because the line "There's always warmth on the road" inexplicably brings him a sense of comfort. He works overtime every day until late at night, is crammed into the subway like a sardine, and then has to face mountains of reports when he gets home. He feels like a screw, tightly screwed onto the company's machine.

Old Li's mobile phone number ends in seven zeros. Not many people know about this. In the small city, he was just an ordinary worker, taking the bus, eating in the cafeteria, and watching TV at home in the evening. Until one day, a strange phone call broke his peaceful life.

Old Wang still failed to grab a ticket home this year. He stared at the computer screen, the distortion of the 12306 verification code was comparable to a Picasso painting. His fingers mechanically clicked the mouse, refreshing, refreshing, and refreshing again. The words "0 remaining tickets" on the screen were like a cold tombstone, declaring his defeat.

On the wall hung a huge ink painting, depicting a pair of mandarin ducks, but rendered with sharp, knife-like strokes, full of a sense of severance. This was the "Underground Divorce Company," a mysterious establishment hidden in an old office building in the city center.

After retiring, Old Li's most important daily task was feeding the koi at Guanyin Bridge. Those brightly colored creatures were not just fish to him; they were symbols of good fortune in his old age. He firmly believed that as long as he fed them on time every day, they would bring him health, longevity, and even a lottery win.

Old Wang squatted by the riverbank, smoking one cigarette after another. At his feet were more than thirty bulging woven bags, filled with dead koi carp. These fellows, once swimming happily in the pond, were now a heavy burden.