Fortune God Express
The alarm clock shrieked, dragging Lao Wang out of his dream. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he glanced at the electronic calendar on his bedside table – the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. Today, he was destined not to sleep in for even a minute, as he was a deliveryman, and his task for the day was to deliver "Fortune Gods."
These were no ordinary Fortune Gods, but rather the company's newly launched "Fortune God Express" service. Every year on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, the company would deliver ordered Fortune God statues to customers' homes, supposedly to bless them with prosperity for the year. Lao Wang's assigned area wasn't large, but today he had over thirty "Fortune Gods" waiting for him to deliver.
Lao Wang opened the truck door, and rows of golden Fortune God statues shimmered strangely in the morning light. Each one was smiling, holding a golden ingot, as if ready to shower money. He skillfully moved the Fortune Gods one by one from the truck, but felt a sense of irony, as he, the person working hard to deliver the Fortune Gods, was the one who lacked money the most.
The first customer lived in a high-end residential area. The security guard stopped him, requiring him to register, verify his identity, and provide the "factory certificate" for the Fortune God. Lao Wang explained for a long time before being allowed in. He delivered the Fortune God to the customer's door, where a richly dressed middle-aged woman took it, slammed the door without even a thank you.
The subsequent delivery process became even more absurd. One customer asked Lao Wang to place the Fortune God in a specific location, saying it was calculated by a Feng Shui master; another customer said the Fortune God's posture was incorrect, and asked Lao Wang to adjust it; yet another one even took out a ruler to measure the Fortune God's dimensions, saying it was needed for "enlightenment"... Lao Wang felt like he wasn't delivering Fortune Gods, but rather participating in a large-scale performance art show.
What made Lao Wang both amused and exasperated was that one household actually said they had already invited three Fortune Gods, and asked Lao Wang to "return" this one. Lao Wang had no choice but to call the company, but customer service said that "Fortune God Express" was non-refundable once sent out, and told him to deal with it himself. He had to carry the Fortune God back to the truck.
For lunch, Lao Wang casually ate two buns by the roadside. He looked at the remaining half of the "Fortune Gods" in the truck, feeling like a puppet trapped on an assembly line. He opened his phone and saw the complaints from colleagues in the WeChat group, with everyone complaining that today's "Fortune God Express" was simply a farce.
"This is not delivering Fortune Gods, it's delivering trouble!" Little Li complained in the group.
"Exactly! The more I deliver, the further away I feel from wealth!" Little Zhang replied.
Lao Wang silently closed WeChat. He suddenly understood something, can these delivered Fortune Gods really bring wealth? If they could, why were the people delivering them so busy and tired? Why were even the customers so picky and demanding about the Fortune Gods themselves?
As the sun set, Lao Wang finally completed his delivery task for the day. He wearily drove the truck back to the company, and suddenly realized that the office was filled with "Fortune Gods" that had been returned. They were piled in a corner like garbage, losing their golden shimmer from the morning. He then realized that the so-called "Fortune God Express" was just another gimmick created by the company, packaging useless things as "good luck," and selling them to anxious people on the special day of "the fifth day of the Lunar New Year."
The next day, Lao Wang resigned. Instead of looking for a new job, he went to a temple, wanting to understand what real "wealth" truly was. When he saw the solemn and dignified Buddha statues in the temple, he suddenly smiled. It turned out that the real "Fortune God" was always in people's hearts, and not these plastic statues produced on an assembly line.
When he came out of the temple and walked down the street, he noticed that the Fortune God statues, which were everywhere yesterday, had disappeared without a trace. He seemed to understand that the so-called "Fortune God Express" was indeed "express," coming and going quickly, leaving only absurdity behind. He opened his phone and a new news article popped up, "The United States announces a 10% tariff increase on Chinese goods." Lao Wang smiled. It seemed that the world needed "Fortune Gods" in many places.
He thought that perhaps he could consider becoming a "Truth Express" deliveryman.