YAOXIAOSHU Story picture book

In recent years, a term has become popular: "involution".

It's just that efforts and sacrifices are not proportional. Every day, we are busy but still can't find a solution. The frog boiled in warm water is gradually worn out.

After humans entered the industrialization stage, the division of labor became increasingly detailed. Take the Internet industry as an example. Every link, from products, business, development, design to promotion, is very meticulous and professional. During the period of rapid development, they drive and promote each other. After the period of rapid development, it is very easy to enter a long-term state of self-repetition and stagnation, consuming each other.

The same is true for individuals. The efforts made in the early years have enabled them to grow rapidly. The work experience accumulated over the following decade or so can be an advantage, but it could also be a risk. Once you enter a state of relying on your past achievements, you should be vigilant, as the trend of internal competition may have already begun.

How can it be solved? It seems that this might be inevitable. The only way is to detect and treat it early. One needs to step out of their comfort zone or enter a completely new field at the right time. This requires courage and comes with great risks. But if one doesn't do so, they will enter a state of self-consumption, and in the end, it might be too late to change.

Time flies. In the blink of an eye, it's 2021. .

From studying to working, I have been constantly moving forward over the years. When I was young, I wanted to see the world and go to big cities. Then I kept changing jobs, and each time it was a seamless transition. A stable job has been what I have been pursuing for the past few years, almost taking up most of my time and I never get tired of it.

It was not until the year before last that the pandemic brought life to a sudden halt. I start to think about the plans for the rest of my life and also recall the little things I have experienced, the people I have met and the events I have encountered over the years.

Always wandering outside, fighting every day. Just like watching a movie, seeing my own life from someone else's perspective, I will also think at some point about how I made the choices back then and whether they were correct. And now it seems that if I could do it all over again, perhaps the choices I would make would still be the same, because that stubborn and obstinant person deep down has always followed me... ..

Life is full of ups and downs. There are as many highlights as there are twists and turns. Don't rush to move forward. Occasionally stop to rest and think. It's also another kind of gain for yourself, isn't it?

Young boys usually have a heart of a "chivalrous hero", practicing justice and traveling the world with a sword in hand.

So what is the heart of a chivalrous hero? In Jin Yong's martial arts novels, there are many chivalrous heroes. Generally speaking, they have high moral character, act with their own principles, attach great importance to dignity, are honest and keep their promises. This is actually also the code of conduct that our ancestors left to future generations.

However, in this profit-driven era, dignity is basically equivalent to your economic strength. When doing things, one doesn't focus on the process but only on the outcome. It doesn't matter what means are used. The standard for measuring a person can be directly quantified to how many houses you own, how many cars you have, and how much savings you have. When ideals are lacking, everyone is only concerned about money. It seems that morality and chivalry are no longer respected, but have become a state where "no one cares about a hero's grave, but the family affairs of an actor are known to the world..."

Compared to individuals, I always feel that I should hold onto this chivalrous spirit. Although in real life we sometimes need to hide and sometimes are regarded as outcasts, we should still respect them. When it comes to major issues of right and wrong, we can listen to the voice in our hearts. Perhaps many things will become simpler

In February 2021, Xiami Music shut down. Despite being backed by Alibaba, this idealistic music platform, which was driven by capital, struggled several times and eventually collapsed. Another sentimental music APP, Douban FM, was also on the verge of collapse.

From Xiami to douban to same, these niche apps have all developed well in the early stage. But when they reach a certain scale, they have to face a choice. After swallowing the "capital" Viagra, they may feel happy for a while, but in the end, they will only be drained dry.   
             
There is hardly any place for idealism in the domestic Internet. Although Lao Ma advocated "idealism" within Alibaba, it was clearly an interpretation of another kind of belief. Capital is the essence of the Internet industry. Powerful and greedy.

Despite this, I still believe or hope that truly independent and niche Internet products can emerge. I hope that China's Internet or business environment can accommodate some independent apps, allowing these young seedlings to grow into independent brands that are not driven by capital for profit.

Someone has to do something sentimental. Besides money, there can also be beauty.

Recently, I often recall some fragments of childhood memories.

It feels like a series of movie scenes, viewing one's childhood from a third-person perspective. It's like a reconstruction of memory, but it's not quite clear whether it's a real memory or an imagined one.

There is a scene that seems like I was sitting on the edge of a bungalow (the place in my own yard in the northern countryside where I dry grains in summer, which is relatively high), blowing bubbles with a wheat straw dipped in soapy water.

A clear sky in the picture. There are few clouds and the sunlight is very dazzling. I held my head high, with a wheat stalk in my mouth, and blew slowly. A soap bubble gradually grew larger from one end of the straw, so big that it blocked my view. Through the sunlight, I could see that there were many colors inside the bubble, colorful and constantly changing. It was particularly beautiful and dreamy.

With a cautious shake, the bubble detached from the straw and slowly floated upwards. When the gentle breeze blew, it flew higher and higher, farther and farther, and then gradually disappeared from sight... Disappear into the blue sky.

I have never stopped to think seriously. Although I have a vague feeling that I should think carefully about the road ahead in life, I always feel that I can wait a little longer.

But the events of the past few years and the aftermath of this epidemic have forced me to stop and think carefully. It seems that over the past decade or so, from being young and impetuous to being more composed, I have learned some skills to survive while drifting in society. However, I know that my inherent personality has not changed. The enthusiasm I had for making my way in Beijing in the early 2000s has long been dampened. Although I was reluctant, I gradually accepted it. The passion is fading away, and living feels like a habit. But now reality forces me to seriously consider how to play the second half of my life: to defend or to counterattack? Should we just draw or strive to score another goal? Actually, I don't know either. Maybe I'm just a little scared. Afraid of losing. My mindset has been constantly rising and collapsing over the past year, in a cycle.

It was only recently when I heard a sentence that I felt relieved.
Question: What should I do if I'm defeated by life?
Answer: Then just lie down and have a good rest. Tell life that you can be defeated, but before you are defeated, please keep working hard... .

Some people say that every artistic young person wants to open a coffee shop

In fact, it's no longer something that artistic youth want to do by now. Just look at Luckin Coffee and others. With the support of Chinese-style Internet and capital, this industry is more like a group-buying style capital game. In the eyes of Internet professionals, coffee is not merely a drink but a traffic entry point, nothing more. What they pursue is efficiency and standardization.

But in my mind, a cafe is more like a spatial medium. It must be commercial and also have a certain temperament.

So there has indeed been some research on coffee and coffee shops. Starting from coffee beans, the differences between Arabica and Robusta, the different flavors from different regions, including the equipment, the differences between fully automatic and semi-automatic coffee machines, and the differences among different brands. And I bought a rocket R58 and had a good experience with it.

After trying it all over again, I prefer hand-brewed coffee even more. It is also because hand-brewing can better preserve the original flavor of coffee. Moreover, hand flushing is a craft. The control of water temperature, the degree of grinding of the powder, and the flow rate of the flush all have subtle influences. Theoretically speaking, every cup one drinks is unique, just like a musician playing a piece of music, which has its own distinctive flavor... .

Gradually, the more I understand, the more I hold it in awe. Because this is not merely a beverage, but a culture, just like Chinese tea. It's just that there's a way to tea and a way to coffee.

There are always a few things in childhood that remain fresh in one's memory, and one of them is about Xiaohuang.

When I was about six or seven years old, one time when I went back to my grandpa's house, I found a little yellow dog in the house. Because there had never been a pet at home before, I was particularly happy when I saw Xiaohuang.

Grandpa told me that this was a little wild dog picked up in front of the door a few days ago. It stayed at the door all the time. Grandpa simply took it back home to raise. At that time, there were no pet supplies, no dog food, and they wouldn't keep it as a pet. It ate whatever people ate. Grandpa's home is by the sea, so Little Yellow has fish to eat every meal and grows very fast.

The dogs in the village are wild, but Xiaohuang usually stays at home and sometimes goes for a walk in the village by himself... One time, I took him to the river dam to play. Suddenly, he broke free from the rope and ran out, scaring me so much that I chased after him all the way. Finally, he actually caught a rabbit and brought it back.

A year later, when Dad came back from visiting Grandpa, he told me that Xiaohuang was missing. He heard that he had been beaten to death and eaten by the villagers... .. I was very sad at that time. From then on, every time I went to my grandpa's house and saw the aluminum bowl that Xiaohuang used to eat, I felt an indescribable sadness in my heart. Sometimes there are some feelings that we can't explain clearly, but they are deeply engraved in our hearts.

I might be the one among northerners who can least tolerate drinking alcohol.

Regarding drinking alcohol, in the north, it is actually a daily and particularly ritualistic way of communication in life. No matter how big or small the matter is, there is nothing that a drink cannot solve. Drink when you are happy, drink when you are not, drink when you are big, drink when you are small, and drink even more when you are small. Moreover, regarding how to pour wine, the order of seating, and how to propose a toast, it is almost a skill that northern men have to learn from a young age. It's no less than the rules of having Western food.

I still remember a Spring Festival when I was in my teens. I was finally allowed to join the dining table of the adult men in this family and began a years-long career of pouring wine. At that time, I had no seat and could only stand in front of the heated brick bed, pouring wine for the adults. But I was still very happy because I knew that from that moment on, they would gradually stop treating me as a child, and I could also drink. After work, I also have a drink from time to time, but it's only about the amount of two bottles of beer.

Some time ago, I started to enjoy drinking white spirits and whisky, which are as refreshing as eating spicy food.