I am from Beijing. Last December, on a cold weekend, without taking my grandson out to play, I went to Shengxi No. 8, hoping to take him to the indoor children’s playground, but it was closed. Then I went to Beichen Shopping Center, where the children’s playground was also closed. Next, I went to Dazhong Temple, where the children’s playground was still closed. Finally, I went to Joy City in Xidan, thankfully the children’s playground was open. I quickly bought tickets for my grandson to play, but to my surprise, he was the only child in the well-known commercial complex’s children’s amusement park. I looked around instinctively, bought a ticket and went in to play with the child, thinking to myself: where are all the other kids on a Saturday?
This was the first scene. The second scene was during the Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner, my son said he had to leave after the first day of the new year. I was surprised and asked why the rush. He explained that the company had urgently notified that due to poor financial performance, they were considering laying off employees. Unable to afford severance pay, they came up with a cunning scheme: starting work on the second day of the Lunar New Year, anyone who couldn’t report to work for any reason would be considered as resigning voluntarily without compensation. Even the leading IT companies are resorting to such tactics. What kind of world is this? People had no mood to enjoy the New Year’s Eve dinner.
My son said, “This is the third round of layoffs for the company. Everyone is anxious, fearing for their jobs. They work long hours, sacrificing their health and time, just hoping to keep their job. Mortgages and car loans are crushing us post-90s generation. Even without debts, finding a new job is extremely difficult. As a man, we can’t rely on our parents, we have to tough it out. As long as I’m not laid off, everything will be fine.”
I glanced at my daughter-in-law, her eyes slightly teary. She works in a relatively less stressful organization compared to my son, and couldn’t fully understand his pain, but she comforted him by leaning on him while holding their child. As the head of the family, I wanted to say something, but choked back my words. I couldn’t help but think about my own construction industry business and the struggles we face. Several privately-owned construction companies have been unable to secure projects and were on the verge of bankruptcy. Recently, two former employees called me, now working as executives in different companies, asking if they could come back to work with me. I am also contemplating layoffs, it’s unavoidable.
The third scene, during the New Year, I took my son, daughter-in-law, and grandson on a trip to Hainan. In previous years, when we visited BaoTing in Hainan, we always waited until after the fifth day of the Lunar New Year to enjoy the hot springs to avoid the holiday crowds. This year, we arrived early, planning to stay directly at a hot spring hotel with the family. After landing, we headed to the Nanyazison Hot Spring Hotel in BaoTing, only to find it closed. I remembered there used to be more than ten hotels in this area. My daughter-in-law sighed sadly.
We quickly found another hotel that seemed decent and checked in. Since we came almost every year, we knew there were plenty of hot spring pools that were changed daily. After a quick change, we put on our swimsuits, wrapped ourselves in bathrobes, and hurried to the hot springs. However, many pools were closed, probably due to financial issues. We found a pool to relax in and couldn’t help but feel saddened by the desolation. There was no one else except for our family. In the evening, when we went to the restaurant for dinner, we were relieved to see another table of guests, not just us. Previously, reservations were necessary at the restaurant, or you couldn’t get a seat. The renowned BaoTing hot springs are not as lively as before, and the situation in other places is even worse. Very few establishments have managed to survive.
After over thirty years in the business world, this is the first time I have encountered such a bleak situation in the Chinese economy. I truly hope that this hardship is temporary and that this darkness is the final one before dawn. Dawn will arrive eventually, but enduring the darkness before dawn will be challenging.
Epoch Times original.