I Don't Know How We Should Face So Much Suffering in the World

After the desk I bought on Pinduoduo cracked, I argued with the seller for a long time and they eventually arranged for a woman to come fix it. I was in a bad mood because of the terrible shopping experience, and I even pressured her to come before the weekend was over.

She brought her kid along, which startled me. Later, while she was busy fixing the desk, I chatted with the child. The kid told me they had an older brother and sister but had never met their father. Their father had died.

Originally, the seller and I agreed I wouldn't pay a cent — she'd just fix it. But when she arrived, she found the actual situation differed from what the seller had described, and she argued with the seller over 80 yuan for nearly fifteen minutes in my apartment.

80 yuan — enough to buy two Starbucks coffees.

80 yuan — enough to push a woman who rides an electric scooter across all of Beijing with her kid to fix furniture into an emotional breakdown.

I find this world quite absurd. Some people can casually crowdfund tens of thousands of yuan to make a video, while others argue hysterically with platforms and sellers over a few dozen yuan.

Later, I took out a toy and told the kid: solve three addition and subtraction problems correctly, and you can take this Transformer home.

Children don't know how to hide their feelings. The anxiety while counting on fingers and the smile when getting the toy were both genuine.

The warmth on my face, however, was indeed faked.

I don't know how we should face so much suffering in the world, nor do I know how our social governance will reconcile such an absurd wealth gap.

The disparity of this world leaves one feeling powerless.