"White Slaves" - Working Hard for Nothing?
In the dictionary, the explanation of a slave is: must work for the slave owner, without pay, and without personal freedom.
In reality, there exists a group of "slaves": they have their own desks and computers, earning wages by serving their employers; at the same time, they must provide financial support or unpaid services to one or several "creditors", unable to resist, only able to silently endure.
The "creditors" may be tangible things like houses, cars, luxury goods, or intangible things like social obligations and aspirations. We call these white-collar "slaves" simply "white slaves."
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Credit Card Slaves in Urban "Orienteering"
Ding Xiaoqing, 26 years old, Project Executive at a PR company
Since obtaining her first membership card, Ding Xiaoqing's life has never been peaceful.
In her first year of university, under the persuasion of a classmate, she applied for a membership card at a book club. For the first few months, Xiaoqing was very "loyal," frequently visiting the bookstore with her membership card to buy books. "Regardless of whether I would read them or not, just stacking the books on the table gave me that feeling -- VIP."
Ding Xiaoqing's "enthusiasm" lasted for exactly three months, until she reached a point where she had no money left, not even enough for food, while the new books in her dormitory were so many that she couldn't finish reading them all before graduation. As a result, her frequency of visiting bookstores sharply decreased from two or three times a week to once or twice a month.
However, the book club had clear regulations: obligations are tied to rights! After three consecutive months of not buying a single book, Ding Xiaoqing received a polite "reminder letter," which essentially said: come spend some money soon. Soon after, she also received a phone call from the book club, where a sweet-voiced lady rambled on about the same thing: come spend some money soon.
Ding Xiaoqing remained "steadfastly resistant," but the book club was equally persistent, finally sending her an "ultimatum:" if you don't comply soon, we will choose a new book for you, deliver it to your home, and ask you to pay upfront. If you really don't like it, you can return the book and get a refund at our headquarters the next day. Enter my home finance section to discuss your financial life...
Years later today, this membership card still resides in Ding Xiaoqing's wallet, along with the habit of saving money each month to buy books. Her latest developed "habit" is conducting "urban orienteering": meeting friends at a certain teahouse using an积分card; watching movies at a specific cinema using a membership card; buying contact lens solution at a particular eye shop using a discount card; purchasing fashion at a certain mall using a co-branded shopping points credit card with a bank; buying cosmetics at a specific counter using a VIP card; purchasing daily necessities at a certain living plaza using a discount card...
To accommodate the ever-increasing number of membership cards and points cards, Ding Xiaoqing has changed her wallets five times in three years, increasing its size from initially 11cm x 9cm to now 19cm x 9cm. The newest addition in her wallet is a recharge card from a beauty salon. At the time, after being charmed by a handsome male hairdresser for half a day, she unknowingly recharged 500 yuan into the card. Afterwards, she regretted it slightly but consoled herself: "A woman's hair is important, washing and styling once a week only costs 10 yuan, the money in the card should last for a while."
Unbeknownst to her, the handsome hairdresser had "keen eyes." Every time she went for a wash, he would find issues like severely split ends, serious scalp malnutrition, or uneven hair layers... her beautiful hair almost became straw. "You don't need to worry, just..." the handsome hairdresser's eyes twinkled: "get a treatment, apply a hair mask, dye it, change the style... everything will be fine."
Her hair indeed improved day by day, but the money from her salary card slowly transferred into the recharge card. Initially, she recharged 500 yuan at a time, then it increased to 1000, and finally, she recharged 2000 yuan at once, upgrading to a gold card member...
These days, Ding Xiaoqing plans to change her wallet again to fit a newly acquired fitness card worth over 2000 yuan. Emptying the contents of her old wallet onto the table -- apart from cash, there were 11 various membership cards and VIP cards, one UnionPay card, and one credit card. The UnionPay card had a monthly salary of over 3600 yuan, the credit card had over 600 yuan of this month's overdraft, but the combined balance in the two hairdressing and fitness recharge cards amounted to over 6000 yuan. At that moment, the VIP version of her felt dizzy.
Certificate Slave: Overseas Background "Social Youth"
Shen Liju, 26 years old, unemployed after returning from abroad
Shen Liju once worked for a Fortune 500 company, but due to one wrong training decision, she ended up becoming an idle "social youth" at home.
One day in 2002, already a "technical support" specialist, Shen Liju experienced a significant "shock": "My colleagues spent their free time attending training sessions; those studying technology were in the minority, most had enrolled in MBA or GRE programs. If I don't keep up, I'll eventually lose my job."
On the same day a colleague obtained a Master of Business Administration degree, she submitted her resignation letter -- she had already signed up for GMAT training and planned to study an MBA in Finance in Canada.
At the beginning of 2006, Shen Liju returned home after completing her studies. "The hardships endured over these years are countless..." Facing former colleagues and classmates, she always wore a sorrowful expression akin to Aunt Xiang Lin: after resigning, she diligently studied textbooks day and night to pass language exams; after receiving an offer from the university, her parents helplessly informed her that the family could not afford her education, leaving everything up to her; upon arriving in Canada, tuition fees and living expenses piled up, forcing her to both study hard and find part-time jobs; finally, despite graduating with an MBA, she struggled to find a stable job as financial talent was abundant rather than scarce locally, and she lacked relevant work experience and had a clear disadvantage in language skills...
Although back in China, Shen Liju's mindset was still stuck four years ago: "As long as you get the diploma, you can earn the money back."
However, reality was cruel. Even as a returned overseas student with solid language and skills, she was still drowned in the sea of talent in the job market. After applying to several foreign banks, Shen Liju was rejected outright during the initial screening. A human resources manager from a foreign company told her: "Your language and educational background are strong, but you have a fatal flaw -- lack of work experience in the financial industry. What we need most is experience. If you hadn't resigned and continued working in 'technical support' in this field, we would have welcomed you. However, you and your skills have been disconnected for too long."
This speech hit Shen Liju like a thunderclap. Was it wrong to study more and obtain more certificates?
Gift-Giving Slave: Red and White "Bombs" Falling Everywhere
Wang Tao, 30 years old, Head of Customer Service Department at a Bank
"Dealing with money inevitably brings a bit of vulgarity." After working in the banking sector for a few years, Wang Tao deeply felt, "Moreover, colleagues are vulgar without any hesitation."
In July 2003, after working at the bank for only six days and not even knowing all the names of his department colleagues, Wang Tao was hit straight on by a "red bomb." "Xiaowang, right? Next month, I'm getting married and hosting a banquet, everyone in the department is invited. Here's yours, make sure to arrive early." A strange face cheerfully threw down the "bomb" and immediately turned around to "bombard" others.
Go or not go? That was the question. While Wang Tao was hesitating, his mentor had already spoken: "Go. We're all going. Anyway, you'll also be hosting a wedding banquet in the future."
How much money should be put in the red envelope? His mentor explained: regardless of age or gender, start from 500 yuan. It was rumored that during someone's wedding in the credit department, the best man carried a POS machine, asking guests without cash to directly swipe their debit or credit cards, accepting both local and foreign bank cards.
Thus began a nightmare. In the three long years since Wang Tao ascended from a junior clerk at the counter to the head of the customer service department, he was almost pummeled into a "honeycomb" by "red bombs": gifts needed to be given for weddings and funerals, promotions and house moves also required gifts, full moons of children, recoveries from hospital stays, and birthdays divisible by ten all necessitated gifts; gifts were needed for entire departments, acquaintances met with a nod, new colleagues, senior staff, and especially direct superiors...
In September 2004, Wang Tao was hit simultaneously by three "bombs," "equivalent to working for free for a month, feeling like the people were suffering and the skies were dark."
Finally, in June 2005, Wang Tao awaited the day to launch his own "bombardment": the day after his promotion to supervisor was announced, he spread the news far and wide, throwing down a "bomb" on every desk in every office. The promotion banquet hosted twelve tables, yielding over 60,000 yuan in gift money, netting 40,000 yuan after deducting "costs."
In October 2005, Wang Tao married his girlfriend without a fixed residence yet. They hosted thirty tables, receiving so much gift money that the couple's hands went numb counting it. In December 2005, Wang Tao purchased a 700,000 yuan apartment, paying a 30% down payment without blinking an eye.
Currently, Wang Tao's wife is pregnant. The two are hastily planning the baby's full moon celebration, "even if we don't use thirty tables, fourteen tables are necessary." Wang Tao has thought it through; the cycle of favors must continue. When it's his turn to "bombard," he must not hold back, otherwise, when others "retaliate," he would be forced back into a life of misery.
Car Slave: Free Parking Requires Hide-and-Seek
Broody, 34 years old, Employee at a Foreign Company
"Buying a car without realizing how expensive it is to drive, the car owner inevitably becomes a car slave." After driving an American-made car around the city for two years, Broody grew weary: "My wife only asks me for 500 yuan per month as pocket money, but the car costs me over 1000 yuan, it's not worth it, might as well not drive."
He faced the following options:
First, sell the car. But, "People say the value of a car drops by half the moment it hits the ground, selling it yields less than half its original price, I can't bear to let it go."
Second, rent out the car. Finding a rental company isn't difficult, but most are "fly-by-night companies." What if the car isn't returned? What if the renter causes an accident or worse, takes someone's life?
Third, carpooling. A colleague had successful experience: Jacky and his wife originally lived in a two-bedroom apartment in the city center. He drove to work, taking only ten minutes each way. To maximize the use of the car, they moved to a three-bedroom apartment in the suburbs, where parking was free, saving 200 yuan per month. Jacky's daily "four-person ride" earned him 10 yuan per person per day, accumulating 600 yuan per month, enough to cover the gas expenses.
However, newspapers also reported tragic lessons: An owner of a "Sail" car openly solicited passengers at a bus stop near Beicai North Middle Road and close to Shanghai-Nan Highway. Three passengers got in, paying only 9 yuan in total, but the arriving taxi management bureau inspectors fined him 10,000 yuan. After careful consideration, Jacky decided to stay put, "let's see what happens." Thus, the daily battle for free parking continued.
Broody lived in an old public housing unit in the city center, with no garage available. When he first bought the car, he parked it under his window. One day it had multiple scratches, another day it was bumped by a scooter, making him extremely nervous and sleepless at night.
Across from the neighborhood was a proper parking garage, costing 500 yuan per month. A little further north was a newly built underground garage, more expensive at 800 yuan per month. Broody conducted several "site inspections" but still couldn't bring himself to enjoy "professional services." Afterward, he followed his neighbor's example and parked on nearby small streets, which were free!
"All roads lead to dead ends, usually no cars pass, and the police rarely come, it seems quite safe." But exceptions always exist. Two months of enjoying free "lunches" later, Broody narrowly avoided a big loss. That day, as soon as his car entered the small street, he saw the police issuing fines to privately-owned cars parked on the side of the road. "I acted quickly, turned around, circled the area, and finally parked in my own alley."
That night, he naturally didn't sleep well. Upon waking up, he made a firm decision: "Move!" Not moving house, but moving the "garage." "There are so many small streets around here, surely there's a place to park for free." Within a short week, his car changed sleeping places three or four times. "Every day playing hide-and-seek with the police. They issue fines in one alley today, and I park there tomorrow, ensuring safety. Check one last time before going to bed. Saving a few hundred yuan in parking fees isn't easy."
House Slave: "Three-Layer Board" + "Moonlight Clan"
Steven, 36 years old, Software Engineer
Six years ago, when Steven got married, his parents took out over 100,000 yuan to pay off the down payment on his house, with the rest to be paid monthly by him.
For six years, despite fluctuations in housing prices, Steven steadfastly remained a "house slave," living a tranquil life.
However, Steven's parents recently had many ideas, often discussing properties at the dinner table. One day, his father mysteriously opened up: "Old Li downstairs bought a one-bedroom apartment for 250,000 yuan two years ago, and recently sold it. Guess how much?"
"How much?" His mother immediately chimed in, her chopsticks paused mid-air.
His father set down his wine glass, spreading out five fingers: "500,000 yuan!" To emphasize the effect, he nodded and widened his eyes.
"What? 500,000 yuan!" Mother's mouth gaped open, her eyes bulging. With a "snap," she slammed her chopsticks on the table, "I've been saying it all along, the rise in housing prices is inevitable. Mr. Li has good foresight! If we had followed suit back then..."
Hearing this, his father got even more excited: "Housing prices are still rising. How about we buy one too? Just not sure if we can afford it financially." He hesitated.
"Let the son take out a loan!" Mother decisively concluded, shifting her gaze to Steven, "What do you think, son? Let's buy another one, we'll contribute a bit, you contribute a bit, it won't be a loss."
Before Steven could speak, his wife already flipped the argument: "This doesn't seem appropriate, his current loan hasn't been fully repaid yet. If we take another loan, there will be more restrictions, higher interest rates, and it doesn't seem worthwhile..." Steven secretly rejoiced: "It's good that my wife cares about me and understands my pressure. My monthly income is just over 5000 yuan, with a mortgage payment of 1200 yuan. There's not much left for eating and drinking. Another one... Oh my god, how am I supposed to live?"
"You guys are too indecisive, missing out on such good opportunities. If he can't borrow, then use your name. Your father and I will subsidize you."
Mother's "lion roar" startled Steven: Don't argue with the elderly, ignore them for a couple of days, and they'll calm down.
Several weeks later, the parents actually brought out a large stack of property brochures at the dinner table. Steven realized that the elders were serious this time. "Instead of resisting passively, I might as well cooperate actively." The next day, he started paying attention to the "real estate" section of the daily newspaper.
Now, only his wife stood on the opposing side. Under parental "coercion," Steven reluctantly took on the task of persuading her: "Real estate is also a form of long-term investment. Having fixed assets can help us prepare for old age."
"I don't have time to prepare for old age. Our son is starting primary school next year, and there will be many expenses. Between the house and the son, which one do you want?" His wife did not back down.
The first negotiation ended with Steven's defeat. During the second negotiation, the parents invited Old Li from downstairs to share his experiences: he had bought three commercial properties, and disregarding the appreciation of the properties themselves, the annual rental income alone was approximately 50,000 yuan... His wife's furrowed brows gradually relaxed.
The couple carefully studied the details of commercial loans: "To take out a loan for a second property without incurring extra interest, there is only one way -- divorce." The current property goes to Steven, and his wife buys another one under her personal name.
What? Divorce? Are you crazy about the house? The house goes to you, where will I and the son live?
"It's fake, we'll remarry after buying the house, it's just a formality."
"What's real or fake, either don't buy the house, or really get divorced!"
Steven's smile froze. With the conversation reaching this point, how dare he mention buying a house in front of his wife. However, the two elders wouldn't let go, seizing every opportunity to instill in Steven the idea that housing prices were soaring, and if they didn't act soon, the opportunity would be lost, helping him invest would not waste money...
On one side was his wife, on the other were the elders, neither could be offended. Steven finally tasted the bitterness of being a "three-layer board."
Ultimately, family ties prevailed. Steven bought a new house worth over 800,000 yuan, requiring a down payment of 300,000 yuan and a monthly payment of 2300 yuan. After his wife found out, she only left one sentence: "I won't help you repay a single cent, and the cost of the son's education cannot be reduced, all of it is on you."
Thus began a life of financial strain. Steven's monthly income remained unchanged, but his expenses doubled: the previous mortgage still needed to be paid; for this new one, his parents subsidized him 1000 yuan per month, leaving the remaining 1000 plus for him to handle; his son had already started school, costing an average of 1000 yuan per month... He became a typical "moonlight clan."
"The delivery of the house is approaching. Even if we simply renovate it, it will require a substantial amount of money. There's no way to squeeze money out of the parents, and if the wife helps with some living expenses, that would be good enough. With my limited savings, I can't even afford to renovate the kitchen." Steven's mood sank day by day.
The other day at dinner, his mother suddenly spoke: "Last night, I had a dream. I dreamed that the house we bought was already renovated and rented out for 5000 yuan per month!" His father immediately chimed in: "Lately, I've been having similar dreams. It would be great if the dream came true."
Plan Your Life, Escape the Slave Fate
Career Planner Dou Ji
Whether it's being a house slave or a gift-giving slave, white-collar workers today are living incredibly arduous lives.
At the root of it, what drives them to this state is not entirely the fierce competition in society, but their inability to properly plan their lives and careers. They drift through life aimlessly, choosing unsuitable consumption patterns and thus forcing themselves into the position of "slaves."
A person's life is composed of various interconnected aspects: family, marriage, work, entertainment. Each requires careful thought and planning.
Planning means making yourself clear about what you truly need. In work, knowing what you want prevents you from blindly choosing inappropriate training courses and wasting time developing unnecessary skills; during leisure, reasonable economic planning avoids regrets and allows you to maximize material enjoyment with minimal spending; in family life, spousal coordination and communication with parents are deep sciences... First, you must clearly identify what matters most to you: a simple, stable life or thrilling adventures. Once you understand, looking back at problems will reveal that many resolve themselves.
To escape this bondage, the only way is to reasonably plan your life, adjust your mindset, and clearly recognize your life goals. Only then can you become someone who controls their own destiny.