This story is from seventeen years ago, but looking back now, it still feels vivid. Many people fall into pyramid schemes not because they have grand dreams, but because they trust their friends, and that trust is betrayed by those friends.

That year, I was working in Jimo, Qingdao, at a farmer's workshop. I remember they were processing a type of part for Haier refrigerators, using simple lathe work to reprocess the semi-circular iron pieces that had been stamped, ensuring a perfect fit.

At first, because I had some pseudo-myopia, my work efficiency was not as good as that of my colleagues. Later, the small boss of the workshop said he would take me to get glasses. I thought we were going to a proper place, but instead, he drove me to a market in Jimo and had me choose from a stall, which I remember was about five or ten yuan a pair.

After I could see clearly, my work efficiency improved, and I quickly became an outstanding lathe worker. The key to having work efficiency lies in two aspects: one is the skill in sharpening the lathe tools, and the other is the material of the iron and the proper fixing of the tools.

I worked like this for a year, during which people from my hometown came to join me, injecting fresh energy into the workshop.

Before the end of the year, it was said that rewards would be based on the output of the last month. I worked very hard that month, estimating I would be first, but the small boss was too lazy to calculate our actual output and assumed the previous month's output as the basis for ranking, which frustratingly placed me second.

The reason I was frustratingly second was not that I didn't work hard, but because the small boss arbitrarily made us swap lathe machines, severely disrupting our work efficiency, especially since I was switched to a problematic machine, while my own machine was damaged.

After switching back, I worked hard to improve my efficiency, but after becoming first, the small boss's sister and brother-in-law told me to go rest in a room, saying I was too efficient and too tired, while I watched others catch up.

Thus, these real contradictions made me very weary, and I began to consider changing jobs. However, I still improved my efficiency in the last month, surpassing others by a large margin, estimating my salary should be above three or four thousand.

Later, at the end of the year, I told the big boss that if he settled all my payments, I would definitely come back next year; if not, I wouldn't return.

The big boss, the head of the family, heard my words and was willing to believe me, so he urged for my settlement. However, his wife loudly protested, saying that if he settled with me, I wouldn't come back next year, and he would lose his head. His son, the small boss, also opposed his father's decision, claiming the accounts were too messy and he didn't have time to calculate.

At that moment, I felt a chill in my heart; I am a person who keeps my word, even if it means suffering losses.

Coincidentally, at that time, a friend who had studied technology with me in Qingdao called again, saying he was already working in Tianjin, doing logistics work, easily earning about four thousand a month.

I was somewhat tempted; it was more than what I was earning while working myself to death, and I increasingly disliked my current job. However, after I inquired, I found that the salary for delivery workers through formal recruitment channels was not high, usually below one thousand, which made me doubt his words. But I was utterly disappointed with the workshop in Wangjia Village, Jimo, so I decided to take the risk and give it a try.

After the New Year, the small boss's sister and brother-in-law drove to our village to pick us up, but before they arrived, I had already set off for Tianjin. Later, when the head of that workshop called, I didn't answer, or if I did, I didn't want to engage and hung up. I would rather suffer a loss than go back on my promise. However, the two apprentices I had brought over were taken away.

They then worked together with a young man from Pingdu, but later the small boss had a business disagreement with his sister and brother-in-law, leading to their separation. After some operations by him, the small workshop closed down in less than half a year, and I heard that the father and son had a physical fight over it.

Yes, apart from people like me who work diligently, others are just cutting corners. With me there, they were willing to treat me as a backbone leader and work well; without me, they could each show their own skills.

After I arrived in Tianjin, I called my friend, who said he would come over soon, but thirty minutes passed and I still hadn't seen him. At that moment, some people trying to lure customers said, "Young man, are you being scammed? There are a lot of pyramid schemes here."

While they were debating whether it was a pyramid scheme, my friend finally arrived on a covered motorcycle, picked up my luggage, and took me on another open motorcycle to leave. However, strangely, we were going further away from the logistics park and into a more remote area. I asked my friend why we were heading towards the countryside.

My friend's eyes flickered a bit, but he calmly said that their accommodation was in the countryside, and they came to the logistics park for work, and today just happened to be a day off.

I didn't comment, but I also didn't raise any doubts in person. I thought since I was here, I might as well go along, and we arrived at a village, then wound our way to a courtyard. He knocked on the door, and someone inside asked, "Who is it?"

My friend said, "It's me."

Hearing that familiar voice, the person inside opened the courtyard door, and he led me into a room. Once inside, I realized there were no beds, just a layer of plastic squares on the floor, and in the direction of the bedroom, there were neatly stacked quilts.

At this point, I was basically certain that this was indeed a pyramid scheme. However, since I had never experienced anything like this before, I thought it would be good to go through it.

That night, my friend also stayed here, and everyone covered themselves with their own quilts on the floor to sleep. However, the next day, my friend made an excuse to leave, and I was left with a stranger.

This was actually all part of their routine. The person accompanying me was chosen as a stranger to avoid any conflicts. He gently guided me and then took me out to stroll, seemingly casually, but in reality, he was intentionally leading me to participate in their classes.

In the class, I heard their lessons, and the enthusiasm of the attendees was very high, with the instructors being very passionate, creating a warm and caring atmosphere throughout the process. However, after attending a class and returning, they would also assess you, then take you around to meet some supervisors to evaluate you.

Of course, before meeting these supervisors, they would craft personal stories and success cases for them, making you feel that they were very impressive. The so-called assessment was just some simple questions, and during this process, they would lead you into their thought traps.

However, what truly moved me was that these lower-level kids all had their own bitter and painful pasts. They would rather wait here for their dreams of poverty than wake up from this state.