Agriculture Maniac

Chapter 606 Cheng Hui, a worker outside the factory

Dongshan Prefecture.

Quanfu Interchange in the Northeast Region.

Originally built in 1993, the old-style viaduct, constructed entirely of concrete, was completely demolished under the impetus of the Jinan City Development Project and rebuilt in a very short time using three-system modular box girders.

The brand-new viaduct is equipped not only with an information-based traffic command system, a rapid accident response mechanism, and emergency rescue support units, but also with a suspension train that will replace the BRT rapid transit system.

7:10 AM on March 30th.

The original BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) station is now the entrance/exit for the suspended rail train.

Cheng Hui, a recent college graduate, affixed his factory ID card to the ticket sensor area and received the feedback that "recent college graduates can ride for free within 2 years." He then followed the crowd to queue up and enter the suspended railcar.

The 3 Series mobile digital TV inside the carriage is broadcasting current events.

[Recently, Canada, in conjunction with North America, issued an ultimatum to Japan, demanding that its Maritime Self-Defense Force withdraw from Canada's west coast within two weeks, or face consequences. Japan's top officials protested, claiming that the large number of grounded ships made repairs impossible in the short term.]
[Recently, many European countries have experienced their first snowstorm of the winter of 2006. Due to the dismantling of numerous power plants caused by environmental pollution, the power supply is severely insufficient, exacerbating Europe's heating problems and leading to widespread frostbite and deaths. The number of casualties is currently surging by 300 per day, and the extent of the damage in remote towns is impossible to ascertain.]
[Recently, the Wall Street Journal pointed out that the North American financial economy is recovering rapidly and is expected to reach 1999 levels before Christmas. In response, the Federal Reserve has announced a plan to raise interest rates; next month, November 1st, US Treasury yields will increase by 30 percentage points, marking the first time in nearly three years that the weighted average yield on US Treasury bonds has exceeded 3%.]
[Recently, affected by the European economic downturn, northern Ukraine held a referendum to secede from Ukraine, but this was blocked by the Ukrainian government, leading to a large-scale conflict. NATO, the EU, and Iceland have all intervened in the conflict.]
[Recent research from multiple Arctic research stations indicates that the Arctic Ocean's freezing period was delayed by a full 23 days this year, and permanent icebergs in the Arctic have decreased by 35%, signifying that global warming is intensifying. In response, the MotherStar Alliance-UNEP calls on all countries to reduce emissions and pollution and fully implement carbon neutrality.]
On October 20th, after a six-month investigation, Sanyuan Agriculture's Chukotka branch decided to invest in four super-large international ports with an annual throughput of 50 million tons each in the southern part of Sakhalin Island, the southern part of Kamchatka Island, Tomorrow Island, and the Arctic-East Siberian Sea. Once the projects are completed, even considering the six-month ice-covered period, the annual throughput can still be maintained at over 20 million tons, which will greatly alleviate the traffic pressure on the Malacca Strait, Panama Canal, and Suez Canal shipping routes.

It will also accelerate the speed of international trade. For example, it will only take 13 days to travel from Ningbo to Europe, whereas it used to take 35 days.

Sanyuan Agriculture is currently researching ways to reduce the cost of icebreakers, thereby lowering shipping costs.
Five days ago, on October 25, a major fire broke out at the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant on the Japanese island of Japan. This is the second major international nuclear accident since the reactor connecting water pipe burst and caused a nuclear leak in 2004. At present, professional nuclear energy organizations such as International Nuclear Energy, Tijuana Group, and Sanyuan High-Tech have dispatched research teams to Japan, but due to the control of Japan, they have not yet entered the accident site to collect samples and conduct investigations.

According to the head of the Sanyuan High-Tech-Wu Island Accident Special Task Force, since 03, nuclear power plants built globally using ternary nuclear energy, General Electric, and Tijuana Group related nuclear energy devices have basically reached full maturity. Even nuclear power plants built in the past, after being equipped with new protection facilities, are unlikely to experience minor accidents, let alone major ones.

The recurring nuclear problems in Japan, while ruling out the possibility of nuclear tests, do not rule out issues such as quality control, maintenance loopholes, inadequate oversight, and deliberate pollution of the Japanese seas.

As of the date of this news report, the relevant comments made by the person in charge have been deleted.
Two days ago, on October 28th, Caterpillar, the world's largest manufacturer of construction machinery, established a presence in Donghua Village, Guanxian County, Liaocheng City, Shandong Province. Once completed, it is expected to directly create 120,000 jobs and indirectly provide 300,000 related employment opportunities…
Cheng Hui sat in the carriage, looking up at the news articles that had nothing to do with him, until the train arrived at its destination.

He comes from Zhumadian, Henan. His father works away from home, while his mother farms at home. He has an older brother but no younger siblings. His family is neither poor nor rich; they are just ordinary.

If things had gone according to the old rules, Cheng Hui would have at most finished junior high school based on his grades, and then gone to Lanxiang Vocational School to learn to be a chef, or become an apprentice in other auto repair shops.

However, with the nationwide expansion of university enrollment in 99, the admission scores for high schools, which were once considered unattainable, were subsequently lowered.

With his family's support, Cheng Hui, who had the worst grades, entered a private high school.

Then, I don't know how I got through it, but I somehow ended up taking the college entrance exam.

In the past, Cheng Hui would not have been able to get into university based on his grades alone.

Like their village, which has never produced a college student.

However, in 03, the first batch of university graduates after the expansion of university enrollment entered society, and Dongfang took advantage of this opportunity to carry out a second expansion of enrollment.

Not only have the number of second-tier and third-tier colleges and universities increased dramatically, but state-run junior colleges, private junior colleges, and so on have also sprung up like mushrooms after rain.

In Nanhe Province, where the competition is fierce, Cheng Hui surprisingly received two admission notices.

One is e-commerce at the Dongshan Youth Management Cadre College.

One is the pilot undergraduate program of Dongshanfu University (not Dongshan University, but Jida University, and the pilot undergraduate program is not full-time, the admission notice is printed arbitrarily and is not a regular college entrance examination admission notice).

Cheng Hui's parents and brother, who were not very educated, saw the two admission notices, especially the one from the prestigious Dongshanfu University, and exclaimed that their ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke. They insisted on making Cheng Hui the first college student in the entire village.

Cheng Hui knew his own situation and didn't think his grades were good enough for Dongshan University. So he secretly went to the computer lab of the third department to check the differences between the two. Finally, with the thought that "I really want to go to university," he nervously brought his parents and brother to the school to register.

Fortunately, the school was built in a fairly impressive manner, so it did not arouse any suspicion.

After the start of the semester, Cheng Hui immediately applied for a change of major.

As the saying goes, a woman fears marrying the wrong man, and a man fears choosing the wrong profession.

Even if a college is famous, it's still just a college diploma; you can't change that.

Therefore, you should try your best to choose a useful major that will lead to a good job.

Looking back.

In 99, with the expansion of university enrollment, the most popular major was computer science.

It is said that after graduation, regardless of whether you have a bachelor's degree or an associate's degree, as long as you can code, a high salary is guaranteed.

But two years later, Sanxi Electronics rose to prominence, dominating half of the market in the East, which was equivalent to reducing traditional computer jobs by more than half.

Because Sanxi Electronics and Sanxi E-commerce do not require overseas code or overseas programs, but only Sanxi's underlying Chinese logic.

In other words, anyone who has attended high school, regardless of whether they are in the arts or sciences, and whose academic performance is decent, can become a programmer in the Department of Electronics.

This resulted in almost the entire first batch of computer science graduates after the expansion of university enrollment being wiped out.

After all, traditional computer jobs are decreasing, and unemployed programmers are also looking for work.

In today's highly competitive environment, it's better for employers to hire a skilled coding prodigy than a recent graduate with no work experience.

Therefore, the most popular majors during the second round of university expansion in 03 were accounting and computerized accounting.

With the widespread adoption of 3D electronics and Western computers, the total number of Eastern enterprises has surged, creating an urgent need for cashiers.

It is said that at that time, all high school graduates chose accounting, and everyone wanted to take the CPA exam.

Then, in less than a year, AI big data models swept the globe.

Credit card payments are driving the Oriental and Sanxi industrial zones towards a cashless society.

AI devices are driving the Dongfang and Sanxi industrial zones toward automated bookkeeping and automated checkout.

Not to mention businesses and accounting firms, even local and national tax bureaus have started laying off employees.

And the college students studying accounting, naturally, suffered another complete defeat.

When he went to university, influenced by the foreign trade department, the most popular majors were e-commerce, packaging design, clothing design, and marketing, which suddenly became popular along with the rise of real estate.

With more majors to choose from, the job prospects seem to have improved.

The problem is that with the second round of university expansion, there are too many students.

This led the school to take employment into consideration, and after only half a month into the semester, the school called on third-year students to go out and look for jobs.

Cheng Hui and his seven roommates packed their bags, left the school, and found a self-built house that cost only 80 yuan a month. They then huddled together to discuss their next move.

At first, everyone was very confident and went to interviews everywhere.

But a month later, their living expenses ran out. The roommates, who were concerned about their image, felt that they had entered the workforce and could no longer ask their families for living expenses, so they chose to compromise with society.

Four groups went to work as waiters in hotels, two groups went to construction sites, and two groups went to the streets to hand out flyers.

Cheng Hui was one of the waiters... no, he recently changed jobs and became a waiter.

A few days ago, his parents and brother planned to visit him in Dongshan Prefecture, but Cheng Hui declined, saying he was too busy with work. He felt he couldn't continue like this.

After all, waiters are young people, and they can't do the job for life.

So, taking advantage of my day off today, I decided to check out the newly built city center and Huaiyin district in Dongshan Prefecture. ...
Half an hour later.

Cheng Hui stepped out of the suspended railcar station and looked up at the spotless, modern urban area in the distance.

The image of a recently released game CG involuntarily popped into my mind.

Where is the hope?!

Cheng Hui took a deep breath, straightened his cheap casual clothes—which he had bought specifically for job hunting—in front of the station glass, and then walked along the street, observing the job postings in stores and estimating the size of the stores.

Salesperson at a small clothing store?

What's the difference between them and waiters/waitresses?
And the hotel provides meals and accommodation, with staff meals featuring plenty of fish and meat every day... It's not even as good as the waiters' meals.

A tobacco and liquor store salesman?
I have no connections and no long-term clients. I estimate that even after two or three years, I won't be able to catch up with the senior employees and will still be worse off than the hotel staff.

Cheng Hui walked and stopped, rejecting one thing after another. By evening, he was gradually annoyed and began to doubt himself.

what can I do?
What would I do?
Upon arriving at the entrance of a simple yet elegant store, he instinctively looked up.

The pitch-black signboard only bears the two characters 'Fan's'.

In the bottom right corner, there is a small Apple logo and a line of small text 'Apple Store'.

What kind of store is this?

Cheng Hui looked inside curiously.

On the counter by the entrance, there were some mobile phones that looked like the 3G series, but their appearance was very different from the 3G phones I had seen before, and they were not the 3G handheld consoles.

And further in.

Desktop computers, laptops, computer cases...
And a large job posting:

Apple Authorized Reseller - Fan's, is recruiting sales representatives.

Requirements: College diploma or above, knowledgeable in traditional electronic parameters, service skills, sales experience, and a clean and tidy personality... Monthly salary starts at 2500 RMB, plus sales commission and holiday benefits.

Fan's Introduction: Fan's Group is one of the world's top 100 enterprises. Its subsidiaries, Shili Mall, SY Mall, and SL Mall, are located all over the world. 'Apple Authorized Reseller - Fan's' is an overseas electronics brand retailer that Chairman Fan Tao spurred on at the last minute. It started in Dongshan Prefecture and is currently recruiting and buying stores, attempting to open stores all over the country.

"Fan Tao's company?!"

As a young man, Cheng Hui may not know some of the senior executives of the Eastern Sect, nor who the person in charge of the Eastern Mountain Mansion is, but he definitely knows the vast majority of the core members of the three systems.

Nothing more than idols.

Cheng Hui was very familiar with Fan Tao.

A former loser of the Asia Group, he joined Yu Da's team to make a comeback. Later, he went to Europe and America to build the Shili Shopping Mall. It is said that two years ago he went to West Asia to become the agent of the Three Systems in West Asia.

"Such a big company definitely wouldn't want me."

Cheng Hui shook his head, intending to leave, but then he thought of the day he would fail...

'The worst that can happen is failing again.'

So, on a whim, I walked straight into the store.

A salesperson dressed in black casual overalls immediately came up to us, saying, "Hello, welcome!"

"Hello, I'm here for an interview."

"Oh? Manager, someone's being interviewed."

"Ok."

In response, a smart woman, also dressed in black casual work clothes, walked out from a small door behind the counter, holding a 3 Series tablet computer, seemingly taking inventory.

"Sit down, I'll be right there."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Hui took out his resume from his shoulder bag and sat down at the designated spot.

After a while.

The capable woman, referred to as the store manager, sat down opposite him and glanced at the resume briefly.

"Graduated from a local university in Dongshan Prefecture?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever worked as a waiter?"

"Yes, I was reassigned to a waiter/waitress position last month."

"My hometown is Zhumadian in Nanhe... There are many large factories there, and almost all of them are state-owned enterprises from Beijing. Especially recently, it is said that Foxconn has also selected a site there to take on orders from Apple and Obi. Why not go back to my hometown to develop?"

"I'm just a recent graduate now, and I feel ashamed to go back here looking so dejected."

The female store manager nodded. "Okay, come to work tomorrow. We open at 7:8 in the morning and close at 8:4 in the evening. There will be a one-hour lunch break. You will be on duty for 12 hours a day. Eight hours will be paid at 5 yuan per hour, and the other four hours will be overtime at 11 yuan per hour. With full attendance, your monthly base salary will be 2500 yuan."

"Then there's the sales commission. If monthly sales reach 10, you get 2%, which is 2% of 10, or about 2000 cash. If you don't reach that, you don't get a commission."

"If monthly sales reach 30, we take 5%, which is 5% of 30, or about 1.5 in cash."

"If monthly sales reach 100 million, we take a 10% cut, which is about 10 yuan."

"But none of that matters. What matters is compliance."

"According to Apple's regulations, you cannot use other electronic devices in the store, including apps, and you certainly cannot advertise other electronic devices..."

"In addition, when introducing products, we cannot say that we are Apple Inc., nor can we say that we are an Apple store. We must say that we are Fan's - an Apple Authorized Reseller."

"Of course, you will receive relevant compliance training from professional trainers for a period of one month. During this month, you should speak less and observe how other salespeople sell products, while your salary will be paid normally."

Cheng Hui stared at the female store manager, whose words were concise, clear, and spoken at a rapid pace, until she finished speaking before he came to his senses. "I got the job?"

"Yes, is there a problem?"

"no problem."

"If there's no problem, then go back and get ready. Don't be late tomorrow morning... Let me tell you, the Fan family is very strict, and they will fine you and physically punish you. Calling the police won't do any good."

"Ok!"

Cheng Hui suppressed his excitement, packed his bag, and prepared to leave. Just as he saw the female store manager take his resume, his mind went blank again. "There must be many people here who are more qualified than me, right?"

"Yes, there are PhDs, Masters, and graduates from top-tier universities, but they don't stay long. I painstakingly trained them, and once they've completed their qualifications at Fan's, they move on to other companies. Who can I complain to? You're different. You've served dishes before, so you should be quite steady. You've worked as a waiter, so you should know how to serve. Now you seem to be at your wit's end and urgently need to prove yourself to your family and friends... So I'm giving you a chance. I hope you cherish it."

"Thank you, store manager. I will definitely work hard and diligently!"

(End of this chapter)