My hometown is far away in Moscow.

Chapter 255 Job Fair

Hu Yi's understanding of job hunting was always somewhat flawed. Before he went to Russia to study, the employment situation in China wasn't too dire; it seemed that as long as you obtained a bachelor's degree, you could find a reasonably decent job.

However, with the continuous expansion of enrollment in higher education institutions across the country in recent years, undergraduate degrees are no longer as valuable. A university degree has become a basic threshold for finding a job; employers now value an applicant's professional skills and social resources most.

Hu Yi was confident in his abilities, but his expertise was not in high demand. At that time, although Sino-Russian relations were improving, exchanges in the field of trade and economics were relatively quiet, far less active than cooperation with the United States, Japan, and Europe.

This was especially evident in his hometown. Linguistics was of little use there; the only stable and respectable job was university teaching, but that required a postgraduate degree.

From the day he went abroad, Hu Yi's goal was to strive for a bachelor's degree, so he never considered continuing his studies after graduation. Moreover, he had absolutely no interest in teaching and would never even consider it.

In the days immediately following his return to China, he frequently browsed job websites online, and his parents kept an eye on the job postings in the newspapers, but to no avail. Now, several days after returning from Qingdao with Natasha, the job situation remains stagnant, and Hu Yi is in a terrible mood. Several nights he has even dreamt of scenes from the container market.

In the dream, Fu Jiahui bustled about beside the boxes, while Yabalov, unable to find work, squatted alone, staring blankly at the sky. Da Liu limped through the snow, selling newspapers to make a living, while Uncle Yu sternly reprimanded Xiao Linzi for something. And then there was Li Baoqing, sometimes lively and spirited, sometimes lying in a pool of blood, groaning and howling.

Everything felt so real; everyone in his dream was vividly alive. Every time Hu Yi dreamed of these old friends, he would become melancholy and couldn't help but reminisce about the old days.

The father, who was not finding a job, appeared calm on the surface but was secretly getting impatient. As a division-level cadre in a municipal government agency, he had certain social resources both inside and outside his unit. In his desperation, he swallowed his pride and asked around for help in finding a way out for his son.

However, as the saying goes, "A department-level official without a superior is like a fart that makes no sound." The old man doesn't like to cultivate relationships or bother with gifts and scheming. He's good at asking for favors and doing trivial things, but it's not so easy for him to find his son an ideal job just by relying on his connections. He had to talk his way out of it before a small foreign trade company reluctantly agreed to let Hu Yi do an internship.

"An internship? What for?" Hu Yi asked, somewhat puzzled. "Are they doing business with Russia?"

"No, they mainly work in the US and Germany. The problem is you don't have a job yet," the father patiently explained. "The main reason I'm sending you there is to let you get a feel for work, familiarize yourself with the company atmosphere, and gain some experience. It's like having a job while you're still looking for something better; you can switch places when a better opportunity comes along."

"But if I go there, I'll have to do something specific, right?"

"Focus on learning. Observe and ask questions more often, and pay attention to how others are doing at work. Also, be diligent and proactive. Go early every day to help your colleagues fetch water, wipe tables, take out the trash, and tidy up. You've never been good at observation or doing housework since you were little, so you must make up for these shortcomings as soon as possible."

"What?" Hu Yi was utterly bewildered and couldn't help but laugh. "Who's the one with the defect? ​​Are they all disabled? Don't they have hands? Why should I do their work?"

"Look at you, child," the father said, his face darkening with anger. "You've already left school and entered society, and your current mindset and personality are going to be a disadvantage. Not to mention that you don't have much ability yet, even if you did, you can't treat people with this kind of mentality."

"So what should my mindset be? If they want me to clean, huh? How much will they pay me?"

"Someone like you should be grateful for an internship salary," the father said, barely suppressing his displeasure. "But the boss said he's willing to give you six hundred yuan a month. He's only doing this for my sake, so you absolutely mustn't..."

"Six hundred?! Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar? Do you really think I'm a cleaner?" Hu Yi found it ridiculous and waved his hand with a sneer: "Alright, Dad, stop talking. I'll figure out my own job. You don't need to assign me this kind of chores."

The father and son's conversation ended unhappily. Although Hu Yi was stubborn, he didn't know where to turn his efforts. Just when he was at his wit's end, a newspaper published an advertisement for a large job fair, so he asked a friend he had known since childhood to accompany him to try his luck.

This friend is the same age as him and has been working at a large joint-stock bank for two years. Hu Yi rarely talks about work-related matters with others, but through his job-hunting experience, he realized that he was very unfamiliar with the domestic workplace ecosystem, so he brought his friend along to help him avoid pitfalls.

The job fair was being held at the provincial convention center. Seeing the banners hanging outside the gate from afar, Hu Yi felt a little apprehensive: "A large-scale talent exchange and negotiation event? Someone like me can't be considered talent, can I?"

"It's just a nice way of saying it. The meaning of this word is different from when we were kids. Now, anyone can be considered talented." My friend laughed. "You only need to worry about whether there are any suitable job openings."

My friend's concerns were accurate. They browsed through hundreds of booths and only found one small translation agency recruiting part-time written translators. Moreover, there was no basic salary; they were paid only a meager fee based on the number of words.

It was the height of summer, and the venue was packed with people. The two of them were sweating profusely from being squeezed in, so they bought two bottles of chilled mineral water and took a break in a corner.

"It's so hot!" Hu Yi fanned the hem of his clothes vigorously. "Let's go."

"Not going to look around anymore?" My friend pointed around. "We've only been to half of the first floor, and we haven't even been to the second floor yet. Even if there aren't any Russian-related jobs, we might be able to find other suitable work."

"I don't know anything except Russian, what kind of job can I find?" Hu Yi tilted his head back and took a swig of water. "Besides, the pay is too low. Look at these job postings suitable for fresh graduates, the salary is only 1,200 or 1,500, at most 1,800. It's not exciting to think about."

"This is good enough. How much do you want?" My friend laughed. "When I first started working two years ago, my salary was only 1,400. Now it's less than 1,600."

"Huh? Really? I've heard that bank employees earn quite a lot."

"Banks have many positions, each with different requirements, and there are things like performance bonuses and marketing expenses. But I don't get any of those, just a salary and a year-end bonus." His friend glanced at him sideways, gave a knowing smile, and said, "Hey, it's pointless to explain. You foreigner won't understand. You'll get it after a few years of working."

Hu Yi could only guess the meaning of those nouns from their literal meaning, so he stopped asking and frowned awkwardly, saying, "But... can I spend 1,500 or 1,600?"

"Anyway, I live and eat at home, so I just treat my salary as pocket money. I spend all the money I earn, and I never have any left over."

"Even pocket money is too little." Hu Yi shook his head with a smile, then his eyes suddenly lit up: "Hey, look, what kind of unit is that? It looks pretty good!"

(End of this chapter)