Several days later after I was back from school for summer holiday, my friend from childhood and I decided to find a job to spend the holiday, because it was quite a long time and we didn’t really have things to do in that scorching hot summer. We rided a bycicle from home to town, strolling through streets and lanes aimlessly. We didn’t know what kind of job we can find, but hotels are our top choice. We asked some but got turned down for being tempoprary employees.
We kept seeking instead of giving up as we agreed to spend the whole day finding a job. We started to turn our goals at the West Street. There were som many shops, restaurants and hotels there, we thought we could definitely find one . As walking down the lane to the main street, we saw a flyer glued on the exterior wall of a hotel saying ‘Receptionist Wanted’. I wrote down the number quickly and moved on. The reason why I didn’t call in the first place is that I thought I’d collect numbers firstly. As it was daytime, most bars were not open. So we started to ask the shops selling clothes, artefacts and local specialties. We got none either for being temporary employees or improper shift arrangement.
Hours past and we were tired, while taking a rest on a bench of the park, my friend asked me to call the number we saw before. I didn’t want to, because most job vacancies were not for us, why bother I thought. She insisted that I should call and said it required English and I was the right one. I was persuaded and called the number. A male manager picked up the phone and the talk for forced to end seconds later due to poor connection. I texted him later and gave my brief introduction telling him I can speak English and I deserve an opportunity. He texted my back and told me to come over for an interview.
We rushed there. It was a simple interview. The manager asked me to introduce myself and why I wanted this job. He didn’t make any comments and said the wage was low for temporary employees, around 800 yuan. I agreed happily. We left the hotel and took a walk along the Li river. When we stopped at the pavilion, we saw another flyer glued on the wall saying ‘Sales Wanted’. We phoned at once and the man at the other side of the phone told us to meet at the exit of The Big Banyan Tree, a scenic spot which I used to visit a lot during childhood and was not far from home.
We arrived there in the afternoon and the job turned out to be a salesgirl at a food stand selling Taiwan style snacks and drink. The job was outdoor, it could be so testing and challenging in such a hot summer. We found out later soon another friend of ours from the same village also worked there. So it was the three of us working there if we got employed. Not an expected one but surely would be much fun with us together. I thought I’d take the job if the man from the hotel didn’t call.
I waited there absentmindedly the whole afternoon and no call. I was a little disappointed but not depressed. One half of me wanted his call to tell me I’m hired and the other half wanted to work with my two friends there at The Big Banyan Tree. As we were about to off at 6pm, my phone rang and the manager from the hotel told me to start tomorrow.
And my life at Aiyuan Hotel began.
