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墨書 Inktalez
"That's just his luck!" I almost shouted.
Li Xuemei smiled bitterly. "He was able to seize the opportunity; that's a skill. And you? You've lost your job and can't find another one, and your business venture failed. Is this what studying has led to?"
I wanted to argue back, but the words caught in my throat. I realized I couldn't refute her statement.
That night, I lay awake, unable to sleep. In the darkness, I kept asking myself: Is studying really useless? Were all those years of hard work in vain?
Outside, Zhi Qiang's home was brightly lit, filled with laughter and joy. Meanwhile, our home was engulfed in an unprecedented silence.
After the Spring Festival, I began frantically sending out resumes.
My first interview was at a private company for an administrative management position. I put on my best suit and arrived half an hour early.
A girl who looked about twenty-five or twenty-six greeted me, wearing a badge that read "HR Manager."
"Mr. Lin, right? Graduated from Huazhong University of Science and Technology?" She glanced at my resume. "But you’re forty-two this year?"
"Yes, but I have extensive experience and strong learning abilities..."
"I'm sorry," she interrupted me, "Our company is quite young; we generally don't hire employees over thirty-five. At your age... to be honest, it's a bit awkward."
Awkward? My face turned red instantly.
The second interview was even more absurd. The HR representative born in the '90s directly asked me, "Mr. Lin, you're over forty; why are you still looking for a job? Is it because you couldn't make it at your last company?"
"I... I left because of the restructuring..."
"Oh, so you were optimized out," she said with an understanding expression. "In this fast-changing era, middle-aged people like you are indeed more likely to be eliminated."
I nearly exploded with anger. Eliminated? A graduate from a prestigious university like mine?
I went through interviews at more than ten companies, and the results were always the same.
Either they thought I was too old, or they deemed my expectations too high, or I simply never heard back.
A month passed; my savings were running low, the mortgage still needed to be paid, and my daughter's tuition was due.
"Zhi Yuan, you can't keep going on like this!"
Li Xuemei finally exploded, "Just find any job to do first; it's better than sitting at home and eating away our savings!"
"I'm a college graduate; how can I just take any job?"
"What does being a college graduate matter? Do you think that means you don't need to eat?"
Li Xuemei's voice grew sharper, "Look at other people's husbands; which one isn't making big money? And here you are, being picky!"
With no other choice, I had to lower my pride and start looking for jobs with lower barriers to entry.
In the end, I found an advertisement online for a food delivery position. No educational requirements, no age limit, and the more you work, the more you earn.
When I went to the Meituan Waimai station to sign up that day, I wore a mask and a hat.
"Newbie?" The station manager was a guy in his early thirties. "The job is simple; you just deliver food. But it's pretty tough work. At your age... can you handle it?"
"I can handle it!" I gritted my teeth and replied.
The moment I received the delivery box and helmet, I felt like the whole world had collapsed around me.
On my first day delivering food, I was extremely nervous.
Every time I waited at a traffic light, I kept my helmet pulled low, afraid of being recognized by someone I knew.
During the lunch rush, I waited for the elevator under an office building.
Suddenly, someone tapped me on the shoulder.
"Zhi Yuan? Is that really you?"
I turned around to see my former colleague from the Electric Power Bureau, Old Wang.
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