Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Zhang Zian stood in front of the cashier counter and had Lu Yiyun order a batch of adhesive stickers. He had plans to follow in Reina and Karl’s footsteps by labeling each fish tank so that the customers would be able to know what creature was living in the fish tank, what kind of feeding environment it needed, and the difficulty level of raising it, all without approaching the staff members for assistance.
It could save so much time for the staff; otherwise, it would be really annoying to have each customer coming forward with questions, and if that continued for some time, it would be hard for the staff to not lose their patience.
Zian had taken quite a few photos in Germany, so he sent the pictures that were related to the label design to Lu Yiyun and told her to forward it to the e-commerce seller.
Just as he finished telling Lu Yiyun what to do, the shop door opened and a person with gray hair strolled into the shop with a smile on his face. The grayish white hair wasn’t the current trend of “Grandma Gray” hair dye, but it was real gray hair.
Grandma Gu was dressed just like the last time they saw her; a pair of reading glasses hung on her chest, a few booklets were clamped under her arms, and a “Neighborhood Committee Administration” red armband was on her arm.
The elderly were more physically weak. Zhang Zian had already changed into a jacket, but she was still wearing a down jacket––but that was normal since there was the saying, “February and August, dress a mess.”
Today was Zhang Zian’s first day back in the shop, so he knew that someone would definitely come over to look for him since the Berlin Film Festival was quite a sensation. No matter what people thought about Famous winning the Best Male Lead, at least its name was being spread around—whether they were in support of Famous or against it, they were all still spreading its name around.
“Hey, Grandma Gu! Please, take a seat! Wang Qian, bring over a chair for Grandma Gu!” Zian yelled out loudly.
Grandma Gu waved her hands and laughed. “No need, no need. Grandma’s just here to say a few words.”
Even though she said no, Wang Qian still brought over a chair and asked her to take a seat.
“Grandma Gu, I was prepared to thank the neighborhood committee for all the help and support over the years, but I was too nervous and forgot about it…” Zhang Zian explained. He thought that Grandma Gu was there to question him because he did not mention anything about the neighborhood committee during the award acceptance speech or when he was being interviewed.
“Cough!” Grandma Gu waved her hands. “Don’t mention about it. I just happened to take a few days off during that period and was away visiting my grandkids, but who knew that the newcomers in the committee would be so lost without me… Honestly speaking, running a shop by yourself is not easy. Grandma Gu is able to see all that and should provide you with more support, but the neighborhood committee needs to be impartial in our job and not biased, right?”
Zhang Zian stuck out his thumb. “Grandma Gu, you said it so well! That is how it should be!”
With the elderly’s special triviality, Grandma Gu went on with her small talk for some time. She asked if Zian was used to the food in Germany and if there were any difficulties in his shop operations. She also asked about when the film would start showing, saying that the neighborhood committee wanted to organize everyone to show some support. She also showed some concern about Zhang Zian’s personal issues, hinting to him that it was still best to find a Chinese girl for marriage…
Everything went in Zhang Zian’s left ear and out from his right ear; he was just casually entertaining her.
After all the small talk, Grandma Gu changed the subject and was about to mention her real business here.
“Zian, Grandma Gu is here today to let you know some inside information!” she said secretly, lowering her voice and looking to the left and right to ensure that there was nobody else around.
“Oh? What is it about, Grandma Gu? Did some lady fall for me?” Zhang Zian went along with her and lowered his voice too, so they looked like some underground gang meeting up.
“Well, not that. It’s about the woman pacesetter program that we had you apply for.” Grandma Gu put on her reading glasses.
“It’s the May Day Model Worker,” Zhang Zian corrected her.
Grandma Gu slapped her own thigh. “Yes, the May Day Model Worker! This model worker will be selected by our Dongcheng district. Grandma here shall speak truthfully… Originally, your chance of winning wasn’t big, but after you won the Bailin Film Festival award…”
“It’s Berlin, not Bailin,” Zhang Zian corrected her again. “I didn’t win that award either––it was Famous who won the award.”
“Cough! Look at my memory. Grandma’s too used to saying Zhang Baizhi!” She slapped her own thigh again and ignored the other half of what Zian said.
Zhang Zian could only laugh along.
“Ever since you got this… Berlin Film Festival award, Grandma heard that it has been confirmed—Dongcheng’s district May Day Model Worker is definitely yours!” Grandma Gu confidently said.
However, Zhang Zian’s reaction was not as ecstatic as she had expected it to be.
“Zian, why aren’t you happy?” she asked.
Zhang Zian said with a bitter smile, “I am happy… are there any cash prizes for model workers?”
“Of course there is,” Grandma Gu said. “The Provincial Model Worker will have 10,000, the City Model Worker will have 4,000, and our Dongcheng District Model Worker will have 1,000.”
Okay then, small as it may be, 1,000 dollars is still money… It’s better than nothing.
Grandma Gu said with seriousness, “Zian, Grandma knows that you young ones feel that the Model Worker is just an honor with no actual use, but don’t belittle this honor. When the banner is hung on the wall, it will benefit your business—if there were two of the same shops, why would people not want to buy from the Model Worker shop? Even if it’s more expensive, at least they would be assured.”
Zhang Zian nodded his head. He agreed with what Grandma Gu said.
“And…” Grandma Gu lowered her voice again. “Grandma will tell you another piece of information: you might have a part in this year’s Binhai City model worker, too!”
“Really?” Zhang Zian was very surprised. A district model worker was nothing compared to a city model worker.
“Grandma can’t say for sure, but the chances are there,” Grandma Gu said. “Zian, if you’re really selected as the city model worker, you will be invited to meet the city mayor, and after you hang the photo of you and the mayor on the wall. Whether it is the industrial and commercial department, taxation department, hygiene department, fire control, or urban management, they would have to give you some face. Even going down to their office to process some paperwork would be much more convenient.”
Zhang Zian nodded his head. What Grandma Gu said was all true––anyone who had run a business before knew how hard it was to handle people from the aforementioned departments.
He had seen in movies that even the wealthy businessmen in the United States would hang the picture they took with the President up in the most prominent position in their office. It was done with the same reasoning: to show that they are friends with the President, and to warn people to think twice before messing with them.
Although the practice seemed ridiculous, it did have an effect on giving one’s friends confidence and shocking one’s potential enemies.
“Aside from all these, once there’s any large-scale municipal project, the City’s Model Morker will be given priority. Just like Liang San, the one from the street beside who does construction––they contracted him to build the new expressway on the west, and now he’s rich…” Grandma Gu let out a sigh. “But this doesn’t seem to concern you.”
“You can’t say for sure.” Zhang Zian laughed. “Maybe the city government wants to build a fish pond in some park, then they will require a batch of fish, which I can bid for when that time comes.”
“Fish?” Grandma Gu lifted her reading glasses and looked around the shop. “Zian, don’t you only have cats and dogs here? Where are you going to get the fish from?”
Zhang Zian pointed towards the shop beside them and explained, “Grandma Gu, I took over the shoe shop some time ago, and I’m preparing to open the shop soon. It’s mainly going to be on keeping fish and other marine creatures. The shop name will be Amazing Fate Aquarium—I can send over a few fish for free to the neighboring committee if you have any plans to keep fish.”
“Don’t! Please don’t! Why would the neighboring committee keep fish? We already have so much to do, where would we find the time to take care of them?” Grandma Gu shook her head. “But to start an aquarium is also a good idea. The number of aquariums in our city seems to be quite low… There were a few of them before, but they didn’t seem to do well.”
Zian actually meant it as a joke. Even if there was a need to build a fish pond for the municipal project, they wouldn’t keep expensive fish in the pond. They would probably buy some Koi and throw them in there, but Grandma Gu seemed to have a different opinion regarding this matter.
“Zian, you really can’t say for sure, so let Grandma read you the latest document issued by the city government.” She took the booklets she had clamped under her arms into her hands and took out a red-headed document. She started reading, “…With the decision made by the municipal party committee, we will have to prepare for some economic transitions to abandon economic development that comes at the cost of high energy consumption and pollution. Our city will gradually be transformed into a new seaside garden guided by entertainment and tourism.”
“Hear that? With entertainment and tourism as the guide, which is to say, in the future, our Binhai City will be supporting related enterprises, institutions, or individuals. Zian, the award you won in Berlin is somewhat related to entertainment and tourism, right?” She put away the file after she was done reading it.
“Somewhat, I guess.” Zhang Zian corrected her, “Actually it was Famous who won the award, not me…”
He used to pay little attention to these policy documents; he didn’t even watch the news broadcast. In his subconscious mind, he felt that they were too far away from his life, but unknowingly he was now so close to them.
“Then that’s it.” Grandma Gu offered a weighty advice, “The whole of China’s economy is transitioning, so we can no longer go on with the old way of treatment after pollution, and we can’t let Binhai City fall behind, either. Zian, be prepared––you never know when your opportunity will come and, when it comes, you must grasp the opportunity.”
“Grandma Gu, you’re right,” Zhan Zian said sincerely.
The older the wiser.
Zian used to think that the aunties and grandmothers in the neighborhood committee had no other skills besides racking their brains on fee collections, but it seemed like he has been underestimating them. They actually had an accurate grasp on their study of the policies. They responded to the calls of the leaders at any time. It was acceptable to make mistakes, but it was not acceptable to be on the wrong team.
Grandma Gu nodded her head in satisfaction. She stood up and said, “Okay then, Grandma actually came here just to congratulate you. Who knew I had so much to say… It’s not early, so Grandma shall leave first. There are still some other places that I’ve yet to collect the sanitation fees from.”
Zhang Zian walked her out of the shop and watched as she went next door with great interest and gave some amateur advice to the aquarium’s furnishing. She then turned and left in a hurry to the other shops on the street.
