Chapter 1 – Unemployment

In the middle of a dimly lit bar, two men are sitting inside while chatting on a high.

“Xiao Zhou, do not be discouraged. There is no place for you here, but there will be a place for you elsewhere. You are so smart, sooner or later you will be able to make a name for yourself.” Chen Hu patted Cheng Zhou’s shoulder and said comfortingly.

Cheng Zhou smiled but did not reply.

After graduating, Cheng Zhou and a large army of fresh graduates joined the vast ocean of society. Since elementary school, Cheng Zhou has always been the top student in his class. He also studied at a famous university. However, once he entered the society, Cheng Zhou discovered the harsh reality of this society’s demands on young people.

In the current workforce environment, it can be said to be full of master’s degree graduates. Undergraduates are not even as good as dogs.

In order to reduce the burden on his family, Cheng Zhou didn’t go to graduate school. After graduating from university, he directly joined the workforce. Although his grades in university were good, it was not a particularly big advantage in the workplace.

Going back and forth, Cheng Zhou had found five jobs, but he always had to quit because of various issues. Today, Cheng Zhou lost his fifth job. In fact, Cheng Zhou still likes this job. However, the boss’ brother-in-law keeps making trouble for him. A gentleman doesn’t stand under a dangerous wall, so Cheng Zhou has no choice but to resign.

“Xiao Zhou! Won’t you consider changing your name?” Chen Hu asked.

“Change my name?”

Chen Hu nodded and said seriously: “Yes, I see that you have repeatedly lost your job, so your name is not good! How can a small boat (Xiao Zhou) be able to cross the ocean, at least it must be a boat (chuan)!”

Cheng Zhou twitched the corner of his mouth and said, “According to this, I should be changing my name to Cheng Chuan.” Cheng (程) Chuan, Cheng (乘) Chuan. Isn’t the name a bit strange?

He doesn’t know if it’s because he’s drunk or not, Chen Hu shook his head and said: “The boat doesn’t seem to be enough. If you want to stand firm in the ocean, it is best to have a ship that can cut through the wind and waves!”

Cheng Zhou rolled his eyes and thought to himself: So, he wants me to change my name to Cheng Jian. Cheng Jian (程舰; warship), Cheng Jian (成见; prejudice). This name is too cheap!

Chen Hu was a little tipsy, “Xiao Zhou! What are your plans next?”

Cheng Zhou shook his head, “I don’t know, let’s take it step by step.”

Cheng Zhou sips his alcohol. Actually, his mood is not very depressed. A few days ago, he may be very frustrated. However, Cheng Zhou’s attention is no longer in the matter of losing his job. Not long ago, Cheng Zhou have a big secret added to himself. Cheng Zhou has an intuition that this secret will not only be able to subvert his life but even the whole world. These days, he has been hesitant to take a chance. Now, he has finally made up his mind.

Chen Hu hugged the liquor bottle and suddenly burst into tears, “Xiao Zhou, my girlfriend broke up with me!”

Cheng Zhou nodded his head and made an “oh” sound.

Chen Hu raised his head, looked at Cheng Zhou, and said dissatisfiedly, “Aren’t you going to comfort me?”

“I have no car, no house, and no job yet. According to her standards, I can be considered a waste. Instead of comforting you, I might as well comfort myself!” Cheng Zhou drinks his alcohol calmly.

Chen Hu looked at Cheng Zhou with depression and said sullenly, “You are in a different situation than me!”

“What’s the difference?”

Chen Hu looked at Cheng Zhou’s face and said sourly: “Although you don’t have a car or a house, you have your looks! Xiao Zhou, you are good-looking. As long as you want it, you can have a car and a house. “

Cheng Zhou shook his head, smiled bitterly, and said, “Can you not mention this?”

Cheng Zhou is very handsome and has good grades. Since he was in elementary school, Cheng Zhou finds love letters in his schoolbag from time to time.

The fact that Cheng Zhou loses his job this time around is also related to his affinity with women. The boss’ brother-in-law has always liked a female employee in the company and has always been in courtship with her, but the female employee was not interested in him. She pulled Cheng Zhou to be her shield, saying that she likes Cheng Zhou. The boss’ brother-in-law regards Cheng Zhou as a thorn in his side, reprimands Cheng Zhou for being a little white face (pretty boy), and makes trouble for him everywhere.

Chen Hu wiped his tears, took a grilled skewer, and munched, “Xiao Zhou! Aren’t you really going to find one?”

Cheng Zhou shook his head and said, “To the girls, I’m the type suitable for dating, not for marriage, and dating is costly.”

Now young lovers go out on a date and send flowers on Valentine’s Day. If they are not careful, they will spend thousands on expenses, the cost is outrageous.

When Cheng Zhou was living in the university dormitory, he didn’t see any less of his roommates. After a month of living frugally to save money, his roommate finally scheduled his date. However, even though his roommate tried hard to chase the girl, he was still dumped. After that, not knowing if it was a hard blow or something, his roommate began to indulge in a virtual girlfriend afterward.

Cheng Zhou does not plan to fall in love. One reason is that he doesn’t have money. The other reason, Cheng Zhou found out long ago that he doesn’t have any feelings for beautiful fair-skinned women. He likes men.

Chen Hu woodenly looked at Cheng Zhou for a while, then nodded suddenly, and said in agreement: “Yes, dating is too expensive!”

Not knowing what came to Chen Hu’s mind, he suddenly started bawling: “Just a short time ago, I had been frugal on food to save money in order to buy her a necklace! It cost me more than half of a month’s salary. If I had known, I would have used it to eat more meals.”

Cheng Zhou: “…” Chen Hu earns a monthly salary of 7,000, which is not considered low for fresh graduates. However, after deducting rent, water and electricity, meals, and social expenses, there is little left for the month.

Chen Hu cried for a while, probably because he felt ashamed. He raised his head, wiped his tears, covered up his embarrassment, and said, “It is just, for thirty years, people east of the river prosper, then for another thirty years those on the west prosper (life full of ups and downs). Do not mock the youth for being poor, for he definitely will prosper.”

Cheng Zhou looked at Chen Hu and secretly thought that Chen Hu might have read too many novels. Thirty years, how can there be only thirty years of mortal life! Thirty years later, they will be in their fifties. At that time, even if they have achieved fame and success, what will happen? Time waits for no man!

Cheng Zhou took a sip of alcohol only to feel a flame rising from his chest. Seek riches and honor in the midst of danger! If you want to strike it rich, you can only take a gamble.