Old Hanks opened his mouth, his heart truly touched by Cheng Daqi's words.
But thinking of those rumors about hiring illegal immigrants for their cheap labor only to encounter all sorts of major problems, he still suppressed the thought stirring within him.
Shaking his head, Old Hanks took out five twenty US Dollar bills from the counter and handed them to Cheng Daqi.
"I really want to give you a chance, but, for many reasons, many reasons,
Chan, you're a smart young man, and all I can help you with is this much. Good luck."
Cheng Daqi laughed heartily, placing the money that Old Hanks handed over back onto the counter, and said jokingly,
"No way, would you have accepted such charity when you were young?"
Old Hanks was initially puzzled, wondering why an illegal immigrant would not want US Dollar bills.
But after hearing Cheng Daqi's words, he too, resignedly shook his head.
"How about this, Chan, consider it a loan from me. Though it's our first meeting, I choose to trust you."
How do you build trust with a stranger?
Enter into their comfort zone—step into their store.
State the purpose of seeking employment, show weakness to the enemy—lower your own threat level.
Clever sincere communication—establishing a reliable impression.
Now, Old Hanks began to trust Cheng Daqi.
He was willing to loan Cheng Daqi a hundred US Dollars, or perhaps even give it to him.
To give Cheng Daqi's American dream a little push.
"I have to congratulate you, Mr. Hanks, your investment is certainly going to yield a good return!"
Cheng Daqi pocketed the five twenty-dollar bills, shook hands with Mr. Hanks, and turned to leave the repair shop.
Old Hanks watched Cheng Daqi's departing figure blankly, then continued to tend to his pipe, head bowed.
None of the encounters in life are without meaning.
As long as you are adept at discovering and transforming, you can always gain something from them.
A person's life, merely a few decades long, is fleeting.
From a clueless and fragile infant to a thoughtful and capable youth, it already takes over a dozen years.
The actual time to build a career spans from twenty to fifty years—just thirty years.
After that, one can only maintain their business, with little chance for expansion.
Of course, there are always exceptional individuals, but most are just one amongst the masses.
Cheng Daqi never saw himself as an exceptional individual.
He had seen too many with better backgrounds, higher starting points, more intelligence, and what's terrifying is, they were even more diligent than him.
When tumbling in the dust, everyone is covered in mud, who can tell which one among them is the uncut jade?
But as you rise, just a little ascent, not too much or too far, a bit is enough.
You will see, you will see all sorts of talents for a moment.
Cheng Daqi had encountered the extremely smart, those who made decisions like a god, and those with great courage and a careful heart...
In the end, he summed up his only advantage.
Persistence.
Persisting in thinking, growing, changing, and taking action.
Even if one becomes a homeless person, what's there to fear?
Just do it.
If one repair shop rejects me, what's there to fear, I, Cheng Daqi, can find ten more!
If ten repair shops reject me, what's there to fear, then I'll change my strategy!
What if changing strategies doesn't work?
Then review the situation again, and look for potential opportunities within the scenario at hand.
Cheng Daqi was clear.
Life is about progressing through the struggle against the current.
Time is the fair shackles, locking your life within just a few decades.
My friend, lift your hand, and look at the watch, as the needle turns and turns, the shackles get tighter!
Tightening its hold.
That is the most terrifying!
People always hope that as time goes by, their lives will have improved.
But whether life gets better isn't certain. As time passes by, your options, they only become fewer.
Swim against the current, climb the ladder of life.
The river of time is incredibly turbulent, washing over each person equitably.
The process of persevering is excruciating, the more you suffer hardships, the more you must persist, the more you're tormented with the urge to give up.
It was only after the third operation failed that Cheng Daqi finally gave up.
Fate.
Despite the struggle and rush, one cannot overcome destiny.
He had wanted to establish a career, start a family, and provide for his parents, but he ended up achieving nada, left with nothing.
Given another chance, the family from his past life was confirmed never to be seen again, his father's name didn't appear anywhere in the traces of his hometown.
So many things in life, and in the end, there's only one thing to say: it's too late.
Time is limited, Cheng Daqi could only do his best to grow in every crevice available to him.
He chose to make each encounter meaningful.
With the same time, the same experience, Cheng Daqi wanted to reap more than others.
Review the process, refine the highlights, summarize the gains.
Keep going, having a healthy body is already the greatest wealth.
Now all he had to do was to make sure each step he took was a good one.
So, that afternoon in Saint Rodu, an indefatigable figure appeared on the streets.
He went from one auto repair shop to another.
He had managed to get cleaned up, but Cheng Daqi encountered a slew of rejections.
"Gladys Chain"
"I really like your positive attitude, but we've got enough staff in our shop, I can't let an old employee go just because of you, please try your luck somewhere else."
"Block Brothers Auto"
"Man, we don't welcome Asians here, get lost!"
"Marilyn Repair"
"You can see, my shop is not doing well, I can't afford another mechanic, even if you're willing to work for very little, we just don't have enough work for two people."
"Motorcycle Boys"
"If you're not a customer, then beat it. Anyone can claim they're a mechanic these days. Do you even know what a motorcycle is?"
"Boris Auto Service Body"
"Hahaha, you can do everything, then we might as well be out of jobs. You're not allowed inside to see our boss, scram, and don't let me see you around here again or I'll have to move your head to a different place."
"Quality Repairs"
"We're not hiring. Alright, I'll be straight with you, we only hire white people, got it? Don't go spreading that around."
"Old Man Tang's Auto"
"You might be very skilled, but you're an illegal immigrant. What if you steal something and run off? I'm afraid I can't give you this opportunity."
"Superb Antique Autos"
"We deal with antique cars, and most of them are American antiques. Your experience in auto repair from Hua Country probably doesn't relate much to antique cars, does it?"
How many failures can crush a person's will?
Some people break after just one; such people become helpless at the slightest hiccup.
Others have greater resilience, seasoned in battling against life's misfortunes, but will shrink back after several failures.
Cheng Daqi was different.
He didn't think he encountered failure that day.
His worth did not need to be defined by others.
If this place wasn't a match, then onto the next.
Next time during negotiation, just improve the approach.
If the next place also refused to cooperate, for any other reason, then simply accept it.
Discrimination, prejudice, arrogance, all these are common in society.
Moreover, he had also met generous people like old man Hanks, people who let him use the employee shower.
It's the struggle and difficulty of the process that heightens the sense of achievement once the goal is attained.