Chapter 7
Okay, I've noted it down, China-France Trade Promotion Association, Mr. Renault. Please finalize the interpreter selection for the meeting on Monday.
Your phone number?
13085792371, or the landline 88692273. Got it.
No, no, I am his student. You are too kind.
My surname is Qiao, Qiao Fei. I will definitely deliver your message. Goodbye."
The girl hung up the phone and said to me, "Senior, are you also looking for the director?"
"Yes, isn't he here?"
"He's in a meeting next door. You can wait for him for a while."
"Okay," I sat on the sofa, and she crouched down again to continue wiping the table. I said, "Your French is quite impressive."
"The phrases I just said weren't that difficult."
"The pronunciation and intonation were very standard." I was being sincere. In our profession, vocabulary, grammar, and communication can all be improved through effort, but pronunciation and intonation are innate qualities, reflecting a person's natural mimicry abilities. Therefore, when training advanced interpreters, this quality is often given more emphasis.
"Thank you."
She stood up, her face sweaty, and wiped it with her arm. Then she said to the other girls, "Are you done? Let's go, I'm hungry."
They put away their cleaning tools, and Qiao Fei handed me the note she had written: "Senior, when you see the director later, could you talk to him about this?"
I took it: "No problem."
The girls left, and I sat there for a while. When the director finished the meeting, he came in with his teacup and greeted me warmly. I handed him the note Qiao Fei had written. He looked at it and said, "Jiayang, I wanted to see you about this matter."
On Monday, the China-France Trade Promotion Association is organizing a textile company meeting that requires interpreter services. The job is consecutive interpreting, which is not too difficult, but it still requires some preparation due to its specialized nature. The director gave me some materials and told me, "I have arranged with the organizing unit that when you go, you can bring a few students from our department to observe." I looked at the list he gave me. Qiao Fei's name was on it.
Qiao Fei
After we left the director's office, Xiaodan and Bobo looked at me as if they wanted to kill me.
"Why does Cheng Jiayang only talk to you?"
"Purely good luck."
"It's bad enough he spoke with you, but why did you suggest leaving so early? You deprived us of any chance to talk to him. I had been preparing for ages!" Bobo was almost going crazy.
"Once the work is done, we should go," I said confidently. "Besides, if Cheng Jiayang spoke to me again, my heart would have leaped out of my chest."
Qiao Fei
Why did I study foreign languages? After the college entrance examination, when choosing my major, I wanted a stable job with a decent income and no math, so I chose this profession. If I don't go on to a further degree, employment could be in several directions: multinational companies, teaching, or professional interpreting. A popular term nowadays is "white-bone elite," which means white-collar, backbone, elite. I feel I should be a white-collar in a multinational company, handling business interactions, full of cheerful banter, and engaging in office politics—my hearty disposition is well-suited for such a life of pretense in the city. Teaching requires virtues and talents, and interpreting, which I truly dislike, is merely being a mouthpiece. Language is a tool, and so are people.
(End of Chapter)
This book is first published by Xiaoxiang Academy, please do not reproduce!