This is the 1039th real person we tell
My name is Xu Yuan
(a boy on the right in the front row of the 6-year-old photo)
I was a little naughty when I was a child. I often went down to the pond to catch fish and go up the mountain to pick wild fruits to play. I was often found out and criticized and educated by the teacher. After that, I forgot everything and still made trouble.
However, I was not that wild later because when I was in elementary school, the music teacher saw that I like singing very much, so he asked me to perform on stage. From then on, I fell in love with music. When I was in the third year of junior high school, I specially asked my family to pay money and went to a specialty class to learn vocal music. I wanted to be a singer. Like Jay Chou , countless fans were following the signature.
So, I devoted myself to the path of becoming an art school, wanting to be admitted to an art school and then become a singer.
When I was in high school, I went to Yueyang to learn music in an art school. After graduation, students can apply for both art colleges and general colleges.
I majored in the art of the school, studied Belvon singing and popular singing and , and also learned ballet and played the piano. After studying for a year, my fantasy was shattered because my height did not meet the requirements for applying to an art school.
There is no way, so I had to spend time again to study the delayed liberal arts knowledge and prepare for the college entrance examination. In 2010, I took the college entrance examination and was admitted to a university in Hunan to study Japanese major .
(2016, when selling electrical appliances in Hokkaido)
There is a Japanese corner in the university. In order to practice speaking well, many students come here for dialogue and communication.
I met a Japanese student who came to study in China and was an exchange student. He is very unique. Every time he comes to the Japanese corner, he always carries a good guitar and looks cool. I was attracted by him. At first, I felt that my Japanese was too bad and I didn’t dare to communicate with him, for fear of being laughed at.
Later, because I liked music when I was a child and played guitar, I went to gesture and talked about guitar with him. Although there are language barriers, because we have common hobbies and topics, the more we talk, the more we get hotter we get, and we become good friends.
Later, I met another French student. We became three brothers and were inseparable almost every day, but instead of making friends with Chinese students.
I have been studying in college for a year. I think to learn Japanese well, I still have to go to Japan to grow up quickly in a specific language environment.
Besides, I saw many students studying abroad at that time, and my parents spent all their money. I also wanted to study in Japan and see the outside world. I talked to my Japanese friend about my wishes, and he was very supportive of me and said he was willing to help.
However, my parents firmly opposed it.
(photo taken by the tutor of the graduation ceremony and graduation thesis)
In March 2011, a magnitude nine-magnitude earthquake that has been known as the ninth of the world's top ten disasters occurred in Japan. My parents saw tragic scenes such as tsunami sweeping, house collapse, nuclear power plant explosion and burning on TV. They were very scared, afraid that I would never return, so they tried their best to stop it.
But I have made up my mind and keep working for my parents without hesitation. I told them: "That was only a disaster that only happened in a century. It passed. Besides, the place where I studied abroad is still far from the earthquake center." They could not withstand my hard work and finally agreed.
A Japanese friend recommended me to a professor at his alma mater. With the help of the professor, I submitted an admission application to a Japanese university.
Seeing that my intention to leave was settled, my parents raised money everywhere and borrowed 30,000 yuan from relatives and friends and handed it to me. In September 2011, after the application was approved, I flew to Japan and entered a university in Hokkaido, and began my overseas study.
(Photo taken by working in college)
After arriving in Japan, I suddenly felt that I had no relatives from home and everything was so strange and terrible, so I wanted to call my home to report my peace and stability. At that time, I didn’t have a cell phone, so I borrowed it from my classmates, but no one paid attention to me and was helpless, so I had to go to the public phone.
ran to the public telephone booth of a nearby convenience store. I couldn't make any calls. I looked closely and found that I couldn't make international long-distance calls. There was a small car parked next to me. I asked the Japanese who were driving for help and asked him to find a public telephone booth that could call internationally for a long-distance international trip.
It was raining heavily at this time, and he asked me to get in the car without hesitation. He drove the car and stopped when he saw the phone booth, checked it with me in the rain, and searched it online. He walked around several streets in a row and looked at seven or eight before he found a public phone booth that could make long-distance international distances. This made me feel the warmth from strangers in the strange Japan.
Later I felt the warmth even more. For example, when I went to the supermarket to buy things and didn’t know the location of the goods, or when I asked for directions, I would bow politely when I met a Japanese, and would take me there directly, instead of pointing it out with my finger.
(video with customers when selling houses in Osaka)
The first impression when I went to Japan is that the prices are so high. A bottle of drink costs more than 7 yuan (more than 100 yen). Cucumbers and onions are sold in terms of roots. A cucumber costs a few yuan and an onion costs more than 10 yuan.
I rented a small house and the monthly rent is more than 2,000 yuan.
Although I can’t pay much money in college in Japan, it’s almost free, but I have to solve my own living expenses. The 30,000 yuan I have to last for long. I can’t ask my family for money. Since I was a child, I have been educated by my parents to “strengthen” and “independence” and never speak.
Therefore, in a foreign country, I can only support myself by working to earn money.
I went to a farm for a while to do physical work. I was too tired, so I went to a restaurant to work as a dishwasher. If I speak Japanese well, I can find some easy jobs, such as selling clothing, registering a company, etc., but I just came to Japan and couldn't speak Japanese, so I could only do these jobs.
Washing dishes in a restaurant. Japanese bosses stipulate that the water temperature must be kept at the specified rating. It is not possible to have more or less. If there is more electricity, it will not be greasy. There are also regulations for washing dishes and plates. You must brush the specified number of times, and you cannot do it once or less.
I am like a robot every day, repeating thousands of mechanical movements, so tired that my waist and back hurt. But I also learned the spirit of "meticulousness" from these rigid and strict requirements.
(on the way to Sapporo)
worked in the restaurant for a while. After my speaking language was better, I went to the " outlet " store to sell golf package, went to the car rental company to serve as a reception, and also worked as a translator and tour guide...
When I worked the most, I worked hard all night long, and even snowed heavily in the middle of the night.
After get out of class is over at 5 o'clock in the evening, prepare for something, and ride a 30-minute bicycle to the restaurant to work at 6 o'clock. I worked until I got off work at 11:30 pm, then rode a bicycle to the factory, started working at night at 12 o'clock, and worked until I got off work at 8 o'clock in the morning, and then hurriedly ate breakfast and went to school to attend classes.
At the same time, the homework of going to college is also unscrupulous. The teachers of Japanese university are also rigid and will not sympathize with you just because you work two jobs all night and have to study during the day. I failed in one subject twice, and I didn’t pass the exam until the third time.
(New Year's Eve in college)
The days of working and studying are like a furnace. Destiny throws me into the stove and passes it. After coming out, I am not the same as myself.
As the saying goes, only by enduring hardships can one become the best. The more difficult it is, the more you must persevere. Only by enduring these hardships can your future life be smoother and smoother.
In 2015, I graduated from university and finally got through, started a new life, and went to society to create a new life.
I applied for a duty-free shop to be a clerk, and I have worked for more than four years. I worked in the Otaru store for three months, and then I was transferred to an electrical appliance store in Asahikawa . After working for a year, I transferred back to the Sapporo store to work.Why has
been working for so long? Because Japanese companies hire people, they have to look at their work resumes for more than three years. If you change jobs after working in each place for a year or two, they will think that you are a person who is impatient and persevering and is uneasy.
So, after choosing the first job, many people have to work for three years for their career growth even if they are bad. The job I did in a duty-free shop is not bad, and I have achieved results.
(photo taken by Hakodate Hot Spring Hotel in Hokkaido in 2019)
When I first entered the store, I asked to bow to the guests to how many degrees it took. I was meticulous and asked to bow 45 degrees. I would not bow 40 degrees, although as a Chinese, I am not used to such etiquette.
requires that the welcome speech to the guests be sincere. I will never sound like a formality. I must be shouting "Welcome" from the bottom of my heart.
In short, I strictly implement all the requirements I learned during the training, and I will never slackew on no matter how hard or tired I am.
It was the time for customers to be overwhelmed. I kept bowing and shouting "Welcome". I would never be careless even if I was sore, back and dry mouth. I insisted on welcoming customers with full enthusiasm.
I attach great importance to the service to customers and pay special attention to details. For example, when a customer buys electrical appliances and needs to pack them, I will carefully make the bags both sturdy and beautiful to satisfy the customer.
For example, if a customer holds the things he bought, I will make a small pendant for them to hang it, and it will be much more comfortable to carry the pendant in his hand. When I see customers who can't handle things, I will drive them directly to the hotel.
(Part photo of 2010 international students graduation)
I admire the supervisor very much. He is a typical Japanese man who is strict with himself. He can forgive others, but cannot forgive himself, and he is very strict with himself. Influenced by him, I have strict requirements on myself, never picky and hardworking in anything.
When I work, I abide by all rules and disciplines, never come late or leave early, nor ask for leave. When the supervisor saw that I was okay, he always paid attention to cultivation. After working for a while, the supervisor was promoted to minister and he also promoted me to deputy store manager. I, a Chinese, took charge of Japanese clerks.
has been working in a duty-free shop for four years. Seeing that Japan's real estate economy has fallen for 20 years, it has almost squeezed out the bubble. It is now in a period of recovery. I think I should seize the opportunity to develop my own career.
So, I quit my job as a duty-free shop and decided to apply for a job at a real estate company to sell the house.
Because I have a university degree, the highest Japanese level in N1, and I have a driver's license, the recruiter read my job resume and thought I was a person who was both ambitious and hard-working, so he hired me without any suspense.
(Photo taken in 2022 online house viewing explanation)
I was doing sales in a real estate company and it was very painful at first. Since I had never done sales before, I had not issued a single order after one or two months.
was not available online at that time, so I ran away with two legs, and I was rejected a lot, and encountered a lot of indifference. Fortunately, I sold a small house in the third month, otherwise I would have felt desperate and would have really given up.
Things started with a difficult time, but then it gradually got better. I could sell several houses a month. The income was much higher than that in duty-free shops, so I became more and more excited. After selling houses in
slowly entered online sales, I registered an account on the self-media platform. At the beginning, there were very few fans, only one or two more a day, and even a few days without a single fan, and a house was never sold. Later, over time, the number of fans gradually increased, and online sales improved.
Japan's real estate market has been reshuffled after experiencing a bubble economy. Now the government is very strict and the relevant laws are relatively sound.
There are no unfinished buildings in the house, and the transactions are open and transparent. From the price to the mortgage, you can check it. The transaction transfer must be entrusted by a third party and handled by a lawyer. In this way, there will be no disputes in real estate transactions. Because of this mechanism, many foreign customers will buy Japanese houses.
(Online video house selling contract in 2022)
Most of my customers are domestic, including Shanghai, Guangdong, Sichuan, and Beijing. Most of them are investors, and the farthest ones are customers from Canada, Singapore, the United States, and Germany.
After receiving the intention from the customer, I took my mobile phone to shoot on the spot, turned on the highest image quality of 4K60 frames, and carefully took the house structure, indoor conditions, and surrounding environment and sent it to them. After the transaction of
, the other party issued a notarization certificate, we made a letter of appointment and their seal, and then, we took the notarization certificate, letter of appointment and seal and handled the transfer of the entrusted account in Japan.
The biggest advantage of Japanese selling houses is that they only recognize the first person who negotiates the price with him. The person behind them will not be sold to you no matter how high the price you pay.
For example, the first person paid 1 million yuan, and even if someone paid 2 million or even 10 million yuan later, he would not sell it. This is the rigid but very valuable integrity of the Japanese, which prevents vicious competition in the real estate market.
Through the past two years of hard work, I can sell many houses a year, and my annual income can reach 500,000 yuan. It can be said that my job-changing sales this time is much better than selling electrical appliances in duty-free shops.
In the blink of an eye, I have been studying and working in Japan for 12 years. From the prime of my life to the age of thirty, only I know the ups and downs of it, but life is getting better and better day by day.
(Hot snow in Hokkaido in 2020)
My biggest feeling when I came to Japan is that the Yamato nation has a close connection with the Chinese nation. For example, the Japanese Katakana is related to the radicals of Chinese characters; for example, the Japanese courtesy is inheriting the essence of Chinese Confucian culture; for example, some ancient architectural styles and tea ceremony have a connection between the two ethnic groups.
Before I came to Japan, I was so angry that I gritted my teeth because of that history. After coming to Japan, I was moved by the Japanese spirit of strict self-discipline, politeness, and diligence and hard work. Isn’t these spirits of consistent with the spirit advocated and carried forward by our Chinese nation?
I have been in Japan for so many years, and I owe too much to my parents in China. After they retired, they were getting older day by day, but I was not by their side, so I wanted to buy a small villa in Japan and let them live in Japan for some time to see it.
If they want, they can live for a long time. Now, I pay them water and electricity bills every year, and I bought all the food and food in Tokyo and sent them directly.
Every time I return to China, I see the rapid development and growth of the motherland. As a descendant of Yan and Huang, I feel extremely proud and proud in my heart.
Some Chinese people said: "The motherland is the beacon in our hearts, illuminating our pace of progress; the motherland is the source of our confidence and gives us infinite power."
As long as I have the strong image of the motherland in my heart, my confidence, determination and will will continue to strengthen. I believe that after my career is successful, one day I will come back because my roots are in China.
[Oral: Xu Yuan]
[Editor: Liangbi]
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