From citywalk to citywork, college student Li Ran started working part-time during winter vacation to save travel funds.
Going south from Heilongjiang to Shanghai was a winter vacation trip planned by 19-year-old Li Ran.
In December 2023, Li Ran, who was a freshman at a university in Heilongjiang, started her travel experience in Shanghai after the holidays. She took the money she saved from part-time work during the previous summer vacation without doing too many strategies, and followed the blogger's recommendation to check in and start. A casual citywalk.
Not long after I arrived in Shanghai, I ran out of money.
She then thought about it, why not find a job locally and earn some money, so that she could buy the things she likes and save money for her next travel plan.
It became Li Ran's goal to quickly find a job that included food and accommodation.
She remembered that she had seen a part-time job recruitment message while eating at a hot pot restaurant, so she tried to apply for a job.
After passing the interview, Li Ran entered the hot pot restaurant for internship on January 4.
Before school starts on March 3, Li Ran still has a journey ahead of her.
She plans to work at the hot pot restaurant until February 24, and then leave for Jiangxi the next day. She has already made an appointment with a travel partner and prepared a strategy. She will go to Jingdezhen and Wuyuan, and then follow the railway line north to Wuhan. I played all the way back to Henan, spent time with my family, and flew from Zhengzhou to Harbin before the start of school to return to campus life.
She also began to look forward to traveling during the summer vacation. She had obtained her passport and Hong Kong and Macao passes. Li Ran said that she wanted to go to Yunnan and Indonesia during the summer vacation.
Work hard to make money to prepare for your next trip
For Li Ran, traveling aimlessly is like an adventure. She has also been to the suburbs of Jiading, Minhang and other cities, "everywhere except Chongming Island."
When the funds were spent, staying and working was a temporary decision. “I didn’t have that many ideas, and many of them came later.”
A job that includes food and accommodation is very important.
She quickly searched and screened the recruitment information, excluding jobs in electronics factories and e-commerce warehouses that included food and accommodation. She "didn't want to work in a factory," so she only applied for jobs in hot pot restaurants.
Li Ran knew very well that she came to work in a hot pot restaurant to make money. No matter how difficult or hard it was to learn, she would persevere.
The store started working at 8:50, and Li Ran set the alarm clock for 7:40 in the morning.
At first, she still had image burdens, so she put on makeup before going to work. But as her work became more and more busy, she pressed the alarm clock every morning and stopped wearing makeup. She just wanted to have more time to sleep.
After arriving at the store in the morning, Li Ran needed to clean up, wash related supplies, set up the table, etc.
Around 10 o'clock is meal time for employees, and she tries her best to make preparations before the lunch rush.
Customers came into the store one after another at 11 o'clock in the morning. Li Ran followed Miss Menying to pick up the customers and provide services before, during and after the meal. He prepared tableware for customers, provided glasses cloth for customers wearing glasses, and provided glasses for customers with long hair. Prepare headbands for guests, provide them with fruits and aprons, and serve their orders.
After serving the dishes, add soup and skim the foam for customers...
Since joining the company on January 4, Li Ran has learned step by step from several masters in the hot pot restaurant. "I am relatively stupid, but the masters never give up on me and teach me over and over again." After more than a month, Li Ran can already take charge of 3 to 5 tasks on his own. When dining with customers, if you encounter a difficult customer, you can solve it yourself if you can, and if you can't, let the chef solve it. "Without skills, sincerity is the only way to make the customers happy."
After the lunch peak, if he is not on duty, Li Ran can take a break at around 1 p.m.; if he continues to be on duty, he will finish work at 3:20, have a simple meal, and go back to the dormitory to rest.
Return to the store to work at 5 p.m.
It was past 10 pm when Li Ran returned to the dormitory. It was past 11 pm when Li Ran lay down after taking a shower. Sometimes he checked social media apps, and sometimes he had to complete his winter vacation homework.
Her fulfilling job leaves her little time to check her phone or spend money, so she can save whatever she earns.
In January 2024, Li Ran worked for 22 days and took 4 days off, earning more than 5,000 yuan.
Watching her salary increase every day, Li Ran feels particularly fulfilled. February 24 is her last day working at the hot pot restaurant. "I worked for 20 days in February, and including subsidies, I made about the same as last month." .
Working to save money for travel has become a way of life
During the Spring Festival this year, Li Ran stayed at a hotpot restaurant to celebrate the New Year. On New Year's Eve, the store organized employees to have a New Year's Eve dinner together, which was full of rituals during the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival subsidy is also the reason why Li Ran wants to stay. She said: "The subsidy for the New Year is very good. The purpose of my coming here is to make money. It would be better if it can add emotional value."
This experience of working in a hot pot restaurant allowed Li Ran to learn many things that he could not experience in school.
On the evening of February 7, Li Ran received a family of five for dinner. A couple brought their parents and children to dine. She saw from the system that these were old customers, and she also remembered the last time she served this customer. Experience, "Generally when customers order brain flakes, we will prepare dry dishes and crushed peanuts. However, this old man likes to dip brain flakes in vinegar to relieve greasiness. This time, I prepared vinegar directly for the customer without asking. The old gentleman did not recognize me. But he was happy that I remembered his habits”.
When working in a hot pot restaurant, Li Ran always encounters all kinds of customers. "Some are good and some are bad, just like a coin has two sides. We provide services to customers, and customers will warm us."
For Li Ran, working part-time to save money for travel has become a way of life, because travel itself is meaningful. "It doesn't matter whether there is good food or fun. I like the feeling every place gives me."
Li Ran will not go home for the New Year this time, and her mother also supports it, but she cannot provide more material support. Her mother often says: "You can go wherever you want to go. I can't give you much, but I can give you something." A ticket home."
The peaceful way of getting along between mother and daughter is also Li Ran's strength to face the world bravely. Sometimes when she encounters troubles and grievances outside, she will complain to her mother, "It's hard to make money, and society is not as good as I imagined."
For example, she would tell her mother that working in a hot pot restaurant, especially in front-line service, has a complete set of service processes, and each service must be introduced to customers when they enter the store.
For novices, table numbers are quite difficult.
There are many table numbers and different locations. You need to note the location in your mind first, and then bring the right customer at one time.
Mom encouraged Li Ran: "I was quite worried about you at first, but seeing you making great progress day by day, you learned a lot of new things, and you are much better than me."
Li Ran also followed his mother's words and joked: "The young are better than the old." (The Paper reporter Deng Lingwei)