31 The one chosen by fate
The next morning, at a large-scale humanities interview program.
Zhang Chenling, Ni Yue, Xiao Ma Ge, and Xu Zhiqian sat around one side of the oval table, diagonally opposite them was the friendly host.
Host: Sitting before me are the four-person team from Shangshanruoshui, who provide home bathing assistance. You all seem young and energetic! This makes me curious: why did you choose to work in the elderly care industry as bathing assistants? Could you please briefly share your journey?
"Oh, should I start? Why me?... Haha, okay! Actually, before I joined Shangshan Ruoshui, I didn't do much research and only had a vague understanding of the elderly care industry. Bath assistant was even a new term to me. The main reason I was willing to join was because I trust Sister Ling! She's a strong woman with a successful entrepreneurial background. Her courage and insight are worth following."
"As for me, I barely did any due diligence before joining the company. When I heard the words 'bathing people,' my first reaction was complete shock. I thought it was some shady business, you know."
A burst of laughter.
"But now I think it's not so much that I chose to be a bath assistant, but rather that this profession chose me."
Host: Uh, how do you say that?
"Let me think about how to explain it... Well, actually, I used to be an early childhood educator, spending almost all day working with children. What I experienced at work was more of the upward force of life, and even the pain was just 'growing pains.' But now, as a bathing assistant, I experience the decline and aging of human life every day. Of course, everyone will grow old one day, that's no secret, but through the eyes, nose, ears, and hands of a bathing assistant, this feeling becomes more real and intense, and in a way, it's also cruel. If I said I entered this industry in a daze two months ago, now I prefer to believe that I was chosen by fate to experience and record this. Before I was thirty, I was able to glimpse the truth of birth, aging, illness, death, and the cycle of life. This is a very rare experience, and it also makes me lucky."
Behind the camera, someone applauded quietly.
Host: As expected of someone who has worked in education, your experience is very profound and philosophical!
Move your gaze to the next person.
"Oh, I'm used to thinking rationally and tend to be relatively cautious when making decisions. Before joining the team, I did a lot of research and browsed almost every resource I could find online. I wholeheartedly agree with the value and significance of home bathing assistance. Also, thinking of my parents back home in Ningbo, who are now in their sixties and whose physical functions are declining at a noticeable rate, and who will sooner or later face the dilemma of bathing difficulties, I'm even more motivated to become a bathing assistant. I see it as a rehearsal for my future. Once I master this crucial skill of bathing, my parents won't have to worry about their later years, haha. But beyond that, I also have other personal reasons for joining Shangshan Ruoshui."
Host: Oh? Can you elaborate?
"Well... (quietly looking around) I'll let's not talk about it. If we have the opportunity to do another program in the future, I hope I can speak openly and honestly. Now, let Chen Ling, oh no, Ms. Zhang, share her story."
"(Unnoticeable eye roll) You can also call me Sister Ling. Well, my story is actually very simple. First, I believe there's huge potential demand for assisted bathing in China, but there are almost no professional organizations providing related services. This shows that this is an emerging trend, and I want to be a pig in the wind. Second, I love bathing, and when I think about the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled who are bedridden for long periods of time and can't bathe, I feel uncomfortable all over, and I really want to do something for them."
Host: Did your choice get the understanding and support of your family?
"I've been an entrepreneur for many years and have long been accustomed to being alone. I just follow my own path and don't expect anyone to understand me."
"I didn't tell my parents specifically. I planned to wait until I returned home for the Lunar New Year to tell them, just like I usually do when I change jobs. I think they should understand."
"I've always found it difficult to be understood by my family, because it requires them to have a strong desire to understand me... So, I don't even dream of getting their support. I only have one thought: no matter who it is, just don't get in my way."
"Haha, my wife didn't understand at first, but she supported me reluctantly. Later, because I earned too little, she argued with me several times and even threatened to divorce me. It wasn't until I was recently hospitalized for surgery that she completely calmed down, haha."
Host: Oh, then please take care of yourself. I wish you a speedy recovery! What are your plans for the future? Do you still want to be a bath assistant?
"Of course, unless Sister Ling and the others are unwilling to accept me!"
"Haha, the door to the highest good is always open to Xiao Ma! However, let me boldly imagine that when Xiao Ma's body is almost fully recovered, the team will be even larger than it is now. He can focus on clerical work and won't have to go through the hardship of taking a bath with us."
Host: I see. Once again, I wish Xiao Ma Ge a speedy recovery and a smooth return to the team! Next, can you share your most memorable bathing experience or story?
"Let me start by saying, I was the last to join this team, and I've served fewer clients than my teammates, probably only a dozen or so in total. However, I never imagined that the professor I admired most during my undergraduate years would be one of those dozen! She was once a highly respected academic figure both domestically and internationally, but now, after retirement, she's experienced existential anxiety and subsequent depression, so severe that she can barely take care of herself. Even so, she's always been obsessed with her academic publications. To be honest, this incident really broke my defenses..."
"What impressed me most was an old man who hadn't bathed in over three years. He was paralyzed in bed, his back covered in bedsores, and there was a dead gecko under his butt. This scene has always lingered in my mind. Its cruelty is second only to the scene of my wife giving birth."
"It's true that this elderly man's situation is more difficult than other clients, and I feel sorry for him. But apart from helping him deal with his bedsores and giving him a comfortable hot bath, there's really very little we can do."
"Ahem, is it possible... that we ever had the chance to do something more for him?"
"... (Brief silence) You're right. In fact, I've been reflecting on this over the past few days. We might be able to help this elderly man get more love and attention from his family. He's lying alone in bed, isolated and helpless. Even a little help, the size of a fingernail, would be better than nothing. Don't let small acts of kindness go unnoticed. You're right."
"cousin……"
Host: ...I heard that one of you would write a short essay after each bathing session. Could you take this opportunity to share it with us?
"(Raises hand) Ha, it's me! If time permits, I'd like to write two short essays, is that okay?"
Host: Of course! Now we'll turn the floor over to Ni Yue.
One minute later...
"I'm sorry, I was so excited just now that I lost control of my emotions. Can you cut that part and re-record it?"
"I think you should stop sharing Sister Paoqiu's story. I started crying from the first sentence. Instead, share Young Master's experience. He's a wheelchair cosplayer who experienced depression after experiencing online bullying, but has recently rediscovered his passion for cosplay. This is definitely the positive energy that society needs most!"
"Okay, then I'll read this!"
One minute later...
"I'm sorry. When I was reading it privately, I didn't find it so tear-jerking. But today, for some reason, my tear glands are overactive. I, I might not be able to continue reading..."
Burying his head and blowing his nose loudly.
Host: ...It's okay, the essay is already finished! Please calm down first and we can continue.
Ten minutes later.
Host: So, in the past two months, have there been any difficulties that you found most difficult to overcome?
"Of course! Showering isn't difficult; it's just a skill that comes with practice. But acquiring clients and expanding the team have always been our two biggest headaches..."
After the program in the studio is recorded, according to the previous agreement, Shangshanruoshui will take the program crew to a customer's home to shoot real bathing assistance scenes.
"Ah? It's okay, Auntie's health is the most important thing, it's really okay..."
A group of people were about to leave the studio when they were stopped by Zhang Chenling. Frowning, she apologized to the host and program planner, "I'm sorry. I finally found a client willing to cooperate with the filming, but I just received a call from her family saying that the woman suddenly had a fever in the middle of the night and is still having an intermittent fever. She's not in a good condition to take a bath."
"Is that so? Then can we find someone else to cooperate? Even if it's just for five minutes, the visual impact will be completely different."
"Others? I'm afraid it's only us." Zhang Chenling looked around and found that the staff of the program team were also very young, mostly born in the 1990s. She, who was born in the 1980s, might be the oldest in this group.
She shrugged and said with a wry smile, "Or you can go to the alley near my house, find an old man fanning you in the cool air, give him a few hundred yuan, and pay for a bath!"
The production crew started discussing: "If the uncle is too energetic, will he be seen as a performer at a glance?", "There's nothing we can do about it!", "You look a little haggard lately, how about you go on?", "Your uncle, I look much younger than you do!"...
"Hey, I have an idea!" Ni Yue, who was worried at the side, suddenly slapped his forehead and pulled Zhang Chenling's arm without hesitation and suggested: "There's no need to look for it outside. Don't we have a ready-made one at home?!"
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