The gender ratio for students who can be admitted to university through direct admission is already imbalanced, and by the time they reach the postgraduate level, there are very few female students.
Each supervisor mentors about ten graduate students a year, in order to fulfill the training tasks assigned by the organization. Among the thirteen students, four are girls, which is only because girls are good at linguistics. Other majors would be lucky to have one or two girls.
Ke Meiyu lives in an alley outside the school. Every day, she goes back and forth. Because her family's grocery store is separate from the courtyard, there is only a wooden door for the elderly couple to enter and exit.
She usually takes a while to get home. She's been so busy lately that she hasn't had much time to go shopping. The dress she's wearing is a cotton floral dress she bought in the provincial capital last year. It's comfortable to wear, and the style is simple and elegant, but not particularly outstanding.
But she's beautiful and has a great figure, so clothes are just the icing on the cake.
Therefore, her classmates guessed that she was a local from Kyoto and that her family was reasonably well-off, since graduate students receive higher stipends than undergraduates, and more importantly, she receives substantial scholarships.
Because they were ostracized by the senior students, the new batch of graduate students did not have many internal conflicts. The four girls, except for Ke Meiyu who went home every day, did everything together.
At this moment, Chang Xiaowen, the girl on Ke Meiyu's other side, nodded heavily and whispered, "Who says otherwise? However, there aren't many opportunities to earn pocket money like this, so they'll definitely prioritize themselves. Besides, they're facing graduation and job hunting soon, so they have to make some connections."
"That's fine, but the task was clearly assigned to them by the instructor, and they dumped it all on us. It's so unreasonable!" Liu Lina, another girl, leaned over and hummed across the long table.
"They call it training, but isn't it just blatant laziness? Isn't that right, Yu Bao'er?" Hu Ying, who had just started the conversation, nudged Ke Meiyu with her elbow.
Ke Meiyu smiled slightly, “Whether we’re in school or working, we all need a learning curve when we first arrive. During our university years, we spend most of our time learning and accumulating knowledge, and we rarely have the opportunity to translate important documents.”
"I heard our professor treats his graduate students well, adding the names of the students who participated in the translation to the end of the documents. Just imagine, when the translations are printed in large quantities, it will say 'So-and-so, a graduate student in the Department of Foreign Languages at Kyoto University,' which is quite impressive, isn't it?"
Let alone the three girls, even the boys who were listening intently to the gossip couldn't help but be tempted.
Absolutely! Honor trumps everything. Even without pay, they'd be incredibly motivated just for a chance to shine!
"Besides, everything has a transition period. We'll translate documents for six months, consolidate what we've learned, and then apply it to our lives. Our starting point will definitely be high. When our supervisor comes back and assigns us tasks, we won't be embarrassed."
“Yes, Ke is right. Even though I’m a graduate student, if you ask me to go out and broaden my horizons with my seniors, I’m not sure I can open my mouth,” the boy behind him nodded thoughtfully. “I need to really train myself. Graduate coursework isn’t heavy, and it’s more about application. We can’t really become mute in a foreign language.”
“But,” Hu Ying said softly, “we are not young anymore, and we still need to study for three more years before we can work. We can’t take care of the family with just the monthly allowance.”
This statement struck everyone as somewhat heavy. Not everyone comes from a well-off family and can afford to waste time in school. Most of them are sitting here because they are competing for a master's degree, which leads to faster promotions and better salaries. As the saying goes, sharpening the axe doesn't delay the work of chopping wood, and they are sharpening their axe right now.
But you have to make a living while sharpening knives. When I first arrived, I was pushed aside by the senior students and had no chance to earn extra money. It was different from what they expected.
Ke Meiyu's eyes shifted slightly. "I heard from my brother that a Hanks has opened in the department store downtown."
“I know that. It was quite a hot topic a while ago. Many students from our school, even those who didn’t have money, would still go in for a stroll, saying that foreign restaurants are all the same, and that going in for a stroll was like going abroad.” Chang Xiaowen didn’t understand how she had steered the conversation to this topic.
"Here's what I'm thinking: the coursework for graduate students in the foreign language department isn't actually that heavy. Since the projects and activities provided by the organization and the school are limited, we can find our own opportunities to earn some pocket money."
"There is a foreign language corner in Hanks, where the staff can speak a few words of foreign languages, and the speakers play various foreign language songs, literary works, and short stories all day long. Every day, many overseas Chinese and foreigners go there to stroll around."
"I heard that they want to run the foreign language corner as a public service. Whether it's providing an environment for foreign language enthusiasts, creating foreign language scenarios for children, or cramming foreign languages for students, they need to have professionals stationed there long-term."
"Although Hanks is going to be run as a non-profit organization, they are willing to hire professionals at high prices. With so many of us and not too much schoolwork, we can easily pair up in groups of two or three and discuss which day of the week to go. I believe the owner of Hanks will definitely be happy to do so."
At this moment, everyone was in a frenzy and crowded around.
People nowadays are very reserved, introverted, and not good at talking. Except for those with connections, they all obediently wait for the organization and school to make arrangements. Moreover, the current situation is like this. People's mindsets are fixed, and they don't think about finding their own opportunities to make money. There are also few opportunities to make money waiting for these dull people.
"Ke, is this true? Who told you this?"
"That's Hanks! It's packed from opening to closing time, and it's only been a month or so. They've also hired some temporary workers and offer delivery services. Hanks must make a lot of money. Their employees have great benefits. If you could help out here, wouldn't that be much better than those upperclassmen fawning over people?"
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