The Joy of Being an Average Joe

By Zhou Zhuben & Li Xiaojuan

Several days ago, I returned to my hometown and noticed something a bit odd: my neighbor’s live-in son-inlaw who had come back during the Tomb Sweeping Festival had gone out again for a job. It wasn’t just him; most of the villagers there had left after the festival for a jobsite somewhere else.

The silkworm industry in my hometown was much better than it had been for the past while, and more than a few of the peasants were making real money; they were purchasing refrigerators,motorcycles and the like in droves with their government subsidies.All of which showed that, to some extent, an economic thaw had taken place.

I had been waiting in line after line for several days trying to process my application for a mortgage, and standing there in the queue at the Housing Administration I noticed among all the hustle and bustle that, of the many kinds of people standing there in that giant hall lining up to get a license, most were elderly men and women, and middleagers. The number of young thirty-somethings like me was so miniscule it almost wasn’t worth mentioning.

If many of the people standing in line for a house in the sales office could just be hired hands there putting on a show, it wouldn’t be the case for the Housing Administration, for the clerks are virtually issuing property ownership certificates on the site.

To me it meant that, with such high housing prices, there were still tremendous demands for real estate, and the source of most sales revenues were still from the life savings of middle-agers or senior citizens, as young people just didn’t have the requisite financial wherewithal.

I have a niece who learned the art of cakery at a vocational school and is in Shanghai doing internship. Finding a job is not a problem, and when she goes fulltime her salary won’t be low. In contrast, her elder sister who is studying economic management at a university is going to graduate in a year but her job prospects are looking pretty bleak. Her younger brother is studying at an automotive school, and many a 4S car dealership is clamoring to hire the graduates from his school.

When I’m recruiting seasonal workers for my farm, I have to take into account how I will pay their salary. Ifipay by the hour,based on an eight hour workday,the minimum payment wouldn’t be lower than 50 yuan per day. Ificalculate it by their yield, then these temporary hires might clear 60 to 80 yuan per day. If it were anything less than this number, they would rather sit at home playing Mahjong and would be extremely reluctant to come out and break their back for starvation wages.

前幾天回了一趟老家，我注意到一個(gè)事實(shí)：清明時(shí)分回到鄰居家的浙江籍上門(mén)女婿，又出去打工了。而且不止他一家，大部分返回來(lái)的人，又都外出打工了。

在老家，今年養(yǎng)蠶的行市，比往年來(lái)得更好一些，很多農(nóng)民都在賺錢(qián)，還有不少人用國(guó)家發(fā)給農(nóng)民的補(bǔ)貼買(mǎi)了冰箱、摩托車(chē)等。這說(shuō)明，經(jīng)濟(jì)確實(shí)在一定程度上有所回暖。

前幾天辦理房屋貸款手續(xù)，在房管局辦證大廳排隊(duì)等候的時(shí)候，我發(fā)現(xiàn)人頭攢動(dòng)，瞄了幾眼，大致把大廳里辦證的形形色色的人分成幾等：老頭老太太占了大半，中年人又占了很大一部分，年輕人很少，像我這樣三十多歲的，少得可憐。

如果說(shuō)在售樓處排隊(duì)的人很大一部分可能是被雇來(lái)作秀的，那么在房管局實(shí)實(shí)在在地辦證，應(yīng)該沒(méi)有什么人是被雇來(lái)唱戲的。

這起碼說(shuō)明房?jī)r(jià)雖然高，但交易還是很多，現(xiàn)在房地產(chǎn)的銷(xiāo)售資金來(lái)源，很大一部分是中老年人用了自己大半輩子的積蓄，年輕人基本還不具備購(gòu)房的條件。

我有個(gè)侄女在技校學(xué)蛋糕制作，現(xiàn)在正在上海實(shí)習(xí)，就業(yè)不是問(wèn)題，轉(zhuǎn)正以后，薪水也不會(huì)太低。相反，她的姐姐，正在高校學(xué)經(jīng)濟(jì)管理，明年畢業(yè)以后就業(yè)堪憂(yōu)。她的弟弟，在汽車(chē)學(xué)校學(xué)習(xí)，很多汽車(chē)4S店都搶著要他們那里的畢業(yè)生。

我的農(nóng)場(chǎng)，在找勞動(dòng)力打零工的時(shí)候，如果按照每天工作8小時(shí)計(jì)算，最低工資不低于50元。如果按照計(jì)件來(lái)算，很多臨時(shí)工每天都能拿到60元到80元。要是低于這個(gè)數(shù)字，人家寧可在家里打麻將，也懶得出來(lái)賺這份辛苦錢(qián)。

前幾個(gè)月，陪家人還有朋友做了很多次旅游活動(dòng)。順便觀察了一下，桂林的旅游狀況并不蕭條，到處都是人，火車(chē)站人山人海，飛機(jī)場(chǎng)也是人頭攢動(dòng)。下火車(chē)的時(shí)候，出租車(chē)司機(jī)對(duì)我這種短途的本市內(nèi)的游客，還一副愛(ài)答不理的樣子。

采購(gòu)水管的時(shí)候，五金店的老板不停地接訂貨電話(huà)。很多我需要的東西都缺貨，要幾天以后才有貨；工廠(chǎng)也在加班加點(diǎn)地生產(chǎn)。這位老板說(shuō)，滴灌的設(shè)備前幾天被另外一個(gè)種植西瓜的老板買(mǎi)走了，他當(dāng)時(shí)拿了夠50畝的用量。

想來(lái)，很多論壇里面的文章，描述的都是資本層面的事，可能很多文章，還是失落的白領(lǐng)寫(xiě)就的。實(shí)際上，小人物的民生生活，很多時(shí)候與資本游戲隔離得很遠(yuǎn)。實(shí)體經(jīng)濟(jì)和草根經(jīng)濟(jì)，無(wú)非就是你來(lái)我往的買(mǎi)賣(mài)而已，有賺有虧。閑生是非忙賺錢(qián)，有事情做就不會(huì)有太大的事。

在金融危機(jī)和經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)中，到底誰(shuí)受傷最重？我認(rèn)為是剛剛畢業(yè)的大學(xué)生。畢業(yè)即失業(yè)，就業(yè)又高不成低不就，真的很難。從底層做起，很多人既無(wú)精神準(zhǔn)備，也沒(méi)有實(shí)干的一技之長(zhǎng)。

In the past few months I happened to go sightseeing with my family and friends and found that tourism industry in Guilin is booming.There are people everywhere,the trains are jam-packed and the airports are bustling.When we got off the train and tried to hail a cab, our request for a short-distance drive within city limits was actually met with a look of cold indifference.

When we were buying pipes at the hardware store the boss there kept receiving orders through the phone behind the counter. Many of the things I needed were sold out and I was told it would take several days to get them—the factories themselves were running extra shifts to keep up with demand. The shop owner told me that, just a few days prior, all the irrigation equipment in his shop had just been sold to the boss of a watermelon farm who had taken enough for 3 hectares.

Presumably, the content of a great many forums speaks of all things capitalism, and maybe just as many write about the drop in the middle class. Actually, the little life of a little guy most often bears little resemblance to that of the game of capitalism.The real economy and the grassroots economy are simply a matter of casual transactions—there is money to be made and lost. Things become messy often when people have too much leisure time, and when you have something to do and some money to make, there won’t be a fuss.

So who gets hurt the most in a financial crisis or a recession? I believe it’s the new graduates. They are unemployed as soon as they graduate. They are underqualified, yet refuse to lower themselves to take a position which they feel is beneath them. It’s really tough out there in the job market. Most people are spiritually and emotionally unprepared,and they also lack a practical specialization.

O u r C h i n e s e h i g h e r education doesn’t keep pace with the speed of the country’s development, and doesn’t provide the requisite skilled talent that is so hotly in demand in the country. Then at the same time, everybody wants to become a manager so they can join the whitecollar workforce and the middle class. But China’s place in the overall food chain determines the foundational characteristics of its industry and commerce, and there just aren’t enough managerial positions to go around for everybody.

Citing a simple example, for some of the current problems in agriculture in rural China,even a PhD student educated at an agricultural university may not necessarily find the right solutions.

So, anytime anyone seeking my advice about what subjects their children should study,I always recommend that he or she learn a professional skill, and that attending a junior college or a polytechnic would be the way to go. The tuition is not expensive and after you graduate, finding a job that puts bread on the table is not a problem. You will have the necessary skills to do the job and your income would be decent. Of course,this wouldn’t be for the hyperintelligent; those who have their hearts set on going to Tsinghua or Peking University should go.

Sometimes I think that people from the countryside attending university need to get their heads straight. Although it’s true that the Chinese idiom,“the dragon bears a dragon, the phoenix bears a phoenix, and a mouse’s son digs a nest” should be looked at with a critical eye,we should nevertheless examine its practical and sensible aspects.It doesn’t make any difference whether someone has been born into a family that has been wealthy for more than three generations. And no matter if it’s crony capitalism, American style capitalism, European style,or Japanese style capitalism, it’s all the same. If your forefathers weren’t loaded, then you need to start from the bottom rung of the ladder, and whether you get rich or not all depends on hard work and luck. If you can’t join the ranks of the wealthy,you’d best just resign yourself to being an average Joe. Study your specialization, raise a family,and do your best to protect your menial interests

我們的高等教育，沒(méi)有和社會(huì)對(duì)接，沒(méi)有培養(yǎng)出足夠的社會(huì)需要的實(shí)用技術(shù)人才，每個(gè)人都想去做白領(lǐng)，去做管理人員。可是中國(guó)的產(chǎn)業(yè)鏈地位決定了實(shí)業(yè)為基礎(chǔ)的特性，并沒(méi)有那么多的白領(lǐng)和管理層的職位提供給人們。

往簡(jiǎn)單里說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在很多農(nóng)業(yè)農(nóng)村的問(wèn)題，就算是農(nóng)業(yè)大學(xué)培養(yǎng)的博士，也未必有能力處理好。

所以，每當(dāng)有人咨詢(xún)孩子應(yīng)該去讀什么書(shū)的時(shí)候，我往往建議去學(xué)一技之長(zhǎng)，讀個(gè)大專(zhuān)或者技校即可。花錢(qián)不多，出來(lái)找碗飯吃沒(méi)有問(wèn)題，技術(shù)做得好的，收入也不會(huì)低。當(dāng)然智力超一流的除外，愛(ài)讀清華讀清華，愛(ài)讀北大讀北大。

有時(shí)候想一想，農(nóng)村的人讀書(shū)心態(tài)要放正。雖然“龍生龍，鳳生鳳，老鼠的兒子會(huì)打洞”這句話(huà)要批判，但也要看它現(xiàn)實(shí)合理的一面。至于人家富得過(guò)三代富不過(guò)三代，那是別人的事情。權(quán)貴資本主義也好，美式資本主義也好，歐式、日式資本主義也好，其實(shí)道理基本相通。如果父輩沒(méi)有積累，那就老老實(shí)實(shí)從底層做起，發(fā)得起來(lái)是努力和運(yùn)氣的結(jié)晶；發(fā)不起來(lái)，就安安分分做一介普通小老百姓，學(xué)一技之長(zhǎng)，生兒育女，捍衛(wèi)自己的家庭小利益。

這是一個(gè)多元化的時(shí)代，有權(quán)貴資本強(qiáng)勢(shì)做主，也有草根經(jīng)濟(jì)掙扎求生。富有富的煩惱，窮有窮的樂(lè)子。大人物風(fēng)光無(wú)限，小人物各有精彩。像我老爹，什么城市都不想去，圖的就是農(nóng)村生活的那份自得其樂(lè)和逍遙自在。◆（摘自《從寫(xiě)字樓到玉米地》江蘇文藝出版社）

We live in an era of plurality,there’s the powerful central force of the crony’s and their capitalist system and there are those struggling for survival at the grassroots level. There are also the headaches of being wealthy,and the joys of being poor. The grandeur of being elite knows no bounds; while the brilliance of being a cipher yet resounds.I’m reminded of the story of my grandfather who never wanted to live in any big city; he just planned to spend his whole life in the countryside where he could live without a care in the world and enjoy all the simple pleasures of life, which to me sounds like a little slice of heaven.◆ (From From the Offices to the Cornfields,Jiangsu Art and Literature Press.Translation: Chase Coulson)