This winter vacation, I took a temporary job at a supermarket, where my mother works as its CFO. A pro accountant, Mother is good at financial management. The holiday job, in her opinion, could help open my eyes to the real world. Buried in schoolwork throughout the term, I am believed to be out of touch with society.

For the job, I had to clock in at 8 am and clock off at 4 pm every day, with 20 minutes for lunch around midday. On my shift, I had little time to rest. In no way could I sit back and idle the hours away. At peak times, there was not even time for a drink. Although my mother is an important employee at the supermarket, I did not get any preferential treatment from the managers. On the contrary, I found myself working harder than other winter vacation temporary workers in front of the boss.

On the first day, I felt like a headless fly, without a clue as to what I should do and what I could do. After the initial disorientation, I finally learned how to weigh vegetables on the scales and how to print price tags.

The majority of customers who visited the supermarket were senior citizens, who often brought their grandchildren along on the shopping trip. Most of them were quite agreeable. Some, however, had a short fuse. The supermarket provided its customers with free plastic bags for packaging their shopping. Some elderly customers, abusing this policy, took more plastic bags than they needed. Some hid some small fruits like sugar oranges in their pockets and tried to lift them out of the supermarket. As Mother expected, working at the supermarket was an eye-opener to me indeed.

My grandfather passed away last year. Following the custom, we did not pay New Year’s visits to our relatives during the festival. Thus, I was able to work shifts throughout the holiday season at the supermarket. Because of this, the boss awarded me an extra big red packet apart from my regular wages when the holiday ended.