I Want to Be a Great Tree (Also Known as: Never Forget My Original Aspiration)

I'm an ordinary customer service representative. My job is to help callers make their requests heard.

During training, I was told that working the 12345 hotline is no easy task. A customer service representative is like a big tree: absorbing negative energy and giving back positive energy.

This novel is based on real life. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

Excerpt:

Ring, ring, ring. The phone rang, and I quickly picked it up. "Hello, Yantai Municipal Government Service Hotline. How can I help you?"

The caller sounded a little nervous. "It really went through! Um, hello, I, uh..."

I spoke gently. "Hello. Is there something you need help with? There's no need to be nervous."

The caller's voice settled down. "Sorry, I'm just an old farmer. This is my first time calling, so I'm a little nervous."

I said, "That's all right. You can tell me what you'd like to report, and I'll pass it along to the relevant department for handling."

The caller spoke in a fluent Laiyang dialect. "Well, last year I leased ten mu of wasteland back home and planted cherry trees. Now the leaves on the fruit trees are all turning yellow and shriveling up. I don't know what disease they've caught. Could you contact the Agriculture Bureau for me? I'd like an expert to come take a look and tell me what's wrong with the trees and how to treat them."

I said, "I understand. Your fruit trees have developed a disease, and you'd like me to contact an expert at the Agriculture Bureau to identify it and advise you on how to treat it, is that right?"

The caller said, "That's right, that's right. You're amazing! You can actually understand what I'm saying."

I said, "Could you give me the address of your orchard? I need to write it down."

Following the procedure, I asked the final question. "Would you like your personal information to be kept confidential?"

The caller said, "What? Corn?"

I couldn't help laughing, so I tried asking another way. "Can we give your phone number and identity information to the relevant department, so their staff can contact you?"

The caller said, "Of course, of course. I need to get in touch with an expert."

I said, "Your report has been recorded and accepted. Please keep your phone available. A staff member will contact you by phone later."

Note: Aside from the protagonist, who has a name, none of the other characters are named. The street names in this story have been changed from the real ones. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

Purpose: The world isn't as wonderful as we imagine, but it isn't as terrible as we imagine, either. Being born and living in China is the greatest source of pride in my life. I am proud to be Chinese.