A woman with excellent academic achievements, but who had never learned how to be grateful, went to a large company to interview for a senior executive position. She passed the first few interviews and finally the chairman of the board personally interviewed her as he made the final decision. From her résumé, the chairman found that her grades were excellent, from high school to graduate school.
The following conversation took place in the Chairman’s office during the final interview.
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“Have you ever received a scholarship at school?”
“No.”
“Did your father pay for your schooling?”
“My father died when I was one year old. It was my mother who paid for my tuition.”
“So, your mother works at a company?”
“My mother washes clothes for a living.”
The chairman listened to her and asked the woman to show him her hands. After considering her hands the chairman asked: “Have you helped your mother wash the clothes?”
“Never, my mom always wants me to study more. Besides, my mother washes clothes much faster than I can.”
“I have a request; after you go home today, wash your mother’s hands once and come back to see me tomorrow morning.”
The woman felt that her chance of getting the job was very good. After returning home, she happily told her mother about the interview and then washed her mother’s hands. Her mother was very surprised, but let her daughter wash her hands.
The woman was happy when she started washing her mother’s hands, but gradually, tears fell because she discovered that her mother’s hands were full of calluses, and there was a cut that made her mother tremble slightly when the water touched it.
For the first time, the woman realized that her mother used these hands every day, washing one piece after another to pay for her tuition. After she washed her mother’s hands, she quietly washed all the clothing for her mother. That night, they talked for a long time.
The next morning, the woman went to see the chairman. The chairman looked at the woman’s red eyes and asked: “Tell me, what did you do yesterday after you got home?”
“I washed my mother’s hands and I helped my mother wash the rest of the clothes.”
“Please tell me, how do you feel?”
“First, I learned how to be grateful. Without my mother, I couldn’t be what I am today. Second, I learned how to go and work together with my mother to understand her hardship. Third, I now understand the value of family love.”
“I just want to have someone who can be grateful, who understands the hard work of others, but does not take money as the first goal in life. You are hired for the job!”
Translated by Yi Ming and edited by Helen
Source: Secret China
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