Chapter 6

"Today's content is over," Rockefeller said to Scrooge, raising his eyes to look westward, where the sunset was slowly descending along its eternal path, painting half the sky with vibrant colors.

"In two more days, I will graduate from business school," Rockefeller said, "and then I'll have to start looking for a job. I'm sure I'll find a good one!" He clenched his fists secretly.

"Uh-huh, I'm also about to graduate and will have to consider this issue," Scrooge replied.

"You monster," Rockefeller said with a hint of jealousy, "you're still so young, why are you in such a hurry to work? But it's good that you'll probably start by helping out in your family's workshop and won't immediately come out to compete for jobs with me, right?"

In those days, technical jobs were still passed down through generations. For example, the shoemaking trade had been carried on from great-great-grandfathers, unchanged for generations, which was a tradition. So, everyone thought Scrooge would follow his father in making shoes, and Scrooge's son would continue the trade, all the way until the Second Coming of Christ. However, John Rockefeller did not see it that way.

"I know, someone like you, Scrooge, wouldn't just be content with being a shoemaker like your older brother, Carol. But I think it's better for you to familiarize yourself with the business operations in your family's workshop first, and then become independent," Rockefeller continued.

"Uh-huh, your point is valid. But..." Scrooge thought for a moment, "John, you know, the traditional workshop-style business model is already outdated. Look, many years ago, most of the fabrics in the market came from family workshops, but with the advent of the Spinning Jenny, where are those handloom workshops now? John, it's not just the method of making shoes that is outdated; the entire business model, including procurement and sales, is also behind the times."

"You can change it," Rockefeller said, "isn't that what you're good at? Recently, you've changed a lot of things."

Scrooge just smiled at this. He didn't want to cause a rift with his family over business philosophy, which could lead to a complete falling out and no further communication. This wasn't an exaggeration; John Rockefeller himself was a good example. He had a falling out with his third brother over business issues, and the third brother even went as far as to move his two deceased children's remains from the Rockefeller family cemetery to show his determination to cut ties with John.

"I can't change the big trends; going against them is a dead end," Scrooge said. "But you do have a point. I'll help out at home first, observe more, learn more, and then look for a job... Oh, by the way, have you made any preparations for job hunting?"

"I don't have many options; I can only go from company to company asking. I found a directory of local companies with some introductions, and I've also learned about these companies from newspapers and other sources. I will succeed," Rockefeller said.

Scrooge was about to say something when a shout came from a distance: "John! Come back quickly, your father is home."

John Rockefeller's father, Bill Rockefeller, was a professional quack who, adhering to the principle that a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow, naturally wouldn't swindle in his own area. So, most of the time, Bill was away from home. More importantly, Bill had also deceived an 18-year-old naive girl in another place and started a new family with her—since Bill had already committed countless frauds, adding bigamy to his list was no big deal to him.

John's mother, Aliza, knew that Bill had married another woman, but she didn't make a big fuss or mention it to anyone; she just silently endured it. This might be due to her religious beliefs, or perhaps because without Bill's money, she couldn't support her children.

However, while outsiders might not know about Bill's messy affairs, his family certainly did. At least, John knew exactly what his father was up to. Despite this, Bill was indeed a capable man who had taught John many things, so John felt both dissatisfaction and admiration for his father. Hearing the news, John Rockefeller immediately stood up and responded, "I'll be right back!" He then tidied up his notes and said to Scrooge, "I'm going home."

"Okay," Scrooge said, "let me know when you find a job."

...

John Rockefeller stopped in front of a company, carefully tidied his appearance, wiped the dust off his shoes, and brushed off the dirt that had accumulated on his clothes from walking several kilometers—he couldn't afford to take a public carriage, and even if he could, he wouldn't waste the money, as walking more wouldn't kill him—and then looked up at the company's entrance.

"This is the fifth day of job hunting, and the thirtieth company I've visited," John Rockefeller silently told himself before entering the company.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" an employee asked him enthusiastically. But John Rockefeller knew that his next words would blow this enthusiasm away like a leaf in a hurricane.

"I want to see your boss; I'm here to apply for a job," John Rockefeller said.

Sure enough, as expected, the smile vanished from the employee's face, and now he looked like an iceberg.

"The boss is not here!"

This polite but cold response was like a strong wind, and John Rockefeller became a leaf, blown out of the company and onto the street. On the street, John Rockefeller looked at his notebook, carefully took out a pencil, and drew a line through the name of the company. He then carefully checked the address of the next company, looked up to determine the direction, and walked in another direction—the next company was on the other side of the city, and it was a long way to go.

...

"John!"

Just as John Rockefeller was blown out onto the street again, a voice came from behind him. He turned around and saw Scrooge and his older brother, Carol, pulling a small cart from the other side. Scrooge was helping to push the cart and waving to him.

John Rockefeller walked over and reached out to help Scrooge push the cart. He saw that the cart was piled high with various items, such as tanned leather, potions, and some things he didn't recognize.

"Hey, John, how's it going today?" Carol and Scrooge were both relieved to have some help, so Carol asked about John's job search.

"Yeah, be careful not to get your clothes dirty," Scrooge said.

"Not well," John Rockefeller said, "I've visited over thirty companies in the past few days, but none of them showed any interest in me."

"How can that be?" This situation was unexpected for Scrooge. In his view, there were plenty of job opportunities in America, and even if John Rockefeller had high standards and was looking for the best local companies, which made it more difficult, his qualities should have been enough to get at least one opportunity.

"Well, it's just not going well. I was thinking of discussing this with you. We'll talk more about it when we get home. There's a hill ahead," John Rockefeller replied.

There was a long uphill stretch ahead, and the three of them had to put in a lot of effort to push the cart up. On a slightly flatter section, they stopped to rest. Carol and Scrooge wiped the sweat from their faces with their clothes, but John Rockefeller, though also sweating, didn't dare to use his clothes to wipe his face because he needed this decent outfit for the next day and had no spare.

...

"So, you've been job hunting like this for the past few days?" After listening to John Rockefeller's account of his job search, Scrooge asked, "First, tell me why you chose these companies. If you had gone to a place like 'Little Jasmine' nearby, you would have easily found a job."

"Those places are too low-level," John Rockefeller said, pursing his lips, "I think I have the ability to work in better companies."

"How do you know the companies you applied to are better than 'Little Jasmine'?" Scrooge continued.

"Of course, and I've investigated... Wait, I think I understand what you mean," John Rockefeller said, "I know these companies, so I applied to them, but they don't know me. They only know how I look. Compared to more mature and experienced candidates, I don't have any obvious advantages, and I might even have disadvantages. So, of course, they won't give me a chance. Right, Scrooge, is that what you mean?"

"Truly worthy of a future tycoon, your reaction is quick!" Scrooge thought to himself.

"Yes, that's exactly what I mean," Scrooge said, "to get an opportunity, you need to find a way to make them immediately see your unique qualities and recognize your value. Your previous approach to job hunting didn't highlight your uniqueness. Therefore, I think your job hunting method needs to be improved."