Volume 1: The Prelude to Officialdom Chapter 2: The Civil Service Examination (Part 2)

  Suddenly, the door of the conference room opened and three people walked in from outside. At the entrance of the conference room, a group of people were standing. The leader was a man around fifty years old, who walked steadily and elegantly, exuding an aura of majesty all over his body. Behind him stood a man with a prominent belly, slightly bowing his waist, pointing in one direction while explaining something to the man in front of him.

  At this time, the middle-aged examiner saw the general's belly and ran up to him in a hurry, respectfully greeting: "Director Zhao!"

  The man with a big belly is Zhao Yong, the director of the Provincial Public Security Department.

  Director Zhao nodded towards the middle-aged examiner and said, "The exam hasn't started yet, has it?"

  The middle-aged examiner nodded, and Director Zhao nodded in satisfaction, smiling at the man in front of him: "Secretary Xu, the exam hasn't started yet, and this interview will definitely be conducted in accordance with the principles of fairness, justice, and openness."

  Secretary Xu nodded, didn't speak, and walked towards the small conference room inside. The man walking at the end then said to the middle-aged examiner: "Today, Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun came to the Provincial Public Security Department for investigation and happened to hear about our exam, so he came over to take a look. You must organize it well!"

  The middle-aged examiner immediately said respectfully: "Director Sun, don't worry, I will definitely organize it well."

  Director Sun hastened his pace and followed closely behind.

  At this time, the candidates who were being interviewed also knew about the news and suddenly became tense. Even Zhao Shijie's face turned pale. Some of them looked at Liu Fei with tension, while Liu Fei sat quietly in his chair, lowering his head, focusing on his fingers, holding a nail clipper to trim his nails lightly, without showing any signs of nervousness.

  Is Liu Fei really not nervous? That's impossible, but Liu Fei can control his emotions well, diverting attention by trimming his nails, and quickly blending into a natural and harmonious feeling, as if he is the only one left in the entire hall. Confidence surged through his body instantly, what's a job interview? It's just another kind of exam! With my IQ and reaction speed, what difficulty can stump me? Besides, it's just answering a few questions from the examiners! What does it matter if the provincial party secretary is watching on the side? I just need to do my best and that's it! Why bother with so much?

  Time ticked by minute by minute, second by second, and the atmosphere in the conference hall grew increasingly tense and oppressive. At this moment, no one spoke, and everyone was busy with their own affairs.

  Liu Fei's heart was at ease, a confident smile spread across his face as he scanned the hall with his eyes. He found that the scene inside the hall was quite interesting.

  There was a boy who took out a small mirror from his bag and looked at himself from top to bottom, inside and out, left and right, repeating this action five or six times. Liu Fei couldn't help but smile wryly. However, what made Liu Fei even more shocked was that the boy put down the mirror and quickly took out a heart-shaped tissue paper from his bag, wiping his face vigorously like he had just finished running 800 meters. He wiped once, twice, three times, four times... Liu Fei laughed and shook his head: "Dude, if you use dry tissue paper to rub your face so hard, you'll scrub off your skin!"

  Others were not much better off, either gazing at their reflections in mirrors, polishing shoes or brushing dust from their clothes, the tense atmosphere hanging over the conference room.

  As the examiner called out names one by one, people entered the small conference room and came out one after another. Some came out with their heads hung low in dejection, while others had a smile on their face, full of confidence.

  Because Liu Fei's written test score was the first, he was the last to be interviewed. Before him, Zhao Shijie had also come out of the small conference room with a satisfied smile on his face, and after coming out, he looked at Liu Fei with a complacent and disdainful look, then walked up to Liu Fei and said in a low voice: "I got 92 points! You're definitely going to lose!" After finishing speaking, he sat down in the chair, looking at Liu Fei with disdain as he walked into the small conference room. Just now during the interview, he had already known his score, and he had gotten 92 points! This was the highest score so far! Now his total score was also the highest among all people except for Liu Fei! Now it's just a matter of waiting to see how Liu Fei does in the final interview. However, Zhao Shijie didn't think that Liu Fei could surpass him, because he had performed exceptionally well today, with quick thinking and smooth answers, and even the provincial party secretary on the side was nodding his head in satisfaction. Zhao Shijie knew that he hadn't tarnished the reputation of being a Tsinghua University student.

  Liu Fei walked into the small conference room and felt a seriousness he had never experienced before. The seven examiners sat stably on one side of the oval-shaped conference table, all sizing him up with their eyes. At the position of the chairman's desk was Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun, behind whom sat Provincial Public Security Department Director Zhao Yong and Deputy Director Sun Yaowei.

  Liu Fei quietly walked to the only chair on this side of the conference table in front of the examiner and sat down. He could feel that at this moment, 10 pairs of eyes in the room were all focused on himself, among which a pair of eyes was the most profound and unfathomable. Liu Fei knew that it must be Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun sizing him up.

  Liu Fei quickly adjusted his mood, lifted his head, and with a faint confident smile on his face, he introduced himself: "Ladies and gentlemen, I am Liu Fei from Peking University, my test number is 9527."

  After finishing his introduction, he calmly waited for the examiner's questions.

  When Provincial Committee Secretary Xu Guangchun saw Liu Fei's behavior, a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes. This candidate was very interesting. He saw that he, the dignified provincial committee secretary, was sitting here and didn't even greet him, whereas other candidates who came in would first greet him before greeting the examiner. Moreover, unlike other candidates, this candidate had a faint smile on his face all along, seeming to be very calm and not showing any tension.

  "Liu Fei, you are the first place in this province's civil service examination written test results, it can be said that you are leading the way. However, there is an ancient saying: 'A tall tree in the forest will be blown down by the wind.' Please talk about your understanding of this sentence combined with your current situation." Suddenly, Du Xiaobo, the head of the personnel department, threw out a very tricky question. This question was specially prepared for Liu Fei, and as long as Liu Fei's answer to this question was slightly biased, he could give him a low score and thus eliminate him from the competition. Zhao Hall Chief would definitely be very satisfied with himself!

  Zhao Yong was indeed very satisfied with this question, and smiled at Du Xiaobo, making Du Xiaobo extremely excited.

  When Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun heard this question, his eyelids twitched slightly, and he looked at Liu Fei with great interest. He naturally knew the difficulty of this question and wanted to see how Liu Fei would respond to this tricky question. After all, it's not a big deal for a top student from Peking University to get first place in the civil service exam, but one's true level can only be judged by their words and actions - that's the leadership's philosophy of doing things: listen to what they say, observe what they do.

  Liu Fei thought for a moment, and then a faint smile reappeared on his face: "The ancient saying 'Wood shows up in the forest, wind must destroy it' has been passed down to this day, so there must be some truth to it. On one hand, Chinese people have a tradition of being reserved, thinking that the bird that sticks its head out gets shot, and if someone is too excellent, they will often cause misunderstandings or suppression from others; on the other hand, when someone stands out, they will inevitably encounter difficulties! I think the key is to handle these difficulties well. Society is always moving forward, and the expression of individuality in society is becoming more and more tolerated and liberated. Speaking of this, it's hard not to mention the leadership's way of using people - wise leaders are always able to discern talent and have a broad mind. Only then can you plant a paulownia tree and attract a phoenix. And my performance in this exam was just normal, I didn't show off, I just did what I could do. I believe all the examiners will uphold the principles of fairness and justice, so there's no need to talk about 'wind destroying it'. However, through this saying, I also gained a lesson: 'No matter what you do, you must be down-to-earth, take things one step at a time, and can't be arrogant or dismissive. If I become a civil servant, I will always remember that I am a glorious Communist Party member, serving the people is my mission!' My answer is complete!"

  Liu Fei finished speaking, and the conference room was first filled with a dead silence, then Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun led the applause!

  Even Du Xiaobo had to admit that Liu Fei's words were rigorous and measured, with a sharp needle hidden in the cotton, leaving no room for criticism! Brilliant and unparalleled!

  The head of the Criminal Investigation Department, Wang Haiming, had also received Zhao Yong's attention and wanted to ensure Zhao Shijie's admission. Originally, today's interview was just going through the motions, but unexpectedly, Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun arrived suddenly, making it necessary for the interview to be conducted fairly according to normal procedures. However, being able to sit in the department head's position, he naturally had exceptional abilities. After a brief thought, a difficult question was thrown out: "It is said that in ancient times, there was a person named Liu Xiahui who stayed overnight at an inn. Due to the sudden cold weather, a woman in the inn was freezing to death. Liu hugged her into his arms and sat until dawn without making any improper moves. Please analyze the implications of this 'sitting with elegance' story for leading cadres in their governance."

  When he heard this question, Xu Guangchun couldn't help but frown. This question was already at the level of selection for leading cadres and it wasn't quite right to let Liu Fei answer it. The difficulty was too great. However, Xu Guangchun didn't say anything, instead quietly waiting for Liu Fei's answer.

  When Liu Fei heard this question, he took a little longer to think than the last time. The eyes of everyone in the room were focused on him again. Everyone knew that although Liu Fei had answered the previous question well, if he didn't answer this one well, it would also affect his total score. Zhao Yong smiled and nodded at Wang Hai Ming. Zhao Yong naturally knew that this question involved many aspects, and only those officials who had been through the baptism of officialdom could consider them more comprehensively. He had already sentenced Liu Fei to death in his heart. This time, Liu Fei would lose on this question.

  The house was quiet and still, with an air of heaviness.

  Half a minute later, Liu Fei raised his head and said lightly: "I think this question is mainly about the problem that leading cadres should have good conduct and style! This story gives me a few inspirations. As a leading cadre or a civil servant, we should be good at helping others, dare to break conventions, have firm willpower, and abide by discipline and law. Although many people think that Liu Xiahui is not a real man, in my opinion, his firm willpower is what our party members and cadres need to learn from. However, he is too rigid and bound by conventional rules. We should be brave enough to innovate and strive for progress, and cannot be limited by unreasonable restrictions! This is my understanding of this question."

  "Good, well said!" This time Xu Guangchun led the applause again! His eyes looking at Liu Fei had a few more threads of appreciation, while Liu Fei, after answering, once again calmly faced the examiner, completely unaware of Xu Guangchun's fleeting look of admiration.

  Then another examiner asked 4 questions, and Liu Fei's answers were also moderate.

  The last question was raised by a female examiner with the surname Feng, and the question was: "Liu Fei, please talk about your understanding of the core spirit of the four movies 'The Shawshank Redemption', 'Amélie', 'Nanjing Nanjing' and 'A Letter to Garcia'?" This is another extremely strange and tricky question, which tests Liu Fei's knowledge and understanding of the films themselves! It's absolutely a super difficult question. Because no one can guarantee that the person being asked has seen these four movies. Even if they have seen the four movies, it's not necessarily possible to truly understand their core spirit. But this question is absolutely within the normal range of questioning. This question made Xu Guangchun think deeply for a while before looking at Liu Fei with raised eyebrows. He was very curious now, could this young man who looked handsome and confident answer this question? Nowadays, most young people are quite superficial, would they watch this type of movie?

  However, Liu Fei didn't even think about it this time and smiled: "The core spirit of 'Shawshank Redemption' is the pursuit of truth, 'Amelie' revolves around the importance of public welfare to society, 'Nanjing Nanjing' expresses loyalty to the country and respect for life, while 'Letter to Garcia' warns people to be loyal and dedicated to their work! My answer is complete!"

  This time, the examiner with the surname Feng himself took the lead in applauding! She smiled and said to Liu Fei: "Liu Fei, you are really excellent!"

  Indeed, Liu Fei's performance in this interview was truly outstanding! Because Provincial Party Secretary Xu Guangchun was present, no one dared to cheat, and in the end, Liu Fei received a high score of 98!

  When the interview was over, Xu Guangchun walked out surrounded by everyone.

  What happened today was just a small episode for Xu Guangchun and Liu Fei, neither of whom remembered each other, as it's hard to say whether they would have any intersection in the future. All this is just a small ripple in the ocean of life. But did they really not intersect?

  Liu Fei walked out of the small conference room, and Zhao Shijie came up to him with a cold smile, saying: "You're convinced this time! Hurry up and pack your things to go back home!"

  At this time, Zhang Long, Zhao Hu, Wang Chao and PANG Zi also rushed over, they all wanted to know the final result of this interview, and looked at Liu Fei, waiting for him to give the final answer.

  Liu Fei first made a painful and sorrowful expression, forcefully patting Zhao Shijie's shoulder, causing everyone's faces to turn gloomy. The fatty even let out a sigh and said: "Having talent is not as good as having power!"

  Zhao Shijie looked at Liu Fei's expression and guessed that he had won, so he revealed a proud and arrogant look. However, he spoke to Liu Fei in a tone of feigned sympathy: "Liu Fei, it's okay to lose, don't worry about it, you're still young, come back next year and take the exam again, without an excellent opponent like me, you should be able to pass." But after saying this, Zhao Shijie couldn't hold back his laughter anymore and burst into loud laughter, laughing so proudly.

  "Hmph, gloating over others' misfortune!"

  However, just as Zhao Shijie was most excited and arrogant, the painful and regretful expression on Liu Fei's face suddenly changed, and he sighed and said: "Zhao Shijie, I won! Congratulations on your loss!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and left. Leaving behind a broken glasses all over the floor, and Zhao Shijie who was standing stupidly in the hall, staring blankly at Liu Fei's back.

  "Fatso loudly asked: 'Liu Fei, how many points did you score in the end?'"

  Liu Fei turned his head and smiled lightly: "98 points!" After finishing speaking, he snapped his fingers and walked out in big strides.

  He passed the civil service examination and was in a hurry to return to Yanzheng City to celebrate with his brothers.

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