Chapter 5

The next day was the written exam, consisting of two subjects. One was the basic discipline, which included political economy and materialism. For students who had just graduated from high school, this wasn't much of a problem.

The other subject was a bit more troublesome. The questions were all taken from the reference materials, and most of them were fill-in-the-blank or explanation questions, which surprised many candidates.

Only the last major question was an essay, and it was the only one unrelated to the reference materials.

Some were happy, while others were worried. After the exam, some gnashed their teeth and cursed, while others felt relieved. Without a doubt, Chen Taijun belonged to the latter group.

"Hmph, it's a good thing I used some divine power to store all the books in my mind. This effort was worth it."

Yang Qianqian was also in a good mood. She had even finished her exam early and was waiting for Chen Taijun at the entrance of the examination site.

Chen Taijun saw her at a glance. As classmates, he smiled and walked up to her, "Hehe, are you here to return something to me?"

How can he talk like that? Yang Qianqian was momentarily taken aback. Yes, she was here to return something, but... shouldn't you at least exchange a few pleasantries first, like asking how I did on the exam?

Before yesterday, she wouldn't have expected such courtesy from Chen Taijun. Back then, they were just ordinary classmates. But now, with a shared secret and a shared topic, shouldn't they be a bit closer?

Unfortunately, this self-satisfied guy didn't realize that this small action completely exposed his low emotional intelligence!

Perhaps he really just sees me as an ordinary classmate, Yang Qianqian thought, feeling a slight sense of disappointment. She didn't know where this feeling came from.

"Hehe, yes, I'm here to return something to you," she quickly regained her composure and demonstrated a normal level of emotional intelligence, "How did you do on the exam?"

The results were announced on the third day, and both of their scores were among the top. Out of ten civil servant positions, they ranked second and ninth, respectively, qualifying them for the interview for the top twenty candidates!

"Damn, this is unfair," someone shouted at the results board. Since they had failed, there were naturally those who were ready to throw in the towel, "Backroom deals, it must be backroom deals."

Many people nearby pounded their chests in agreement, "Exactly, report them, report them!"

It's clearly fair, Chen Taijun was a bit angry. To prevent the so-called "pre-determined" results, he had put a lot of effort into implanting the idea of "fair grading" into the minds of the examiners. Wasn't this a denial of his work?

He was second, but where were the backroom deals? He had genuinely earned his place through hard work.

Because it was a forced implantation of ideas, I used more than half of my accumulated divine power! He felt like roaring in frustration, but fortunately, he still remembered the experience at the registration site three days ago. Being the target of everyone's criticism was not a pleasant experience.

Anyway, these people aren't talking about me. Once he realized this, he calmed down. It was up to the examiners to react; why should he get involved?

Not bad, buddy, you've learned to stay out of the fray, he even felt a bit proud of himself!

Yang Qianqian frowned and squeezed next to him, "Sigh, I'm only ninth, it's quite dangerous. Taijun, do you have any good ideas?"

"I'm not a god," Chen Taijun regretfully shook his head. If I were a god, I'd be a god who could walk sideways, but that was in the past. For a girl, being a civil servant is a good career, isn't it?

"Which position did you apply for?" Yang Qianqian was a bit envious. Look at him, without cheating, he could get second place with just one night of review, "This time, you have a good chance. The written exam score counts for seventy percent."

"The Personnel Bureau," Chen Taijun answered with a hint of pride.

The Personnel Bureau was one of the best positions in this recruitment, second only to the municipal government's secretariat. However, Chen Taijun's choice of the Personnel Bureau was clear. He had heard that it was responsible for the evaluation and appointment of officials (obviously, this was hearsay), and it would provide ample opportunities to interact with many people.

Communicating with people was becoming one of his strengths, and Chen Taijun had no doubt about this.

Unfortunately, the position in the Personnel Bureau was too good, and it had been targeted early on. Even with his second-place score, it didn't shake the determination of some people.

Thus, during the interview, Chen Taijun was given a very peculiar question.

The interview questions were randomly assigned, mainly involving the examiner posing a question, and the candidate had to provide their own perspective and elaborate on it. The candidate also had to be prepared to answer deeper questions from the examiner, which required a high level of on-the-spot performance.

This method later became part of the civil service exam, known as "essay writing"!

In essence, it was similar to the old imperial exams, but with an added important element: practicality. For the given question, the candidate not only had to provide their own insights but also propose specific solutions or implementation methods, which were more detailed than a policy outline.

For the position Chen Taijun was applying for, he should have focused on some basic organizational plans, evaluation methods, or very common questions.

Unfortunately, someone noticed that this candidate had a very solid theoretical foundation, so he was given a question that left him speechless—what do you think about the phenomenon of people being obsessed with feudal superstitions and ghosts and gods?

I'm speechless! Chen Taijun was really taken aback. He had done a lot of preparation for the oral exam, even studying some controversial social phenomena and thoroughly researching the most authoritative opinions.

But, I applied for the Personnel Bureau, not the Religious Bureau.

He was stunned for a moment before swallowing hard, "Well, personally, I believe that gods do not exist. It's just a tool used by the ruling class in ancient times to..."

It was really difficult for him, but clearly, this question was beneficial for his emotional intelligence development. Even he thought so, and the immortal Luo Shangtian rarely lied.

And now, hehe! Although it was just a small step, it felt like a milestone!

"This candidate, theoretical level, tsk tsk," someone shook their head disdainfully, not avoiding the fact that he was right there, "Can you give more than three examples of why gods do not exist?"

It would be easier to give examples of why gods exist, Chen Taijun thought to himself, "Well, the first one, for example, Liu An, the Prince of Huainan, who achieved immortality and took his chickens and dogs with him..."

This Liu An definitely doesn't exist; there's no such person in the divine realm.