Chapter 6

Chen Taijun's interview performance was quite poor. If described using the terms of the eight-part essay—introduction,承接 (cheng2 ti2), opening, entering the topic, division, and conclusion—except for the introduction, which he did very well, the rest was basically off track.

The introduction is the general outline, and there was naturally no problem with it. Superstition should not be believed, and deities and ghosts do not exist; any person with a clear mind would start with this.

The 承接 (cheng2 ti2) is to承接 (cheng2) the introduction and further explain the topic. By this point, Chen Taijun's words were already incomprehensible.

Everyone knew he was a straightforward person. It was already quite difficult for him to say that deities do not exist with a clear conscience. If he could open his eyes and confidently convince himself that deities indeed do not exist, would he even need to improve his emotional intelligence?

Of course, he had his own advantages. For example, he was well-versed in many legends about deities and ghosts, even those extremely obscure ones.

Therefore, in the eyes of the many examiners, Chen Taijun was a person with extremely profound knowledge!

Indeed, extremely profound. No one thought that a candidate for a position in the Personnel Bureau could have such deep expertise in these supernatural topics. What other word could describe it besides profound?

Of course, things can often be viewed from two or even multiple perspectives. Some people raised objections to this absurd phenomenon: "If Chen Taijun really doesn't believe in superstition, why is he so proficient in these things? I think there must be a problem. Our team doesn't need people who say one thing and mean another; it would affect the purity of our team!"

The speaker was deeply distressed, but those who opposed also had their reasons. After all, they were all judges. "I know a little about this comrade. He is indeed very diligent. He is a candidate for this year's college entrance exam and scored 643 points, and he was already admitted to Phoenix College."

A person who can score over 600 points in the college entrance exam is clearly very talented. Knowing a bit more is quite normal, right?

As soon as these words were spoken, someone exclaimed, "No way? We don't allow current students to take the exam, do we?"

"He never even registered!" the informant explained.

The room fell silent.

Those present were all experienced individuals. They could all sense the implications of these words. Chen Taijun scoring over 640 was not a big deal, even if he scored over 690. But scoring over 640 and not registering at the college was highly unusual. Why didn't he register?

The only explanation was: he originally wanted to go to college, but after the college entrance exam, he heard that Phoenix City was recruiting civil servants!

So he didn't register!

Who would dare underestimate someone who could get such information in advance? The eyes of the seven judges and examiners immediately fell on the materials Chen Taijun had submitted, searching the "related relatives" section again.

But everything in the materials reminded them: Chen Taijun was just the only child of a small family!

However, these materials were just surface-level. Truly influential people might not be so ostentatious—forging materials is not difficult. They looked at each other, unsure what to do.

The person who had challenged Chen Taijun and inadvertently gave him a chance to shine spoke up, "This candidate's situation is a bit complicated. I suggest we first evaluate the other candidates and discuss this one later. What do you think?"

What do you think? It's a good suggestion. It's easy to agree. Who can't raise their hand?

In fact, everyone was waiting, waiting for the performance of the young master who had his eye on the Personnel Bureau position. If he performed outstandingly in the oral exam, Chen Taijun would be mercilessly abandoned.

The logic was clear: we don't know whose child you are. Since your performance is not as good as others, there's nothing to say. We need to show the fairness and impartiality of the exam.

Unfortunately, the young master's performance was truly terrible. Or perhaps he wasn't usually so incompetent, but it was clear that someone had already given him a guarantee: "You will definitely pass this time." So, in terms of the oral exam, he didn't even match Chen Taijun.

In fact, he was far from just not matching Chen Taijun. His answers made some of the examiners who had been tipped off cover their foreheads: it was too terrible to bear!

The informant couldn't hold back: "Let me ask a question off-topic. Among the deities in Chinese history, which one do you admire the most?"

The young master was stunned and took a long time to answer, "I... I like Zhi Zun Bao. His feelings for Zi Xia Xianzi show his clear sense of love and hate!"

This reason... was standard, but the room fell silent again. Is this a deity from Chinese history?

Thus, Chen Taijun won!

However, "good things come with many trials." Just as the list was about to be announced, the head of the Personnel Bureau, Gao, heard that Zhao Maobin, the young master, had been eliminated. His face immediately changed, and he said, "If it's not Xiao Zhao, we won't take anyone this year!"

The examiners were in a bind and had to negotiate with Chen Taijun, "There are special circumstances. The Personnel Bureau's position cannot be given to you. You see, your oral exam performance was quite poor."

"But the examiners are very optimistic about you, so we will give you a different position. Do you think that's okay?"

Sure, what's not okay? Chen Taijun was easy to talk to. He thought he was going to be eliminated anyway. Yang Qianqian, who was so talented, barely made it. What more could he ask for?

If he wasn't satisfied, he would have to wait at least five years to become an official!

"It doesn't matter. What kind of position is it?"

"Well, you aimed a bit high," the person in charge of the conversation said skillfully, "so the middle-level positions have all been taken."

"Donglin Water Village still needs a deputy village chief. Go down and get some experience. Young people shouldn't be afraid of hardship, right?"

Donglin Water Village was actually in the northern suburbs of Phoenix City, but the natural conditions there were quite harsh. Compared to Phoenix City, it was like heaven and earth.

"Deputy village chief?" Chen Taijun's mouth opened wide. In his mind, the title of village chief was far removed from his life. "Is this considered a regular position in the national civil service?"

"Yes," the person nodded, "you will be sent down for a temporary assignment. Who knows, you might come back soon."

There was one thing he didn't say: you might not come back for ten or twenty years unless you give up your status as a regular civil servant!