Upon entering the meeting room, I found several young women already there. Some were nervous, others excited; some were whispering amongst themselves, while others sat silently in a corner.
Jiang Yan looked around and said, "You sit down first, I'll go get some water."
Ren Fei nodded and found a seat near the aisle.
Before long, Jiang Yan brought over two glasses of warm water, handed one to Ren Fei, and drank it herself. Ren Fei also picked up the glass and took a sip.
When the interview time arrived, the staff started calling out numbers, and the girl whose number was called went into another room for the interview.
The first girl went in and came out shortly after. Her eyes were red, which made the others' hearts skip a beat, wondering if the interview questions were too difficult.
As the number drew closer, Jiang Yan became increasingly nervous, frequently raising her glass to drink water.
The atmosphere is contagious, and Ren Fei, who was standing next to her, also became nervous and subconsciously drank water to calm down.
When it was almost Ren Fei's turn, she suddenly felt a pain in her stomach. She told the staff and ran to the restroom without waiting for a response.
When she returned, her number had already passed, so the staff let her have her last interview.
While waiting, she went to the restroom several times, while Jiang Yan had already finished her interview and looked relaxed as if she had everything under control.
Finally, Ren Fei went on stage, sweating profusely. There were five interviewers sitting in a row in the room. The person in the middle asked her to introduce herself first. Before Ren Fei could finish speaking, her stomach started rumbling again, so she had no choice but to leave halfway through.
When she returned to the interview room, the interviewers all looked unwell. She was exhausted and nervous, so she stammered when answering questions and her limbs were stiff when demonstrating dance moves.
The interview results would be announced in a week, but Ren Fei already knew she had no chance.
She couldn't understand why she suddenly had diarrhea, even though she hadn't eaten anything unusual.
"Ren Fei, everyone else has left, let's go too." Jiang Yan's voice came from beside me.
Ren Fei stood up as instructed, weakly took Jiang Yan's hand, and left.
After leaving the Cultural Palace, Jiang Yan asked Ren Fei if she wanted to go to the county hospital to get some medicine. Ren Fei nodded, afraid that she would get an upset stomach on the way.
After taking the medicine at the county hospital, Ren Fei began to inquire about Jiang Yan's interview progress.
Jiang Yan said helplessly, "They asked me a few questions and then let me leave. I didn't have high hopes, but I was going to come with you anyway, so I just joined in the fun."
Ren Fei smiled and believed it to be true.
When they arrived at the bus station, Jiang Yan suddenly said, "A relative of mine is coming to the county town on business. I didn't go home for the Spring Festival and wanted to ask him about my family, so I won't be going back to Qingshan Village for now. Can you go back by yourself?"
Ren Fei nodded and told her, "Then be careful by yourself, and don't miss the bus back to the commune this afternoon."
Jiang Yan smiled and agreed, then turned and left.
After being separated for many days, Ren Fei was so anxious that she wanted to go to the county town to report to the police.
Li Weidong gathered all the educated youth team members and asked Ren Fei to recount everything that happened that day.
Ren Fei started her story from the moment the two of them got up and left, mentioning that she suddenly had diarrhea, which caused her to fail the interview. Later, on the way back, Jiang Yan suddenly went to visit a relative, so she returned to Qingshantun alone.
After speaking, Ren Fei saw that the other educated youth had indescribable expressions on their faces. She suddenly thought of the glass of water that Jiang Yan had handed her, and her eyes widened in disbelief.
Seeing that she had figured it out, Bei Xiao said sarcastically, "Knowing what kind of person she is, you still dared to let her get so close. Do you really think you're Guanyin Bodhisattva, saving all sentient beings?"
Xiang Wenshan quickly tugged at her arm, urging her to kick him while he was down.
Ren Fei's face paled, and she shook her head repeatedly: "No, even if I lose, there are many girls with better qualifications than her, and she still won't be chosen!"
"That's not necessarily true. Snakes have their paths and rats have their ways. Perhaps she was trying to get a spot while she was missing," Xie Yuyao said coldly.
Ren Fei recalled the argument during registration, "Did they really dare to use connections? I shouldn't have let them go so easily that day!"
"Which day? Is there anything else you haven't said?" Li Weidong asked her immediately upon hearing this.
Ren Fei also recounted the events of the day they registered: "It was the day we registered..."
After hearing what she said, Xie Yuyao felt gloomy. How deep must the water be if a mere staff member can so blatantly break the rules!
This made her think of the entertainment industry in later generations, which was not an easy place for ordinary people to succeed in.
Others, however, speculated that Ren Fei had offended that staff member, and that he and Jiang Yan were in cahoots to plot against Ren Fei.
Li Weidong suggested, "There are still a few days before the cultural troupe announces the list of recruits. Let's go to the county town then and see if she's there."
No one objected to the proposal, and it was settled.
But man proposes, God disposes; in the following days, the production brigade became very busy.
Li Weidong and the brigade cadres worked together to plan the construction of a dried fruit factory, including determining the factory site, purchasing equipment, planning manpower, and handling the necessary procedures.
Based on the information provided by Xie Yuyao, Aunt Tian has figured out several methods for making candied fruit and is ready to start at any time.
Whether you get rich or not, build roads first.
Before the farming season arrived, the brigade leader organized the villagers to widen the road from Qingshan Village to Hongqi Commune, and the educated youth team also joined in.
Regardless of whether they wanted to earn these work points, the educated youth were sent to the countryside to support rural development, and they needed to actively participate in the process.
On the day the county cultural troupe announced its roster, Li Weidong spoke with the brigade leader, who then asked Wu Lihong and Xie Yuyao to go to the county town to take a look.
Ren Fei also suggested going along: "Captain, I'd like to go see the results of the cultural troupe's interview."
The captain frowned. He already knew about Ren Fei's interview performance from Li Weidong, but she wouldn't give up until she saw it for herself, so he granted her leave.
Ren Fei thanked the captain, lowered her eyes, and concealed her true thoughts.
Before setting off, Li Weidong instructed the three female educated youths: "You must pay more attention to safety, do not go to places with few people, and do not get separated."
Everyone nodded in agreement, and then Xie Yuyao and the others set off.
*
Ren Fei led the two of them to the entrance of the county's cultural palace with ease. Seeing many beautiful girls coming and going, she thought that if it weren't for that accident, she would have been one of them, and she felt a surge of hatred.
Before Xie Yuyao and her group could even enter the Cultural Palace, eight girls came out. They were dressed very beautifully and stood in front of the gate, ready to take pictures.
Xie Yuyao spotted Jiang Yan standing to the side at a glance. Jiang Yan's appearance had changed drastically; she was wearing a beautiful winter dress made of pink fabric, and her lips were adorned with lipstick. She had shed her youthful naiveté and gained a mature charm.
Ren Fei was a little confused, but not stupid. When she saw Jiang Yan, her suspicions were confirmed, and she immediately rushed over.
Wu Lihong and Xie Yuyao exchanged a glance and followed.
"Jiang Yan, come here right now!"
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