Chapter 23: The Exam is Underway
After hearing this, Sun Yiyi felt a chill in her heart. She hesitated to speak, but for her younger sister's sake, she could only acquiesce to Wei Yong's decision and accept the 50 yuan from him. She planned to go home tomorrow and discuss with her parents what to do.
She seemed to see another side of Wei Yong, one that was frighteningly cold towards her, but it wasn't like this in her past life! It must be because they hadn't spent enough time together that things turned out this way.
The next morning, after having breakfast, Lin Yuanshu went out with Zhou Xiangyang and the two went to the chemical plant.
Lin Yuanshu looked around the chemical plant with curiosity. A wooden sign with the words "Hongguang Dye Chemical Plant" hung at the entrance of the plant, and red slogans such as "Grasp Revolution and Promote Production" were erected on both sides, which were very characteristic of the times.
Lin Yuanshu, who did not have an employee ID, was stopped by the security guard. Lin Yuanshu took out his identification and explained that he was there to take the recruitment exam.
The security guard checked the list of candidates for the recruitment exam and, after confirming that there were no issues with their identities, allowed Lin Yuanshu to enter.
The chemical plant consists mostly of large red brick buildings with numerous chimneys and various raw material drums piled up in the open air. As soon as Lin Yuanshu entered the chemical plant, he smelled a pungent chemical odor.
Zhou Xiangyang turned his head and saw Lin Yuanshu unconsciously frown and rub his nose. He quickly took out a cloth mask from his military green canvas bag and handed it to Lin Yuanshu, saying in a low voice, "Wearing a mask will make your nose feel more comfortable."
Lin Yuanshu took the mask and smiled, saying, "Thank you."
After seeing Lin Yuanshu put on a mask, Zhou Xiangyang put on a mask himself as well.
Lin Yuanshu blinked. Zhou Xiangyang couldn't "broadcast his good name" for two reasons: his personality and the other half was probably because of the mask. Once the mask was on, he didn't care about anyone!
Zhou Xiangyang escorted Lin Yuanshu to the building below the conference room where the exam was being held, and whispered to him, "Good luck on the exam. It doesn't matter if you don't pass. I can talk to the leaders and ask them to let you work as a temporary worker in the cafeteria."
Lin Yuanshu was stunned for a moment. She hadn't expected Zhou Xiangyang to have even thought about his own future. She praised him without hesitation, "You are truly the most considerate person I have ever met. Thank you for everything you have done for me. I am very happy."
Zhou Xiangyang felt his face inexplicably burning. He said embarrassedly, "You're welcome. It's what I should do. After all, I'm a responsible person."
Lin Yuanshu chuckled, waved to Zhou Xiangyang, then took a deep breath and walked into the white building. The first floor was where the logistics department worked, and the second floor was the conference room.
After Lin Yuanshu went upstairs, Zhou Xiangyang also left and excitedly ran to work in the cafeteria. He didn't know why he was excited, but he was just very happy.
Lin Yuanshu pushed open the conference room door, where there were already more than ten people.
Everyone looked at Lin Yuanshu with curiosity. After all, they were all children of working parents and hadn't been recommended by the workshop director to take the exam. Their relationship wasn't that unfamiliar. Only Lin Yuanshu was a little different, and they subconsciously focused their attention on him.
Lin Yuanshu calmly found a seat and ignored the curious gazes. She was a woman who had seen many storms and could not possibly be unable to withstand even this little bit of pressure.
Not far from Lin Yuanshu, a short-haired woman whispered to her companion, "I heard that Director Tang recommended him to take the recruitment exam."
Mao Afen stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "How could this be? What's her relationship with Director Tang?"
Ling Ke showed a helpless expression, "It's nothing. I heard that she and Tang Rong have a good relationship. It seems that the two are friends. I guess Tang Rong asked her mother for help!"
Mao Afen's expression was very complicated. She knew that if Tang Rong took the recruitment exam, she would definitely be selected. In order to increase her chances of being selected, she encouraged Tang Rong to go to the countryside as an educated youth. She finally got her wish, but then another female comrade appeared. It turned out that even if there was no Tang Rong, there were other people!
"Having connections doesn't mean anything; ability is what matters," Mao Afen said through gritted teeth.
Ling Ke raised an eyebrow and said softly, "I thought Tang Rong always considered you a friend, but now it seems she's nothing special. Knowing you're going to take the job recruitment exam, she still wants to create more competition for you. You're better off without a friend like that!"
Mao Afen gave a bitter smile and said dejectedly, "She's probably angry with me because I didn't want to go to the countryside with her as an educated youth!"
Half an hour later, the staff in charge of the recruitment exam came in and told everyone to sit down so they could prepare for the exam.
Just as Lin Yuanshu received the exam paper, a panting man ran over, looking apologetic, and said, "Sorry I'm late."
The staff member glanced at the man and said coldly, "The exam has already started, and no one else can join."
The man took a deep breath and explained with a smile, "I'm a relative of Director Xia, could you make an exception for me?"
The staff member refused without hesitation: "No, even if the factory manager's relatives come, it won't make a difference."
If he makes an exception, he won't get another chance to invigilate like this next time. With so many eyes watching him, he can't afford to be biased or cheat.
The man frowned, not daring to make a scene in the meeting room, and could only jog to find Director Xia.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, the staff member shouted, "Why are you all looking at me? Look at the exam paper!"
Upon hearing this, everyone quickly turned their attention back to the exam paper. Lin Yuanshu quickly glanced through the paper, and to her surprise, it was much simpler than she had imagined. Most of the questions were basic theoretical, such as chemical engineering knowledge and equipment principles.
She didn't know how much time had passed, but she had finished all the questions on the exam paper. Just as she was wondering whether to hand in her paper early, she saw that someone had already handed it in. Since that was the case, why was she still thinking about it?
Lin Yuanshu took the exam paper, walked up to the staff member, handed it to them, and left the meeting room.
As Lin Yuanshu handed in his paper, half of the students became extremely nervous and wrote down their answers at a faster pace. The other half also handed in their papers, which made the other half even more nervous.
After leaving the meeting room, Lin Yuanshu observed the chemical plant from the second-floor balcony. She couldn't leave the chemical plant yet; she had to wait for the exam results to be released in the afternoon before attending the interview.
Ling Ke and Mao Afen whispered to each other for a while before finally walking up to Lin Yuanshu and introducing themselves: "Hello, I'm Ling Ke, and this is Mao Afen. We're both friends of Tang Rong. I heard that Tang Rong went to the countryside as an educated youth. How is she doing now?"
Lin Yuanshu paused for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "That's good."
After all, the fact that the brigade leader was kind to her meant that the villagers were kind to her.
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