Chapter 2 Mixed Examination

  The next afternoon, Chen Gong called Wang Qian and Huang Haibo from home to report his safety, pretending that he had spent a night in the police station. "Nothing's wrong, what could be wrong with me? I just beat someone up, and after being detained for ten or twenty hours, I'll be out. There are no injuries on my body, all internal injuries. Forget it, if you can bear it, then bear it."

  Wang Qian and Huang Haibo both comforted Chen Gong over the phone, saying that he had suffered a lot and suggested that he go to the hospital for an examination. They also proposed quietly getting rid of Li Gang's secretary.

  Chen Gong hastily stopped him, saying, "The other side has already suffered enough, no need to beat a drowning dog."

  Inside a heavily guarded red wall in Beijing.

  "You've disgraced our Chen family!" a middle-aged man said harshly to Chen Gong.

  "What's wrong with me? I didn't kill anyone or set fires," Chen Gong said to the middle-aged man.

  "You almost couldn't get out of the police station, you haven't even started yet, do you want the police to come to your home and arrest people before you think it's wrong!!" The middle-aged man's voice got louder and louder.

  "It's not my fault, it was that Eyes guy who scolded me first. You blame me for everything, from when I was little to now, all you know is how to lecture me. Have you ever really thought about what I want? Do you really think I like the life I'm living now?" Chen Gong said, then stormed out of the house with his head down.

  The middle-aged man watched as Chen Gong rushed out of the house, shaking his head and saying, "It's your stubborn temper that's to blame. Your grandfather still wants you to take the imperial examination path, but alas, it seems like all you'll get is a taste of bitter defeat."

  Chen Gong ran out and wouldn't be alone, Wang Qian and Huang Haibo would naturally accompany the brothers to eat, drink and have fun.

  Huang Hai Bo drank a cup of wine, as if he remembered something. "I'm telling you, Chen Gong, next month is the national unified recruitment examination for civil servants in the second half of the year. Are you interested? In case I get fired in the future, it's good to have someone take care of me when I become a district head or mayor. The recruitment announcement will probably be posted on the human resources and social security website of each province and city after the holiday, go take a look."

  Because of Chen Gong's low profile when he was in school, no one knew his background, and neither did Wang Kan nor Huang Haibo. When Chen Gong was in school, he also wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, but it seemed like nobody paid attention to him.

  "Hmm, you're saying that every province and city in the country might be recruiting? Chen Gong's interest was piqued, anyway he had nothing better to do."

  "Yes, when the time comes, you can report to this capital city. In the future, we two brothers will also work together to create a great career." Huang Haibo was very excited and saw that Chen Gong seemed to have some intention of taking the exam.

  "Chen Gong, you graduated from Jingdu University, so there shouldn't be any problem." Wang Kan also chimed in, as a brother, he also hoped Chen Gong would have a smooth sailing life.

  Actually, Chen Gong was thinking in his heart that he couldn't even hide in the capital city, and taking an examination in a distant province would be a great opportunity for him to slip away. They thought he wasn't good enough and could only do some trivial work, but he had to prove them wrong. Suddenly, Chen Gong seemed to have gained interest and confidence, and puffed out his chest.

  "Chen Gong, don't underestimate the officialdom, the learning of literature can be as deep as the sea, it's not easier than doing business on your own." Huang Haibo reminded. Yes, in the business world, if you are a large enterprise or have assets worth hundreds of millions, you also need to connect with officials, relying solely on your own efforts may also achieve some success, but in officialdom, even if you rely on your own hands, even if your hands become calloused, it's possible that you will accomplish nothing in your lifetime.

  Chen Gong certainly knew the darkness of officialdom. If Chen Gong hadn't called his father's secretary last night, he might have been detained at the police station for 24 hours and beaten like a sailor. But he always believed that as long as he did things for the common people, he would be promoted and loved by others.

  "I'll go back and study, first take a look at some well-written official documents, explore the rules, the official scene is not bad, it's not difficult for me, everything has its own rules. Chen Gong was very confident, his grades were naturally not a concern, Chen Gong's strongest subject in school was exams, he should be able to get one of the top two or three spots easily."

  For more than a month, Chen Gong's contact with Wang Qian and Huang Haibo decreased, and he buried himself in the question bank for a whole month and a half.

  A villa inside the red wall of Beijing, the capital of China.

  "That scoundrel didn't even say a word to the family, just left a note and ran off!" Chen Gong's father slapped the table, startling his mother.

  Chen Gong's father, Chen Guohao, is a standing committee member and executive vice mayor of the municipal government. His father is also one of the key leaders of the country of Hua Xia. Chen Gong's mother, Li Xiuzhen, is currently the principal of the Second Primary School in Beijing. She is kind-hearted and capable, a typical two-sided hand in work and life.

  "What's wrong with you, why are you always so startled and shouting at home? You're used to scolding people in the government, aren't you?" Li Xiuzhen was very dissatisfied with Chen Guohao.

  "You've already come to see for yourself, your good son, spoiled by you since he was young. Without even discussing with the family, he hasn't gone to work for over a month, and now he's left Beijing." Chen Guohao waved his hand and handed the note in front of Li Xiuqin.

  "Dad and mom, I'm going to the southern province to take the civil service exam. It's not that I want to leave you or this home, it's just that life and work have been so uninteresting lately, if I continue like this, I might really go crazy. Maybe becoming a monk is a good choice. Don't worry about me, with my grades, taking the civil service exam should be no problem, if I don't pass, I'll come back home and let you handle it. Dad and mom, take care of yourselves, also tell grandpa not to work too hard and pay attention to his health... trust me, I will definitely return home in glory."

  Li Xiuzhen's two lines of tears had already wet the paper in her hand. Her son had never left his mother's side since he was a child.

  "Just look at his character, he'll suffer sooner or later. What's there to cry about? He doesn't have any disabilities, he's just crazy and when he runs out of money, he'll come back." With that, Chen Guohao went back to his room alone.

  Chen Gong this time took the exam for the civil servant of Fuhai City Xinqiao District Land and Resources Bureau in southern province, two days in advance, Chen Gong arrived at Xinqiao District, with only some clothes on his body, there was only a bank card, which was his original lucky money and university living expenses saved, totaling 8,000 yuan.

  Nanbu Province is not like Beijing, the capital city. Compared to other provinces, it has relatively poor economic conditions. The provincial capital of Nanbu is Nancheng City, and Fuhai City is the second largest city in Nanbu.

  "Are you also here to take the civil service exam?" A young man about Chen Gong's age looked at the "Administrative Ability Test Question Bank" in Chen Gong's hand, who was registering his ID card at a hotel near the school.

  "Really? You too?" Chen Gong looked at him and saw that he was also only twenty-five or six years old.

  "Yes, I'm Li Fenghua, a native of Xinqiao, applying for the civil service position in Qinghe Town, Xinqiao District. And you?" Li Fenghua extended his right hand.

  "Wow, fellow examinee! I'm Chen Gong from Huaxia Jing City. Fortunately, we're not competitors." As soon as they finished speaking, their hands clasped together tightly, and this handshake laid the foundation for their future of supporting each other in officialdom for decades to come.

  The two then decided to cancel their single rooms and opened a double room together, where they could exchange exam skills.

  Lying in bed, Chen Gong stared at the ceiling, he missed home, it was his first time traveling so far, and alone.

  "Li Fenghua, you're a local of Xin Qiao, why are you also staying at the inn?" Chen Gong looked over at Li Fenghua on the bed beside him.

  "Afraid of being late for the exam, and it's very quiet here, family members are nagging."

  ……

  The two of them chatted until eleven o'clock before falling asleep one after another.

  Through chatting, Chen Gong also has a certain understanding of Li Fenghua.

  Li Fenghua, 25 years old, is a native of Xin Qiao District and works in Qinghe Town. He has been a temporary worker for over a year and refers to this exam as the "mixed coding exam". According to him, if he passes the written test, he will definitely take one of the two places in Qinghe Town.

  Chen Gong thought to himself that the civil service examination shouldn't be so fake, but his confidence in this exam was still shaken a bit.

  The next day, the two went to the examination room together.

  Although it's still early, the small restaurants along the way are booming with business. The noodle shops and small eateries are packed with people, and some examinees are eating steamed buns while intently studying their materials. Some have a serious expression, while others are nervously flipping through their notes, as if they had forgotten to review an important part of the material earlier. As a result, they can't help but cough up phlegm while eating, causing their materials to become dirty and disorganized.

  As they passed through the security checkpoint and went their separate ways in different examination rooms, they were separated by the crowd.

  Chen Gong did a large number of test questions, it can be said that he was familiar with the road, and completed the exam paper ten minutes before the scheduled time. He knew that checking his own questions would not reveal any problems, so he handed in the exam paper and walked out of the examination room. Others were still buried in their work, some with sweat dripping onto the floor, a large puddle; Some people had put one end of the pen in their mouth, feeling like they were about to bite through the pen holder; Two people's gaze seemed not to be on the test paper, but staring at the clock on the wall, not finished yet, still having a lot to do, feeling no time, the more anxious the less able to do.

  The exam room is really chaotic, with some cheating being caught and now arguing with the invigilating teacher, but of course, it's too late; there are many who didn't finish their exams on time, some laughing and telling other examinees, "I still have 40 questions left... oh my god", while some girls have already burst into tears...

  The waiting time was long, nearly two months. Chen Gong, except for occasional contact with Li Fenghua on weekends, spent the rest of his time in Xinqiao District to understand the local conditions and customs. At night, he went to the internet cafe to watch "The Palace" online. Since he decided to enter this circle, he had to get his brain working and see how others did it.

  It's time to "post the list", Chen Gongtou spent a whole night in an internet cafe, from 8:30 am, Chen Gong constantly pressed the F5 key on his keyboard, carefully watching for changes on the Fu Hai City Human Resources Examination website.

  At 9:01 am, you can check your scores.

  Administrative ability test 86 points, thesis 78 points, ranking second in the position to be reported. Suddenly, Chen Gong's big stone in his heart fell down.

  At this time, Li Fenghua's phone call came, "Hello, Chen Gong, I'm fifth, I got into the interview, how about you?"

  "Congratulations, I got the second place in my desired unit, we can go to the interview together again, hoping we both get in." Chen Gong was also happy for Li Fenghua, he already considered Li Fenghua as a buddy.

  The wait was long, but Chen Gong had already read many Q&A dialogues online and was well-prepared.

  An interview in a month.

  Sitting in the waiting area for an interview, "Are you nervous, Chen Gong?" Li Fenghua patted Chen Gong.

  "It's definitely tense, this is a life-and-death moment. And you, I see you're not feeling anything." Chen Gong stared at Li Fenghua, who was extremely calm.

  "I'm nervous about nothing, I'll whisper to you, I've already got the spot, you try your best for the remaining one, and we'll be colleagues." Li Fenghua whispered in Chen Gong's ear.

  Chen Gong smiled lightly, he actually didn't entirely believe that there was no such thing as a predetermined outcome, but he always thought Li Fenghua was exaggerating.

  "Next, Chen Gong."

  "Yes." Chen Gong immediately stood up and walked into the interview room.

  Five examiners sat above him, he was like a defendant on trial. Chen Gong adjusted his mentality and began to answer the three questions of the interview.

  Listening to Chen Gong's non-stop narrative, several examiners nodded slightly. Especially one middle-aged beautiful woman, holding her chin and staring straight at Chen Gong.

  "My answer is complete, thank you to the examiners for patiently listening to my explanation, thank you." Chen Gong slightly bowed and walked out of the examination room.

  "What's going on? What's going on?" Li Hua asked anxiously.

  "I think I performed very well, and I think I might have passed." Chen Gong's face couldn't hide his pleasant mood, and he was very confident in his heart.

  As Li Hua's interview came to an end, the two of them stood at the door of the examination room discussing whether to have hot pot or Chinese food for dinner, and whether to drink baijiu or beer.

  Here, a middle-aged man in a suit came out of the examination room, holding a phone to his ear and saying softly, "Uh-huh, okay, the money has been transferred, 100,000 yuan, no problem, guaranteed to pass." After hanging up the phone, the middle-aged man went back into the examination room.

  Chen Gongmou escorted the middle-aged man into the examination room. Chen Gong knew in his heart that this middle-aged man was the chief examiner who had been sitting in the middle of the examiners' seats earlier, and he had just said "guaranteed to pass". Although Chen Gong had not experienced such a messy thing before, wasn't it common in books and TV shows? He knew that the four words "guaranteed to pass" represented that one of the examinees had already been pre-determined.

  He couldn't understand why the recruitment of civil servants in the country was not based on merit and ability, but had become a transaction of power and money. He didn't want to think about it anymore, and Chen's confidence in this exam was once again hit.

  "Come on, let's go have a drink!"