After interviewing someone that seemed competent as well as confident, the next person to enter the room was a young man who seemed about seventeen or eighteen years old.
As he walked in the room, I took note of his appearance. His hair was pulled into a bun, and his eyes were a dark brown. In all honesty, if it weren't for his blank expression, I would think that he was much younger.
Looking down at the report, I saw his name and background.
"Ling Yu, is it? It says here that your parents are farmers and own a plot of farm land. Is that correct?" I asked the young man.
"Yes, City Lord, that is correct," the boy replied tersely.
"Any particular reason you decided to take these exams instead of inheriting your family's farmland?" Cao Peng picked up my line of questioning with ease.
Of course some primary information was already gathered on all the examinees that scored high enough.
'Ling Yu, seventeen years old. Has taken the Imperial Examination twice and failed both times. Has few acquaintances and, according to rumors gathered, has a rough relationship with his parents.'
I pondered over the report in my hand while waiting for him to respond.
"I wish to put my talents to better use rather than be a simple farmer." The young man's face remained placid and unreadable.
'So we can potentially add disdain for common labor to the list.'
Honestly, the fact that this character trait is one of the least offensive that I have witnessed today says a lot.
"Well then, what position are you applying for, Ling Yu?" I asked him. Looking at his scores, I could see that he scored mediocrely on his communication exam but excelled at his intrigue scores.
"City Lord, I would like to apply for the steward position." He responded. I noticed that when saying this, he shifted in place and his breathing deepened unconsciously.
'Discomfort? Or is it just his nerves?' I pondered while I looked at his scores. Noticing the mathematics score, I started to understand why he was potentially nervous. While better than his communication grades, they were only average among the applicants who met the cutoff.
As I opened my mouth, the silent Meng Mei decided to ask her own question.
"I advise you to stop dreaming while awake." Her voice sounded out with a familiar, dismissive tone.
As I looked over, I noticed that she had set the paper down, her arms were crossed, and her cold eyes were locked on him as if she were looking at a particularly dull child.
"I do not know what you mean by that, Lady Meng." Seemingly prepared for this, his face did not change much. But I noticed his breathing halted for a moment too long to be natural.
Instead of interjecting, I just continued to watch this young man. I demand competence and maturity from my employees, and the last thing I need is to hire a teenager for such an important job if he is going to lose his temper when insulted. Been there, done that.
"I mean that with these scores, what would possess you to think that you should be handling anyone's money, let alone ours? To be blunt, have some awareness of your status." She finished without her expression changing.
For the first time I noticed a crack in his expression. It was just a twitch of an eyebrow, but that told a lot.
'Judging by these scores, it is likely that math has always been his weak point in the past exams. '
After a moment of awkward silence I decided to cut in. I knew that in his position and his age, I wouldn't be nearly as composed as he was.
"Putting aside the position you are applying for, I noticed that you did well on the intrigue portion of the exam. You even put in a written response to one of the questions relating to taking out a rival. Could you explain your thought process?" I asked him.
Mask slipping back on, he pondered for a moment before replying. "If you are referring to the assassination question, then I wrote that the proposed solution was too overt and could lead to potential blowbacks and public scrutiny." He took a moment to look at our faces. Seeing that none of us interjected, he continued.
"I remembered that my family's farm once stored potatoes over the summer, and sprouts began to grow on them. Not knowing any better, I cooked them for our cattle, and after eating them, they became extremely ill. My mother said if I had eaten them, I could have died. In my answer I suggested replacing the hypothetical rival's food stock with these poisonous potatoes or perhaps sending them as a gift." He finished while looking a tad embarrassed by his story.
I nodded my head and for a second marveled at the thinking. Sure, the thought process was still a bit immature, but with further planning it could be a legitimate way to take someone out.
I made a mark on my paper and then looked at Cao Peng. Seeing my actions, he mirrored my actions and marked his own sheet. I then looked at Meng Mei, and when she saw me looking at her, she rolled her eyes but did the same.
{Ten Minutes Later}
The last one to be interviewed was an old man aged in about their mid-sixties. He had long grey hair that swept past his shoulders with an equally long beard to match. However, something about this man stood out. Despite never meeting this man in my life, he looked familiar.
"Good evening, Lord Meng, Lady Meng, Assistant Pe—" He spoke in a polite tone before he was interrupted.
"AHHH! You swindler Fu Yun! You have some audacity to show up here!" Cao Peng shouted from his seat. However, in contrast to his shouting, his eyes were bright, as if he were seeing an old friend.
"Who are you calling a swindler, Assistant Peng? I am not but a humble merchant attempting to improve my lot in life." He responded in a friendly tone, not shaken one bit from being called out.
"Cao Peng, you know this man?" I asked, confused. This is honestly the first time in my memory that I had seen Cao Peng act this unrestrained.
"Lord Meng, you remember the debtors of Skyfall Bank, correct?" Cao Peng asked. I nodded while thinking back to the monthly report.
"Well, this man in front of you is the one with the highest debt." He finished speaking.
Hearing that I was shocked. I then quickly began thinking about how to collect the debt. Taking a look at the guards around the room, a plan began to form.
"My Lord, my Lady, please calm down and let me continue." Fu Yun spoke at a steady pace. Looking to my side, I notice that Meng Mei was staring at the man with animosity as if he personally had stolen her money.
The man went on a spiel about balancing debts, told stories about bad investments, and mentioned motivational words about conquering adversities. All this was said with a smile on his face and animated hand gestures.
It was when his explanation finished that I realized why the man seemed so familiar. This man was a salesman through and through. I felt a grin appear on my face after taking in his theatrics and sales tactics. Game recognizes game.
"So basically you want to apply for the position as councilor, and in return seventy percent of your salary will be used to repay your loans. Is that correct?" I spoke while cutting through all his stories and sales tactics.
If he noticed my knowing smile, he did not mention it. The man simply enthusiastically nodded. Taking a look at his scores that were reasonably high in all aspects, I took a look at my fellow judges. Seeing no complaints, I nodded.
"Thanks for interviewing and taking the time to apply. If selected, you will be contacted within the week." I replied with a familiar phrase that I had spoken many times today and even more times in my past life.
After he made his way out of the room, I let out a sigh and took a sip of the tea that Maid Shi made for the three of us.
"I am so exhausted. But at least we are finally done." I spoke aloud, allowing the tea to do its job of keeping me sane.
"True, next time we do hiring like this, perhaps it would be wise to have someone else do it." Cao Peng agreed while rubbing his temples.
"I want the position of steward." A cold voice completely cut through the small talk and brought a chill to the room.
I turned towards Meng Mei in surprise. Why would she want to work when she doesn't have to? Thinking about it more, this was probably her main motivation for coming today.
"We already have several people applying for the position," I replied, waiting for her to elaborate on her purpose.
She met my gaze without concern.
"And every single one of them was incompetent and unfit for the position." She replied calmly.
"And you are?"
The words left my mouth before I could help them. I got the impression that the air momentarily became heavy when the words left my mouth. But I did not back down. Perhaps it was rude, but I was never one to beat around the bush.
I am not one who appreciates having useless teammates. If she wanted the position, I needed more than words.
"Yes." Meng Mei replied with an intense gaze daring me to refute her. I paid it no mind.
"Then prove it." After speaking, I called over Maid Shi, who was standing in a corner pretending not to look, and gave her some instructions.
In less than three minutes a fresh stack of exam questions was in front of Meng Mei. She looked at it and then me.
I simply stared back and waited. There was moment of tension that grew as we locked eyes
Eventually she picked up the pen provided, and the sound of a pen scratching across paper was the only sound left in the room.
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How is it going, guys? This was originally going to be an extension of the last chapter, but it got a bit too long, so I made it its own chapter.
We are reaching near the end of the exam arc, and things will start picking up speed.
If you see any errors or something doesn't sound right, let me know. It's one of my goals to give you guys the best reading experience possible.
Let me know what you liked! Let me know what you hated!
'll see you all next time. Stay tuned!