Chapter 2: Reference and Selection

Every time during class, this girl would prop her left cheek with one arm, always looking down at the book on her lap. Her other hand occasionally turned the pages, and her long hair always covered half her face, making it impossible to tell if she was dozing off or reading.

Unfortunately, she had a proud and aloof personality, didn’t like interacting with people, and was busy preparing to study abroad.

Unlike other classmates, there probably wouldn’t be many chances to see her again. With the feeling of “one less look each time,” Zhang Yifu pulled Hao Shuai into this row of seats and sat down right next to the girl. The girl showed no particular expression and just kept reading.

Zhang Yifu placed his notebook on the desk. Without any of the restraint typical of people from this era, he acted with the familiarity of a 21st-century young person and casually joked, “Got your visa sorted?”

Both the girl and Hao Shuai beside her were stunned for a moment.

The girl tilted her head slightly, glanced at Zhang Yifu, and said with annoyance, “If my visa was done, why would I still be here?”

Zhang Yifu felt helpless. In this time period, his younger self had held back for so long, not daring to speak to the girl. And now, he had messed up the first conversation.

“Here to make fun of me on purpose?” The girl snorted a laugh, turned her head back, and continued looking down at her book. “But it doesn’t matter. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. Also, you should tuck your T-shirt into your pants. Dressing so sloppily won’t leave a good impression. You might as well wear jeans and take a gamble.”

The girl ignored everything else and returned to her tilted-head reading posture. This gave Zhang Yifu a sense of chilliness and deep resentment.

“Hey…” Hao Shuai gently tugged Zhang Yifu’s sleeve at this point and asked in a trembling voice, “Are you close with Xia Xue?”

“Just making casual conversation. Didn’t expect her to be so tough to deal with.” Zhang Yifu shook his head helplessly. Coming to this era, he really needed to adjust his way of interacting with people and his conversation style.

“Better not provoke her… she’s too proud.” Hao Shuai shook his head and said no more.

Just then, the main door pushed open. Outside, a line of men from old, middle-aged, and young generations exchanged several rounds of “after you” gestures. After some polite back-and-forth, a middle-aged man with thick hair finally led the way in. They sat side by side in front of the lectern.

The previously playful atmosphere vanished instantly. The entire room held its breath, looking at this man with serious and spirited eyes. He must be the leader from the Ministry, no doubt about it.

After they were seated, the young counselor on the left was the first to pull over the old-fashioned microphone and introduced, “Everyone, this is Division Chief Liu Jianwang from the Third Cadre Division of the Ministry of Electric Power Industry. He has come personally to our university to explain the assignment matters. Let’s all give him a warm round of applause.”

Although the graduating students present were not many, their applause was no less impressive—unified and resounding, carrying a solid weight that surpassed the sparse applause common twenty years later.

After the applause, the microphone was pushed to the department chair on the other side. The old professor scanned the rows of spirited young eyes and smiled.

“Students, the time to fill out assignment preferences is almost here. This is undoubtedly very important for each of you personally, but it is even more important for our entire power industry. For every university student the nation trains, it invests enormous resources and effort. What you carry is not just your own future, but also the future and hope of our motherland. Positions have no inherent superiority or inferiority; organizations are not judged by their size. I only hope everyone can apply their talents fully, devoting their professional knowledge to the posts where they are most needed. That is how you fulfill your responsibility. The university is proud of you!”

As the old professor’s words ended, even more enthusiastic applause erupted. Inspired by the department chair’s speech, the eyes of the students who had studied hard for four years shone with a different kind of passion.

However, Zhang Yifu clearly heard a snort of disdain coming from his left.

Zhang Yifu swallowed hard and whispered to Xia Xue, “Is something wrong?”

“He’s worried people will be dissatisfied with the assignment results, so he’s trying to soothe them in advance.” Xia Xue tilted her chin in Professor Chen’s direction, then shook her head and went back to her book. “Anyway, you wouldn’t understand. I said too much.”

So severe… Zhang Yifu shuddered again. This cynical attitude would be intense even in the 21st century. As a university student of this era, Xia Xue’s awareness was way ahead of its time.

After the two university representatives spoke, it was finally time for the real main character.

Director Liu adjusted the microphone, then smiled as he looked at all the graduates and began his speech.

“Students, seeing you all fills me with pride. Thinking that another 187 elites will be joining our power system makes me very excited. Here, please allow me to briefly introduce the entire industry. Just as the professor said, positions have no inherent superiority or inferiority; organizations are not judged by their size. You must choose the direction that suits you to apply your talents fully and shine with your own light and heat.”

“The national Power System is uniformly managed by the Ministry of Electric Power Industry. Under it are the six major regional bureaus: North China, East China, Central China, South China, Northwest, and Northeast China. They are responsible for managing the regional power grids and large power plants. The provincial and municipal Electric Power Bureaus are mainly responsible for managing the power plants and Power Supply Bureaus within their jurisdictions.”

“With the nation’s economy rapidly taking off, the secondary and tertiary industries developing unprecedentedly, and residential electricity consumption soaring, there are huge hidden gaps in both power generation and transmission. Our power system must worry about the nation’s worries before power shortages appear and fill these gaps. Only then will we not hold back the nation’s development.”

“In this process, our demand for talent is enormous. You students seated here will be the mainstay of the future development of the power system. Whether you go to government organs, Power Supply Bureaus, or Power Plants, you will all be the core strength of our country’s power industry. In summary, I hope everyone can fill out your assignment preferences based on your major and personal circumstances. Also, before the assignment, I hope everyone can briefly answer a few questions for our reference and selection.”

Everything Director Liu said earlier was normal formal speech. But when the words “reference” and “selection” appeared, everything suddenly became discordant.

In all the previous assignments, there had never been this so-called “selection.” Wanting to go to large government organs, to the capital Jijing, to comfortable places—it depended more on connections with the university and family background. Why was there a selection this time?

“Professor Chen.” Liu Jianwang smiled at the department chair beside him. “Would it be convenient to give everyone a piece of paper?”

“No need.” The old professor smiled and pointed at the graduates below. “Everyone brought their notebooks.”

“Alright.” Liu Jianwang nodded and smiled at the audience. “Then please everyone tear out a page. Write your name, student number, preferred city, and preferred unit. I will then ask a few simple questions to hear everyone’s thoughts.”

After a brief moment of stunned silence, everyone, without overthinking, started tearing out a page and filling it in.

“So sudden… why are they doing this this year?” Hao Shuai wiped his sweat and began carefully cutting a perfectly straight edge on the paper. He was an extremely meticulous person. For him, maybe even how neatly the paper was torn was part of the assessment criteria.

At this moment, Zhang Yifu was also anxious. Having graduated so many years ago, he wasn’t sure how much of the unused professional knowledge he still remembered. If there were a few formulas or diagram questions, even he, an old electrician, would be in trouble. He turned his head and noticed the girl on his left was even more nervous than him… because she hadn’t even brought a notebook.

“Ah, who told me I’m a nice guy.” Zhang Yifu casually snatched the paper that Hao Shuai had just meticulously and perfectly trimmed, and quietly pushed it over to Xia Xue.

“…” Xia Xue was stunned. She looked at Zhang Yifu, wanted to refuse but couldn’t, so she accepted awkwardly and forced out the words, “Thank you…”

“In exchange…” Zhang Yifu muttered with a mischievous grin, “let me copy from you later…”

This person who read books all day, although sharp-tongued, probably had no problem reciting formulas or drawing circuit diagrams. She seemed much more reliable than Hao Shuai.

“Huh?” Xia Xue was shocked and immediately tried to push the paper back. “How can you be like this?”

Only then did Zhang Yifu remember. In the early 90s, people were still very proper. Cheating on exams was considered almost as bad as a crime, unlike later when cheat sheets flew everywhere. Seeing the look Xia Xue gave him—as if he were a rapist—Zhang Yifu had to wave his hand. “Just kidding. I was just doing a good deed casually, no return needed.”

“There couldn’t possibly be a return anyway, it’s just a piece of paper.” Only then did Xia Xue dare to accept the paper and start filling it out, head lowered.

By now, Hao Shuai had finally meticulously torn out a second piece of paper. He smiled, wiped his sweat contentedly. When it came to exams, you couldn’t lose at the starting line.

“Thanks.” Zhang Yifu unhesitatingly snatched it away again. Hao Shuai could only weep as he trimmed a third piece.

[Name: Zhang Yifu]

[Student Number: A86010233]

[Major: Power System and automation]

[Preference: Comply with organizational assignment]

Zhang Yifu put down his pen, somewhat satisfied with his own handwriting.

Professionally speaking, his major, which leaned towards the macro and theoretical, could land him anywhere. Personally, going to the Ministry or the capital was basically impossible. As someone who had experienced the 21st century in China, he knew these indirect assessments were nonsense; it still came down to background.

Everyone wanted to go to the capital Jijing. The units there were nothing more than the Ministry of Electric Power Industry, the North China Electricity Management Bureau, and the Jijing Power Supply Bureau, accounting for only a small portion of the assignments. The power industry circle was still quite small at this time, with many following in their fathers’ footsteps. The waters during assignment were surely deep.

After everyone had filled out their forms, Director Liu finally asked the first question.

“The question is simple, everyone, don’t feel pressured. First, I hope everyone can briefly describe the power generation steps and principles of a Thermal Power Plant. Five minutes, no need to go into excessive detail.”

The eyes of everyone in the room went blank once more.

This question was indeed simple. It was as simple as asking a mechanical engineering student about car engine principles—the most basic thing in the profession. But if you thought about it the other way, how many mechanical engineering students could clearly describe engine principles? Zhang Yifu wasn’t sure about this era, but when he graduated, plenty of people who had spent four years playing around couldn’t answer this question.

Viewed this way, the purpose of this question was simple: to see if you had studied or slacked off for four years. Because the question was very conceptual, it also tested one’s language expression ability and solid professional foundation.

If Zhang Yifu had just graduated, answering this question would have been difficult. But for him now, he could recite it backwards in his sleep. As a man who had worked shifts in a thermal power plant for four years, how could he not know the power generation steps!

Almost as a provocation, Xia Xue on his left shot Zhang Yifu a glance, a mischievous smile on her lips. Then she wielded her pen like flying, scribbling her answer with a clicking sound, her annoying aura overflowing.

She must have seen him not lifting his pen for so long and was mocking him for being troubled! She even had to mock this? Really had no bottom line, no wonder her relationships were so poor.