Chapter 6: The Template of a Leader

Without looking at the content, Liu Jianwang was very satisfied just from the first impression of the test paper’s appearance. The word count was just right, neat and tidy, with everything that should be there. Very good.

Looking at the content next, the first question was answered very concisely, and it mentioned things like natural gas power generation, all in the most straightforward language, without any exaggeration. Not bad.

As for the second question, maybe it seemed very simple in the old professor’s eyes, but Liu Jianwang did not think so.

A student fresh out of school and someone who had already worked were two completely different concepts, with vastly different knowledge structures. Having just reviewed so many papers, 90% of people only mentioned building power plants. Very few others could think of “transmitting” electricity, and as for “limiting” electricity, Zhang Yifu was the only one who mentioned it.

Seeing this, Liu Jianwang could not help but ask, “Professor Chen, are Zhang Yifu’s parents also in our system?”

“I don’t know about that,” the old professor said, already looking at other papers.

The counselor beside him quickly answered, “Yes, his family is all at the Jijing Power Supply Bureau, quite grassroots.”

“Hmm…” Liu Jianwang thought for a moment. Grassroots work at a power supply bureau was nothing more than maintaining transformers, power supply lines, electric meters, and such things. It couldn’t possibly involve macro-level power management. Yet, Zhang Yifu’s answer was not inferior at all to the professional management cadres at the Ministry. This was truly puzzling. He probably spent a lot of his spare time reading relevant newspapers and literature.

Anyway, Zhang Yifu’s answer to this question was almost perfect.

Liu Jianwang finally glanced at the last question. His originally expectant mood gradually turned into surprise.

His expression slowly changed, growing more astonished as he read. Without realizing it, sweat had seeped through his back.

Coincidentally, a few days ago, the Ministry had just held a briefing with leaders from the Planning Commission. The most authoritative expert in the entire field presented a report on a 20-year plan. The idea for this question actually came from that meeting. Liu Jianwang wanted to compare everyone’s ideas with that expert’s, to see if there were still people with such wildly imaginative thinking. Although the meeting was serious and confidential, after hearing that expert’s report, whether it was the Ministry leaders or the Planning Commission leaders, they all wore the same expression as Professor Chen.

Disdain, disbelief, astonishment, incomprehension.

Including Liu Jianwang himself.

Now, when we have difficulty using electricity ourselves, how could we possibly sell it to Europe? Widespread adoption of million-kilowatt factories? Not even the United States and Japan had achieved that. Solar power generation, Nuclear Power, most people hadn’t even heard these terms.

After reading the last line Zhang Yifu wrote, Liu Jianwang was soaked in cold sweat. He silently put down the paper.

Either Zhang Yifu knew this authoritative expert and had a chance to access this confidential report.

Or, Zhang Yifu possessed the same vision and perspective as that American-educated PhD.

People who work in human resources aren’t necessarily the most outstanding people themselves, but they absolutely can spot the most outstanding people.

“I want to meet him,” Liu Jianwang could no longer hide his urgent feelings.

…

In the dormitory, Zhang Yifu and Hao Shuai were chatting happily when suddenly the student council president, Zheng Daoxing, knocked and came in, notifying Zhang Yifu to return to the lecture hall immediately.

“What’s the matter?” Hao Shuai asked, puzzled. “Could it be that there’s a problem with the graduation thesis…”

Hao Shuai knew perfectly well that 80% of the text in Zhang Yifu’s thesis was “borrowed.”

“Probably not,” Zheng Daoxing smiled. “It seems it’s not about school business. It looks like Director Liu from this morning wants to see you.”

“Ah?” Hao Shuai was shocked. “Could it be… no way?”

Adhering to the principle of keeping a low profile, Zhang Yifu stood up solemnly and patted his brother on the lower bunk. “We’ll talk when I get back.”

“Yifu!” Hao Shuai grabbed Zhang Yifu, looking at him with big, tear-filled eyes. “If you get the chance… ask about this year’s job assignments for me too…”

Before Zhang Yifu could answer, even Zheng Daoxing stepped forward warmly and said, “Yes, Yifu. The Ministry sent people in person this year. Who knows if there will be any new rules. If you hear any news, don’t keep it all to yourself.”

“Heh, certainly,” Zhang Yifu said politely. “Speaking of news, the student council president surely knows more than I do.”

“Not at all, not at all. Let’s head over first, deal with the leader, and we can have a good chat tonight.” Zheng Daoxing naturally had the look of a leader, and his awareness was even higher. His words already showed he was planning for the future.

On the way back to the lecture hall, during his conversation with Zheng Daoxing, Zhang Yifu indeed obtained a lot of information. In this year’s job assignments for undergraduates, there were only 10 spots for the Ministry, and only 5 spots for the North China Bureau. Counting the Power Supply Bureau and Power Plants, the number of spots to work in Jijing was only around 20. The remaining 160-plus people would be sent all over the country.

There was still a significant element of competition here, especially for students like Hao Shuai and Zhang Yifu who came from Jijing. Working in their hometown city should have been a matter of course, but now it had become very difficult.

Liu Jianwang’s summons might be a pretty good opportunity.

Returning to the lecture hall, Zhang Yifu realized he wasn’t the only one called. Zheng Daoxing was also someone Liu Jianwang had taken a liking to. As for the last person, it was actually the solitary Xia Xue.

The three of them sat in a row opposite Liu Jianwang and the counselor, with an indescribable awkwardness.

Liu Jianwang took out the three answer papers and pushed them forward with a smile. “All three of your answers are excellent, completely beyond my imagination. I hope you can look at each other’s papers, learn from each other, and after offering some mutual critique, we’ll talk about what’s next.”

“Heh, I’m really embarrassing myself,” Zheng Daoxing laughed, scratching his head without any restraint. He took the lead in arranging the reading order. “How about this: Xia Xue looks at Yifu’s first, I’ll look at Xia Xue’s, and Yifu looks at mine.”

Both Xia Xue and Zhang Yifu were carefree types and naturally didn’t object. They picked up the assigned papers and began reading. Liu Jianwang observed their reactions from across the table.

For Zhang Yifu, Zheng Daoxing’s answers were just like him: very neat, proper, and meticulous. Every question had no errors or controversial points. His understanding of Power Plants and power generation was also very thorough. His prediction for China’s electricity in 20 years was on the conservative side, believing power generation would be around 1.5 trillion kilowatt-hours, with Hydropower occupying a position comparable to Thermal Power. He did not mention New Energy.

Actually, this was the most common thinking among people in this era. The construction of hydropower plants had always been successful, and proposals for the Three Gorges Project had begun. Using the Yangtze River’s water resources for power generation consumed almost no energy. Many believed this would become the main force in the future.

Zhang Yifu knew they overestimated the generating capacity of hydropower plants and underestimated the country’s electricity demand. In reality, even after the Three Gorges was built and generating at full capacity, the proportion of Hydropower would still be extremely limited. Thermal Power’s position would remain irreplaceable.

Though to modern people, Zheng Daoxing might seem short-sighted, for people living in that era, this absolutely counted as foresight.

Later, everyone exchanged papers, and Zhang Yifu got to see Xia Xue’s answers.