Chapter 7: Take Your Pick

“What beautiful regular script,” Zhang Yifu thought to himself as soon as he saw it. Xia Xue had written the rigid, disciplined regular script with a soft and peaceful feel. Just looking at the characters made one feel comfortable.

Looking at the answers, they were extremely concise to the point of being excessive. Every concept was only mentioned briefly, without a single extra word of explanation. Accordingly, Xia Xue answered every question very completely. Just the theoretical part of the first question on thermal power plants mentioned over ten classifications of thermal power plants, even mentioning waste-to-energy plants. In terms of knowledge, facing Xia Xue of this era, even Zhang Yifu felt inferior without using a computer.

Regarding China’s electric power in twenty years, Xia Xue’s answer was also just a few sets of data, with no explanation at all. Unfortunately, her estimates were much more pessimistic than Zheng Daoxing’s, not even breaking one trillion kilowatt-hours. The industrial structure and the proportion of power generation by various methods were almost unchanged from the present.

After the three of them finished reading each other’s papers, Zheng Daoxing first let out a long sigh and praised, “This broadened my horizons. Both Xia Xue’s theoretical foundation and Yifu’s thinking ability have benefited me greatly.”

Liu Jianwang smiled and said, “So, were there any flaws?”

“I wouldn’t dare call them flaws. If I were to nitpick, there were indeed a few points that made me feel uncomfortable reading them.” Zheng Daoxing didn’t hide anything and said straightforwardly, “Yifu’s answers feel like they hold something back; he could have answered more comprehensively. Xia Xue, on the other hand, feels… like a machine answering questions, without much subjective expression.”

“Hits the nail on the head.” Liu Jianwang said appreciatively to the counselor beside him. “Professor Chen’s recommendation certainly wasn’t wrong.”

“Hehe.” The counselor also laughed. “In the college’s work, Xiao Zheng has been running around helping with management. Director Liu, you can rest assured about his capabilities.”

“You flatter me…” Zheng Daoxing instead felt somewhat embarrassed. “Let me also criticize myself. Compared to Xia Xue and Yifu, my answers are too rigid and lack anything that really catches the eye.”

Liu Jianwang nodded again, obviously very satisfied with Zheng Daoxing’s performance. For a student, he was already very mature, with solid expertise—good material.

Meanwhile, the counselor turned to Xia Xue. “Xia Xue, you speak too.”

Xia Xue immediately said bluntly, “Zheng Daoxing answered very well. Zhang Yifu answered very poorly.”

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Zhang Yifu even scoffed, not knowing how to comment.

“Little Xia really doesn’t spare anyone’s feelings.” After teasing, Liu Jianwang asked curiously, “Why do you say that?”

“Zhang Yifu’s way of answering questions is like an amateur, especially the third question. It’s all blind fantasy and optimism. He underestimates the difficulty of the work too much.”

“Hmm… Professor Chen actually mentioned this point too.” Liu Jianwang pursed his lips and said awkwardly, “But I said when I gave out the questions to let everyone speak their minds freely. As a subjective question, how to express oneself is personal freedom.”

Xia Xue nodded along and didn’t say anything more.

Zheng Daoxing had originally brought a very good atmosphere, but Xia Xue’s disruption was like a cold wind suddenly blowing through a summer noon, chilling everyone.

“Yifu, you speak too.” The counselor waved at Zhang Yifu. He obviously thought Zhang Yifu’s answers this time were purely lucky, matching Director Liu’s personality, and didn’t expect this “slack” guy to say anything substantial.

Zhang Yifu said casually, “My opinion is similar to Xia Xue’s. Daoxing answered very well. Xia Xue answered very poorly.”

“…”

Everyone stared at Zhang Yifu, waiting for his grand speech.

Zhang Yifu didn’t hold back either. He glanced at Xia Xue. “I acknowledge her theoretical depth, but Director Liu made it very clear. This assessment isn’t testing theory; it’s about understanding us. Understanding us naturally means considering which work units and positions suit us based on our answers. And Xia Xue’s answers, I’m afraid only industry experts could understand. In future work, we will deal with various colleagues. Not everyone will have such deep professional knowledge. It’s more efficient to discuss issues in a simple and clear way. On the other hand, I think Xia Xue’s predictions are too pessimistic. The data reports from China’s Power System in recent years have already clearly stated the future trends. One trillion kilowatt-hours is really underestimating ourselves.”

Xia Xue wasn’t someone to be trifled with either. Although her facial expression didn’t change, she immediately retorted, “If I’m underestimating myself, then your prediction of five trillion kilowatt-hours isn’t overestimating yourself?”

Zhang Yifu tapped the table forcefully. “It’s inference based on facts. You must have seen the data from recent years too. This is just simple mathematical calculation.”

“You mean, going from 1 to 2 has the same meaning and difficulty as going from 100 to 200?”

“Adapt to local conditions. In the current environment, going from 100 to 200 isn’t much harder than going from 1 to 2.”

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“Objective analysis. Subjective judgment.”

“Then I respect your subjective judgment, and please respect mine.”

“I’ve always respected you. I just can’t agree with you.”

The other three watched these two going at each other without giving an inch, feeling their own thoughts couldn’t keep up. The counselor finally couldn’t hold back. “You two, if you have disagreements, discuss them privately. Be more serious.”

Only then did the two stop. They immediately returned to expressions as if nothing had happened.

“Hehe, having different opinions and actively discussing is still very good.” Liu Jianwang laughed awkwardly. “After talking with the three of you, I have a general understanding. Now let’s talk about the assignment…”

The three of them all tensed up, putting aside their previous grudges, and listened with bated breath.

“This time, the Ministry plans to select a group of graduates for special training, to build a talent foundation for the challenging tasks in the next five years. The focus is on two aspects: Power Plant construction and grid construction. All three of you have left a deep impression on me…”

As Liu Jianwang spoke, he picked up the three papers. “Both Xiao Zheng and Little Xia indicated interest in the Ministry of Electric Power. Let me ask first, which unit within the Ministry are you more interested in?”

“Ah… this, I’ll follow the Leader’s arrangement.” Zheng Daoxing was overjoyed in his heart. With those words, plus his family’s efforts and his relationship with the Professor, being assigned to the Ministry was almost a sure thing. As for which specific department, it didn’t really matter.

Xia Xue, however, remained straightforward. “I want to go to the Administrative Office for System Reform.”

“Oh?” Liu Jianwang was taken aback. That office was purely a strategic department, with only three to five people. It had no power and little to do. If Xia Xue hadn’t mentioned it, he probably wouldn’t have even remembered such a place existed.