Chapter 36 : The competent ones take over

Jiang Yu felt that she had performed quite steadily. She finished her article quickly, put down her pen, and submitted her paper.

Surprisingly, although she was the last to enter, she was the first to hand in her exam.

Duan Yuzhen glanced at her figure and frowned, quickly submitting her own paper afterward.

She turned and went to find the woman who had handed out the admission tickets.

“Li Ling, what’s going on?”

Li Ling looked a bit guilty and avoided her gaze.

“I just found out that Jiang Yu was introduced by Editor Huang. If Editor Huang knows I tossed her registration form, I’m finished! I promised to help you, but I never said I’d risk my own neck to do it.”

Duan Yuzhen was so frustrated she stamped her foot, “What should I do? If I get exposed during the interview, what will happen?”

Thinking about how she had taken five yuan from her, Li Ling quickly reassured her, “Don’t worry, no one will find out you used her registration form. I filled out a new one for her with random information, a lot of it missing. I’ll check who scored highest in the written test and switch your papers.”

Duan Yuzhen finally felt a bit relieved. “Thanks for that, I’ll treat you to a meal later.”

When she submitted her registration form, she happened to see Jiang Yu’s form and noticed that Jiang Yu had previously submitted articles to the newspaper under a pen name.

She used to love reading magazines, and her family still kept several at home.

She was very familiar with the pen name “Xiao Jiang,” as it had appeared in many magazines where Jiang Yu’s articles were published.

On a whim, Duan Yuzhen bribed Li Ling to replace Jiang Yu’s registration form.

Li Ling figured that since Duan Yuzhen was the niece of the chief editor, perhaps this recruitment spot was meant for her anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to win her favor.

Who knew it would almost backfire?

Now anxious, Duan Yuzhen awaited the interview.

Neither her written nor interview process involved her uncle.

In fact, her uncle had already said he would only provide her with a registration opportunity and wouldn’t give her any special treatment, which frustrated her.

When it was time for the interview, she drew a number before Jiang Yu.

Even before entering, she felt her hands and feet go cold, her whole body stiff.

Once inside, she stumbled through her responses, not understanding anything.

When she came out, she looked as wilted as the others.

Duan Yuzhen felt certain she had no hope, as the interview score counted for sixty percent.

When it was Jiang Yu’s turn to enter, she was obviously nervous but appeared relatively calm on the surface.

The interview leader glanced at her registration form and asked, “Jiang Yu?”

“Yes, I am Jiang Yu.”

“Our newspaper’s current profit model is rather simple. Do you have any ideas for improving our profitability?”

This question strayed from the writing module and wasn’t in Jiang Yu’s area of expertise.

She bit her lip and thought carefully.

The leader nodded, “Alright, go on…”

“I think…” Jiang Yu began, “we could add an advertising space in the newspaper.”

The leader narrowed his eyes, looking at her intently.

“What do you mean by advertising space? Elaborate.”

Jiang Yu explained, “We could allocate a section for ads from state-owned enterprises or other legitimate organizations to promote their products, raising product awareness.”

For example, the state cotton mill hadn’t been doing well in recent years.

A factory’s performance is not only related to product quality but could also be due to a lack of exposure.

If people are unaware of your existence, how can you expect them to approach for collaboration?

The leader showed appreciation, “Good, the interview is over, you can go back now.”

Jiang Yu undoubtedly earned a high score on her interview, and she was the only candidate to achieve that.

The leader was Zhang Jiadong, the director of the newspaper’s administrative office, who was only responsible for personnel and logistics.

After the interviews, he still had to discuss with a few editors and the chief editor.

“The highest interview score was Jiang Yu, and the highest written test score was Duan Yuzhen.”

Hearing Duan Yuzhen’s name, everyone looked toward the chief editor.

The chief editor inquired, “Let’s discuss Jiang Yu’s interview first.”

The director recounted Jiang Yu’s ideas to the chief editor.

The chief editor nodded, “She indeed has some interesting thoughts. Where’s her written test paper?”

A nearby editor passed it over, shaking his head repeatedly.

“How can someone who doesn’t even care about current events be qualified for our newspaper? She wrote about Long March One, but it was incoherent and clueless, this isn’t journalism, it’s nonsense!”

The chief editor frowned after reviewing it.

“Indeed not acceptable.”

Then, the editor took the opportunity to pass Duan Yuzhen’s paper, trying to ingratiate himself.

“Comrade Duan Yuzhen is different. Her article is concise and clear, with a well-defined theme. It’s evident she frequently follows current events. I looked at her registration form; she even has her own pen name, Xiao Jiang, and has submitted several good articles to our newspaper, receiving great feedback.”

The chief editor hadn’t expected his own niece to have such talent; it brought him honor, and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

“Let’s discuss and choose between Jiang Yu and Duan Yuzhen.”

Unsurprisingly, Duan Yuzhen received the most votes.

Initially, the chief editor had little hope for Duan Yuzhen, but her performance exceeded expectations.

“Alright, let’s go with Duan Yuzhen. We’ll notify her to come to work.”

As the meeting concluded, everyone scattered.

Zhang Jiadong felt a bit regretful, he genuinely believed Jiang Yu was talented.

Unfortunately, the recruitment process was a combination of written and interview assessments.

Stepping out of the meeting room, he spotted Huang Ying.

“Editor Huang, you’re back.”

Huang Ying nodded, “About today’s recruitment exam…”

“Hey, I was just about to tell you, we decided on Duan Yuzhen, the chief editor’s niece. But it’s not just because of that relationship, she genuinely has good writing skills and past achievements, and everyone is quite satisfied.”

Huang Ying felt a bit disappointed but didn’t dwell on it.

“It’s alright, it’s only natural that the capable ones get the positions.”

Zhang Jiadong chuckled, “Exactly.”

However, he didn’t have a good impression of Duan Yuzhen, especially recalling how she stammered during the interview, unable to speak smoothly.

But what could he do? After all, her writing was good.

Even with the bad news, Huang Ying still had Xie Fei fei relay it to her.

Xie Fei fei comforted her, “Don’t be too disappointed after all, she has an uncle.”

Jiang Yu forced a smile, “I can’t say that, maybe she’s genuinely strong. There’s always someone better out there, I don’t think I’m so exceptional that I can crush everyone.”

Still, she felt quite disappointed about such a great opportunity slipping away.

“It’s okay, if I didn’t pass, I’ll keep trying next time.”

Xie Feifei nodded, “That’s the spirit! I’ll have my parents keep an eye out for you. There will be other chances, and we’ll definitely sign you up again. Don’t give up on submitting stories, my mom said the last one you wrote got a good response and the payment was decent.”

The only difference was that writing wasn’t a formal job, so it couldn’t help Jiang Yu stay in the city.