Power and Wealth

Chapter 14

Power and Wealth

Chapter 14 – Pass!

Two days later. Morning.

Qu Yunxuan’s apartment living room.

Dong Xuebing and his mother had wanted to ask Aunt Xuanalong to buy groceries in the southern part of the city. The meat andvegetables there were cheaper. But when they entered her apartment, they sawXiao Dong and his mother, Mrs. Xu, sitting in the living room chatting withAunt Xuan. Dong Xuebing’s mother pulled a chair over and join in theirconversations. The Dong and Xu families were not on good terms, especially DongXuebing and Xiao Dong. But Beijing people had lots of pride and tried to benice to each other. Even when they dislike each other, they will still chat fora while whenever they met.

“Xiao Ping, I heard that your son Xiao Bing had beenrevising these few days.”

“That’s right. The National Civil Servant exams are in 6 months. What about your Xiao Dong?”

“He is also doing his revision. If the questions are not toodifficult, he should be able to pass.”

“Sighed... You do not need to worry about your son, unlike me.My Xuebing had never been good with his studies since young.”

Dong Xuebing sat there quietly drinking a glass of cokegiven to him by Aunt Xuan. He did not take part in their conversations. He knewthat his chances of passing the interview wereslim. The main interviewer had somethingagainst him, and most likely he will failthe interview. Dong Xuebing had been feeling down and had been quiet the pasttwo days.

“Drink slowly.” Qu Yunxuan took a tissue paper and helpedDong Xuebing’s mouth. What are you thinking?”

Xiao Dong saw the way Qu Yunxuan wipe Dong Xuebing’s mouth.He glared at Dong Xuebing.

Dong Xuebing smiled: “I am thinking about the exams.”

Qu Yunxuan sighed. “Don’t give yourself too much pressure. Iam worried about you.”

Mrs. Xu said with an air of superiority: “That’s right. Ihad said previously. The chances of fresh graduates passing the Civil Servanttest is too low. You should get a job and have a few years of workingexperiences first. After 2 to 3 years, you can try again for the nationalexams. Treat this few years as training. One of my colleague’s kid had taken the National Exams for a few years after he graduated but had not passed.He had wasted his time.”

Qu Yunxuan does not like the way she speaks. “You can’t beso sure.”

Mrs. Xu nodded. “Ifyou are lucky, you might pass the written test after a few tries.”

Qu Yunxuan rubbed Dong Xuebing’s head and said: “Our XiaoBing is very smart. He should be able topass the next National Exams.”

Xiao Dong took his eyes away from Qu Yunxuan and looked atDong Xuebing. After one month, he had regained his confidence. “My written testresults are out. I got 85 marks for the administrative aptitude test. I heardthat very few candidates got more than 90 marks for this year. How much did youget?” 85 marks for AAT? That means Xiao Dong did not score any marks for the essay test. If not, he would havemet the minimum required marks of 100 to qualify for the Custom’s interview.

Dong Xuebing replied without even looking at him. “Iforgot.”

Xiao Dong sneered. “Your results are not good? Do you needme to give you some tuitions?”

“No need. I can do my own revisions.” Dong Xuebing was notinterested.

Maybe it was because Qu Yunxuan was around and Xiao Dong tried to leave a good impression:“Ok. You can always ask me if you have difficulties answering any questions.”

Mrs. Xu smiled happily and patted Xiao Dong on his back: “Myson is very good in administrativeaptitude test. I asked all the neighbors around here who’s kids had taken part in this test. None of them hadscored more than 80 marks. The best was only 65 marks. But my Xiao Dong had notdone very well for his essay questions. At least he was better than a lot ofpeople. Many of them did not even get 15 marks.”

Dong Xuebing’s mother sighed: “Your son will definitely beas successful as Section Chief Xu in the future.”

Mrs. Xu laughed proudly: “Who knows what will happen in thefuture?”

Ringringring...... Dong Xuebing’s phone rang. He took it outfrom his pocket and answered: “Hello?”

“Hi, are you Dong Xuebing?” It was a man’s voice. From his voice, Dong Xuebing could not tell his age. Hemight be in his 40s, 50s and even 60s.

“I am. May I know who’s calling?”

“I am calling from West District’s State Security Branch Bureau,Political Section. The City Bureau had sent the results of your application inthe morning. I am calling to notify you. You are required to report to WestDistrict’s State Security Branch Bureau on next Monday, 9 am. You can take downthe address. Western district, Zixin Road East, south of the 50 meters mark.You will see a building with no signages. Because we are a special unit, wewill not be issuing any written notification to you. You only need to bringyour identification card, Household Register, the original and a photocopy ofyour school’s certificate.”

Dong Xuebing was in a daze. “Ah? You are saying...... saying......”

The man on the phone said in a firm tone: “You have passedthe Civil Servant test and interview. We are short on manpower. This is why weneed you to report earlier than other departments. If you have any other reasonthat prevents you from reporting latestby next Friday, we might cancel your application. Do take note.”

Dong Xuebing anxiously said: “No, no. I have no problems. Iwill surely be there on Monday.”

“Good.” The sound of paper rustling could be heard over thephone. “The section you are being posted to is General Office. You will knowthe detail when you report on Monday.” State Security was different from othergovernment agencies. Applicants for the other agencies could write down thespecific section or departments on the application form. But for StateSecurity, the applicants can only write “Administrative Department” or othergeneral terms. It was up to the office to assign the applicant.

“Yes. Yes. Thank you.”

“That’s all.” Too, too, too...... The line was cut.

Dong Xuebing kept his phone and return to his seat. His handwas shaking.

Dong Xuebing’s mother looked at him concernedly: “Did youfind a job? What company is it? How is the benefit?”

Mrs. Xu said: “That’s right. Get a job outside while tryingfor the test or exams again. I am being frankwith you. Even if you are not able to pass, at least you can still supportyourself.”

Xiao Dong looked at Dong Xuebing arrogantly: “Is your salarymore than 2,000 RMB?”

Dong Xuebing can’t be bothered with him. He turned to facehis mother. “Mum, I need to tell you something.”

His mother looked at him: “What?”

Dong Xuebing cleared his throat. “Ermmm.... I passed the test,and I am a Civil Servant now.”

Dong Xuebing’s mother almost choked on her tea. She coughedand put down the teacup. “What did you say? What did you pass?”

“I said I passed the Civil Servant test and I am a CivilServant now.”

“Nonsense.” Dong Xuebing’s mother stared at him. “Do youthink it is funny to trick me?”

Qu Yunxuan and pinched Dong Xuebing’s arm. “You are not evencall up for the interview, how can you be a Civil Servant? Since when did youbecome so humorous? It’s fine. You can retakethe test. Just work harder and stop thinking about the past test. Cheerup.”

Dong Xuebing raised his voice. “Mum, Aunt Xuan, since whendid I lie to you all? I really pass the test, andthey have already notified me over the phone.”

“Ah?” Dong Xuebing’s mother, Aunt Xuan, Mrs. Xu, andXiao Dong were all stunned.

......

Translator’snotes:

HouseholdRegister or Hukou

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hukou_system