A Small Test

Henyee Translations

Editor: Henyee Translations

After speaking, Ge Lihua continued forward to the workshop area to inquire about the boy who had been taking care of his sick grandfather from someone from the same village, “Brother Xu, how was Xu Zeliang’s grandfather last night…?”

She intentionally left her question half-asked, so she would know the truth as soon as the other party responded.

The man known as Brother Xu immediately said, “Last night, Zeliang’s grandfather was in a critical condition, nearly passed away. Thankfully, he devotedly took care of him deep into the night, and only then did his grandfather’s condition improve. The boy’s filial piety is commendable.”

It seemed that Xu Zeliang was telling the truth. Ge Lihua nodded, “Thankyou.” The man waved his hand. “You’re welcome.”

Ge Lihua returned to the schoolhouse, finding the boy who had been sent away still kneeling at the entrance.

He didn’t want to lose this opportunity, staying here meant at least getting a full meal, something he couldn’t even enjoy during the New Year.

Ge Lihua’s heart did not soften at all. Nothing could be done without following the rules. This place wasn’t a charity, and she walked straight into the schoolhouse.

Xu Zeliang came over, “Sister Lihua, I’ve finished my work.”

Ge Lihua looked it over and nodded, “Go back to your seat.”

“Okay.” Xu Zeliang glanced quickly at the boy kneeling at the door, silently swearing to himself that no matter what happened, he would never fail to do his homework again.

The other students were somewhat frightened, realizing that the warnings weren’t just for show. Violating the rules could indeed get them expelled. With this thought, they all sat up straighter.

The boy knelt at the door for a long time, and seeing there was truly no chance for forgiveness, he slowly walked away, looking back three times with each step.

The news that Chu’s Easy Trade was hiring spread, and early in the morning, people were already waiting.

They waited at the entrance of the workshop area. There were at least a hundred people.

As soon as Shen Ruyue arrived, she was surrounded, “Please wait here for a moment, let me arrange things in the workshop first, then I’ll come to talk with you.”

No one dared to go against her, making way for her to pass.

Everyone’s gaze followed Shen Ruyue as she moved into the workshop, their eyes filled with anticipation, desire, and eagerness, as if there were treasures inside the workshop.

Two wolves diligently guarded the entrance of the workshop from the left and right, adding a somewhat intimidating element to it.

During the day, to avoid frightening everyone, Da Bai usually didn’t appear and would sleep in at Tang Jinghong’s home.

Not long after Shen Ruyue entered the workshop area, Chu Qingzhi also arrived. Hearing that many people came for the job, she specially came to pick a few to make taro pies.

Not knowing she was the real decision-maker, the crowd didn’t swarm her but just watched her.

Chu Qingzhi planned to pick women to make taro pies, choosing eleven from the many women present. She randomly pointed at seventeen or eighteen, “Follow me.”

The women named were overjoyed, quickly gathering around Chu Qingzhi and following her towards the entrance.

The envy in the eyes of the others was nearly tangible.

Chu Qingzhi brought them to the new workshop. This workshop was built for rice dumplings.

After discussing with Shen Ruyue, they thought it would be better to consolidate the workshops for easier management. Therefore, a new workshop was built, currently under renovation. Once the renovation was completed, they would move there.

The ice cream sales had stopped, and the ice cream workshop had been converted into an ice-making workshop, which would also be relocated.

Upon entering the workshop, the women looked around…

Chu Qingzhi said, “Please wait here for a moment. I have some matters to attend to and will come back later to arrange for you.”

“Okay.”

Chu Qingzhi left the workshop.

Previously, when recruiting for the workshop, some people of poor character were hired, causing the workshop to lose a significant amount of money. Now, recruitment had become much more cautious, requiring some minor tests. Those who failed the test would be permanently blacklisted.

There were two plates of snacks on the desk in the workshop, trash in one corner with a shovel and broom next to it, and a few copper coins scattered in another corner… There were about ten different tests in the workshop, making it a place full of “traps.”

At first, everyone was restrained, but as Chu Qingzhi did not return for a while, they relaxed and started looking around the workshop.

Zhao Lan saw the trash in the corner and swiftly started cleaning it up with the broom and shovel.

Someone nearby hurriedly said, “Don’t touch the things in the workshop; what if you break something?”

Hearing this, Zhao Lan hesitated but insisted, “If I break anything, I’ll take full responsibility. Don’t worry.”

In her opinion, how could cleaning up cause any damage?

Thinking it over, Xia He, who was from the same village, came over to help, casually asking, “Why did you think of cleaning up?”

“Everywhere else in the workshop is clean, except for this spot. It seems the owner is too busy to clean up. We’re not busy right now, so helping out is no big deal.”

“That makes sense. I’ll help you,”

“Ok.”

While they were cleaning, a woman’s eyes lit up upon seeing the copper coins in the corner. “Who could be so unlucky to drop them?” she thought gleefully.

Then, pretending to be nonchalant, she picked up the three copper coins from the ground and hid them in her clothes.

“Hey, look, there are two plates of snacks over there.”

“Yes, they look delicious. Do you want to try some?”

“Miss Qingzhi didn’t say we could touch anything here. What if there’s a problem?”

“What problem could there be? If it were really important, they wouldn’t be left out here. Come on, let’s all have some.” Her logic was that if everyone did it, even if Chu Qingzhi found out, she wouldn’t blame them.

Two people stepped forward and ate some.

Regarding the other tests, some passed while others did not.

After a while, Chu Qingzhi returned, asked the five people who failed the tests to leave the workshop, leaving twelve people behind.

Having one extra person wasn’t a big issue. Chu Qingzhi then took them to the apple pie workshop.

Zhao Lan and Xia He exchanged glances, understanding the “traps” in the workshop. The others, realizing later, were extremely relieved that they hadn’t succumbed to the temptation of minor gains, understanding now that they would have been the ones to leave if they had. With this realization, everyone silently vowed never to tamper with anything in the workshop again.

Considering the expansion of the business, the workshop was built large, and currently, less than a third of the space was being used. Even with the twelve people, the workshop felt spacious.

Chu Qingzhi told them, “What you ‘ll be making is called taro pie.”

She introduced an apple pie to everyone, then explained, “Taro pie is similar to apple pie… You only have three days to learn. If you haven’t learned by then, you’ll have to leave.”

These words made everyone’s hearts tighten. It turned out that passing the previous test wasn’t the end of the challenge but the beginning.