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Under Xu Qingyan's constant waving of the fan, the time for half a stick of incense soon came.
In the end, there were only three masters who could find the correct key within half a stick of incense!
The first person was Niu Fude, who once worked under the governor of Liaodong and was the only one among the masters who was proficient in military strategy. When looking for the key to open the lock, Niu Fude seemed very organized. Under Xu Qingyan's constant interference, He still looked calm and collected, and through inductive analysis and looking for patterns by category, he quickly found the right key. In addition, although he was the first person to successfully unlock the door, he did not show too much excitement after unlocking the door. He just stood aside and quietly observed the performance of others, with some scrutiny and critical eyes.
Obviously, this person not only found the correct key in the shortest time, but also discovered the true purpose of Zhao Junchen's assessment. So after Niu Fude completed the assessment, he also took the opportunity to observe the performance of the others - after all, These people will be his colleagues in the future, and understanding them in advance will be of great benefit to Niu Fude.
The second person's name was Ouyang Bo. He was young, about thirty-seven or seventeen years old, and looked quite capable. Facing Zhao Junchen's assessment, Ouyang Bo did not rush to take action, but considered it seriously for a moment. It seemed that he was looking for the best way. After he found the right way, his movements were extremely agile and capable - he was not the fastest person to think of the right way, but after he thought of the right way, he completed it the fastest. Quick - Obviously, Ouyang Bo is a person who makes decisions before acting, and once he has made a decision in his mind, he will resolutely implement it. Such a person is not only cautious and conscientious, but also has a strong character and full of confidence.
The third person’s name is Li Chuanwen. This person is the most respected figure by Su Xiqing. He has a very high reputation. He has been reused by two governors successively and has extremely rich experience. At the same time. He is still the oldest among all the masters. Now he is nearly sixty years old. He is regarded as the ancestor of the master class. He was originally retired. However, Su Xiqing visited the thatched cottage three times and promised huge profits. With great difficulty, Then he was invited to Zhao Junchen.
but. Although Li Chuanwen is older, his mind is still sharp and his temperament is much calmer than the other masters. After encountering Xu Qingyan's interference, he is also the only one whose expression has not changed in any way. And he quickly found the correct method. After summarizing, he carefully tried every possible correct key without missing any possibility. In addition, his grasp of time was also extremely precise, and his movements seemed steady and smooth. Slowly, but after he tried every possible correct key, it happened to be the time when half a stick of incense was finished!
In fact. Li Chuanwen had great luck. When trying to open the lock, the third key he encountered was the correct key. The lock was also opened smoothly. It can be said that Li Chuanwen opened the lock earlier than Niu Fude. However, Li Chuanwen had no intention of competing for the first place. Instead, he tried all the remaining keys to prevent the second one. The correct key appeared, although it proved unnecessary. However, Li Chuanwen's cautious and steady style of not seeking credit still made Zhao Junchen extremely impressed!
It can be said. Niu Fude, Ouyang Bo, and Li Chuanwen all performed outstandingly in this test. Their advantages in abilities, temperament, scheming, etc. are also fully displayed. If loyalty can be guaranteed, their appearance will undoubtedly be a great help to Zhao Junchen!
Then, when the time for burning incense was about to end, more than a dozen masters completed the assessment one after another. The abilities, temperaments, scheming, etc. of these masters were inferior to those of Niu Fude, Ouyang Bo, and Li Chuanwen. However, They are also rare talents. If nothing else happens, they will be the backbone of Zhao Junchen's staff team in the future!
As for the remaining masters who did not complete the assessment within the agreed time, they more or less showed some disadvantages, or their personalities were not calm enough, or their work was not serious enough, or their observation skills were not meticulous enough. These people are not enough. With the important task entrusted to them, their status under Zhao Junchen will be even more marginalized in the future.
However, when the time for a stick of incense was about to end, a sudden accident caught everyone's attention.
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Among the thirty-seven masters, the oldest and highest-status person is naturally Li Chuanwen, while the youngest and most junior person is named Li Lun, who is only twenty-nine years old now.
In fact, Li Lun is Li Chuanwen's only son. Although he has very little qualifications, he is naturally intelligent, quick-witted and thoughtful, and he also has the true legacy of Li Chuanwen!
Originally, Li Chuanwen did not want Li Lun to inherit his career and become a master, but hoped that Li Lun could obtain a good name and enter the official career in a serious manner. After all, the status of a master was really embarrassing, half-official, half-citizen, and sandwiched between officials and civilians. There is not much oil and water in between, and it is easy to get angry from both sides, which is not a good way out.
However, although Li Lun was smart and proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics, he was not very good at eight-legged essays, and his calligraphy was crooked and unsightly. As a result, Li Lun's imperial examination path naturally suffered repeated defeats.
However, when Li Lun was twenty-nine years old, that is, this year, Li Chuanwen finally accepted his fate and no longer forced Li Lun to obtain a meritorious title. He planned to let Li Lun inherit the family business and become a master like himself. This would at least ensure that he would become a master. No worries about food and clothing.
At this time, Su Xiqing appeared, but Su Xiqing's target was naturally not Li Lun, but the reputable Li Chuanwen, and wanted to invite Li Chuanwen to assist Zhao Junchen! Unfortunately, Li Chuanwen was old and had been retired for many years. He did not intend to go into the muddy waters of officialdom again, so he resolutely rejected Su Xiqing's invitation.
After repeated setbacks, Su Xiqing finally decided on Li Lun.
In order to invite Li Chuanwen to come out, Su Xiqing asked Zhao Junchen for instructions and solemnly made a promise to Li Chuanwen. If Li Chuanwen was willing to come out to assist Zhao Junchen, then Zhao Junchen would also promote Li Lun, and when the time was right, he would also recommend Li Lun to enter the Imperial Academy. Let Li Lun become a supervisor!
It was this promise that moved Li Chuanwen. In the end, for the sake of Li Lun's future, Li Chuanwen finally changed his mind and decided to assist Zhao Junchen - otherwise, with Li Chuanwen's qualifications, even if Zhao Junchen personally invited him, it would not be possible. It can be successful - pity the hearts of parents in the world.
So, Li Lun followed Li Chuanwen to the Zhao family's ancestral home, and also became a staff member hired by Zhao Junchen, and also accepted Zhao Junchen's assessment!
In addition, because Li Lun was the youngest, Zhao Junchen paid special attention to Li Lun. During the assessment, Zhao Junchen also paid close attention to Li Lun's performance.
At the beginning, Li Lun's performance also satisfied Zhao Junchen. His mind was very smart and agile. Among the thirty-seven masters, he was almost the first one to find the correct method. His movements were capable and his expression Calm and not disturbed too much by Xu Qingyan!
Logically speaking, Li Lun should be the fourth master to complete the assessment within the time of half a stick of incense. Even in the worst case, one stick of incense is enough time for him to complete the assessment.
However, half the time for the incense stick passed, and Li Lun failed to complete the assessment! The time for a stick of incense is coming to an end, and Li Lun still has not completed the assessment!
Such an abnormal situation also attracted the attention of Zhao Junchen. Under Zhao Junchen's careful observation, he found that Li Lun's method was undoubtedly correct. Li Lun also carefully tried every possible key more than once. It can be said that Li Lun did everything he was supposed to do and made no mistakes. However, Li Lun just couldn't open the lock.
Seeing that the time for burning incense was about to end, Li Lun's expression remained calm and his expression became more focused. However, his increasingly frowning brows and the thin sweat on his forehead still showed that Li Lun was becoming increasingly anxious.
Observing Li Lun's performance, Zhao Junchen suddenly thought of a possibility, turned to Xiao Wenxuan and asked: "Wenxuan, are you sure that the keys assigned to Li Lun were not wrong? Could it be that there was a mistake while busy, and those hundred keys Didn’t you put the correct key in there?”
After hearing Zhao Junchen's question, Xiao Wenxuan did not dare to neglect. After taking two steps forward, he carefully observed all the keys in front of Li Lun.
After a moment, Xiao Wenxuan's expression changed slightly, and he turned to Zhao Junchen to accuse him: "My subordinates were not well prepared and did not check carefully. As you may have guessed, Li Lun was not assigned the correct key. He got it." The one hundred keys were all wrong! It seems that there were too many keys, and the people below made an omission when distributing the keys. However, the subordinate, as the person in charge, neither noticed this in time nor checked in detail. , there has been such a big mistake, please punish me."
Zhao Junchen shook his head helplessly and glanced at the incense burner.
At this time, there was only a little bit of fragrance left in the incense burner. Seeing that time was coming to an end, there was no way to make up for it.
However, at this moment, Li Lun suddenly stood up, left his desk and chair, turned and walked towards the flower bed next to him.
Then, Li Lun picked a stone from the flower bed, placed the lock on the ground, picked up the stone and hit the lock hard!
With a "Peng" sound, the lock was smashed open!
At the same time, the fine incense in the incense burner was completely burned out!
Such a loud noise naturally attracted everyone's attention!
Under the attention of everyone, Li Lun's expression remained calm and he said slowly: "Master Zhao's question was to find the key to open the lock. Now I finally opened the lock, and the key... is this!"
While speaking, Li Lun raised the stone in his hand.
Seeing Li Lun's unexpected performance, Zhao Junchen not only did not feel angry because of Li Lun's behavior of breaking the rules, but laughed and said: "Not bad... He is a talent who dares to break the rules!"
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…(To be continued)
