Zhang Cheng said in a respectful tone: "Back to the adult's words, this flat shoulder is handed down by the ancestors of my Zhang family, don't hide it from the adult, my Zhang family is relying on a flat shoulder to start a family, the ancestor was just a seller who carried goods and walked the streets and alleys, but it was by relying on a flat shoulder, a pair of iron shoulders, a pair of feet, day and night, only to step by step out of a small shop, and then after several generations of efforts, there is now a family business." ”

"No matter when, as long as this flat burden is there, the soul of my Zhang family is there, with the encouragement of the ancestors, no matter what difficulties are encountered, even if there is nothing, as long as this flat burden is carried on the shoulders, the descendants can also be like the ancestors, and then pick the current Zhang family."

Lu Jing nodded, secretly praised in his heart, the gold and silver inheritance will be defeated sooner or later, only if the family style and family training are inherited, the roots of the family will be there, and if it fails, it can stand up again, and it is not accidental that the Zhang family can have the current family business.

After finishing this question, Lu Jing continued to ask: "If your ancestor passed down a treasure, and this treasure happened to be known by a high-ranking official, and he loved this treasure very much and was determined to buy it, but you were extremely reluctant, what would you do?" ”

"Since there is no blessing to enjoy, it can only mean that the contemptible and this thing are inseparable, even if they are not reluctant, the contemptible will offer treasures to keep safe." Zhang Cheng sighed and said, how can this kind of thing need if, life is everywhere, the Zhang family has offered more treasures, and even his beloved jade bamboo is also dedicated to the governor, and the woman that his son likes is also given to the prefect.

"You are wise and wise, in order to protect your body, you are wise!" Lu Jing nodded.

Zhang Cheng bowed down and replied: "If this is not the case, it's just that my Zhang family has ancestral teachings, and I would rather have the destruction of perfection than the reputation of affection; It is better to have a disaster without vain, than to have a blessing that is not divided, there is a way that is a disaster of heaven's desire, and it must be blessed first, if it is a blessing that cannot be consumed, it can only mean that this blessing has nothing to do with me. ”

"Don't ask for the blessing of non-sharing, your ancestors have great wisdom!" Lu Jing said with emotion, not a blessing, a gratuitous gain, not a creation of the ear, that is, the opportunity of the world, although the ancestors of the Zhang family were born in the market, they saw through the world.

Zhang Cheng was helpless in his heart, he was forced by the world, but he couldn't say this.

The businessman holds tens of thousands of capital, goes through the danger of wind and waves, suffers from the humiliation of officials, endures dirt and market changes, works hard, the coercion is heavy, and the income is the end, all kinds of sadness is really indescribable.

Lu Jing continued to ask: "If that high-ranking official's political enemy hears about this and wants to co-opt you to deal with him, what will you do?" ”

"I'm not going to participate!" Zhang Chengxin shook his head without hesitation.

"Tell me your reasons!" Lu Jing asked.

"We are just a small businessman, and we are not in danger of causing trouble, how can we dare to intervene in the battle of the big people." Zhang Cheng said with a firm expression.

If you can be happy with the grudge, it is naturally good, but you must also be able to carry your own weight, if you are angry for a while, you will not be able to participate in things that you can't control, you will only become a pawn in the hands of others, and you will eventually become a victim, but if the situation is clear, you don't mind falling into the well.

Lu Jing didn't believe his answer, how could a person who can control such a big business be such a kind-hearted person, but this question is only to examine the heart of dealing with people, not to examine integrity, and he did not dismantle his words, so he asked the next question: "Why do you think the imperial court will re-elect the imperial businessman?" ”

Zhang Cheng thought about it for a while and said solemnly: "The new day is Shengde, now there is a holy son of heaven in the court, its life is new, and the next one must obey, in addition, the contemptible people dare not speculate on their intentions, but the emperor ordered the selection of imperial merchants, which is a grand event for our businessmen, and naturally everyone must participate bravely." ”

Lu Jing nodded, this was definitely not Zhang Cheng's sincere words, but no matter what, his answer was quite clever, he didn't touch the thunder point, and he knew how to avoid sensitive topics, so he continued to ask: "Why did you come to run for election to give the court a reason to choose you?" ”

Zhang Cheng fell into deep thought when he heard this, and said bluntly after a while: "Although the imperial merchants are still businessmen, they can intersect with the gentry and get the protection of the internal affairs government, and their status has changed, which is the reason why the Zhang family ran for the imperial merchants." ”

"The Zhang family's candidacy is based on a loyalty, loyalty to the saint and the court, no matter whether or not they can become the emperor's businessman, as long as the saint gives an order, my Zhang family will obey his orders, of course, if he is defeated by a better person, the Zhang family has no regrets and accepts the result calmly."

Lu Jing nodded, although this may not be Zhang Cheng's heartfelt words, but he is really good at grasping the key points, not talking about financial resources and influence, just loyalty, this is an old fritter, but his answer is okay.

"Do you think you can become an imperial merchant in this selection?" Lu Jing continued to ask.

Zhang Cheng nodded confidently and said: "There are eighty or ninety percent of them who may be selected, if not, they can participate in it, and they will gain a lot. ”

Lu Jing smiled when he heard this, and didn't pay attention to Zhang Cheng's heartfelt compliment, but continued to ask, "Do you want to know your results now, or wait for a few days to announce them?" ”

Zhang Chengxin was stunned for a moment after hearing this, and asked, "Is it okay now?" ”

"Not bad!" Lu Jing nodded, this can be regarded as a test of heart.

After Zhang Chengxin hesitated, he said, "Now! ”

Lu Jing nodded, and asked the six of them to hand over their respective scores to the accountant, and before long, the accountant calculated the score and handed it to Lu Jing.

Lu Jing glanced at Zhang Chengxin, saw that his expression was as usual, and did not continue to hang his appetite, and said bluntly: "Eighty-six points, it is not bad to be the first to get such a score!" ”

Zhang Chengxin heard the praise and hurriedly bowed: "Thank you, sir!" ”

"You still need to do the last two things, you need to write down over there the five people who participated in this round of assessment and who you have the best relationship with." Lu Jing said.

When a small official heard this, he immediately led Zhang Chengxin to a table.

Lu Jing said with a smile: "Seeing that you are the first interviewer, the official will give you some hints, if you wait for the interview to end, no one thinks that you are good friends, and no one writes your name, even if your score enters the top 1,000, you can only be listed as a candidate, and the candidate will have a great disadvantage in the third round." ”

Zhang Cheng was stunned when he heard this, thought about it carefully, and wrote down five names seriously.

Lu Jing said again: "Among the people who have been eliminated, there are those you think are more pity, if there is, you can also write their names, up to five people, if someone can get more than 100 votes, they can participate in the third round as an alternate!" ”

Zhang Cheng thought about it and wrote down two more names.

Lu Jing saw that he finished writing and motioned to the little official to take him down.

After Zhang Cheng gave another salute to Lu Jing and the others, Fang left with the little official.

Lu Jing looked at the time, from the beginning to the end of less than two quarters of an hour, and he had a rough idea that he could basically end the interview in two days.

Zhang Chengxin followed the little official to an empty room, there were dozens of seats in it, guessing that it should be for the person who finished answering the question, and now that he was the first, he picked a seat and sat down, waiting patiently for the latecomer.

A small official immediately brought tea to Zhang Cheng, and said that if he had any orders, he could greet him.

After Zhang Cheng thanked him heartily, the little official left.

Zhang Chengxin stayed alone in the room, his heart couldn't be calm for a long time, he didn't expect the questions asked by the court to be more tricky than one another, and one was more difficult to answer than the other, fortunately he came, if it was his son, it was estimated that he would be lost.

In less than two quarters of an hour, a person came in, Zhang Cheng looked at Feng Ruowang, a wealthy businessman in Jiangnan, and hurriedly beckoned him to sit down.

Feng Ruowang sat down beside Zhang Chengxin with a serious face, and his whole face was full of concern.

The little official came over and poured a cup of tea for Feng Ruowang, explained it, and left again.

Zhang Chengxin saw that there were only two of them in the room, so he took the initiative to talk: "Presumably Brother Feng didn't expect the imperial court to ask such a question!" ”

Feng Ruowang knew what Zhang Chengxin was talking about, and said with palpitations: "It's true, alas, but it's also reasonable, as far as I know, the imperial merchants can play to the emperor and spy on local officials, I'm afraid the imperial court is doing this to cut off our back road!" ”

Zhang Cheng pointed out from the bottom of his heart: "Saiong knows that it is not a blessing to lose his horse, and it is also a good thing to give the court a handle." ”

Feng Ruowang pondered for a moment, nodded thoughtfully, and then sighed: "I thought that the imperial court would ask us about our basic information, such as financial resources, family, influence, etc., but I didn't expect these strange questions again!" ”

Zhang Cheng sighed heartily: "Those questions have actually been asked by the imperial court. ”

Feng Ruowang was stunned when he heard this, could it be that the two had different problems.

Zhang Chengxin explained: "I just asked Lord Lu, all of us have the same question, the reason why I say this is because of that registration form, the registration form we handed in is to explain our information clearly, why bother the court to ask!" ”

"But there are too many questions on that that can be faked, I'm afraid most people don't fill in truthfully!" Feng Ruowang was surprised.

"Hehe, presumably after this round, whether it is true or not, the court will have a judgment!" Zhang Cheng smiled heartily, admiring the interview questions even more.

Feng Ruowang thought for a while, and said a little suddenly: "Brother Zhang means from this to the other!" ”

"Yes, the questions asked by the imperial court today can basically tell whether we are lying or not, especially the first three questions!" Zhang Cheng sighed that he only discovered the deep meaning of some problems in the imperial court after the fact, and many of the questions were directed at the hearts of the people.

"I see!" Feng Ruowang suddenly said brightly, according to the temperament of himself and others, it is really powerful to judge the authenticity of the information on the registration form.

"Not only that, Lord Lu told me that if the last one is not filled in, it will be difficult to enter the next round!" Zhang Cheng sighed heartily.

"How so?" Feng Ruowang asked in surprise.

"I'm afraid it's to see our popularity, if we don't have friends in business, how can we be called a qualified businessman, we have been in Beijing for so long, who hasn't made a few friends!" Zhang Chengxin explained.

"I see, it seems that every question has a deep meaning!" Feng Ruowang said with emotion, at that time, he was pressed for time, and he had no time to think about it, but now that he thinks about it, Fang realizes that every question is not simple, and he suddenly has some worries in his heart, especially what Zhang Cheng said just now, I don't know if someone will write it as a friend.

Zhang Chengxin noticed Feng Ruowang's expression, so he comforted: "Brother Feng, don't worry, I will have your name in what I wrote!" ”

"Thank you, Brother Zhang!" Feng Ruowang was overjoyed and said, "The first of the five people I wrote is Brother Zhang!" ”

After Zhang Cheng thanked him heartily, the two continued to analyze the deep meaning behind each question.

After two days, the entire interview ended on the 10th day of the first month of August, and the businessman who had been locked up for two days was also released.

Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs began to count the results, because the results were calculated in real time, and the results were released the next day.

The top 17 in each of the 60 groups were eliminated, and the three people who were within 1,000 were eliminated but did not get a friendship ticket, plus the six people who directly advanced in the first round but did not participate in the second round, a total of 1,000 and 2 people entered the third round.

On 12 August, the Ministry of Internal Affairs posted the candidates who had advanced to the third round, and announced the three alternate businessmen in the second round, as well as the eight businessmen who had already been eliminated and received more than 100 votes, all of whom entered the third round as alternates.

The next day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also notified those who entered the third round to collect the information of the third round of the competition from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the content of the third round of assessment will be related to this, and informed that the third round will start on August 18 after the Mid-Autumn Festival.