After leaving the company, Jiang Chao and Cao Ming couldn’t hide their drowsiness.
They started to doze off for a bit in Lin Feng’s car.
Yang Qiniang was just as drained.
By the time they reached the school cafeteria, even though Chu Ling’er and Song Yaqi had prepared a special, hot breakfast for them,
the three guys still couldn’t perk up.
Cao Ming even nearly fell asleep while eating.
Lin Feng, however, followed his usual routine and ordered a bowl of Xiang City rice noodles.
This morning’s serving was a version Chu Ling’er had carefully improved.
The broth was simmered with fish and topped with large chunks of beef.
On the side was a finely minced chili and meat sauce.
It had the savory flavor of the fish broth combined with an authentic, numbing, and spicy fragrance.
From the very first bite, Lin Feng could feel the "food buff" on his body starting to take effect.
By the time he finished the bowl of Xiang City rice noodles, his energy was completely restored to its peak.
As a result, when they went to class together, Yang Qiniang and the other two could barely keep their heavy eyelids open.
Lin Feng, however, sat beside them full of energy, listening attentively to the professor’s lecture.
This morning’s class was an elective on international trade.
It was a course students took primarily out of interest.
Yang Qiniang, Cao Ming, and Jiang Chao simply couldn’t take it anymore.
They passed out in their seats at the back of the classroom.
They were only jolted awake by the noise of other students during the mid-lecture break.
Yang Qiniang rubbed his bloodshot eyes.
He looked over and saw the dark circles and drained expressions on the faces of the other two.
He let out a long sigh. "I’m getting old, I’m getting old. Does pulling one all-nighter wreck you this much now?"
Right as he was lamenting this, he turned his head and saw Lin Feng looking bright and full of energy.
"No way, Brother Feng. We all pulled an all-nighter, and you were using your brain more than us, but you’re still this energetic..."
"Did you drink coffee or something? How are you so awake?"
"What brand is it? I want a cup to perk me up too!"
Lin Feng smiled and said, "I haven’t had any coffee, but I think you guys could definitely use a cup right now."
Yang Qiniang rubbed his forehead and muttered under his breath, "Comparing yourself to others is just infuriating. It’s bad enough he’s better than us at making money, but he can even pull all-nighters better than us!"
After downing two cups of black coffee, Yang Qiniang finally felt a little more human.
Taking advantage of the break, Yang Qiniang leaned over to Lin Feng. "Brother Feng... I’ve got something I’d like to ask your advice on!"
Seeing Yang Qiniang’s eager attitude, Lin Feng knew he was up to something.
And sure enough, Yang Qiniang began, "My dad found out about your new recruitment method."
"So he gave me and my sister a challenge: we have to come up with our own innovative recruitment format."
"I’ve been racking my brain for the better part of a week, but I just feel like my proposal isn’t good enough!"
As he said this, a smile spread across Yang Qiniang’s face, and the way he stared at Lin Feng made the hairs on his arms stand up.
"So, Brother Feng, how on earth did you come up with that interview method?"
"Could you walk me through your thought process a bit?"
"Maybe you can give me some pointers and pull your brother out of this sea of misery!"
Lin Feng flicked Yang Qiniang on the forehead. "This is a challenge from your dad. Coming to me is cheating!"
Lin Feng hadn’t held back, and the flick left a red mark on Yang Qiniang’s forehead.
Yang Qiniang rubbed his head and said, "I really have been thinking about it, but the more I mull it over, the more I feel like my ideas aren’t quite right!"
Lin Feng thought for a moment, then held out his hand to Yang Qiniang. "Let me see the file with your ideas."
Yang Qiniang took out his phone and pulled up a document.
"My original concept was to combine a leaderless group interview with practical observation, where an interviewer would be embedded in the group to assess the candidates."
"But then I realized that a method like that would only be suitable for selecting people for very specific departments."
Lin Feng opened the document.
He could tell that Yang Qiniang had put some serious thought into it.
He had chosen a situational interview format, which was quite popular these days.
In fact, the half-internship, half-interview method Lin Feng had originally proposed was also a form of situational interview...
It just happened to be one that required a significant investment.
Lin Feng skimmed through the proposed recruitment method, then turned to Yang Qiniang and said,
"Actually, I think the interview format you’ve outlined in this document is already quite good."
"It’s a combination of a situational interview and a comprehensive one."
"As for your concern that it can only be implemented by specific departments..."
"I think you’re overlooking the fact that every department has different requirements for the talent they need. Recruitment is inherently department-specific."
Hearing Lin Feng’s words, Yang Qiniang had a moment of realization.
’I really was getting bogged down in the details.’
He had been so focused on perfectly completing the task his father, Yang Tianming, had given him.
That he ended up ignoring some of the more fundamental points.
On top of that, since it was his first time handling something like this, Yang Qiniang lacked confidence.
That’s why he was so unsure about the plan he had spent so long thinking about.
Now that his plan had been affirmed by Lin Feng, who had also helped him see the bigger picture, Yang Qiniang let out a long sigh of relief.
The mental block he’d been having about the proposal instantly cleared.
He even started having new ideas on how to improve it.
Yang Qiniang immediately started jotting down some key points on his phone.
"Thanks, Brother Feng."
"Seriously, a moment of your insight is worth more than ten years of studying!"
"What you just said completely cleared my head!"
Lin Feng gave a slight, calm nod.
While the two of them were talking, Cao Ming and Jiang Chao were still beside them, dead to the world.
Unfortunately for them, the professor for the next class noticed the two sleeping students.
He immediately assigned them a research topic to work on.
By the time class was over, Cao Ming and Jiang Chao both looked ashen-faced.
"Your snoring must have been too loud! How else would the professor have noticed us?"
Jiang Chao immediately tried to shift the blame.
Cao Ming rolled his eyes. "The professor’s not an idiot. How could he not notice two people slumped over their desks in the corner?"
"The way things are going, it feels like Mercury is in retrograde for us this week. Everything is happening at once."
Jiang Chao nodded, feeling the exact same way.
Nearby, Yang Qiniang patted both their shoulders sympathetically. "As your brother, the best I can do is schedule you for one less hour of work tomorrow. I hope you can finish your assignment."
Lin Feng also gave his two friends a sympathetic look.
Yang Qiniang and the other two still lived in the dorms,
so they went a different way from Lin Feng.
Lin Feng was now heading back to his apartment.
But before he could even walk off campus, he was surrounded by people again.
Lin Feng was all too familiar with this situation—so familiar it was becoming tiresome.
’What a waste of time!’

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