Chapter 647 - 291: An Hour’s Not Enough? I Only Need 20 Minutes

Chen Tiefeng was accompanied by his son for the interview.

It wasn’t his first time in Shanghai, nor his first visit to Changxing Island, but it was indeed the first time he was so solemn and somewhat nervous facing an interview.

Thinking back to his last interview experience, it was more than ten years ago.

It’s quite amusing when you think about it; he’s almost 50 and still has to attend such an interview, which shows how unpredictable life can be.

Chen Tiefeng was the first to arrive at the interview location.

The interview was held in the conference room of a small hotel on Changxing Island, and he went to the hotel lobby according to the location in the notice.

At this moment, after confirming Chen Tiefeng’s purpose, the receptionist politely pointed him in the direction upstairs.

Subsequently, Chen Tiefeng and his son arrived at the entrance of the conference room.

Standing at the entrance was a girl who looked quite bright and youthful, but her first words made Chen Tiefeng pause.

The girl said, "Are you here for the interview?"

The reason Chen Tiefeng paused wasn’t because of what she said, but because the question was in English.

His son was also a bit taken aback.

At that moment, Chen Tiefeng quickly realized: Was the interview already starting?

He understood that the girl wasn’t intentionally showing off her English or making things difficult for him, but as an offshore chief engineer, he must master international conventions and navigation requirements of various countries, especially as a chief engineer, which involves refueling issues; English and necessary professional terminology interaction are indispensable during offshore voyages.

Of course, this wasn’t a problem for Chen Tiefeng.

His spoken English might be average, but it wasn’t important; he could understand it and express his meaning clearly.

He skillfully replied in English, "Yes, I’m here for the interview. My name is Chen Tiefeng."

The girl smiled politely and responded in English, "Hello, Teacher Chen. Please rest here for a moment; there are ten minutes left. We need to wait for the other three interviewees. Of course, if none of the three arrives within ten minutes, then it will be only you attending the interview."

The conversation was entirely in English, and Chen Tiefeng felt a bit impressed with her English proficiency, not only fluent but very authentic.

He glanced at his son; in comparison, his son had a university degree, but not from a prestigious university, and his English level hadn’t even passed the fourth level.

Chen Tiefeng assented with an "okay" and casually sat on a chair outside the conference room.

His son grinned and asked mischievously, "Hey, Dad, what were you just talking about?"

Chen Tiefeng sighed slightly and suddenly asked, "You’ve graduated from university, what do you plan to do after graduation?"

"Don’t worry about it, I have my own plans."

Chen Tiefeng coldly snorted and didn’t say anything more.

The other three interviewees didn’t stand him up; shortly after Chen Tiefeng sat, they arrived one after another.

The girl saw everyone had arrived and opened the door, inviting the four inside, leaving Chen Tiefeng’s son and the other companions outside.

Chen Tiefeng’s son greeted the pretty lady who invited his dad inside, "Hi beauty, which university did you graduate from?"

She sweetly smiled, "Just from a not-so-famous local university."

"What a coincidence, I graduated from a local university too. Our school’s nickname is the Women’s University because of the high female ratio. What’s your university’s nickname?"

The girl thought for a moment and said, "Hmm, our university is the opposite of yours; it’s a Men’s Vocational Technical Institute."

Chen Tiefeng’s son was momentarily stunned: Is the English level at a vocational technical institute this high? He asked, "Which Men’s Vocational Technical Institute?"

The girl said, "Dongchuan Road Men’s Vocational Technical Institute."

Chen Tiefeng’s son was still pondering what kind of place Dongchuan Road Men’s Vocational Technical Institute was, never having heard of it.

A companion next to him couldn’t help but admire, "Whoa, turns out it’s Jiaotong University!"

Chen Tiefeng’s son paused, then realized she was teasing him.

With some helplessness, he sighed and asked, "What’s your name, beauty?"

She replied, "My surname is Jing, as in scenery."

"What’s your first name then?"

"My name? I’ll tell you after your dad passes the interview."

...

Chen Tiefeng entered the conference room alongside the other three interviewees.

Upon entering, he looked around; there was nothing unusual about the room, just a typical hotel conference room.

On the podium in front, sat a somewhat handsome young man, with a faint smile on his face, and beside him was a girl silently sitting with a laptop.

Chen Tiefeng immediately recognized him as the internet celebrity Li Younan he learned about from videos on his phone, the initiator of this shipbuilding plan, possibly his future employer.

At that moment, Li Younan began to speak, also in English, "You four are seasoned veterans of the shipping industry."

"Actually, everyday verbal English communication isn’t the main focus of this assessment, so if there’s anything you don’t quite understand now, feel free to raise your hand, and I’ll repeat it in Chinese."

"However, if we are fortunate enough to become partners on the same ship, we might set foot in various parts of the world, so I do hope you all have strong English communication skills."