"This is the concern every engineer had upon seeing this. After all, as long as the worker underground is safe, the collapse is not a problem. When it comes to a vital organ like the heart, however, that must not happen. I can promise that, but no one believes me."
"I do," I corrected him.
"So you"re willing to help me?" he asked eagerly.
"I"ve already resigned and flown to meet you. What more a.s.surance do you need?"
"I"ll prepare the materials for you tomorrow, then. All you"ll need is an interview. There will be a conference after you get the job, so just use your mining a.n.a.logy to strengthen my proposal. We will get a script ready so you"ll just have to read it out."
"Wait, conference? You didn"t say anything about a conference" I said.
"It"s really nothing. You just need to show your face to the people,"
"Won"t there be reporters? And won"t it be shown on television?"
He nodded. "It"s a 300,000 dollar job, after all. If there"s no need to make an appearance, everyone would be fighting for this job. Didn"t you say you trust me? Are you going back on your words?"
"No, I"m not, but I need to clarify something with you… the forging... of doc.u.ments…" I stammered.
"No one else knows about it other than me and your sister-in-law. If outsiders were to investigate thoroughly, they would arrive at the materials I"ve prepared. Just like how I"m concealing my marriage. Your certs and credentials will be declared and made known online as well so it will just be like the real thing. There"s no need to worry," he rea.s.sured.
"Like the real thing?" I repeated.
"It all boils down to whether you"re able to perform a convincing show," Brother added.
"Convincing?" I thought back to the time I visited own my parents and stuttered non-stop despite a full day of rehearsal.
How would I fare in front of other people? The media?
The whole world?
I fell silent.
Brother patted me my shoulder. "You should rest first. The room on the left is yours. You don"t have any luggage, right? In that case, remember to get some clothes. I"ll prepare a suit for your interview in a few days" time. The appearance will happen about a month or two after your interview. We will get you familiar with the job scope before starting work properly."
I nodded.
...
A week later, Brother brought me out to pick a suit.
A blue suit that made me look different from usual.
I was then given a fresh hairstyle. The thick amount of wax made me feel uncomfortable and stifled.
He then drove us to the company building and handed me a doc.u.ment file.
"Everything you"ll need is inside. You don"t have to speak when the cameras flash and when they talk to you. Your sister-in-law will intercept their questions and cover for you."
I nodded. "Got it."
He smiled and pointed to the entrance as I brought the file into the building.
My sister-in-law was waiting for me inside. "This way, Mr. Li," she greeted kindly.
We took the elevator right up to the highest floor and to a door with the word plate "CEO".
I recalled Brother"s words and opened it.
A fleshy man raised his head and asked, "Who"s coming in without knocking?"
I placed the file down on his table.
Sister-in-law walked in from behind and introduced, "Director w.a.n.g, this is Mr. Li. He"s here to interview for the senior engineer and spokesperson"s position."
"How do I address you, Mr. Li?" Director w.a.n.g asked, smiling.
I shut my mouth and looked at him expressionlessly.
Sister-in-law quickly walked over to him and whispered something.
"Oh. It"s only normal for Mr. Li to be in a bad temper. You"re highly skilled and I admire you." Director w.a.n.g smiled and flipped through the file after putting on his gla.s.ses.
After reading through each and every doc.u.ment, he took his gla.s.ses down. "You"re perfect, Mr. Li Goudan. The company is willing to work with you and have you as our spokesperson. Thank you for wanting to be a part of this."
I continued observing him with a blank face.
"Mr. Li?" Director w.a.n.g called out before standing up and waving his hand.
"Have I pa.s.sed?" I asked faintly.
"Yes," he confirmed with a smile, extending his hand out.
After a brief handshake, I turned around to leave.
Outside the door, I leaned against the wall to breathe.
I could hear Sister-in-law talking to him in the room.
"Talented people mostly have a temper," she commented.
"I"m a director… should I be like him, too?"
"You"re right. I"ll keep this," she offered, packing the doc.u.ments.
She exited his office and laughed upon seeing my breathless face. She pulled me to the lift and out of the building.
From that day onward, I had a private office of my own.
Brother visited me regularly and brought in a script a month later.
I could change its content if I wish. There were a lot of medical terms that I wasn"t familiar with.
The script was three pages long, and I scored badly in school precisely because I hated memorizing.
Brother said I only had half a month"s time so I had no choice but to recite the script daily.
On the day of the conference, I had the whole script ingrained in my head.
I was given a small b.u.t.ton to press in order to change the presentation slides.
What I had to talk about was Brother"s new treatment method.
I explained and demonstrated how it would work while Brother watched me.
When it was finally over, the stage was overtaken by a round of applause.
The host announced, "Let"s move on to the interview segment."
Brother came over to me and whispered, "I kept it from you because I didn"t want to you be nervous."
"Hi, may I know how this is better than bridge building?" a reporter asked.
After a short pause, I picked up a gla.s.s of water and sipped on it a little.
It was something I had memorized previously but it was still nerve-wracking.
"The support frame technique is minimally invasive, brings little damage and cost. Bridging is the opposite and not allowed in some hospitals. Of course, the patient should be properly examined before we determine the best treatment."
"So there"s no comparison value?" the reporter continued.
"Yes," I said, looking straight at him.
Another round of applause broke out and Sister-in-law gave me a thumbs up from off stage, which helped me relax.
The next few questions were those I had prepared for so I was extremely relieved.
When things got awkward, Brother took over the microphone to answer on my behalf.
His answers were ambiguous but evoked cheers nevertheless.
When all was done, I saw Brother and Sister-in-law smiling widely from below.
Epilogue.
My name had been added to Baidu"s information page regarding the support frame treatment.
Brother"s name, however, could not be found since he had chosen to focus on research and development and stay behind the scenes.
There are pros and cons to the treatment but it served as a new alternative to the bridging method.
I chose to resign three years later and returned to the village.
I redeemed the land my parents had sold off and started to farm with the excuse of wanting to spend more time with them since I had already earned enough money.