From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

After the purchase order was completed, the first round of assessment was finished, and everyone was taken back to the side hall.

Gu Tingliang sat there, bored and already feeling drowsy.

Hua Jieyu, on the other hand, had already carefully reviewed the purchase lists submitted by the six people on the table next to her.

He picked up the list, walked up to the six people, and said something.

Only one person was eliminated in this round.

"To be eliminated with this level of assessment, how dare you compete for the position of general manager with such a low level of competence?"

Gu Maolin snorted dismissively, his face full of arrogance.

Hua Jieyu couldn't help but chuckle softly, turning to Gu Maolin.

"Young Master Maolin, you are the one who has been eliminated this round."

"Pfft! Haha! That's hilarious! This is absolutely hilarious!"

Upon hearing this, Jia Xingzhou burst out laughing, slapping his thigh repeatedly.

The military officer also wore a broad smile, making no attempt to hide it. Chen Shi wanted to laugh too, but he managed to hold it in.

The other two retainers, however, remained expressionless, clearly demonstrating far greater cunning.

"you!"

Gu Maolin glared at Jia Xingzhou, but couldn't care less about him at the moment. He quickly turned to Hua Jieyu, his face full of resentment.

"Why was I eliminated!"

"Naturally, it's because your list is poorly compiled."

"How is that possible!"

Gu Maolin snatched the form from Hua Jieyu's hand, examined it carefully, and found no mistakes or omissions, which made him frown.

"I recorded all the prices accurately; I didn't embezzle a single penny. What's wrong with that!"

Did you not embezzle a single penny?

Everyone glanced at Gu Maolin, and no wonder, they chuckled and showed disdain.

That's just too stupid.

Or rather, they were just too immature.

"What are you laughing at! Let's see what you're up to!"

Gu Maolin's face darkened, and he then snatched the other orders from Hua Jieyu's hands.

After reading it, my eyes widened in indignation.

"They've all clearly falsified their reports! They've all embezzled at least a hundred taels of silver!"

Although Gu Maolin did not have other people's actual purchase invoices, he still knew the prices of some things on the market.

Those who were corrupt all passed the test, while he, who wasn't corrupt, was eliminated.

"No! This is wrong!"

Gu Maolin frowned, feeling both disbelief and confusion.

Isn't this round of testing supposed to be about integrity?

As the general manager, holding great power, Gu Maolin believed that the most important quality was not to be greedy!

So when he saw the accounts and receipts, and the large amount of silver in the box...

He was convinced that this round was a test of whether they could resist the temptation of money.

Therefore, he made a purchase list based on the actual prices and did not embezzle any money.

But to my utter surprise, I was eliminated instead.

"opinionated."

Jia Xingzhou curled his lip and made a sarcastic remark without any mercy.

Chen Shi didn't speak, but shook his head secretly.

This round appears to be a test of integrity, but in reality it's all about interpersonal relationships and social dynamics.

Chen Shi served as the purchasing manager for medicinal herbs for a year and knew all too well the lucrative aspects of the purchasing process.

But he also knew that this amount of money was just a drop in the ocean for the Marquis's mansion!

Previously, when organizing Gu Chengze's funeral, all the purchases were made from Xiao Fengxiao's properties, and the prices were more than three times higher than the market price!

Chen Shi had some concerns at the time, but Xiao Fengxiao was not worried at all.

It was later proven that this was indeed not a big deal, and no one bothered to investigate it.

Does the Marquis really not know the trickery involved?

I don't think so. Even though Gu Tingshu holds a high position, he is not detached from worldly affairs.

The reason for this is simply that he was too lazy to care, or even intentionally allowed this behavior to continue.

Compared to the small amount of money embezzled by the servants, Gu Tingshu, as the Marquis and the head of the household, values ​​more the servants' hard work and the harmony within the Marquis's mansion!

Imagine if it were arranged like Gu Maolin's, no one, from top to bottom, would get any benefit. Over time, these people would surely harbor resentment, wouldn't that cause trouble?

The trouble that will result will likely be far more than this small amount of money can solve!

Therefore, some money should be taken when it's due.

Water that is too clear has no fish.

Of course, you can't just take things randomly.

In fact, Chen Shi and the other four also submitted another list detailing how these kickbacks should be distributed.

The master takes the lion's share, and those who do the work below also get a cut, so as to satisfy everyone as much as possible.

Maintaining harmony within the Marquis's household is the steward's primary responsibility!

"Young Master Maolin, the world is not simply black and white. You should go back and think about the intricacies of things carefully."

Seeing that Gu Maolin still looked puzzled, Hua Jieyu sighed and offered a few words of advice.

Although he couldn't understand it, the outcome was what it was, and with Gu Tingliang still sitting there, how could Gu Maolin dare to be presumptuous? He threw the forms on the ground, turned around, and left dejectedly.

So, there are five people left.

"Hurry up."

Seeing that it was getting late, Gu Tingliang urged impatiently.

Hua Jieyu nodded and looked at Chen Shi and the others again.

"Then the second round of testing will begin."

After speaking, she waved her hand, and the same maidservant led the five of them out.

As can be seen from the first round, the assessment of the chief steward of the Marquis's mansion is not so simple and straightforward. It is unknown what the situation will be like in the second round.

With no information available at the moment, we can only react to whatever comes our way.

Led by the young maid in green, they arrived at a pavilion a short while later.

"This is……"

There was another person in the pavilion. Upon seeing him clearly, Chen Shi's eyes twitched.

Gu Hanying!

Why did he bring Gu Hanying here? Has his affair with Gu Hanying been exposed?

No, if that's the case, we should just kill him. Why bother letting him meet Gu Hanying?

"Greetings, Fourth Miss."

Chen Shi calmed down and greeted them normally.

Gu Hanying's visit must be related to the second round of assessments.

"We've known each other for a long time, no need to be so polite."

Gu Hanying waved her hand, her face beaming with smiles.

It must be said that Gu Hanying disguised herself even better than Chen Shi.

She was never pretentious, and if she deliberately distanced herself from Chen Shi, it would only arouse suspicion.

As for this old acquaintance, the two had crossed paths during the product testing, so it's not an exaggeration to say that, and it's actually more in line with Gu Hanying's temperament.

"This second round of testing is very simple."

The young maid in green spoke, pointing to the stone table in the middle of the pavilion.

There were two wine jugs and two wine cups on it.

Chen Shi frowned. Did he mean he was to drink with Gu Hanying?

What kind of test is this?

However, judging from the first round, there might be more to it than meets the eye. Let's not rush and hear what they have to say.

The maid in green used two wine jugs to fill two wine cups, and then spoke.

"One of these two glasses of wine is non-poisoned, and the other is poisoned. Miss Fourth and Steward Chen, please each choose one."

"What?!"

After hearing what the maidservant said, Chen Shi's eyes widened immediately.

Poisoned wine!

I knew this second round of testing wouldn't be easy, but I never expected it would involve making him drink poison. This is no joke!

But how could the selection test for the chief supervisor be a joke?

Gu Hanying was also startled and couldn't help but glance at Chen Shi.

When she came, she only said that she needed help selecting a head steward, but she didn't say what the specific task would be.

Who would have thought that they would have to drink poison?

"Please make your choice, both of you."

The little maid in green remained calm and simply said one sentence.