Chapter 336: The Selection

Zuo Yamei had been here before. She expertly walked through the corridor and pushed open the nearest door. It was a large rectangular room, brightly lit. In the center was a huge long table with a dozen chairs along it. Against the wall were rows of wooden lockers and benches.

Zuo Yamei opened a locker, took off her cloak, carefully folded it, and hung it inside. She carefully checked her hair and clothes in the glass mirror inlaid on the inside of the door. After making sure there were no oversights, she took out a pair of shoes from the bottom of the locker.

These shoes were very rare: a pair of black, low-cut leather shoes made of deerskin. They were made by a shoemaker found among the European prisoners in the labor camp. After providing him with several pairs of worn-out modern leather shoes as samples and a full set of technical data, he finally produced a decent-looking modern-style leather shoe.

Naturally, the efficiency of this purely handmade product was not high, and due to the cost of the leather supply, the output was small. Only a few styles were produced in small batches to supply the Senate and some naturalized civil servants who needed to wear uniforms and “pay attention to their appearance.” Zuo Yamei received these shoes only after being selected for training here. She usually kept them in her locker and only wore them during training.

She carefully wiped the surface of the shoes, ensuring there was no dirt. Then she took one last look at herself in the mirror, clipped her name tag to her collar, and locked the locker door.

Next to the changing room was the makeup room, but the notice for today’s assembly clearly stated “no makeup,” so she didn’t go in. She walked directly to the physical training room behind it.

This was her third time here since the selection began. After the preliminary and secondary selections, there were not many people left. Zuo Yamei felt a little nervous. Since the maid training class was reorganized into the College of Arts and Sciences, she had gone from being a graduate of the last batch of the maid training class to a graduate of the first batch of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Although she was no longer a “servant” of the General Office after the reorganization, losing the opportunity to become a “servant” to a Yuanlao still made her and her sisters in the same situation feel quite lost for a time. Everyone knew that if they could become a “life secretary” to a chief, they might become a Yuanlao’s concubine in the future. If they gave birth to a son or daughter, the mother would gain status through her child, and the rest of her life would be set in stone with wealth and honor. Especially since her various grades and ratings were among the best in the training class, even her teacher said it was a pity when she was listed for graduation.

However, recently she was no longer so regretful. Zuo Yamei had seen enough to know: the chiefs would inevitably have many wives and concubines in the future, and there would be no shortage of jealousy and rivalry at home. When conflicts sharpened, a girl like her from a refugee background, with a humble birth and no family support, would be a natural target for bullying. If the main wife was harsh, let alone wealth and honor, she might not even be able to keep her life. It was not uncommon in the Great Ming for a main wife to abuse a concubine to death.

Although the chiefs were more approachable and kinder than the wealthy people of the Great Ming, as long as there was a distinction between a main wife and a concubine, such things would happen, just to a lesser or greater extent.

It was true that some of her predecessors had become “main wives,” but they were a very small minority. Most of them, even after giving birth to a Yuanlao’s child, remained nameless “life secretaries.” Therefore, her enthusiasm for becoming a “life secretary” had cooled considerably.

This sudden notification to participate in the selection for an artistic group caught her somewhat off guard. After joining the National Police, she had initially found it difficult to adapt to the high-intensity work, but more than a year of intensive education had given her a better foundation than others, and she adapted quickly. Moreover, she was already getting the hang of her job.

However, Zuo Yamei immediately realized the significance of the selection. During her time in the maid training class, she had received training in posture and dance, and had also watched some “film plays” of “Australian song and dance” and live demonstrations by female Yuanlao. She knew that the Yuanlao were very fond of “Australian song and dance.” When she served as a waitress at Yuanlao gatherings like the annual meeting, she had personally witnessed the ecstatic and fervent emotions of the chiefs when the female Yuanlao danced, although those dances seemed a bit too “wild” to Zuo Yamei.

If she could make further progress in this area and gain the favor of a Yuanlao, even if she didn’t become a life secretary, it would be of great benefit to her future.

With this in mind, Zuo Yamei did her best in the selection to display the various knowledge and skills she had learned in the maid training class, trying her best to imitate the “Australian-style” words and deeds she had learned from “internal reference films” and the female Yuanlao. She successfully passed two rounds of selection, and today was the day the results would be announced.

At this thought, she couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. In her mind, she reviewed over and over again the homework Liu Shuixin had given them after the last selection: memorize a one-and-a-half-minute dance and a song.

The dance was not too difficult for Zuo Yamei; her posture and dance scores had always been good in the maid training class. But singing was difficult. The training class had vocal exercises, and they had heard the most modern songs among the naturalized citizens, humming them privately to some extent, but they had never formally learned to sing.

She was aware of her own voice: it couldn’t be described as sweet, and sometimes she sang out of tune.

Could she catch the teacher’s eye in today’s selection? Zuo Yamei felt unsure, because there were nearly forty people in the third round of selection, almost all of them graduates and current students of the former maid training class, now the Women’s College of Arts and Sciences. She was well aware of the teaching strength of the Women’s College of Arts and Sciences in this area. In particular, she had heard from a junior that the college had opened a special major in literature and art, specifically to train girls in playing instruments, singing, and dancing.

If it were them, their skills would definitely be superior to hers. Zuo Yamei couldn’t help but worry. It was said that more than half would be eliminated in this final selection.

Outside the rehearsal room, young girls were already standing, all wearing the same style of clothes as Zuo Yamei. Some of them she knew, and they greeted each other in low voices. Most of the others were silent, some with their eyes closed, unable to hide their nervousness. Zuo Yamei also felt a little nervous. She saw that the first group had already gone in. She had received her number last time and was in the fifth group.

The door to the rehearsal room was closed, and she could hear the faint sound of music coming from inside. After passing the last selection, she and all the other qualified candidates had attended a two-day, one-night training camp here to rehearse the dance for this song.

Hearing this song, Zuo Yamei’s nervousness intensified. She couldn’t help but start practicing with her fingers.

As she was getting nervous, the music inside stopped, followed by what sounded like someone speaking. A few minutes later, the door to the rehearsal room opened, and the girls from the first group came out. The girls standing outside automatically parted to let them pass. Although each of them tried to act nonchalant, one could still see the joy, anxiety, and disappointment in their eyes.

Although the official results would not be announced until a few days after all the interviews were over, their performance and the judges’ attitudes during the selection had already said a lot.

The last girl from the first group came out. Zuo Yamei knew her: it was her junior, Lin Aili. Although she was a junior, she had been at the school for a long time. She had been sent to Lingao by the Guangzhou station when she was less than ten years old. After finishing primary school at Fangcaodi, she transferred to the maid training class. Perhaps because she was raised at Fangcaodi, Lin Aili’s figure, temperament, and demeanor were the most similar to the “Australians” compared to the other girls. In the maid training class, there was once a heated discussion about which Yuanlao would choose her. After the training class was changed to the College of Arts and Sciences, she officially transferred to the literature and art major. She was a super-hot candidate in the selection.

As soon as she came out, she was surrounded by several girls she knew, asking her questions. Zuo Yamei felt a little inadequate and moved a little further away.

A group consisted of six people. After four groups had passed in this non-stop manner, someone finally came out and called, “Fifth group, get ready to enter! Prepare for the dance.”

Zuo Yamei took a deep breath, stretched her body, and smoothed her clothes one last time. She followed the staff member’s call and walked in.

The rehearsal room was brightly lit. In front of a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror wall was a row of long tables. Seven or eight “chiefs” sat behind the tables, of various heights and builds. Zuo Yamei had seen some of them before, but others were new.

What surprised her most was that there was a Yuanlao superior from the National Police among them: Wu Ciren.

Wu Ciren was the director of the Traffic Police Department and had almost no interaction with Zuo Yamei. But his extraordinary height and weight made him a “giant” in the local area, so he was very well-known in the National Police.

Was such a stout man also interested in literature and art? Zuo Yamei was a little surprised. She knew a little about Australian culture: someone like Chief Dongfang, with his long, flowing hair, which was rare among the male chiefs, was the image of an “Australian artist.”

Another person she was familiar with was her dance teacher, Liu Shuixin. She looked a little haggard, as if she was overworked.

Numbered papers were temporarily stuck to the polished paulownia wood floor. Each person stood at their designated number in their group and bowed together. “Good evening.”

“Good evening to you all.” The host of the selection was Liu Shuixin. “Today is the third and final round of selection.” She emphasized the word “final.” “Who gets to stay depends on your performance this time. Please do your best to express yourselves.”

“Yes, teacher.”

“Next is the dance segment.”

Liu Shuixin nodded to a Yuanlao next to her. Okamoto pressed the play button on the tape recorder, and the melody of “21st Century Love Revolution” immediately flowed from the recorder’s speakers.