With Bai Jing's repeated assurances, Wang Shuan and Liu Quan finally decided to take a gamble.
Wang Shuan took out his elder's seal and slammed it on the table, his demeanor imposing, "Today, I will be the guarantor."
Liu Quan gritted his teeth and also produced his elder's seal, adding, "But words are not enough. We need a written agreement with an official seal. No problem, right?"
Wang Shuan's face twitched, and he whispered to Liu Quan, "A written agreement? If we lose, we won't be able to escape either."
Liu Quan rolled his eyes. "Without a paper trail, what if we win and they refuse to honor it?"
Wang Shuan took another deep breath and looked at Bai Jing, "I'm really betting on you. Why don't you give us some confidence? Why are you so sure she'll succeed?"
Bai Jing pursed her lips, thought for a moment, and then said with some difficulty, "Actually, I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's highly probable. Telling you now wouldn't help anyway. We'll just give it a try. Whether it succeeds or fails, it's already like this."
Seeing the three still whispering amongst themselves, Lou Mingfang urged them, "As elders and supervisors, how can you lack decisiveness? If you're hesitant and indecisive, you might as well admit defeat if you don't have the courage."
"Heh, a wise person thinks thrice before acting. Clearly, this saying is too profound for someone like you who 'grabs half a piece and runs'," Liu Quan retorted. "Let's sign and seal it."
Che Fengqiong couldn't contain her delight and asked Shi Yan to prepare paper, a pen, and the official seal.
Shi Yan was quick, and within minutes, she had the paper and pen ready. She drafted an agreement, then had both parties sign and seal it.
Upon receiving the agreement, Lou Mingfang confirmed its contents multiple times and then announced to everyone, "Based on this executive interview, with the guarantee of Elders Wang Shuan and Liu Quan, if the interview is passed, Quan Jiu will join the Embroidery Bureau's Elder Council as the eleventh elder. If the interview fails, Elders Wang Shuan and Liu Quan will resign in disgrace. Did everyone hear clearly?"
Che Fengqiong looked at Quan Jiu triumphantly, expecting to see emotions like panic on her face.
What frustrated her, however, was that Quan Jiu's face showed only composure and confidence. In fact, her confident demeanor gave her a false impression that this match might not be as simple as she imagined.
As the unease in her heart dawned, Che Fengqiong's expression changed drastically. She stared intently at Shi Yan again, "Who exactly is she? Have you found out?"
Shi Yan paused slightly, then replied somewhat awkwardly, "I haven't inquired about her specific identity. But judging by her appearance, she's either someone who's dating a rich man or a young lady from a wealthy family. Such people wouldn't know embroidery. Embroidery isn't as common as singing or dancing. Without at least ten years of fundamental practice and talent, she couldn't possibly replicate Wang Huiping's work.
Besides, the elders couldn't discern the thirty-third stitch. How could she? At her age, could she really be more capable than all the elders combined? Absolutely impossible."
Che Fengqiong couldn't help but nod. The worry in her eyes gradually faded. Yes, it was absolutely impossible. From any perspective, this woman couldn't possibly pass the interview.
Thinking this, Che Fengqiong was completely relieved and sneered coldly, "Hmph, she's putting on quite a show."
Shi Yan set up a timer and said to Quan Jiu, "We'll give you one hour. Within this hour, as long as you can identify all thirty-three stitches and replicate any one of these eight pieces, and receive unanimous approval from all the elders, you will pass the interview."
Quan Jiu's lips curved slightly. "You know very well how many stitches can be embroidered in an hour. Before we begin, you must clarify the standard for passing. If you set an impossible task, expecting me to finish a piece in an hour, then I don't think this interview is necessary. Don't waste my time."
Lou Mingfang, Che Fengqiong, and the others all looked displeased.
Lou Mingfang reprimanded loudly, "An unknown nobody, is your time more precious than ours?"
Quan Jiu smiled gently, her beauty captivating. "They say youth is priceless. My twenty-seven years of age seem to be more valuable than yours."
"You... are too arrogant," Che Fengqiong pointed at Quan Jiu. The word "get out" was on the tip of her tongue, but remembering her objective, she had to swallow her anger and change her words.
Quan Jiu didn't even look at her and directly asked Shi Yan, "So, how many stitches do I need to embroider to be considered qualified? By the way, a normal person's speed is about 180 stitches per hour, which is considered a good result. This is the generally accepted normal hand speed in this industry. No objections, right?"
Shi Yan cursed inwardly. She hadn't expected this fool to know such trivial matters. But what did it matter? This was an interview for an executive position, so it couldn't possibly be judged by normal standards.
"Since you are interviewing for an executive position, we certainly cannot judge based on normal hand speed. You must embroider at least 220 effective stitches per hour, and the embroidered pattern must be complete, without any flaws, to be considered."
Quan Jiu frowned lazily. "220 stitches per hour, replicating Elder Wang's work, and also finding the stitches that none of the elders could find. This is truly not easy."
Shi Yan secretly rejoiced. Not only was it not easy, but she wanted to ensure Quan Jiu had no chance of winning at all.
Seeing this, Che Fengqiong's last lingering doubt was dispelled. Yes, it was truly not easy. Even she couldn't do it. At least, she hadn't noticed any difference in that stitch after looking at it for so many years.
"Then tell me, what are the thirty-two stitches you have identified?" Quan Jiu asked.
Che Fengqiong's brow furrowed slightly, and she looked at Quan Jiu suspiciously. "Why are you asking this?"
Quan Jiu chuckled. "I only need to find one. If you provide the other thirty-two, it will prevent me from finding duplicates and also prevent... me from finding too many."
Lou Mingfang burst into laughter. "Finding too many? I think you're dreaming. So many elders couldn't find them, and you're worried about finding too many."
"Nothing is absolute, what if I suddenly have an epiphany?" Quan Jiu blinked and smiled.
Bai Jing quickly chimed in, "From any perspective, you should provide them."
Lou Mingfang immediately retorted, "That is the result of our painstaking efforts day and night. How can we easily hand it over, even to an amateur?"
Quan Jiu sneered. "Fine, what you say is also true. After all, it's the result of your hard work. In that case, you only need to tell me which piece you haven't fully deciphered. That's enough."
"Tch, you're quite good at boasting. It's no harm to tell you. We've been studying from right to left," Shi Yan said.
"Then I'll choose the leftmost piece as my reference."
Quan Jiu casually said, "I need the 'nd' series needles from Dexiu Pavilion; the 'Running Sand' cloth from Shanpin, in the 'Ginger Tea 2.0' color palette; and also the 'Black Tea Twelve-Color' silk threads from Siniian."
As soon as she finished speaking, not only Lou Mingfang and Che Fengqiong, but even Wang Shuan and Liu Quan were stunned speechless.
Lou Mingfang stared intently at Quan Jiu, her eyes narrowing slightly, her expression very serious.
Elder Xu, sitting beside her, swallowed involuntarily after his shock. "These are all things needed for the eighth piece. How does she know? Who... who is she?"
Lou Mingfang was so angry she wanted to smash her phone on Che Fengqiong's head. "You damn idiot, time and time again, this is zero foundation!"
Che Fengqiong's eyes widened too. She clenched her fists tightly and gritted out to Shi Yan, "You stupid pig, who is she? Get someone to investigate immediately. She knows exactly what needles, threads, cloth, and even colors to use. This woman is definitely an insider."
Shi Yan was also stunned and, not daring to retort, could only ask Yang Qi to take a photo and inquire outside the venue.
Quan Jiu smiled at the dumbfounded crowd, "Don't you have these things? Then I can't guarantee 100% accuracy."