Chapter 72: Chapter 71 Sincerity (Thanks to the generous donation from the alliance of Brother Stay-at-home) _1
Translator: 549690339
“So the second challenge is to make the examiner sincerely want to keep me?” Meng Jingzhou repeated the condition of passing the challenge in his mind.
“What a strange test. Sounds like it wouldn’t be too difficult.”
“But where am I?” Meng Jingzhou was sitting in a row of seats, with four people in front and five behind him. He was right in the middle of this group of ten.
“Oh, so I’m participating in a job interview.” The scenario given to him by the Eternity Sect popped into his mind.
Meng Jingzhou looked at the immaculate wall opposite and his right hand moved unconsciously, bending his middle and ring fingers.
Nothing happened.
“Huh? Why would I do such a strange action?” Meng Jingzhou was perplexed, as this was an unfamiliar habit to him.
“Never mind, I should focus on the interview.”
Meng Jingzhou noticed the first person rush into the room where the examiner was, then rush back out. This sequence repeated three or four times.
Meng Jingzhou enthusiastically called out, “Hey man, why are you running so much? Is the examiner testing your running speed? If so, I suggest that you change your shoes. The quality of shoes can greatly affect your speed. Also, your running posture. You should squat down, hands on the ground, and arch your body. Trust me, I have experience…”
The fellow looked at Meng Jingzhou as if he were an idiot, ignored him, and continued to examine the quality of the potatoes.
The rules clearly state candidates cannot disclose the questions to each other.
The first, second, third, fourth, every person ran back and forth eagerly. None of them passed the challenge. Regardless of whether or not they passed, after the interview, they were immediately dismissed. The subsequent candidates had no way to determine whether passing involved more or fewer rounds.
“Next, Meng Jingzhou!” The stout examiner called out from inside.
“Here I am.” Meng Jingzhou entered the room with a confident gait.
The examiner asked with his usual friendly smile, “Meng Jingzhou, could you go to the market and check if anyone is selling potatoes there? ”
Meng Jingzhou remained motionless.
The examiner, assuming that his question might not have been clear, repeated it word for word.
This time Meng Jingzhou responded, “Why?”
“Why, what?” The examiner couldn’t keep up with Meng Jingzhou’s line of thought.
“I’m asking why I should go to the market to check if anyone is selling potatoes. Do you know what we’re doing right now?”
“We’re having an interview, aren’t we?” The examiner blurted out, thinking this was obvious.
“Exactly. You said it yourself, this is an interview, not your delivery service. Besides, didn’t you ask the previous four candidates the same thing? ”
“You’ve asked the same question four times and you’re still not satisfied? Want to go for a fifth?”
The examiner patiently explained, “This is part of the test.”
Meng Jingzhou obediently went to the market and returned, “Yes, there are potatoes for sale.”
“How many potatoes are there?”
Thinking he didn’t know the answer, Meng Jingzhou stood up, prepared to leave. The examiner sneered inwardly, ‘With this chatty kid’s constant running around, the moment he comes back again, I’ll declare him a failure.’
But when Meng Jingzhou opened the door, he found an old man standing there. He asked the old man: “How many potatoes do you have on your cart?”
The old man replied: “Eighty pounds.”
Meng Jingzhou turned back, “He says he has eighty pounds of potatoes. Are you also interested in how much it costs per pound?”
The examiner was taken aback, not able to ask ‘how much is it per pound’, since the old man could immediately answer.
So why bother asking anything else?
“How did you manage to bring the potato seller here?!” the examiner yelled in anger. How was he supposed to conduct the remainder of the exam?
Meng Jingzhou shrugged: “I asked him if several people had run over to inspect his potatoes. The old man complained that a few had run over to glance at his potatoes and then ran back. Again, they ran over to ask how many pounds of potatoes he had and ran back. They even came back to ask the price per pound, only asking, never buying.”
“I asked him if he wanted to meet the prime culprit who kept asking but never buying. He said he would like to, so I brought him along.”
The examiner was speechless. He had never encountered such a situation before and wasn’t sure how to proceed.
Annoyed by Meng Jingzhou’s disrespect, the examiner shouted, “You fail for not being able to guess my…”
Before he could finish, Meng Jingzhou kicked him: “To hell with your intentions, you fat-faced git!”
With that, Meng Jingzhou bolted out of the room.
The examiner angrily slammed his palm on the table, shattering it. “Stop right there!”
The examiner sincerely wanted to keep Meng Jingzhou, hence, Meng Jingzhou passed the challenge.
The Deputy Master rubbed his temples in agony. What a peculiar way of passing the challenge!
He had required the examiners to genuinely want to keep the applicants to prevent any from taking shortcuts or bribing the examiners.
He felt like he had thought this through, but didn’t anticipate such an unconventional way to pass the challenge.
It’s not just that the examiner genuinely wanted to keep Meng Jingzhou, he genuinely wished to tear Meng Jingzhou apart.
What on earth was the thought process of this young man? Or was it him who was in the wrong?
“Immortal Eternity, please grant me an answer.” The Deputy Master muttered a prayer to Immortal Eternity, hoping for a response.
The Master interrupted his Deputy’s prayer, “If only Immortal Eternity could hear you.”
The Deputy Master didn’t find the Master’s words disrespectful, knowing that the Master was the most devout disciple in Eternity Sect, he sighed: “We’ve tried so many times and failed. We still haven’t managed to resurrect Immortal Eternity. If we could, who cares about the Great Xia Dynasty or the Righteous Path? None of them could hold a candle to Immortal Eternity!”
“Only with a blood sacrifice, can we resurrect Immortal Eternity.”
The two of them did not further discuss this topic, the Deputy Master asked:
” What do you think of this Meng Jingzhou?”
The Master pondered: “He’s unlike any ordinary person. Truly a talented individual.”
The Master thought to himself, ‘Good thing I didn’t agree with the Deputy, saying for sure there wouldn’t be any other ways to pass, or where would I put my Master face.’
“This kid counts as a talent?”
“Of course, I think the Eternity Sect needs such out-of-the-box thinkers.”
“Look at the Seek Dao Sect from the Righteous Path, the reason why they have been able to exist for so long, is mainly because they possess wisdom beyond normal comprehension.”
The Deputy Master’s mouth twitched. He thought to himself that only the Master could describe madness in such a refined manner.
The Master continued: “Perhaps this individual named Meng Jingzhou might turn out to be a mainstay or even a pillar for our Eternity Sect.”
“Speaking of Meng Jingzhou, there was this young man who stood out in the first challenge, I think his name is Lu Yang. How did he perform?”
“Have the examiner sincerely keep me?”
Lu Yang pondered, “That’s not difficult; just give the examiner a kick. Better yet, spit at him. It’ll piss him off for sure. They’ll want to keep me and even express the desire to see me dead.”
“However, this method is too crude. Only a boor like Meng Jingzhou would use it. I’m a civilized person, I can’t stoop to his level.”