"The second test is to make the examiner sincerely want to keep me here?" Meng Jingzhou read the requirement in his mind again. "What a strange test, it doesn’t sound too difficult."
"But where am I right now?" Meng Jingzhou sat on a row of benches, with four people in front and five behind him, making a group of ten, and he was right in the middle.
"Oh, it turns out I’m here for an interview with the merchant association." The thought popped into his head.
Meng Jingzhou looked at the white wall in front of him, and his right hand moved a bit, with his middle finger and ring finger bending.
Nothing came out.
"Huh? Why am I making such a strange gesture?" Meng Jingzhou was confused; he didn’t remember having such a habit.
"Forget it, never mind, let’s focus on the interview."
He noticed the first person who entered the examiner's room rushed out quickly and then hurried back in, running back and forth three or four times.
Meng Jingzhou cheerfully shouted, "Hey brother, what are you running for? Is the examiner testing your running speed? I suggest you get a better pair of shoes; the quality of shoes really helps with running speed. Also, your starting position matters—squat down, hands on the ground, arch your back, that’s the fastest way to run. Trust me, I have a lot of experience..."
The guy looked at Meng Jingzhou like he was an idiot and ignored him, running out to check the quality of the potatoes.
The rules clearly stated that candidates were not allowed to share questions with each other.
The first, second, third, and fourth candidates all ran around quite a bit, and naturally, none of them passed. Regardless of whether they passed or not, they disappeared right after the interview, leaving the next candidates unable to tell if those who ran more often passed or if those who ran less did.
"Next, Meng Jingzhou!" the chubby examiner called from inside.
"I'm coming." Meng Jingzhou walked in with a bright expression.
The chubby examiner smiled and asked, "Meng Jingzhou, can you go to the market and see if there are any potatoes for sale?"
Meng Jingzhou didn’t move.
The chubby examiner thought he hadn’t explained clearly, so he repeated the question slowly.
This time Meng Jingzhou spoke up: "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" The chubby examiner didn’t follow Meng Jingzhou's line of thought.
"I mean, why should I go to the market to see if there are potatoes for sale? Do you know what we are doing right now?"
"We're in an interview," the chubby examiner said as if it were obvious.
"Exactly, you said it’s an interview, not a task for you. Besides, didn’t you ask this question to the four people before me?"
"You’re not satisfied with asking a question four times and want to ask a fifth time?"
The chubby examiner patiently explained, "This is a test question."
Meng Jingzhou said "oh" and obediently went to the market: "There are potatoes for sale."
"How many potatoes are there?"
Meng Jingzhou didn’t know the answer, so he stood up, ready to leave. The chubby examiner showed a hint of a cold smile, thinking, "You talk too much. If you come back one more time, I’ll declare you failed."
Unexpectedly, when Meng Jingzhou opened the door, he found an old man standing outside. Meng Jingzhou asked the old man, "How many potatoes do you have in that cart?"
The old man replied, "Eighty pounds."
Meng Jingzhou turned back: "He says there are eighty pounds of potatoes. Are you going to ask how much they cost per pound?"
The chubby examiner opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to ask "How much per pound?" Even if he did, the old man could answer right away.
What’s the point of asking that!
"Why did you call the potato seller over?!" the chubby examiner shouted angrily. How could they continue the test now?
Meng Jingzhou shrugged: "I asked him if several people had come to ask about the potatoes, and the old man complained that a lot of people came to look at his potatoes, then ran back to ask how many pounds he had, then ran back again to ask how much they cost, just asking and not buying."
"I asked him if he wanted to meet the one who just asks and doesn’t buy, and he said yes, so I brought him over."
The chubby examiner was speechless.
What to do next? No one had told him he would face such a situation.
Thinking about how Meng Jingzhou disrespected him, the chubby examiner gritted his teeth and shouted, "You won’t guess the higher-ups’ intentions and will be eliminated..."
Before he could finish, Meng Jingzhou kicked him: "To hell with your higher-ups’ intentions, you fatso!"
After saying that, Meng Jingzhou ran out.
The chubby examiner slammed his hand on the table, breaking it: "You stop right there!"
The examiner truly wanted to keep Meng Jingzhou, and he passed the test.
...
The deputy leader rubbed his forehead in pain. What a strange way to pass a test!
He set the rule that examiners should sincerely want to keep candidates because he was worried some might take shortcuts and bribe the examiners.
He thought he had been thorough enough in his rules, but he didn’t expect such an unexpected way to pass.
The examiner not only sincerely wanted to keep Meng Jingzhou; he also sincerely wanted to tear him apart.
What is wrong with this kid’s brain? Or is it that I’m the one without a brain?
"Immortal who cannot die, give me an answer," the deputy leader muttered, praying to the immortal, hoping for a response.
The leader interrupted the deputy leader’s prayer: "If only the immortal could hear what you’re saying."
The deputy leader didn’t think the leader was disrespecting the immortal; he knew the leader was the most devout follower in the immortal sect. He sighed, "How many times have we tried? All failed. We still haven’t been able to revive the immortal. If we could revive the immortal, how would the Great Xia Dynasty or the righteous path stand a chance against him!"
"Only with blood as a sacrifice can we revive the immortal."
The two didn’t discuss this topic further. The deputy leader asked, "What do you think of this Meng Jingzhou?"
The leader clicked his tongue in wonder: "He doesn’t follow the usual path; he’s quite a talent."
The leader thought to himself that he was glad he hadn’t agreed with the deputy leader when he said there wouldn’t be other ways to pass the test; otherwise, where would he put his face as the leader?
"This kid is considered a talent?"
"Of course! I think our immortal sect needs people with such unconventional thinking."
"Look at the Righteous Path’s Dao Sect; why do they last in this world? I’ve summarized a few reasons, and the most important one is that they possess wisdom beyond what ordinary people can understand."
The deputy leader twitched his mouth, thinking the leader was truly something, making insanity sound so fresh and elegant.
The leader continued, "Maybe this Meng Jingzhou can become a backbone of our immortal sect, or even a pillar!"
"Speaking of Meng Jingzhou, that kid who stood out in the first test, was it Lu Yang? How did he perform?"
...
"Make the examiner sincerely want to keep me?"
Lu Yang pondered: "What’s so hard about that? Just kick the examiner, and it would be best to spit at him too. That would definitely infuriate the examiner. Forget about wanting to keep me; he might even want to keep my life!"
"But this method is too crude; only a rough person like Meng Jingzhou would use it. I’m a civilized person; I can’t act like him."
(End of Chapter)