BXBX NOVEL Chapter 71: Sincerity
“But where am I now?” Meng Jingzhou sat on a row of benches, with four people in front of him and five behind, making up a group of ten, with him right in the middle.
“Oh, I see, I’m applying for a position at a commerce association.” The setting given to him by the Everlasting Sect popped into his mind.
Meng Jingzhou looked at the white wall in front of him, his right hand moved unconsciously, bending his middle and ring fingers.
Nothing came out.
“Huh? Why am I making such a weird gesture?” Meng Jingzhou was puzzled, not remembering ever having such a habit.
“Never mind, let’s focus on the application.”
Meng Jingzhou noticed that after the first person entered the room where the examiner was, they hurried out, then rushed back in, going back and forth three or four times.
Meng Jingzhou enthusiastically shouted, “Hey, brother, what are you running for? Is the examiner testing your running speed? Then I suggest you change your shoes, the quality of the shoes can really help with your running speed. Also, your starting position, squat on the ground, support yourself with both hands, arch your body, that’s the fastest way to run. Believe me, I have a lot of experience…”The person looked at Meng Jingzhou as if he were an idiot, ignoring him, and ran out to check the quality of the potatoes.
It was clearly stated in the rules that candidates are not allowed to disclose the questions to each other.
The first, second, third, fourth person, each one ran quite diligently, naturally, none of them passed. Whether they passed or not, after the interview, they disappeared immediately, so those behind couldn’t judge whether running back and forth more times meant passing or failing.
“Next up, Meng Jingzhou!” the chubby examiner called from inside.
“Here I come.” Meng Jingzhou walked in, full of energy.
The chubby examiner, as usual, asked with a smile, “Meng Jingzhou, can you go to the market and see if anyone’s selling potatoes?”
Meng Jingzhou didn’t move.
The chubby examiner thought he hadn’t made himself clear, so he repeated the question slowly and clearly.
This time Meng Jingzhou spoke, “Why?”
“What do you mean, why?” The chubby examiner couldn’t follow Meng Jingzhou’s line of thought.
“I mean, why do I need to go to the market to see if anyone’s selling potatoes? Do you know what we’re doing right now?”
“We’re having an interview,” the chubby examiner said as if it were obvious.
“Exactly, you said it yourself, this is an interview, not running errands for you. Besides, didn’t you ask the same question to the previous four people?”
“You asked one question four times and still not satisfied, and you want to ask a fifth time?”
The chubby examiner patiently said, “This is a test question.”
Meng Jingzhou went to the market obediently and reported back, “There are potatoes for sale.”
“How many potatoes?”
Meng Jingzhou didn’t know the answer, stood up to leave, and the chubby examiner smirked, thinking just come back one more time, and I’ll declare you failed.
Unexpectedly, when Meng Jingzhou opened the door, there stood an old man right outside. Meng Jingzhou asked the old man at the door, “How many potatoes do you have in your cart?”
The old man said, “Eighty pounds.”
Meng Jingzhou turned around and said, “He said there are eighty pounds of potatoes. Do you also want to ask how much they cost per pound?”
The chubby examiner opened his mouth but didn’t manage to ask “how much per pound” because the old man at the door could answer immediately.
What’s the point in asking then!
“Why did you bring the potato seller here?!” the chubby examiner angrily said. How was he supposed to continue the test now?
Meng Jingzhou shrugged, “I asked him if several people had come over asking about the potatoes. The old man complained that several people had looked at his potatoes, ran back, came over again to ask how many pounds there were, ran back again, and also asked how much they cost per pound, asking without buying.”
“I asked if he wanted to meet the person who kept asking without buying, he said yes, so I brought him over.”
The chubby examiner: “……”
What to do next, nobody had ever told him he might encounter this situation.
Thinking of Meng Jingzhou’s disrespect towards him, the chubby examiner hardened his heart and shouted, “You can’t anticipate what’s expected, you’re eliminated…”
Before the chubby examiner could finish, Meng Jingzhou kicked him, “Nonsense expectations, giving you this fatty face!”
After saying that, Meng Jingzhou ran out.
The chubby examiner slapped the table to pieces, “You stop right there!”
The examiner genuinely wanted to keep Meng Jingzhou from leaving, so Meng Jingzhou passed the test.
…
The vice sect leader rubbed his temples in pain, “What kind of bizarre method of passing is this?”
He had set the rule that examiners must genuinely want to keep the interviewee to prevent some from taking shortcuts, such as bribing the examiner.
He thought he had been meticulous enough, but he hadn’t anticipated such an unexpected method of passing.
The examiner wanted to genuinely keep Meng Jingzhou so much that he genuinely wanted to tear Meng Jingzhou apart.
Was there something wrong with this kid’s brain, or was it actually me who was brainless?
“Everlasting Being, give me an answer,” the vice sect leader muttered, praying to the Everlasting Being, hoping for a response.
“If only the Everlasting Being could hear you,” the sect leader interrupted the vice sect leader’s prayer.
The vice sect leader didn’t think the sect leader was blaspheming; he knew the sect leader was the most devout believer in the Everlasting Sect. He sighed, “How many times have we tried and failed? We’ve never been able to revive the Everlasting Being. If we could, what would the Great Xia Dynasty matter, or the righteous path? None would be a match for the Everlasting Being!”
“Only with a sacrifice of blood can the Everlasting Being be revived.”
The two did not discuss this topic further. The vice sect leader asked, “What do you think of this Meng Jingzhou?”
The sect leader marveled, “Unconventional, truly a talent.”
The sect leader thought, thankfully, he hadn’t agreed with the vice sect leader that there would definitely not be another way to pass; otherwise, where would he, as the sect leader, put his face?
“This kid is also considered a talent?”
“Of course, I think our Everlasting Sect needs this kind of talent with a way of thinking different from ordinary people.”
“You see, the Dao Seeking Sect of the righteous path, why can it survive in the world? I’ve summarized a few reasons, and the most important reason is that they possess wisdom beyond what ordinary people can comprehend.”
The vice sect leader’s mouth twitched, thinking the sect leader really had a way of making madness sound so elegant and fresh.
The sect leader continued, “Maybe this Meng Jingzhou could become a core force for our Everlasting Sect, even a pillar!”
“Speaking of Meng Jingzhou, that noticeable kid from the first challenge, seems to be called Lu Yang. How did he perform?”
…
“Making the examiner genuinely want to keep me?”
Lu Yang pondered, “What’s so difficult about that? Just give the examiner a kick, and maybe spit on him for good measure, guaranteed to anger the examiner. Not just to keep me, but he might even wish to keep my life.”
“But that method is too barbaric. Only a brute like Meng Jingzhou would use such a method. I’m a civilized person, I can’t do the same.”
(End of the chapter)