Chapter 1050: The Truth in the Question

“You wait… I’m not convinced!” Chen Jun Nan said. “Why does he win just by saying those two sentences?”

Ren She paused for a moment and said, “Because my teacher once taught me a theory, which is ‘Xing Cun Zhe Pian Cha’.”

Chen Jun Nan said, “Can this theory even apply here? A restaurant owner using ‘Xing Cun Zhe Pian Cha’?”

“Yes, just as this young man said…” Ren She nodded. “The people who write opinions on the message board are always a minority. Let me give an idealized example: Out of a hundred customers, one thinks the food is a bit too salty, so he writes that opinion down. The owner adjusts by reducing the salt to accommodate it, and as a result, the other ninety-nine think it’s too bland.”

“Ah…?” Chen Jun Nan was stunned, feeling that this explanation made more sense than his own.

Ren She thought about it more and found it even more reasonable: “This answer is spot on… That’s ‘Xing Cun Zhe Pian Cha’. In this idealized scenario, it’s not that ninety-nine people think it’s bland… but that one hundred percent of them do.”

“What do you mean?” Chen Jun Nan asked.

“Because the person who wrote the opinion is very likely never to visit that unsatisfactory restaurant again, leaving only those without opinions to bear the results of this change.” Ren She looked as if he had grasped some profound life truth. “You’ve probably noticed too… There are often restaurants we love, but after a few weeks away, we go back and find the food far worse than before, until we stop going altogether, and then it ends up with a ‘for rent’ sign. On the other hand, those places that haven’t changed their flavors much in decades keep running. So, ‘opinions’ can be listened to, but they must be filtered and summarized—you can’t blindly follow them one hundred percent.”

“It does seem that way… Running a shop is really an art.”

Chen Jun Nan agreed verbally, but he felt a bit unhappy inside. This time, Jin Yuan Xun had lucked out and scored a point, so he needed to be more cautious going forward. Otherwise, if he couldn’t take that “Zu” from him, things would get even trickier.

Ren She pulled out a nearly rotten pencil from his pocket and lightly checked off the answer on the back of the question.

“Whether it’s running a shop or life itself, it’s the same,” Ren She said. “The people who point fingers at your life, criticize, or smear you are always a minority. If you keep adjusting yourself according to their demands, your life will become confused.”

Chen Jun Nan and Jin Yuan Xun fell silent after hearing this.

Ren She said, “How about this elevated perspective of mine?”

“The reasoning is okay, but the way you say it is a bit pretentious,” Chen Jun Nan said.

“Then I’ll revise it next time,” Ren She said.

“Well, you’ve studied ‘Xing Cun Zhe Pian Cha’ for nothing—let’s move on to the next question,” Chen Jun Nan said. “I thought this book was all logic problems, but now there are theory questions… Are there math problems and humanities questions too?”

“Possibly,” Ren She said. “These one hundred difficult problems are my treasures. Normally, I just read them like a book without trying to solve them.”

“But why is that?” Chen Jun Nan said. “You don’t seem dumb. If you put in the effort, you could probably solve them all in a few days. Why do you need to hear our answers to judge them?”

“I’m conflicted,” Ren She said as he flipped through the notebook. “Do you know what that person said to me…? He said that if I answer these one hundred questions correctly, he’ll come back and help me become ‘Di Ji’.”

“Ah…?” Chen Jun Nan was stunned.

“But has he ever thought…?” Ren She’s eyes flickered. “If he really left, I don’t want him to come back.”

“Who is this person you’re talking about…?”

“He’s an old friend who showed me great kindness,” Ren She said. “Or maybe I misunderstood his meaning. These one hundred questions lead not just to one hundred answers, but to one hundred ways to solve problems and one hundred philosophies for navigating life. By the time I finish them, I might not even need him to return—I could handle most situations here on my own.”

“You’re making it sound more and more mysterious…”

“So I say these one hundred questions are like tickets,” Ren She said wistfully. “I thought I had a long time to wait slowly, and whenever I felt ready to board, I could open them and set off toward the future… But now, I might die in this game, and sitting here, I realize everything feels a bit too late.”

“Hey, hold on, you’re saying some scary stuff,” Chen Jun Nan said. “Let me make this clear—I have no interest in ‘gambling my life’ with you. You won’t die.”

After saying that, he reached out and tugged at Jin Yuan Xun: “Little Jin isn’t ‘gambling his life’ with you either, right?”

“Why would I ‘gambling my life’…?” Jin Yuan Xun asked.

Ren She shook his head after hearing this: “It’s not about that… You don’t want to ‘gambling your life’ with me, and I don’t want to ‘gambling my life’ with you, so we can all get along peacefully. But I might still die.”

“So, who have you offended…?” Chen Jun Nan asked.

“Offended?” Ren She gave a bitter laugh. “In this place, you don’t need a valid reason to die. Maybe it’s just because I don’t want to ‘gambling my life’ with you that I end up dead.”

“What kind of bullshit logic is that…?” Chen Jun Nan said. “Don’t worry—if anyone comes after you, just tell me!”

“Qing Long.”

“…Then you can tell Lao Qi!” Chen Jun Nan quickly corrected himself.

“We’ll see,” Ren She said with a smile as he flipped open the notebook. “Next question.”

The two of them became serious again upon hearing this, as this question could directly decide the fate of their “Zi,” so neither dared to slack off.

“There are two generals surrounded by enemy forces, but their troops are stationed on Mount Jia and Mount Yi respectively. It’s known that if both sides launch a breakout at the same time, they can defeat the enemy and both escape. But if one attacks alone, they’ll be completely wiped out. Do you understand so far?”

The two nodded: “We understand.”

“So, the two generals need to agree on a time to launch the breakout simultaneously. But because they’re too far apart to see smoke signals, they have to send messengers at great risk to notify each other. Suppose the general on Mount Jia sends a messenger to Mount Yi to say ‘break out at noon,’ but he’s not sure if the messenger will encounter an ambush on the way or even reach Mount Yi, so he doesn’t dare to attack until the messenger returns.”

Chen Jun Nan scratched his head after listening: “It’s a bit abstract, but I still get it.”

“The general on Mount Yi faces the same issue. After receiving the message, he’s not sure if the messenger can make it back to Mount Jia to confirm that ‘the other side received it,’ so he still doesn’t dare to move out.”

“Hiss…” Chen Jun Nan slowly furrowed his brow, feeling that this question had jumped to an absurd level of difficulty in just a few sentences.

“So, my question is, under the current conditions, what method can ensure that these two generals will definitely launch their breakout at the same time?”

Chen Jun Nan and Jin Yuan Xun looked at each other, both at a loss.

“Can’t they just send everyone from the whole mountain as messengers…?” Chen Jun Nan asked.

“……?”