Chapter 134: The Four Accountants
Translator: Lan Editor: Efydatia
The examination was held at a senior high school of the capital. The school was empty on the weekends, so the principal took advantage of the vacant classrooms.
There were only four rows of tables and chairs in the small room. Two invigilators were standing at the front and the back, which was stricter than Qin Guan had anticipated.
The rules were written clearly on the blackboard. Any cheaters would be automatically disqualified, their entry fees would be non-refundable, and their names would be on the black list of all related examination offices affiliated to the Ministry of Finance.
Rolling his black pen around in his hand, Qin Guan scanned the exam papers from beginning to end.
The questions were not difficult. Eighty percent of them had been in the question bank for many years, and Qin Guan could proudly declare that the other twenty percent was as simple to answer as drinking water for a guy gifted with an extraordinarily retentive memory like his.
The practice part was simple, and the part about law and regulations was right up Qin Guan's alley.
The other candidates and the invigilators all were astonished when Qin Guan finished the multiple choice and fill-in-the-gap questions in 15 minutes. Their worldview almost collapsed.
Actually, the exams that year were not that simple. There were many difficulties on the paper in other people’s opinion. Everyone chose to ignore Qin Guan when he started to explain nouns and short-answer questions. They believed that he had been born into an aristocratic family of accountants. (Was there even such a family?)
Qin Guan finished the exam in 45 minutes, even though it had been designed to take the candidates two hours to complete. The invigilators paid close attention to him for fear that the other candidates close to him would try to copy from him.
Pretending to walk around, one of the invigilators walked up to Qin Guan's desk to have a look. He’s filled in all the blanks. He must be a really hard-working student.
He nodded, pretending to know the answers himself, before he returned to the platform. The other students couldn't fight the impulse to copy. They had misunderstood the invigilator's action, and they believed that Qin Guan's answers were right.
As a result, they all showed their special talent at cheating. The beautiful girl sitting in front of Qin Guan took out a small mirror and read Qin Guan's answers from it.
Qin Guan was left speechless when he saw the flickering light spots across his paper. Could you at least ask the paper's owner for permission?
No one paid attention to the feelings of a sulking kid though. Ever since the reformations and opening-up policy, the government had standardised the regulations of various industries and introduced a new series of policies.
As a result, a group of older accountants had to participate in the certificate exams.
For veterans in the job market, Qin Guan was a small bird in college, just a tool for passing their exams.
Qin Guan protected his papers well, otherwise the older man sitting close to him would have taken his exam and signed his own name on it.
The bell rang. It was time for the candidates to hand in their papers ahead of time.
Shaking, Qin Guan handed in his papers, casting a fierce look around him before leaving.
He drank two mouthfuls of water outside to get over the shock. What a terrible grown-up society!
There would be another exam in the afternoon, so Qin Guan had to find a restaurant nearby.
His thoughts were interrupted though, as he was surrounded by the four candidates that had been sitting around him in the classroom.
Qin Guan looked around him. After analyzing the situation, he understood what was going on. With a flattering smile, he said hello to them.
The four candidates were dazzled by his smile. He is one cunning guy. He shouldn’t be an accountant with such a handsome face. It’d be a waste for him to sit in a dark room and calculate every day.
The oldest man of the group spoke first, "Are you a student, young man?"
"Yes, I’m in college."
"You must be a very good student. Are you confident about the exam in the afternoon?"
"It’ll be a piece of cake!"
The oldest woman patted Qin Guan's shoulder to encourage him. "Fine, we’ll rely on you later then."
Qin Guan was confused. "We’ll be punished seriously if we get caught."
They dismissed his doubts recklessly. "Our units sent us here for the exams. We’re just going through the motions. Our scores should be average."
"We originally had a surrogate exam-taker who was going to sit at your desk, but he deserted us right before the battle. We have to rely on you to keep our jobs. Don't worry, our work is on Math and Science, and we have advanced cheating skills. You won't get caught."
"Let’s go for lunch! Our treat! We’ll discuss this later."
Qin Guan was escorted to a restaurant. Who said that all accountants were honest?
The advanced skills were actually their beepers. There was a public phone on campus, so they got a phone card for Qin Guan.
Qin Guan could tell them the multiple choice and true or false answers in a simple way. Those questions took up 40 percent of the total score. The essay questions would not be Qin Guan's responsibility.
Qin Guan relaxed. He could help them without getting caught cheating. He couldn't miss this chance to connect with those senior accountants. He expressed the questions lingering in his mind.
"I will continue to take exams after getting this certificate. What should I do next, become a post accountant or a certified public accountant?"