The duo continued eating, one was relishing every bite with the other showing a disgruntled and pouting expression. The former was Cheng Yuan while the latter was Yang Qing who was aggrieved when he noticed a few of the dumplings were smaller by a few millimeters. He would have complained but he'd have to wait for replacement and that was if the restaurant decided to listen. In the end, he decided to eat them first and give the restaurant an earful later.
After a few minutes, the steamed and baked pork buns were finished as Yang Qing pulled up the plate of fried taro dumplings. It was crisp golden with a hint of red from the phoenix tail shrimp used in the filling. Yang Qing due to the doubt that was already rooted from his earlier discoveries was quick to examine each of the fried taro to find if they were even and in the correct size. It was only after he had confirmed there was nothing off with their size that he nodded in satisfaction and started dividing them up. Cheng Yuan wondered what Yang Qing was doing when he was examining them, he just chalked it up to an eating ritual of Yang Qing's. He had thought of copying him but then decided against it.
Cao Ying like a dutiful waiter came to clear the plate that had the pork buns on them. Cheng Yuan couldn't help but meaningfully glance at him as he was taking the plate back to the kitchen. He still wasn't over how someone this young and at the early stage of the foundation realm was just a servant at a restaurant no matter how glamorous it was.
"Is the Order blind or do they have so much talent that they don't care about someone with this level of talent." Cheng Yuan silently wondered to himself.
"Curious about Cao Ying are we?" Yang Qing asked with a smile when he noticed Cheng Yuan still looking over at Cao Ying.
Cheng Yuan ended up choking on the fried taro that was midway down his mouth before he got clear enough to respond,
"No it's not that it's…..it's...it's…..Yes, I'm curious why someone that gifted is just a servant at a restaurant. Doesn't the Order want someone with his talent? By what I've noticed even rank 1 sects and families would covet someone with his level of talent. From what I can tell he doesn't even seem like a regular early-stage foundation expert. His realm seems multiple levels stronger and more defined." Cheng Yuan decided to be honest and speak out his thoughts when he saw he couldn't come up with a good excuse for why he was looking at Cao Ying. Yang Qing was a judge and stronger so he should have noticed it. Lying here would just be foolish.
"You have a good eye Sect master Cheng Yuan. Your years of guiding and nurturing your core disciples personally were not spent in vain for you to be able to detect something different about Cao Ying's foundation establishment realm. Nurturing might be your lane." Yang Qing calmly said as he smiled before he chewed on the taro dumpling in his chopsticks.
"The Order is not full of talents to the point that it would ignore someone of Cao Ying's caliber. He is one of us. To be more specific he is a student of the Cultivation order institute. When he reaches the core formation realm he will be inducted to the Order either as a judge, inquisitor, or a different kind of staff for the Order depending on where his interests and talents lie." Yang Qing said as he fished for another taro dumpling.
"Then why?..." Cheng Yuan wasn't able to finish his question as he felt it was too inappropriate to dig this deep into how the Order did its things.
"Why is a student from the prestigious Order a servant at a restaurant catering to others? Is what you wanted to ask, right Sect master Cheng Yuan?" Yang Qing smiled as he asked. Cheng Yuan nodded in return.
"Well, it's not a secret or anything, anybody with a good source of information would know that most of the servants in these restaurants, inns, and pavilions are students of the Order Institute. Like I told you cultivation is just a part of life and not life itself, I came to learn that from the institute. As kids, we couldn't cultivate all throughout so the institute gives a three-month break every year. During those three months those with family can go see their family should they wish to and those without are given the option to come here. Even those with families, some opt to come here during the remainder of their holidays.
I worked in one of the restaurants here when I was a student and the pay isn't bad." Yang Qing couldn't help but smile as he remembered those days. It was during one of his holidays spent at some restaurant where he met Feng Xin and Yi Jie. Coincidentally he and Feng Xin had the same idea of working in a restaurant to score free food. The owners were exhilarated thinking they had gotten cheap labor but when they saw how much these fiends ate they had to quickly fire them before they went under. Soon word got around about these two and no restaurant dared hire them. As for Yi Jie, he worked as a wine brewer. He was almost as skilled at it as he was with the saber. He too got fired during the same period as Yang Qing and Feng Xin. However, his reason was similar yet different. It was due to his perfectionist nature that seemed to come out whenever brewing wine was involved that he ends up squandering ingredients to get the perfect blend. He got blacklisted around restaurants too.
The three became close during that time. Yi Jie and Yang Qing were in the same year and Feng Xin was two years below them. Their circle continued growing with time but their bonds remained. When Yang Qing became a judge he requested the two to be placed under his court. If both Feng Xin and Yi Jie wanted they could have both been Judges. They had the talent for it with both having gold cores but none of them wanted to be a judge. Feng Xin wanted to roam around as an inquisitor so he could eat delicacies all around and as for Yi Jie, he chose so because being an inquisitor would give him opportunities to gain inspiration and different ingredients for his wine recipes and the other reason was years of knowing Yang Qing he doesn't know when but he ended up as his caretaker. He had tried leaving once but the higher-ups said he will be Yang Qing's nanny forever.
"Those were fun times." Yang Qing muttered to himself before he came to, meeting the dumbfounded gaze of Cheng Yuan.
"Cough cough ahem where was I, right students like Cao Ying from the institute working at restaurants and whatnot. Well, the pay is good but it wasn't the reason the instructors suggested we do it. Other than helping us achieve a balance from cultivation, they suggested it so it could help us be grounded. It isn't that hard to imagine what would happen to young kids who got accepted at one of the most powerful organizations around the continent. The more their genius talent showed and flourished the more seeds of puffed-up pride would grow and they'd look at others as beneath them. You've seen how disciples from these stronger sects and families act around weaker sects and families haven't you? As a body of order and impartiality, the Order couldn't let its members go down that route. Working in these establishments was one such measure meant to curb that pride. You get to serve the big shots like us judges and those lower than yourself like cultivators from rank 5 sects.
The students have to be sincere and diligent in their services since their conduct is constantly evaluated by us and the reports are sent to the instructors who then share them with the class once those students resume their lessons at the institute. Those evaluations are crucial as those who have great evaluations get the favor of the judges and inquisitors who gave them those evaluations. When their work experience period comes up those judges and inquisitors can put a personal requisition for them instead of being randomly positioned. As for those with poor evaluations, that report isn't only shared by instructors but even among us judges and inquisitors too. Barely anyone would want someone with a bad attitude under them. So the student is left in limbo with nowhere to go and without work experience, the Institute will never let them graduate and the Order will never employ them. The only way they can improve their image is to come back here and do their work diligently and sincerely.
The mental strain of pretending you're not looking down on someone with a smile on your face is too much especially if you know there are monsters here who will easily spot that pretense. The only way to overcome it is to drop the pride and life becomes easier here for you. The whole outlook of the student changes once they do that besides Judges occasionally come here with the defendants so it makes it easier for the students to re-adjust their attitudes once they see their interactions like how I am here with you." Yang Qing patiently explained.
"Uuum pardon me for saying this but why would the student risk coming here if they know there's a chance of getting a negative evaluation? I would rather stay at home and not get any evaluation." Cheng Yuan couldn't help but wonder as the risk was too much.
"If you were told to take a small test for the chance at receiving pointers from someone in the palace realm and the domain realm when you are just at the foundation or qi stage would you take it?" Yang Qing asked.
"I would." Cheng Yuan answered instinctively. Who would refuse such a juicy pie? He would retake the test over and over. When his thoughts reached this far he couldn't help but smile with a look of understanding.
"Precisely, they get to interact with numerous experts from the core stage and above all in one place and maybe receive a good recommendation when they start their work experience putting them miles ahead of the rest. The students will always reel at such a chance. Besides our evaluations are not that strict. We don't judge their service skills just their eyes. If they treat you how they'd treat their friends, parents, teachers, or us then they pass it with flying colors. Most evaluations are good it's only that like in every society there are always bad apples. This test is one that weeds some of them out. Our eyes as judges and inquisitors will get clouded if something as dangerous as contempt fills them." Yang Qing seriously said before that look disappeared within seconds when his chopsticks picked up another taro.
"How do his expressions switch that fast?" Cheng Yuan couldn't help but wonder as he followed suit in gobbling down the taro dumplings.
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