"I also received a message from the inspector. He said he has heard a lot about the Caichun Festival and has moved up his schedule. He will arrive in Yanjian County during the festival, so you need to be mentally prepared and not show any weakness in front of the inspector." Previously, the inspector had mentioned coming to Yanjian County after the Caichun Festival.
"Understood."
As Lu Yang left the branch, he ran into Wang He, Bai Zifang, and other stewards coming his way.
Wang He and the others nodded slightly to greet him. This new steward, Lu Yang, was quite favored by the leader, so they couldn’t afford to offend him.
Wang He and the others had worked at the branch for decades and knew some inside information. They speculated that the leader directly appointed Lu Yang and the other two because they performed exceptionally well during their initiation test, especially Lu Yang, who might have received the highest praise among them.
Wang He whispered, "The leader has always been someone who only acts when there’s a benefit. He probably knows that Lu Yang is on the rise and wants to build a good relationship with him before he becomes successful, making it easier for his own future promotions."
They understood that the leader's biggest goal was to get promoted to a position in a more prosperous area, so he was particularly focused on the upcoming inspector's visit.
"Maybe this meeting is related to the inspector too."
"But speaking of which, the leader still needs to meet certain conditions for promotion, right? Has he reached the Nascent Soul stage yet?"
Promotion within the sect not only looked at faith in the immortal beings but also considered cultivation level.
"Who knows? He might have reached it already but just hasn’t told us. He never explains his actions to us, so we don’t know his motives."
The leader's style reflected the overall atmosphere of the demonic sect, filled with distrust. Although the leader seemed to trust Lu Yang, he hadn’t shared any personal information with him.
Lu Yang knew very little about the leader.
...
The Caichun Festival arrived as scheduled, and the barbecue shop was bustling with customers. Many merchants from other places had noticed the business potential and suggested to Lu Yang that they open branches. Lu Yang would provide the recipes, and they would provide the funds.
Without exception, he turned them all away with a stern face.
Some cultivators wanted to eat for free but, upon seeing the three banners hanging on the wall, swallowed their unrealistic thoughts and paid up.
With the help of an automatic barbecue array, two ghostly helpers had more time to prepare skewers. Even with more customers than usual, the barbecue shop was able to keep running smoothly.
"Let’s go to that barbecue shop again... Yes, this one! My aunt told me it’s delicious, and if you come to Yanjian County, you must try it!"
"Look, they’re having a promotion! If you spend here, you can get a voucher for 10% off at the tofu shop on Front Street."
"If you spend over one tael of silver, you can spin the lucky wheel once! You can accumulate spins, and there’s no limit on how many you can do. The prizes are limited, so it’s first come, first served."
"Let’s go and give it a try!"
The two reached an agreement and stood at the end of the line, unsure how long they would have to wait.
At the entrance of the barbecue shop, Meng Jingzhou was busy with the lucky wheel, clearly enjoying himself.
The wheel had labels like "Try Again," "Second Prize," "First Prize," and "Grand Prize."
"Congratulations to this customer for winning the second prize! You get 40% off your next purchase! Let’s give him a round of applause!" Meng Jingzhou clapped enthusiastically, looking even happier than the winner.
"First prize, first prize has appeared! This customer gets a free meal!"
"Grand prize, someone actually won the grand prize!"
The lucky customer, surprised, asked, "What’s the grand prize?"
Meng Jingzhou took the customer’s hand and said warmly, "Congratulations! You’ve won a chance to experience being a waiter here! Others pay to try this out, but you’re lucky—you get to do it for free!"
"Considering the smoky environment in the back, our staff will bring the skewers to the entrance for you, so you won’t have to go back there!" Meng Jingzhou had a look that seemed to say they were being very thoughtful.
The customer replied, "Can I switch it to the first prize instead?"
"That’s not possible."
The customer declined the grand prize.
So far, Meng Jingzhou hadn’t managed to convince anyone to take the grand prize, but he was enjoying the process of trying.
Inside the barbecue shop, Lu Yang was moving around with a tray, his steps light and movements quick. He was steady on his feet, keeping the tray level and avoiding bumping into customers—he was like a leaf floating in the wind.
After more than a month of working as a waiter, his agility had greatly improved.
"How’s the food, Master Ma and Clerk Chi?" Lu Yang greeted the two customers with a smile. They were local officials who often came to enjoy skewers and drinks.
"It’s still as delicious as ever! Young Master Lu, I think your skills are wasted here. You should open a shop in a bigger county; you’d definitely earn more!"
"Come on, don’t talk nonsense. Haven’t you heard? Young Master Lu isn’t opening branches; it’s clear he’s just doing this for fun, not to make money."
Lu Yang could only smile back, "Hope you both enjoy the festival."
The two were clearly tipsy, their cheeks flushed. Master Ma grumbled, "Speaking of the Caichun Festival, it makes me angry. It used to be a seven-day holiday, but who came up with the bright idea to shorten it to three days?"
"Three days isn’t enough! And they call it a ‘short holiday’—does that even make sense? Adding ‘short’ in front of ‘holiday’ doesn’t make it a holiday!"
"I wish the person who thought of that a short life!"
Clerk Chi quickly interrupted Master Ma, "You shouldn’t say that! You came late, so it’s normal not to know. This was the idea of Governor Li!"
Master Ma snorted, "So it’s him. Not very capable but full of ideas!"
Clerk Chi, being more informed, said quietly, "Keep your voice down. We can’t speak ill of Governor Li right now. I heard he caught three nasty demonic cultivators recently, which is a big achievement. He’s about to get promoted, and Chief Fang Qingyun is set to take his place!"
Master Ma scoffed, dismissing Governor Li. After all, he was just a small fry and wouldn’t care about someone like him. "Just the other day, a colleague complained to me about Governor Li giving orders for the guards to work overtime, putting up little flags all night, and he personally supervised it, acting all important. He doesn’t need sleep at his Golden Core stage, but others do! Many guards fell asleep while working!"
Lu Yang poured them more wine, "I’ll go take care of something else."
"Go ahead, Young Master Lu, don’t mind us."
On the first night of the Caichun Festival, the four of them, including the two ghosts, were exhausted.
Before going to bed, one of the ghosts suddenly said, "I think ghosts don’t need to sleep. Should we arrange some work for them at night too?"
(End of Chapter)