CHAPTER 379: CHAPTER 129 TROUBLEMAKING

"What’s going on? Everyone seems so down." Du Xixi amusedly rolled up her thin sleeves, washed her hands, and rescued the block of meat that was becoming more "strange" under He Yuan’s hands. With a few gentle slices of the knife, the block turned into slices.

Du Xixi placed the meat slices in the dish next to He Yuan, rinsed the knife blade to remove the grease, and asked the four who hadn’t made any move, "Sister Lin You said there’s something the Food Department needs me to help with, but she wouldn’t tell me what it is. Can you guys let me in on the secret?"

He Yuan smiled awkwardly, wiped the sweat that had somehow slid down her face, and whispered, "Actually, it’s not a big deal, just that..."

Before finishing, her words got stuck on the tip of her tongue. She seemed embarrassed and turned to Chen Si beside her, pleadingly shaking his sleeve.

Chen Si raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit embarrassed too. But since He Yuan rarely acts so coy, he couldn’t refuse. He coughed lightly into his fist before continuing her unfinished sentence, "Blue Star University has a tradition. Every August, they evaluate students who’ve applied to various departments, sort of an initial screening for future admissions."

"Since our Food Department has been established, we naturally have to follow Blue Star University’s tradition. Director Lin sent us the invitation list a few days ago." Chen Si tapped on his Light Computer and shared the list of over a hundred names with Du Xixi, "The thing is, we don’t have much teaching experience, nor do we have experience in screening students."

To be honest, although the four of them are culinary prodigies hand-picked from the Cultural Relics Bureau, their talents are pretty much limited to cooking.

They could manage some artifact research at the bureau, even try teaching, but when it came to screening students... they glanced at each other, feeling uneasy about taking on this task.

It’s not that they didn’t dare to screen; they primarily feared the remaining candidates might not measure up to Du Xixi, a true culinary master. Secondarily, they feared accidentally letting a true talent slip through the cracks.

If they unintentionally jeopardized a culinary prodigy’s future, they couldn’t face that responsibility.

Du Xixi’s focus wasn’t immediately on this "important matter." Instead, she subtly observed the progress between He Yuan and Chen Si, sensing that the paper-thin barrier between these budding lovebirds was starting to break. She chuckled quietly.

However, Du Xixi’s chuckle was fleeting and almost went unnoticed, as the four had their heads down and missed her sweet observation.

Du Xixi quickly shifted back to business, placing the knife on the rack, and used the handkerchief extended by a Mechanical Soldier to gently wipe the water droplets from her hands, her expression not nearly as bothered as that of the four.

She asked calmly, "How does the Cultural Relics Bureau screen talent?"

"They select recent graduates from top universities in matching disciplines for various entry-level roles within the bureau. The evaluation period is six months, and they remain based on their performance during the assessment," Wenren Yu, the youngest among the four and the first to work at the bureau, explained since he knew its workings best.

Du Xixi nodded and said, "I don’t have similar experience either. Why don’t we follow the bureau’s approach? The assessment lasts half a month, starting with basic skills. Those who do well will naturally be kept, and those who don’t..."

Du Xixi smiled, leaving the rest unsaid. Those who don’t perform well will naturally be screened out. Even if they passed the interstellar examination and met the Food Department’s score line, their names won’t be on the final admission list.

It may seem unfair, but if they can’t even master the basics, even if they get into the Food Department, they’ll just coast through until graduation.

If people with no cooking talent enter the Food Department, they probably won’t even make it to graduation; Du Xixi and the others would feel they’re wasting resources and kick them out.

Taking up space without any contributions? Dream on.

The four pondered deeply and felt Du Xixi’s idea was indeed good. It allowed them to quickly assess everyone’s perseverance and talent and minimized the risk of losing potential talents.