Where was he supposed to get some money?
As Qin Chuan pondered, he secretly refined the big black wok in his arms. This thing was far too conspicuous; he absolutely could not bring it back to the He family compound—a useless, battered wok brought back for no reason would definitely arouse suspicion.
He might as well extract the Dharma essence inside before going home.
Now that he was already at the second level of Qi Refining, his extraction speed had become much faster as well.
The “Spiritual Chef” cultivation worth 5 points of Dharma essence took only half an hour to be completely refined.
【The Furnace Master has extracted one portion of Spiritual Chef cultivation】
Boom!
From within the pitch-black great furnace, the illusory image of a black wok flew out, then exploded violently, transforming into pages upon pages of written recipes—Treasure Spirit Porridge, Five Elements Treasure Chicken, Eight Immortals Delicacies… all dishes Qin Chuan had never even heard of.
At the same time, countless cooking experiences surged into his mind.
He looked at the panel again:
Advanced Spiritual Chef (Level Three)
This level was already enough for him to become a head chef in a large restaurant, perhaps even a signature head chef who held down the establishment.
“Don’t tell me… I should find a side job at a restaurant?”
The thought had only just arisen in Qin Chuan’s mind before he shook his head again—he had no time.
The work at Nongling Temple took up most of the day. By the time he got off work, it was already night. What restaurant would still be open then?
He sighed and carefully savored those spiritual meal recipes.
Treasure Spirit Porridge needed to be simmered with spirit rice, and quite a few medicinal herbs had to be added as well. Once cooked, it would become a whole pot of highly nourishing spiritual food, greatly beneficial to both cultivation and physique.
But every single one of those ingredients was expensive.
Qin Chuan looked at his meager savings. Under ordinary circumstances, he simply could not afford to eat it.
But, facing a puddle on the street and looking at his somewhat sallow face reflected within, he gritted his teeth.
“At any rate, I got paid today. I’ll treat myself to one good meal!”
And so he made a special trip to the grain shop and market to buy a few liang of spirit rice and an old hen, then went to a seasoning shop to gather some medicinal dregs and spirit herbs to use as seasonings. After returning to the He family compound, he borrowed the He family’s kitchen.
The He family were all rather curious—usually, like everyone else in the courtyard, Qin Chuan cooked on the little stove in the corner. Why had he suddenly thought to use the large kitchen stove today?
An hour later.
He Xingchen had just pushed open the gate and entered the courtyard when he smelled an indescribable fragrance. Startled, he called toward the kitchen:
“What are you making today? It smells so good!”
“Brother!” He Qingxuan trotted out, her cheeks flushed with excitement. “It’s Brother Qin Chuan! He bought spirit rice and is making ‘Treasure Spirit Porridge’ and ‘Five Elements Treasure Chicken’!”
He Xingchen was taken aback. “Spiritual food?”
He had eaten at spiritual cuisine restaurants in the county before, so he understood as soon as he heard the names of the dishes.
“Brother Qin made them?”
He quickly walked into the kitchen, only to see Qin Chuan ladling out porridge and dividing the dishes.
Qin Chuan smiled. “I got paid today, so I bought some spirit rice and spirit herbs to reward myself. I made quite a lot, so everyone can have a bowl too.”
He had been living here for more than a month and got along extremely well with the He family. Although this meal alone had cost over two hundred wen, he was still happy to share it.
At the dinner table, He Xingchen had only taken one sip of porridge before he praised it again and again. “This taste is absolutely no worse than the county reception hall! Brother Qin, you even have this skill?”
“Just a bit of kitchen craft. It’s nothing much,” Qin Chuan said modestly.
“How is that nothing!” He Qingxuan held her bowl, eating with a face full of bliss. “It’s so delicious! I almost want to eat the spiritual meals Brother Qin Chuan makes every day…”
The skill of an Advanced Spiritual Chef was indeed unforgettable.
He Xingchen, however, shook his head with a smile. “Something like spirit rice—even among Daoists, only leaders at the level of deputy temple master and above get a monthly allocation. Ordinary Daoists like us only receive a bit as gifts during festivals. How could we eat it every day? Besides, do you really have the nerve to ask Brother Qin to cook for you every day?”
He Qingxuan’s little face reddened. She lowered her head and drank her porridge, not daring to reply.
After dinner, Qin Chuan watched the news with the He family as usual.
Several important items drew attention:
【Great Heavenly Venerable Haotian visits beyond the heavens and holds a Dao discussion with the Lord of Perfect Tianxia】
……
【Dongsheng Tianxia applies to join the “All-Heavens Trading Company”; negotiations are currently underway】
……
Qin Chuan and He Xingchen could both tell that the Heavenly Court was resolute in its desire for reform and was advancing step by step.
After that came local news from Jiuchuan County:
【From June twentieth to twenty-first, County God Sun Qinghan went to Longhu Blessed Land for an inspection visit, studying the successful promotion of “mountain yam” cultivation, with plans to introduce it to Jiuchuan】
……
After dinner, Qin Chuan and He Xingchen sat in the courtyard and chatted idly.
Qin Chuan tactfully asked whether there were any ways to earn extra money.
“Brother Qin is short on money? How much do you need? If it isn’t too much, I have a little here. You can take it and use it first.” He Xingchen thought he had run into some urgent matter and was prepared to lend Qin Chuan money.
Qin Chuan shook his head. “It’s not for an emergency. It’s needed for cultivation. Fellow Daoist also knows the trouble I ran into at Nongling Temple. I have to improve my cultivation and spells as quickly as possible. Since ancient times, scholarship has required poverty while martial cultivation has required wealth. If one wants to accelerate cultivation, resources and money are both indispensable.”
“So that’s how it is.” He Xingchen looked thoughtful.
“I originally wanted to say that with Brother Qin’s cooking skills, going to a restaurant to help in the kitchen wouldn’t be bad. But thinking about it, it’s neither very respectable nor easy to arrange time for…”
He paused, then looked at Qin Chuan.
“However, there is another matter that might allow Fellow Daoist to display your strengths—but first I must ask, how are Brother Qin’s spirit-planting methods nowadays?”
Qin Chuan’s heart stirred slightly; he had already guessed a little.
At first, he had still wanted to hide his abilities, but on second thought, since the other party had asked this, he might have thought of a way out for him. So he spoke half-truthfully:
“To be frank with Brother He, although I have only entered Nongling Temple for a little over a month, I feel that my spirit-planting skills are already no inferior to fellow Daoists in the temple who have cultivated for several years.”
His Green Wood Life Art had already reached the fifth layer. One layer higher, and he would be able to give birth to Yimu true qi. In all of Nongling Temple, only Old Huo had mastered such a miraculous healing spell.
At present, he could say that his spirit-plant healing spells and flying-needle techniques surpassed all his fellow fire-workers in the observation fields.
As he spoke, a whirl of green light appeared in his palm, and a dozen spirit-plant flying needles danced around his body.
“Second level of Qi Refining!”
He Xingchen was first shocked by the speed of his cultivation progress, then carefully examined Qin Chuan’s control of the flying needles and that wood-spirit vortex brimming with vitality. Although he did not understand agricultural spirit spells, he could still discern the pure life force and skilled technique within.
He stared at Qin Chuan in astonishment.
“You’ve only been in the temple for a little over a month, yet Fellow Daoist has already progressed to this point…”
Only now did he truly realize what kind of genius this fellow Daoist of the same age, who lived in his courtyard, really was.
“What does Fellow Daoist He think?” Qin Chuan withdrew his spell and asked with a smile.
“Having seen Fellow Daoist’s methods, I think you can absolutely take private jobs as a ‘spirit-plant doctor,’” He Xingchen said seriously.
“Many Daoists, registered temples, and wandering cultivator pill halls in our county privately grow spirit herbs. Especially some medicine shops and pill rooms—there are even more people who grow them for their own cultivation use. But spirit plants inevitably suffer from illnesses and pests, and so the profession of ‘spirit-plant doctor’ came into being.”
“There happens to be a fellow Daoist in my scripture-recitation gathering whose first-tier spirit herb, ‘Dragon Whisker Orchid,’ is suffering from disease. If Fellow Daoist is confident, then at the next scripture-recitation gathering, I will introduce you to everyone. If you can cure it, the consultation fee will be enough to equal a month of your salary.”
Qin Chuan was overjoyed. “Then I’ll have to trouble Brother He to introduce me!”
He thanked him repeatedly, sighing inwardly that the old saying was indeed reasonable: when away from home, one relied on friends.
With connections and relationships, opportunities would naturally come knocking.
The two chatted for a long time, and only when the night was deep did they return to their rooms to rest.
Early the next morning, just as Qin Chuan arrived at Nongling Temple, Old Huo, the person in charge of the observation fields, handed him two items.
“The spirit rain you applied for has been approved. This is the ‘Rain Token’ and the ‘Rain Writ.’ The Rain Writ records the amount of rain you requested, and the Rain Token is the ritual implement used to cast the spell—as for the rainfall amount, you reported six mu, but the spirit oranges only require two mu. You can spread it out over three days, one hour each day. After three days, it should be able to temporarily alleviate the spirit orange problem.”
“Once the rain quota has been used up, the Rain Writ will become invalid. The ‘Rain Token’ is a ritual implement belonging to the temple. It must be returned after use.”
Qin Chuan was both surprised and delighted.
Back then, he had overreported by four mu precisely to guard against the higher-ups cutting it down, but he had not expected the full amount to actually be approved.
It seemed that when it came to the spirit oranges, the allocation of resources was indeed a little smoother.
And the instant he received the writ and token—
The Heaven Accumulation Furnace trembled quietly.
【Item: Rain Token】
【A ritual implement used by Nongling Temple to bring rain. It is standard-issue equipment. Once the token is issued, wind and clouds move, and heavy rain arrives. Having been imbued for decades by the Dharma nature of Nongling Temple’s Daoists, it contains one portion of the spell “Minor Cloud Rain Art.” It may be extracted, or returned to the furnace for “50 Dharma Essence.”】