Chapter 36: The Stove
Seeing Mo Hua's bright smile, Master Chen and the others couldn't help but smile along with him.
Master Chen couldn't resist praising him, "Little brother, you're truly remarkable. I've lived for more than half my life, and this is the first time I've seen such a young cultivator capable of drawing array formations."
Mo Hua was a little embarrassed by the compliment and replied shyly, "Master Chen, let's see first if the stove works with the array drawn on it."
Master Chen called over a few sturdy apprentices, and together they reassembled the stove. After inserting a few spirit stones, flames soon began to ignite inside the furnace.
Master Chen nodded in approval. "No problem at all. Other than being a bit smaller, this stove is no different from the ones forged at great expense for those high-end dining halls—in fact, this one's flame might even burn hotter."
Mo Hua let out a sigh of relief. Afterward, Master Chen instructed Dazhu and the other apprentices to deliver the stove to Mo Hua's home.
After discussing with his parents, they finally decided to open the eatery right at their own home.
First, it was convenient. Second, the rental prices for stalls near the marketplace were way too high. They were just running a modest business—if they lost money after investing heavily in rent, it would truly be ruinous.
Besides, though most of the people living near them were poor rogue cultivators, the house was close to a main road with decent foot traffic, especially lively during festivals. As long as the food was good, there would be no shortage of customers.
Their house was small—just a standard two-bedroom unit with a living area, and a tiny yard outside. A typical setup for a family of three low-level cultivators, but definitely not enough space to run a food business.
So Mo Shan negotiated with a few neighbors to rent their courtyards for a small monthly fee in spirit stones. He also called in a few favors from his hunter friends to help renovate, turning one yard into a kitchen and connecting several others together. That gave them enough open space to place tables and chairs for dining and resting.
The stove was too large to fit inside a storage pouch, so Dazhu and a few others carried it all the way to Mo Hua's house. When they arrived, Mo Shan and his wife were still tidying up the courtyard, digging and building walls—the place looked a bit chaotic.
Dazhu and the others helped set up the stove without complaint. After a cup of tea, they took their leave.
Although Mo Hua had spoken confidently before, and his actions had always been dependable, seeing an actual forged stove right in front of them made the whole thing feel a little surreal to Mo Shan and his wife.
Liu Ruhua touched the stove and said, "It looks just like the ones used in those big dining halls. A bit smaller, sure, but it's clearly more solid and better crafted. Must've cost quite a few spirit stones, right?"
"I helped Master Chen fix the array in his forge furnace, so he gave me a 50% discount. And I drew the array on this stove myself, so it didn't cost that much." Mo Hua replied, a little proud of himself.
Liu Ruhua and Mo Shan exchanged surprised looks. They knew Mo Hua had some talent with arrays, but they hadn't expected him to be capable of not only fixing other people's formations, but also drawing arrays directly onto spiritual tools himself.
Liu Ruhua pulled Mo Hua into her arms and praised him warmly, "You're amazing, Hua'er!"
Mo Shan looked at his son, eyes full of pride.
He had always worried about Mo Hua's weak constitution, but now that he saw the boy's talent in array formations, he realized that even if Mo Hua couldn't become a body cultivator like him, he could still make a living through arrays. More importantly, he wouldn't have to risk his life battling beasts like he had. That was the best possible outcome.
"Mom, I'll show you how to use the stove."
Mo Hua took Liu Ruhua's hand and explained how it worked—how many spirit stones it needed, how to control the flame. It wasn't complicated, and she understood it after one explanation.
That evening, Liu Ruhua used the stove to cook a simple dinner: a pot of plain rice porridge, a few vegetable dishes, and soft, fluffy steamed buns. It was simple but delicious.
Tasting his mother's cooking again moved Mo Hua deeply. After all, most of their meals lately had been made by Mo Shan—and let's just say, that flavor didn't need to be described.
Mo Hua said bluntly, "Mom, your cooking is way better than Dad's."
"You little brat!" Mo Shan rubbed his son's head in mock annoyance, but seeing the smile on his wife's face, he couldn't help but laugh too.
After dinner, Liu Ruhua asked, "Opening an eatery is fine, but… what should we sell?"
Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua both turned to look at Mo Hua.
Mo Hua met their gaze and said, "Beef!"
Mo Shan was stunned for a moment and frowned. "Where would we get beef? Meat with spiritual energy is expensive—we can't afford it. And the locals are just rogue cultivators. Even if we made it, no one would buy it."
Mo Hua replied, "Dad, didn't you kill some wild cattle before? Just use that meat."
"Wild cattle meat… it's too tough, dry, and stringy. Nobody wants to eat that."
"Then just stew it for two whole days and nights. No matter how tough it is, it'll soften eventually. As long as it cooks long enough, the flavor will come through."
"Two days and nights of stewing…" Mo Shan couldn't help but glance at the stove. "So you had this stove made not just so your mom could cook without using spiritual power—but also for stewing meat?"
"Mhm!" Mo Hua nodded.
"You think that'll work?" Mo Shan was still unsure.
"It will," Liu Ruhua's eyes lit up. "Meat with spiritual energy is tender and doesn't need long cooking—too long and it loses its energy. But that kind of meat is expensive and out of reach for families like ours."
"Non-spiritual meat is cheaper, but tough and dry. It needs to be stewed for a long time. Rogue cultivators can afford the meat but don't have the setup to cook it properly, so they rarely eat it."
"With this stove, we can make cheap but delicious stewed meat—even ordinary cultivators can afford that!"
Mo Shan nodded thoughtfully, then added, "But stewing for two days straight… the cost of spirit stones just to keep the flame going won't be small."
Mo Hua counted on his fingers and said, "It should cost around ten spirit stones. But we can cook a lot in one batch. If we sell it, we probably won't lose money."
"Alright then. I'll try stewing a pot tomorrow or the day after and calculate the cost," Liu Ruhua said.
Mo Shan nodded, "I'll go get some more wild beef. We're out at home. Old Zhao should still have some. If this works, even beast meat from hunting trips will have a market. Everyone's lives might get a little easier."
As they wrapped up, it was getting late. Liu Ruhua urged Mo Hua to head to bed.
Just as Mo Hua got up, he suddenly thought of something and asked,
"Mom, forging a stove doesn't seem that hard… so why don't more rogue cultivators have one?"
"Silly child," Liu Ruhua chuckled as she caressed his cheek.
"Forget forging for a second—even if you had a stove, if you couldn't draw the array yourself, you'd need to hire an array master. Do you know how many spirit stones that would cost?"
"Becoming an array master is tough. And once someone makes it, they want to climb higher—rely on their clan or sect to draw more advanced arrays and earn more spirit stones. Why would they look back at poor rogue cultivators like us?"
"It's not just array masters. All cultivators are the same. When people rise, they don't look down again…"
Mo Hua's heart felt heavy, and for a long while, he couldn't say a word.
(End of Chapter)