Not long after, Aunt Chen brought out the dishes she had stir-fried.
"Well? What do you think?"
"These two... and this one," Song Miaozhu said, pointing with her chopsticks. "Aside from these, all the other dishes have spiritual light. And the spiritual light in these three is even slightly more noticeable than when I last ate them."
"Exactly!" Aunt Chen nodded. "Those two dishes don't sell very well. But these three? Lately, more people have been ordering them."
"Seems like customers can tell when food has spiritual energy in it," she added with a grin.
Miaozhu gave a small nod. Ever since these dishes had started carrying spiritual energy, their flavors really had gained an extra dimension. She hadn't felt particularly hungry before, but the fragrance of the dishes was just too tempting. Compared to usual, she found herself savoring the meal more—unhurried, almost indulgent.
"Miaozhu," Aunt Chen said thoughtfully, "I've been hearing this from a few of our regulars—some say their digestion has improved since eating here. Others say they sleep better after our meals. One even said our portions don't look like much, but they feel especially full after eating. You think that's the spiritual energy working?"
"Really?" Song Miaozhu blinked. Her own health was excellent, so she hadn't noticed any other side effects from the dishes.
But ever since unlocking her Spiritual Platform, she'd gained deeper insight into her own body—almost like internal vision.
Now, as she ate, she tracked the spiritual energy's path. To her surprise, the energy merged with nutrients in her stomach and was absorbed into her body—just like when she circulated spiritual power through her meridians.
"Wait. If the body can absorb it… can I channel it into my Spiritual Platform for cultivation?"
She acted immediately. With a thread of her own spiritual energy, she guided the dish's energy upward, through her meridians, straight into the crimson crystal in her Spiritual Platform.
"It worked!"
The energy replenished a fraction of what she'd spent crafting paper servants earlier.
"These dishes were like weak spirit stones—tiny but usable!"
Her mind instantly jumped to profit.
"Aunt Chen," she said suddenly, "you need to raise your prices."
"Huh?" Aunt Chen blinked. "Raise the prices of what?"
"These dishes with spiritual energy can really provide energy to whoever eats them. It's a waste to keep selling them like this. People who know the value? They'd pay double without blinking."
The Chen family wasn't wealthy—they relied on this little restaurant to make ends meet. Just leasing a second storefront had already wiped out most of their savings. And the point of opening a business was to make money, right?
Aunt Chen looked tempted but still hesitated. "You sure? These are just regular home-cooked dishes. Everyone in town charges the same. Most people can't even tell there's spiritual energy in the food—who's gonna pay more for something they can't even recognize? Maybe the flavor's better, but if we raise prices, we'll just lose customers."
"There are people who'll recognize the value," Song Miaozhu smirked. "I just told Shuanghe—the Lingcheng SEIU is staying in town, near the woodcarving shop. Contact them. They'll gladly pay."
She gave a quick rundown of the SEIU's setup.
Aunt Chen's eyes went wide with surprise. "There's a government department specifically for investigating spiritual energy now? With official ranks and all? Can I join?"
Miaozhu nodded. "Yep. Special civil service positions. Same benefits as regular government workers—better, actually. And they're short on talent, so there's no age limit either."
"Seriously?" Aunt Chen immediately turned toward the kitchen and yelled, "Shuanghe! Let's go get ourselves some iron rice bowls and join the system!"
"You're quitting the restaurant?" Chen Shuanghe asked, poking her head out.
"What's a restaurant compared to a secure government job!" Aunt Chen replied without hesitation.
"Mum, I never knew you were so obsessed with official positions," Shuanghe said.
"You used to get a headache just looking at books. I gave up on hoping you'd test into a civil job ages ago!" Aunt Chen shot back. "But if we can get in now—and Miaozhu said the unit teaches cultivation too—this could change our lives!"
Chen Shuanghe wasn't as fixated on getting an official position and considered it more pragmatically. "Mum, calm down. We need to think this through. If we join the unit, we'll basically be getting a salary to cook. That's less money than what we're making now. Plus, how many people are in the unit? Will we get to cook as often? We've been cultivating through cooking—if we can't cook frequently, it might not be worth it."
Aunt Chen cooled down. "Okay… then let's have Miaozhu introduce us first. We'll talk to someone from the unit, figure out what kind of arrangement they can offer?"
Chen Shuanghe nodded. "Miaozhu, we're counting on you."
"No problem!" Miaozhu pulled out her phone and called Zhao Huoyan.
"What? Two chefs who can infuse food with spiritual energy? Where? I'm coming right now!"
The Lingcheng Team had only two members with any spiritual affinity. Zhao Huoyan was desperate. But "skill-based cultivation" wasn't something beginners could master overnight—it required years of practice to attract energy.
So the moment he heard, he rushed over.
Miaozhu hadn't even finished her meal when he arrived—and immediately followed her into the kitchen to talk business.
"Perfect timing," she said with a smile. "I haven't finished eating, and Aunt Chen made way too much. Come try some! Most of these have spiritual energy. Even if you're not cultivating, your body can still absorb it."
"Really?" Zhao Huoyan perked up—he hadn't even figured out how to sense spiritual energy, let alone absorb it.
He tried a few bites… and immediately noticed something different. "These dishes… they do taste better than usual."
Miaozhu just smiled and motioned for him to eat more. A single dish only had a minuscule amount of energy—maybe the equivalent of one tiny light point of spirit energy. Just a couple bites wouldn't be enough to really feel the effect.
But a little while later, Zhao Huoyan suddenly paused.
"I haven't even had a full meal yet, but I already feel kinda full? Wait—my wrist doesn't hurt anymore!"
He'd spent the whole day carving wood. His wrist had still been sore when he walked in.
Now? Completely fine.
"That's the spiritual energy at work," Miaozhu said. "It can provide energy, give a sense of fullness, even help the body recover. I've already submitted this discovery to the SEIU app."
Zhao Huoyan turned to the Chen's like a starving man seeing a feast. "Would you two consider joining the Lingcheng SEIU? We can absolutely negotiate terms."
Aunt Chen opened her mouth to speak—but paused when she saw her daughter shaking her head. Her words changed mid-sentence: "I'll go with whatever my daughter says."
Zhao Huoyan clasped his hands. "Chef Chen—no, Master Chen—your conditions?"
Chen Shuanghe choked. "Master… Chen?"
People called her "Xiao Chen" all the time when compared to her mom.
But "Master"?
Never.