"Three bowls of beef noodles, a plate of peanuts, and a pot of shaojiu."
Three customers walked into the little inn.
"Is this place new?"
"I came a couple of days ago. The food's pretty good, and more importantly, it's cheap."
The man glanced at the sign hanging overhead, with the prices of the various dishes listed beneath it.
"It really is cheap."
"These places offering food supplementation are getting more and more expensive. The few Spirit Stones we earn aren't even enough for one meal."
"Tell me about it. But that stuff really does work. Otherwise, why would so many people eat it?"
"The food supplementation here must be less effective than at those big places, but it really is cheap."
"..."
While the three chatted, Old Ox had already brought over their three bowls of noodles.
The man glanced at Old Ox, then at the beef noodles Old Ox had set on the table.
These beef noodles... ought to be pretty authentic.
As time passed, business at the inn gradually improved.
Every so often, Li Ping'an had to fire up the furnace and refine pills.
The pills he refined were all of insufficient grade, but it was enough if they could sustain the current business.
Even if asked to refine higher-grade pills, he could not produce them now.
Even the cleverest cook could not make a meal without rice.
The flames in the Cauldron Furnace gradually died out, and pills emerged one by one under the control of Li Ping'an's Divine Sense.
Little Girl crouched down, deftly picked up a pill, and popped it into her mouth.
"Mmm, Big Ping'an did a very good job this time."
"Thank you for your praise, Fairy. I shall work even harder in the future."
Little Girl packed the pills into a