Meanwhile, in the back kitchen of the small diner.

Jin Cui’s husband was hunched over peeling garlic while his mother, exasperated with him, began to scold him.

"Look at you, just look at you! When a woman runs the house, the roof caves in. This diner has only been open a few days, and she’s already having friends over, making all this food to entertain them. How much money do you think that costs?"

Jin Cui’s husband was an honest and simple man. He didn’t argue back at his mother’s words, just kept his head down and continued peeling garlic.

Seeing this, Jin Cui’s mother-in-law became even more furious.

"You’re as useless as a wet noodle! Can’t you even ask what’s going on?"

"Ma, stop! Xiaocui said that’s her best friend from when she worked at the laundry. She just happened to be passing by today. It’s not a big deal to treat her to a meal, is it?" the man pleaded.

His attempt to placate her backfired, only making his mother even angrier.

"Just listen to this! Some little wench from a laundry passes through, and she gets this kind of treatment? If that isn’t squandering money, what is?"

"What if she pays for it?"

"Pay? My ass! She works at a laundry, how much money could she possibly have?"

Just as the woman was muttering her curses in the back kitchen, Jin Cui rushed in.

"Ma, hurry and get a room ready."

"What for?" Jin Cui’s mother-in-law asked curtly.

"The person my friend brought with her suddenly fell ill. They need to stay here for a couple of days."

Hearing this, Jin Cui’s mother-in-law’s eyebrows shot up. "This..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Wu Liangchen lifted the curtain and walked in.

Upon seeing him, the woman abruptly swallowed the rest of her words.

There was no other reason; Wu Liangchen’s presence was simply too imposing.

Especially after his recent breakthrough, he exuded a soul-stirring pressure just by standing there.

Wu Liangchen had actually heard the woman’s muttering from the front room. He knew that such country women were often short-sighted, so he didn’t take it to heart.

But now that Yang Lian’Er had suddenly fallen ill, leaving was out of the question. Besides, there was still that large stone Wu Liangchen had hidden in the woods.

So, he walked in, pulled out a few silver coins, and placed them on the cutting board. Then he said, "Pardon me, my relative has suddenly fallen ill and we’ll need to impose on you for a few days. This is a prepayment for room and board. If it’s not enough, I’ll add more. What do you think?"

The woman’s eyes went wide at the sight of the stack of gleaming silver coins. At his words, she nodded her head like a chicken pecking at rice.

"Of course, of course! Oh, dear customer, since you’re a friend of my daughter-in-law, what’s there to even say? You can stay as long as you like, even without paying."

Despite her words, her eyes were glued to the silver coins on the table, and she was practically drooling.

After all, for a small diner like theirs, a whole year of hard work might only earn them seven or eight silver coins.

Now, Wu Liangchen had offered up their entire annual income in a single gesture. How could she not be tempted?

Wu Liangchen smiled and handed the silver coins to Jin Cui.

At this, Jin Cui’s face flushed red with embarrassment from her mother-in-law’s behavior. She was reluctant to accept the money, but Wu Liangchen said,

"Miss Jin Cui, if you don’t take this, you’re looking down on me."

Hearing this, Jin Cui finally, and with some awkwardness, reached out and took the money. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"I’ll go get a room ready! My room is clean and warm, the distinguished guest can stay in my room."

Jin Cui’s mother-in-law bustled off excitedly and quickly prepared a room.

By now, Yang Lian’Er was delirious with fever and couldn’t even walk.

Fortunately, Jin Cui was quite strong. She lifted Yang Lian’Er in her arms and carried her into a room in the back.

The room was indeed quite tidy, and with a fire burning in the kang bed-stove, it was very warm.

After covering Yang Lian’Er with a quilt, Jin Cui went to the kitchen to brew some ginger and brown sugar water.

Wu Mengchan asked worriedly, "Brother, will Sister Lian be okay?"

Yang Lian’Er had already fallen into a deep, groggy sleep, her face a frightening shade of red.

"She should be fine. She’s a Martial Artist, after all. Even if her skills aren’t great, her physical constitution is solid."

"The reason she’s like this is probably because Aunt Fan’s death caused her to be overcome with grief, allowing the cold to invade her body. She should be fine after resting for a couple of days."

Just then, the ginger and brown sugar water was ready. Wu Mengchan lifted Yang Lian’Er’s head and carefully fed it to her, one spoonful at a time.

After she finished the bowl, Yang Lian’Er’s breathing grew a little steadier, and beads of sweat began to form on her forehead.

"Mengchan, I’ll have to trouble you to watch over her tonight," Wu Liangchen said.

"Okay!" Wu Mengchan nodded immediately.

"Me too," Jin Cui volunteered from the side.

"I’m strong. If she needs to get out of bed, I can carry her."

Wu Liangchen smiled. "Alright. But we’ll be troubling you, Miss Jin Cui."

"It’s no trouble, no trouble at all. It’s a good chance to spend more time with Mengchan," Jin Cui said with a smile.

Wu Liangchen left the room and went back to the front to continue his meal.

The small diner’s business really wasn’t very good. Wu Liangchen had been eating for a while and hadn’t seen a single other customer.

Only after he had polished off all the dishes did Wu Liangchen finally feel a slight sense of satisfaction in his stomach.

[Life Fire +1 wisp]

The meal had added one wisp of Life Fire, but he was still far from having enough to deduce the Golden Body Cross Training Skill.

Thinking of the Golden Body Cross Training Skill, Wu Liangchen had a sudden idea and asked Jin Cui’s husband,

"Do you have any paper, brushes, and ink here?"

"Ah, no, we don’t. You’d have to buy them at the general store outside!"

"Then please go buy some for me!" With that, Wu Liangchen handed the man a handful of copper coins.

The honest and simple man hastily took them and went out.

He quickly returned with a stack of paper, a writing brush, and an inkstick.

"Thank you!"

After taking the items, Wu Liangchen returned to the back rooms.

His room had also been prepared by now. It was a storeroom—a bit cluttered, but not cold since it was close to the kitchen where the cooking was done.

Wu Liangchen lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

The past two days of constant fighting had been truly exhausting, so he slept for over six hours straight.

When he woke up, the sky outside was already pitch-black.

Wu Liangchen got up, washed his face and hands, and then went to check on Yang Lian’Er.

Yang Lian’Er was still sleeping soundly. Wu Mengchan told him that she had woken up once, drank some hot water, and then fallen asleep again.

Wu Liangchen went to the front again and had Jin Cui stew two chickens with about a pound of hand-pulled noodles, and then he started to eat.

That evening, a few customers finally trickled into the small diner, though they mostly just ordered a plate of stir-fried shredded vegetables and half a pound of cheap, strong spirits.

A customer like Wu Liangchen, who ordered both meat and liquor in abundance, was a rare sight indeed.

So these rustic countrymen watched in curious amazement as Wu Liangchen devoured the entire pot of stewed chicken, plus a pound of noodles, broth and all. Their faces were masks of pure astonishment.

"Good heavens, if you ate like that all the time, you’d eat your family out of house and home!" someone exclaimed after Wu Liangchen left.

Wu Liangchen, who had just stepped outside, naturally heard this clearly. He merely smiled to himself, then returned to his room and began practicing his Cultivation Technique.

The snow outside had stopped, but to ensure the safety of his sister and Yang Lian’Er, he planned to wait until Yang Lian’Er had recovered a bit more before going back to the forest to retrieve that large stone.

These next two days would be a good opportunity to find a way to accumulate Life Fire.

After he finished practicing both the Five Animals Fist and the Primordial Chaos Stance, Wu Mengchan suddenly knocked on the door. "Brother, can you come here a second?"

Wu Liangchen immediately opened the door. "What’s wrong?"

"Sister Lian is awake, and she said she wants to see you."