Prosperity (Fu)

Fu Dining Hall covered a large area. To show goodwill to Mo Hua, Grandpa An bought three adjacent buildings and converted them into a dining hall.

The location was excellent, with good north-south traffic and a lot of foot traffic.

Since it was on South Street, the real estate was not expensive, so it didn't cost many spiritual stones, at least not for the An family.

Fu Dining Hall had two floors. The second floor had private rooms, and the first floor was a large hall with outdoor tables and benches.

The entire Fu Dining Hall could accommodate many diners, and it also offered some meat snacks for takeout.

The recipes used in the dining hall were provided by Liu Ruhua, featuring various methods of cooking demon meat. After extensive research and improvement by Liu Ruhua, the flavors were rich and unique.

The dining hall's stove was a first-grade stove, large with a first-grade array drawn on it, strong and adjustable, capable of cooking many ingredients simultaneously.

As a result, many dishes in the dining hall were priced affordably.

This was Mo Hua's original intention: to reduce costs and improve cooking efficiency with a large stove.

This way, most rogue cultivators in Tongxian City could spend fewer spiritual stones to eat better food.

With affordable and delicious food, naturally, the dining hall was crowded with customers.

The dining hall could achieve high volume and low margin, earning plenty of spiritual stones.

With the large dining hall, many hands were needed to help.

Some injured demon hunters or female rogue cultivators who weren't skilled in Dao techniques could find jobs to earn some spiritual stones to support their families.

With everything prepared, Fu Dining Hall chose an auspicious day to open.

After the opening, Fu Dining Hall was constantly bustling, with excellent business.

Mo Hua was happy to see this and felt relieved.

But An Xiaofu became nervous.

An entire dining hall with so many customers bustling around, he didn't know where to start.

Key to this was that he was the young manager, and according to Mo Hua, he would have to manage all this in the future.

An Xiaofu started to feel overwhelmed.

Although there were people from the An family who could help him, they could only assist temporarily; ultimately, he had to learn and do it himself.

But he didn't know where to start learning or doing.

Mo Hua said, "You don't need to think of yourself as a young manager. Just treat it like the restaurant, eating and chatting with the customers, don't be too rigid."

With Mo Hua's words, An Xiaofu relaxed.

He could run up and down, greet familiar demon hunters, offer them a drink, bring some snacks, and introduce the dining hall's signature dishes.

He loved eating, so talking about these things came naturally to him.

When he had nothing to do, he liked to join others at a table, listen to their cultivation experiences or strange stories, and if he thought they were good, he'd offer a pot of wine.

Sometimes, the dining hall would invite storytellers to tell tales.

If the stories were too old, An Xiaofu would make up some based on what he'd heard and ask the storytellers to share them, often winning applause.

Gradually, An Xiaofu got to know more customers, talked more, and became more cheerful.

Grandpa An and An Yonglu came to visit and saw An Xiaofu running up and down, sweating profusely but full of energy.

This was a completely different look from when he was in the family.

An Yonglu sighed but felt gratified.

Grandpa An glanced at him, looking a bit helpless.

He hadn't wanted the An family to keep running dining halls, but it seemed both his son and grandson were only good at this.

They didn't have the ambition to run a crafting or alchemy business.

They didn't have the skills to compete openly and covertly with the Qian family.

At this rate, it seemed the An family might only be able to run dining halls for the rest of their lives...

But An Xiaofu didn't think there was anything wrong with running a dining hall.

To be able to eat well and also help others eat well was a gratifying thought. But sometimes, An Xiaofu had his doubts and asked Mo Hua:

"If I run the dining hall for my whole life, won't people look down on me?"

Mo Hua thought for a moment and said, "In the world of cultivation, every profession has its strengths. Excelling in any field is remarkable. If you can open dining halls across the nine provinces of the cultivation world and let everyone enjoy meat, who would dare look down on you?"

An Xiaofu was stunned; he hadn't thought so far ahead.

"The nine provinces are so vast, can we really open dining halls everywhere?" An Xiaofu was skeptical.

"Probably not," Mo Hua replied, "but how will you know unless you try?"

An Xiaofu nodded, silently making up his mind.

Despite his current low level of cultivation and having only one dining hall, he would work hard to open many more, so everyone could happily eat meat and drink wine!

After the grand opening, Fu Dining Hall gradually settled into a routine, and a month later, it was almost the New Year.

Two weeks before the New Year, the alchemy workshop was completed.

Master Ban settled the spiritual stone payments, and all the craftsmen were able to go home happily for the New Year.

Before leaving, Master Ban, along with some leading craftsmen, visited Mo Hua and brought some festive gifts as a token of gratitude.

If not for Mo Hua's quick and excellent array drawings, they wouldn't have completed such a large cultivation building until after the New Year.

In that case, they would either miss going home for the holiday or go home without earning any spiritual stones, making the New Year difficult.

Master Ban praised Mo Hua, and Mo Shan and Liu Ruhua were delighted, inviting Master Ban and his team for a meal.

They had a lively meal and drank quite a bit of wine.

After the meal, Master Ban and his team prepared to depart.

Before leaving, Master Ban specifically told Mo Hua that if he ever needed craftsmen, he should not hesitate to call them; they would ensure top-quality work to Mo Hua's satisfaction.

He also invited Mo Hua to visit Qingxuan City next door, offering to show him around and introduce the local customs and traditions.

Mo Hua nodded and waved goodbye to Master Ban.

The group of craftsmen gradually moved away.

They carried storage bags on their backs and pushed small wooden carts. The carts held old storage boxes, and tools that didn't fit were piled haphazardly on the side.

Step by step, they walked along the cobblestone streets, out through the gates of Tongxian City, and onto the dusty road home.

Mo Hua stood at the gate, watching their departing figures, waving goodbye again.

He hoped they would return home safely and have a good New Year.

He also hoped that in the future, they would safely return home every year and happily celebrate the New Year.

After another ten days, every household in Tongxian City was preparing for the New Year.

The streets were decorated with lanterns and streamers, creating a festive and lively atmosphere.

This was perhaps the most prosperous and bustling New Year for ordinary rogue cultivators in Tongxian City in the past hundred years, or even several centuries.

The basic cultivation industries were well-established.

The crafting workshop produced spiritual tools, the alchemy workshop made elixirs, and Fu Dining Hall cooked delicious meals.

With spiritual tools, demon hunters could suffer fewer injuries. With elixirs, lower-level cultivators could avoid more illnesses. With the dining hall, everyone's diet improved.

Moreover, the crafting workshop, alchemy workshop, and Fu Dining Hall provided jobs for rogue cultivators to earn spiritual stones.

Whether they were demon hunters, craftsmen, alchemists, chefs, or just ordinary rogue cultivators, everyone could find stable work and earn spiritual stones for living and cultivation.

Living standards improved, and so did the quality of life.

Therefore, this New Year was especially prosperous and lively.

Cultivators filled the streets, coming and going in an endless stream.

Markets were everywhere, stalls offered a dazzling array of goods, and food, drink, and entertainment were in abundance.

There were many unique toys, flavorful snacks, fragrant wines, and various street performances.

Mo Hua, influenced by the festive atmosphere, felt happy too.

Cultivators endured hardships in their pursuit of the Dao and in making a living.

Mo Hua couldn't solve all problems, but within his capabilities, he could make life better for the rogue cultivators of Tongxian City.

Having grown up with the care of neighbors and elders, now that he had learned about arrays, he naturally wanted to help everyone.

Reflecting on this, Mo Hua felt fortunate.

He was grateful for the Dao Stele in his sea of consciousness and for learning arrays.

Arrays adhered to the Heavenly Dao, and only through arrays could he help so many cultivators.

(End of the Chapter)