Chapter Eighteen: Instant Noodles, the Eternal Deity

“This is... food?”

Liu Shuyue examined the instant noodles before her, unsure where to begin.

They gleamed enticingly, their packaging exquisitely designed—nothing like the usual relief supplies. Yet, at the same time, they didn’t quite feel like something edible either.

“That’s right. But it’s a bit more complicated to eat... it requires some guidance,” Chen Xuan explained warmly. “Of course, this comes as a complimentary service included with the skill trade; there’s no extra charge.”

The shipment arrived swiftly.

After a phone call in the afternoon, the first batch was delivered to Tianlu Community the very next morning—a whole truckload containing two hundred boxes, four thousand packs in total.

To store the goods, he had to temporarily sacrifice his storefront, filling the entire first floor to the brim.

“Watch closely, I’ll demonstrate once.”

Chen Xuan fetched bowls, chopsticks, and boiling water, then began to showcase the art of preparing instant noodles.

His movements flowed smoothly and effortlessly.

Liu Shuyue watched intently, eyes fixed without blinking.

She knew she wasn’t merely observing a bowl of noodles... but the fate of thousands of disaster victims hinged on this. Every gesture, even the angle at which seasoning was poured, she memorized carefully.

Soon, she sensed something unusual.

As the boiling water poured into the bowl, releasing a rich aroma, Liu Shuyue swallowed involuntarily.

What was this?

Such complexity and layering of scent—the wheat fragrance mingled with sweet, sour, salty, and spicy notes—was utterly irresistible! Having tasted the finest delicacies, from imperial banquets to the private kitchens of prefects, she knew the flavors of rare wild game and exotic seafood were exquisite. Yet this humble bowl of noodle soup subtly rivaled them in grandeur!

Cultivators were taught to exercise restraint and guard their hearts against worldly temptations, and she was no different. Her standards for food were simple: just enough to fill the stomach safely. But she also understood deeply the immense effort required to create a dish with perfect color, aroma, and flavor—effort measured in time and money.

Culinary skills take years to hone, and premium ingredients and spices come at a high price. Thus, dishes with such complex aromas were the privilege of the wealthy and noble.

They were completely incompatible with the concept of relief rations!

Disaster victims only sought to survive!

Using such an item for disaster relief... was this not a misguided direction?

“The noodles are ready.” Chen Xuan stirred the noodles with his chopsticks, then handed the bowl to Liu Shuyue. “Here, try the taste.”

She did not take the chopsticks but instead stared directly at Chen Xuan, her eyes clearly reproachful.

After a moment of eye contact, Chen Xuan realized and shook his head with a smile. “Don’t worry, it’s not much more expensive than a bowl of rice porridge. With the recent continuous rise in grain prices in Zhangwei City, it’s actually slightly cheaper than porridge.”

“Ah?”

Liu Shuyue was dumbfounded.

This... was cheaper than the simplest plain porridge?

“Do you think I’d lie? Integrity is the foundation of business. If instant noodles were too expensive, I’d be bankrupt after just one order,” Chen Xuan said, waving the chopsticks again.

This time, Liu Shuyue took the chopsticks.

His comment about bankruptcy moved her.

Indeed... who would willingly run a losing business? Though this man’s shop was no ordinary establishment, he was clearly a seasoned merchant.

She cautiously took a bite of the noodles, and her eyes lit up.

The freshness and aroma surpassed her expectations; the pickled vegetable flavor was perfectly balanced, and the spicy aftertaste that followed the broth elevated the complexity of the flavor. The noodles themselves might be ordinary, but the seasoning was clearly the work of a master chef!

What efforts had the cook put into this dish?

It seemed all that was done was pouring boiling water in.

If Chen Xuan was right and this was truly affordable, then this pack of noodles was nothing short of a miracle.

“I can’t find a single flaw...” Liu Shuyue marveled. “Even by the standards of a wealthy household, this could be served as a staple dish. It just needs additional boiling water and utensils... which won’t be a small number once the refugees grow.”

“Bowls and chopsticks are also included as a complimentary service. Our shop provides them all,” Chen Xuan was well-prepared. Disposable plastic bowls and bamboo chopsticks were extremely cheap, barely a fraction of the cost. “However, boiling water needs to be prepared in advance. I noticed several large pots at the refugee camp entrance; why not use those to boil water?”

Fuel was also a resource.

Fortunately, he had surveyed the local environment—there were vast woods outside the city, and with early autumn approaching, firewood was plentiful.

“No problem,” Liu Shuyue agreed, already thinking ahead. “I’ll borrow the pots from Shen Fang.”

“One more thing: although cheap, this item isn’t unlimited,” Chen Xuan added. “Each person can only have one pack per day, so it lasts longer. How to distribute them and guide people to get water and eat the noodles will require your careful effort.”

“That’s my duty. I’ll arrange for people to transport the food immediately.” Liu Shuyue stood up eagerly, ready to leave the second-floor room. Halfway out, she turned back and bowed deeply to Chen Xuan.

“Sir, for your great righteousness, I thank you on behalf of the disaster-stricken people of Qingzhou.”

Watching the young woman hurry away, Chen Xuan scratched his head.

A cultivator calling him “sir” felt somewhat odd.

Well, let her call me whatever she likes.

There were still several more shipments to receive.

...

“Master, bad news, really bad news!”

Shen Fang was eating breakfast in his residence when he heard Deputy Tang’s urgent shouts outside.

“Such commotion, what a lack of decorum.” Seeing him enter, Shen Fang frowned, putting down his bowl and scolding, “Have the refugees started rioting?”

For Prefect Zhang Wei, this was a genuine threat. The city was far from the frontier, its walls low and weak, and Qingzhou’s troops were still days away. If the mob besieged the city, it would be a serious problem.

Fortunately, an Immortal Master was stationed within the city.

Though sympathetic to the refugees, she surely understood priorities: the refugees were people, but so were the residents of Zhang Wei—and the city’s population was larger.

If it came to a crisis, he didn’t believe the Immortal Master would hesitate to act.

“Ah? No, not at all.” Deputy Tang quickly waved his hands.

Not rioting? “Then why the urgency?”

“The refugees... they’re eating other food now!”

Shen Fang was slightly taken aback. “Who’s distributing relief?”

At this stage, wealthy families and grain merchants were watching grain prices rise; who would give away grain freely? That would be throwing money away.

“It doesn’t seem to be from within the city. I asked around; no one authorized this,” the deputy explained breathlessly. “Right now, none of the roughly eight thousand people are hungry. Yesterday at noon, everyone ate their fill; they didn’t even fight over the relief porridge! I went to the western camp; the scene was unbelievable—thousands of people smiling and chatting, no crying or fighting, completely different from two days ago!”

“Are you certain?” Shen Fang frowned.

He knew well the refugees’ plight: the relief porridge distributed daily only sufficed for two to three thousand people. Zhang Wei could never afford to feed all the gathered refugees. Struggles, conflicts, even deaths broke out constantly over the limited food.

At night, standing on the city walls, one could hear faint cries and laments outside. Hunger and death tormented these poor souls, breeding negative emotions like a flood battering the dikes, waiting to burst forth.

As more refugees arrived, the food shortage only worsened... He had already foreseen these people turning into desperate mobs, willing to do anything to survive.

“Absolutely true!” Deputy Tang nodded eagerly. “They all had food yesterday, and today they seem like a completely different group! If you don’t believe me, you can come see for yourself later!”

Yesterday? What happened yesterday?

Suddenly, Shen Fang recalled that the Immortal Master had borrowed several large pots from him the day before.