Li Xinxin struggled to eat the youtiao. She was growing weaker and weaker, to the point that even eating took a great deal of effort.
But after eating one youtiao, her condition improved, and color returned to her face.
Once she had finished both youtiao, Li Xinxin sat up and closed her eyes, seemingly treating her injuries.
Song Yu couldn’t make heads or tails of it. After watching for a while, he went to the kitchen.
He paused for a few seconds as he looked at a strange piece of kitchen equipment.
It was a Stone Mill, not very large, with a diameter of about thirty centimeters.
The ghost creature that had suddenly shown up the night before last had chased him all the way into the kitchen.
He had nowhere left to hide, but as it charged at him, it hit the Stone Mill. The ghost creature let out a shriek, and the millstone began turning on its own, sucking the whole thing inside.
There was a large drawer beneath the millstone.
The flour, the main ingredient in the three youtiao he had made, had appeared in the drawer after the ghost creature was completely ground up by the Stone Mill and fell silent. It was indistinguishable from ordinary flour.
A ghost had been ground into flour.
Song Yu screamed inwardly that this made no scientific sense.
But when he boldly tried adding eggs and other ingredients to the flour to make youtiao, the whole shop seemed to undergo a change.
A tattoo in the shape of a Stone Mill had appeared on his arm, but it would automatically disappear whenever he wasn’t looking at it.
There was also a card reader and a small screen on the counter, and the mysterious Membership System had appeared on the computer, along with a copy of the Shopkeeper’s instructions.
These included rules regarding members, as well as terms stating that food made from Ingredients produced by the Stone Mill could only be bought and sold through the Membership System.
So Song Yu guessed that the shop held many more mysteries for him to uncover gradually.
But as an ordinary person, all he could do was wait in the shop for something to come along.
Finally, tonight, he had managed to catch two Special Affairs Bureau employees who might be able to capture ghost creatures.
Although he knew these kitchen utensils might be effective against ghost creatures, Song Yu had no intention of going out to hunt ghosts with a Cleaver.
And it was only thanks to the two and a half years he’d spent honing his cooking skills that he had triggered the Snack Shop’s hidden properties.
Song Yu opened the glass bottle, then turned it upside down over the hole on top of the Stone Mill.
Aah… Gah…
A ghastly wail rang out, but it didn’t stop.
Song Yu froze for a moment as he looked at the ghost creature trapped in the hole in the Stone Mill. Then he realized what was happening, hurried forward, grabbed the handle, and began turning the mill.
He had thought the Stone Mill would move on its own like before. He hadn’t expected that he would have to turn it himself.
A little over ten seconds later, the ghost creature’s screams stopped. A flash of white light flickered inside the Stone Mill, and Song Yu knew it was done.
Though he couldn’t see the Mark on his arm, he felt a warmth spread through his whole body. It was very pleasant.
Unable to figure it out after just one or two tries, he decided to satisfy his curiosity by opening the drawer beneath the Stone Mill first.
Song Yu instantly went stone-still when he saw the Ingredients inside.
Eggs?
“What the hell? Don’t be so ridiculous.”
There were five eggs in all, lined up neatly in the drawer.
This was even more shocking than the pile of flour Song Yu had seen the day before last.
He could accept anything that came out of the Stone Mill as a powder, but he’d never expected it to produce eggs.
This was absolutely unscientific.
He couldn’t understand it, but he still took out the five eggs and put the Vengeful Soul from the Flour Bag inside as well.
Ten seconds later, Song Yu opened the drawer again.
Seeing the pile of soybeans inside, about half a pound in all, Song Yu fell silent.
“You grind ghosts into eggs and soybeans. You win.” After a long while, he muttered at the Stone Mill.
Outside, Liu Feng heard the ghost creature’s screams from the kitchen and was rather surprised, but he held back his curiosity and didn’t go to check.
After all kinds of rustling and clattering in the kitchen for over ten minutes, Song Yu finally came out.
“I’m going to bed. Be careful, you two. Don’t attract a Vengeful Ghost, or it’ll tear my shop apart.”
After saying that, Song Yu went upstairs to the second floor.
Liu Feng and Li Xinxin were left staring at each other.
“Captain Liu, what do you think this man’s background is?”
“I can’t figure him out. If it weren’t for those three youtiao, I’d have taken him for a con artist.”
Li Xinxin looked completely baffled. “Why can he make youtiao that contain Yin Power? Did he add some kind of treasure to them?”
“It’s possible, but judging by the amount of Yin Power in them, he’s giving away two youtiao in exchange for one Vengeful Soul. He’s not just making no profit; he’s taking a loss. What’s his goal?”
A trace of hesitation crossed Liu Feng’s brow.
After all, this man had practically saved Li Xinxin’s life tonight.
The two chatted for a while, and worry settled over both their faces.
The mission had effectively failed, and they’d suffered heavy losses. Even their captain had nearly been unable to make it back.
But as the night wore on, they took turns keeping watch and each got half a night’s rest.
The night passed peacefully.
There was not a sound from the second floor.
At six thirty in the morning, Song Yu came down the stairs.
The two looked at him at the same time.
“How was your stay, you two?”
Song Yu stretched and asked.
Liu Feng replied, “It was all right. Thanks for taking us in, Boss. How should we address you?”
“Song Yu. Yu, as in ‘feather.’”
“So you’re Boss Song. We don’t have any cash on us, and we didn’t bring our phones. Once we get back, we’ll pay the membership fee we owe and give you the compensation we promised.”
Song Yu waved his hand. “It’s fine. I’ve got your name and ID number. If you don’t pay, I’ll come to your door and collect.”
Liu Feng: …
After saying that, Song Yu went into the kitchen.
Liu Feng and Li Xinxin exchanged glances, then shook their heads.
They couldn’t figure Song Yu out at all.
Before long, Song Yu came back out.
The two watched him erase the entire youtiao entry on the Small Menu Board by the door, then write something new.
【Today’s available food】
『Tea Egg: 5 points』
『Red date soy milk: 8 points』
Song Yu stopped writing there.
Seeing this, Liu Feng asked, “Boss Song, do you have any youtiao left?”
“No,” Song Yu replied.
Li Xinxin said, “Boss Song, could you make me a membership card too?”
“Sure. Just a moment.”
The membership card Li Xinxin received was number 00002.
Liu Feng said, “Boss, I’ll have a Tea Egg and a cup of soy milk.”
Li Xinxin quickly added, “Same for me.”
Song Yu stared at them. “Neither of you has any points yet.”
“I have two Vengeful Souls here.” Li Xinxin held up two Small Jade Bottles identical to the one Liu Feng had taken out earlier.
“All right. That’ll be 20 points.”
Liu Feng also brought out two Vengeful Souls.
This surprised Song Yu quite a bit.
Those two must be pretty strong to have captured so many Vengeful Souls. What kind of mission were they on?
Could they have run into an Evil Ghost?
Otherwise, why would they have fled in such a sorry state to the front of his shop?
“Here are your Tea Eggs and soy milk. By the way, you can take food from this shop to go, but once you take it outside, its effects are halved. Since you’re my first two members, consider that a friendly tip.”
The two began eating breakfast, full of curiosity.
A little after seven, a ray of morning light appeared on the horizon, and only then did Song Yu open the shop.
Liu Feng licked his lips as he looked at the eggshells he had peeled off, tempted to eat them too.
Li Xinxin also drank the last drop of soy milk with gusto.
As expected, these two foods also contained Yin Power.
But a look of shock flashed across Li Xinxin’s face.
She exclaimed, “Boss Song, you’re an amazing cook! That was the best Tea Egg I’ve ever had. But why wasn’t the soy milk plain?”
“Because I like red date soy milk,” Song Yu replied solemnly.
Li Xinxin: …
Liu Feng chimed in, “red date soy milk is delicious too. I’d love to drink my fill, but we’re on official business. Maybe another time.”
After thanking Song Yu once more, the two left.
Song Yu watched them go, his expression calm, though excitement bubbled beneath the surface.
Now he could finally start doing business in earnest.
Before, he could only make Steamed Buns, youtiao, and the like in the shop, but because of its location, his daily earnings barely covered his meals.
Business had been especially bad over the past few days. Several paranormal disappearances had happened nearby, so people were afraid to go out, and Song Yu had eaten all his emergency rations.
But with Liu Feng and Li Xinxin around, perhaps business at the shop would gradually pick up.
After all, Yin Power seemed to be very important to Ghost Tamers.
Meanwhile, Li Xinxin and Liu Feng were walking away, talking quietly.
“Captain Liu, that soy milk can actually nourish ghost creatures and calm them down.”
Li Xinxin still sounded incredulous.
“That’s right. I sensed it too. For Ghost Tamers, this soy milk is a divine treasure.”
Liu Feng was both excited and troubled.
He was excited because he and the others from Liangcheng had the advantage of being close to the source.
But the Shopkeeper’s mysterious nature troubled him. The appearance of this kind of food was bound to send shockwaves through Liangcheng and even the whole world.
I heard someone who bookmarked and voted for this book became more handsome than Wu Yanzu and won five million in the lottery on their way out to buy a ticket.