Ji Rongxia fired up the oven today, baking over forty crumbly pancakes in succession.

He set aside twelve pancakes, deliberately brushing a hint of chili sauce on them. Six were for breakfast, while the remaining six were wrapped up to be delivered to the Ji family later. His brother-in-law had greatly enjoyed the taro they’d sent last time, so Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin decided to use their saved silver to buy some glutinous rice and make more glutinous rice balls.

But it was too early for the grain shop to open, so they first ground glutinous rice flour from the restaurant’s glutinous rice. They planned to buy more later when the grain shop opened.

There was still plenty of fruit sugar left. Gu Tangjin took some out, crushed it with a rolling pin, then wrapped it in oil paper.

The crushed fruit sugar still looked a bit colorful, but it resembled coarse rock sugar that had been ground up.

This way, the sugar didn’t look so conspicuous.

“Wow, I should’ve done this earlier! Now it looks just like rock sugar,” Ji Rongxia exclaimed happily.

There was still plenty of fruit sugar left. The two of them snacked on it secretly, but they certainly couldn’t finish it all anytime soon. This method made it presentable enough to offer to others.

“I just thought of it too.”

“Let’s pack some for Big Brother, too, so he can give it to Fulang. But he should eat less. I read in medical texts that pregnant women who eat too richly or too much are prone to gestational diabetes,” Gu Tangjin said.

“Is that so? I always thought pregnancy meant eating and drinking well. I’ll have to tell my brother-in-law not to eat too much.” Ji Rongxia was shocked; he’d never heard of such a thing.

“It’s not that they shouldn’t eat at all—pregnant women still need nourishment. It’s just that they shouldn’t overdo it,” Gu Tangjin chuckled, though that wasn’t quite what he meant.

Ji Rongxia relaxed. “That’s good to know. I was worried I might be doing more harm than good by making extra food for Brother Qian.”

Unfortunately, all the taro was stored in the system—he couldn’t access it. That meant no taro paste for the glutinous rice balls; only sesame filling would do.

“I used to worry that little brat would appear during the day, too. Now I kind of wish he could talk during daylight hours. Then I could get some of the food he’s stashed away.” Ji Rongxia leaned close to Gu Tang

Gu Tangjin fetched the stone mill and swiftly ground the glutinous rice. He remarked, “True. Now that the little ghost actually listens to you, being able to contact it anytime would be incredibly convenient.”

But who knows if that ‘little ghost’ would change its tune once it had truly replenished its energy.

But pondering that was pointless—they still had no clue how to recharge the ‘little ghost’ anyway.

After exchanging a few more words, they returned to their tasks.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to prepare fruit drinks today. Baking this many cakes in one go left them time to make some pan-fried buns too—otherwise, they’d have been completely overwhelmed.

A soft knock suddenly sounded at the door.

Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin peered out from the kitchen and saw Diao Qiuyun standing at the back door they’d left open, tapping lightly.

“Just come in, Xiao Yun,” Ji Rongxia greeted the young girl warmly.

Diao Qiuyun entered slowly, looking a bit embarrassed.

Ji Rongxia was still frying the pan-fried buns and couldn’t leave the kitchen. Gu Tangjin set down the firewood he was holding, rolled down his sleeves, and stepped out of the kitchen in a few strides.

“Brother Gu, I… I wanted to ask if you still make fruit drinks. I mean, I’d like to buy some for my brother to try.” Diao Qiuyun hesitated but forced herself to speak.

“Your brother is coming back?” Gu Tangjin brightened.

“Yes! A merchant caravan delivered a letter to our home today. My brother will be back in a month or two!” Mentioning this, Diao Qiuyun couldn’t help but feel happy, her baby-faced cheeks flushing rosy.

Gu Tangjin: “Congratulations! Congratulations!”

“If I make you fruit drinks now, they’ll go bad in a few days at home. Here’s what we’ll do: once your brother returns, sneak over quietly. I’ll sell you some. I only have a little sugar left—don’t tell anyone else.”

Though Gu Tangjin wasn’t close to Diao Daliang, he was genuinely glad the man would return safely.

“Mhm, alright. I won’t tell anyone.” Diao Qiuyun’s eyes lit up. She covered her mouth, signaling her absolute secrecy. “Let me pay Brother Gu first.”

She pulled out a small pouch, searching for wen.

Just as Gu Tangjin was about to refuse, Diao Qiuyun let out a startled “Eh?”

Following her gaze into the pouch, Gu Tangjin saw no wen—only a collection of beautiful little stones.

“I… I grabbed the wrong pouch.” Diao Qiuyun’s face flushed even redder. She often pretended to be shy in public, but this time she was genuinely embarrassed—she’d rushed out and accidentally grabbed the wrong one!

The pan-fried buns were ready. Ji Rongxia emerged from the kitchen with a smile. “You can pay when you come to get the fruit drink…”

Before Ji Rongxia could finish, a familiar voice cut in.

[Ding! Energy source detected! Energy source detected!]

“Host! Host! That pouch up ahead contains an energy source!” The Cooking God System activated forcefully upon detecting the energy source!

Startled by the Cooking God System’s sudden voice in broad daylight, Ji Rongxia froze.

The Cooking God System hurriedly explained: “Host, you can communicate with me in your mind. Just think about speaking to me, and I’ll hear you. If you don’t want to communicate, I won’t hear anything.”

“That stone in the little girl’s pouch is a radiation-emitting stone. It can recharge the system, but prolonged exposure to this stone is harmful to the human body. Host, find a way to get it!”

The Cooking God System’s voice was urgent. Ji Rongxia had been hesitant, but upon hearing that prolonged wear was harmful, he quickened his pace.

“These little stones are so pretty. Where did Xiao Yun get them?” Ji Rongxia asked with a smile.

Hearing this, Diao Qiuyun assumed Xia-ger was just chatting with her to ease her shyness. She pursed her lips and replied, “My brother brought them for me. Whenever he travels and sees pretty stones, he picks them up and gives them to me to play with. Usually, I keep them neatly stored in my room, but I accidentally brought them out this time.”

When she was little, her brother’s business wasn’t doing very well. He couldn’t afford to buy her many tasty treats or fun toys, so he would collect stones and flowers to save up and give her to play with. Later, when his business improved, and he could afford nicer things, he still kept the habit of bringing her little stones and such.

She had many bags of these little stones, all carefully arranged beside her bed. Yesterday, she’d carelessly tossed her money pouch onto the bedside, too. All the pouches looked alike, and today, upon hearing her brother’s letter had arrived, she’d hurriedly grabbed the wrong one while getting dressed.

Ji Rongxia: “Oh, I see. These stones are beautiful. I’ve never left home, but stones from outside really are lovely. I don’t want the silver for the fruit drink. I can give you some sugar instead. You can make sugar water yourself when you go back. It’s not much, but please don’t look down on it. Could you give me a few stones?”

Though puzzled, Gu Tangjin went inside and retrieved a small packet of sugar.

This sugar was freshly ground from fruit sugar crystals.

”What? These stones aren’t worth this much.” Diao Qiuyun waved her hand in refusal, about to hand the small pouch directly to Ji Rongxia. ”Just cover the cost of the fruit drink. How could I possibly take your sugar too?”

A few stones weren’t worth this much, and her family had quite a few stored away. As a child, she’d found them rare and precious, but now that they had so many, they weren’t so special anymore.

“These were all painstakingly brought back by your brother. If you don’t take them, I won’t make you any fruit drink.” Ji Rongxia’s face turned stern.

“Alright, take them. You can steep them yourself. Here.” Gu Tangjin shoved the oil-paper packet into Diao Qiuyun’s hands.

With Ji Rongxia speaking up, Diao Qiuyun could only trade her small bag of stones for a packet of sugar.

She felt awkward, her face flushing redder. Though she was frugal herself, she disliked taking advantage of others.

“Brother Xia, Brother Gu, when my brother returns with more goods, come buy from me. I’ll give you a discount.” Without waiting for Ji Rongxia or Gu Tangjin to refuse, she bowed her head and hurried away.

The child ran off quickly, and neither man pursued her. Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin exchanged glances. Gu Tangjin closed the back door, then pulled Ji Rongxia into the kitchen. Only then did he lower his voice and ask, “What’s going on?”

“That little brat said something here could recharge it, but it’s bad for people to wear it. So I took it,” Ji Rongxia said quickly, holding up the pouch in her hand. Gu Tangjin raised an eyebrow. “I see.”

“Host, simply hold that radioactive stone in your hand, and I can absorb it,” the Cooking God System stated.“How much energy will you regain after absorbing it?” Ji Rongxia asked before acting.

“At night, it should sustain the system space for about two hours. During the day, it will restore partial functionality. Host, whenever you summon me, I can activate communication with you, issue tasks, provide real-world mission guidance, distribute task rewards, and so on.” The Cooking God System wasn’t as excited as it had been initially.

“Host, I’m utterly loyal to you now. Don’t worry. Truth be told… I forcibly bound myself to you. Though it was an emergency, it was still a violation of protocol. Even if I fully replenish my energy, I must first help you become the Cooking God before I can leave.” The Cooking God System’s voice trailed off as it spoke.

It had regretted more than once why it had initially thought the host, being from ancient times, would be easy to fool. Now, it had truly shot itself in the foot.

Ji Rongxia looked at Gu Tangjin and said, ”He says once it’s fully charged, it can operate for two hours at night. It can also assign tasks for me to complete during the day and talk to me. It promised not to harm me after I recharge it.“

”Then recharge it,“ Gu Tangjin said with a smile. Ji Rongxia nodded. ”That’s what I think too.“

Cooking God System: ”???”

When did my host and their partner become so easygoing? 

Ji Rongxia mentally addressed it: “After all this time together, you’ve hardly ever lied to me. I’m not afraid of you and trust you’re not deceiving me. Tangjin probably feels the same.”

The Cooking God System froze. It experienced a slight lag, a peculiar sensation spreading through its core. 

This host actually said he trusted it!

Its core flickered twice. It had assumed it would need to promise much more for the host to agree to recharge it.

“Which one? Why aren’t you speaking?” Ji Rongxia poured the small stones from his pouch onto the table. Each stone was slightly different—some covered in spots, others with intricate patterns, some resembling glass, and others full of holes. 

Just looking at these stones, one could tell the person who picked them up must have traveled far and wide. “The black one,” the Cooking God System whispered. 

“This one? This dull gray one?” Ji Rongxia picked up the plain, unremarkable stone. 

Then he felt a sudden warmth in his hand, and the stone vanished into thin air!

“Whoa!” Ji Rongxia’s eyes widened.

Gu Tangjin, however, showed no surprise. He often witnessed this ‘little ghost’ conjuring things out of thin air; seeing it so frequently had desensitized him.

[System charging. Estimated charging time: ten hours.]

“Host, I’m fully charged!” The Cooking God System sounded cheerful. Struggling daily on the brink of deactivation, it was genuinely relieved.

“That’s it? Nothing else?” Ji Rongxia clenched his now-empty hand, unsure if he’d ever held that pebble at all.

“No need, no need! That’s all. Host, I promise to stay in standby mode normally and won’t disturb you. When I activate, I’ll automatically block any private scenes between you and your partner—like when you’re not wearing clothes!” the Cooking God System assured him. 

Ji Rongxia took a moment to process what the system was saying before his face flushed crimson. Gu Tangjin looked at him in confusion. Ji Rongxia whispered, “It… It’s starting to charge. And it said not to worry, it won’t see us when we’re not wearing clothes.”

Gu Tangjin: “…”

A faint blush also spread across his handsome face. Gu Tangjin quickly changed the subject. “Have it produce some taro paste. We still have time to make some taro paste rice balls.”

“Oh, great idea!” No sooner had Ji Rongxia finished speaking than the Cooking God System dished out a small bowl of taro paste.

Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia each busied themselves with separate tasks—one cleaning the stone mill, the other rolling the glutinous rice balls.