Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 419 Tasting Human Life

"Even when you’re out and about, you don’t pack an extra set of clothes. Lucky for you, I have one, or you’d be in trouble. If people saw what you’re wearing, I’m not sure what they’d think."

Chen Nuo, holding the clothes Jin Zha gave him, thought that they looked even more eye-catching than what he was wearing. Putting on these clothes seemed like it would cause even more trouble.

"What’s the matter?" Jin Zha asked, seeing him hold the clothes without moving, thinking he was being picky, "They’re unworn. I never wear the same outfit twice; they’re all new. You can wear them with confidence."

"Such a waste."

Despite not really wanting to wear them, Jin Zha had made his point, and it would be rather awkward for Chen Nuo to refuse, so he reluctantly put them on.

The two entered the small town, and Chen Nuo observed the long, ancient-styled street, which almost exactly resembled the towns depicted on television.

The hawkers’ cries were unending, and the streets were crowded, a clear sign of prosperity.

"I really didn’t expect a small town at the foot of a mountain to be so bustling. I thought it would be desolate," Chen Nuo remarked.

"There’s a lot you don’t expect. You’ve never even left your restaurant," Jin Zha commented. "You should get out more. You’re practically disconnected from society."

"It’s not that severe. I just didn’t expect the small town to be so lively. Actually, it’s quite nice to stroll around," Chen Nuo said.

"It’s not just nice, it’s extremely nice," Jin Zha insisted. "You can’t just focus on your own cooking. There are so many street snacks in the mortal world, and many dishes are adaptations of these snacks. You should try some."

As he spoke, Jin Zha bought two sugar-coated hawthorns from a nearby stall and handed one to Chen Nuo, "You haven’t tried this before, have you? These are called Bingtang Hulu, sweet and sour, really delicious."

"Thank you."

Chen Nuo accepted the Bingtang Hulu. To have never tried sugar-coated hawthorns would be to have lived in vain, although he did not particularly enjoy the common version of Bingtang Hulu.

Whether Bingtang Hulu is good or not largely depends on the hawthorns. Delicious hawthorns are hard to come by.

Most of what was sold outside were hawthorns haphazardly bought by the vendors—extremely sour was one thing; even worse were those with lots of rotten fruit. After being shortchanged too many times, he lost his taste for them.

Chen Nuo bit into the Bingtang Hulu, and as expected, the sugar was stickier than teeth, and the hawthorns were sour, but his manners prevented him from spitting it out on the street.

After finishing one, he didn’t go for a second. Conveniently, a little kid nearby was eyeing the Bingtang Hulu in his hand eagerly. Chen Nuo smiled at the child and handed over the Bingtang Hulu.

The kid took the Bingtang Hulu, smiled back at Chen Nuo, and hurriedly ran off.

"You like kids?" Jin Zha asked.

"Not particularly. It just so happened I met one, and I didn’t enjoy what I was holding, so I gave it to him," Chen Nuo explained.

"You’re really hard to please," Jin Zha scoffed. "To think you don’t find something this delicious to your taste."

Chen Nuo scoffed back, "That just means you’ve never really tasted something good."

The two bickered while wandering the streets, and Jin Zha led him to another stall.

This one was making pan-fried potatoes, cut into pieces and pan-fried. The potatoes were fried to a golden brown and only needed a bit of salt.

Jin Zha approached the stall and ordered two servings.

Chen Nuo took a bite of the potato. Although they were supposed to be pan-fried dry, they had been brushed with water to prevent sticking.

But inevitably, the fried potato skins were still ragged, and the potatoes were sticky and grainy. The taste of the potatoes themselves was quite strong; the addition of salt added some flavor, making it not too bland when eaten.

"How is it, this tastes good, right?" Jin Zha looked at Chen Nuo who had eaten two pieces of potato in a row and asked with a smile.

"It’s just so-so, nothing technical about it, just the potatoes themselves being tasty," Chen Nuo commented.

"This is just a snack, you don’t need to compare everything to the dishes you make."

"I think the flavor could be even better," Chen Nuo said, "If the outside were fried in oil instead of water, that would be even better."

"Oil?!" Jin Zha looked at Chen Nuo in surprise, "You really have no idea about the hardships of the common people, do you know that oil is something only royals and nobles can afford in the mortal world?"

"Ah?" Chen Nuo was stunned. Although oil was indeed not cheap, he didn’t think it was only affordable by kings and nobility, "Then what do ordinary people use to cook their food?"

"Mostly they boil with water and add some salt for seasoning," Jin Zha said. "It was really a good idea to bring you out; you truly know nothing about the mortal world."

Chen Nuo was greatly shocked; he had spoken without thinking, but upon reflection, he realized Jin Zha was right.

At Chaos Residence, he had everything he wanted and only saw Immortal Officials, not knowing what life was like for mortals; it turned out to be no different from what was described in the history books.

Jin Zha had only intended to mention the state of the mortal world, but unexpectedly brought the mood down. Seeing Chen Nuo’s spirits were low, Jin Zha thought for a bit and then took him into the largest restaurant in the town.

"Forget it, I don’t really feel like eating right now," Chen Nuo said.

Chen Nuo was telling the truth – not only were his spirits low, his body was not that of an ordinary mortal, so he naturally wasn’t hungry, and his mood wasn’t helping with the appetite.

"Oh come on, how can you be like this? Although ordinary people can’t afford oil, they still live happily. Look at the people here, even the beggars have something to eat, none of them is emaciated, they are happy and don’t fret over this, unlike you who is all worried and frowning, what good is that?" Jin Zha persuaded.

What he said indeed wasn’t wrong, the beggars on the streets had ruddy complexions, sitting outside the restaurant. When the diners inside had leftovers, the servants would gather the edible food into a bowl and bring it out to the beggars.

But Chen Nuo was not just worried about these commoners; ever since the system disappeared, the day was already turning to night, he had knocked on the system countless times without any response.

"Let’s go, it looks like the owner of this restaurant is a kind soul. Let’s go inside and see. I’ve heard that food from the compassionate tastes better than that from the narrow-hearted," Jin Zha said, pulling Chen Nuo into the restaurant as he spoke.

Chen Nuo wanted to refuse, but then thought it over. Since they were already here, he might as well taste the food of the mortal realm; who knows, it might inspire him to create new dishes in the future.

As soon as they entered the restaurant, a waiter took them to their seats, holding a cloth in one hand and a pot of tea in the other.

"Guests, what would you like to eat?"

"Bring us all your best dishes!" Jin Zha immediately said upon sitting down.

"Right away! Please wait a moment, and I’ll serve you the dishes," the waiter slung the cloth over his shoulder and was about to leave with a lively step.

"Wait a minute," Chen Nuo quickly called out to the waiter, "You’re serving the food without even asking?"

"Ah, the joy of ordering food is exactly in that, when the dishes come, you look at each one, taste it, and guess the name of the dish. Isn’t that fun!" Jin Zha said with a laugh.

So you’re playing a blind box game with this, huh?

Chen Nuo thought to himself and stopped the waiter who had already stopped moving, "What are you standing there for, come here!"