Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 466: The Little Monk

"I’m all set, Chen, you even gave me this Bagua Plate. When I miss you, I’ll use it to talk to you," He Xi said, struggling to keep from being sad and forcing a smile at Chen Nuo.

"As long as you can take care of yourself," Chen Nuo replied, "Then I’ll be on my way. If I’m not free, I’ll ask another brother to come visit you."

"Got it, got it." He Xi hugged Chen Nuo and then waved goodbye to him.

Just as Chen Nuo’s mana was about to lift him away, there was a knock at the door.

Chen Nuo paused. He glanced outside the window; it was closing time already. Who could still be knocking?

Chen Nuo opened the door to see a little boy, bald, dressed in plain clothes, most likely a young Monk, standing only as high as his waist.

"We are closed now. Are you here to buy oil?"

The little Monk nodded, "I heard that your oil is vegetable oil, and that even Monks can consume it, is that right?"

By this time, He Xi had grown accustomed to serving customers himself. Seeing a child on the other side, he hastened over, "Yes, all our oils are vegetable-based. We have soybean oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, and rapeseed oil. They’re all vegetarian, so Monks can consume them."

"That’s wonderful." The little Monk’s face brightened with a smile, "I came with my senior brother after hearing about your shop’s vegetable oil that Monks can eat."

"You’re not from around here, are you?" He Xi asked casually, "Your outfit doesn’t seem like what the local Temples here wear, and your accent also sounds different."

"Yes, we are from Gold Mountain Monastery," said the little Monk. "We usually can only eat vegetarian food, and all the senior brothers are lean and haggard, hardly able to properly listen and learn. By chance, I encountered monks from Mount Taihang who were on a scholarly pilgrimage. Though they also ate vegetarian food, their complexions were rosy and their health sturdy. They mentioned that they used oil for cooking, specifically, vegetable oil."

"Monks from Mount Taihang, they’re from our region," He Xi commented, "So that’s why you came here?"

"My senior brother and I braved mountains and rivers to come here just to buy some of your oil. This vegetable oil must be something good, being both oil and vegetarian. I’ll take some back with me. From now on, when we cook, we’ll use this. Surely, it will nourish my senior brothers’ health," the little Monk explained, "How do you sell this oil?"

Chen Nuo looked at the little Monk. He appeared much thinner than other children his age. Eating just vegetables alone couldn’t have made him so.

Children’s growth requires a balanced diet of both meat and vegetables. The little Monk’s Temple must treat their young Monks well, providing meat and eggs too.

However, adult Monks must start keeping dietary restrictions, and merely eating vegetables and drinking soup isn’t enough; that’s why they end up thin and sickly over time.

"Where’s your senior brother?" Chen Nuo inquired, "I’ve only heard you talk about coming with your senior brother, but I haven’t seen him."

At this question, the little Monk sighed, "On the arduous journey here, my senior brother insisted I eat the alms food first. He would eat only after I had my fill. As soon as we arrived, he couldn’t walk anymore and is currently resting at the doorstep of a kind person’s home. He sent me to inquire about your shop."

"I see." After a moment of thought, He Xi brought over several baked buns and handed them to the little Monk, "Take these buns for your senior brother to eat. We’re never short of food here. When you’re ready to leave, come back to me for more."

The little Monk looked at the buns, swallowing hard. They often ate potatoes and sweet potatoes, with barely any wheat-based food. The sight of these buns now had him almost gleaming with hunger.

Yet, holding onto his senses, he shook his head, "Thank you, shopkeeper, but we’ve made it here and no longer need to beg for food. We can now pay for our purchases."

"This child is truly well-behaved." He Xi looked at the little monk with great fondness, "It’s just my brother and me at home, we can’t eat that much. If you don’t take it, we’ll have to throw it away."

As He Xi spoke, she was about to throw it on the ground. The little monk hurried to stop her, "Don’t throw it, shopkeeper, it’s such good food, it would be a shame to waste it. Alright then, I’ll take it. May the Buddha Ancestor protect us."

"What kind of oil are you looking to buy?" He Xi nodded in satisfaction when the little monk accepted the sesame cake, and then she asked him.

"Shopkeeper, what’s the difference between the various oils you have? I only have incense money here, so I’ll just buy the cheapest one," the little monk said, handing He Xi his Silver Taels.

"How much oil do you want to buy?" He Xi did not take the money but asked the little monk first.

"We only brought this little money when we came. Shopkeeper, please check how much oil this can buy." The little monk put his hands together in prayer, and since his practice was not yet deep, his emotions were somewhat on display and he seemed rather apprehensive.

"Let me see." He Xi weighed the Silver in her hand; although it wasn’t a lot, it was more than enough to buy oil.

"There’s about two Silver Taels here. According to our current conversion, one Silver Tael can be exchanged for eight hundred wen, so two Silver Taels is one thousand six hundred wen. Little monk, you didn’t ask about our oil prices from someone else when you came, did you?"

Upon hearing He Xi’s question, the little monk became even more nervous. They had only focused on hurrying on their way when they came. When they arrived, his elder monk brother was so weak he nearly fainted; how could they have had the time to ask about prices?

Could it be that the oil is very expensive?

Thinking it over, it made sense that the oil would be expensive, for even a monk could afford to eat it. The production must be very complicated. It’s over—could it be that these two Silver Taels can only buy a small amount of oil?

His elder monk brother was not there, and he didn’t dare to decide on his own whether to buy it or not.

"We were in a rush when we came and didn’t inquire about the price of oil," the little monk replied, then asked cautiously, "Shopkeeper, your oil must be very expensive, right?"

He Xi exchanged a glance with Chen Nuo, then pretended to be very serious, "Indeed, it’s quite expensive."

"Ah?" The little monk paused. So, it really was expensive. Now, he wondered whether to buy it or not.

After thinking it over, the little monk mustered his courage, "How exactly do you sell this oil?"

"Our oil, for one Tael of oil, costs..." He Xi’s tone was exaggerated as she watched the little monk’s eyes grow wide. Then she said with a smile, "It costs one wen!"

"Ah? One Tael of oil costs..." Because He Xi’s tone was so exaggerated, the little monk mistook the oil to be very expensive.

Indeed, he should have asked about the price earlier. One Tael of oil actually costs one wen. Wait, the little monk paused, then asked with a puzzled tone, "Shopkeeper, I didn’t hear you clearly just now, could you please repeat that?"

"One Tael of oil for one wen." He Xi repeated.

"One wen?!" Now the little monk was truly astonished. He found it hard to believe. How could it be so cheap when this oil seemed so good? Could it really be this affordable?

"That’s right, are you buying or not?" He Xi asked, "It’s already very late, and we were about to close, but you insisted on waking us up. If you want it, I’ll sell it to you; if not, I’ll close up."