Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 622 - 621: Both Take a Step Back, Start Gossiping
Others may consider my grievances trivial; if I were to intervene, not only might I fail to appease the situation, but I might also get entangled in the mess. Eventually, both might direct their anger at me.
They get to vent, and I’d be the unfortunate one.
It’s a losing deal, and I have no interest in making such a bargain.
Sun Wukong and Tian Peng were shirking the responsibility of who should mediate, while Chen Nuo and Nuwa were still deadlocked, neither willing to give in.
"I am well aware that Shopkeeper Chen is a good man, unwilling to let a meal cause unpleasantness between us, and I have indeed awakened Divine Skills thanks to your dishes, which has made me even more grateful to you. Manager Chen, you really needn’t worry over this."
Each feels justified in their stance, Chen Nuo believed that adhering to principles was not wrong; besides, if he did not persist, then his shop would truly stand for nothing.
"Lady Nuwa, I know you are grateful to me for the awakening of Divine Skills, but the awakening is only facilitated by my dishes. The true determinant of awakening is the person eating the food."
"If everyone who awakened Divine Skills from eating my dishes decided to pay without dining, then my shop really would have no reason to continue operating. I might as well wait for others to repay me."
The more they spoke, the more each felt justified, yet at the same time failed to understand each other, stubbornly clinging to their own views.
"Shopkeeper Chen, there’s no need to be so inflexible on this matter. How about you take a step back, and I will do the same?" Nuwa suggested.
"Fine," Chen Nuo agreed to Nuwa’s proposition, "In that case, the reservation cannot be canceled; that’s my principle. Lady Nuwa, to which ’step back’ do you refer?"
The initial cause of their deadlock was the reservation issue, and now the situation had circled back to square one.
Chen Nuo said he would take a step back, but it was merely tossing the issue back to Nuwa. In the end, it still depended on Nuwa.
Naturally, Nuwa would not step back either, as this matter had already taken up too much time.
Nuwa had even forgotten the reason for canceling the reservation; she simply didn’t want to back down on this issue with Chen Nuo.
"Shopkeeper Chen, your stance really leaves me at a loss for how to respond," Nuwa said.
"How so? I’ve already given you the choice," Chen Nuo replied.
Nuwa pouted—on such a matter, the two really couldn’t find common ground.
"Is the choice you’re giving me to take a step back?" Nuwa asked in return.
"As I said, this matter is a matter of principle..." Chen Nuo began, but was interrupted by Sun Wukong.
"Master, Tian Peng and I have something to say."
Tian Peng had originally planned to just watch the excitement, but to his surprise, Sun Wukong dragged him into it as well, "It’s not me, Mr. Monkey, I have no opinions at all, don’t include me."
Sun Wukong shot him a glare.
Tian Peng immediately changed his tune, "Indeed, Shopkeeper, this is what Mr. Monkey and I have discussed."
"Go ahead," Chen Nuo said, not minding their little schemes, waiting for Sun Wukong to speak.
"Master, the idea is for everyone to make concessions," Sun Wukong proposed.
"You are unwilling to budge, and Goddess Nuwa won’t either. This could go on endlessly. Why don’t both parties take a step back? You do not force Goddess Nuwa to cancel the reservation; instead, the reservation could be postponed. Lady Nuwa, you can choose another time to come for a meal."
Chen Nuo and Nuwa exchanged glances, then both turned away and coughed.
They had been so focused on their own issues that it never occurred to them that Sun Wukong could resolve the matter so easily. Neither had anticipated this.
Upon seeing the state of the two individuals, Sun Wukong was stunned for a moment before suddenly realizing something.
"Master, please don’t tell me you didn’t remember this just now."
Chen Nuo coughed and then defended himself, "Cough, I sometimes miss things too, I’m human, not perfect."
Since it was impossible for a human to be perfect, Wukong then turned his gaze to Nuwa.
If Chen Nuo hadn’t thought of it, that was one thing, but surely Nuwa couldn’t have also forgotten.
Nuwa indeed had not thought of it; if she had, she wouldn’t have argued with Chen Nuo for so long.
"Although I am a Saint, I don’t think of everything," Nuwa excused herself.
Alright then, since offending either was out of the question.
Even though they both had wasted a lot of time, Wukong couldn’t blame them. He just smiled and nodded along with their words, "So that’s how it is."
"Cough cough, then Manager Chen, please delay my appointment for half a month," Nuwa thought that half a month would be enough time to sort out her feelings.
Then she would prepare what to say and do, and which dishes to order for the next meeting with Chen Nuo.
Chen Nuo was belatedly aware that his own actions just now may have seemed somewhat childish. He had thought that after spending so much time here, he would treat these people as if they were characters out of a book, not realizing he would begin to see them as individuals with genuine feelings.
Laughing softly, Chen Nuo mused, what was he thinking? They were indeed people of true sentiments; it was just that he had always applied the roles in the books unto them.
"Then Shopkeeper Chen, if there’s nothing else, I will take my leave now," Nuwa paused and without waiting for Chen Nuo to respond, continued on her own.
Chen Nuo, coming out of his thoughts, nodded and said, "Alright, Lady Nuwa, I will reschedule your appointment for half a month later."
Nuwa nodded and then left the Chaos Residence.
After Nuwa left, Wukong finally mustered a little more courage. He hadn’t been timid before; it was just that some things needed to be discussed behind closed doors as Nuwa wasn’t one of their own.
"Master, tell me the truth, did you really not think of it, or did you just want to talk a little more with Goddess Nuwa?"
"Why would I want to talk more with Nuwa?" Chen Nuo retorted.
Wukong scratched his head, a mischievous smile on his face, "How would I know that?"
"You don’t know and yet you expect me to?" Chen Nuo gave Wukong a puzzled look, "What on earth are you thinking about every day? Have you mastered cooking the stone grill barbeque? Are you proficient at deboning chicken legs yet?"
Wukong suddenly paused; these past few days he had been busy selling milk tea and hadn’t had a chance to handle anything else since Tian Peng’s departure.
Seeing his reaction, Chen Nuo knew Wukong hadn’t practiced at all.
But he also knew Wukong had been busy selling milk tea and had no time to practice; he was just looking for a reason to zing Wukong.
Watching Wukong’s deflated look, Chen Nuo felt the awkwardness from before vanishing. He left a remark for Wukong to manage the shop well with Tian Peng, then turned and headed for the back mountain.
At the back mountain, as expected, the crawfish container was nearly full. Chen Nuo picked up a container and took two-thirds of the crawfish from the pit, then turned back to the Chaos Residence.
Tian Peng and Wukong had been whispering to each other about Chen Nuo and Nuwa’s affairs.
By now, the customers had been frightened away, and it would probably take a while for them to come back.
The brothers were enjoying a rare moment of peace, chatting about Chen Nuo’s gossip, especially Tian Peng who seemed to have been bottled up during his time as a mortal and spoke ceaselessly to Wukong.
