January 27, 2018
The life of a slacker always feels like ti flies by quickly, as if in the blink of an eye, it’s already the end of January.
As ti flew by, the group had fully enjoyed the various culinary delights of Shen City, including sandstone barbecue, hundred-herb stew, floral fruit soup, and so on. They all praised these diverse flavors trendously and deeply regretted that Shen City’s food culture had not spread across the world.
From a cultural perspective, Shen City’s cuisine truly has a long-standing history, and its cultural heritage is very profound. Many foods that people enjoy today can be traced back 1,500 years, when humans and spirit monsters around Shen City began the process of racial fusion. The spirit monsters brought their unique dietary habits and ingredients to Shen City, greatly expanding the local people’s nu.
Although at first, these native dishes mostly catered to the tastes of the spirit monsters and might not have suited humans, over a thousand years of cultural integration allowed many specialty dishes to beco common fare on ordinary people’s tables. Delving into the cultural roots behind them enhances one’s sensory experience while providing spiritual upliftnt.
Unfortunately, to date, such distinctive food culture has only spread around Shen City and not like Golden Jade City or Heaven-Reaching City, which have branches all over the state, familiar to everyone everywhere.
Wang Jiu felt most regretful about this.
Among the foods tasted in Shen City, many even surpassed those from the Jiuzhou Era.
This is quite rare, because generally, the prosperity of culinary culture inevitably accompanies the overall affluent civilization—there must be plenty of surplus food to squander and enough idle people to indulge in culinary delights to drive culinary progress.
Although the Xiangzhou Continent is currently peaceful and prosperous, its overall level of cultural developnt still lags behind the Jiuzhou Era when cultivators soared into the skies. In those tis, Great Cultivators often moved mountains and filled seas, commanding wind and rain. Ordinary people didn’t need to pray for good weather conditions; they simply asked a passing Great Cultivator to adjust the climate.
If cultivators of that ti took an interest in culinary indulgence, they’d study the flavors and cooking thods of heavenly and earthly treasures, with hardly any mortal food on their tables. Any ingredient had to at least have a "spirit" prefix to be edible. The most discerning, like the Myriad Immortals Alliance Leader level figures, wouldn’t eat anything but ancient, rare, or pristine ingredients. Although Wang Jiu truly didn’t find anything mystical about ancient dough sticks, rare fried liver, or original flatbreads...
As the Celestial Divine Sword who once saved the world, Wang Jiu traveled across the Xiangzhou Continent following the Jiu Immortal Venerables—despite the Demon Race invasion causing a rapid decline in material conditions on the Jiuzhou Continent, upper-level supply provision remained secured. Yet in Wang Jiu’s view, those exquisite gourt dishes were not as interesting as Shen City’s street food.
Because the forr pursued refinent within the confines of human cuisine, while the latter broke free from conventions, refreshing people right from the frawork. Many common knowledge taboos in human dining simply do not exist for spirit monsters. On this foundation, the cultural fruits they cultivate offer truly fresh and subli flavors.
"So, I suggest we explore the food stalls at the South City Hundred Families District tonight..."
Before Wang Jiu finished his proposal, his companions unanimously vetoed it.
"Enough already! Didn’t we eat enough the past couple of days!? It’s not like we have little appetite, only capable of trying one or two dishes at a ti. Every ti we go, you bring us along to sweep through like a storm, ordering every dish on the nu! Afraid others won’t realize we’re foodies! Now each dish has nearly been tasted twice over, what else is there to explore?!"
Wang Jiu seriously explained, "Haven’t you noticed? At the food stalls in the Hundred Families District, the lead chefs frequently change at each stand. Different chefs have different preferences when cooking, leading to subtle differences in taste for the sa dish, like yesterday..."
"That minor difference, and yet you could detect it! I think the most would be the difference of a few spit droplets from the servers mixing in!" Shen Qingming was genuinely impressed with the White Sword’s perceptiveness, "Every day all you think about is food, what exactly are you here for?!"
Wang Jiu curiously countered, "Weren’t you the one who said there was authentic barbecue here, that’s why I ca along? Or did you think I was here to help you resolve the feud between two families?"
"...My gosh!" Shen Qingming truly felt like her beliefs were shattered.
Thinking about it, certain followers, desperate to prove their exotic bloodline, would feel the sa way upon discovering they’re pure mainstream lineage...
However, living with this Sword Spirit for so long, Shen Qingming knew that trying to persuade him with words to change his mind was practically mission impossible. No matter how hard she tried, the topic often ended up questioning her intelligence. It’s best not to touch upon such lifelong embarrassnts, so she naturally turned her attention to the others.
"What do you guys think?"
Li Wanqing and others, lately living like immortals, spent their days lounging in Shen City, eating, drinking, and shopping like newly wealthy mobs enriched by expropriation. Hearing Shen Qingming’s question, each had their own answer.
Li Chaolu nonchalantly replied, "I heard that the light restaurant in the west of the city has excellent food and drink, and their signature Spiritual Beauty Wine has beauty-enhancing effects. I want to try it."
Li Wanqing made a sound, glancing thoughtfully before turning to Shen Qingming, "I have plans to drink tea with Shen Ying."
"...Hey, how did you two get hooked up?!"
Li Wanqing exclaid, "She was the one who flirted first, which led us to get more clues from her, don’t you rember?..."
Wang Jiu shifted his gaze, saying, "She can’t even rember..."
Shen Qingming was genuinely tempted to hit herself with a brick, wondering why she asked such a question?! Would she ever think things through before speaking?!
But on the other hand, isn’t living like this too exhausting? Even talking to your own family, you have to be so cautious, like you’re a spokesperson for the governnt office. You might not believe it, but I do—it’s really not a life worth living!
In her anger, Shen Qingming turned her gaze to Li Xinyu.
Truthfully, the girl had no intention of wasting her breath on this chubby guy. It was better to just let him fend for himself in Shen City. But since they were kin, she asked anyway.
"Xinyu, what about you?"
Li Xinyu imdiately bead with a happy smile, "I’m in..."
"Oh, no need to say more, I can tell from your smile."
"..."
Since her companions had proven themselves useless, Shen Qingming decided to give up struggling and just followed Wang Jiu to the food stall to taste the specialties of Hundred Families Workshop for the third ti. She consoled herself that it was at least happier than the days of eating just cabbage and radish.
As she was thinking, Wang Jiu spoke up, "By the way, if you don’t like Hundred Families Workshop, I can go by myself and..."
"Can’t hear you!"
——
South City’s Hundred Families District is a well-known bustling food area in Shen City, gathering hundreds of popular local-food stalls beloved by the Shen City residents. There are few high-end luxury als that take hours here; most stalls are set up by the roadside, with the sll of barbecue, stir-fry, and hotpot blending together, creating a strong culinary atmosphere unique to the area.
When Wang Jiu arrived with his steed, it was at the peak of business. The main road, which runs north to south, was lined on both sides with stalls, full of benches and tables, leaving only a narrow path barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. No vehicles could pass through. All visitors, regardless of status, had to navigate the area on foot.
Wang Jiu stood before the slightly greasy archway of Hundred Families Workshop, invigorated by the intense cooking slls in the air, "The flavors of the Five-Flavored Hotpot and the Fragrant Braised Pork Leg are different from yesterday. Today was indeed the right day to co."
Shen Qingming was genuinely impressed by this sharper-than-a-bear’s sense of sll. Since the Whiteboard Stupid Sword’s awakening in May, it had spent most of the past year diligently gathering various materials to reconstruct the Sword World, yet it didn’t seem to showcase any extraordinary abilities. However, its sense of sll had beco extraordinarily keen. Amidst a street with a hundred stalls, a thousand tables, and tens of thousands of dishes, it could actually discern which dish’s taste had changed from the day before!
No wonder he could so decisively determine that Shen Jinghai was a man back then—he must have slled the hormones...
While Shen Qingming was lost in thought, Wang Jiu was already weaving through the dense crowd on the busy main road with his steed. His pace was unhurried yet smooth, and the haphazardly placed tables and the crowded people didn’t hinder his movent at all. Soon, he reached a stall he fancied the day before.
However, before he could take a seat as the stall owner greeted him, he suddenly spotted a familiar figure at a distant street corner, a block or two away from Hundred Families Workshop.
The figure, tall and curvaceous, with a charming and radiant appearance, was Li Chaolu, who had ntioned earlier she would go and try the Spiritual Beauty Wine.
That’s odd—had the Qing Restaurant opened a branch in this area?
After so careful analysis, Wang Jiu thought that the combination of fine wine and braised pork would be great, so he decided to take Shen Qingming towards where Li Chaolu was, intending to get the wine first before anything else.
"Hey, what’s up?"
"I spotted Li Chaolu," Wang Jiu explained his thought process simply, seeing Shen Qingming’s eyes light up with interest.
"Oh, you’re interested in the combination of fine wine and braised pork too?"
Shen Qingming rolled her eyes at him, "I’m interested in the gossip about Li Chaolu!"
"What gossip?"
"Hmph, she claims she’s just buying Spiritual Beauty Wine, yet sneaks off to a secluded street corner around Hundred Families Workshop—there’s definitely sothing fishy!"
"Or maybe the Qing Restaurant opened a branch here."
Shen Qingming said, "Or maybe Li Chaolu has t a new boyfriend here! Co on, let’s go! Even if it’s just for your dignity, we must catch them in the act as soon as possible! Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!"
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