Journey to the West: Starting by taking Sun Wukong as my disciple!-Chapter 537 Departure to Kaifeng Prefecture

Chopping wood wasn’t really a difficult task for Tian Peng, and in no time, he had already split the wood and then entered the house.

The widow had already baked two pancakes, and Tian Peng casually picked one up and popped it into his mouth.

These past days, he had been eating only the pastries that the Three Demons had brought him. He used to think pastries weren’t tasty, only eating meat, and he would carelessly leave them in the house.

After his fallout with the Three Demons, he realized the problem, he didn’t know how to cook, and he couldn’t eat raw rice or flour, so he had to make do with the pastries he previously didn’t eat.

He used to be very picky, but when it really came down to it, he knew nothing about being picky.

Moreover, without realizing, once he started eating, those pastries turned out to be so plentiful that he had been eating them for almost two months.

In these two months, he had grown taller than before. He used to be able to enter his home just by tilting his head, but now he had to bend at the waist to get in.

Not only had he grown taller, but it seemed that he had lost quite a bit of body fat. Plus, with his good looks and youth, he even appeared somewhat handsome and elegant.

Tian Peng had noticed this while washing his face by the stream, and Mr. Monkey hadn’t been wrong to say that, perhaps after ascending to the Heavenly Court, he could actually win the affection of those Little Fairies.

As he thought about this, he bit into the pancake; to be honest, it wasn’t tasty.

But he hadn’t eaten anything hot for nearly two months, so having this now was deeply moving.

The pancake had no salt or oil, just the bland taste of plain flour, but at least it was something hot.

Tian Peng gobbled up the entire pancake in no time, then sighed silently to himself. He knew he had to work hard now, and after ascending to the Heavenly Court one day, he must send all the Magic Artifacts to Chen Nuo, and then let Chen Nuo prepare a lavish Manchu-Han Imperial Feast for him!

As the widow was baking the pancakes, she kept an eye on Tian Peng’s expression. She noticed the split-second reaction he had when he first tasted the pancake and feeling a bit embarrassed, she asked, "Is it not tasty?"

"Not at all, not at all, how could it be?" Tian Peng quickly said, "Aren’t all white flour pancakes similar in taste? Besides, I think the heat you used was particularly well controlled."

"Young man, you don’t have to lie to me, I can tell," said the widow. "My cooking skills are just so-so. Actually, unleavened pancakes are indeed hard to make. Initially, I thought you might be waiting to leave, otherwise I should have leavened it for you, leavened dough is softer."

"In a disaster year like this, being able to eat something hot is already good," Tian Peng said. "Besides, this..."

"Mom, it smells so good, I could smell it from far away!"

Before Tian Peng could finish, a young child ran back home and salivated at the sight of the pancake in the pot.

He moved a bit closer and said, "Mom, this white flour pancake seems to smell better than the one made with yellow flour."

"This isn’t ours, it’s the young man’s pancake. Honey, are you hungry again? I’ll get you a pancake," said the widow, about to open the lid of the pot to get a pancake for the child.

Seeing this, Tian Peng quickly took a pancake from the freshly baked pile and put it into the child’s hands. "This pancake was baked by your mom, and it really does smell delicious. You take it and eat it," he said.

The child took the pancake, glanced at Tian Peng, then back at the widow, and ran off in a flash.

"Oh dear young man, that pancake was baked for you, why did you give it to the child?"

The widow said this as she attempted to go forward and snatch the pancake back from the child’s hands, but the child had long since run off, and it wasn’t appropriate to chase after him out the door.

The widow could only return to the stove with an embarrassed smile on her face, "Oh dear, look at this, this child is really disobedient!"

"Sister, what are you talking about? The place I went to isn’t far from here, those dry provisions aren’t needed, and besides, it’s just a single cake. If the child ate it, let him eat it, it’s not a big deal."

"It’s all because of this drought. Otherwise, the child wouldn’t disregard his image at the sight of food like this."

Feeling indebted, the widow didn’t know what to say and blamed the child’s disobedience entirely on the drought.

They were not far from the creek, and one could see the Yellow River’s water in the creek from outside their door.

Tian Peng looked at the creek and said, "It’ll be better soon. I’m sure that by wheat harvest this year, there will be a great bumper crop."

"That would all be thanks to your blessing, young brother. Without you, we wouldn’t know how much longer we would have had to endure days like these," the widow said while making cakes.

Since the start of the river repairs, Tian Peng’s image in the village had changed from before. Now, he was covered in gold, earned by his own efforts, and wherever in the village one went, they would hear praises of him.

"This is what I could think of and do, so naturally, it’s something that I should do," Tian Peng said. "You all are thanking me a bit early; wait until after the autumn harvest. It will be timely to thank me then. Seeing your harvest will be the best thanks I could receive."

He said this sincerely, not minding for himself, but in the widow’s eyes, such words could only be spoken by those in officialdom or by an emperor.

The common folk like them were barely able to take care of themselves, let alone have the heart to care for others.

"Young brother, I think that the kind of person who can say such things is suited to be an official in the court. After receiving so much salary and the respect of the people, such things should be their responsibility, not yours," the widow remarked.

"It’s a pity that the officials here are negligent. Otherwise, our place could have developed very well," she continued.

The indignation of the widow was heartening to Tian Peng. She didn’t just accept his deeds with a ’thank you;’ indeed, such matters should be managed by the officials.

"That’s why I am now going to seek justice for our town, for these villages," Tian Peng said.

"In these times, if we only relied on heaven, we really wouldn’t know when we could succeed. I can’t just sit idly by with all this strength and not use it. I’ll do what I can to voice our grievances outside," he continued.

Tian Peng and the widow talked as the cakes were quickly baked.

Tian Peng wrapped the cakes in a few sheets of oiled paper, thanked the widow, and went back.

Before leaving, he also left a bag of corn, which wasn’t worth much but was enough to fill one’s stomach.

After taking the provisions, Tian Peng set out for Kaifeng Prefecture.

Initially, he had wanted to go to Chang’an since it housed the emperor, and if it came to it, he could seek out the emperor directly.

But the Yellow River basin was closer to Kaifeng and Luoyang, and to resolve matters quickly, he had to go to Kaifeng first.

Only when he actually started on the road did Tian Peng realize that the outside situation was just slightly better than that of their town.

He remembered that in the Heavenly Court they seemed to know that emperors in the mortal world often changed frequently, and almost every time there was a change of emperor, the people would suffer.

Before descending to the world, he had learned that although this emperor was a good one, the dynasty had only recently changed, and the people’s plight had yet to be addressed.

In these remote and neglected areas, it’s no wonder the County Magistrate dared to be so tyrannical.