Being an otaku in the world of American comics

#476 - Meat Fire

And so, Liang Yue strolled along, chatting with the others on the village platform.

However, even though he was 'strolling,' for him now, even just absentmindedly walking forward meant his speed was anything but slow.

From a distance, his pace was comparable to that of a professional long-distance runner.

As the sun gradually peeked out from behind the hills in the distance, and golden sunlight broke through the thin mist, Liang Yue had already traversed the mountain path and was walking within the residential area outside Bianliang City.

At this time, the sky was brightening, and most of the people here had already risen early, busying themselves with work and farming.

Energetic shouts, sales pitches, and the occasional crowing of a rooster from afar blended into a symphony of sounds.

Walking among them, Liang Yue felt exceptionally comfortable and at peace.

Farmers, tenant farmers, small vendors, street performers, and the occasional lazy soldier passing by – people from all walks of life could be found here.

However, compared to Bianjing within the city walls, this suburban residential area was mostly inhabited by ordinary people from the lower and middle classes.

He had heard that some time ago, small units of troops from northern foreign tribes had raided this area.

But at this moment, Liang Yue could not see any signs of the people living in this bustling marketplace having suffered robbery or harm.

Perhaps, they were already used to it?

"Sniff sniff~"

"It smells so good~"

Walking down the street, Liang Yue's Daoist robe made it easy for him to blend into the crowd, and soon the aroma of food wafted to his nose, attracting his attention.

Turning his head, he saw that the source of the fragrance was a sesame cake stall.

The vendors were a middle-aged couple with graying hair. The man was responsible for greeting customers and clearing tables, while the woman was in charge of sales.

Seeing this, Liang Yue's eyes lit up. His stomach, which had already been full in the stronghold world, now felt a desire to eat again.

Then, with a gentle push, he sent the person staggering backward a dozen steps before finally regaining his balance.

Liang Yue didn't make things difficult for him, because before the other party acted, his intuition had already sensed that this person was just a little fellow who looked only eight or nine years old.

He was dirty, his hair was matted in clumps, his clothes were ragged, and his exposed skin was covered with several scars of varying depths.

It seemed that the other party was a repeat offender.

But thinking carefully about the current era, Liang Yue could easily understand why the other party would take this path.

Therefore, after pushing the other party away, he didn't continue to pursue the matter, but instead walked directly towards the old couple's stall.

"Old folks, how much are your sesame cakes?"

"Hehe~ Hello, young Daoist priest. My sesame cakes have three kinds of fillings: donkey meat is five coins each, mutton is four coins, and pork is two coins."

The old couple had obviously noticed what had just happened, so when they saw Liang Yue coming over to ask about the price, a flattering expression involuntarily appeared on their faces.

"Give me ten of each."

As he spoke, Liang Yue reached into his pocket and placed a piece of silver weighing about one or two taels on the table.

The old couple's faces immediately lit up with smiles, and they quickly and diligently used paper and string to tie up three bundles, one for each filling.

The timeline of Water Margin probably takes place in the late Northern Song Dynasty. Logically speaking, copper coins should be the mainstream currency for civilian transactions in this dynasty.

Liang Yue certainly didn't have Song Dynasty copper coins, but he had a lot of Yuan and Qing Dynasty coins~

However, Water Margin is not just a purely historical period; it also contains certain fictional elements.

The heroes eating large pieces of meat, drinking from large bowls, and scattering silver were all basic, everyday occurrences.

Even beef, which was strictly forbidden by the government in ancient times, was just a common food in some street shops here~

For this reason, Liang Yue had already prepared a large amount of cash in advance to adapt to the pace of life here…

Not to mention the tons of silver metal he had transferred from China some time ago, even just those scavenged from the late Qing and Yuan dynasties were enough for him to squander.

"Pui!"

Holding three bundles of sesame cakes in his hand, Liang Yue had just turned around to leave when, across the street, the little kid he had pushed away earlier still seemed very resentful.

While rubbing his wrist, he spat at him from across the street.

It seemed that this little fellow still held a grudge against him~

However, whenever the other party glanced at the sesame cakes in Liang Yue's hand, a hint of longing would flash in his clever eyes.

Seeing this, Liang Yue didn't bother arguing with the other party. Instead, he took one of the bundles of sesame cakes and gently tossed it into the other party's arms.

"Don't do this next time, or you'll be beaten to death."

After saying that, he ignored the other party's reaction and continued to stroll forward, biting into a sesame cake with relish.

In a short while, he had already passed through the suburban residential area and arrived at the gate of Bianliang City.

The gatekeepers briefly checked his Daoist certificate before letting him into the city.

He had heard that household registration was a big problem in ancient dynasties. Even traveling to a nearby town required a certificate from the local authorities.

However, the Daoist certificate was relatively free. Monks sometimes inevitably traveled around, practicing in the world, and were generally not subject to much control.

Especially during the current Song Dynasty, Daoism was revered as the state religion, and it enjoyed many hidden conveniences that were not explicitly stated.

After entering the city, needless to say, Liang Yue naturally wanted to meet up with Saya and Saeko-senpai first.

Without saying a word, he quickly arrived at a somewhat chaotic small market and found the shop where Saya was located without much effort.

It seemed to be a shop mainly selling pastries and snacks, and also selling steamed buns, baked flatbreads, noodles, and the like.

According to Liang Yue's understanding, in ancient society, without the outsourcing and convenient conditions of large-scale machine production, anyone doing this kind of noodle business, unless it was a high-end pastry shop that had already made a name for itself,

Otherwise, most of them could only earn hard-earned money.

Opening a shop specifically to do this kind of business, how could it be as low-cost as Wu Dalang, carrying a shoulder pole and hawking along the street?

No wonder, in the system's evaluation, the shop owned by Saya was already on the verge of failing…