Chen Xu left the house and went to the marketplace in Pingyang Prefecture.

He was constantly pondering the two clues from the Spiritual Cicada Jade Robe: "Marvels at the bottom of the well, and myriad flavors in the marketplace."

The secret at the bottom of the well he could explore at any time, but the myriad flavors in the marketplace, Chen Xu felt he had grasped something in that moment.

He was not in a rush to explore the well, and precisely because he had realized something.

Therefore, Chen Xu decided to turn up the heat.

As for how to turn up the heat, naturally, it involved immersing himself in the marketplace and taking a closer look.

Baique Street was bustling with people.

Various shops lined both sides, with at least a third related to food.

There were grain and rice shops, mixed goods stores selling oils, salts, sauces, and vinegars, as well as eateries, taverns, snack shops, and more.

Due to the hot weather, there were also dedicated drink shops.

They sold nothing else, only refreshing beverages.

If ice was added, the price would double.

Even though Baique Street was in the South City, it was still quite prosperous, and many citizens were willing to spend silver coins to buy drinks with ice.

But this world is also divided.

There are those willing to spend a fortune just to enjoy a cold drink in summer, while others hide in corners gnawing on dusty, coarse bread rolls, fighting over each bite with broken heads and bleeding wounds.

These were the beggar children by the roadside.

They fought in dark alleys until one scrawny, bloodstained boy used a mud brick to crush his opponent's skull.

After his opponent fell, he carefully picked up the dirty piece of bread on the ground, his eyes shining as if he had found a treasure.

He quickly blew off the dust and dirt from the bread.

Of course, this action was futile.

The filth had long covered the bread; how could it possibly be blown clean?

The boy didn't care; he just cherished it, beginning to eat from the dirtiest part, all the while vigilantly looking around.

Then, he crouched, quickly scaled the high wall beside the alley, and fled the scene.

Even as he fled, he had only eaten half of the filthy bread.

The remaining half was carefully tucked into his chest, an act even more meticulous than when Lady Xiao got her meat pie.

As if this dirty bread was the finest delicacy in the world, warranting utmost care and caution.

Is a piece of tainted bread really that delicious?

No, a dirty piece of bread isn't good, but to someone starving and impoverished to that extent, any food they could hold in their hands was the ultimate delicacy.

This is the secret of the bread's "deliciousness"!

Thinking of this, the flame in Chen Xu's Dantian unknowingly grew stronger.

His Heart and Spirit trembled slightly.

Beggar fights weren't rare, but contemplating "what food is the best in the world" gave Chen Xu his first answer.

This answer is not unique; it varies from person to person.

To the few accustomed to luxury, they want delicacy, exotic, unheard-of foods, and even foods with effects and Spiritual Qi!

This is what is conventionally considered top-tier cuisine.

For ordinary citizens like Lady Xiao, the definition of deliciousness was much simpler.

It should be beautiful, fresh, and satisfying to the taste buds; that is "delicious"!

If it's meaty, all the better.

Why?

Because humans are meant to eat meat.

Easting meat makes people strong and so the more expensive it gets, the cheaper the other becomes.

For beggars, who must use all their strength to fight for every morsel, nothing tastes bad.

As long as it fills the stomach, it's good food!

The flame in Chen Xu's Dantian continued to grow, as he wandered down Baique Street, watching the various facets of city life without participating.

Sometimes, he would buy street food to taste.

For example, sheep's milk cheese, known as "iced gem" at the time, said to be a method passed down from the palace, and naturally a symbol of luxury among commoners.

If ordinary citizens ate a bowl, they would instantly feel entirely refreshed, and could boast for days.

There were also more affordable items, like the grilled pork skin on the roadside.

Though it was the sweltering summer, the business of the grilled pork skin was even better than the sheep's milk cheese by many times over.

The stall was surrounded by people, and from a distance, one could smell the aroma of roasting pork skin.

With seasonings sprinkled on top, sizzling with fragrant oils.

When the wind blew, the aroma was even more robust and irresistible than the thousand-layer meat pie Chen Xu made before.

Chen Xu saw a child swallowing eagerly, staring at the meat stall unwilling to move, only to be slapped, coaxed, and scolded by the adults, eventually causing a quarrel between the child's parents.

The child ultimately didn't get to eat the pork skin and only heard the father sigh distressfully, saying:

"It's not that I don't want to let you eat. Can we afford such things? In this hot weather, a few boards of tofu at home turned bad, and today's business can't start.

You enjoy eating meat, but later, if we can't afford rice and grain, will we starve in this city?

Your mother has worried so much she hasn't eaten for two days; look at your mother... Ah, Lady Su! What, what's wrong with you?"

As he spoke, he noticed something was amiss with his wife's expression, a face full of complexity.

The man quickly questioned, only to see his wife bite her lip and say: "Husband, actually, I've been eating those past couple of days.

Those pieces of tofu with white mold, I secretly soaked them in our turbid wine to remove the mold, then mixed them with salt to eat.

I initially thought I might not live long after eating them, but unexpectedly, I'm not just fine, I'm doing really well.

That tofu is edible, and quite tasty too!"

The man was immediately taken aback, both anxious and angry, exclaiming in exasperation: "You, are you insane?

You said you were too depressed to eat, only to find you've been eating that bad tofu.

Are you not valuing your life?"

"But I'm still alive, and I'm even living well," insisted Lady Su stubbornly.

The man was frustrated to the extreme: "How can you act like this? Sigh!"

He was anxious, yet Lady Su was very bold:

"Anyway, I'm alive, husband, do you think we could do business with this stuff, adding some spices? It could be a new food concept that no one's tasted yet."

The man was wide-eyed, urgently saying: "You're crazy. It's one thing that you're fine after eating it, but to sell it? Aren't you afraid of harming others?"

Lady Su replied: "It's hot now, and there's always some tofu going bad that doesn't sell; our days are getting tougher.

Now there's a way out; how can we not seize it?

Rest assured, I'll try eating it for a while longer, ten days, half a month, even one or two months, if nothing happens to me, then it's definitely sellable!

Let's go home. Someday, I want our son to be able to afford grilled pork skin."

Lady Su dragged her husband and son back to a nearby tofu shop, while Chen Xu, who had observed everything, had a term pop into his head:

Fermented tofu!

Stinky tofu!

He realized that the reason this woman ate the tofu with white mold without issue was because she accidentally created fermented tofu.

Chen Xu suddenly felt a strange sensation of witnessing "culinary history."

He suddenly had a new understanding of the Food God Technique Scroll he was cultivating.

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