The worse you are, the stronger you become: My summoned beast is a photographer.

Ming Luochen's eyes lit up—with so many chickpeas, at least he wouldn't have to eat apples every day.

However, whether it actually tastes like chickpeas still needs testing. He nodded slightly, grabbed a handful to examine its color, and pretended to scrutinize it carefully before speaking unhurriedly: "Not bad. I'll buy ten kilograms to try first, and if it's good, I'll come back for more."

"Okay, don't worry, my thick mousse is absolutely guaranteed to be of high quality." The boss wasn't discouraged; at least ten kilograms had been sold, and even a small profit was still profit.

Ming Luochen continued browsing in the grain store. He had never seen at least 80% of the grains in the store before, but some looked familiar—like millet? There were also purple beans and red rice? He picked them up one by one and smelled them. They did have the dry aroma of grains, like the smell he had at his grandmother's house in the countryside when he was a child, but he couldn't quite place what they were.

"Is this wheat?" Ming Luochen asked, pointing to a grain-like substance. It looked a lot like wheat, but each grain was about the length of a little finger, piled up golden in a sack.

"This is a Kuhani, used for making bread," the shopkeeper patiently explained, picking one up and breaking it open to show Ming Luochen the cross-section inside.

"Bread—" Ming Luochen's eyes lit up instantly, as if he could see huge, white steamed buns beckoning to him. If he could make bread, he could definitely make steamed buns! He clapped his hands excitedly, "Give me a whole sack!"

"Alright!" The boss's beady eyes lit up as he deftly lifted a bag of Kuhani and placed it on the scale.

"Oh, right." Ming Luochen changed the subject, suddenly remembering a problem—he and his wife had just come out to buy things, and they hadn't brought a carriage. How were they going to carry all this stuff back? He couldn't very well let his wife carry it all. He glanced at Aura's long, slender hooves; although she could definitely carry it, he couldn't bear to.

The shop owner's smile froze, and he became nervous—was he not going to buy it? His small eyes darted around, and he was already mentally calculating what to do if the deal fell through.

"Can you deliver? I need to buy quite a lot of things."

"No problem! Where to deliver it?" The boss breathed a sigh of relief, and his smile returned, even brighter than before.

"Earl Raven Crest Estate"

Upon hearing it was a noble estate, the shopkeeper immediately became respectful, his back unconsciously bowing slightly. These past few days, Earl Raven Crest had been a prominent figure in the city—rumor had it that a sage was about to be born into his family, and his daughter was to have a grand wedding in a month. These two must be here to purchase wedding supplies, right?

His gaze swept back and forth between Aura and Ming Luochen, and the more he looked, the more he felt that this centaur girl had an extraordinary temperament. The emblem on her school uniform was the symbol of Pudi Yale Noble Academy.

If he could get on good terms with the Earl's family… The shopkeeper rubbed his hands together, his rough palms making a soft rustling sound, unable to imagine what an opportunity this would be. For an ordinary person like him, perhaps he could find a powerful backer. He nodded repeatedly, his beard trembling slightly: "No problem, I'll deliver it to you for free, just hand it over to me! It'll be there first thing tomorrow morning, won't delay your business!"

"Then I'm relieved. I can buy more." Ming Luochen nodded in satisfaction, already thinking about what else he could add to the list.

"Just buy whatever you want, and I'll arrange delivery for you!" The shopkeeper smiled so broadly that his beard stood on end and wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.

Ming Luochen continued wandering around the shop, and then noticed wild mushrooms in the dried goods section. They looked shriveled, but when he got closer, the rich aroma of mushrooms hit him right in the face. He picked out quite a few things, filling his basket as he casually asked the shop owner, "Sir, do you know of any things that taste spicy or numbing, but aren't poisonous?"

The owner, Huai En, immediately became alert. His smile froze slightly, and he shook his head, his tone cautious: "Never heard of it. What would you use that spicy stuff for? To prank someone?"

His mind was already conjuring up all sorts of dark scenes of power struggles within aristocratic families—poisoning, scheming, framing… Although he hadn’t experienced these things himself, he had heard plenty of them while listening to storytelling in teahouses.

"More or less." Ming Luochen nodded vaguely, not knowing how to explain that he wanted to cook.

The shopkeeper fell into deep thought, his brows furrowing into a deep frown. He couldn't afford to offend the person the nobleman wanted to prank. He scratched his head hesitantly, and after a long pause, he finally spoke: "If it's something for pranks, perhaps prop shops and material shops have it. You can go and take a look, but I can't be sure if they have it."

"Okay, I'll go take a look." Ming Luochen noted down the information and planned to go for a visit another day.

He had picked out almost everything he wanted to buy, then turned to look at Aura—it was time for his wife to step in and pay the bill.

Aura smiled faintly, took out a money pouch from her pocket, and looked at the shopkeeper: "How much?"

"Wait a moment, let me calculate." The boss immediately began to count, his small eyes quickly scanning each bag of goods, muttering to himself as he skillfully used a wooden stick as a calculator, the stick flying up and down in his hand, making a crackling sound. "One sack of Kuhani is fifteen silver coins, ten kilograms of thick hair is one silver coin, wild mushrooms are three silver coins..."

He calculated for a while, then looked up and announced a number: "All the items add up to a total of sixty-two silver and seventy-three copper coins. I'll give you a discount, rounding it down to sixty silver coins." Huai En generously offered a discount, hoping to leave a good impression on his distinguished guest, but his heart was bleeding—those two silver and seventy-three copper coins would have been enough for him to eat for several days.

Aura took out a gold coin and handed it over. The coin gleamed a warm, orange-yellow light in the candlelight, and was engraved with the royal emblem. One gold coin was equivalent to one hundred silver coins or ten thousand bronze coins.

"Alright, here's one gold coin for you, and forty silver coins in change." The shopkeeper hurriedly took out his money pouch to give change, his fingers trembling slightly—not because he was heartbroken, but because he was excited. This was a count's gold coin; he had to keep it safe, so he could brag about it to his neighbors for three days straight.

After buying the groceries, Ming Luochen led Aura out, his other hand already eagerly picking up a bag of Kuhani, weighing it in his hand.

"Please be careful on your way, I'll deliver the goods on time tomorrow!" The boss, Huai En, waved enthusiastically to see his customers off, standing at the door watching them go for quite a distance before turning back.

"Thanks," Ming Luochen replied, leading the 2.5-meter-tall Aura on his way to find other seasonings. As he walked, he mentally calculated—what he had bought now was enough to make chicken stew with mushrooms, stir-fried vegetables with garlic, and a bowl of noodles. If he could find chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, life would be even better.

As dusk settled, the market grew increasingly bustling. The previously deserted streets magically sprang to life with numerous food stalls, and countless magical lamps illuminated the entire street, making it as bright as day. One after another, burly adventurers arrived, carrying mountain-sized packs, hawking the freshest mountain produce. Their clothes were still covered in mud and dew, and some even bore the scars of battle, yet their shouts were powerful and their voices boomed like thunder.

Ming Luochen's gaze was suddenly drawn to a splash of orange—a vibrant, flame-like orange that stood out starkly against the backdrop of green and brown mountain produce. He almost jumped for joy, grabbing Aura and urging her forward, nearly causing her to stumble: "Honey, that looks like chili peppers!"

"Angmu fruit?" Aura frowned slightly, following his gaze, and quickly reminded him, "This doesn't seem to be chili pepper, it's a fire-type herb. Eating it will make you breathe fire, it's very irritating, and it's used in the wild to repel mosquitoes and wild animals." She paused, then added, "I tried it once when I was a child out of curiosity, and my tongue was numb for a long time, even drinking water felt like drinking knives."

"Flame?" Ming Luochen paused, his hot-blooded mind calming down slightly. He knew chili peppers, no matter how spicy, couldn't be this potent—wouldn't that be a flamethrower? But according to Aura's memories, this thing was at least not poisonous. Should he give it a try? Dilute it and make chili sauce? Use a little less; it shouldn't kill anyone, right?

The urge to crave spicy food won out. Ming Luochen gritted his teeth and walked to the stall, buying a few orange angmu fruits like a thief, silently thinking: "I'll take a gamble, and my bicycle might turn into a motorcycle."

The adventurers' stalls displayed all sorts of strange and unusual plants, some of which Ming Luochen had never even seen before—purple tubers that looked like starfish, green leaves that glowed faintly on their own, and red fruits shaped like small lanterns. Relying on his sense of smell, he actually found several substitutes that smelled similar to onions, ginger, and garlic. One tuber smelled like ginger, but without the pungent odor; another leaf tasted like onions when chewed, but with a faint sweetness.

In particular, there was a plant that looked like edamame, but with beans the size of a table tennis ball. The adventurer said the beans were edible and could be used in soups or stir-fries. Ming Luochen thought they looked like fresh soybeans, and images of stir-fried edamame with shredded pork and stewed soybeans with pig's trotters already appeared in his mind. In the end, he couldn't resist and bought them all.

Having lost count of how much he'd bought, Ming Luochen finally prepared to head home. Just then, the rich aroma of grilled grease wafted from the street—the smell of animal fat melting over charcoal, thick, intense, and with a hint of char—and he couldn't help but swallow hard, letting out a gulp. After eating vegetarian food for so long, the smell of that roasted chicken was simply unbearable, like an invisible hand was tearing at his stomach.

"Buy it if you want to eat it." Aura saw what he was thinking, pulled him to the stall, and called out to the stall owner, "Boss, two roast chickens, please."

"My wife is so good." Ming Luochen stared intently at the golden-brown, oily roasted chicken on the grill. The chicken skin was slightly charred from the charcoal fire, and oil droplets dripped down the chicken, sizzling as they landed on the charcoal and sending up a wisp of white smoke. His stomach, however, rumbled loudly, like someone was drumming inside.

"Alright, but wait a little longer, it's not fully roasted yet." The plump pig-headed female boss flipped the roasted chicken while her eyes were drawn to Ming Luochen's appearance, and she couldn't help but take a few more glances—she had never seen a human like this before, white and chubby, like an over-fermented dough.

The enticing aroma of roasted chicken filled the air—the Maillard reaction of honey and oil burning over charcoal, sweet and fragrant, like an invisible hand beckoning to Ming Luochen's nose. He kept swallowing, his eyes practically glued to the roast chicken.

After an agonizing wait, the crispy skin and tender meat finally burst in his mouth. Ming Luochen froze for a moment when he took his first bite—the skin was crispy, the inside juicy, the sweetness of honey and the freshness of the chicken intertwined on his tongue, the meat so tender it barely needed chewing. He was so moved he almost cried, his eyes slightly reddening.

The sweet and savory roasted chicken has an incredibly rich flavor, a million times better than any vegetarian dish! This is what people should be eating!

He wolfed down his food, his mouth glistening with oil, and he even seemed to want to chew the bones up and swallow them whole.

Centaurs are mostly vegetarians. Seeing Ming Luochen eating so heartily, his cheeks bulging like a hamster, Aura couldn't resist taking a bite. She tore off a small piece of chicken leg meat and put it in her mouth, chewing it carefully. The taste was indeed good, the meat tender and the sauce rich, but she didn't experience the exaggerated happiness Ming Luochen felt—besides, eating meat easily leads to indigestion and diarrhea. She had once secretly eaten roasted meat when she was a child, and ended up spending an entire day in the outhouse.

The seasonings were minimal, and the cooking method was simple, but the ingredients were fresh, and there was no fishy smell as expected. Ming Luochen ate two roast chickens in one go before patting his round belly with satisfaction and letting out a loud burp.

The streets outside the market were already bustling with activity, various food stalls were brightly lit, and laughter and chatter dispelled the loneliness of the night. Groups of adventurers sat around low tables, drinking from large bowls and eating large chunks of meat, boasting about their day's haul.

Ming Luochen was filled with curiosity about everything. Feeling thirsty after eating so much roast chicken, he bought a glass of cider from a roadside vendor. The cider was served in a wooden glass, its color a clear, golden yellow, and its aroma was sweet and fruity. The alcohol content was low, and it tasted more like sweet and sour apple juice. With ice, one glass was refreshing and invigorating. He tilted his head back and downed it in one gulp, the ice clinking at the bottom of the glass.

He let out a burp and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Ah, that felt great!"

The food stalls sold a wide variety of things: grilled meat with black pepper sauce, grilled meat with honey sauce, salt-baked barbecue, as well as grilled fish, grilled vegetables, salads, burger shops with fried meat in bread... The whole street was full of food, steaming hot and smelling delicious. Ming Luochen wanted to try everything, his eyes were almost dazzled by the sight.

"Wife, if we take turns eating, we can taste different delicacies!" Ming Luochen was having a blast, enthusiastically savoring the delicious food from another world, waving two skewers of different flavored grilled meat in front of Aura.

"Mmm." Aura responded softly, took the roasted meat he handed her, and took a small bite.

She rarely experienced this atmosphere—free from aristocratic rules, formalities, and insincere pleasantries. Although her family's rules were much more relaxed than those of other noble families—her father never required her to sit upright at the table, and her mother never punished her by making her copy etiquette manuals for a single wrong word—this was unlike the atmosphere she felt now, walking through the bustling night market, a skewer of grilled meat in her hand, beside a man who would be moved to tears by eating grilled chicken.

She seemed freer than ever before, and her happiness came more easily.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the scents of charcoal and spices, as well as the comforting aura emanating from Ming Luochen. A smile unconsciously curved Aura's lips as her horse's hooves clattered lightly on the stone pavement.