Journey to the West: Man in heaven, working nine to five

#2081 - A city that never sleeps

Chu Hao and Tang Sanzang entered the restaurant. It was dusk, the sun had just set, and the sky was still quite bright.

Inside and outside the restaurant, bright lights had already been lit, not only in the restaurant but also throughout the entire street and the entire city of Jinping.

"Isn't it quite extravagant to light the lights at this hour?"

Tang Sanzang asked the old man in front of him with some doubt.

"Elder, this is how it is in our Jinping Prefecture. As soon as the sun sets, the lights are lit and burn all night until sunrise the next day."

When the old man said this, there was a sense of pride on his face.

"Isn't this a city that never sleeps? Even Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty is not so extravagant. Don't the people of this Jinping Prefecture find it wasteful? Are they all so wealthy?"

Tang Sanzang said with emotion. Although wealth and extravagance are related, they are still two different things.

"Elder, you don't know. After you sit down, I'll tell you slowly."

After the old man invited Chu Hao, Tang Sanzang, and the others to sit down, he told them the reason.

"Our lights here are all set up to worship the Buddha. The monks say this is called the Buddha's light shining everywhere.

Only after the Buddha enjoys the lights can he bless us with good weather and ensure we have food and clothing for the year.

If we don't respect the Buddha, if the Buddha is unhappy, there will inevitably be constant disasters and a worrying year."

Hearing the reason explained by the old man, Tang Sanzang and the others were extremely indignant.

"What Buddha's light shining everywhere? Does the Buddha's light need to be borrowed from lights?"

"It's clearly using this to exploit the people, wasting money and resources to satisfy the Buddha's vanity."

"How can the people bear such extravagance?"

Tang Sanzang and the others thought it was the same as their previous guess, that the Buddha was using the lamp oil to plunder and seize by force.

"Several elders, don't talk nonsense. Although the matter of lighting the lamps is required by the Buddha, it is also voluntary by our people, and it has not caused any trouble to our people."

The old man immediately retorted to Tang Sanzang and the others when he heard them say this.

"Look at this restaurant, look at the street, can't it prove that the people of our Jinping Prefecture are wealthy?"

In order to prove it, the old man continued to explain to Tang Sanzang and the others.

Indeed, as the old man said, the business in this restaurant was booming, the entire restaurant was full of people, and the tables were full of delicious food and wine.

The pedestrians on the street were also coming and going, and each of them was smiling, with no sign of worry, which was enough to show how their lives were.

"Is the lamp oil used in the lamps the precious Suhe lamp oil?"

Tang Sanzang felt very puzzled. If the lights burned all night and the precious lamp oil was used, how could the people afford it?

"Yes, it is indeed the precious Suhe lamp oil that is used! Only by using Suhe lamp oil can we show respect to the Buddha."

The old man nodded affirmatively.

"How much silver and money do your people have to spend? How can you say it's not exploitation?"

Zhu Bajie questioned the old man.

"Of course it's not exploitation, because the lamp oil is not bought with money from our people, but is given to the people free of charge by the monks from the Western Paradise."

The old man replied to Tang Sanzang and the others very affirmatively.

Tang Sanzang and the others were stunned. They originally thought that the lamp oil was used by the Western Paradise to exploit the people, but they did not expect that the lamp oil was given to the people by the Western Paradise for free use.

"In the central square of our Jinping Prefecture, there are three large vats, and those three large vats are filled with lamp oil.

The monks will distribute the lamp oil inside to the ordinary people for use.

Have you seen the water tanks in front of each household? The monks will regularly pour enough Suhe lamp oil for the people to use for three days."

The old man told Tang Sanzang and the others in detail, and between the words, he also showed gratitude to the Buddha.

"How could this be?"

Although the old man said it very affirmatively, Tang Sanzang and the others expressed doubts about it. Would the Western Paradise provide such expensive Suhe lamp oil to the people for free?

Tang Sanzang and the others expressed their doubts, and the old man seemed a little unhappy, and the atmosphere at the dinner table became a little cold.

It was during this quiet time that Tang Sanzang and the others heard the conversation of several men at the next table.

"Have you heard? Today, the prefect publicly tried and sentenced several thieves."

"Those thieves dared to cause trouble in Jinping Prefecture. They are really a scourge. Our prefect maintains law and order and loves the people like his own children!"

"I heard that they are now tied up in the central square for public display, and they will be beheaded in three days."

The topic of the men at the next table was several thieves who were being tried.

And looking at their appearance, thieves rarely appear in Jinping Prefecture, and they hate the thieves to the bone, hating them for destroying the peace and stability of Jinping Prefecture.

"We've eaten almost enough. Why don't we go to the central square of Jinping Prefecture and take a look?"

Tang Sanzang suggested.

"Master wants to see the big vats filled with Suhe sesame oil and the thieves on public display?"

Sun Wukong saw Tang Sanzang's thoughts. Only by seeing those things could he verify whether the old man's words were true or false and judge the real situation here.

After leaving the restaurant, Tang Sanzang and the others said goodbye to the old man and went with Chu Hao to the central square of Jinping Prefecture.

"Immortal Chu Hao, what do you think of this?"

Along the way, Chu Hao was just observing, but he didn't express any opinions. At this time, Tang Sanzang couldn't help but ask Chu Hao.

"Abnormal!"

Chu Hao didn't say much, but only said two words.

Although there were only two words, it revealed the key to everything. The actions of the Western Paradise in Jinping Prefecture were really too abnormal.

As the saying goes, there must be a demon when things go wrong!

After about half an hour, Chu Hao and Tang Sanzang and the others arrived at the central square of Jinping Prefecture.

The first thing you see when you arrive at this square is the three huge vats, placed in the very center of the entire square, which is very conspicuous.

Walking closer to check, the three large vats were indeed filled with Suhe sesame oil. The capacity of these large vats was probably no less than five hundred catties.

According to the old man, this Suhe lamp oil is worth two taels of silver per two, and one catty of lamp oil is thirty-two taels of silver. The three large vats are no less than one thousand five hundred catties, which is almost fifty thousand taels of silver.

In just three days, fifty thousand taels of silver will be burned just for lighting the lamps. To show the wealth of Jinping Prefecture in this way cannot be described by extravagance alone, it is simply a waste.

You must know that fifty thousand taels of silver, if used on the people, is enough to feed tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people.

After seeing the three large vats, Tang Sanzang and the others saw several people tied to pillars not far away.

Those should be the several thieves who were tried by the prefect. These thieves were disheveled and mentally weak, and there were mottled blood stains on their bodies, as if they had suffered a lot of torture.