Exiting the back gate of the residential compound, they passed by the snack street from last night, now empty and with all shops closed.
A few more steps forward led to Century Plaza.
As Shen Jie had said, one could find everything here, from jewelry and clothing to food and electronics, it was incredibly comprehensive.
Even on a weekday, the plaza was bustling with shoppers.
Jiang Lin glanced around and entered a supermarket.
He picked up a shopping cart and joined the crowd of shoppers.
In the past, when he went out to guide lost souls, he only guided lost souls.
When doing missions, he focused solely on the missions.
It was rare for him to relax his tense nerves like this, stopping and starting as he pleased.
Strolling through the streets, shopping.
After a round, Jiang Lin was laden with shopping bags.
He didn't buy toiletries, as he had no need for them.
As for clothing, he could conjure them himself based on the styles of existing items.
(For many other things like identification, which people find strange, these are relatively easy matters for ghosts.)
...
"Woof woof! Woof woof!"
As Jiang Lin approached his building, a small Pekingese dog suddenly jumped out from the nearby bushes.
It had long fur, short legs, large round eyes, and a short, upturned snout.
Its ears were fluffy, folding down to lie flat against the sides of its head; its body was pure white, with only the face and ear tips being black.
At first glance, it looked like a small sheep plush toy.
"Woof woof! Woof woof!"
The little Pekingese barked incessantly at Jiang Lin.
However, being so small, its mouth was no bigger than a person's fist.
It looked utterly harmless.
When it reached him, seeing Jiang Lin standing still, it timidly retreated a couple of steps and continued barking.
"Woof woof! Woof woof!"
"Wangcai, no barking."
From behind, an elderly woman with graying hair approached, leading a Labrador.
The Labrador was a medium-sized dog with light yellow fur.
Compared to the little Pekingese's liveliness, it was much quieter.
"Woof woof!"
Seeing its owner, the little Pekingese gained confidence.
It darted to the old woman's feet, sniffed, and then continued barking at Jiang Lin.
And it barked even louder.
"Wangcai! If you bark again, you won't get any canned food."
The old woman tapped its head with her cane.
The dog tilted its head and fell silent.
Then, the old woman looked at Jiang Lin and smiled apologetically, "I'm so sorry, did it scare you?"
"It's fine."
Jiang Lin lifted his shopping bags, "He probably smelled the meat I bought."
He recognized the old woman; she lived in the same building, number five.
She lived alone and kept two dogs for company, needing to watch TV to fall asleep at night.
Her children visited her every two weeks.
It wasn't that Jiang Lin deliberately paid attention, but his senses were quite sharp, and he overheard a lot.
How many households were in his building, how many people were in each family...
He knew most of it the day he moved in.
He had also learned some information about residents in other buildings when passing by.
"Oh, are you cooking a big meal?"
The old woman's gaze fell on the two large bags in Jiang Lin's hands, "It's good to cook for yourself, it's healthy, hygienic, and economical."
"You bought this at Shangxinhui Supermarket, didn't you?"
Jiang Lin: "Yes."
The supermarket's name was on the shopping bags.
"You live in Building Five too?"
The old woman made small talk, "Are you new here, or did you just return recently?"
Jiang Lin replied unhurriedly, "Just moved in."
"I see, no wonder I haven't seen such a handsome young man before," the old woman chuckled. She was about to say more when she suddenly tapped her forehead.
"Look at me, an old woman. Your hands must be full, I won't keep you any longer."
"Alright, you take care too."
Jiang Lin nodded, didn't engage in further pleasantries, and turned to walk into the building.
The little Pekingese instinctively wanted to follow, but after a few steps, it looked back at the old woman.
Ultimately, it didn't follow him in.
It let out a few reluctant barks, "Woof woof, whimper..."
...
Back in the apartment, Jiang Lin sorted out the items from the shopping bags.
Two pots of succulents and two pots of Pothos were placed on the balcony.
They were arranged alongside the existing succulent in the apartment.
—The plant seller had mentioned that both types of plants were easy to care for.
After taking out these four items, the other shopping bag was filled with cookware, tableware, and ingredients.
In the underworld, Jiang Lin rarely cooked for himself.
At that time, he was either trying to make a living, working, or cultivating.
He didn't feel the need to cook.
In his past memories, he had plenty of experience cooking.
For example, 'Jiang Lin', and the mute child.
However, this was his first time cooking with modern kitchenware.
Jiang Lin tied on the blue apron he bought for ten yuan and washed all the cookware.
Then, he opened his phone and searched for some cooking videos.
He played them and followed along.
A few minutes later, Jiang Lin looked at the shredded potatoes he had cut, then at the shredded potatoes in the video.
"..."
As expected, knowing something in your head and being able to do it with your body are two different things.
The shredded potatoes in the video were uniformly cut and gleamed under the light.
They were like works of art.
While Jiang Lin's shredded potatoes were merely cut into shreds.
He rewatched the video several times, murmured to himself, and said:
"...Let me try again."
After all, it was still early for lunch.
He took out another potato, washed it, peeled it, and shredded it.
The knife fell on the cutting board, making a "deng deng deng" sound.
The sound was consistent in volume and rhythm.
This indicated that the person cutting had controlled their strength and speed to the same degree.
With the aid of his powerful senses,
After a few potatoes, Jiang Lin's knife skills quickly achieved the effect shown in the video.
He placed the shredded potatoes on the plate in the sunlight and looked at them; they were uniformly cut and gleamed.
"Heh~"
He couldn't help but chuckle.
Just to cut out such a plate of shredded potatoes, he had used his senses and deliberately controlled his speed, strength, and precision.
"It's quite a good way to hone oneself, more meticulous than controlling ghost energy."
Wait, ghost energy?
Jiang Lin raised his eyebrows; he seemed to have thought of a good idea.
...
Ten minutes later—
A highly rhythmic sound emanated from the kitchen.
Deng deng deng—
Deng deng deng—
Vegetables flew up, lining up to enter the sink.
They were washed clean by the water from the faucet.
After being cleaned, they shook themselves and lightly landed in the basket beside them.
On the cutting board, the bright red lean meat lay obediently.
Beside it, a cleaver floated into the air.
Controlled by an invisible hand, it sliced the lean meat, one cut after another.
'Deng deng deng—'
'Deng deng deng—'
Before long, the bright red lean meat was transformed into thin slices.
They floated gracefully into the prepared plates.
*Clack!*
The stove was lit, and oil was heated in the wok.
Chopped garlic was added, and after it turned slightly golden.
*Sizzle—*
The thin slices of meat were added to the wok, and under the hot oil, they began to change color and curl slightly.
As they were stir-fried with the spatula, a tempting aroma gradually filled the entire kitchen.
...
With a thought from Jiang Lin, the stir-fried dishes were plated and flown to the table in the living room.
Dish after dish.
Before long, the entire table was filled.
It was as if magic had been performed.
*Clack.*
The stove was turned off.
Jiang Lin served himself a bowl of rice and came to the living room.
He sat at the table and savored his meal slowly.
He had to admit, looking at the table full of dishes gave him a sense of accomplishment.
When he first used ghost energy to control the utensils, he hadn't quite grasped the force and speed, resulting in vegetables of uneven size.
The shredded meat was also inconsistent, some thick, some thin.
Later, as he gradually adapted, things became more regular.
The stir-frying was similar.
Some dishes were overcooked due to improper heat control, making the meat tough, and some were slightly burnt.
Suddenly, Jiang Lin frowned and spat out a piece of bone, "Too much salt."
This plate of ribs was too salty.
Despite this, after frowning, he still finished all the dishes on the table.
Waste not, want not.
...
[Mini Theater]
After the meal.
Jiang Lin looked at the entire kitchen waiting to be cleaned and pondered, stroking his chin.
"Should I bring a cleaning ghost over?"
...