The Game of Life

Although he knew Zhou Shi was problematic, Jiang Feng had no intention of taking any measures.

After all, if anyone was to be laid off in the kitchen, it would be Zhou Shi, and Jiang Feng was not afraid of him stealing recipes. The kitchen of Taifeng Building was a place where secrets were not kept; if someone really wanted to learn, even the dishwashers could pick up quite a bit.

There were only three signature dishes at Taifeng Building that were impossible to replicate: Jiang Feng’s Sweet and Sour Yam, Ji Xue’s Clay Jar Drunken Chicken, and Jiang Weiming’s Roasted Pig.

Jiang Feng’s Sweet and Sour Yam was a bug—everyone knew how he made it, but no one could achieve the same effect. Ji Xue’s Clay Jar Drunken Chicken was a lost recipe unique to this sole location and impossible to find elsewhere in the country. Moreover, this dish could not be learned simply by watching or stealing techniques; one had to be taught by the master chef himself. As for Jiang Weiming’s Roasted Pig, there was no need to mention how incomparable it was; even if another restaurant’s head chef personally came to learn from Jiang Feng, he might still worry, but not about Zhou Shi.

His skills were indeed decent, his seasoning was at a master level, but compared to Jiang Weiming’s three grandmaster level skills, it still wasn’t enough.

Jiang Feng was neither afraid of thieves nor of them coveting his secrets, so he just waited for Zhou Shi to resign or switch jobs.

Having realized all this, Jiang Feng quietly closed the staff system and went back to work in the kitchen.

Knowing there was something off with Zhou Shi, Jiang Feng couldn’t help but watch him whenever he was in the kitchen, feeling it was a waste not to use the business war script he had acquired.

Although the business war script seemed to be of no use, and he couldn’t discern anything else from it.

Because he wanted to prove himself a filial grandson in front of Mrs. Jiang last night, very afternoon Jiang Feng not only had to make Crab-Stuffed Oranges at the Li Mansion for Mrs. Jiang but also had to prepare impressively-presentable Rose and Cranberries.

One advantage of making the Crab-Stuffed Oranges at the Li Mansion was the availability of two kitchens. One was a newly renovated modern kitchen, and the other was a wood-burning stove kitchen that had barely been changed since the rebuild. As a beginner at cooking with clay pots, starting with a challenging gas stove was difficult, so practicing on a wood-burning stove was a good approach.

Since he was going to the Li Mansion, Jiang Feng decided to treat everyone equally and make Crab-Stuffed Oranges for Professor Li and Chen Suhua as well, and in the process, cook for Da Hua to rack up experience. Of course, Mrs. Jiang remained the most special one, as she was the only one with a dedicated mahjong drink.

Thus, Jiang Feng spent his afternoon at the Li Mansion making Crab-Stuffed Oranges on a wood-burning stove, and in the evening, he practiced stewing dishes on a gas stove, and in the blink of an eye, it was almost Mid-Autumn Festival.

In the time leading up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, Eight-treasure House, with its Su style mooncakes, undoubtedly became the most dazzling star in the entire Beiping City food industry.

Without personal grudges, just by logging into Ele.me every day to check the takeout sales of the Eight-treasure House’s Su style mooncakes was enough to make Jiang Feng green with envy.

Achieving a turnover that put upscale restaurants to shame, Eight-treasure House truly stood out.

They were unrivaled.

Jiang Feng just didn’t know how much Ling Guangzhao paid the White Chef who made the Su style mooncakes each month, allowing him to work so diligently and maintain high quality in such a short time.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was a significant celebration, especially for the Jiang Family, as the patriarch would usually cook a table full of delicious dishes on this family-reunion day.

Furthermore, Mid-Autumn Festival being a public holiday, Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing, the two high school students, also had a three-day break. Auntie planned an early flight to bring both sisters back, not only in time for lunch but also for dinner.

Unfortunately, this year the Jiang Family Members only had one meal together for Mid-Autumn Festival.

In previous years, when Jiang Jiankang used to run a health food outlet in Z city, because it was a private establishment, they closed whenever they decided. On any festival such as Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn, Dragon Boat Festival, Tomb Sweeping Day, Double Ninth Festival, May Day, or National Day, they would shut down regardless if it was an official public holiday if Jiang Jiankang and Mrs. Wang Xiulian wished to.

But things were different now. The daily turnover of Taifeng Building was equivalent to half a month’s at the health food place, and with greater income came higher expenses. Holidays were the busiest times for the food industry, not only making it impossible to close but also requiring overtime to make more money, especially since they still owed Professor Li three hundred million.

Hence, this year’s Mid-Autumn, the patriarch decided that both the Jiang and Li families would celebrate together at the Li Mansion. Ji Xia, being Jiang Feng’s apprentice, and Wu Minqi, his girlfriend, were both considered half members of the Jiang Family. Furthermore, both were well-acquainted with Chen Suhua and Professor Li, so celebrating Mid-Autumn together was no issue.

Zhang Guanghang and Ji Yue were going to visit Xia Mushi’s grave, while Ji Xue had no special plans and decided to do what she did every year, maybe just eat a couple more mooncakes.

…

Jiang Feng was discussing his graduation thesis with Professor Li at the Li Mansion.

Jiang Feng had almost forgotten about having to write his thesis, but Professor Li had always remembered for him. Not only did he remember, but he also had chosen a topic for Jiang Feng and even prepared the relevant data. If Jiang Feng really didn’t have time to conduct experiments and write the thesis, Professor Li wouldn’t even mind writing it for him.

Tomorrow was Mid-Autumn Festival, and to prepare, Mrs. Jiang decided to not play mahjong for a day and rest at home, enjoying some Huangmei Opera to relax, and look forward to making fragrant green onion pancakes for her eagerly awaiting children and grandchildren the next day.

With no need to deliver a special mahjong afternoon tea to Mrs. Jiang, Jiang Feng decided to be thoroughly lazy, not making afternoon tea or Crab-Stuffed Oranges, nor even Da Hua’s pig feed; instead, he passed it all to his Apprentice Ji Xia to handle, under the guise of practicing knifework.

Ji Xia was diligently cutting pig feed for Da Hua in the kitchen, while Jiang Feng was discussing his graduation thesis topic with Professor Li in the study.

Once the discussion was over and the topic settled, an entire afternoon had passed.

“Professor Li, did my grandfather mention tomorrow’s Mid-Autumn Festival arrangements to you?” Having discussed serious matters, Jiang Feng decided to bring up something pleasant to lighten the mood.

For example, talking about tomorrow’s Mid-Autumn Festival menu with Professor Li.

“Your grandfather told me, and both Suhua and I don’t have any problems. Having the meal in the afternoon will be like combining lunch and dinner into one. During the festival, the most important thing is for everyone to gather and have a family reunion,” Professor Li said with a smile. “I heard from your grandma that you’re planning to show off your skills tomorrow.”

“I’m just helping out, making some small dishes. The main courses still rely on Granduncle Weiming and my grandfather,” said Jiang Feng modestly. “Tomorrow, my grandma will also make pancakes. By the way, Professor, have you ever had the pancakes my grandma makes?”

“Oh, your grandma knows how to make pancakes?” Professor Li became interested.

“That’s right, my grandma’s pancakes are so delicious, extremely fragrant. My grandfather especially loves them. There used to be a time when Grandma would make them every now and then. She makes them less often now, maybe only a few times a year, and usually just during holidays. Last New Year, she didn’t even make pancakes,” Jiang Feng said, feeling a bit regretful. “Tomorrow at noon, Granduncle Weiming and my grandfather will come over early, while my dad and I might arrive a little later. We’ll have to wait until the lunch business is over before we can come.”

After a moment of thought, Jiang Feng added, “Aunt and my two female cousins will also come over. My cousins might be a bit loud and noisy, but please don’t mind them, Professor, and neither should Aunt. They usually only tease us cousins; they generally wouldn’t bother the elders.”

Perhaps it was the beauty created by distance, but Jiang Feng, who hadn’t seen his cousins Jiang Junqing and Jiang Junlian for so long, actually found himself missing them.

If they hadn’t asked Jiang Feng to tutor them during the New Year, he might have missed them even more.

“The noisier, the better, it’s lively that way. Suhua loves lively atmospheres,” said Professor Li, his eyes crinkling with amusement.

The two chatted a bit more before Jiang Feng glanced at his watch. Seeing it was getting late, he bid Professor Li farewell and went to the kitchen to find Ji Xia and take her back to Taifeng Building together.

Jiang Feng told Ji Xia that even if she finished preparing pig feed for Da Hua, she shouldn’t leave first but wait to go back with him. Knowing Ji Xia’s stubborn nature, Jiang Feng guessed she would definitely wait for him in the kitchen.

Sure enough, when Jiang Feng arrived at the kitchen, he saw Ji Xia sitting on a small stool, munching on an apple.

The apple wasn’t peeled, and Ji Xia had eaten more than half of it already. It looked crispy and probably quite good.

“Master, do you want an apple?” Ji Xia sprang up from the stool as soon as she saw Jiang Feng, not forgetting to take another bite of her apple.

“I don’t want an apple. It’s getting late, let’s head back,” said Jiang Feng, looking around the kitchen without seeing any apples.

“Where did you get the apple?” Jiang Feng asked casually.

“Grandma Chen gave it to me. She just went out to buy some fruit and it seemed she went out to buy more fruit again,” Ji Xia answered honestly, looking at Jiang Feng. “Master, will we eat mooncakes for Mid-Autumn tomorrow?”

“You’re only thinking about mooncakes when there’s a big feast at noon tomorrow?” Jiang Feng looked at Ji Xia with a sense of disappointment.

It was a festival, and with two elders personally cooking, all Ji Xia could think of was mooncakes.

“But you’re supposed to eat mooncakes at Mid-Autumn Festival,” Ji Xia’s face spelled out her craving for mooncakes, “In the previous years during Mid-Autumn, my deskmate ate mooncakes with lotus seed paste filling. I’ve never tried it. I have only had red bean paste filling ones, which cost 8 yuan per jin, while the lotus seed paste filling ones are 8 yuan each. Master, can I have a mooncake with lotus seed paste filling tomorrow?”

Jiang Feng fell silent.

“Why settle for an 8 yuan mooncake? Tomorrow, your master will get you mooncakes that cost 188 yuan for six!”

“Do they have egg yolks?”

Jiang Feng: …

“They have meat.”

“Thank you, Master!”

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