The Game of Life

The two sirs timed their arrival perfectly for mealtime, which, based on past customer traffic, would mean that the lunch service at Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant was winding down. Jiang Jiankang had already cooked half of the dishes, and with the addition of two more signature dishes from the two sirs in the kitchen, today’s meals would end on a high note.

But today was different. It was almost one o’clock now, and Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant was still bustling with customers, and Jiang Feng had even been dispatched to wipe down tables in the dining hall.

Jiang Weiguo sensed an unusual atmosphere.

Jiang Feng, who was wiping down the table near the entrance, was the first to notice the two sirs.

“Grandpa, Granduncle Weiming,” Jiang Feng said, “my dad just started cooking, so we’ll probably have to wait a bit longer.”

Jiang Weiming, seeing the Ants Climbing a Tree and Sichuan-style cold noodles on a customer’s table, asked with a smile, “Did Wu whip up some new dishes today?”

“Not her, it’s her dad. He’s helping in the kitchen,” Jiang Feng explained while swiftly clearing empty plates from the table and wiping it clean.

Jiang Weiming thought for a moment and then said to Jiang Weiguo, “Wu’s dad should be Wu Hanxue, Old Mr. Wu’s eldest son. I’ve told you about him before —he’s talented, and by now, he should be the head chef at Wu Family Restaurant. Let’s go take a look; it’s been over a decade since I’ve seen him.” Wu Hanxue was still busy making Ants Climbing a Tree.

He couldn’t remember which batch this was—even at Wu Family Restaurant, he rarely had such a busy time, nor did he have to make the same few dishes so repeatedly and intensely.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wu Hanxue plated the Ants Climbing a Tree and took it off the stove.

“Qiqi, how many dishes are left?” Wu Hanxue asked.

Wu Minqi glanced at the notes, “3 servings of Sichuan-style cold noodles, 1 serving of braised chicken with chestnuts.”

Jiang Jiankang had already started snacking on a cucumber.

“Dad, Uncle Three!” Seeing the two sirs, Jiang Jiankang hurried over to update them on his cooking progress, “I’ve made a dish of Di San Xian, a dish of Kung Pao chicken, and a dish of braised codfish, take a look— ”

Jiang Weiguo glanced at the prep station and, seeing the ingredients for Oil Exploded Crispy Meat ready to go, said, “Since we have guests, I’ll make a couple of extra good dishes.”

“Alright!” Jiang Jiankang beamed with joy.

Jiang Weiming approached Wu Hanxue and said, “You can take a break; I’ll take care of the rest. Young man, save the Oil Exploded Crispy Meat for me to make at the end.”

In terms of Shandong cuisine, Jiang Weiguo wasn’t as skilled as Jiang Weiming. “Okay,” Jiang Weiguo replied.

Finally getting a chance to catch his breath, Wu Hanxue took a paper towel from Wu Minqi to wipe his sweat, and made polite conversation with Jiang Weiming, “Uncle Jiang, my dad heard about you from Qiqi after the New Year and has been saying he wants to meet you.”

“I bet his exact words weren’t so polite. How’s he doing these days?” Jiang Weiming asked with a smile.

Back then, in Shu province’s capital, Jiang Weiming and Wu Xiujun (Wu Minqi’s grandfather) were the two most renowned chefs, their culinary skills on par with each other. Jiang Weiming’s best dish wasn’t Chopped Chili Fish Head, but Chicken Broth Tofu Pudding. It only became his signature because foreign guests had praised it, outshining Wu Xiujun’s.

Because of that, their relationship wasn’t exactly harmonious. Jiang Weiming had a good temper, but Wu Xiujun was hot-headed, much like Jiang Weiguo, often speaking curtly to Jiang Weiming.

Now, so many years later, looking back, there was a sense of nostalgia.

“What are you talking about? After so many years, can my dad still be the same as before? He’s in good health, and still occasionally takes charge in the kitchen,” Wu Hanxue replied after taking a drink of water. “He said that the next time he sees you, he wants to have a cooking contest with you.”

“That’s probably the only true statement. His temperament really hasn’t changed. I’m too old now, can’t compete anymore. I get tired just making Chopped Chili Fish Head; I’m afraid I can’t even make Boiled Cabbage in Broth anymore, have been outclassed by him for a long time,” Jiang Weiming said with a bitter smile.

“Granduncle, you can make Boiled Cabbage in Broth?” Jiankang’s eyes lit up. Once, Jianguo had even been punished over this dish, and its impression on the brothers was profound.

“I lived in Shu for most of my life, of course, I can. But I’m not as good as Wu Minqi’s grandfather—his Boiled Cabbage in Broth is the best in all of Shu. By the way, is that dish still a signature at your place?” Jiang Weiming inquired.

“My dad hasn’t made it much in recent years. He makes it only a few times in a whole year; it hasn’t been our signature dish for a long time,” Wu Hanxue said.

During their conversation, another batch of Ants Climbing a Tree was finished.

It obviously looked a notch better than the batches made by Wu Hanxue.

“Your culinary skills have improved even further,” Wu Hanxue complimented.

Wu Hanxue chatted casually with Jiang Weiming, Jiang Weiguo was determined to showcase his skills for the customers, Wu Minqi and Jiang Jiankang were onlookers in the kitchen, and Jiang Feng was scrambling around in the dining hall.

When all the dishes were ready to serve and the hall had quieted down, with only a few customers left eating, it was finally time for their own meal.

The dishes weren’t many, but they were all specialties of Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming. Jiang Feng, tired from a whole afternoon of work, focused only on burying his head and eating voraciously, without the time for chatting or paying attention to anything else.

Wu Hanxue and Jiang Weiming would exchange pleasantries from time to time, whereas Wu Minqi’s mother turned out to be unexpectedly talkative, chatting with Jiang Jiankang and Wang Xiulian on a variety of topics. As the conversation gradually veered towards skincare, Mr. Jiang Jiankang was ruthlessly kicked out of the group chat.

Unprecedentedly, Jiang Feng ate two and a half bowls of rice and put down his chopsticks contentedly.

“Are you going to make sugar-coated sweet potatoes for the semifinals?” Wu Minqi asked, seeing that Jiang Feng had finished eating.

“Yeah.” Jiang Feng nodded, “What about you?”

“Pork belly with mustard greens.”

“Mustard greens?” Jiang Feng hadn’t heard of this dish before.

“It’s a type of pickled vegetable from our area, a bit like preserved mustard greens, but spicier. The cooking method is actually quite similar to pork with preserved mustard greens,” Wu Minqi explained.

Jiang Feng was skeptical about Wu Minqi’s definition of “a bit spicy.”

“Have you notified the organizers about the ingredients? It might be hard to find mustard greens around here. What if the quality isn’t up to par?” Jiang Feng began to worry for his competitor.

“I called the organizers about it last night. I know there’s an old shop in our area that sells high-quality mustard greens, so I gave them the address as well. The staff from Good Taste called me this morning to say that they had already set out for Shu,” Wu Minqi said.

Jiang Feng:…

He had forgotten that the staff of Good Taste were capable of anything.

“By the way, Mr. Jiang, can I use the kitchen this afternoon to practice?” Wu Minqi looked towards Jiang Jiankang.

“Feel free to use it. Let your uncle know if you need anything; I’ll go buy it for you,” Jiang Jiankang replied quite generously.

“Thankyou so much for the trouble,” Wu Minqi’s mother said.

“It’s no trouble, just a small thing. My son needs to practice too; the kitchen is always available for these kids in the afternoon. Mrs. Wu, what was the name of that skincare brand you were talking about just now?” Wang Xiulian steered the topic back to skincare.

“It’s a relatively niche brand that I saw in Japan, but it’s really effective, it’s just that…”

Jiang Jiankang continued to be excluded from the group chat.

“Dad, how many jars of mustard greens did you bring?” Wu Minqi asked again.

“Two jars.”

“What about kimchi?”

“Brought it.”

“Kimchi? Do you also use kimchi for the pork belly dish?” Jiang Feng was surprised.

“No, it’s not for the pork belly. It’s for you all to eat,” Wu Minqi clarified.

“Huh?”

“Didn’t you say my family’s pickled red-skin white radish and cowpeas were delicious? So I had my dad bring along two jars,” Wu Minqi said.

“Oh… I feel so embarrassed.” Instantly, Jiang Feng remembered the pickles he had eaten at the start of term, and his mouth watered.

Pickles from Shu, so tasty!

Even the spicy peppers are delicious!

“It’s just two jars of pickles, nothing much.”

Wu Minqi’s mother glanced at Wu Minqi and smiled subtly.

“Mrs. Wu, how about we go shopping tomorrow? There’s a store downtown that seems to be getting new stock tomorrow,” Wang Xiulian felt that she and Wu Minqi’s mother hit it off immediately, the more they talked, the better they got along.

“Sure,” Wu Minqi’s mother replied with a smile.