The Game of Life

The staff sister walked up to Jiang Feng, the same one as last time, wearing high heels and showing off her arms which she had tirelessly trained at the gym for two weeks, though it seemed without much success, her smile filled with a murderous aura.

Today, she would redeem her embarrassment in front of Jiang Feng and show him that her two weeks of gym efforts hadn’t been for nothing!

She gathered her qi at her dantian and channeled strength into her arms.

A large pot of century egg and lean pork congee was steadily presented by the staff sister.

Five seconds later, it all fell apart.

The staff sister stared at the full pot of century egg and lean pork congee in front of her, her face a mix of frustration and anger.

Why, after two weeks, can’t I carry your brother’s eight-treasure porridge, and still can’t carry your damn century egg and lean pork congee?

The staff sister felt like the private gym classes she attended over the last two weeks were all in vain; the instructor was neither tall nor handsome nor muscular, not even 1.92 meters tall, without long legs, and not even a tenth as good as Zhang Guanghang.

Jiang Feng really wanted to help her, but his spirit was willing, and his flesh was weak, given that he was now practically handicapped. The gauze on his left hand hadn’t been removed yet, and the wound on his palm was still not fully healed. If he tried to carry this pot of century egg and lean pork congee today, he might just add his left hand to the casualty list.

The atmosphere grew increasingly awkward.

Wu Minqi, who had kept a continuous watch on Jiang Feng, came over and said to the staff sister, who was doubting her life choices, “This pot of porridge is indeed a bit heavy; let me help you with it.”

In that moment, the staff sister thought Wu Minqi was an angel, radiating holy light.

Such a pure and beautiful woman, how did Jiang Feng deserve to be her boyfriend!

“Thank you,” said the staff sister sweetly, giving Jiang Feng a glare in return.

Jiang Feng:…

Why do I feel like her glare just now was kinda like looking at a love rival?

Wu Minqi carried the heavy pot of century egg and lean pork congee to the judges’ seat, set it down, and the table trembled with the weight.

Han Guishan’s eyes lit up, this portion was definitely more generous than the last eight-treasure porridge!

Smelling the rich aroma of the century egg and lean pork congee, Pei

Shenghua’s talkative nature kicked in: “This contestant, Jiang Feng, really does have a special talent for porridge. The sweet porridge was great, and the savory one doesn’t fall short either.”

“It might be a natural gift,” Zhu Chang didn’t have a better explanation for how a 20-year-old could cook porridge with such expertise, better than those who had been cooking it for twenty or thirty years.

“It’s a shame he’s not a white chef,” Xu Cheng sighed.

“Nothing to be sorry about,” Tong Deyan started to dish out the porridge, “his skills with the red chef’s dishes are not bad either.”

Han Guishan was already drinking.

Compared to the eight-treasure porridge, he naturally preferred century egg and lean pork porridge-it was less sweet, thicker, salty, rich, and the key was how the lean pork and century egg melted together in the mouth, always a texture he adored.

Gulping it down, one bowl after another, he couldn’t stop.

This was the sensation, this was the flavor, the one he craved in his dreams’ Although he had never actually tasted it before, it seemed strangely familiar as if from a dream.

“It’s not as good as his last eight-treasure porridge,” Xu Cheng was slightly disappointed.

“You’re expecting too much; how can each dish be just as outstanding?” Han Guishan defended his idol in between mouthfuls of porridge.

“Actually, it is really good, top-level,” Pei Shenghua said, as he took another small bowl, “given his age, being able to cook such porridge leaves little to be nitpicked.”

Cooking Porridge requires both time and experience; generally, the more experienced the porridge chef, the better the porridge.

Jiang Feng was an exception.

Because he was a show-off.

“How much longer for Gu Li’s golden siu mai?” Han Guishan inquired.

They chatted leisurely and comfortably while drinking porridge, appearing not so much like judges of a food show but rather guests at a casual tea party.

“About 20 minutes, they steam quite fast,” Pei Shenghua said. Seeing there was still plenty of porridge left in the pot, he asked, “Mr. Han, how about we share some with the audience to taste?”

“Sure,” Han Guishan gave his assistant a meaningful look, and the assistant, catching his drift, went to fetch bowls and spoons to distribute the porridge.

The assistant personally took charge of serving the porridge, ensuring that every audience member got a taste, after Han Guishan had his fill and set aside some for his wife and child.

The experienced audience members, upon seeing the staff carrying bowls and utensils, knew what was coming.

Everyone craned their necks, eagerly fixing their gaze on the pot of porridge at the judges’ table.

“Dear, do you love me?”

“Ah, what did you just say? I was looking at my phone and didn’t hear, what did you say?”

“Ji Jun, I remember you don’t like to eat porridge, right?”

“Who said I don’t like porridge? Who is spreading rumors about me? I love porridge, especially century egg and lean pork congee!”

“You…”

“Hey, look, they’re bringing out the bowls and spoons!”

II II

The young man sitting beside Ji Yue clearly took an interest in her. Seeing that Ji Yue had come alone with no company, he thought this would be a good opportunity.

“Hey, beauty, I don’t like porridge, so why don’t you drink my share for me?” The young man decided to sacrifice his sensory pleasures for a sudden shot at love.

Ji Yue glanced at him-nothing like Zhang Guanghang’s handsomeness, nor as tall, and from her estimate, his legs weren’t as long as Zhang Guanghang’s either.

Seems like not even on par with Jiang Feng in looks.

“No need, I don’t like porridge either,” Ji Yue said.

The ‘lil bro to Ji Yue’s right couldn’t help but glance at her, and his girlfriend, upon seeing Ji Yue’s face, felt alarm bells ringing, sensing a formidable opponent.

“Eh, you don’t like porridge? How about I drink it for you?” the lil bro’s girlfriend said with ill intent.

Ji Yue gave her a look, not as fair-skinned, not a nose as high, not as pretty, and not as skilled at makeup as herself.

Even in terms of acting delicate and artificial, she couldn’t compare.

Not worth mentioning.

“Sure, I’m actually on a diet,” Ji Yue replied with a smile.

The lil bro’s girlfriend was dumbfounded.

Ji Yue rested her chin on her hands, looking at the stage. What she really wanted to taste was the dish personally cooked by her idol, Zhang Guanghang. This Jiang Feng, always so lackluster, concerned only with dating and not caring a whit about her, his old school senior’s welfare. It took a whole week just to get Zhang Guanghang’s WeChat from him, and the worst part was, he had forgotten to give it amidst all the romance.

Han Guishan’s all-purpose assistant was diligently serving porridge while Han Guishan himself sipped on the porridge, his eyes fixed on the steamer in front of Gu Li on stage, calculating how to adjust his porridge-drinking speed in order to save enough stomach space to eat dumplings and drink porridge simultaneously.

The assistants and staff were quick, and within minutes, all the spectators had tasted the preserved egg and lean pork porridge cooked by Jiang Feng that day. “Delicious!”

“Oh my, how can porridge be this tasty!”

“Honey, you should learn to cook porridge too!”

“Stop joking, dear. You should be the one to learn!”

“Oh my goodness…”

The same scenario kept repeating itself.

Tong Deyan, however, had a unique perspective. He looked at the audience for a while and asked, “Is that whole row in the third row all relatives of contestant Jiang Feng?”

Indeed, the stature of the Jiang family members were the most dazzling and eye-catching amongst the audience.

“Seems like it,” Han Guishan glanced over and said, “He has quite a lot of relatives.”

Pei Shenghua also curiously glanced over: “His family members… seem to be quite blessed.”

“Eh, isn’t the one in the fourth row Wu Hanxue? He’s seated right behind Jiang Feng’s relatives, and that seems to be his partner next to him!” Pei Shenghua noticed Wu Hanxue with sharp eyes. “Looks like both families have met each other already!”

The atmosphere gradually turned gossipy.

The judges’ table, led by Queen of Gossip Pei Shenghua, gradually shifted focus as Jiang Feng, Wu Minqi, and Zhang Guanghang on the stage watched Gu Li, mainly because there was really no one else to look at, and judging by the time, Gu Li’s golden-thread dumplings should be ready soon.

Sure enough, two minutes later, Gu Li turned off the heat, and the golden-thread dumplings were ready.

The yellow egg wrapper tied at the top of the dumplings stood out, making them exceptionally noticeable. The cute and rounded dumplings looked like little bags of fortune from a distance, both delicate and adorable.

The hallmark of golden-thread dumplings is their rich filling and thin wrapper, savory and delicious. They might look like ordinary dumplings with an added egg wrapper, but these were after all part of the imperial Manchu-Han Imperial Feast, far superior in flavor to regular dumplings sold on the market.

Gu Li spent nearly 20 minutes preparing the filling alone; these dumplings could be anything but ordinary.

A basket of ten, each one perfect.

The five judges each took one, and Han Guishan took five. After eating the five dumplings with the final bowl of preserved egg and lean pork porridge, he was 90% full, just perfect.

“Burp.” Han Guishan let out a burp of satisfaction.

The scores from the five judges were in, and the staff were calculating the average. It would only be two minutes before the winner would be revealed.

“Who do you think will win this competition?” Pei Shenghua asked.

“Gu Li,” Zang Mu answered.

“Gu Li,” Tong Deyan replied.

“Gu Li,” Zhu Chang said.

“Gu Li,” Xu Cheng echoed.

“Gu Li?” Han Guishan was a bit surprised but soon came to terms with it. Recalling the taste of the porridge and the dumplings he just had, it seemed the dumplings did taste a bit better indeed.

Feeling a bit regretful that his own idol couldn’t win the championship, Han Guishan expressed some disappointment.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our staff has tallied the scores for the four contestants and calculated the averages. Now, I will announce the winners of the second Good Taste Cooking Contest — the champion, the runner-up, and the second runner-up,” the hostess stepped back onto the stage, and the entire venue fell silent.

“Wu Minqi 8.8 points, Zhang Guanghang 9.2 points, Jiang Feng 9.2 points, Gu Li 9.3 points. Let’s congratulate contestant Gu Li for winning the championship, contestant Jiang Feng for the runner-up, and contestant Zhang Guanghang for second runner-up. On a side note, the voting for the Most Popular Award is still ongoing. The voting period ends on April 30th at 9 p.m. Until then, you can log into our WeChat public account and vote for your favorite contestant,”

Gu Li was the champion.

Missing the title by a hair, Jiang Feng inevitably felt some regret, especially since he lost by merely 0.1 point.

“Congratulations,” Jiang Feng, Wu Minqi, and Zhang Guanghang turned to Gu Li and said in unison.

But regardless, it was a well-deserved victory for him.

“Now let’s pass the mic to our five judges to hear their insights on the dishes of these four contestants,” the hostess said sweetly.

Zhu Chang picked up the microphone.