The Game of Life

The most important task for the kitchen before opening was the taste testing, where all the staff gathered together, including Ji Xue, who rarely indulged in’ the luxury of taking the high-speed train. Not a single person was missing. The Furnace Chefs had to submit their proposed signature dishes to Jiang Weiguo, the nominative Head Chef, so that other kitchen positions could prepare the necessary ingredients in advance.

For this reason, the two sirs had even made a point of preparing the broth a day earlier.

Taste testing is hard work; it could take a day or two to finalize the menu. It was only after the menu was set that the quantity of ingredients needed for purchase and the specific work allocation of other staff in the kitchen could be determined.

Taifeng Building’s kitchen was spacious with plenty of stoves, which made taste testing convenient as multiple people could work at the same time. Jiang Weiguo had received the menus from all the Furnace Chefs early on. Everyone’s was normal, except for Jiang Feng’s.

Pure meat wontons, pickled vegetable dumplings, Sweet and Sour Yam, preserved egg and lean meat congee, eight-treasure porridge, Li Hongzhang hodgepodge, chopped pepper fish head, and eight-treasure tofu. The stuffed chicken wasn’t ready yet; he guessed that in a couple of days, once it was learned, it could be added to the menu as well.

Jiang Weiguo looked at the menu Jiang Feng had submitted and sneered. He hadn’t expected his grandson to be an all-rounder who had dabbled in so many cuisines, even quietly mastering dishes famous in Chinatown.

“Let’s start the testing, one by one. Jiang Feng, Wu Minqi, Zhang Guanghang, Ji Xue, Sun Jikai, and Zhou Shi, you guys go first,” called Jiang Weiguo, “The rest of you, prepare the ingredients.”

Following the order of the submitted menus, Jiang Feng’s first dish was the pure meat wontons. Since the dough station also needed to taste test, they already had dough ready, so he could just roll out the wonton wrappers.

At first, Jiang Feng hesitated about this dish, as from the cooking technique to the seasoning to the added buffs, it was undoubtedly a candidate for dark cuisine. But, after all, it was a dish with a game recipe bonus, and there were only nine dishes in the cookbook: two were too difficult to make, one he hadn’t had the time to learn yet, and one had no bonus buff. Excluding these four, there were only five left.

Jiang Feng believed there would always be someone fated to fancy these wontons and fall in love with them.

The chef at the cutting board worked quickly. While Jiang Feng was rolling the wrappers, the meat filling was chopped and seasoned, wrapped casually, and then cooked just as casually. When the wontons were ready, Jiang Weiguo didn’t even want to lift his eyes to look at them.

Jiang Jiankang, still traumatized by Jiang Feng’s wontons, refused to taste them, and the two sirs crossed it off their list without sampling as well. Only the other unsuspecting chefs in the kitchen naively picked up their spoons. The next second, the kitchen was filled with cries.

Jiang Weiguo & Jiang Weiming: ???

The other five chefs still cooking: ???

“Grandpa, even though this dish doesn’t taste good, I think it’s very distinctive. It’s always like this; last time my dad felt the same,” said Jiang Feng. “Maybe there will be customers who like it.”

“I cried because it was so disgusting,” retorted Jiang Jiankang stubbornly, feeling that his son’s idea was very dangerous.

Jiang Weiming patted Zhang Weiyu, who was curled up, squatting, and holding himself as he cried, and asked, “What does the wonton taste like?”

Disgusting,” Zhang Weiyu replied before burying his head again in distress. Jiang Weiguo had not expected Jiang Feng’s bowl of wontons to make so many cry with its bad taste. Initially planning to dismiss the wontons from the menu, he now hesitated, wondering if perhaps the wonton’s notoriety could be a draw. “Let’s see, we’ll decide later. You make the next dish, the pickled vegetable dumplings. Didn’t you make these for Mr. Han?” inquired Jiang Weiguo, remembering the dish somewhat.

‘Yes, those pickled vegetable dumplings were the ones I made for Mr. Han,” confirmed Jiang Feng and got to work.

With most of the chopping chefs in tears and unable to work, it didn’t much matter; Jiang Feng knew how to knead the dough and was familiar with the dish, having prepared it every few days over the past few months for Han Guishan.

By the time the other five’s dishes were ready, those in anguish had mostly finished crying and could resume working while sniffling, occasionally letting a few tears fall into the food without issue.

Wu Minqi made Sichuan wontons, which were a delicacy compared to what Jiang Feng had made previously. After tasting, the two sirs nodded in approval. The wontons could be wrapped in advance in the morning, and the broth prepared ahead of time, saving time-a splendid main dish.

Zhang Guanghang crafted the Four Joyful Meatballs. With his many years of study under Xia Mushi, his Shandong cuisine skills were solid, and he received unanimous praise from everyone.

Ji Xue and Sun Jikai both made Cantonese dishes; Ji Xue made sweet and sour pork with pineapple, while Sun Jikai made white boiled shrimp. Both were decent.

Zhou Shi was bold and skillful, making lamb stir-fry, which received unanimous poor reviews from everyone.

Especially Jiang Jiankang, who had just eaten lamb stir-fry at Yonghe House two days earlier, deeply felt that Taifeng Building should not sell this dish.

It was a total embarrassment.

Ji Xue only submitted three dishes, including the sweet and sour pork satay beef, and clay pot chicken with Huadiao wine. Sun Jikai, on the other hand, submitted a plethora of dishes. Whether trying to redeem himself or to prove his determination to turn things around after a long period of disadvantage, his menu included not only Cantonese dishes but also Fujian cuisine.

White boiled shrimp, Cantonese Wenchang chicken, crispy roast suckling pig, boiled chicken, steamed East Star grouper, Buddha’s Delight, braised squab, ’ pot-cooked chicken with pigs’ stomach, lychee pork, and satay noodles.

Although Sun Jikai was eliminated early in the competition, he knew a lot of specialty dishes!

His menu was equivalent to one Jiang Feng plus one Ji Xue.

Since the pickled vegetable meatballs required more time to steam, others had mostly started their third dish, while Jiang Feng’s pickled vegetable meatballs were still steaming. However, he didn’t waste anytime; while the meatballs steamed, he prepared both the preserved egg and lean meat congee and eight treasures congee, slow-cooking them on the stove. He made two big pots, considering them as the first staff meal for everyone at Taifeng Building.

Soon, the pickled vegetable meatballs were ready.

The kitchen staff, who had the unfortunate experience of trying the wontons, were still haunted by Jiang Feng’s cooking, finding it ironic that someone who looked so sunny-faced could create something so dark. Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming knew all too well about Jiang Feng’s culinary skills and had no intention of eating, instead gathering together to discuss how to price Ji Xue’s sweet and sour pork with pineapple.

To encourage his son, Jiang Jiankang grabbed a pickled vegetable meatball and started eating with a natural expression, showing no sign of discomfort.

Zhang Weiyu, seeing that Jiang Jiankang was fine, bravely became the second person to try it.

‘How is it?” Sang Ming asked curiously.

“Not bad,” Zhang Weiyu felt that, although the pickled vegetable meatball didn’t look like much, it was pretty exciting to eat, getting better with each bite. It tasted average at first, but after eating half of it, there was an unexpectedly unique flavor.

Sang Ming and Han Yigu exchanged glances.

Half each?

Alright, half each it is!

The others also started to share the pickled vegetable meatballs, some taking half, some taking a quarter. Perhaps their expectations had been lowered to rock bottom by the prior wonton experience, but they found the plain-looking pickled vegetable meatballs without any oil or filling surprisingly tasty.

“Burp,” Zhang Weiyu belched.

“Dude, you ate quite a lot this morning, huh? You are already full,” Sang Ming commented while chewing on a pickled vegetable meatbail.

“I didn’t eat anything. I’ve been in the store since early in the morning,” Zhang Weiyu was also bewildered.

Sang Ming’s gaze toward him changed instantly, eyeing the sturdy, tall man, wondering how he could be full from just one meatbail.

“Grandfather, look, this pickled vegetable meatbail might seem plain, but it’s filling. Mr. Han used to love it a lot. It’s made with cornmeal, no filling, no oil low in calories, green and healthy, practically an essential dish for modern women on a diet!” Jiang Feng explained with fervor and emotion.

Jiang Weiguo: ???

Has his grandson become foolish from love???