The Game of Life

Who would cut the Roasted Pig? That was the big question.

All those seated were journalists, experts at concocting stories, churning out gossip, fabricating tales out of thin air, and forcibly padding out their word counts. Most of them couldn’t tell dark soy sauce from light, let alone Knifework; as long as they could cut through, that was considered good Knifework.

Reporter Hu looked around; no one dared to volunteer.

“Let’s just get a waiter to do it,” one of the journalists proposed.

Everyone agreed, and Reporter Hu raised his hand, calling over to Ji Yue, “Waiter, could you please cut the Roasted Pig for us?”

There were two tables of journalists. Ji Yue came over and asked, “Would you like both portions of the Roasted Pig to be cut?”

Reporter Hu looked at the other table; seeing no objections from the other journalists, he nodded, “Yes, both, please.”

“Alright, please make some room.” Ji Yue picked up the knife, slicing open the pig’s belly in a series of steps almost identical to Tong Deyan’s, her movements clean and decisive, the knife’s descent swift, without a moment’s hesitation.

Ji Yue had cut the Roasted Pig that Jiang Weiming was trialing these past few days and, having tasted it herself, she knew exactly which part of the meat was the juiciest, which was the most delicate, and which part was the most flavorful. Her actions flowed like clouds and water, and in no time at all, she had portioned out the entire Roasted Pig.

Ji Yue’s actions caught the attention of some chefs who were eating stewed chicken with Huadiao wine in clay pots, yet found the time to comment to the person next to them, “That waiter’s Knifework isn’t bad at all—it seems to be the one who served the porridge with such strength.”

“Which one?” The other person quickly nabbed a juicy piece of thigh meat from the hot pot before looking up. “Oh, that one. She cut the Roasted Pig for that table? The Knifework is pretty good. It would be a waste if she didn’t cook.”

The news that Ji Xue could cook the clay pot chicken with Huadiao wine had reached the ears of those present, but it was only hearsay. No one believed it until they saw it with their own eyes. After all, even Master Tan’s granddaughter hadn’t mastered this dish. When this obscure girl suddenly emerged at a gourmet competition and cooked it once, most people, who only believe what they see, dismissed it as a rumor with a laugh.

Now, seeing it for themselves, many of Master Tan’s loyal patrons were nearly moved to tears.

Pei Shenghua, however, was quite smug: “I told you guys long ago; I met a girl who could cook the clay pot chicken with Huadiao wine when I was judging the competition. I even posted it on my Friends Circle, but you all acted like you didn’t see it!”

The others nodded noncommittally.

Zhu Chang couldn’t bear to tell him that practically everyone present had blocked his Friends Circle updates, who could blame them when he incessantly posted nonsense and liked to pollute the internet with trash talk late at night. It seemed that only Tong Deyan hadn’t blocked him.

Old Tong really is a stand-up guy!

After they were sated with food and drink, everyone came to their senses and checked the time, only to realize it was already past 1 PM.

It had been a long time since they’d all dined so peacefully together, chatting with old friends while savoring delicious food, eating without drinking, leisurely and attentively, not too many dishes, but just right.

“Time to leave; I still can catchmy 3 PM flight!” said one gourmand with a smile, “Indeed, Mr. Xu has a keen eye; following his lead is never wrong when it comes to dining.”

“Xu Lun, what’s the rush? It’s rare for us to get together, and I was thinking of taking you to my place tonight to show you a bottle from my wine collection,” called another gourmand after him.

“Some other time. I have to pick up my grandson after his interest class this afternoon; kids these days have it tough, attending math classes even on the weekend. Next week I’ll come over and savoryour treasured wine!” laughed Xu Lun.

“Next week?”

Xu Lun had already left, as he was in a hurry, but he didn’t head toward the exit. Instead, he approached the waiter, Ji Yue, who was apparently the lead among the service staff during the mealtime.

“Are there any special requirements for booking your restaurant’s clay pot chicken with Huadiao wine or Roasted Pig?” Xu Lun inquired.

“No special requirements. The Roasted Pig must be ordered 3 days in advance, and the clay pot chicken 1 day in advance. Our restaurant only accepts bookings within 7 days, with priority given to members,” Ji Yue replied cheerfully as she guided Xu Lun to the cashier.

“Oh? How does one become a member?” Xu Lun had ample experience with memberships.

“A recharge of 1,000 yuan grants you regular membership, while 30,000 yuan grants you VIP status. Currently, with our new store opening, the more you top-up, the more bonuses we offer. You can check out the specific benefits up front. Regular members enjoy privileges like special birthday dishes and a 10% discount on drinks. VIP members enjoy the same, plus an additional 10% discount on drinks, priority access to new products, preference in reservations, and priority booking of dishes,” explained Ji Yue.

Xu Lun confidently took out his bank card: “Let’s start with a VIP membership. Book a private room for ten on next Friday, with one portion of clay pot chicken with Huadiao wine and one Roasted Pig.”

“Certainly.”

Before the diners at Xu Lun’s table could react, they saw him talking with Ji Yue, looking puzzled; “Wasn’t Xu Lun rushing for a flight? That sneaky old rascal, damn it!”

The gourmand hastily stood up and headed to the cashier.

“Why’s he in such a fuss too, making a scene… damn it!” The person next to them hurried after.

“Both of these guys too… these two rascals!” another one realized.

Those who caught on hurried to become members and make their reservations.

“Mr. Xu, you’re not making a reservation?” Pei Shenghua was also ready to leave when he saw Xu Cheng still sitting and drinking tea, so he asked out of curiosity.

“I made a reservation a long time ago.” Xu Cheng sipped his tea silently, keeping a low profile.

Membership cards, he and Han Guishan had got those taken care of a long time ago. As Xu Cheng drank his tea, he calculated in his mind to find some time in the next few days to complete Gu Li’s feature interview in Hang City; it had been a while since he last visited Hang City, and he quite missed the local dishes.

Hand-torn red clay chicken, West Lake vinegar fish, Dongpo pork, Hangzhou chrysanthemum chicken shreds, Hangzhou triple delights, Dragon Well shrimp…

Ah, I’m getting older and can’t eat too greasy food; I should have less Dongpo pork, maybe just two pieces.

“Master Xia, I’m going to take my leave now,” Xu Cheng said.

Xia Mushi gave him a slight nod. Seeing Zhang Guanghang coming out, he supported himself on the edge of the table to stand and said, “I should be leaving too.”

“Master, I’ll take you back to the hospital,” Zhang Guanghang assisted Xia Mushi.

“Not the hospital, back to Fen Garden. Have Xiao Hou pack up my things and send them to Fen Garden. Be careful with the jar, don’t bump it,” Xia Mushi instructed, then turned his head and saw two untouched chicken buns in a plate and pointed at them, “Pack that up as well.”

“Huh?” Zhang Guanghang didn’t catch on right away.

“Okay.” Zhang Guanghang saw the chicken bun in Xia Mushi’s plate that had only been bitten once, “I’ll go get a takeout box.”

As Zhang Guanghang went to get a takeout box, it stirred up exclamations along the way.

“Oh my god, is he the chef of this restaurant?”

“Seems like it. Look, he’s still in a chef’s uniform!”

“Goodness, what nationality is he? Is he mixed? He’s so handsome. Oh my, look at his nose, look at his eyes; I can hardly breathe. How can someone be this attractive!”

“Yanzi, quick, look at that hottie!”

Not just the ordinary customers, even the seasoned journalists were stunned by Zhang Guanghang’s handsome face, height, and long legs. For a moment, they felt like they weren’t writing about the opening of a restaurant, but rather the debut news of a Hollywood heartthrob.

“Is he a chef from Taifeng Building?” a curious reporter asked.

“Looks like it.” The others were not certain either.

“Reporter Hu, if we put his photo on the front page, this piece is definitely going to be a hit!” Photographer Tang was excited, clinging to his camera ready for action, “No matter the headline, it’s sure to get a lot of clicks!”

Photographer Tang initially worked for a gossip magazine that was later forced to close down and reform after being sued by numerous celebrities for spreading too many rumors; that’s when Tang started to look for other opportunities and followed Reporter Hu to chase news stories.

Manager Fan came over to give the reporters red envelopes, hoping they would write favorable articles when the time came, not expecting to encounter such a scene.

Everyone was staring at Zhang Guanghang like hunters eyeing their prey as he calmly packed up the chicken bun.

“Reporter Hu, thank you so much for your hard work today; it’ll trouble you to focus a bit more on the article when you get back,” Manager Fan said with a smile as she handed the red envelope to Reporter Hu, who accepted it with practiced ease.

“Editor Xiao, thank you for coming in person today. It’s been a lot to ask of you!”

“Reporter Fu, I’m so grateful you could come. This is a small token of appreciation, and I still need to trouble you with…”

“Reporter Huang, we just met last time, at…”

Manager Fan had the professional skills that matched her salary, adept at social graces, able to name each journalist, with red envelopes already given away, yet the journalists were in no hurry to leave.

“The thing is, Manager Fan, we think since Taifeng Building is a new restaurant opening, shouldn’t we also mention the chefs in the kitchen? We were wondering if that would be convenient,” Editor Xiao took the lead to ask.

Manager Fan glanced at Zhang Guanghang’s face and instantly got it.

“Of course, that’s convenient, but our Chef Zhang needs to escort Sir Xia back first. It might take a while for him to return. I wonder if that will be an issue for you all time-wise…”

“No problem with time at all!”

“This chef surnamed Zhang, isn’t he the one mentioned on the menu, Chef Zhang Guanghang?”

“Manager Fan, why don’t you tell us more about Chef Zhang? Just by appearance, he doesn’t seem…”