The Game of Life

By the time Jiang Feng got home, it was already past 8 o’clock, and the house was empty; Wu Minqi hadn’t returned yet. Earlier, when Jiang Feng was downstairs, he saw that the lights in the floors above were all off, except for Uncle Wu’s place.

It seemed that Taifeng Building was doing good business today, as Auntie usually would have returned by this time.

Even though there was no one home, Jiang Feng still made his usual detour to the bathroom. Only inside the bathroom did he feel at ease-someone might break into the bedroom, but it was less likely they would break into the bathroom.

Jiang Feng opened the attribute panel and flipped to the item tab, hesitating between Zhang Chu’s memory and Cao Guixiang’s memory, then chose the latter.

He could guess the plot twists of Zhang Chu’s memories and the dishes would surely be Zhajiang noodles; there was no sense of mystery or novelty to them. On the other hand, Cao Guixiang’s memory, which he had touched on the window frame, was very mysterious.

Clicking yes” on [A Segment of Cao Guixiang’s Memory], Jiang Feng was instantly enveloped in a mist.

“Guixiang, are the fish killed yet? Once they’re killed, slice them into small pieces at an angle and marinate them with the seasonings. This carp is for the five-spice fish we’re preparing for lunch today.”

“Yes, Master.”

When Jiang Feng could finally see clearly again, he found himself in a kitchen. It must be the kitchen of Yonghe House; there were quite a few chefs, all busy, wearing short sleeves – it was presumably summer. Even though they hadn’t started the stoves, and everyone was still in the prep phase, many were already sweating profusely.

Cao Guixiang was easy to recognize because she was the only girl in the whole kitchen, with everyone else being either older men or young lads.

At that time, Cao Guixiang looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, also wearing short sleeves, with fine sweat beads on her forehead, and in her hands, she held a carp, descaled, beheaded, finned, gutted, and cleaned.

Jiang Feng originally thought that the young Cao Guixiang, having captivated Zhang Chu at first sight, would be quite beautiful. But now that he saw her, he could only describe her look as average, barely delicate-the kind he might not even spot in a crowd at a glance.

Only her eyes were truly lively, twinkling like stars.

Cao Guixiang, not even 20 years old, already had quite remarkable knife skills.

Cao Guixiang picked up the knife and swiftly bisected the fish along the spine from head to tail, then rapidly switched to angled cuts to carve the fish into small blocks. Her knife movements were fast, and in the blink of an eye, evenly-sized fish chunks appeared on the cutting board.

Then Cao Guixiang put the fish chunks into a small bowl, adding salt, green onions, ginger, vinegar, soy sauce, and cooking wine to marinate for flavor. “Master, the fish is ready,” said Cao Guixiang.

Cao Guixiang’s master was a slightly plump middle-aged man with an expressionless face, a large mole on his right cheek, making him look somewhat stern and intimidating.

“Leave it there, go find your second senior brother; I haven’t seen him since a while ago,” instructed Cao Guixiang’s master.

Yes, Master. Cao Guixiang washed her hands clean with a scoop of water from the bucket in the corner before going out to look for him.

Zhang Chu was right, the present Yonghe House was not as large as it would be later on, with landscape paintings hanging on the walls and tables and chairs that clearly showed top-notch wood and craftsmanship, befitting an established and reputable restaurant.

Manager Zhang, have you seen my second senior brother, Qin Guisheng?” Cao Guixiang approached Manager Zhang who was tallying accounts at the cashier’s counter.

Manager Zhang, a man in his forties wearing formal attire, was still dressed in long sleeves and trousers despite the heat, appearing genteel.

“Qin Guisheng? He seems to have gone up to the second floor; I just saw him heading up. By the way, Guixiang, remember to remind your master that our restaurant is participating in the community service organized by the street office. Tomorrow we need to deliver herbal tea to the elderly over 70 in the alleys, tell him not to forget,” said Manager Zhang.

Manager Zhang is the public affairs manager, and whenever there’s an event at the Street Office, he’s the one attending the meetings.

“Alright, Manager Zhang, rest assured,” Cao Guixiang said as she was about to go upstairs.

“Hold on, don’t go yet, I have something else to tell you,” Manager Zhang stopped Cao Guixiang and whispered to her, “Didn’t I go to a meeting at the Street Office yesterday? Mrs. Zheng told me you could become a regular employee by next month at the latest.”

“Really?” Cao Guixiang exclaimed with surprise on her face.

“How could it be false? When has Mrs. Zheng ever been wrong? And why would I lie to you for no reason? Don’t be lazy, even if you become a regular, you have to work hard.” Manager Zhang said, a hint of a smile appearing in the corner of his eyes, “You’re about to become the youngest regular employee at Yonghe House, so you must be diligent in your work.”

“Don’t worry, when have I ever slacked off? Once I’m promoted, I’ll treat you to a meal, I’ll cook for you myself, make your favorite steamed chicken with straw mushrooms!” Cao Guixiang said joyfully as she ran upstairs to find Qin Guisheng.

Manager Zhang stood there, smiling helplessly and muttered to himself, “Steamed chicken with straw mushrooms, that’ll cost you half a month’s salary.”

It wasn’t mealtime yet, so there were no customers in Yonghe House, and only Qin Guisheng was on the second floor, sitting by the window catching the breeze.

The decoration on the second floor was even better than the first, with more decorative items. There were more trinkets, and the space between tables had screens for privacy. Even the teapots on the tables looked more exquisite than those on the first floor.

“Second Senior Brother, you’re slacking off again-Master is looking for you.

He sent me to call you.” Cao Guixiang shouted at Qjn Guisheng.

“How can you call this slacking off? Master asked me to butcher a chicken, and I’ve come up here to catch a breeze and cool off after finishing the job. It’s so hot today; surely there won’t be many customers this noon,” Qin Guisheng said, lounging on the chair.

“How can there not be customers? I’ve butchered fish, First Senior Brother is handling a duck, and I saw Master preparing ham; he must be planning to make Sunflower Duck. He also told me he’s going to make Five-Spice Fish, so there must be a banquet this noon,” Cao Guixiang said.

“A banquet this noon? Master is preparing Sunflower Duck?” Qin Guisheng jumped to his feet. “Why didn’t you say so earlier? I should go down and help Master.”

Cao Guixiang laughed lightly, “You say that, but I think you just want to learn how to make Sunflower Duck. First Senior Brother is still processing the duck; it’s still early before mealtime, Master won’t start cooking now.”

Hearing what Cao Guixiang said, Qin Guisheng didn’t hurry down and continued to loaf around, going back to the window to enjoy the breeze.

Cao Guixiang stared out of the window and was so engrossed that she stood on her tiptoes.

“Little Junior Sister, what do you always look at from the second-floor window? You’ve been staring out this window for over half a month now,” Qin Guisheng said.

“I’m watching to see if Mr. Che is coming out to tell stories,” Cao Guixiang said.

Mr. Che tells those stale tales every day, if it’s not about the Three Kingdoms, it s about the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and occasionally stories about Yue Fei. We’ve heard them for so many years; aren’t you tired of them yet?” Qin Guisheng said, unable to understand, “It’s only the kids who’ve never heard them before that enjoy gathering around.”

Cao Guixiang gave him a disdainful look, “That’s old news you’re talking about. The stories now are about the Generals of the Yang Family.”

“You should have heard the stories about the Generals of the Yang Family long ago.”

“That’s what I like!”

“All right, all right, you like it. Manager Zhang said that tomorrow we’re to deliver herbal tea to the elders over 70 in the alley, and I think you should make some for Mr. Che too, seeing as you’ve listened to his storytelling for so long,” Qin Guisheng said, “Besides, if you want to listen to storytelling, you can do it at the first-floor entrance; Manager Zhang won’t say anything. What’s the point of listening from the second floor? Can you even hear clearly?”

“My ears are just fine, I can hear perfectly. The view from the second floor is so much nicer. What’s the fun in listening from the first floor?” Cao Guixiang said and pulled Qin Guisheng, getting ready to head downstairs.

“Enough with the break; Master is looking for you. If he scolds me too, it’ll be your fault!”

“Alright, alright, go easy, you’re pinching me. Let go, let go, I’ll come down with you.”