The Game of Life

In the culinary industry, taking an apprentice is an absolute big deal. Gathering a bunch of relatives and friends to throw a banquet and have the disciple bow and offer tea in front of witnesses is not surprising. However, such grandeur is generally reserved for masters. Given that Jiang Feng, the true but unknown owner of Taifeng Building, had only recently gained a bit of fame in the culinary world, it was natural that he could not put on such an extravagant display.

Moreover, Jiang Feng was young. If word got out that he was taking an apprentice, most people would probably take it as a joke or a silly endeavor by someone young and ignorant. Therefore, there was no need to make a big fuss over the apprenticeship—as long as the intention was clear.

After discussing with the various uncles in the Jiang Family as well as the two elderly Siirs, everyone decided that the next day, under the witness of the elder members of the Jiang Family, Ji Xia would offer a cup of tea to Jiang Feng in a simple teaching ceremony to fulfill the necessary formalities.

Early the next morning, Ji Xia rummaged through her suitcase to find her cleanest, most tidy, and relatively formal clothes. With Ji Xue’s help and guidance, she got dressed and tidied up her appearance before heading downstairs to Jiang Feng’s home.

The living room in Jiang Feng’s house had been rearranged. The coffee table and some other obstructing clutter were moved away, the sofa was repositioned, and the small two-bedroom apartment was crammed full of Jiang Family Members. Peripheral spectators of the teaching ceremony like the fours aunts, fives aunts, Jiang Jianshe, and Jiang Jianye could only stand in the dining area, as there was no room left in the living room.

Jiang Shoucheng and Jiang Zaidi not to mention did not even have space in the dining area and had to either go into the kitchen or peer from afar in the bedroom, clinging to the door frame. If they stretched their necks long enough, they might just be able to see something.

Ji Xia was stunned by the scene that the Jiang Family Members had prepared.

She knew her master had many relatives, and in their village, there were families with numerous siblings who celebrated festive occasions with much hustle and bustle, requiring several tables as one was never enough. Some families with a dozen or so aunts and uncles needed to extend the dinner tables from the living room all the way to the front door when having their reunion dinner, making family meals as lively as wedding banquets.

However, what Ji Xia had never imagined was that it wasn’t just the number of her master’s relatives that was impressive, but the amount of space they occupied.

A dozen people standing in the living and dining rooms gave off the impression of a crowd of twenty or thirty people.

For today’s teaching ceremony, Mrs. Wang Xiulian had even taken the time to revisit her old craft and, with her not so exquisite and even somewhat haphazard skills, selected an auspicious time.

Ji Xia had arrived, and so had the auspicious time.

The ancient teaching ceremony had three steps: first was to pay homage to the ancestral masters, second was to perform the teaching ceremony, which involved offering tea, and third, the master would give instructions, laying out the rules, and if necessary, bestow a name.

At Jiang Feng’s place, the teaching ceremony consisted only of the second step, offering tea.

It would be fine if they could pay homage to the ancestral masters, but the problem now was that not even Jiang Family Members knew for certain who their ancestral master was. Tracing back from Jiang Chengde, neither Jiang Weiguo nor Jiang Weiming had any idea, and Jiang Chengde wasn’t one to discuss his ancestors’ achievements. Besides, Taifeng Building’s fall was directly attributed to Jiang Chengde’s father, making Jiang Chengde particularly averse to mentioning the Jiang Family’s former glory.

The generation that initiated the Jiang Family’s culinary ventures and the true founder of Jiang Family Dishes had long vanished amid the fires and chaos of war, lost to the river of time.

And now, everyone was aware that they were about to witness the present-day glory of the Jiang Family.

To Transmit and Instruct—the most honorable and grand thing a chef could conceive—meant not only that there was a successor but also that their culinary arts were recognized.

Under everyone’s gaze, Ji Xia took steps toward Jiang Feng.

It had been many years since the Jiang Family had taken an apprentice. The only one present who had done so was Jiang Weiming, but even when he took his apprentice, the teaching ceremony was no longer practiced, and even the offering of tea was done sneakily by Jiang Weisheng at a convenient moment. Thus, nobody in the Jiang Family actually knew if there were other steps in the teaching ceremony besides offering tea, but Ji Xia knew.

She remembered her grandmother telling her that when taking an apprentice, the disciple was supposed to kowtow to the master.

She had intended to do just that, and had hesitated the previous night over whether it should be one bow or three. But now, with so many people watching, she felt timid.

Ji Xia also remembered her grandmother saying that bowing had fallen out of fashion.

Jiang Feng, dressed in a long robe, sat in a chair watching Ji Xia approaching him.

The robe he wore was made for him by a tailor at the behest of Sir on his 18th birthday. To Sir, although a suit was formal attire, that was Western-style; Chinese-style formal attire was the long robe. Every child in the Jiang Family received a long robe from Sir upon coming of age; however, whether it was the three older cousins of Jiang Feng or his several uncles, even including Mr. Jiang Jiankang, their robes could only be buried deep in the closet because they no longer fit.

There was a noticeable difference between their appearance at 18 and now.

Only Jiang Feng remained the same in stature and height, and not only could he fit into his clothes, but they were a snug fit.

Ji Xia walked up to Jiang Feng, knelt before him, picked up the teacup from the table, raised the cup to eyebrow level, bent at the waist, and respectfully presented the tea to Jiang Feng.

“Master, please drink the tea.”

Ji Xia was so nervous that she couldn’t stop biting her lower lip.

Jiang Feng reached out to take the teacup and suddenly felt that it was very heavy in his hands, as heavy as a thousand catties.

Jiang Feng brought the teacup to his lips, took a sip, and then gently placed it down.

Jiang Feng didn’t drink tea; to him, all tea tasted bitter, regardless of the sweetness or aftertaste others spoke of—he couldn’t taste any of it. It was as if he was born without the cells for tea-tasting or simply didn’t have a taste for it.

But this time, it seemed he tasted something different.

He tasted sweetness and he tasted responsibility.

He had watched closely as the tea was brewed: the scalding hot water poured into the cup, the tea leaves tumbling and unfurling in the boiling water, swirling, floating, and finally settling—Jiang Feng saw it all, even when he took a sip, the tea was still slightly hot.

A disciple should regard the master as a parent, and the master should also treat the disciple as their own child.

Though Ji Xia’s wish to take Jiang Feng as her master might have seemed like the impulsive words of a child, and Jiang Feng’s agreement to take her on seemed like a jest, now that the master-disciple relationship was established, they both had to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities.

Just like Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weisheng, where Jiang Weiming taught everything he knew, and Jiang Weisheng treated him with utmost sincerity.

“Applause.”

Clapping filled the living room as the two elder gentlemen smiled at Jiang Feng and Ji Xia, their faces brimming with satisfaction. Mr. Jiang Jiankang and Mrs. Wang Xiulian were even moved to the brink of tears.

Ji Xia turned her head and saw Ji Xue at the door, clapping and smiling, albeit with red-rimmed eyes.

Everyone present felt as if they were witnessing something remarkable indeed.

“Get up,” Jiang Feng said as he helped Ji Xia to her feet.

The ritual of acknowledging the master was complete.

“Starting from today, you will be learning to cook seriously with me. There will be no room for complaints or weariness. Once you’ve drawn the bow, there’s no turning back, so there’s no room for regret once you start down this path,” Jiang Feng said with a smile.

“Master, I will work hard,” Ji Xia responded.

“Mom, you guys head to the shop first. Qiqi and I will take Xiaxia to get her hair cut, and then we’ll go to the shopping mall next to our store to buy her some clothes. We’ll be back by lunchtime for business,” Jiang Feng began to report the schedule to Mrs. Wang Xiulian.

Mrs. Wang Xiulian, moved and emotional, wiped the tears brimming in the corners of her eyes, as if she had just watched a deeply touching movie.

“Buy a few extra outfits for Xiaxia, and make sure to get an expensive haircut. It’s not easy for a girl to grow her hair so long—don’t get it cut as casually as you did before, settling for a ten-yuan haircut,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian instructed.

Jiang Feng: …

Mom, be clear-headed, wasn’t it you who picked out that barbershop I used to go to?

“Oh.”