The Game of Life

The next day, Jiang Feng didn’t attend the club’s welcome event. He spent his time either in class or in the back kitchen helping Jiang Jianguo make pastries. Starting from four or five in the afternoon, the system prompt kept ringing almost nonstop, and the sound was so incessant that it almost made Jiang Feng’s head explode.

It seemed that the club recruitment had reached a fever pitch.

"Ding, you have completed the side quest [Keeping Up with the Times], and have received the reward item: [Promotional Board].”

Jiang Feng, delighted, continued to knead the dough as he saw Jiang Jianguo taking the freshly steamed custard buns out of the steamer and said,

“Uncle, after we finish this last batch, let’s not make any more, okay?”

"Sure thing!” Jiang Jianguo felt like he had finished a decade’s worth of pastries that day.

After two days of busy work, they put the last batch of custard buns into the steamer. Jiang Jianguo sat down on a stool in the kitchen, casually fanned himself with something at hand, and asked,

“Feng, I forgot to ask you yesterday, why did Sir suddenly think of coming to Alan City?”

"A guest asked Grandpa to come and cook,” Jiang Feng replied while cleaning up the kitchen utensils.

“One of the professors from our school invited Grandpa to make Clear Broth Willow Leaf Swallow Dish.”

"That’s a big dish!” Jiang Jianguo’s eyes lit up.

“Even your dad never had the chance to make that.”

Jiang Feng nodded and kept working with his hands, chatting intermittently with Jiang Jianguo.

As a father busy with work all day long, running a tailor shop that wasn’t doing well, and a wife obsessed with health and family ethics dramas, Jiang Jianguo was a semi-empty nester with a lot to say but no one to talk to. Finally catching a junior, he was naturally eager to get everything off his chest.

Just as Jiang Jianguo was talking about Jiang Zaidi, Jiang Feng’s eldest cousin, who was working overtime in the company every day, Jiang Feng’s phone rang. He saw that the call was from Wang Hao.

"Hello, Feng, we have a bit of trouble here. That, that…”

"What ‘that’ ‘that,’ give me the phone, Jiang Feng, what do you mean? You Chess Club set up all those free pastries and drinks, and our Home Economics Club is right next to you—I won’t even talk about that—but what’s with that Chen Mengxing from your club? He’s outright deceiving people! Our club had already secured a new member, and he just gave her a bag of pastries and lured her over to your side—what kind of behavior is that?”

Jiang Feng:…

He could even imagine Wang Hui roaring in front of him.

"Well, Wang Hui, let me talk to Wang Hao first to find out. I’m not there and don’t know the situation.”

"Hmph.”

"Hello, Hao, what’s going on with this ‘Chen senior’ stealing people you mentioned?” If what Wang Hui said was true, then Chen Mengxing really acted improperly.

"That junior sister really is a good prospect; she and Liu Qian are from the same high school and recognized each other. She has won the provincial chess championship title. Besides, we didn’t steal anyone; that junior sister didn’t say she was going to the Home Economics Club, she just took an application form,” Wang Hao said in a quiet voice.

Jiang Feng:…

Jiang Feng felt that if Wang Hui knew where he was, she would already be on her way with a kitchen knife in hand.

"Ahem, by the way, do you still have any plum juice? Give Wang Hui a cup of plum juice to calm her down.”

"Plum juice? That was gone a long time ago; we’ve given it all away with the applications. Oh, right, I think I saw Liu Qian secretly stash a bottle. Hang on.”

"Junior Sister Qian, hand over the plum juice from your thermos.”

"What plum juice? I didn’t bring a thermos!”

"Eh, eh, that’s not my thermos; it’s my roommate’s, really, she left it with me.”

Chairwoman Wang, you see, the matter has already…”

Jiang Feng waited on the phone for a moment until Wang Hui took over the call and said,

“Jiang Feng, you think a cup of plum juice is enough to send me away?”

She sounded a bit calmer.

"How’s the plum juice?” Jiang Feng asked.

"It’s… not bad.”

"You should know that my family has opened a restaurant on Food Street, right?”

"Yes, I know. The promotional flyers you guys made look just like those little restaurant ads. Chess Club members can enjoy a 10 percent discount on meals. You have to fill out a form and scan a QR code to follow the WeChat official account. Be careful, or I’ll report you to the student council!” Wang Hui threatened.

"Ahem… Let’s do this: We did go a bit overboard with that promotion. You’ve also tasted the plum juice, so I believe you have an idea of the skills of our restaurant. From now on, members of your Home Economics Club will receive a 5 percent discount when they eat at our restaurant. Make sure to show your club card!”

Wang Hui was silent for a moment,

“Ten percent.”

"No way. Ten percent is the exclusive benefit for our Chess Club. At most, it’s 6 percent off!”

"Eight percent.”

"Your Home Economics Club has over two hundred people. An 8 percent discount would literally eat through my restaurant. Six percent is the limit!”

After much haggling, Wang Hui finally compromised, and they settled on a 6 percent discount.

"Amin, go and change the flyers. Print a new batch, and add that members of our club can enjoy a 6 percent discount at Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant.”

Jiang Feng:…

"And make sure you add the QR code!”

That evening, the members of the club, busy with recruiting new members all day, gathered at the Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant. He Jiahui, Zhao Lin, and Chen Mengxing, the three who would always complain about being too busy in their senior year to check the group messages, somehow found the time to come for both lunch and dinner. The number of people paying for monthly meals and getting staff discounts at Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant grew a bit larger.

After a satisfying meal, it was time to showcase today’s achievements.

"Ta-da, ta-da, ta-da!” Zhao Yu took out a thick stack of filled membership application forms from his bag and slammed them on the table. The heavy

“thud” resonated, making everyone take notice.

“300 forms, all handed out?” Ji Yue’s eyes widened at the sight of the thick stack on the table.

"All handed out, and we even got off work early,” confirmed Zhao Yu with a nod.

Everyone’s gaze fixated on the application forms.

"What are you standing around for? Split them up and pick people!” Ji Yue urged.

Only then did the others snap out of their daze.

Selecting members, such an unfamiliar term, was now a part of the Chess Club’s reality.

They roughly divided the forms and began screening applicants.

"Wu Minqi, has won two provincial competitions. Qian, isn’t this your schoolmate?” Liu Zixuan showed the form to Liu Qian and exclaimed,

“Our club is on the rise!”

In the history of the Chess Club, anyone who had ever won a district-level competition was considered talented.

After several rounds of selection, they retained 19 applicants who had won awards at the city-level or higher, plus some with black belts in Taekwondo, national piano awards, expertise in flower arranging, martial arts, and other impressive skills that seemed unrelated to chess but counted as

“special talents.” Altogether, the Chess Club expected to recruit 26 new members this year, including Liu Qian.

After reviewing the resumes of the new members, the veteran club members felt they had no face to stay in the Chess Club.

"I’ve made up my mind!” Ji Yue slammed her hand on the table.

“I’ll be the one to go ask the student council for funding this year.”

"Senior sister, going there might be a bit…” Jiang Feng wanted to remind her that she had actually already graduated.

"What are you ‘what’ about? The president of the student council hasn’t changed; can’t he recognize me?” Thinking about the hardships she faced as club president in the previous years when asking for funding, and then looking at the pile of membership application forms before her, Ji Yue felt that she must shout out the words she had wanted to say for three years to those penny-pinching members of the student council.

Chess Club.. Pay up!