The Game of Life

Chapter 460: Chapter 458: Jiang Feng’s Story (4000 words)

When Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi arrived at the Taifeng Building’s kitchen, they discovered that everyone there was reading. In that moment, Jiang Feng felt as if he had returned to his high school days, not stepping into the kitchen of Taifeng Building but an early morning study classroom instead.

Although there were only Mr. Jiang Jiankang and Ji Xue in the kitchen.

Mr. Jiang Jiankang, worth two people, had placed a small stool at the door, hunched over with a curved back and squinted eyes, engrossed in reading the “Taste” magazine up close.

This focused state of reading was unmistakably akin to that of students cramming in the library as exams approached.

Jiang Feng was greatly shocked.

As the son of Mrs. Jiang, Mr. Jiang Jiankang had inherited his mother’s lack of interest in studying, treating school like a prison and always looking for ways to escape once inside. In an effort to avoid studying, he devoted himself to learning to cook, and managed to surpass Jiang Jianguo, who had more talent, to become the sole appointed successor of his grandfather’s culinary skills. He even briefly landed a position as a chef in a state-owned hotel.

Although a significant reason was that Comrade Jiang Jianguo had voluntarily given up at that time.

In Jiang Feng’s memory, Mr. Jiang Jiankang had never touched a book. As a child, Jiang Feng even suspected his father was allergic to books.

Now, the possibly book-allergic Mr. Jiang Jiankang was actually holding the “Taste” magazine, reading it with dedication. Jiang Feng thought that if Mr. Jiang Jiankang’s primary school teacher saw this, they would probably be moved to tears.

“Dad,” said Jiang Feng, deeply moved as he approached with the magazine in hand, “make way, I can’t get past.”

Mr. Jiang Jiankang, sitting at the door, was blocking the path.

“Feng is here, huh.” Jiang Jiankang said, shifting to the side to let Jiang Feng pass quickly, his eyes seemingly glued to the magazine, unable to look away.

“This story is written so well, I didn’t expect Mr. Xu Cheng to not only be good at eating but also so adept at crafting novels. Look at this tale he wrote about your great-aunt and great-uncle, it’s as if it’s the real thing,” exclaimed Jiang Jiankang.

Jiang Feng: …

“Dad, that is the real thing. I told it to Mr. Xu Cheng,” Jiang Feng said.

Jiang Jiankang’s eyes finally shifted away from the magazine, he looked up at Jiang Feng, full of disbelief.

“You told it to Mr. Xu Cheng? How do you know about your great-aunt and great-uncle’s youth?” Jiang Jiankang asked.

“Great-uncle told me about it. Remember a few months before great-uncle passed away, when he was often confused? He kept mistaking me for his grandfather, and told me all about his and great-aunt’s past,” Jiang Feng replied.

Jiang Jiankang, finally understanding, buried his head back in the magazine.

Mr. Jiang Jiankang at the door was reading “Taste,” while Ji Xue nestled inside was also reading “Taste,” the two of them stretched across the entire kitchen, one inside, one out.

Jiang Feng thought about it and decided to nestle himself in the middle of the kitchen to read “Taste.”

Witnessing all this, Wu Minqi: …

Without a copy of “Taste” to read, Wu Minqi neither was excited nor anxious. Besides, she was not the first one from the Wu family to be featured in “Taste,” as her grandfather had made it onto the pages of “Taste” several years ago, not just once either.

Back then, “Taste” was a monthly publication, and Xu Cheng’s articles were very honest, discussing only dishes and nothing else, seldom even about chefs. To extend the length of his articles, Xu Cheng had to laboriously come up with a long list of descriptive words and sentences about the dishes’ appearance, aroma, and taste, resulting in paragraphs full of parallel structures. Sometimes, a single long sentence could contain more than ten different idioms, leading one to suspect that Xu Cheng actually began his writing career with intricate romance novels.

Without a magazine to read, Wu Minqi got on with her own work, waiting for one of the other three to finish so she could borrow their copy for a look.

Jiang Feng, previously coerced by Mrs. Jiang into reading Wu Minqi’s article, was now holding the right to choose in his own hands, and naturally wanted to read his own article first.

Because Xu Cheng had turned Jiang Feng’s piece into a short story, it contained a lot of narrative, filled with lengthy passages, and consequently, it took up the most number of pages and space in the issue.

Jiang Feng’s article was four times the length of Wu Minqi’s, and it’s worth noting that Jiang Feng had the fewest photos out of the four featured chefs. There was only one full-body shot taken in the kitchen, a close-up of the Sweet and Sour Yam, and a photo of the Li Hongzhang hodgepodge, with the one of the Sweet and Sour Yam looking particularly tempting.

Perhaps to highlight the threads pulled from the yam, the close-up of the Sweet and Sour Yam focused on the piece held by the chopsticks and the strands that were pulled out, relegating a whole plateful of yams to the background.

The white yam, tinged with a hint of yellow, was coated with a thin layer of sugar that was captured with crystalline clarity. The thin strands of sugar looked as fragile as spider silk that could drift away with a breath, yet they remained connected without break.

Jiang Feng expressed high praise for the photographer from “Taste” magazine, while also lamenting that these few photos were quite small, especially his own full-body shot, which was much smaller compared to Wu Minqi’s.

After appreciating the photos, Jiang Feng started to read the article in earnest.

‘In most cases, if I personally take up the task of writing an article, I begin by mentioning the glorious resume of the chef or the praises of the diners. Even for an insignificant food stall hidden in the alleys of a small country in the south, the chefs I admire always have an impressive history and rich past. But this chef posed a challenge for me, as he is very young, with no rich past to speak of, and even a monotonous resume compared to his peers. He even completely gave up on cooking for a substantial period.

As I mentioned in the previous articles, the chefs I wrote about are friends of my good friend, Mr. Han Guishan, who had recently hosted a rather informal culinary competition that was even somewhat whimsical. Though the competition was not official, the participants surprised me with their excellence, uncovering many young talents and dust-covered gems.

Mr. Jiang Feng is the biggest surprise among the four to me, as I had never heard of such a young chef before. Though he, like the other three chefs, comes from a family with deep culinary roots, but…’

Jiang Feng had just read the beginning when he was surprised to find that Xu Cheng had started going off on a tangent right from the start.

This article is not a mere food review from the get-go.

Instead, it’s an opener loaded with personal musings and doesn’t forget to plug Mr. Han Guishan’s establishment.

Registration has already begun for the 3rd Good Taste Cooking Competition, with the event dates mirroring last year’s.

Jiang Feng continued reading, finding hundreds of words of digression in which Li Mingyi casually recounts the Jiang Family’s culinary history and lightly touches on the reasons for Jiang Feng rediscovering his passion for cooking. Only then did he get to the main point, which was Jiang Feng’s two dishes—Sweet and Sour Yam and Li Hongzhang hodgepodge.

“The first time I had the pleasure of tasting Mr. Jiang Feng’s Sweet and Sour Yam during the semifinals of the cooking competition, I found it stunning. This dish possesses a unique magic, not simply in its excellent control of fire and flavor, but it’s a dish that allows diners to taste the joy of the chef. Initially, I thought it a fluke, a lucky chance to experience such a special dish. An opportunity so rare, a single tasting would be unforgettable for life.

I’ve had similar dishes before, and behind these special dishes, there are often heartbreaking stories that enable the chef to infuse the dish with emotion. But this Sweet and Sour Yam is unique because it’s rare joy, the chef’s beautiful sentiment towards love. (Jiang Feng was confessed to by his current girlfriend just before making this dish.)

Half a year later, thanks to an interview arrangement, I was fortunate to taste the freshly made Sweet and Sour Yam in the kitchen once again. Compared to the dish half a year ago, the Sweet and Sour Yam I tasted this time had improved significantly in all aspects. Sweet and crunchy, refreshing and tender, terms like crispy outside and glutinous inside that I had overused were inadequate to describe this plate of Sweet and Sour Yam.

What had changed was the overall quality of the dish; what remained constant was the emotion it contained. I had naively thought that the initial dazzle of love would soon fade, and the amazement I felt at the first tasting would not persist. The truth proved that I might not understand love due to my age, with a heart willing but powerless, I could no longer grasp the world of today’s youth. I am glad that this feeling is still preserved in this dish, and as a diner, I hope it remains forever.

If I were to score this dish, within the hundred-point system, I would be willing to give it a 90 or even higher score, not only because of the beautiful emotion contained within the dish but also because of its impeccable taste and quality. So far, I have not tasted a Sweet and Sour Yam more exquisite than the one made by Mr. Jiang Feng.

Having discussed Sweet and Sour Yam, I want to focus particularly on Mr. Jiang Feng’s other signature dish—Li Hongzhang hodgepodge. Before I discuss this dish, I must elaborate on a not so pleasant story that is intimately connected to it, as it’s this very story that helped me understand the dish’s special power.

Li Hongzhang hodgepodge is…”

Jiang Feng glanced further down, only to see the next two pages fully dedicated to an account of Li Mingyi and Jiang Huiqin’s story.

The narrative was told to him by Jiang Feng, with some minor changes in detail, and it was filled with numerous parallelisms and strange descriptions that were unnecessary. It was exactly these parallelisms and strange descriptions that expanded what could have been condensed into a page into two.

Despite being loaded with a superfluous monologue and parallelisms, objectively speaking, Li Mingyi’s writing is quite decent, and the descriptions are on point. If Li Mingyiframe felt that food critique was not fully showcasing his talent and decided to pivot to writing romance novels, he could likely expect decent sales.

Jiang Feng skimmed through the story in no time, realizing there was only a little bit left regarding the Li Hongzhang hodgepodge, and himself.

“For these reasons, just like Sweet and Sour Yam, Li Hongzhang hodgepodge has become a dish so special that just one taste can induce unstoppable tears. Hence, even though in terms of flavor, knifework, fire control, and seasoning, it falls far short of Sweet and Sour Yam, I still highly recommend it. If you prefer not to cry in front of a crowd, I suggest savoring this dish in a private room, as none of us wish to look too unsightly while crying in public.

If I were to rate it, setting aside the emotional element and the unique experience it provides to the diner, I am willing to give it a passing score. The complexity of the dish is evident and it’s hard to find any considerable flaw in any aspect—if you don’t mind crying while eating, it’s still worth a try.

Mr. Jiang Feng can definitely be considered a dark horse in the culinary world this year, with a deep family heritage and solid fundamental skills. His creativity and understanding of the culinary arts are impressive, and I believe he will soon make a name for himself among famous chefs. The only thing that might not be considered a weakness is that I don’t see any strong personal style, making it hard to determine his true specialty. I had a brief chat with his father and grandfather; he seems very willing to try new things, his learning is eclectic, and though he learns quickly, he doesn’t focus on any one area, yet he doesn’t seem to do things superficially.”

Several years ago, I had a brief conversation with Master Peng Changping across the ocean. Master Peng Changping said that Chinese culinary arts are profound and extensive. In recent years, there have been many talented chefs in Chinese cuisine, yet none have matched Master Jiang Chengde of Taifeng Building, which is indeed regrettable. Coincidentally, Mr. Jiang Feng is the great-grandson of Master Jiang Chengde. As time turns, everything seems to start anew; I only hope he can continue the glory of the past.”

Jiang Feng, having finished the entire article: …

Although Mr. Xu Cheng’s evaluation of him was very high, and he even ranked Jiang Feng along with Peng Changping and Jiang Chengde at the end of the article, what Jiang Feng remembered after reading it were only Li Mingyi, Jiang Huiqin, and Mrs. Chen.

Especially the part where Jiang Huiqin asked Mrs. Chen in Chinatown, Jiang Feng began to wonder if Xu Cheng had experienced the same memories as him. The character portrayal was so vivid, using various techniques to highlight the helplessness, cruelty, and ruthlessness of that era, it was like a passage that could be used for Chinese reading comprehension.

Jiang Feng had figured out the problem and thought of a question regarding the underlined paragraph that used ‘indifference’ three times, asking what each ‘indifference’ represented.

Jiang Feng read the article from beginning to end again, but still, what he remembered were only Li Mingyi, Jiang Huiqin, and Mrs. Chen.

Jiang Feng felt that Xu Cheng’s description of Mrs. Chen was more than that of him, as if his interview was just incidental. The real protagonists of the article seemed to be Li Mingyi, Jiang Huiqin, and Mrs. Chen.

What exactly went wrong?

Jiang Feng sank into deep thought.

Jiang Jiankang had already finished reading “Taste” and, holding the magazine, walked over to Wu Minqi to ask if she would like to read it.

“Dad, did you read my article?” Jiang Feng asked.

“Of course, I did.” Jiang Jiankang’s expression was like Mrs. Jiang who had just finished watching a TV series and couldn’t wait to share the plot with someone, “It’s written so well. That Mrs. Chen is just so hateful; it made my skin crawl.”

Jiang Feng: ???

“Anything else?” Jiang Feng pressed on.

“Your great-aunt and great-uncle had it really tough back then, two people venturing into a foreign land, completely out of their element, with neither country nor home to call their own, and then such a big incident happened in the family. It’s no wonder the Li Hongzhang hodgepodge you made is so tear-inducing. If I were cooking and thought of such a story, I’d definitely feel so sad I’d want to cry. Son, think of something else next time you cook,” Jiang Jiankang sighed.

Jiang Feng: …

Dad, do you still remember that the article was actually my interview?