The Game of Life

Zhang Chu thought he had fallen in love with Cao Guixiang at first sight and then pursued her, leading him to marry his later wife.

But in reality, Cao Guixiang had set her sights on him a long time ago, even going so far as to break the window frames of Yonghe House.

Luckily for Zhang Chu, he had fallen for Cao Guixiang at first sight, otherwise, who knows how many times the window frames of Yonghe House would have been broken.

Mentally exclaiming a few times that Cao Guixiang was indeed a she-wolf, Jiang Feng silently opened the attribute panel to check the dish he had just acquired.

[Crab stuffed oranges, C Level]

Creator: Cao Guixiang

Dish Details: This is a traditional and famous dish known throughout history for its complicated and meticulous cooking process and its rich and unique flavor. Although there were some mistakes made during the making of this dish which led to a final taste that wasn’t quite satisfactory, because of the special mood of the person eating the dish, it became one of the unforgettable dishes of Cao Guixiang’s life, and when used in combination with the special dish Zhajiangmian, it could greatly enhance the flavor.

Number of times it can be cooked in a day (0/10)

Jiang Feng:…

This game, knowing that he had already guessed the dish from Zhang Chu’s memory, actually spoiled it by telling him straight up that the next dish in the memory sequence was Zhajiangmian.

It really seemed like it was on a rampage of resignation.

Crab stuffed oranges weren’t really difficult, it’s just that oranges and crabs weren’t in season yet, so the earliest he could practice making this dish would be around October.

Jiang Feng was more interested in the Sunflower Duck and Braised Big Black Sea Cucumber made by Master Peng. This time, he had seen the complete first half of Braised Big Black Sea Cucumber in his memory, and he had previously watched Cao Guixiang make the latter half and now had seen Master Peng do it too. Maybe because Cao Guixiang and Master Peng had made it look so smooth, Jiang Feng had begun to illusion himself into thinking, “I’ve already seen it twice, I could do it too.”

If all else failed, and if he botched the dish, he could still ask the two old sirs for advice.

Jiang Feng’s mind was rapidly turning over his clever little plans, and he decided to find a time in the next few days to try making the dish.

Compared to the Spiny Sea Cucumber, the price of Steamed Sea Cucumber was much more affordable, so using it for practice wouldn’t cause Mrs. Wang Xiulian any distress.

It shouldn’t cause any distress.

Initially, Jiang Feng was all set to finish both memories in one go, but now, having finished Cao Guixiang’s, he found he wasn’t all that interested in Zhang Chu’s anymore.

Cao Guixiang’s memory wasn’t long, not even a full day, but watching Master Peng and the others make all those dishes, and learning as he watched, had taken a lot of energy, so he decided to set aside Zhang Chu’s memory for the time being and come back to it tomorrow or the day after.

Jiang Feng decided to happily watch some stupid TV drama to relax.

Time always flies when watching stupid TV dramas. The male and female leads were being silly in the show, and Jiang Feng was chatting nonsense with Wang Hao on WeChat as he sat on the couch. In the blink of an eye, it was 10 o’clock.

Remembering what Mrs. Wang Xiulian had told him, Jiang Feng had wanted to invite Wang Hao to come to Beiping for a couple of days, but since Wang Hao was busy showing affection to his girlfriend and didn’t have time to care about their superficial roommate relationship, Wang Hao said he would come over during the National Day holiday when he had free time.

Yes, Wang Hao had confirmed his relationship with Zhenzhen, and in the short span of a few months, he had lost another 20 pounds, successfully completing the perfect transition from fatso to a man of ordinary appearance.

After chatting with Wang Hao, Jiang Feng went to take a shower. By the time he was out of the shower, it was already half-past ten, and Wu Minqi had still not returned.

Feeling it strange, Jiang Feng called her to find out where she was.

“Hello, Qiqi, have you come back yet? Where are you? Do you want me to come pick you up?” Jiang Feng said as soon as the call went through.

“I’m not back yet; I’m still at Taifeng Building,” Wu Minqi replied, “Sun Jikai is with me. He’s had some new ideas about the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon’s sauce. Do you want to come over?”

“I’ll be right there,” Jiang Feng said, hanging up the phone, grabbing his keys, and heading out the door.

The sauce for the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon wasn’t the point, the point was Sun Jikai. This guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes who didn’t look like good news, who liked to flirt with young girls, was now alone in a room with his wife at 10:30 at night.

Especially since this guy had just been dumped by his girlfriend recently and was in a healing period from a bruised heart. What if Sun Jikai suddenly lost his wits, remembering the green days when he and Wu Minqi were young and barely spoke, having ill intentions? Then wouldn’t Jiang Feng have to change his name to Jiang Green?

The crap idol drama he had just watched was filmed exactly like this, and when he turned off the TV, he felt like the male secondary character’s hair looked a bit green.

Jiang Feng arrived at Taifeng Building close to 11 PM, the front door was already closed, and he entered the kitchen directly through the back door.

The hall was pitch-dark, while the kitchen was brightly lit. Sun Jikai and Wu Minqi, a man and a woman alone together, were in the room, with a line of deboned pigeons lying on the cooking station.

With this number, they wouldn’t be able to finish them all until one or two in the morning.

Every stove was lit, simmering pigeon soup, and many plates of the completed Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon were placed next to Sun Jikai.

Jiang Feng was somewhat taken aback by the quantity of pigeons and turned to ask Wu Minqi, “Did he make all of these?”

Wu Minqi nodded helplessly, “I just helped with deboning. He did the rest, and he hasn’t stopped at all for the past few hours.”

Sun Jikai must be obsessed, he’s really taking on the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon head-on.

Sun Jikai was making the thickening sauce, following the steps they had researched earlier, which were similar to the steps Jiang Feng remembered seeing Cao Guixiang and Master Peng perform, but the sauce did not flow down like a waterfall.

Just like before, something was always missing.

Jiang Feng took a small taste with a spoon, and the flavor was far from what Sun Guanyun had made before.

His intuition told him that the difference between their Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon and Sun Guanyun’s might not just be the sauce.

There was something else, something crucial, and they had no idea about it.

Jiang Feng began to recall every word Sun Guanyun had said when he taught him how to make Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon months ago, but he couldn’t remember much. He remembered that the thickening sauce was crucial, for Sun Guanyun had said it could maintain the pigeon’s temperature, and the texture of Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon depended on the temperature. Only by finding the perfect temperature could the dish be perfected.

“Sun Jikai, did your grandfather ever tell you that the key to this dish is the temperature?” Jiang Feng asked.

“Temperature?” Sun Jikai was stunned, clueless. “My grandfather only ever told me that the key to this dish was the sauce.”

Jiang Feng: ???

Sun Jikai: ???

The two looked at each other, feeling like they had learned a counterfeit Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon.

“You must have remembered wrong,” they said in unison.

Jiang Feng could only turn his attention to Wu Minqi, who had also been present during the teaching that day.

“Sir Sun indeed said that the key to this dish is the temperature, which can determine the texture of Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon,” Wu Minqi said.

Sun Jikai felt even more lost, as if he could be a counterfeit himself, for he didn’t recall Sun Guanyun ever saying anything of the sort.

Seeing Sun Jikai’s life-questioning expression, Jiang Feng seemed to have realized something and asked, “When was the last time your grandfather taught you this dish?”

“More than a year ago, almost two years,” Sun Jikai replied.

Jiang Feng felt like he understood.

What Sun Jikai had learned was not wrong, and neither was what he had learned. It was just that Sun Guanyun had further refined the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon in the year since.

Or rather, Sun Guanyun had discovered a better way to make Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon.

Temperature was just as important as the sauce. The sauce could enrich the flavor of the stuffing in the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon, while the temperature could ensure the flavor of the pigeon itself.

Jiang Feng finally understood what was amiss. In Cao Guixiang’s memory, Master Peng flavored the decorative carrots when making sunflower ducks because anything served at the table was intended to be eaten, regardless of whether it was for decoration.

They often only ate the stuffing and not the pigeon when consuming Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon because it was well-known that the stuffing was the essence. But just as Master Peng had said, anything served at the table was intended to be eaten, and as chefs, they must ensure not only the taste of the stuffing but also the flavor of the pigeon itself.

Jiang Feng felt like he knew how to make Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon now.

‘Sun Jikai, let me give it a try,” Jiang Feng said.