The Game of Life

At a banquet, there are only so many good dishes, even at a Jiang Family feast, even when the dishes are prepared by two esteemed seniors. There are only a few dishes that are truly worth setting aside fraternal bonds to compete for.

Even the eagerly anticipated Roasted Pig has its best cuts in limited quantities. No matter how superb Jiang Weiming’s culinary skills might be, he couldn’t make different parts, with varying levels of fat, taste equally savory, juicy, tender, and delicious.

Therefore, the war over the dinner table from the outset, escalating to a fever pitch, and to its conclusion actually spanned just a few minutes.

A few minutes later, Jiang Feng belched.

In the heat of the intense battle, Jiang Feng had forgotten his original plan in his haste, consuming two pancakes, five slices of Roasted Pig, and one mooncake. Although he wasn’t full, the sudden stop made him involuntarily belch.

Jiang Shoucheng, who was absorbed in his Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon, saw Jiang Feng belch and handed over a can of cola, “Drink a cola to settle it.”

Jiang Feng took the cola and guzzled it down. He let out another carbon dioxide-filled burp and continued eating.

Ji Xia, who had witnessed all this, was astonished!!!

So drinking water after a meal really works!

Ji Xia followed suit, opening the cola in front of her and poured half the bottle down her throat.

“Burp.”

This was a carbonated, stuffed burp.

“Burp.” Ji Xia covered her mouth, feeling she couldn’t quite control her burps.

Hearing the two consecutive burps, Jiang Junlian turned to look at Ji Xia. Seeing that the piece of Roasted Pig in her bowl hadn’t been touched, she asked, “Are you really full?”

Ji Xia nodded repeatedly.

“Then let me help you eat that piece, don’t let it go to waste.” Jiang Junlian took the Roasted Pig back.

“Are you still going to eat this Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon? Little brother said it was specially saved for you.” Jiang Junlian eyed Ji Xia’s Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon.

Ji Xia shook her head again and again.

Jiang Junlian walked away with the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon.

“How about this orange, still eating it?”

Ji Xia continued to shake her head.

Jiang Junlian took away the crab-stuffed orange once more.

Jiang Junlian gave up a prime cut of Roasted Pig, and in return, reclaimed the piece she had given up, the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon, and a crab-stuffed orange.

Jiang Junqing watched all this with a meaningful look at Jiang Junlian.

A master indeed.

“Sis, share half of that Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon with me!”

…

The Mid-Autumn Festival banquet was lively and bustling.

Jiang Feng’s table relied entirely on the bickering of sisters Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing; the Jiang sons were all quite mature and composed, focusing solely on eating without the idle time for talking.

Jiang Feng’s table was relatively quiet, but the table of elders was quite lively. Led by the eldest aunt, the Jiang daughters-in-law group first extolled Mrs. Jiang’s pancakes, then took turns extravagantly praising the dishes prepared by the two senior gentlemen. The sincerity peaked when praising the Roasted Pig, with the eldest aunt using seven idioms in a row to describe it, nearly leaving the second aunt at a loss for words.

At the end of the meal, the Jiang daughters-in-law group did not forget to lavish praise on Professor Li and his wife. Although they were not well-acquainted, it didn’t impede their flattery. After all, praising someone is like writing an essay; as the saying goes, ‘the world’s essays are greatly plagiarized’, and the same goes for flattery. Stick to a central point, the rest is all blarney; as long as the words are correct, the flattery is deemed successful.

By the end of the dinner party, Chen Suhua had some doubts about her self-perception.

“My eldest daughter-in-law, although she seems indifferent at times, is a good person, especially with her words—she sure can talk,” Mrs. Jiang commented while clearing up the dishes, still looking quite pleased as she spoke to Chen Suhua.

Mrs. Jiang was already contemplating whether to make pancakes for her eloquent eldest daughter-in-law the next morning.

“She really has a way with words,” Chen Suhua agreed wholeheartedly. “As soon as she opens her mouth, she speaks directly to our hearts.”

“You can say that again. It’s just too bad I only had five boys and didn’t have a daughter…,” Mrs. Jiang paused, thought about her two granddaughters who loved to eat, were lazy, didn’t do well in school, but had sweet tongues, and suddenly felt that having a daughter might not be so great after all.

“How so?” Chen Suhua didn’t realize how quickly Mrs. Jiang’s train of thought had shifted and was still on the previous topic.

“I would make her study hard and not think about being lazy and slippery with sweet words all day long.”

Chen Suhua: ???

That’s not what you seemed to mean just now.

Mrs. Jiang’s two granddaughters, who were adept at shirking duties and being slippery, were now interacting with Ji Xia.

“Xiaxia, have you ever been to the Great Wall?”

“No.”

“Been to the Forbidden Palace?”

“No.”

“Seen the flag raising ceremony?”

“No.”

“You’re being too much, little brother!” The sisters cried out in unison, turning their frustration toward Jiang Feng, who was discussing cooking techniques with Wu Minqi, or rather, involved in a romantic talk.

Jiang Feng: ???

“Xiaxia has had Peking Duck,” Jiang Feng said.

“Twice.”

Rampage!

Considering it was a holiday, even the cruelest landlords would give their apprentices half a day off, and even high school students would get a half-day for the Mid-Autumn Festival. Ji Xia was not an ordinary apprentice; she was a gold-medal apprentice who worked every day of the year with no days off, no salary, and was even responsible for maintaining Jiang Feng’s household cleanliness. On this Mid-Autumn Day, capitalist Jiang Feng decided to be generous. In view of the holiday, he decided to give Ji Xia half a day off to go out and have fun with the sisters Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing, also approving a sum of money for their outing.

“Xiaxia,” Jiang Feng approached Ji Xia with a smile, “you’ve worked hard today. You don’t have to go to the store later. Go out and have fun with your two mentors.”

“Yes, that’s great!” Jiang Junlian readily agreed on behalf of Ji Xia, her eyes clearly conveying the message ‘give us money.’

Of course, Jiang Feng had to give them money, especially to Jiang Junlian, since Ji Xia didn’t have a mobile phone and Jiang Feng didn’t carry cash himself.

“Eight hundred!” Jiang Junlian started with an exorbitant demand.

“Eight hundred? What are you planning to do? No more than three hundred!” Jiang Feng cut in half and even knocked off one hundred.

“At least six hundred. We’re taking Xiaxia out for Peking Duck. She deserves better than having had it only twice,” Jiang Junlian argued, almost as if to say, ‘I’m the real victim here, having only had Peking Duck once myself.’

“Three hundred is plenty for three people to have Peking Duck. You think you—oh, six hundred, is it? I’ll transfer it via WeChat,” Jiang Feng said, pulling out his phone and completing the transaction.

“Come back early, ideally before nine thirty,” Jiang Feng instructed.

Jiang Junlian grabbed Ji Xia by the hand and they ran outside, excited like little piglets being let out: “Xiaxia, let me tell you, the Peking Duck at the restaurant I visited before is really delicious. Junqing and I will take you there right now.”

“But we just finished eating…”

“It’s fine. We can start eating again once we get there. If you can’t finish it, I’ll help you,” Jiang Junlian said enthusiastically.

“I can help you eat too!” Jiang Junqing chimed in, seizing the opportunity.

“Oh, right.” Jiang Junlian suddenly stopped, took a few steps back, found her own mother, “Mom, when you go back later, can you help us take back the couple of mooncakes we dismantled? The rest are for Sir Li. Make sure to bring those few we opened back, yes! We’re off to have fun with Xiaxia.”

“I got it. Be careful on the road and come back early,” Aunt said with a wry smile, and then turned to Chen Suhua, “My daughters are more mischievous than boys, especially Junlian. Her four brothers weren’t nearly as rambunctious when they were little. Today, they insisted on bringing over so many mooncakes, saying they wanted you to try them. I told her you two elders couldn’t possibly finish so many, and do you know what she said? She said two boxes were for Da Hua. She said Da Hua would feel lonely without mooncakes on Mid-Autumn Festival. Can you imagine, what goes on in her mind all day?”

“Girls should be lively and full of energy,” Chen Suhua said with a chuckle, her eyes inadvertently drifting towards the pigsty.

Thoughtful.