The Game of Life

Ji Xue was handling small chunks of honey, which Taifeng Building stocked in abundance, as they were needed for making clay pot roast chicken with Huadiao wine.

The outer layer of the clay pot roast chicken with Huadiao wine was thick with honey, much thicker than the usual practice of brushing a layer on other dishes. This was because, in addition to brushing a layer of liquid honey on the exterior, chunks of honey needed to be kneaded into small pieces and stuck on the surface.

The chunky honey would melt when heated, and because of its slow melting rate, it would gradually adhere to the surface of the chicken. The two different types of honey, melting together, would form a thick honey crust that securely enveloped the clay pot roast chicken—this technique was something only the old master Tan Weizhou could envision.

The clay pot roast chicken with Huadiao wine required high-quality honey, and the two kinds Taifeng Building currently used were chosen by Ji Xue after repeated experimentation.

But now, Ji Xue wasn’t handling the chicken; she hadn’t even taken it out, with only an empty clay pot in front of her.

“What are you doing with honey now? We haven’t even started on the chicken. If your hands get dirty, do you want me to help bring the chicken over?” Jiang Feng asked. “Around what time will your friend be coming? I’m worried the staff might not yet be on duty, so maybe Xiaxia could go to the door to meet her.”

“She… she should be here soon. She just went to the hotel to drop off her luggage and take care of a few things, maybe twenty or thirty minutes,” Ji Xue said uncertainly, not pausing in her task.

“All right, I’ll have Xiaxia go to the door to meet her in about twenty minutes,” Jiang Feng nodded, preparing to return to his cooking station to continue teaching Ji Xia how to make fried sauce noodles. “Just in time—today I’m teaching Xiaxia how to make fried sauce noodles. When your friend arrives, Xiaxia can make her a bowl too, showing off your sister’s culinary skills to your friend.”

“Alright,” Ji Xue smiled and nodded. She held the clay pot’s lid steady with her left hand and spread the chunky honey she had just processed in a position slightly closer to the edge of the lid.

Jiang Feng: !!!

Why was Ji Xue smearing honey on the lid of the clay pot?

Did all the clay pot lids used for the roast chicken with Huadiao wine have honey on them?

Jiang Feng thought hard about the video tutorials he had seen, with no recollection of such a detail, but it might indeed exist. The clay pots used by Tan Weizhou were very old, their inner surfaces deeply stained with years of seasoning, lids included, just like this one.

If only a little honey was applied to the lid, Jiang Feng might truly have missed it.

Could it be that Ji Xue had noticed this detail the first time she saw it?

What kind of eyesight did one have to have to notice such an inconspicuous thing on the lid at a glance?

Jiang Feng felt as if he had grasped the essence of the clay pot roast chicken with Huadiao wine. All he needed to do was to watch the video tutorial again and pay extra attention to the inside of the lid to discern its secrets.

Glancing back at Ji Xue, he saw that she seemed unsatisfied with the honey she had just applied, wiping it off and starting to process the honey again.

Jiang Feng returned to his own cooking station, and Ji Xia, following his instructions, had tasted both the soybean paste and the sweet bean sauce, clearly preferring the latter.

Jiang Feng could tell that the amounts of these sauces had reduced in the two bowls in front of her.

“Xiaxia, you really should eat less of this; it’s fine to eat more meals, but it’s best to avoid snacking,” Jiang Feng said earnestly, genuinely concerned Xiaxia might grow in a direction similar to his two cousins from the Jiang Family.

Not that it was much of an issue. Jiang Feng was not prejudice against people who were overweight; within the Jiang Family, it was he who was the outlier.

His main concern was that Xiaxia, already a delinquent girl capable of fighting, might become as heavy as Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing. Jiang Feng worried that if there were disagreements in future lessons, he might not be able to win against her.

Ji Xia looked at Jiang Feng in confusion, then back at the sweet bean sauce before her.

Snacks?

So that’s what they call it in Beiping.

Jiang Feng got back on track and continued with his unfinished teaching task. He added more sweet bean sauce to the bowl, mixing it with the previously prepared ingredients before frying it in the pan.

Making fried sauce was actually quite a hassle. Although it called for a small bowl dry-fry method, it also required a low fire, meaning the cooking time was quite significant. Moreover, it demanded constant attention, indeed a true test of the chef’s patience and focus.

Jiang Feng fried the sauce while keeping an eye on the time. He felt that there wasn’t much he could teach Ji Xia during the frying since it was something that required personal involvement, practice, and feeling once it got to the pan. One could learn from failure, yet there were those who succeeded brilliantly on the first attempt, without the chance to fail or the need to learn from failure.

Since there wasn’t much to explain, the process of frying the sauce became even more boring. With nothing to eat or learn, Ji Xia could only watch the sauce slowly dry out in the pan, not daring to speak out and disturb Jiang Feng, fearing it might affect the frying. She felt as if she were back in a classroom at school.

When the 20 minutes were up, Jiang Feng said to Ji Xia, “Your sister’s friend should be arriving soon, Xiaxia, go to the door to welcome her. This sauce needs to fry a bit longer. Once you have brought her here, come back. You might still make it in time to see the sauce taken off the stove, and I’ll show you what point it needs to reach before it’s ready.”

“Alright, Master!” Ji Xia, like a student finally released from a 45-minute math class, cheerfully ran out of the kitchen.

Jiang Feng continued to guard the boring pot of frying sauce. He understood Ji Xia’s feelings, believing it would be far more interesting to greet guests outside than watching the frying sauce.

At least by standing at the entrance, one could see the street outside where the movement of cars was more significant than that of the sauce in the pot.

The first time he fried sauce, his lack of experience led him to add too much, and he nearly exhausted himself in front of that pot.

Ji Xia was gone for over 20 minutes, and Jiang Feng felt the fire control for the sauce in the pot was almost perfect. Any longer and it would be too dry, yet she hadn’t returned.

Jiang Feng was regretting that Xiaxia would miss the opportunity to see the sauce done incorrectly, losing a chance. Next time, she would still have to follow him through the complete process, idly watching the sauce in the pot until it reached the proper fire control before she had another opportunity to see the sauce finish, when Ji Xia came back.

“Master, I’ve shown her to her seat,” said Ji Xia when she returned, holding something in her hand.

“What are you holding there?” asked Jiang Feng.

Ji Xia opened her hand to reveal a piece of Dove chocolate.

“That sister just now gave it to me,” Ji Xia explained.

Jiang Feng smiled and told Ji Xia to put the chocolate far away. If it was too close to the pot where the temperature was high, it would turn into chocolate sauce.

A few seconds later, Jiang Feng felt the time was right, turned off the heat, and stirred the frying sauce in the pot.

“Can you smell that? When it smells roughly like this, it’s ready to come off the heat. Judging the frying sauce solely by sight is useless; you must also use your nose. When the eyes can’t discern, the nose can still sniff out certain things,” said Jiang Feng.

Ji Xia leaned in to smell and thought the noodles with the fried sauce would surely be delicious, considering the sauce smelled so good.

Ji Xue had already started to make the clay pot rice wine chicken. Estimating that it would still be some time before Ji Xue’s dish was ready, Jiang Feng did not ask Ji Xia to start pulling noodles right away because it couldn’t upstage the main dish.

Jiang Feng walked towards Ji Xue.

“Ji Xue, the menu isn’t open yet, so your friend can’t order dishes. How about I make a few random dishes for her to try some of Taifeng Building’s signature dishes?” Jiang Feng shamelessly boasted, as if he were the one who made all the signature dishes at Taifeng Building.

“There’s no need to go to such trouble; she’s just one person. Actually, I’m making her a portion of clay pot rice wine chicken. Afterwards, Xiaxia can make her a small bowl of fried sauce noodles, which will be plenty; she might not even finish it,” Ji Xue declined.

Jiang Feng listened and thought it made sense. “How about this, then? I’ll make a stuffed crab orange for her. Once you’ve finished your dish, go out and eat with her. It’s not nice to leave your friend alone at the table. I’ll make three stuffed crab oranges at once, one each for the two of you and one for Xiaxia. This dish is seasonal, and it won’t be available after a while. Since your friend has come to Taifeng Building, she should try several specialty dishes. You are our head chef, and you can’t let our reputation falter,” he suggested.

“Thank you,” Ji Xue expressed her gratitude.

Returning to the cooking station, Jiang Feng said to Ji Xia, “Xiaxia, go pick three oranges for me, and I’ll teach you how to make stuffed crab orange again.”

“Master, aren’t we supposed to be making fried sauce noodles now?” asked Ji Xia.

“There’s no rush for the fried sauce noodles. Let’s make the stuffed crab oranges first, and we’ll make the noodles after that,” Jiang Feng replied.

“Oh,” Ji Xia obediently went to select oranges but still couldn’t help mumbling to herself.

Master was great in every way, but his ideas changed too fast. One second he said one thing, the next second he changed his mind.

Master was indeed a fickle person.