The Game of Life

Jiang Feng and Wang Hao chatted about some trivial matters, mostly about whether there had been any juicy gossip at the school recently, what kind of person Wang Hao’s newly acknowledged father was, who had finished their graduation thesis, who had landed a dazzling internship, and who was going abroad—all the kinds of gossip that every college student at the university was eager to gobble up.

As the undisputed king of gossip at UAL University, Wang Hao indulged in all of it, not limiting himself to just his own college’s gossip but also nibbling on tidbits from other colleges. As Wang Hao and Jiang Feng animatedly recounted the incident involving a student from the Foreign Languages College who had threatened to jump off a building, Wang Hao suddenly realized he had forgotten to share the most important piece of gossip with Jiang Feng.

“Oh right, Feng, not sure if you’ve heard, but you’ve been reported for cheating during an exam,” Wang Hao said.

Jiang Feng was still immersed in the exquisite love triangle gossip that had led to the jumping threat and was caught off guard when suddenly, he had become the subject of the gossip.

“I was reported for cheating on an exam?” Jiang Feng was astonished. Wasn’t the story about him passing in and out of the counselor’s office seven times and surviving five trials and six exam papers still vivid in people’s minds?

UAL University was extremely strict about handling exam cheating, and once discovered, the consequence was immediate expulsion. During the exams, they conducted mass testing where only test papers from examinees in the same row were identical. Even someone like Wang Hao, who was on the brink of having to repeat a year due to failing grades, didn’t dare cheat, as the choice between repeating the year and expulsion was quite clear.

“Who reported me?” Jiang Feng asked.

“Don’t know, the counselor hasn’t made it public. This news actually came from the class monitor. Feng, have you offended someone?” Wang Hao asked.

Jiang Feng was somewhat bewildered; he hadn’t been to school for a year, and aside from Wang Hao, he hadn’t seen anyone else’s face to offend anyone.

“Forget it, there’s a proverb that says ‘It’s easier to catch a thief across a thousand miles than to prevent a theft from the same distance.’ We’ll find out eventually,” Jiang Feng noted the matter, “So what about that girl? Did she end up jumping?”

Wang Hao: …

Do you think being reported for exam cheating is less important than the juicy love gossip from the Foreign Languages College?

It seems it’s not, indeed.

“Of course, she didn’t jump. If she had, there wouldn’t be a follow-up story. Let me tell you, I don’t know how many people were crowded underneath the building that day. Our Physics College was even alerted. I saw…”

When Mrs. Wang Xiulian finished her accounts, looking pleased with herself, radiating the scent of money and carrying the joy of making money as she returned home, she saw her precious son sprawled out in her cherished massage chair.

For a moment, Mrs. Wang Xiulian was angry.

Her treasured massage chair had been commandeered by her cherished son, which she had been looking forward to relaxing in as soon as she got home!

But quickly, anger turned into love, tolerance, and relief. Earlier on the way home, Jiang Jiankang had already exaggerated to her about Jiang Feng’s toils of the day, describing him as being a pigeon’s wing away from sudden death.

Mrs. Wang Xiulian felt a mixture of distress and guilt—distressed for Jiang Feng, and guilty over the money.

The order count for the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon was set by her, but behind that number lay countless little earnings.

On one side was money, on the other her son.

Naturally, Mrs. Wang Xiulian chose her son.

“Son, massage slowly. Do you want some juice? I’ll have your dad make it for you,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian said lovingly.

“Orange juice.” Jiang Feng found that after making too many stuffed crabs, he had developed a fondness for oranges, just like his great-aunt.

“Jiankang, why aren’t you making the orange juice for our son yet? He’s exhausted himself today, and you didn’t even offer to help him in the kitchen. You don’t know how to take care of your own child, only thinking about slacking off yourself instead of letting our son take a break too. It’s outrageous!” Mrs. Wang Xiulian raged. Ṝ𝖆𐌽ọΒΕS̈

Jiang Jiankang: ???

In all fairness, the new way to slack off that he had discovered was actually taught to him by his son!

Jiang Jiankang went into the kitchen to make orange juice, while Wang Xiulian stayed in the living room to have a heart-to-heart talk with Jiang Feng.

“Son, I know you’ve had a tough day today—it’s your father’s oversight. He didn’t tell me how demanding it would be to prepare so many orders of the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon in a single day. But since we’ve already taken the orders for the National Day holiday, there’s no way to cancel them. I’ve thought of a solution though; I just called your granduncle and asked him to help you with the pigeons starting tomorrow. You know how good his knifework is, even faster than your dad at deboning whole chickens. Although he hasn’t dealt much with pigeons, if you teach him, I’m sure he’ll pick it up quickly,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian began shifting the blame onto Jiang Jiankang.

“After the holiday, I’ll adjust the ordering quota. Please bear with it for these few days. You know how tough it’s been for our family. The debt to your grandfather keeps me awake at night. I booked so many orders this time because I was hoping we could sell more and earn a little extra to pay off some of that debt by the end of the year. Your original dishes didn’t fetch high prices, and you were only making six servings of the Sweet and Sour Yam a day. Don’t you see how anxious I was? This time I was wrong, and I admit it,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian sincerely reflected.

“It’s alright, Mom. It’s not that exaggerated. It’s just a bit busier than usual. I can handle the National Day rush,” Jiang Feng said, deeply moved, and immediately offered to work overtime.

“Good boy, I knew you wouldn’t let me down!” Wang Xiulian was very comforted.

A touching scene of maternal affection and filial piety unfolded.

“By the way, how’s your crab-stuffed orange coming along? I noticed you’ve been working on it recently, and the taste seems fine to me. If it’s ready, let’s get it on the menu soon. Crab season only lasts a few months, and we can’t afford to waste time. Once the season is over, the price of crabs will skyrocket, and imported oranges aren’t cheap either. Crab will cost much more,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian advised.

“Soon. I think after the National Day rush, another ten days or so of research, and it should be about ready,” Jiang Feng replied.

Even though he didn’t know when he’d be able to make an A-grade crab-stuffed orange, Mrs. Wang Xiulian was right about the brief crab season. Due to its strong seasonality, this dish was destined to be a limited-time offering.

Jiang Feng had planned to add the crab-stuffed orange to the menu in November, but with Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s eagerness, mid-October wasn’t out of the question.

A B-grade crab-stuffed orange, a specialty that few could master, could command a high price on the menu.

Now that Ji Xia’s efficiency and speed in crabmeat picking had improved due to training, Jiang Feng felt it was time to teach her how to prepare the oranges next. It didn’t matter if she was slow, as long as she did it well.

For some reason, Jiang Feng felt that the crab-stuffed orange might be the first dish he would teach Ji Xia. It was challenging, and for her, it would be a significant test. Yet, when he saw Ji Xia tirelessly picking crabmeat to the point of disgust yet still working with enthusiasm, it was clear she wasn’t just being pushed by her mentor. She truly loved the dish.

She loved not only eating it but also making it.

Typical Ji Xia.

Always standing out from the crowd.

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