The Game of Life

Donkey meat buns are a famous traditional snack, commonly found in the North region. Historical records state that they originated in Baofu during the early Ming dynasty. Despite Baofu being located near Beiping City, Jiang Feng had never seen donkey meat buns before his visit to Beiping.

There’s a saying, “Dragon meat in the heavens, donkey meat on Earth.” Donkey meat is not only delicious but also nourishing for the blood, qi, and for invigorating weakness. If all the meats that made it to the chopping board and into the cooking pot were to be ranked, donkey meat would undoubtedly be at the forefront. Yet, Jiang Feng never tried donkey meat dishes during the many years he spent in Z City and Alan City; he hadn’t even seen a donkey, let alone tried the meat.

Today, he could thank Ji Xia for bringing him here to open his eyes.

Following the directions provided by the navigation, after Jiang Feng and his two companions exited the subway station, they took numerous turns and even passed through an alleyway before finally finding the donkey meat bun shop recommended by Master Wang.

The shop had no name, not even a sign; its door was wide open, allowing the scent of donkey meat slowly stewing over a low fire to waft out.

The entrance was narrow, and the shop was also narrow, but stepping inside, Jiang Feng discovered that the shop, while small, had much to offer. The shop was narrow and long, not very spacious, yet it managed to squeeze in quite a few tables—nine to be precise. Each was a wooden table accompanied by long bench-style chairs, looking very much like the furnishings from a tavern in a martial arts film.

There weren’t many customers, around ten or so, which was a considerable amount for 9 o’clock on a weekday.

The donkey meat bun counter was set up right at the entrance, occupied by a middle-aged woman in her forties or fifties wearing an apron and sleeves, busily chopping donkey meat and stuffing it into the buns. She looked like she might be the proprietor of the shop.

It seemed there was a small kitchen behind the counter, with a small window and a small door; that little window served as the serving hatch. On the counter, there was also a plate of freshly baked buns.

When the owner saw Jiang Feng and his friends enter, she glanced up and asked, “How many do you want?”

Jiang Feng looked around and, noticing no menu, hesitated before answering, “Three.”

The owner, seeing Jiang Feng’s silence, asked, “First time here? Do you eat green pepper and donkey tripe?”

Probably because the shop wasn’t too busy yet, the owner had the leisure to inquire about Jiang Feng and his companions’ preferences.

Jiang Feng looked at Wu Minqi and Ji Xia; both had no objections, so he responded, “We’ll have them.”

“24 yuan. Scan the code over there to pay yourself, and there should be places to sit inside,” the owner pointed inside the shop, “Just wait a moment, and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Jiang went to scan the code and pay while Wu Minqi and Ji Xia found a table further inside to sit down. As soon as they sat down, Ji Xia couldn’t wait to ask Wu, “Sister Wu, have you ever eaten donkey meat buns? The smell was so good when I was near there!”

Wu Minqi smiled and said, “That donkey meat is freshly lifted from the braising pot, of course, it smells good.”

“Sister Wu, if the donkey meat is so aromatic, why haven’t I seen it in the kitchen before?” Ji Xia asked.

“We do have it. During New Year’s, the recently hired Master Wang and Chef Zhou Shi included donkey meat in their dishes. It’s just that the meat wasn’t braised, so it didn’t smell as fragrant as what you caught just now, Xiaxia. You simply didn’t notice,” Wu Minqi said with a smile. “Once Xiaxia gets good at chopping vegetables and can start on the meat, you’ll be able to handle donkey meat yourself.”

While they were chatting, Jiang Feng came over with two bowls of donkey offal soup.

“I just asked the owner what special dishes they have; she mentioned the donkey offal soup is not bad, only 5 yuan a bowl, so I bought one for each of you,” Jiang Feng said, placing the steaming bowls on the table and pushing one towards Ji Xia, “Xiaxia, you haven’t had breakfast, right? Have some soup to warm up.”

“Thank you, Master,” Ji Xia took a big sip of the soup and praised, “Delicious.”

Jiang Feng nodded without sitting down, “I’m going to get my own bowl, Qiqi, Xiaxia, you two start first.”

The owner had already prepared the donkey meat soup and placed it on the counter, telling Jiang Feng to serve himself. She was overwhelming busy cutting donkey meat and attending to other matters, and as Jiang Feng approached to grab his soup, the owner was shouting through the kitchen window.

“Old He, hurry up and call Yue over; it’s already 9 o’clock, and Jiang will arrive soon. If Yue doesn’t come, who’s going to talk to him?”

“I know, I know, don’t rush me. I’m calling Yue right now, no need to shout your lungs out,” the voice of a middle-aged man echoed from the kitchen.

“Young man, your three buns are ready. I’ve put them on a plate for you; you can carry them over together,” the owner said, back to her usual tone.

Jiang Feng, with a donkey meat sandwich in his left hand and a bowl of donkey offal soup in his right, returned to his seat, placed the sandwich in the center of the table, and sat down to drink the soup first.

The donkey offal soup wasn’t abundant, just a shallow layer at the bottom of the bowl, but it was rich with heart, liver, stomach, and lung—none missing, and it was delicious. Jiang Feng had just walked nearly half an hour in the chilly wind, his face numb from the cold. Entering the restaurant, he found that despite the heating being on, with the doors wide open, it was hardly warm inside.

It wasn’t until he’d drunk half of the bowl of donkey offal soup that Jiang Feng finally felt reinvigorated.

By the time Jiang Feng started eating his donkey meat sandwich, Ji Xia had already nibbled through almost half of hers, having finished all the donkey meat inside and was now meticulously chewing on the bread.

Just from looking at the sandwich Ji Xia was munching on, Jiang Feng could tell the proprietress probably doused the bread with donkey meat broth.

As Jiang Feng took a bite of his donkey meat sandwich, he relished the crispy exterior and the many soft layers within, each thin and soaked with the juices of the donkey meat. Describing it as fresh, flavorful, crispy, and tender would not be an exaggeration. The donkey meat, finely chopped and moderately salty, was mixed with green peppers and donkey tripe, offering a chewy texture that wasn’t too tough.

Though it was his first time eating a donkey meat sandwich, Jiang Feng could tell that the skill of the person who made the sandwich and stewed the donkey meat was exceptional and seasoned. Midway through his meal, he even entertained the Ling Guangzhao-like thought of poaching him for Taifeng Building, a thought that was promptly dismissed after he devoured an entire sandwich.

Donkey meat sandwiches were street food, and street food had its own niche. A restaurant of Taifeng Building’s caliber was not the place for donkey meat sandwiches to thrive.

After finishing the sandwich, Jiang Feng drank the rest of the donkey offal soup, not leaving a single piece behind. The bowl was as clean as if it had just been washed.

It wasn’t only Jiang Feng, Wu Minqi, and Ji Xia had done the same; three spotless bowls and an empty plate lay on the table, a silent but highest praise for the chef’s skills at this establishment.

“Master, I want another bowl of soup,” Ji Xia said to Jiang Feng with eager eyes.

Jiang Feng had the same idea, “Okay, Xiaxia, wait here, I’m going to see what other kinds of soup this place has. Minqi, do you want another bowl?”

Wu Minqi modestly shook her head.

As Jiang Feng and his companions were eating their donkey meat sandwiches, three more groups of customers had come in, filling the remaining tables. Jiang Feng stood up to ask the proprietress if there was any other soup available, but before he could speak, a young man bundled up even more tightly than Wu Minqi, who appeared to be even chubbier than Jiang Zaidi, the heaviest in the Jiang family, hurried into the shop.

“Proprietress, I’ll have six sandwiches and a bowl of donkey meat soup, half a pound of donkey meat and half a pound of donkey offal mixed plate,” he said with a strong voice.

Yet, that strong voice sounded eerily familiar.

Jiang Feng turned to look at this formidable man, who was dressed in a thick, army green down jacket that resembled a military coat, with a hat, mask, earmuffs, and gloves that wrapped him up tightly, revealing only a pair of eyes. If this sight had been seen in Beiping City decades earlier, such a person would certainly have been reported by the ever-vigilant public.

“De?” Jiang Feng called out, uncertain.

Jiang Zaidi had managed to wrap himself into such a massive bundle of clothing, by the looks of it, he seemed to have stuffed himself with every possible winter garment from his wardrobe.

“Little brother!” Jiang Zaidi was pleasantly surprised, removing his mask and lowering his scarf to reveal his familiar chubby face, “You’re also here to eat donkey meat sandwiches!”

“Jiang?” The proprietress also exclaimed, “Why are you dressed like this today? I almost didn’t recognize you. Go sit over there and wait, I’ll call you when it’s ready. Yue hasn’t come yet, wait for her and then I’ll get her to talk to you about important matters.”

“All right.” Jiang Zaidi went to scan the code to pay without needing the proprietress to announce the price.

“Proprietress, I’ll also take two bowls of donkey meat soup,” Jiang Feng said, then turned to Jiang Zaidi, “De, Xiaxia and Minqi are sitting inside, there’s still one seat left, we can sit at the same table.”

Minutes later, Jiang Feng and Jiang Zaidi returned to their seats with the donkey meat soup and donkey meat and offal mixed plate, with two large platters of donkey meat and offal taking the place of the previously empty plate in the middle of the table.

The sandwiches were still in the pot and hadn’t come out yet, so they had to wait a little longer.

“Come on, Xiaxia, this place stews its donkey meat and offal really well, eat up,” Jiang Zaidi said warmly as he invited her to help herself.

“Thank you, Uncle De!” Ji Xia reached for the food happily.

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