The Game of Life

After a public display of affection that met everyone’s expectations, Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi’s life began to settle into a normal routine.

Early the next morning, Jiang Feng went to the Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant as usual, and breakfast was still leftover vegetables mixed with noodles, without the pine nuts for Pine Nut Corn and without ribs for the Radish and Rib Soup.

After breakfast, Jiang Feng got busy in the kitchen.

As the king of savory porridges, the Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge was the flagship dish of porridge shops and a favorite among countless porridge lovers, famous for its thick texture, smooth taste, rich fragrance, simple ingredients, and quick cooking method.

But precisely because it was famous and simple to make, making it stand out was difficult.

There were many restaurants selling porridge near UAL University, but only a handful could really make good Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge. At the end of the food street, there was a Fang’s Porridge Shop, an old establishment that had been around for over twenty years, specializing in various dim sums and porridges.

Fang’s Porridge Shop was a family business run by two brothers, with Fang Yu handling the dim sum and Fang Zheng in charge of the porridge, while their wives managed the front of the house. Before the Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant moved into the food street, Fang’s Porridge Shop had always been the unchallenged leader, attracting countless UAL University students.

Fang Yu and Fang Zheng, the two brothers, were indeed skilled White Chefs. Wang Xiulian was very fond of Fang’s Porridge Shop’s barbecue pork buns and had been pondering for a while about negotiating with them to collaborate and sell dim sum.

The negotiations hadn’t been going smoothly. As the former food street overlord, Fang Yu from Fang’s Porridge Shop always harbored a hint of hostility towards the new king. However, Fang Zheng, enchanted by Jiang Jiankang’s Kung Pao Chicken, quickly defected and became an advocate, joining Wang Xiulian in a roundabout effort to persuade Fang Yu.

After breakfast, Wang Xiulian headed to Fang’s Porridge Shop. Jiang Feng figured it wouldn’t be long before Fang Zheng would nod his agreement. With a few more visits from Wang Xiulian and a few more rounds of advocacy from Fang Yu, he guessed Fang Zheng would probably give in.

With no preserved eggs left in the store, Jiang Feng went to the nearby supermarket to buy a few for emergencies. The rice had already been rinsed and was ready in the kitchen. The quality of preserved eggs in the small supermarket next door was subpar, and after much deliberation, Jiang Feng managed to select a few decent ones, even though they were the last few left and weren’t easy to peel due to the tight adhesion of the shell, indicating that they weren’t of the highest quality.

As Jiang Feng neatly diced the preserved eggs with his knife, he thought about heading to the small vegetable market behind the school in the afternoon to buy a few of better quality.

First, the lean meat was shredded, then diced, just like the preserved eggs, and marinated with sauce in a bowl.

He took out the large clay pot specially used for Cooking Porridge from the cupboard, brought the water to a boil over high heat, then poured in the soaked rice and switched to medium heat.

He blanched the marinated meat and skimmed off the scum before setting it aside.

Now all that was left was a quiet wait. Jiang Feng had plenty of experience with this, and he began to cut carrot strips at a leisurely pace while still keeping an eye on the fire control of the porridge in the pot, multitasking with ease.

After counting the inventory in the storage room, Jiang Jiankang returned to the kitchen to start preparing the vegetables. Seeing the porridge still simmering on the stove and noticing the plates of preserved eggs and lean meat on the countertop, he became excited.

“Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge?” My son is finally making meat porridge, Jiang Jiankang thought as he nearly cried tears of joy.

“Yeah, I’m planning to make this for the finals, so I’m practicing these days,” Jiang Feng replied as he finished cutting two plates of carrot strips and began slicing cucumber strips.

“Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge is good, really good!” Jiang Jiankang couldn’t stop exclaiming, whether about the porridge or the lean meat, he couldn’t tell. “The day before yesterday, Zaide said that to celebrate your advancement to the finals, we should get together, and I thought, why not do it tonight? Cook a few more pots of porridge, invite Qiqi’s family over, and let our two families get to know each other.”

“Sure!” Jiang Feng agreed with a nod, estimating that the food intake of Wu Minqi’s three-member family could probably match that of Jiang Zaide alone.

De’s appetite really had grown over the years.

The father and son continued to chop vegetables in silence.

With time, the white porridge in the clay pot gradually thickened, bubbling quietly and skimming off the froth. Jiang Feng added the preserved eggs and the lean meat, seasoned with a little salt, and turned the heat to low.

Leaving the vegetable cutting to Jiang Jiankang, Jiang Feng stayed by the pot, slowly stirring the Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge as it became thicker and more viscous, with the preserved eggs and the lean meat blending into the white porridge, with a rich and distinctive fragrance spreading through the kitchen.

He scooped a spoonful of the porridge and poured it back into the pot slowly, with the fire control just right, and the consistency excellent – it was ready to be served.

Jiang Jiankang had drifted from the prep table to the stove, bowl in hand, spoon at the ready. Seeing Jiang Feng turn off the heat, he eagerly asked, “Is it ready?”

“It’s ready.”

[A pot of exceptionally tasty Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge]

With a positive response, Jiang Jiankang ladled a generous bowlful of the porridge for himself.

The piping hot porridge was still steaming, and as he stirred it with his spoon and blew on it to cool it down, Jiang Jiankang started eating in his usual fashion, gulping down the porridge large mouthful after mouthful.

Savory, thick, smooth – the preserved egg and the well-marinated lean meat achieved a remarkable harmony in flavor, with the taste of the meat filling every corner of the mouth.

It’s meat porridge, my son has finally made meat porridge!

Jiang Jiankang almost wept with joy.

After devouring a large bowl, as his initial thrill of tasting the meat porridge faded, Jiang Jiankang noticed something in the taste. He ladled another bowl, and the more he drank, the more something seemed off. He felt that this porridge wasn’t as delicious as the Eight Treasure Porridge that Jiang Feng had made before.

The Eight Treasure Porridge was a sensation, but this bowl was simply tasty.

Could it be that his son really didn’t have the talent for making meat porridge?

Now, was he supposed to still focus on Eight Treasure Porridge or switch to meat porridge?

Cradling the bowl, Jiang Jiankang sank into thought.

“Dad, Dad, how is it?” Jiang Feng, hoping for some advice, looked expectantly at Jiang Jiankang.

“Not bad,” Jiang Jiankang smacked his lips, taking another big gulp, “but it feels like it’s not as good as the eight-treasure porridge you made last time, lacking a bit of flavor.”

However, Jiang Jiankang couldn’t specify what exactly was missing.

Both father and son stared at each other in the kitchen, with big eyes facing small eyes, a large face opposite a small one, when 1.87 meters faced off against 1.78 meters, Wang Xiulian walked in with Fang Zheng, the second in command from Fang’s Porridge Shop.

Under the joint pressure from Wang Xiulian and Fang Zheng, Fang Yu finally gave in and sent Fang Zheng to negotiate the details of the cooperation at the restaurant.

“Jiankang, Jiang Jiankang, come out—eh, Feng is cooking porridge?” Wang Xiulian darted into the kitchen, skillfully reached for bowls and spoons, and didn’t forget to grab a set for Fang Zheng as well.

Fang Zheng, not understanding why, followed closely behind.

“Come on, Fang, have a couple of sips of porridge first before we talk business,” Wang Xiulian began ladling out some porridge.

Fang Zheng was a year younger than Wang Xiulian, so calling him Little Fang wasn’t taking advantage of him.

One bowl down the hatch.

“Not as good as the eight-treasure porridge,” WangXiulian started to pick faults, but considering it was a meat porridge, she served herself another bowl and began to slurp away at the second bowl of preserved egg and lean meat porridge.

Unlike Wang Xiulian, who was unafraid of the heat and could just blow on her spoonful and start drinking, Fang Zheng blew on his spoonful again and again before cautiously taking a sip.

As soon as he tasted it, his eyes lit up.

He had already thought the porridge smelled and stirred nicely, and as a chef with over twenty years of experience in cooking porridge, he could assert that there were not many porridge chefs in Alan City who could make a bowl of preserved egg and lean meat porridge like this.

Of course, it was still slightly less perfect than his own, as Fang Zheng was known as the best porridge chef in the whole city!

Known as.

“I didn’t expect Master Jiang’s preserved egg and lean meat porridge to be this good,” Fang Zheng began the mutual business flattery.

“It wasn’t me who cooked it, it was my son,” Jiang Jiankang stated with immense pride.

Raise a son for a thousand days, show off for a moment!

Fang Zheng was genuinely surprised this time; ignorant of the Good Taste Culinary Competition, he didn’t know about Jiang Feng’s skill in making porridge and sincerely praised, “Master Jiang, you truly have a fine son! At such a young age, his skill in cooking porridge is so impressive. It looks like he’ll definitely be able to inherit your mantle, ‘the student outshining the master!’ ” “He’s just good at cooking porridge, he still has a lot to learn,” Jiang Jiankang modestly deflected, “Shall we talk outside?”

“Let’s talk outside, we don’t want to disturb the kid’s cooking practice,” Fang Zheng said, beaming with joy.

“Ding, an optional side quest has appeared.”

Once the three of them went out, Jiang Feng opened the attribute panel.

4. [Fang Zheng’s Appreciation]: As a porridge chef with 27 years of experience, Fang Zheng’s skill in cooking porridge is nationally recognized. As an excellent chef, Fang Zheng actually has a keen eye for talent. Players are tasked to make a stunning porridge dish that will capture Fang Zheng’s appreciation. [Accept: Yes/No]

Reward: Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge Recipe

Jiang Feng didn’t hesitate and chose Yes.

Quest tip: Use your highest skill to conquer him!

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Jiang Feng stepped out of the kitchen with a friendly and enthusiastic smile, “Master Fang, would you like to have lunch at our restaurant? I’ll cook a pot of eight-treasure porridge and would like you to help me critique it.”

“For lunch?” Fang Zheng was tempted; he wanted to eat the Kung Pao chicken prepared by Jiang Jiankang.

“Little Master Fang, my son’s eight-treasure porridge is especially good; you must come to taste it at noon. It’s best if you bring everyone from your porridge shop over!” Jiang Jiankang invited warmly.

“Alright, I’ll go back and talk to my brother,” Fang Zheng readily agreed, “but it might be late, as the business at the shop is busy and we can’t leave.”

“Got it, got it; you’re welcome anytime, our restaurant is open as long as the doors are open,” Jiang Jiankang laughed, “Take a look at this char siu bao and custard bun distribution…”

The two of them continued talking business.

Jiang Feng went back to the kitchen and scooped up a small spoonful of the preserved egg and lean meat porridge to taste.

Seeing what the game displayed was one thing, but actually tasting it was another. Regardless of what the display showed, it was the taste on the tongue that revealed the true flavor.

The eight-treasure porridge had received near-perfect praise due to his fortuitous discovery of the osmanthus sugar that paired perfectly with it. He wondered to what extent the side quest reward, the Preserved Egg and Lean Meat Porridge Recipe, could improve the porridge.

Near perfect?

Or perfect?

Jiang Feng began to look forward to it.