The Game of Life

Already directionally challenged, under the whimsical guidance of some navigation app, they had completely lost their way in the vast expanse of Beiping City.

On August nth, at 4:36 p.m., the evening business of Taifeng Building was about to start, and Jiang Feng hadn’t received a call from Zhang Zhiyuan.

During lunch the previous day, the two had made plans. Today, Zhang Zhiyuan and his family were going to visit Prince Gong’s Mansion and expected to finish their tour and return to the hotel by three o’clock, after which Jiang Feng would take them to Yonghe House.

Now it was already half-past four, and Jiang Feng had received no news.

Jiang Feng had accompanied Jiang Junqing and Jiang Junlian to Prince Gong’s Mansion before and later went again with Wu Minqi. Logically, a morning should be enough to see everything.

Wu Minqi also noticed it was getting late and asked, “Aren¹1 you supposed to take Zhang Zhiyuan and his family to Yonghe House tonight? It’s already past 4:30 p.m. Didn’t you book for six?”

“I booked for six, but I haven’t heard from Zhang Zhiyuan yet,” replied Jiang Feng as he took out his phone to call Zhang Zhiyuan.

The call connected quickly, and it was noisy on Zhang Zhiyuan’s end. The sound of car horns suggested he was by the roadside.

“Hello, Feng, sorry I forgot to tell you that my parents, grandpa, and I are already in a taxi on our way to Yonghe House,” Zhang Zhiyuan said loudly.

“A taxi?”

“Yeah, we were planning to head back after leaving Prince Gong’s Mansion. But I don’t know what’s with that map navigation; it kept failing to find the subway entrance. We were directed here and there until it took us into a residential area. By the time we looked it was already four, so we simply decided to take a cab to Yonghe House,” explained Zhang Zhiyuan.

“It’s about to be rush hour, aren’t you guys stuck in traffic?” asked Jiang Feng.

“I don’t think so, what, driver, you’re saying we’re stuck in a jam up ahead?”

Jiang Feng:…

“Where are you guys now?” asked Jiang Feng.

Zhang Zhiyuan turned to ask the taxi driver and gave Jiang Feng an address.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Feng said, “Tell the driver to stop at the subway station up ahead, and you guys get off. I’m on my way to pick you up.”

“Feng, you don’t need to come here. I can just follow the navigation,” Zhang Zhiyuan replied, not wanting to trouble Jiang Feng any further.

“Do you know your way around Beiping’s subway stations?” Jiang Feng volleyed a soul-searching question.

Zhang Zhiyuan: …

“Yonghe House has a lot of road construction nearby, and many roads are blocked. After exiting the subway station, can you find where Yonghe House is?” Jiang Feng shot another soul-searching question.

Zhang Zhiyuan: …

“Sorry to trouble you, Feng.”

It was truly heartfelt.

“I’m heading out,” Jiang Feng told Wu Minqi.

“Okay,” Wu Minqi nodded.

The business model of Yonghe House was very similar to that of Taifeng Building, passed down through generations, and it had not ceased even during the joint public-private ownership period.

The current owner of Yonghe House, Lu Sheng, who was ten years older than Jiang Feng, was not a great chef, but he was kind and operated the restaurant well. He managed to keep Yonghe House’s longtime chefs from defecting, ensured a continuous line of young chefs, and wielded considerable influence. He was quite familiar with Jiang Feng on WeChat.

The chefs of Beiping’s old-established Chinese restaurants had a WeChat group. Given the current special circumstances, with the high-end dining market in Beiping gradually being eroded by foreign cuisines, traditional Chinese restaurants were slowly declining.

During this time, everyone was firm in their resolve, united in their external stance; even Tong Deyan and Ling Guangzhao wouldn’t quarrel in the WeChat group.

A while back, Zhang Guanghang had pulled Jiang Feng and the others into the WeChat group. During their spare time, they would chat and hang out in the group. Even though Jiang Feng had never met Lu Sheng, or might not recognize him even if he had, they were indeed quite chummy via WeChat.

Jiang Feng had made the reservation for Zhang Chu directly with Lu Sheng.

Jiang Feng asked Zhang Zhiyuan and his family to wait for him at the subway station. He went to find them and then took them to Yonghe House, but going back and forth took some time. By the time they all arrived at Yonghe House, they were more than half an hour overdue.

Fortunately, Lu Sheng still held their spots for them.

In the large hall on the second floor, at a small round table by the window, Jiang Feng decided to stay and have dinner with them, with a faint hint of playing hooky from work.

Zhang Chu began scrutinizing the entire restaurant, from top to bottom, inside and out, the moment he laid eyes on the Yonghe House sign. He was peering around even as he ascended the stairs.

“The decor hasn’t changed much; it’s still the old style. But the place has expanded a lot. Yonghe House wasn’t this big before. The front section used to be a silk shop,” Zhang Chu sighed as he sat in a chair.

“Nowadays, these old restaurants in Beiping, even if they get renovated, are just slightly altered on the original basis, hardly changing at all,” Jiang Feng said.

“Grandpa, did grandma and grandpa really used to work in this place?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked in disbelief.

“More than that, your grandma was even on the payroll back then,” said Zhang Chu. “A full-time employee at 17, while her senior brothers only became full- time employees at the age of 20.”

“Dad, aren’t you a carpenter? How did you meet my mom back then?” Zhang Chiyuan asked curiously.

Everyone looked intently at Zhang Chu, all very eager to hear the love story of their grandparents’ generation.

Zhang Chu supported his head with his hand and began to reminisce about his youthful days.

“How else could it have happened? My master took me to Yonghe House to fix something. I remember it was the summer, and that summer was unbearably hot. What was it we were fixing? I can’t remember what it was, but I do remember sitting by the window to rest, probably on the second floor; your grandma brought me a bowl of zhajiang noodles,” Zhang Chu recounted.

“That bowl of zhajiang noodles had so many ingredients. I had never eaten zhajiang noodles with that many toppings before—the sauce was fragrant and the noodles were chewy.”

“And then you fell for my mom?” Zhang Chiyuan asked.

“How could that be possible? Back then, I was a famously handsome and skilled young man. When your mom was young, she was just average-looking; how could I have fallen for her at first sight?” Zhang Chu began to boast.

“No, that’s not right; it’s strange. What was I fixing at the time? Why can’t I remember?”

“Grandpa, were you fixing a chair?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked.

“No, my master was a renowned carpenter in Beiping City back then; he wouldn’t have been called over just to fix a chair. What exactly were we fixing?” Zhang Chu was perplexed.

“Alright Dad, stop thinking about it. It was so many years ago, how could you possibly remember?” Zhang Chiyuan handed the menu to Zhang Chu, “Junlian ordered a jar of meat, I ordered eggplant with garlic sauce, take a look at what you want to eat. And Mr. Jiang, what would you like to eat?”

“Jingjiang pork strips from Yonghe House are very famous,” Jiang Feng recommended.

“Triple delight sharks’ fin, crab roe sharks’ fin, casserole sharks’ fin…” Zhang Chu mumbled as he flipped through the menu, “oyster sauce abalone, Buddha’s delight prawns, sunflower duck, white fungus and vegetables stew…”

Suddenly, Zhang Chu lifted his head and asked a nearby waiter, “Excuse me, is Qin Guisheng still a chef in your restaurant?”

The waiter paused for a moment before answering, “Master Qin retired a few years ago and went to the United States, but rest assured, several of his apprentices are still working here, so the taste of these dishes won’t be a problem.”

“Bicoloured prawns, white fungus and vegetables stew, and stir-fried broccoli,” ZhangChu ordered.

“Okay, a jar of meat, eggplant with garlic sauce, Jingjiang pork strips, bicoloured prawns, white fungus and vegetables stew, and stir-fried broccoli, is that correct? Please wait a moment,” the waiter said as he left.

“Grandpa, who is Qin Guisheng?” Zhang Zhiyuan asked.

“Your grandma’s second senior brother. We didn’t have much contact or relationship with him; I just suddenly thought of him and asked,” Zhang Chu replied.

“Strange, what was it that we were fixing?” Zhang Chu was still tangled up with what he and his master had fixed at Yonghe House back then.

“Ding, optional side quest discovered,” the system alert suddenly sounded. Jiang Feng: ???

“I’m going to use the restroom,” Jiang Feng decided as an excuse to step away.

Fortunately, the men’s room wasn’t crowded, and Jiang Feng entered a stall. He opened his attributes panel and accepted the quest.

2. [ZhangChu’s Dilemma]: Decadeslater, ZhangChu returns to Yonghe House, where he had fallen in love at first sight with his future wife, only to find that he can’t recall the specifics of their first encounter. Help Zhang Chu recover his lost memory and allow him to relive the old dream. Quest progress (0/1)

Quest tips: Simply find the object Zhang Chu fixed back then and confirm it with him, or help him clearly recall what it was.

Quest reward: A segment of Zhang Chu’s memory.

Jiang Feng: ???

Is Old Sir Zhang really so fixated on what he fixed back then?

Truly befitting of a carpenter.