The Game of Life

It was a half-cooked tomato.

Two other stoves beside Jiang Feng also had pots on them, in which the water bubbled occasionally, signaling they were close to boiling.

“Fengfeng, what are you cooking a tomato for?” Wu Minqi asked curiously as she put the crabs and oranges down on the cooking table.

“I’m testing how much energy water still has after it has boiled,” Jiang Feng replied.

As a chef, he knew ingredients best and naturally wanted to experiment with them.

Drawn by curiosity, Wu Minqi leaned in closer, finding Jiang Feng’s experiment quite interesting, “Why are you doing this experiment? Is it for your graduation thesis?”

“No, no,” Jiang Feng quickly denied, laughing to himself, imagining that his graduation thesis could be about such an experiment. His thesis was actually on…

Hey, what was his thesis topic again?

Had he even started it yet?

It seemed he needed to discuss his thesis with Professor Li soon.

“I thought of a new method for steaming crabs and stuffing oranges,” Jiang Feng began his spiel of nonsense.

“A new method?” Wu Minqi trusted her boyfriend Jiang Feng very much and rarely doubted what he said. When she heard that he’d discovered a new method, her first reaction wasn’t to question how Jiang Feng always managed to find breakthroughs in the dishes he researched within just a few days, but rather she asked excitedly, “What new method? Are there other ways to steam?”

“Stewing,” said Jiang Feng.

“Stewing?” Wu Minqi was a bit slow to react, as she didn’t have a grandmother who was adept at stewing meals on a traditional stove, so a single word didn’t immediately conjure up the method for her.

“Do you remember I kept saying there was an issue with fire control? This morning, after I cooked for Grandpa and Granduncle Weiming, they also felt there was a problem with the fire control. The flavors of the orange flesh and crab meat weren’t harmonizing well. Then, Granduncle Weiming suggested that I steam it slowly over low heat, and I wondered if there was a gentler way than steaming over low heat. That’s when I thought of stewing, Qiqi, I don’t know if you remember the traditional stoves for burning wood in the countryside. When we cooked in the countryside, stewing rice was always the last step; we’d let the fire go out and use the remaining heat to finish cooking the rice. Usually, my grandma would handle this step.” Jiang Feng was becoming increasingly adept at lying, inventing all sorts of fabrications on the spot, with nine truths padding a single lie, as long as the key sentence was false, he could craft a perfect lie.

Indeed, Wu Minqi was completely taken in by Jiang Feng’s explanation, listening intently and nodding, “I know that kind of traditional stove; I’ve even used it to cook before. It retains heat very well and could definitely be used for stewing rice.”

“It’s just a pity we don’t have a traditional stove here,” Jiang Feng sighed, “Our stoves lose heat too quickly; they cool down within a few minutes after turning off the fire.”

“So that’s why you’re testing the heat of boiling water here,” Wu Minqi realized, but was still a bit puzzled, “But steamed crab stuffed orange is usually steamed, Fengfeng, why are you boiling a tomato?”

Jiang Feng: …

Yeah, what was he doing?

Shouldn’t he be steaming something like sweet potatoes or corn?

“`

Perhaps it was because…

Jiang Feng cast his gaze toward the pile of tomatoes nearby.

He hadn’t had tomato and egg soup for so long that the sight of tomatoes made him irresistibly crave for a bowl of the soup.

“But Fengfeng, you’re still amazing. Just Granduncle Weiming suggesting you try low heat and you could think of braising as a method. If it were me, I would have never thought to braise crabs in oranges,” Wu Minqi praised with a smile, “My Fengfeng is the best.”

When it was just the two of them, Wu Minqi’s words were always a little exaggerated.

After all, she was a woman who had watched many idol dramas.

Although Jiang Feng felt rather proud himself, he had to maintain an appearance of modesty. After all, what he had just said was a lie; there’s no way he could have thought of braising on his own. That method was Master Peng’s idea, but Jiang Feng couldn’t praise Master Peng, so he had to credit Mrs. Jiang.

“It’s mainly thanks to my grandma’s merit. If it weren’t for my grandma making braised rice for so many years to save on firewood, I wouldn’t have thought to use braising so readily,” Jiang Feng said modestly.

Jiang Weiguo, who had been back early and eavesdropping just outside the door because the fruit seller’s place was nearby, thought:…

So, the advice and guidance my third brother and I offered you this morning are not as valuable as the braised rice your grandma made to save on firewood?

Unfilial grandson!

Jiang Weiguo, filled with indignation, turned around. Carrying the bag of oranges, he circled twice in the lobby of Taifeng Building under the puzzled gazes of the staff and then, expressionless, he made his way back to the kitchen.

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi had already taken out the steamer, with Jiang Feng cutting corn and Wu Minqi washing sweet potatoes.

“Ahem, ahem.” Jiang Weiguo coughed twice.

The cough immediately drew the attention of Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi. Jiang Feng turned his head and saw Sir holding a bag of oranges and quickly went forward to take them from him.

“Grandpa, why did you suddenly go out to buy oranges? We still have so many oranges at home that we haven’t finished. If you want to eat them, I can bring some over for you tonight; you don’t need to buy any,” said the dutiful grandson Jiang Feng.

“I bought oranges all for the sake of you, such a clueless thing,” Jiang Weiguo handed the oranges to Jiang Feng, he was quite tired from carrying the bag around, “Did you even see what kind of oranges you picked? Do you think picking oranges is like a beauty contest, that the good-looking ones are also good-tasting? Whether they’re sweet or sour, can the flavor of the crab-stuffed oranges you make be normal with those oranges? Don’t use your oranges for cooking, keep them for yourself to eat. If you’re cooking, use these oranges I bought for you.”

Jiang Feng was stunned; he hadn’t expected that his grandpa had gone out specifically to buy oranges for him.

“Then Granduncle Weiming…”

“Your Granduncle Weiming went to buy crabs for you,” Jiang Weiguo said irritably, “Are the crabs you used for today’s crab-stuffed oranges even hairy crabs? Do you think picking crabs is about choosing the fattest, that the fattest are the tastiest?”

Jiang Feng: ???

Isn’t that how it works?

“When your dad comes, I’m going to give him a good scolding. How did he teach you? Can’t even pick crabs and oranges properly. Do you think these two ingredients aren’t needed in the kitchen, so there’s no need to learn? All these years, the braised rice your grandma made for you might as well have been fed to a pig’s stomach.” Jiang Feng would never guess the real reason why Sir was scolding him.

“`

After scolding his grandson, Jiang Weiguo felt much better and started to play dumb, “What’s steaming here?”

Jiang Feng hurriedly repeated to the old man what he had just told Wu Minqi.

The elder nodded, “Clay stove works; gas stoves don’t seal the flavors well.”

“I know, so I was thinking to first braise, then simmer on low heat, and braise again. As long as the temperature inside the pot is maintained at a level that’s neither too high nor too low, I believe that the crab-stuffed oranges should be fully flavored,” explained Jiang Feng. What he wanted was for the oranges not to be overcooked.

Having heard Jiang Feng say this, Jiang Weiguo actually started to see his grandson in a new light, appreciating his ability to learn by analogy and to adapt to circumstances.

He certainly wasn’t going to admit that he had never thought of using braising as a method to cook crab-stuffed oranges.

Of course, if his wife suddenly got the idea to braise rice in front of him one day, maybe then it would occur to him.

Thinking about this, it seemed that Feng’s praise of his wife wasn’t really misplaced. In the entire Jiang Family, only she would braise rice to save on firewood, and if it weren’t for her insistence on braising rice over the years, nobody would have thought of this cooking method.

The old man’s mood suddenly improved a lot, his spirits quite uplifted.

Feeling better, his demeanor also softened, and he couldn’t help but smile as he looked at the steamer on the stove, saying, “Well, you keep figuring it out. I won’t disturb you.”

Jiang Feng was pleasantly surprised.

The elder was about to leave when Wu Minqi suddenly spoke up.

“Grandpa Jiang, did you just say that Granduncle Weiming has gone to buy hairy crabs?” asked Wu Minqi.

The elder nodded.

“Did he carry that much cash with him? Won’t it be inconvenient to carry so much cash?” she continued.

Proudly, the old man said, “No need to carry cash, we can also do that ‘what’s-its-name’ mobile payment like you young people.”

Jiang Feng was taken aback; he hadn’t expected both elders to be so trendy. He was just about to chime in with some flattering words when he heard Wu Minqi’s next question.

“Is your WeChat and Alipay linked to a bank card?”

The old man was stunned.

“What bank card?”

Linked to a bank card? Isn’t mobile payment just about scanning or beeping?

Then isn’t that just like swiping a card? What’s the point of mobile payment?

The old man was profoundly shocked.

“How did you pay, Grandpa?” Jiang Feng also realized that something seemed off.

Confused, the elder pulled out his phone and pointed to WeChat, “I hand my phone to the cashier, she opens this app, and then the payment is made.”

“No need to link a bank card,” the elder emphasized.

Jiang Feng seemed to understand.

Even though the elder had not linked a bank card, his balance was sizeable. When WeChat first introduced red packets, the Jiang family members, eager to show they were filial sons and grandsons, would often send red packets in the group chat, afterward saying it was for Grandpa or Grandma, letting the elders tap to collect them gradually.

Over time, since the elder couple never used mobile payment, their WeChat balance was more than enough for oranges. For example, even if it were durians, they’d still have surplus funds.

But this didn’t mean that Jiang Weiming would have enough balance in his WeChat and Alipay to buy hairy crabs.

Gauging the current prices of hairy crabs and Granduncle Weiming’s speed at snatching red packets, Jiang Feng analyzed coolly and concluded that Granduncle Weiming might just be able to afford eight crab legs.

Jiang Feng sighed; he knew it was time for his wallet to take a big hit.

Granduncle Weiming buying crabs was all for him; it was indeed fitting that he should pay for them.

And Mrs. Wang Xiulian certainly wouldn’t reimburse him for this expense.

For some reason, Mrs. Wang Xiulian wasn’t content just raiding her husband’s private stash; she also didn’t spare her son’s.

“It’s okay, Grandpa, I’ll transfer some money to Granduncle, and then he can buy them,” said Jiang Feng, taking out his phone and punching in three extra zeros during the transfer.

Meanwhile, Jiang Weiming, oblivious to all this, picked out a large bag of hairy crabs, judged by a weight he could manage, and handed his phone to the vendor to do the tapping for payment.

After settling the bill, Jiang Weiming made his way back home with the hairy crabs, marveling at how times have indeed changed, for now, even cash isn’t necessary for making payments.

Huh, why does he have so much money in his phone?

Yeah, where did that money in the phone come from?

After Jiang Weiming left, the seafood vendor was still talking to a person nearby, “I’m telling you, the wealthiest people in Beiping City are these old men and women. Just look at that old man earlier. He didn’t even blink at over four thousand yuan, as if he was just buying a bottle of water.”

The person nodded repeatedly.

“Mainly because your hairy crabs are expensive.”

“Hey, listen to you! How are my hairy crabs expensive? The quality of my hairy crabs is good! Look at that old gentleman just now, he didn’t choose any other place, he specifically came to my stall, not looking for the cheapest but for the best. You understand, don’t you?”