The Game of Life

Chapter 292: Chapter 291: Salted Duck Egg (Seeking Monthly Tickets!) (Extra for the Great Master of the Bayun Family Alliance Hierarch!)

“Are the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon really famous?” Zhou asked, showing his inexperience.

“The Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon is a signature dish of Jubao Building. A couple of years ago, during vacation, I took my wife to FJ to have some fun. We ate at Jubao Building once, and it tasted pretty good,” Dr. Lu said, his words exuding a sense of wealth, “I heard it tasted even better when Grandpa Sun personally cooked back in the days, but I don’t know what it would have been like.”

“Which restaurant is Jubao Building?” Dr. Cao and Dr. Wei asked in unison.

Dr. Lu:…

It’s impossible to have a conversation today!

“In our department, it’s only Xiao Lu who studies food all the time; the rest of us just eat whatever. Being able to drink a bowl of plain congee with a salted duck egg for breakfast is already considered a luxury,” Mr. Zhong said with a laugh.

“Speaking of salted duck eggs, the lion’s head meatballs we just had tasted really good. I didn’t expect the yolk of a salted duck egg to be inside, and for it to taste as delicious as it did,” said Dr. Cao, feeling rejuvenated after the meal.

“Yeah, it’s my first time eating lion’s head meatballs like those,” Dr. Wei nodded in agreement.

Conversations at the level of doctors like these weren’t something that medical residents, interns, and visiting doctors dared to interrupt.

“By the way, do they sell salted duck eggs in that little vegetable market in our hospital?” asked Dr. Lu, who wasn’t familiar with the hospital cafeteria since he rarely ate there; his wife usually brought him home-cooked meals.

But since his wife had gone on a trip these past couple of days, he had to stoop to ordering takeout with everyone else.

“They do sell them, and the quality is really good. You poke them with chopsticks, and oil seeps out,” said Dr. Cao, “My wife really likes the salted duck eggs from that market.”

Mr. Zhong returned with a cup of water and heard them discussing salted duck eggs, so he joined the conversation, “If you want to eat salted eggs, you should ask Xiao Sun. His family is from Gaoyou.”

Thanks to Wang Zengqi’s essay “Dragon Boat Festival Duck Eggs,” countless elementary school students who drooled over their textbooks also remembered Gaoyou’s salted duck eggs as the best in the world, usually double-yolked ones at that.

And that line, “The salted duck eggs I ate in Beiping had pale yellowyolks. What kind of salted duck eggs are these!”

At this moment, the little vegetable market next to the Benevolent Doctor’s small canteen had something to say about it.

Upon hearing Sun was actually from Gaoyou, Jiang Feng’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, “Are salted duck eggs from your place really double-yolked? Are they exceptionally tasty? Do they truly have the fine texture and abundance of oil as Wang Zengqi described?”

Caught off guard by Jiang Feng’s barrage of questions, Sun thought for a moment and said, “Double-yolked ones are indeed pretty common, and they taste a bit better than salted duck eggs from elsewhere, I guess, but they’re certainly not as delicious as what Wang Zengqi wrote, in my opinion.”

Another childhood dream from the elementary school textbooks shattered, leaving Jiang Feng feeling somewhat disappointed.

“However, the salted duck eggs from our place are indeed tastier than those from elsewhere. If you want some, Icanaskmy mom to send a few over,” Sun offered, believing in returning favors; since he had enjoyed a table full of dishes personally cooked by Jiang Feng today, it was natural to offer him some salted duck eggs in thanks.

“That would be great, thank you,” Jiang Feng replied. Despite his shattered dream, he still wanted to try the legendary authentic double-yolked Gaoyou salted duck eggs.

So many years after elementary school, two essays remained deeply engraved in his mind. One was Ye Shengtao’s “Lotus Roots and Water Shield,” and the other was Wang Zengqi’s “Dragon Boat Festival Duck Eggs.”

Jiang Feng, who grew up in a culinary aristocracy eating dishes prepared by his grandfather since he was a child, used to salivate over these two essays during Chinese class. It goes to show just how captivating these authors’ descriptions of food were.

Unfortunately, both the lotus roots and the water shield dreams had been shattered by the time he was in junior high.

During his junior high school years, the school organized a trip to Hang City. The pure vegetable soup wasn’t as tenderly green and poetic as described in textbooks, and the thinly sliced crisp lotus roots didn’t have the magical power to pacify kids for an afternoon.

What was written in the books was all lies!

When Jiang Feng left Benevolent Doctor, it was already past eight o’clock. By the time he returned to Taifeng Building, the evening service had almost ended.

In a city like Beiping, where life is efficient, fast-paced, with darkness descending only at 8 PM and the night truly beginning at 9 PM, and where restaurants usually operate until after 10 PM, Taifeng Building remained true to its roots, closing shortly after nine — all thanks to the philosophy of Jiang Jiankang and Mrs. Wang Xiulian not wanting to work overtime.

After changing his clothes and returning to the kitchen, Jiang Feng saw Sun Jikai in front of the boneless squab, realizing that he must have been relentless with the pigeons today.

“How’s Ji Yue?” asked Sun Jikai as soon as he saw Jiang Feng’s return.

At Sun Jikai’s sudden inquiry, concerned about Ji Yue’s situation, Ji Xue, Jiang Jiankang, and Wu Minqi all turned their gaze towards Jiang Feng in unison.

Jiang Feng:…

Right, how is Ji Yue?

He had gone to Benevolent Doctor today not to cook for Jiang Shoucheng but to take Ji Yue to see a doctor.

“Wait a second, let me give her a call to check on her,” Jiang Feng said.

Everyone:…

???

When Jiang Feng made the call, Ji Yue was sitting with a digital tablet, sketching while reminiscing about all the beautiful moments she had just spent with Zhang Guanghang.

While Zhang Guanghang played with his phone, she stole glances at him.

When Zhang Guanghang put down his phone, she stole glances at him.

While Zhang Guanghang was driving, she stole glances at him.

Zhang Guanghang…

Looking back on it now, her recent interactions with him felt pleasant and harmonious indeed.

“Ji Yue, how’s your foot?” Jiang Feng asked as soon as the call connected.

“It’s okay, I guess, no fractures, just a crack. The doctor prescribed some topical medicine for me and told me to rest at home for a week without walking to prevent secondary injury,” Ji Yue said. “I’m currently working on that wonton comic, and I’m sure I’ll finish it this week!”

Ji Yue had uttered this sort of nonsense too many times—like “I’ll definitely finish it by tomorrow,” “I’ll surely have it done tonight,” or “I’ll definitely hand in the draft this afternoon.” Such claims were made several times a day when Ji Yue was rushing to meet deadlines, and Jiang Feng didn’t believe a single punctuation mark of her promises.

“Well then, you better take good care of your injury, I’m hanging up now,” Jiang Feng said.

“Wait, wait, I still have something to ask you. What kind of car was Zhang Guanghang driving today? I saw the car emblem had two wings; it looked pretty nice,” Ji Yue queried.

Jiang Feng: ???

You were once able to afford a Burberry coat and you don’t recognize the Bentley emblem???

“You don’t recognize Bentley’s emblem?” Jiang Feng was astonished.

“Bentley? How would I recognize a Bentley emblem? I only recognize Dior and BMW emblems, one with 4. circles, the other like a color palette,” Ji Yue replied. “Okay, you go on with your work, I need to get back to my drawing.”

Having said that, Ji Yue hung up the phone.

Jiang Feng:…

That one is Audi…

So all those ridiculous novels are lying, right? All those stories about a poor guy hitting it big, driving a luxury car back home to slap everyone’s faces; the moment he steps out of the car with an impressive swagger, his pretentiousness flows like the wind, constantly accompanying him, stifling the crowd without uttering a word—all fake.

Because people might not even recognize the emblems of luxury cars.

“The doctor told Ji Yue to rest for a week; nothing serious,” Jiang Feng said.

Looking at the row of nine squabs on the culinary counter, Jiang Feng suddenly had an idea.

“How about we just practice with these nine birds and then head back home tonight,” Jiang Feng suggested.

“Huh?” Sun Jikai felt a jolt; knowing that Taifeng Building belonged to the Jiang Family, he wondered if Jiang Feng was starting to feel the pinch of the squab expenses?

They really had spent quite a bit practicing the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon these past few days, as squabs were not cheap.

“My second cousin is at Benevolent Hospital, right? I ran into him in the emergency department today. I noticed that the doctors there are constantly staying up late, their meals are irregular, and they look quite frail. Isn’t the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon a nourishing dish? Let’s come in early tomorrow, prepare it fresh, and send it over to them. I also need to go to Benevolent Doctor’s clinic tomorrow to teach a lady how to make carrot and beef stew,” Jiang Feng told him.

Sun Jikai had no objections. Having pulled an all-nighter the night before, and his current cultivation powers not being what they were back in college, he had been feeling somewhat unsteady during the evening business.

“Alright, let’s come in early tomorrow then,” Sun Jikai nodded in agreement.

The three then helped tidy up other areas of the kitchen and, after practicing on the nine Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeons, set off for home.

The walk from Taifeng Building to their home was always when Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi showed off their affection for one another.

Hand in hand, fingers interlocked, they ambled along at a leisurely pace.

“My mom called me yesterday and told me that it’s hot in summer, so I should drink more snow pear and lean meat soup,” Wu Minqi mentioned.

“Snow pear and lean meat soup?”

“My mom believes it’s cooling and can detoxify; we have to make it multiple times every summer back home,” Wu Minqi explained.

As soon as they talked about cooling and detoxifying, Jiang Feng thought of the Five Flowers Tea he had seen in his memory.

“It’s really been quite hot these days; I’ll find some time tomorrow to make you some Five Flowers Tea with some monk fruit added. You’ll definitely like it,” Jiang Feng promised.

“Great,” Wu Minqi smiled. “Then the day after tomorrow, I’ll make you the snow pear and lean meat soup for breakfast.”

Sun Jikai, who was walking ahead of them, silently quickened his pace.

The regular office workers, eager to get home and catch up on sleep: …

Not this couple again!

The office workers’ expressions gradually turned sour.

Is it just Five Flowers Tea? Is it just snow pear and lean meat soup?

I…

No, wait, I can’t make either of those, I can only make instant noodles.

The office workers shed lemony tears.

PS:

I want monthly tickets!! (Super duper loud)

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