The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 435: Chapter 433: Father and Son Showdown

The next day, the extent of Wang Hao’s misery and whether he truly experienced what it meant to have his joy sucked away by a few dishes were left unaccounted for, but one thing was certain: Jiang Feng thoroughly enjoyed himself.

A true chef should take revenge… no, that didn’t sound right—something about that was off.

In any case, after finishing the pure meat wontons Jiang Feng meticulously prepared for him, Wang Hao deeply understood what it meant when they said “Your Feng is truly your Feng; a bowl of wontons could take your life.” After returning, Wang Hao experienced a burst of inspiration, penning down the stymied advertising copy he had been struggling with for days, earning the praise of his superiors, hence embarking on a new chapter in his advertising copy career.

Jiang Feng continued to practice stuffing oranges with crab, having told Mrs. Wang Xiulian during the National Day that it would be ready for the menu by mid-October. Now that it was mid-October, he felt it wasn’t quite the right time to add it to the menu yet.

The efficiency was too low.

While it was a dish that could be prepared by multiple people before the final steaming by him, the lack of enough hands meant he had to complete most of the steps himself, which Jiang Feng felt was a colossal waste of time.

Ever since the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon was added to the menu, Jiang Feng’s happy, carefree days were gone for good, each day bustlingly busy. If he were to add the stuffed crab oranges, he feared he would truly experience the sensation of it being National Day every day, with every day feeling like a holiday.

This rather novel and attractively presented dish that wasn’t particularly delicious was bound to be popular.

Jiang Feng knew that besides Ji Xia, he needed to find another helper.

Ji Xia’s basic skills weren’t up to snuff; while picking crab was a matter of practice makes perfect, dealing with oranges was too difficult for her. Practice was one thing, but counting on it as work would certainly lead to mistakes. Jiang Feng needed a skilled worker with at least advanced-level knifework and high work efficiency to help him with the oranges.

There were quite a few chefs at Taifeng with advanced-level knifework, but not many who could help. Wu Minqi was a good choice, but recently, Wu was exploring a new dish she had learned and could only offer help when free—a consistent assistant role was out of the question.

Zhang Guanghang was an even less likely option; old Zhang had so much on his plate, he hardly had time for love, let alone to serve as Jiang Feng’s sous chef—it was a pipe dream.

Jiang Weisheng and Zhang Weiyu were once reasonable options, but only in the past. The meticulous work wasn’t suitable for Jiang Weisheng at his age, and as for Zhang Weiyu…

If his salary increased further, it would surpass Jiang Feng’s.

Considering this, there was only one possible candidate left.

Jiang Jiankang!

His own father!

As soon as it came to mind, Jiang Feng was determined, and after mentally sifting through everyone, he set his sights on Jiang Jiankang, who was contentedly sipping a Coke at the back kitchen entrance—the icy kind that would make one burp exactly like in the ads.

“Xiaxia, I’ll be out for a moment. Keep your focus on the oranges and don’t get distracted. I’ll check on it when I’m back,” Jiang Feng instrcuted.

“Hmm,” Ji Xia nodded. “Master, when can I start learning to make the stuffed crab oranges?”

Ji Xia had completely forgotten that her initial reason for apprenticing under Jiang Feng was to learn how to cook porridge. Now, her heart and soul were set on the stuffed crab oranges. She genuinely liked the dish and wanted to learn it.

“When you can competently deal with an orange within twenty minutes, that’s when you can start learning the stuffed crab oranges,” said Jiang Feng.

“But… Sister Wu said that with my current skill level, I won’t be able to learn it,” Ji Xia voiced her dilemma, knowing full well that she might not master it, yet still longing to learn.

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t learn it now; just start learning, and with time, you will get it. Right now, it might not work, but once your skills in knifework, seasoning, and fire control improve, you would naturally be able to do it. That’s how it is with learning to cook—as long as you have a solid foundation, learning new dishes is very easy,” Jiang Feng reassured. “Didn’t you hear what your third senior master said to your grandpa the other day? Just because a teacher teaches doesn’t mean a student has to learn.”

Ji Xia: ???

Did the third senior master say that?

After bluffing Ji Xia, Jiang Feng went out to look for Jiang Jiankang, who had just finished a bottle of ice-cold Coca-Cola and was in a relaxed and leisurely state, sitting on a little chair as if lounging in a massage chair, his face the epitome of peaceful times.

“Dad.”

“Son, fancy a Coke? If so, go grab one from the fridge, and while you’re at it, fetch your dad another Fanta—make sure it’s grape flavor,” Jiang Jiankang said.

Jiang Feng: …

“You should drink less soda,” Jiang Feng switched into parent mode, “Mom has told you several times to cut down on cola. Your blood sugar was already high during last year’s physical, and here you are, taking advantage of her absence to sip cola.”

“Your mom also sneaks Sprites, and she drinks them ice-cold,” Jiang Jiankang muttered under his breath.

Jiang Feng: …

“I have something I’d like to discuss with you.” Jiang Feng got to the point, but feeling that standing made the conversation too formal, he went over, brought back a chair, and sat down face to face with Jiang Jiankang.

“The season for the dish Orange Stuffed with Crab is pretty short, just a few months overall. Mom told me before to seize the time and try to get the dish on the menu by mid-October. The taste is alright now, but the efficiency is just too low. You know this dish; both oranges and crabs are troublesome to handle. I can have Xiaxia deal with the crabs, but she’s not skilled enough to handle the oranges, so… I see you’ve had quite some time on your hands lately,” Jiang Feng said with a sly smile.

After hearing the last sentence, Jiang Jiankang instantly went on high alert and began to whine, “Son, Dad has been tired from making fried rice lately! As you know, making fried rice, you have to toss the wok. Back when you were in primary school, I could stir-fry from morning till night without a break. But not anymore, now that you’ve grown from a little guy to being just one… half a head shorter than your dad. Dad would like to help, but I just can’t take it physically!”

Jiang Feng might have believed his father’s plaintive speech, full of genuine emotion and helplessness, if he hadn’t just discovered that morning Jiang Jiankang’s perfect spot for slacking behind the shelf.

“Dad, we can eat less. From now on, we don’t have to eat fried rice at all, and you can make fewer woks of it. Once Mom wakes up, I’ll talk to her about it. I believe Mom will understand for the sake of getting Orange Stuffed with Crab on the menu!” Jiang Feng mustered all his acting skills, his voice full of emotion.

“No, no,” Jiang Jiankang waved his hands, “Dad can handle the hardship, but I can’t let you kids suffer. Look at our family, working to the bone every day, and to think we couldn’t even enjoy a few bowls of fried rice… what are we working so hard for? Your mom’s had it tough too, crunching numbers till late at night. She might be happy about it, but it’s exhausting. We can’t let her go without her share of fried rice!”

“Dad!”

“Son!”

“You really won’t help?”

“Won’t help.”

“Oh.”

“Get me a Fanta.”

Jiang Feng went to the fridge to fetch a Fanta for Jiang Jiankang, deliberately picking one that had just been put in and wasn’t cold at all.

After a spectacular father-son performance, Jiang Feng felt utterly drained. Just as he was about to head back to the kitchen to think about who else could be roped into unpaid labor, Zhou Shi, who had never had much of a presence and whose loyalty was now down to 17 points, suddenly popped up from nowhere.

He made a beeline for Jiang Feng.

“Little boss,” Zhou Shi said with a smile, his tone humble.

Jiang Feng’s guard went up immediately; the last time Zhou Shi smiled at him, his loyalty had dropped from 19 to 17. With such a friendly smile this time, who knew if there was any loyalty left.

“What is it?” Jiang Feng asked.

“I just overheard… purely by accident, I was coming out of the changing room. It seems like you’re looking for someone to help you with the oranges for the Orange Stuffed with Crab. My knifework is still decent; how about me?” Zhou Shi inquired.

Jiang Feng was taken aback.

“You’re willing to help me prep the oranges for the Orange Stuffed with Crab? That’s grunt work,” Jiang Feng emphasized.

“I’m willing.”

Jiang Feng felt like he had an epiphany.

Zhou Shi wanted to learn how to make Orange Stuffed with Crab.

“You want to learn how to make Orange Stuffed with Crab?” Jiang Feng asked directly.

Caught off guard by Jiang Feng’s directness, Zhou Shi hesitated, then decided to be frank too, “Yes, I want to learn how to make Orange Stuffed with Crab.”

“I want to trade a dish with you, little boss, for the recipe for Orange Stuffed with Crab.”