The Game of Life

Chapter 496: Chapter 494: Rainbow Fart Attack

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Wu Minqi had Jiang Feng wait in a long queue for the tour bus until they finally got on. After leaving the breeding base, they ditched the cheaper, but slower, public transport and hailed a taxi with the air of someone set to inherit Wu Family Restaurant. She requested with the urgency of someone rushing to catch a flight:

“Master, please drive quickly to Wu Family Restaurant, we’re pressed for time!”

The taxi driver: ?

After a wild ride from the taxi driver, Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi managed to reach Wu Family Restaurant just before 6:50 pm.

Jiang Feng even felt a bit dizzy when he got out of the car.

It turned out that every taxi driver has a dream of being a race car driver; just give them the chance and you can experience the feeling of flight.

This was Jiang Feng’s first visit to Wu Family Restaurant, so it was inevitable that he stood outside and took a few extra glances at it.

Wu Family Restaurant was also constructed in an ancient style, but the historical period it mimicked differed from Taifeng Building. Because Taifeng Building had relocated to Beiping during the Republican era, it adopted the typical architectural style of the late Qing dynasty, whereas Wu Family Restaurant looked more like the taverns and teahouses depicted in the Riverside Scene at Qingming Festival. The building seemed to have undergone minor modifications on the basis of Song Period architecture, fitting the restaurant’s purported Song Period heritage perfectly.

Jiang Feng wanted to take a longer look but was hurriedly pulled inside by Wu Minqi, who was eager to get to the private room. The two hurried upstairs, with Jiang Feng being led by Wu Minqi and unable to even distinguish the route, until they arrived at the private room’s door.

At 6:52 pm, Wu Minqi took a deep breath preparing to open the door. Turning to look at Jiang Feng, she suddenly realized that her scarf was still tightly wrapped around his neck, and, after such a long time, it had not loosened but become even tighter instead.

The two quickly set to work with eight hands to untangle the scarf, and after a series of nearly suffocating maneuvers, they finally stepped into the private room at 6:55 pm.

Three people were sitting in the private room with a table full of dishes,

Mrs. Wu was happily sipping tea with a friendly smile as Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi arrived.

Wu Hanxue was drinking tea expressionlessly and gave them an equally expressionless glance as they entered.

Old Sir Wu was sipping his tea seriously, not even sparing a glance at Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi, engrossed in his cup of tea.

“Qiqi and Jiang are here. I told Qiqi coming at 7 o’clock would be fine, but these kids, fearing that we’d wait, have come so early. We too had just sat down and started sipping our tea when you arrived,” Mrs. Wu began telling tall tales with open eyes.

“We’re the ones who are late. I’m terribly sorry to have kept you waiting, Auntie,” Jiang Feng quickly said, turning his head to see what Wu Hanxue and the never-before-met Old Sir Wu’s expressions were like, only to be captivated by a cold dish on the table.

It was a “Fish Leaping Through the Dragon Gate” patterned platter, similar to Jiang Weiming’s “Splendid Chickens Singing to Spring,” both semi-three-dimensional and beautifully composed. The golden, semi-dimensional carp was particularly eye-catching. The patterned platter was impeccable, from the base to the border to the surface, with details as small as the waves at the bottom layer to the leaping fish above, all meticulously arranged—revealing the creator’s attentiveness.

Jiang Feng had an idea, knowing what he would say later on.

Jiang Feng brought his gaze back from the platter and nodded at Wu Hanxue, saying, “Mr. Wu, hello. It’s been a while since we last met, and you seem to have gotten much younger.”

Wu Hanxue smiled and nodded. Under the deathly stares of Mrs. Wu and Wu Minqi, even his hand holding the teacup began to tremble slightly as he barely managed to say, “Sit down, don’t just stand there.”

Of course, Jiang Feng didn’t sit right away but instead took a couple of steps toward Old Sir Wu, saying, “Hello, Sir Wu, my name is Jiang Feng.”

“Dad, this is Qiqi’s boyfriend, Jiang. Hanxue and I met him at the beginning of the year; he’s a very polite and diligent good young man,” Mrs. Wu said with a smile, gesturing with her eyes for Jiang Feng to sit down.

Jiang Feng quietly took a seat next to Wu Minqi.

“Hmm,” Old Sir Wu’s expression was unreadable, still serious. Perhaps it was just his regular demeanor and he couldn’t switch out of it momentarily.

Jiang Feng scrutinized the patterned platter on the table and glanced over the other dishes, feeling reassured.

Counting the cold dishes and soup, there were ten dishes on the table in total. Every dish was exquisitely arranged, clearly showing that Wu Hanxue and Old Sir Wu wanted to take this opportunity to flaunt their Wu Family culinary skills in front of Jiang Feng. Given his limited familiarity with Sichuan cuisine, there were a few dishes on the table Jiang Feng had never seen before. Apart from the “Fish Leaping Through the Dragon Gate” platter, it was hard to distinguish by appearance alone which dishes were made by Wu Hanxue and which by Old Sir Wu.

Therefore, to sing Old Sir Wu’s praises, he should start with the “Fish Leaping Through the Dragon Gate” platter.

When it comes to singing the praises of elders known for their outstanding culinary skills, the Jiang Family juniors are professionals.

It took Jiang Feng only a matter of seconds to come up with a sentence, and a few more to organize it in his head. Jiang Feng adjusted his expression, displaying one of awe, and slightly raised his voice: “Sir Wu, surely it was you who made this ‘Fish Leaping Through the Dragon Gate’ platter? May I ask what this dish is called?”

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Old Sir Wu silently set down his teacup, sat up straight, and his facial expression unconsciously eased a lot as he said, “Let’s call it ‘Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate.'”

“What an excellent name! One look and you can tell that it fits both the concept and theme perfectly, and it even has a story behind it. This is simply the most outstanding floral food platter I’ve ever seen!” Jiang Feng said with a face full of admiration.

Old Sir Wu sat up even straighter, his words very modest, “It’s not as good as your granduncle Weiming’s ‘Splendid Chickens Singing to Spring.’ I saw the latest issue of ‘Taste’ where the floral food platter featured by your granduncle Jiang Weiming is indeed unparalleled.”

Jiang Feng shook his head repeatedly, “No, no, no, Sir Wu, you are too modest. Your ‘Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate’ and my granduncle’s ‘Splendid Chickens Singing to Spring’ are certainly neck and neck. Whether it is the composition, knifework, selection of ingredients, or the floral food platter itself, it’s hard to distinguish which is superior. This carp that you have made, with varying types of fish meat using different cuts to create a gradient effect that brings out a sense of layering, is something I have never seen before. It is truly a work of art!”

“Not to mention, just the slices of fish that are thin as cicada wings are worthy of being called works of art!”

Jiang Feng’s barrage of not-so-clever flattery made Old Sir Wu feel particularly pleased, giving Jiang Feng the first smile he had showed since they met. From Wu Hanxue’s look of surprise, Jiang Feng could tell that Old Sir Wu rarely laughed.

“What works of art? The dishes are made for eating. Come on, Jiang, have some dishes,” Sir Wu said with a laugh, noticing that the cups in front of Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi were empty. He raised his hand, preparing to call the waiter, “What would Jiang and Minqi like to drink? I heard you young people like to drink that… what’s it called? ‘Otaku water’? I’ll have the waiter bring over two bottles of it.”

“There’s no need, Sir Wu. Minqi and I will just have tea,” Jiang Feng quickly refused.

“Right, grandfather, Jiang Feng and I will just have tea,” Wu Minqi quickly agreed, reaching for the teapot to pour the tea.

Jiang Feng picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of the eel dish in front of him whose name he didn’t know.

“Minqi, what is this dish?” Jiang Feng whispered.

“This is steamed green eel, it’s one of my father’s specialties,” Wu Minqi whispered back, “Here’s the dipping sauce dish. You can have a bit of it with the sauce.”

“Green eel?”

Taking Wu Minqi’s advice, Jiang Feng dipped a little sauce, and upon tasting, he found that the dish was neither too light nor too heavy. Overall, it was very delicate, yet the flavors of pepper and Sichuan pepper were distinctly present, complementing the ginger vinegar dipping sauce beautifully.

“It’s eel, just that it’s not the season for eels now so they’re not as plump and succulent. Though this dish is called steamed green eel, the actual cooking process is quite complicated. The eel slices must be placed on pig’s caul fat sprinkled with seasoning, then covered with thin slices of pork cut to the same length and width, wrapped in paper and steamed. After they’re out of the steamer, boiling clear broth is poured over them. Buried underneath the eel is egg foo young which stays warm after the eel is eaten. It absorbs the broth and the eel’s flavor, which I always thought is the most delicious part of this dish,” explained Wu Minqi quickly to Jiang Feng.

“Moreover, I’ve heard that chefs with great skills can cover the steamed green eel after pouring the clear broth, and upon uncovering at the table, the aroma can drift for fifty meters.”

Jiang Feng was impressed though skeptical; the culinary world had many such legends, but very few could truly be achieved.

“Jiang, what do you think of this steamed green eel?” Wu Hanxue, who had been silent for a while, asked. He had been watching Jiang Feng since he had picked up his chopsticks, waiting for him to comment.

Jiang Feng knew the moment had come to showcase his years of practiced flattery and said earnestly, “It’s exquisitely delicious. With its whitish color and clear broth, had I not tasted it today, I wouldn’t have believed that eel could be so tender, plump and succulent! I used to think steamed bass was the epitome of deliciousness, but compared to this steamed green eel, it doesn’t hold a candle to the beauty of this eel.”

Jiang Feng’s flattery was of such caliber that Old Sir Wu would have simply listened and let it pass without much notice. But Wu Hanxue had never seen Jiang Family’s flair for flattery and was quite embarrassed by Jiang Feng’s words, merely nodding his head and burying himself in the dish.

“You used the wrong poem,” Wu Minqi whispered.

“No worries,” Jiang Feng gave Wu Minqi a confident look that said ‘your boyfriend has this in the bag.’

The next half hour turned into Jiang Feng’s flattery showcase; with each bite of the dishes came a compliment. Though not as exaggerated as before and without mistaken quotes, his comments were abundant in earnest volume and never repetitive.

Throughout the meal, Wu Hanxue and Old Sir Wu’s fondness for Jiang Feng grew exponentially, and by the end of it, they had gone from calling him ‘Jiang’ to ‘Feng.’

As the meal concluded, and the flattery had yielded its rewards, with those being flattered wearing broad smiles and the observers well-fed, the moment for parting neared. Old Sir Wu finally posed the question he had wanted to ask from the beginning, now with a full smile on his face:

“Feng, I wonder how Granduncle Weiming’s health is. Is he in Shu? If so, I should pay him a visit.”

Jiang Feng responded with a warm smile, “Sir Wu, my granduncle spent this year in Magic City with my second uncle for the New Year’s celebration. I doubt he’ll return to Shu.”

“Your second uncle, Jiang Yong?” Old Sir Wu frowned, clearly aware of the strained father-son relationship between Jiang Weiming and Jiang Yong.

“That’s right, we’ll meet next time if fate allows,” said Old Sir Wu.