The Game of Life

“A dish?” Jiang Feng was even more surprised.

Could it be that Zhou Shi was actually the last descendant of some Culinary Aristocracy, harboring a precious family recipe that he was worried others might discover, hence his prolonged concealment of his skills? Now that Zhou Shi took a liking to the stuffed orange crab, he decided to exchange it for his family’s recipe.

No sooner had this thought crossed Jiang Feng’s mind than he dismissed it as absurd; although rare, the stuffed orange crab was not some unmatched delicacy that someone would trade a family recipe for.

That’s not right, what era was this, where could so many family recipes even come from?

“It’s actually not a grand dish, it’s just that I saw you, Boss, learning to cook sea cucumber with the two head chefs the other day, so my dish happens to be a sea cucumber dish; that’s why I thought of exchanging it with you,” Zhou Shi explained, seeing the look on Jiang Feng’s face and realizing that he had overthought it.

“A sea cucumber dish?”

“Yes, cold mixed sea cucumber,” said Zhou Shi, “It’s not difficult, but the method is quite fresh and different from the usual way of preparing cold mixed sea cucumber. If it were a common way everyone uses, I wouldn’t have the nerve to ask to exchange it with you for the stuffed orange crab recipe.”

Jiang Feng was slightly tempted.

He had been practicing sea cucumber dishes for some time now, with scallion stewed sea cucumber being what he had practiced the most. He had also tried other methods like trimming, braising, and soup-making, but seldom worked on cold mixed sea cucumber.

If Zhou Shi really had a novel way to prepare cold mixed sea cucumber, Jiang Feng wouldn’t mind teaching him how to make stuffed orange crab.

Chefs exchanging and learning from one another was quite common; as long as it wasn’t a secret technique exclusive to one, there was nothing wrong with learning from each other.

“Why do you want to learn stuffed orange crab?” Jiang Feng asked curiously.

Zhou Shi was a traditional Shandong cuisine chef; stuffed orange crab neither belonged to Shandong cuisine nor was it a prestigious dish. Zhou Shi’s loyalty had dropped to 17, blatantly signaling that he was about to leave, yet he stayed at Taifeng for a mere stuffed orange crab dish—even when Yueyue docked his pay and the overtime pay during National Day wasn’t enough to make him leave.

Surely a single dish of stuffed orange crab couldn’t have such great appeal.

Not to mention that Jiang Feng didn’t even cook it particularly well, still unable to achieve an A-grade dish.

“Boss, to be frank with you, I’m planning to resign by the end of the year,” Zhou Shi said.

Jiang Feng: …

Had someone given Zhou Shi a truth serum?

Jiang Feng feigned surprise: “Ah? You want to resign? Is there something lacking in our establishment? If it’s a matter of salary, we can discuss it—there’s no need to resign. If there are any issues, just bring them up, and we can all work on improving them together!”

The image of a good boss trying to retain a resigning employee was unmistakable.

Zhou Shi laughed: “Boss, you’ve noticed I’ve been wanting to resign for a while, haven’t you?”

Jiang Feng: …

Young comrade, you’re a bit rebellious, aren’t you? Look, there’s no need to wait until the end of the year, you can resign right now if you like.

“Ahem.” Jiang Feng coughed awkwardly twice, “You’ve noticed, huh? Well, actually, you’ve been acting a bit strange lately. You know, I have a strong sixth sense. Since last month, I’ve noticed that you’ve been somewhat distracted and always looking around. I was going to find a time to talk it over with you, but look, it’s been so busy, especially over National Day, and even now we’re all still recovering, so I forgot about it.” ℟𝘢ℕô𐌱Ę𐌔

“Can you share why you want to resign? Is there something wrong with this place?” Jiang Feng asked.

“There is nothing wrong with Taifeng Building; it’s my own issue,” Zhou Shi said.

He was usually quiet and didn’t interact much with others. His daily routine consisted of going to work, then going home, getting complaints from customers at the end of the month and having his pay docked, never joining in gatherings, so he didn’t make much of an impression. As a result, people didn’t know much about him.

After being colleagues for over three months, no one even knew if he was married.

To put it in perspective, even Han Yigu’s past girlfriends had all been dug up by Sang Ming, while the only things known about Zhou Shi were his last name, his age of 29, and that he was a reclusive man approaching thirty—and nothing else.

“I came to Beiping at the age of 15 to seek a living, along with my cousin,” Zhou Shi suddenly began telling his story.

“I started out doing odd jobs in a small restaurant. I was initially a dishwasher, but because of staff shortages, the boss had me assist the kitchen, and that’s how I became a chef. I have worked in many restaurants, both small and large, from dingy diners to grand hotels, and learned a lot by openly asking and covertly observing. Earlier this year, I heard about a new restaurant looking to open, so I left my previous job to apply.”

“Although I’ve never formally apprenticed, I consider my skills pretty good. Initially, I thought that Taifeng Building, being new, wouldn’t be able to attract any impressive chefs, and I might have a chance to become the head chef and be in charge. However, I didn’t expect to find so much talent here; not only was I not considered good, I turned out to be the worst among the many Furnace Chefs.”

“To tell the truth, it’s my own fault. I couldn’t get what I wanted, and so my heart wasn’t really at work; I was often absent-minded and would occasionally make mistakes. I was frequently complained about by customers, and having my salary docked was within reason. So my resignation isn’t because of the restaurant; Taifeng Building is very good, possibly the best I’ve ever worked in, with excellent welfare and treatment, and the bosses, including you, are very nice. But none of these are what I really want.”

“Last month, I heard that a high-end restaurant was going to open early next year, and I was thinking of resigning to apply there. I also wanted to learn something before resigning, so I took an interest in your Stuffed Crab Oranges. At the beginning of this month, I found out that the new restaurant is actually a French diner, which turned out to be a joke on me. But I’ve thought it through; I’m someone who always wants to be the best. Even when I was washing dishes and there were only two of us, I would strive to be number one, let alone now. It’s better to be a big fish in a small pond than a small fish in a big pond. I’ve lived in Beiping for so many years and saved up some money. All these years, my heart was set on working in a big restaurant as a head chef. I’m almost thirty and don’t even have a partner, my parents back home are very anxious.”

“Now that I’ve said so much, there’s nothing I feel embarrassed about. I remember when I applied for the job, the contract didn’t say how soon I couldn’t resign. I’m planning to resign at the end of the year mainly for the year-end bonus. Although the bonus shouldn’t be much for someone with my experience, every little bit counts. I’m planning to go back to my hometown and open a private dining restaurant, so I won’t have to spend all day thinking about competing with others, and trying to learn this and that on the sly.”

Zhou Shi spoke honestly, and Jiang Feng believed much of it, but he still didn’t understand why Zhou Shi, planning to not job-hop but to open his own private dining restaurant back home, was still hung up on learning Stuffed Crab Oranges.

“If you’re not planning to job-hop, why do you still want to learn Stuffed Crab Oranges?” Jiang Feng asked.

“Because I previously wanted to learn Stuffed Crab Oranges, I observed carefully when you were making it, and I’ve also looked up a lot of information about this dish. Stuffed Crab Oranges can even be considered a dessert; the taste is sweet and sour, some people like it, and some don’t. The palate back home happens to prefer this sweet and sour taste. Stuffed Crab Oranges isn’t a common dish, and many patrons may have never even heard of it. If I learn it and go back home, I can make it a signature dish. That’s why I just offered to exchange the Noodle-Pulled Sea Cucumbers recipe for this dish. From every angle, it’s a win for me, but I can understand if you’re unwilling.” Once things are said out in the open, there’s nothing to worry about anymore.

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t teach you,” Jiang Feng said. “You must all realize that our family’s culinary skills are a heirloom. Jiang Family’s heirloom recipes are unique secrets, naturally not to be casually taught to outsiders. However, Stuffed Crab Oranges, to some extent, is a dish I researched on my own due to personal interest, so there’s no reason not to teach it. If you were an employee of Taifeng Building, and you asked me to teach you, I’d do it. Now you’re planning to resign, if you want to exchange, I’ll exchange.”

“You might not believe what I am about to say, but we didn’t open the restaurant for the money. Of course, we do it for money too; we owe a lot of debts to run this restaurant and have to pay them off by the end of the year. But this restaurant has a significance for my grandfathers far beyond money. Do you remember what the sign at the entrance looks like? It’s the one my great-grandfather brought over from Outside the Pass. Wherever that sign hangs, there lies Taifeng Building, even if it’s just a dive or a tiny place. That sign is Taifeng Building.”

“This building holds extraordinary significance for our family; it represents my grandfathers’ lifelong obsession. They were in their eighties and nineties when they finally realized their dream of reopening Taifeng Building. All of us in the Jiang Family hope that the restaurant can thrive. We don’t aim to make a fortune daily, but rather to become renowned, to be that famous restaurant once again praised by all patrons.”

“The sign at the entrance has been passed down for nearly two hundred years, and there are many stories behind it that even my grandfathers don’t know. You’ve shared so much with me, so I won’t hide anything from you either. My grandfather was not even ten years old when he left Beiping City to flee from wartime chaos. It took over seventy years for him to return this year, all for this restaurant. Taifeng Building was originally our Jiang Family’s ancestral establishment, through many trials and changes of hands, and, by a stroke of luck, it has come back to us. Our whole family, dozens of us, have moved across great distances back to Beiping City, all to revive Taifeng Building, to restore its former glory, and to claim a spot in this vast city of Beiping.”

“After saying so much that might seem useless, I just want to ask you to work hard in these last few months, to bring out your due level of skill. When we were hiring, besides a few pre-selected chefs, you and Sun Jikai were the only furnace chefs we took on, and my grandfather even thought higher of you than Sun Jikai. I know you must be truly skilled, as you said earlier, but you’ve not been focusing on your cooking. Now that you’re preparing to resign, I suppose you’ll be even less inclined to work seriously.”

“What you want to learn, as long as we can teach, we will teach. You can see that everyone freely shares their thoughts on dishes, Sun Jikai even discussed his family restaurant’s signature dish with me without holding back. I’m just asking you to work hard, to do it seriously. Although the beginning might not have been ideal, and the middle was less pleasant, at least we can finish things off properly, right?”

“All right?” Jiang Feng looked at Zhou Shi.

With great solemnity, Zhou Shi nodded: “Yes!”

“Boss, you can count on me, I’ll definitely work hard in these last few months!”

“Good, then today I’ll show you how to make Stuffed Crab Oranges first. After you’ve learned it, there’s no rush to teach me Noodle-Pulled Sea Cucumbers. I’m slow when it comes to learning new things, so I’ll be counting on your patience then,” Jiang Feng said with a smile and headed towards the kitchen.

Ji Xia had already prepared the oranges, and now she was holding them, re-checking to see if there were any parts that hadn’t been cleaned properly.

“You left too much orange juice, haven’t I told you before? Just leave a shallow layer at the bottom, too many oranges left inside will make the steam flavor off,” Jiang Feng concluded after inspecting the orange Ji Xia had prepared, “This one can’t be used.”

Another orange wasted.

“You eat the orange segments you just removed yourself,” Jiang Feng said.

“Then, Master, I’ll go to Grandma Chen’s to cook for Da Hua,” Ji Xia said, quickly finishing off the orange segments, ready to get to work.

Jiang Feng raised his hand to stop her, “Wait a moment, no rush, I’ll teach you how to make crab-stuffed oranges today. Just watch me and head over after I finish teaching.”

Ji Xia was a bit puzzled, “Master, didn’t you say that you’d teach me how to make crab-stuffed oranges only after I got good at preparing the oranges? I’m not prepared; I didn’t bring paper and pen, I… I might not be able to learn.”

Student Ji Xia was very self-aware.

“How did you learn noodle pulling before?” Jiang Feng asked her.

“I was helping at Master Liang’s place, watching him pull noodles every day, and later Master Liang said he would teach me, so I learned by practicing,” Ji Xia replied.

“Just treat making crab-stuffed oranges like noodle pulling. Watch me do it every day, and gradually you’ll pick it up. Move aside so you’re not blocking Zhou Shi’s view; he’s learning with you.”

Zhou Shi nodded to Ji Xia.

Ji Xia turned to Zhou Shi, “Chef Zhou, did you also become a disciple of my Master? Should I call you senior brother or junior brother?”

Zhou Shi: ???

Zhou Shi was momentarily at a loss for words.

Jiang Feng threw an orange to Ji Xia, chiding with a laugh, “What senior brother or junior brother? Your Chef Zhou is here for an exchange and to learn, it’s different from you. Here’s an orange for you to start with; keep working on it while you learn, don’t idle around.”

“Oh.” Ji Xia obediently went to get a small knife but didn’t forget to wash it first.

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