The Game of Life

Chapter 485: Chapter 483: Hmm, a Radish?

When Jiang Feng left the mahjong table, he was bleary-eyed, his gaze vacant, his mind hollow, questioning the very essence of life.

Each member of the senior group was a hidden expert, their skills lying deep beneath the surface.

Mrs. Jiang and Chen Suhua had dedicated years to studying mahjong, encountering masters from all walks of life, and witnessing a variety of styles and tactics. They could be described as battle-hardened, invincible, always victorious, and rarely met a worthy opponent. If the director was willing to allocate more close-up shots of their eyes, hands, and expressions, along with some internal monologues, each and every game they played would provide excellent material for a film about mahjong prodigies and gambling sages.

Professor Li, though not fond of playing mahjong nor a frequent player, would occasionally join the other senior professors from the staff dormitory for a game during holidays. But after years of influence from Chen Suhua and equipped with his excellent knowledge in math and physics, powerful calculating capabilities, keen observational skills refined through years of teaching, and his exceptional talent for surmising the thoughts of others, he had already become an ascetic mahjong master.

Although he seldom won, he rarely made mistakes that benefited other players. If he did err, it usually favored Chen Suhua. Capable of both attacking and defending, he remained calm and collected throughout several hours of play, ensuring his wallet remained intact while also keeping his wife happy—a perfect example for Jiang Feng to follow in the future.

Three masters versus one novice—the outcome was predictable.

When Jiang Weiming returned from the kitchen to re-join the mahjong table, Jiang Feng looked at him and saw a holy aura emanating from Granduncle Weiming, as if an angel had descended to the earthly realm.

Jiang Feng, having escaped the mahjong table, felt an urgent need to eat something to soothe both his injured soul and his wallet.

The dishes from the kitchen were out of the question. Wu Minqi’s boiled pork slices might be ready, but Jiang Feng didn’t dare to have any. Zhang Guanghang’s soy-sauce-cured duck was probably still roasting slowly in the oven, and Dong Shi and Dong Li were aiming to prepare sweet and sour mandarin fish and crispy eel strips, which given their experience, were likely timed perfectly.

Jiang Feng had initially planned to just grab some sunflower seeds and peanuts, but just as he slipped them into his pocket, he saw Jiang Zaidi and Jiang Shoucheng sitting by the window, each holding a chicken leg and eating with gusto.

He hadn’t noticed when De and Cheng arrived, as at that time he had been battling it out at the mahjong table, his world dark and unfocused, oblivious to the world outside. However, he recognized the chicken legs they were holding—it was the roast chicken De had bought that afternoon.

They were large and succulent, clearly the legs of a chicken that had lived a life of laziness and gluttony, dedicated to fattening up without a care for exercise.

“De, can you give me a piece?” Jiang Feng dashed forward eagerly to share the chicken.

Jiang Zaidi generously slid the roast chicken, only left with the rump, breast meat, and feet, in front of Jiang Feng, gesturing for him to help himself.

Jiang Feng, who was not wearing gloves, tore off a small piece of chicken breast.

The Jiang family members never wore gloves while eating; by the time one bothered with gloves, all the good parts would have been snatched away by others.

“De, Cheng, when did you guys get here?” asked Jiang Feng.

“While you were playing cards,” Jiang Zaidi offered a rather vague timeframe.

As Jiang Feng slowly gnawed on the chicken breast, he scanned the other people in the hall. Not having given it much thought before, he now realized that quite a few were missing. Aside from those playing mahjong and poker, there were many fewer spectators and chatters.

“Where is everybody? The other people?” asked Jiang Feng, looking perplexed as if from another world.

“Some went shopping; others went to move things,” said Jiang Zaidi, taking a big bite of chicken.

“Your Minqi led a group of girls out to buy fruits and snacks. My parents, your parents, and his parents went to set up the sound system and microphones, saying they wanted to sing,” Jiang Shoucheng added further details.

Jiang Feng suddenly understood. While he had been focused on mahjong, the Taifeng Building’s annual gathering had become so much more diverse and colorful.

Although the warehouse did contain equipment such as speakers and microphones, it needed setting up. Wang Xiulian and the others were only responsible for locating and moving the machines; the technical task of setting up, which exceeded charging mobile phones in difficulty, was left to Jiang Zaidi and Jiang Shoucheng, who, truth be told, weren’t much better but were believed by the elders to be capable of the task.

The reason why Jiang Feng, a physics student, escaped this ordeal was that the senior family members felt he had had a hard enough time accompanying Mrs. Jiang at the mahjong table, exhausting his mind and depleting his funds. So they considerately let him munch on roast chicken while watching his two cousins sweat over the setup.

Wu Minqi returned, leading a group of girls heavily laden with all kinds of fruits, cakes, and cookies. They hadn’t managed to set up the equipment yet.

The group seemed to have raided a fruit store and a cake shop, purchasing almost every fruit available at the market this season and bringing back a rich assortment of cakes in various flavors, along with seven or eight kinds of cookies.

Ji Yue, the strongest among them, carried two heavy bags of fruits in each hand. After placing the fruits on the cold dish counter in the kitchen, Ji Yue didn’t forget to come over and give Jiang Feng a heads-up.

“Mr. Jiang, your Mr. Wu really splurged today; she paid for everything. It’s her treat,” Ji Yue pointed out.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Feng halted in mid-chew.

“So… do you think it’d still be okay for me to order some roast chicken for delivery?” asked Jiang Feng.

Ji Yue: ???

“Minqi specially bought your favorite chocolate cake, cranberry cookies, honey tangerines, and red-fleshed kiwifruits for you,” Ji Yue hinted frantically.

Jiang Feng seemed to catch on a little.

“Initially, Zhang wasn’t planning to make the soy-sauce-cured duck. It was just me watching a TV drama and mentioning it in passing a couple of days ago that I wanted to eat it, which made him change his mind,” Ji Yue continued to hint.

“I just went to the coffee shop where old Zhang from my home frequently buys coffee and got the sugar-free latte he always drinks,” Ji Yue hinted wildly.

“Your Qiqi is currently making a honey mandarin and kiwi fruit platter!” Ji Yue hinted not so subtly anymore.

Jiang Feng got it.

He had an epiphany.

He fell into deep thought.

Ji Yue smiled faintly, staying humble and unknown, and quietly left.

Jiang Feng continued to ponder.

There were only a few things his Qiqi loved to eat; she wasn’t particular about fruit, showing no favoritism, she treated them all equally.

The snacks Jiang Feng had at the plum and sunflower seed shop were all Qiqi’s favorites.

However, Jiang Feng had noticed that lately Qiqi wasn’t much into milk tea and cakes, and believed that if he bought a cup of lemon black tea without ice and presented it to Wu Minqi, she would probably smile rather reluctantly.

Fried chicken and grilled skewers were also ruled out.

Jiang Feng sighed deeply, trying to remember if Qiqi had mentioned any dishes to him lately.

After thinking for a long time, Jiang Feng remembered that this morning Wu Minqi had mentioned shredded radish pancakes and boiled cabbage.

Shredded radish, pancakes, boiled water, cabbage.

He knew how to prepare each of them separately, but he was clueless when it came to combining them.

Jiang Feng looked at the roasted chicken on the table with a touch of sadness.

Shredded radish, pancakes, boiled water, cabbage.

While Jiang Feng was still struggling, he suddenly smelled a familiar aroma.

Ji Xia was walking in with some oden from the next-door convenience store, eating as she walked; the bamboo skewer clearly had the radish Jiang Feng was familiar with.

Jiang Feng’s eyes lit up, and he waved at Ji Xia.

As Ji Xia walked toward Jiang Feng, still nibbling on the radish, she said, “Master, do you want some? I bought radishes, cabbage, eggs, meatballs, and this thing called… what’s it… wheels?”

Ji Xia showed Jiang Feng the little paper cup holding the oden, which indeed had a variety of options.

“Xiaxia, were there still radishes for sale when you bought yours?” asked Jiang Feng.

Ji Xia nodded, “Yes, the store owner made a lot of stuff today, every compartment was full. I saw him eating his own when I went to buy.”

“Then you keep eating, Xiaxia. Later you can still have cake, biscuits, and fruit, but eat less cake,” Jiang Feng said with a smile as he advised her.

Ji Xia automatically ignored the last sentence.

Jiang Feng slipped into the cold dish room, where Wu Minqi was dealing with kiwis, and half a plate of beautifully cut kiwis was already on the plate. Tang Tang was helping her make the fruit platter.

“Qiqi,” Jiang Feng called out.

Wu Minqi looked up, “Hmm?”

“Stop doing that for now, I’ll help you with it later. I brought you something to eat,” said Jiang Feng.

Wu Minqi put down the fruit knife in her hand, visibly happy but also a bit concerned, “What is it?”

“Radishes!”

“Oh, radishes.”

“Yes, radishes?”