The Game of Life

Chapter 559: Chapter 557 Jinglixiang

At 8:05 AM, the entire staff of Taifeng Building began their new day of tense and busy work.

Because she had stayed up late working the night before and hadn’t slept well, Fan Mei had to wake up early to do her makeup and rush to work, which resulted in a poorly applied makeup. After being reminded by Ji Yue that the eyeliner at the corners of her eyes seemed to have smeared, she hurried to the ladies’ restroom to touch it up.

Aside from the manager touching up her makeup in the restroom, the hall was orderly, while the kitchen experienced a bit of a stir.

The main reason was the arrival of a special visitor to the kitchen—Dong Shi and Dong Li’s master, the former head chef of the soon-to-be-renamed Huang Ji Restaurant, the famed Master of Suzhou-style cuisine, Mr. Huang Shengli.

Since Mr. Huang Shengli did not like everyone, including his disciples, to call him by his full name, they all referred to him as Master Huang.

Master Huang didn’t just show up, he also brought gifts—he brought soup.

Two big pots of soup, in pressure cookers, were a real hassle for Dong Shi and Dong Li as they had to carry the pressure cookers to work. If they were lucky enough to have their photo taken by passers-by and posted online, it might make the cut for the Confusing Behavior Awards of the Year.

Jiang Feng and others were drinking the soup, gathering quietly around the two pressure cookers with their bowls in hand, including the ones carrying them, Dong Shi and Dong Li.

The two pots of soup—one was chicken soup, the other pork bone soup.

Without even tasting it, just by the way the soup was ladled into the bowls, Jiang Feng could tell that the two pots of soup had been simmered for a long time. They had been cooked for at least six hours, and during the process, Master Huang must have stayed by the pots, skimming off the scum.

Although there were other ingredients like red dates, longan, and lotus root added to these two soups for flavoring and enhancement, when Jiang Feng drank them, he felt as though he was not drinking stewed soup, but a stock.

A stock used for cooking dishes.

Master Huang said nothing, watching everyone drink the soup quietly. While doing so, he occasionally set his eyes on Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming, but more often on Jiang Feng and Jiang Weisheng.

Jiang Feng also watched Master Huang.

He noticed that under normal circumstances, Master Huang looked quite spirited.

Master Huang was no longer young, his hair graying, his facial skin lax with numerous wrinkles, and his hands even bore many age spots. In addition, Dong Shi and Dong Li often mentioned to Jiang Feng and the others that Master Huang’s health had not been good in recent years, suffering from common age-related diseases and rheumatism. The weak appearance of Master Huang who had just got off the plane yesterday was deeply imprinted in Jiang Feng’s mind, making Huang’s image in his mind that of a frail old man whose vitality was not quite adequate.

But the truth was that although Master Huang was an old man, his spirit was not lacking, which was evident from the intense gaze he bestowed upon Jiang Feng, Jiang Weisheng, Jiang Weiguo, and Jiang Weiming.

Master Huang was very excited inside, and his excitement was already showing through some of his behavior.

From the moment he walked into the kitchen behind his two disciples carrying pressure cookers and saw Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming, he felt that these two elderly gentlemen must be brothers of his own master.

Even though his master’s name wasn’t Jiang Weijin and he didn’t even share the last name Jiang—his master was named Jinglixiang—Master Huang just felt that these two elderly men were his grand-uncles.

Because he knew his master’s real name wasn’t Jinglixiang, a quirky name that his master himself admitted to have changed because he often mocked his own fate of experiencing family ruin and leaving his hometown at a young age.

Even though his master passed away early and he had never seen what his master looked like in old age, Master Huang was adamant that these two were his true grand-uncles.

He even wanted to warmly greet the two grand-uncles and show off his own talents to them, proving that he was a talented grand-nephew.

He thought so, and he did so.

“Grand-uncles, what do you think of the soup I’ve made?” Master Huang asked, his tone eager, even carrying a hint of pleasing from a younger generation.

Jiang Weiming & Jiang Weiguo: ?

Jiang Weiguo was confused.

Unlike Jiang Weiming, who had been clued in by Jiang Feng early and had been mentally prepared, it was just yesterday that Jiang Weiming had told him that his second elder brother might have been in this world but had passed away, leaving several disciples behind, two of whom were working in their own restaurant—a story that seemed quite convoluted and peculiar.

Jiang Weiguo had already been somewhat baffled, and now he was completely stunned by Master Huang’s calling him grand-uncle—he couldn’t utter a word and could only look at Jiang Weiming with eyes filled with confusion, incomprehension, shock, and a mix of indescribable emotions.

Jiang Weiming was a bit stunned; although he felt that Huang Shengli’s master was most likely his own blood-related second brother, Huang Shengli’s easy and simple recognition of him as kin made him even suspect Huang Shengli might be a swindler.

As an elderly man who had once lived alone in the countryside for a long time, Jiang Weiming had encountered all kinds of swindlers, even more than Jiang Weiguo, Zhao LanHua, and Sun Guanyun combined.

He suspected that he might have encountered a new scamming technique, familial fraud.

“Um, wait a second, this, Huang… Little Huang, may I call you Little Huang?” Jiang Weiming tried to organize his language.

No one had called Master Huang “Little Huang” after he had grown old, but since it was his master’s younger brother who was saying this, it was fine.

Master Huang nodded with a smile, “Third Uncle Master, of course you can.”

Master Huang had already inquired about the seniority of Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming from Dong Shi and Dong Li before coming here.

Jiang Weiming: …

“Little Huang, there’s no need to call me Uncle Master for the time being. After all, today we… we are just here to discuss and confirm, not to say it’s certain, it could just be a coincidence, considering my second brother has been gone for many years.” Jiang Weiming said, “Let’s… let’s exchange some information for now, and talk outside.”

“Feng, Jiankang,” Jiang Weiming gestured to Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang to go out with them.

The five of them left the kitchen and came to the changing room, which was empty at the moment and had some small stools, making it a suitable place for talking.

“Master Huang, please talk about your master’s situation first. That way, my grandfather and my granduncle can also make sure, right?” Jiang Feng, the spokesperson of the Jiang Family’s foreign affairs, took the initiative to speak.

“Alright, it just so happens that I also want to talk to my two Uncle Masters about my master’s past.” Master Huang said readily. He sat down on a small stool and began to recount the past.

“We don’t know what name master originally had, but my fellow apprentice and I both knew he had changed his name, we just didn’t know master had changed his surname as well. When master took us in, he was called Jinglixiang, and at that time, he was working at a very famous restaurant in our Gusu. My fellow apprentice and I were both working as helpers at the restaurant when he took us as his apprentices.”

“Master had a lame leg and needed a crutch to walk, making it very inconvenient for him, and he had two scars on his face that were quite unsightly. That’s why master never married, and it was always my fellow apprentice and I who took care of him until he passed away.” Master Huang wasn’t sure what Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weiguo wanted to hear, so he picked the details he thought were important to share.

“That second brother, no, your master, how did he become lame and where did the scars on his face come from?” Jiang Weiming asked.

Master Huang shook his head: “I’m not sure about that. Master never mentioned it.”

“In fact, master passed away quite early. He had always lived alone and didn’t have many friends. After my fellow apprentice and I started working at the state-owned restaurant, master retired early, and it was my fellow apprentice and I who took care of him. Once, when master was cooking by himself at home, he accidentally knocked over the stove filled with honeycomb coal, and all the coal fell on his good leg. By the time my fellow apprentice and I got master to the hospital, his leg was already ruined.”

“From then on, master could only use a wheelchair and was no longer able to cook. He passed away not long after. My fellow apprentice and I chose a place with good feng shui for his burial and visit him every year to pay our respects.”

“Master didn’t leave much behind when he went, no photographs, no portraits. I used to have some writings from master at home, but after so many years, I couldn’t find them this time. When I first heard about this matter from Dong Shi and Dong Li, I thought it was possible because although master didn’t talk much about the past, in the years when he could only use a wheelchair, he often mentioned wanting to go to Beiping to have a look. At that time, my fellow apprentice and I guessed that master was from Beiping.”

“I have discussed this with my fellow apprentice, and although he has started his own business and has been quite busy recently, he will come in a few days. But his son seems to be in Beiping; he just arrived last year.”

“The moment I stepped into the kitchen and saw the two Uncle Masters, I was sure of it. Although I’ve never seen what master looked like when he got older, I just felt it was him.” Master Huang said with certainty, “If the two Uncle Masters don’t trust or feel assured, you can test my cooking skills. The two pots of soup were simmered by me last afternoon and kept warm all evening. You might not tell much from the soup, but I believe you can tell from the dishes. Shall I cook two dishes for you two right now?”

Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weiguo remained silent, overwhelmed with shock and sorrow by the many surprising things Master Huang had just shared. Though he spoke briefly, just thinking that the subject of these matters was their second brother made their hearts ache and stirred a sense of empathy inside them.

These were experiences Master Huang had personally gone through, and after so many years, recounting them now didn’t mean much to him. However, for Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Weiming, hearing about Jiang Weijin’s situation for the first time, the experiences Jiang Weijin went through over the years were hard for them to accept.

Master Huang looked at Jiang Weiming and Jiang Weiguo.

Although there was no direct evidence to prove that Jinglixiang was Jiang Weijin, everyone present had already made up their minds.

“Then let’s have two dishes, to see the culinary skills of the apprentice taught by our second brother.” Jiang Weiguo said.

“Rest assured, Uncle Master, I definitely won’t disappoint you!” Master Huang knew that this was the moment to showcase his talent to his two Uncle Masters.

He just had to wait a few more days for his fellow apprentice to arrive in Beiping, then the two Uncle Masters would see who was truly the best apprentice of their master.