The Game of Life

Chapter 509: Chapter 507: The Biggest Winner

That evening, Jiang Feng, as one of the representatives of an average family, had successfully enjoyed a common dish available before the New Year’s Eve dinner—the stewed vermicelli with sauerkraut, white meat, and blood sausage.

Because he was busy preparing the ingredients for tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve dinner, Sir had no time to cook other dishes. Besides the stewed vermicelli with sauerkraut, white meat, and blood sausage, he just stir-fried a couple of vegetarian dishes with the vegetables Mrs. Jiang had bought, the kind without even a bit of ground meat.

A large pot steaming hot and symbolizing the hard-to-come-by neighborhood care and love, the sauerkraut, white meat, and blood sausage stewed with vermicelli. And a few ordinary plates of vegetables that could be found anywhere, the kind no one would reach for first on the dinner table.

The choice was just too easy to make.

Because it wasn’t the New Year’s Eve dinner, Sir didn’t seriously set up two tables or make two batches of dishes arranged on the table. At such times, everyone wouldn’t sit around the table to eat, but would instead take a bowl each and sit at the doorstep or in the yard on small stools, chatting and eating.

In such fair competition, how much blood sausage, sauerkraut, or white meat you could get depended on your speed in snatching food and eating.

Jiang Feng knew he was a noob, so he sneakily ate some in the kitchen before the dishes were even served. Sir saw him but didn’t utter a word to stop him, considering it a reward for Jiang Feng’s hard work.

Because of this, while everyone else was hesitating and pondering whether to eat more sauerkraut and blood sausage tonight or save room for the New Year’s Eve dinner tomorrow, Jiang Feng was carefree, unhurried, and happily enjoying his meal.

After eating, Jiang Feng had intended to happily retreat to his room to become a contented homebody and to video call Wu Minqi, but just as he was about to get up, he was called back by Sir.

“Feng, later tonight, could you come into the kitchen and help me with the mutton?” Sir’s words shattered all of Jiang Feng’s homebody dreams.

“The rest of you shouldn’t be idle either. This year we’re short on time. Later, the eldest and San are responsible for marinating meat, Si and Aunt Five will handle the fish and goose, and everyone else should clean up any uncleaned parts of the house. Tomorrow we need to prepare for making dumplings, there’ll be no time to clean.”

“Okay, dad, don’t worry!” replied Jiankang, who was earnestly fishing sauerkraut out of a basin with his bowl.

“Yeah, dad, don’t worry. Although we’re pressed for time this year, we’ll definitely manage. Feng is so capable!” The others also echoed in agreement.

As everyone piled on the compliments, Mrs. Jiang had already stood up to collect the dishes and prepared to wash them in the kitchen.

The Jiang family’s hallmark of eating meals was empty plates, an absolute avoidance of food waste. Not even a grain of rice went to waste, and even the vegetables were eaten spotlessly clean. If necessary, dish broth could be used to mix with rice. In the end, aside from a sheen of oil, nothing would be left in the plates and bowls.

“By the way, old man, I heard from Feng this afternoon that you’re planning a whole sheep banquet,” said Mrs. Jiang with a basin full of chopsticks and bowls in hand. “Have you slaughtered the sheep?”

“Yes, I had Master Wang take care of it this afternoon,” replied Sir as he sat in a chair, picking his teeth.

“Do you think you can handle preparing a whole sheep banquet in one day? Let me tell you, old man, don’t act tough like the young folks. At your age, your old bones can’t take such reckless strain. If you can’t manage it, then don’t. It’s okay to make fewer dishes for the New Year’s Eve dinner, just do what you can manage, you understand?” Mrs. Jiang warned.

“I understand, I understand. Don’t I know my own body? Have you not seen my recent medical report? I’m very healthy! Healthier than you are. You should take good care of your own old bones. Why bother washing dishes? You’re not afraid that touching cold water might make you ache and keep you up at night,” retorted Sir, refusing to lose face in front of his son and daughter-in-law, stubborn to the end.

When Aunt saw the situation might take a wrong turn, possibly affecting everyone, she quickly took the basin from Mrs. Jiang with a smile and said, “Yes, mom, dad has a point. You have arthritis and it’s really cold. Better not touch the cold water. We’ll wash the dishes.”

Aunt wasn’t just one step ahead with her words; she was also quicker in action and headed to the kitchen with the basin. Aunt Two followed closely behind with a look of annoyance.

“Old man, I’m telling you, don’t try to be a hero at times like this,” Mrs. Jiang’s tone suddenly softened. “After Feng told me this afternoon, I thought about it. If I remember correctly, after you and Master Huang finished the whole sheep feast that year, the state-run restaurant gave you three days off. You spent two days just lying at home asleep. When you were young, you liked to show off and couldn’t take the workload. Don’t have the same behavior now and end up in the hospital during the New Year.”

“I know, I am aware,” said Sir, and, seeing that Mrs. Jiang still looked doubtful, he was forced to explain.

“I didn’t plan to do tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve dinner alone, didn’t I have Feng to help me?”

Mrs. Jiang finally nodded, satisfied.

Jiang Feng also had an epiphany. He thought, preparing a whole sheep banquet is such a tiring job, how could Sir possibly finish it alone in one day? It turned out he had decided long ago to enlist his help…

Wait, Sir wants me to help with tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve dinner?!

Jiang Feng, who had been absorbed in his phone, suddenly looked up, his face filled with disbelief as he stared at Sir, then he realized everyone in the yard, except for Mrs. Jiang, was looking at him with the same expression.

“Grandpa, did you just say I should help with tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve dinner? To assist?” Jiang Feng asked, lowering his voice involuntarily.

Of course, to others it was perfectly clear.

“Helping out? With your dad, your eldest uncle, and your second uncle around, why would they especially need you to help out?” the old man said grumpily.

Closest to Jiang Feng, Jiang Jiankang gasped sharply, nearly choking on the pickled vegetables he had previously eaten.

“Dad, isn’t it a bit early to let Feng handle the New Year’s Eve dinner?” Jiang Jiankang even suspected for a moment that the old man wanted to set Jiang Feng up to fail, but then he thought if the old man really wanted to harm Jiang Feng, there was no need for any setup; he could just kill him outright.

Preparing the New Year’s Eve dinner was the ultimate honor in the Jiang family, its status almost on par with the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch in a wuxia novel, which only the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch could prepare.

Jiang Jiankang, a chef focused on cooking for decades, was only qualified to prepare the meat for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

“Yes, Grandpa!” Jiang Feng was immediately excited, even feeling the illusion of a successful coup d’etat.

This feeling wasn’t like the old man was letting him touch the New Year’s Eve dinner; it was more like he had successfully revolted at the Xuanwu Gate.

Just as Jiang Feng was about to concoct some flattering nonsense as an acceptance speech for being the biggest winner in the Jiang family this New Year, a system notification suddenly rang in his mind.

“Ding, game update complete.”

“A hidden optional quest has appeared; please player…”

“Obtain [A Memory Fragment of Jiang Xiaoran].”

“…”

“Ding, a new optional side quest has been discovered; please player choose.”

“Congratulations player on reaching level 30, a new feature is unlocked: Mentorship.”

Jiang Feng: …

That’s not right, the last time I checked the game progress was just over 30%, how could it possibly be completed in less than a month? What exactly determines the speed of this game’s internet connection?

Did it suddenly switch from data to WiFi? Or is it the kind that has a gigabit fiber-optic connection?

For a moment, Jiang Feng couldn’t control his expression, looking completely bewildered.

“Grandpa, I need to use the restroom; I’ll be back to help you with the ingredients in a bit,” Jiang Feng said, choosing to flee to the bathroom.

Jiang Shoucheng, feeling this scene seemed familiar: …

“De, have you noticed our little brother has been running to the toilet a lot over the past six months?” Jiang Shoucheng sensed something was off with Jiang Feng and frowned, feeling that the situation wasn’t as simple as it seemed.

“Our little brother often runs to the toilet?” Jiang Zaidi was completely oblivious due to his daily preoccupation with making money.

Jiang Shoucheng nodded, “Frequently, and always without any warning, it’s sudden and urgent. He just zooms off to the bathroom and stays there for quite some time. When he was in the hospital, there were twice when he did this. That’s when I felt something was amiss. I was thinking of advising him to get a check-up, but then I forgot about it.”

Jiang Zaidi also realized the seriousness of the situation, “Why didn’t you say something sooner? Our little brother is our family’s hope, we can’t take such things lightly.”

The more Jiang Zaidi thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. It’s not normal for a man in his twenties to frequently jump up and rush to the bathroom because he’s urgently in need to urinate. He became deeply concerned.

“Shoucheng, after the Lantern Festival when we return to Beiping, we need to find an excuse to take our little brother to the hospital for a check-up,” Jiang Zaidi said.

Why do we need an excuse? Just take our little brother for a check-up directly. I’ll help with the appointment in advance,” said Jiang Shoucheng, puzzled.

“No, if our little brother really has a health issue, he’s probably aware of it himself. If we just drag him there, it will most likely provoke a rebellious response. If he acts out, it won’t be easy to handle. We need a foolproof plan. Let me think of an excuse to take our little brother to the hospital, and it can’t just be him—we all need to go for a check-up,” Jiang Zaidi said, lost in thought.