The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 482: Chapter 450 The Same World, The Same Mom

Although the dishes at the Eight-treasure House tasted average, the speed of service was very fast. It was only a few minutes after the Peking duck was served that all the other dishes, except the wine-lees steamed buns, were on the table.

Jiang Feng didn’t notice anything when ordering, but suddenly realized after the dishes were served that they hadn’t ordered a single vegetarian one.

Preserved meat, mustard duck feet, roast lamb chops, roast lamb leg, roast duck—each was a substantial dish in its own right. On an ordinary dining table, any one of these five dishes would outshine the others, but on Jiang Feng’s table, they competed for attention, each as spectacular as the next.

Jiang Zaidi, who was in charge of paying the bill, certainly lived up to his role as a fair ruler, tasting each dish, bite after bite, without worrying about mixing flavors.

While eating, everyone casually talked about everyday family matters. He Yueru felt obligated to play her part of companion shopping after such a lavish lunch, thinking she should give Jiang Feng and the others a good introduction to which restaurants in Beiping City did these dishes best.

“Actually, for mustard duck feet, it’s best to go to a Peking duck specialty restaurant. Although those old Peking duck establishments in Beiping have been declining over the years, with masters leaving before the new ones fully grasp the skills, their flavors are still there. There are plenty of big restaurants where the Peking duck is delicious, but if we’re talking about mustard duck feet, only those specialty duck restaurants do them right,” He Yueru said, holding a piece of mustard duck foot with her chopsticks, as she introduced it to Jiang Feng and the others.

“I remember a classmate of mine had a relative working in one of those old Peking duck places, and he told me that making mustard duck feet is quite a complex process. The duck feet need to be boiled, deboned, and cleaned, and the mustard has to be mixed by the chefs themselves. It needs to be applied a night ahead to ferment on the duck feet, and only the next day can they adjust the taste and serve it to the customers. Although it smells strong, it tastes absolutely delicious!”

Jiang Feng suspected that He Yueru, contributing to her family’s donkey burger shop, must have listened to many storytelling and crosstalk performances, otherwise her speech wouldn’t be so fluent and well-structured.

“As for the preserved meat, I think Tongde House makes it best. Tongde House doesn’t have many signature dishes left, and even though the taste is not bad, it feels like there’s something missing. Mainly because Tongde House is too far from my home, it takes over two hours by subway. In my opinion, the best restaurant in Beiping is Yonghe House. In fact, Tongde House also does a decent job with roast lamb chops, but they’re not as delicious as those from Yonghe House. Yonghe House prepares lamb in a particularly delicious way, whether it’s grilled, steamed, fried, or roasted, they all taste great. Unfortunately, my mother still thinks I’m too fat, so I haven’t eaten lamb at Yonghe House for a long time,” He Yueru said, then sighed.

“Jiang, do you have a girlfriend?” He Yueru asked.

“Ah? A girlfriend? I had one before, not now,” Jiang Zaidi replied, raising his head before burying it again in his roast lamb leg.

He Yueru sighed again, “It’s better for you guys, it doesn’t matter if you’re a bit heavy. I think I’m not that much fatter than you, Jiang, just a little heavier than the average person, just a few tens of pounds, right? My mother nags me about it all day long, since I was little. It’s as if she could make me thin by nagging. Really, doesn’t she realize she’s the one who made me this way? Since I was young, all the leftovers ended up in my bowl—if I didn’t eat them, she’d scold me for wasting food. If I ate, she’d scold me for eating too much.”

The same world, the same fat kid’s mom.

“My mom used to do that too, but since I started working and not living at home, she couldn’t control me anymore,” Jiang Zaidi chimed in.

Jiang Feng: …

As a skinny person, he really struggled to engage in the conversation He Yueru and De were having.

“But Sister Yue, my mother-in-law said that it’s good for girls to be a bit chubby. She always told me to eat more, to put on some weight,” Ji Xia said, nibbling on her lamb chop, offering a dissenting view.

He Yueru looked at Ji Xia with a smile, her eyes squinted into slits, “That’s because you’re still thin now. Wait until one day you become as chubby as your Sister Yue, and your mother-in-law won’t want you to eat more either.”

Wu Minqi, who was sitting next to He Yueru, nearly choked to death on a piece of roast duck.

Wu Minqi, still shaken, touched her own chin and pinched it, feeling that there indeed was a lot more flesh than before.

“You could move out and live on your own after you start working like I did. When you live alone, you can eat whatever you want, since your parents won’t see it,” Jiang Zaidi said, speaking from experience.

He Yueru shook her head, “Impossible. My parents are counting on me to learn the craft of making our family’s donkey burgers and to take over the business, to keep selling donkey burgers.”

Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi could both join in on this topic. Wu Minqi, who had been silent, took the opportunity to ask, “Have you started learning then?”

“I’m currently learning to make the burgers from my dad. He told me he’d give me a couple of days off for the New Year so I haven’t learned any during this period,” He Yueru replied.

“Making snacks is a tough job, and your place is always so busy. Do you think you’ll be able to handle it?” Wu Minqi asked with concern—He Yueru’s family’s donkey burgers were cheap, and they didn’t hire any staff. The location of the shop wasn’t great either, so they definitely ran on thin margins.

Thin margins meant hard work. Nowadays, many young people are not willing to endure the hard slog of long hours selling snacks, which is why so many established snack shops in Beiping City were closing one after another. And it’s even harder to imagine for He Yueru, who seemed to only enjoy eating and drinking.

“It might be tough for others, but look at me, just look at this meat on my arms.” He Yueru lifted her right hand to show Wu Minqi, “It’s winter now so it’s not visible because of the layers, but all this flesh on me, it’s not for nothing. My mom says I have enough strength to move bricks and carry steel rods on a construction site with ease.”

“Besides, I think it’s quite good to have our own shop at home, saves the trouble of going out and finding a job, facing other people’s disdain. There used to be so many donkey meat bun shops in our alley, but now only my parents’ shop is still open. If I don’t learn, our shop will eventually have to close too. Where would I go to buy donkey meat buns then?” He Yueru was quite open-minded, “Now I’m learning to make buns from my dad. He says that the most important part of a donkey meat bun is the bun itself. If the bun isn’t made well, no matter how delicious the stewed donkey meat is, it all goes to waste. Better to eat the donkey meat directly rather than ruin it by stuffing it into a subpar bun.”

After saying this, He Yueru noticed that there were only a few lamb chops left on the plate, and she hurriedly nibbled on another one.

He Yueru, like Jiang Zaidi, was someone who ate a lot and quickly. Jiang Feng felt that if He Yueru ever had a chance to join Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing for a meal, she wouldn’t necessarily lose to the two sisters in terms of the amount and speed of eating.

It was time to let Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing realize that there is always someone better out there, always a higher mountain, strong though there be stronger still amongst the strong.

Once two people at the table start eating enthusiastically, everyone gets carried away by the atmosphere, inevitably putting aside their thoughts and diving into eating with gusto. Under the influence of Jiang Zaidi and He Yueru, even Jiang Feng, who felt full, and Wu Minqi, who kept reminding herself not to overeat, couldn’t help but pick up their chopsticks and indulge.

As the dishes on the table were about to be wiped clean, the long-awaited fermented rice buns finally arrived.

The fermented rice buns that Ling Guangzhao had so enthusiastically boasted about looked unremarkable, no different from ordinary buns, and upon closer inspection, no unusual scent was noted, just the familiar smell of fermented rice buns.

They seemed no different from the steamed buns sold outside, priced anywhere from a few cents to a dollar.

The server, who took the order previously, introduced each dish as it arrived, and the fermented rice buns were no exception.

“Dear customers, these fermented rice buns are a new item in our store, even our Mr. Ling can’t stop praising them. You absolutely won’t find this taste anywhere else, this is the exclusive secret recipe and craftsmanship of our Master White Chef, one of a kind!”

The fermented rice buns steamed on the table, clearly just out of the steamer.

Jiang Feng didn’t buy the server’s tall tales – her praises were different for every dish that came to the table, but once he tasted them, he didn’t find them any different, and some were even inferior to those from Taifeng Building or other stores.

Steamed buns, being high in carbohydrates, were something Wu Minqi, despite having eaten her fill of meat, was hesitant to touch. Jiang Zaidi didn’t take an interest in such non-meat items, Ji Xia felt the same, and Jiang Feng stood by without taking action, leaving only He Yueru eyeing the fermented rice buns on the table.

“Aren’t you guys eating the buns?” asked He Yueru.

“We’ll eat them later, later,” the four replied in unison.

“Then I’ll eat one first. There are six in the portion; you guys can have more if you’re interested later on. Buns should be eaten while they’re hot, so I’ll go ahead,” said He Yueru, confidently grabbing the bun closest to her. It was possibly too hot, so she switched hands before taking a bite, even blowing on it first.

She took a bite.

Closest to He Yueru, Jiang Feng caught a whiff of a fragrance that seemed like fermented rice but was different, somewhat familiar.

“Delicious!” He Yueru’s eyes lit up, seemingly more excited than after she had consumed roast duck, pot-roasted meat, roasted lamb chops, roasted lamb leg, and mustard duck feet.

“Really delicious, this bun is exceptionally tasty, different from any other bun. You guys have to try it, it won’t be as good once it cools!” He Yueru was as thrilled as if she had found a treasure.

Hearing her rave like that, everyone couldn’t help but turn their gaze to the still-steaming buns on the table.

They looked at each other, incredulous.

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Note 1: Excerpt from Chapter 479 by Uncle Mo Yu.