The Game of Life

These meatballs needed to be fried, and right out of the fryer, while still hot, they were already incredibly delicious. With their fragrant and crispy exteriors, they brought a unique flavor to the table, reminiscent of the meatballs fried at home during the New Year festivities.

Jiang Feng had already minced and marinated the meat, to which he added a small amount of wheat starch. Then, he took the salted egg yolks, wrapped each entirely with the meat mixture to the size of a fist—substantial and filling. Mixing minced and diced meat to make the lion’s head meatballs ensured a better texture.

The quality of the salted eggs was surprisingly good; Jiang Feng was amazed when he peeled the first one and found a golden, oily yolk inside.

The golden-orange yolks dazzled with glistening oil that seemed to burst forth with the slightest pressure, making anyone’s mouth water at the sight.

Apart from the salted duck eggs that Mrs. Jiang personally pickled every year, this was the first time Jiang Feng had bought salted duck eggs of such quality that oozed oil when opened.

With such exceptional salted duck eggs, it would be a waste not to use the whites.

Jiang Feng pondered for a moment before turning his attention to the two cabbages gifted by the market owner.

The fresh napa cabbage looked incredibly vibrant, perfect for a quick stir-fry or a soup.

Since Jiang Feng hadn’t planned on making a soup earlier, using the leftover egg whites with tofu and napa cabbage to cook a salted egg white, tofu, and napa cabbage soup couldn’t be more suitable—clearing heat and countering greasiness, with the egg whites adding an extra layer of flavor.

Jiang Feng hadn’t intended to make lion’s head meatballs initially because making them required wheat starch to set the shapes and absorb moisture. He hadn’t expected such a finicky ingredient, which involved refining flour to remove gluten and other components, typically sold only in large supermarkets, to be available in a small market adjacent to a hospital cafeteria. In light of the salted duck eggs he’d just peeled, Jiang Feng could only say that the small cafeteria and market at Benevolent Doctor were both rather miraculous places.

He poured oil into the pot, heated it until it was about 60-70% hot, then carefully fried the fist-sized lion’s head meatballs until they turned golden brown before taking them out.

There are generally two ways to cook lion’s head meatballs: one is to steam them, and the other is to braise them. The yolk-stuffed lion’s head follows the braised method.

After frying, the meatballs were returned to the pot; he stir-fried some spring onions and ginger, added a 1:1 ratio of soy sauce and sugar, then topped it off with cooking wine, salt, water, star anise, and a touch of cinnamon. He brought it to a boil over high heat, then let it simmer on low heat, covering the pot to let the flavors meld slowly.

Normal lion’s head meatballs would stew for 40 minutes to an hour, but the ones Jiang Feng made this time were particularly large and required at least an hour and a half, if not longer.

After dealing with the meatballs, Jiang Feng began to cook the Eight Treasure Tofu.

This dish, which he had been preparing since the winter vacation, he had made for over half a year now and was highly proficient at—there was no chance of failing. With a couple more years of practice, it might well become his signature dish.

Finally, Jiang Feng turned his gaze to the lively carp that, an hour earlier, was still flipping and flapping energetically on the cutting board, but now lay opened up with its flesh diagonally scored, marinated and ready.

Sugar vinegar carp is a famous dish in Shandong cuisine, which has both simple and complex methods of preparation. Regardless of the method, the finished dish is golden in color, crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, with both the head and tail of the fish curved upward, as though the carp is leaping through the Dragon Gate.

Legend has it that sugar vinegar carp originated in Luokou Town, a major town along the Yellow River, where the carp are not only known for their pure taste and succulent flesh, but also for their golden scales and red tail, which have long made them a delicacy at feasts.

The “Book of Songs” once recorded, “How can one not eat the fish, it must be the carp of the river.” Carp from the Yellow River have been a popular delicacy for over 3,000 years, and Jin Province, sitting by the Yellow River and famed for producing various renowned vinegars, provided the perfect conditions for the birth of sugar vinegar carp, a Shandong cuisine classic, also hailed as a Jin Province specialty.

Such a dish with a long history is very difficult to perfect, whether the preparation method is simple or intricate.

With his current skill level, Jiang Feng was not able to make an excellent sugar vinegar carp.

However, since he was cooking for Jiang Shoucheng, the requirements weren’t so high. If it had been for the two elder gentlemen, Jiang Feng’s current level of sugar vinegar carp cooking would certainly have incurred a severe scolding. Jiang Shoucheng was quite easy to please; he was even less fussy than Jiang Zaidi. Ever since he had transferred to the emergency department, just having the time to open his mouth to eat was already pretty good, leaving him with neither the leisure nor the inclination to fault the food’s flavor.

Jiang Feng glanced at his mobile phone; it was almost five o’clock. Mrs. Qjan’s braised beef with carrots should be ready. He approached, lifted the lid to check, poked a few times with chopsticks to make sure the Fire Control was right, then turned off the heat and went out of the small kitchen to call Mrs. Qian, who was currently enjoying the electric fan in the orthopedics cafeteria. Mrs. Qian was sitting in the orthopedics cafeteria talking to the kitchen’s manager. It wasn’t dinner service time yet, so only some patient family members were waiting for their meals.

“Mrs. Qian, your braised beef with carrots should be ready, go have a taste,” said Jiang Feng.

Mrs. Qjan immediately stood up and said, “Thank you, Jiang. You must be exhausted from working in the small kitchen all afternoon, come sit here and take a break.”

“I still have a few dishes left to cook; I’ll rest after they’re done,” Jiang Feng replied.

“You haven’t finished cooking yet? Oh right, your dishes are the main courses; if I were to cook them, a single dish would probably take me all afternoon,” Mrs. Qian said with a laugh as she headed toward the small kitchen.

“Ding, one dish completed, task progress (1/100).”

When Jiang Feng just stepped out of the small kitchen, he saw a sign posted outside that read Orthopedics Small Kitchen Manager: Qiu Yuan. Unless Benevolent Doctor pulled a stunt like UAL University, where a sign could hang for years without being changed even as people came and went, this Qiu Yuan must be the handsome middle-aged man currently standing before him.

Is it that anyone involved with hospital work is prone to balding?

Qiu Yuan is clearly in charge of the small kitchen, so why is his hair so sparse on top?

“Brother Qiu, I cooked quite a few dishes and even made some preserved egg and lean pork porridge. I’ll save you and your spouse some dishes and two bowls of porridge later, so you can also taste my cooking,” Jiang Feng said with a smile, knowing that he would be frequenting the Benevolent Doctor’s small kitchen over the next few days and needing to maintain a good relationship with the manager.

Qiu Yuan didn’t expect Jiang Feng to be so considerate and smiled as he accepted, “Well, thanks a lot.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” Jiang Feng said, then turned around and went back.

At the entrance of the small kitchen, Jiang Feng happened to run into Mrs. Qian, who was getting ready to take a casserole to the inpatient department. “Jiang, I left a plate of beef on the table for you. Remember to eat it while it’s hot. It’s almost mealtime. I’m just about to take the beef to my husband, my daughter, and my in-laws,” Mrs. Qian said.

“Thank you, Mrs. Qian.”

“I’m the one who should be thankingyou. I just had a bite and it’s much better than what I made before, nearly as good as what they sell in restaurants!” Mrs. Qian said cheerily as she left with the casserole.

Jiang Feng went to the small market to buy some vegetables, planning to make tomato with scrambled eggs, dry-fried green beans, and eggplants with garlic sauce.

The sweet and sour carp could wait. He was going to use a simple method. Just sprinkle some wet starch on the cuts, fry it in oil until the skin hardened, then simmer fry for three minutes on low heat, and finally deep fry on high heat until golden brown. Plate it and drizzle with sauce and it’s ready to eat.

This dish should be eaten hot, so Jiang Feng decided to wait for Jiang Shoucheng to call him, telling him they were finished and on their way back, before he started making this dish.

He decided to cook the vegetarian dishes like the “earthly three freshness” first. The small kitchen was warm, and once the dishes were done, he could cover them with a lid. Even if they cooled down a bit, the taste wouldn’t be too far off.

On the other hand, Mrs. Qian took the beef to the ward, but her husband couldn’ t really eat much of the big casserole of beef stew with carrots. That was just their usual way of cooking—making a big pot at a time to eat over several days. She cooked this dish out of habit too.

Mrs. Qian’s husband, her daughter, and her father-in-law were in two adjacent wards. Now that Mrs. Qian had returned, her mother-in-law went to the next ward to take care of her daughter and father-in-law, taking a bowl of the beef with her.

“Is this beef okay to eat?” Mrs. Qian’s mother-in-law was a bit worried; she had some idea of her daughter-in-law’s culinary skills.

“Mom, I ran into a professional chef in the small kitchen today. He guided me. It’s edible, and it tastes great. Try it if you don’t believe me,” Mrs. Qian said. Reassured by what Mrs. Qian said, her mother-in-law left with the beef.

“I’ve asked Dr. Guo. He said you can eat some beef now, but don’t have too much, just a couple of pieces will do,” Mrs. Qian said as she picked out two especially tender pieces of beef and a few pieces of carrot for her husband and prepared to feed him by his bedside.

“I can move my hands just fine, why are you treating me like a child and feeding me?” her husband chuckled wryly.

“You’ve been having issues with your wound healing over and over. The doctor said you should move less. If you can stay still, then stay still. Now, open up.” Her husband obediently opened his mouth.

He chewed the beef for a few moments.

“Not bad at all, you made the beef quite decently. Seems like you’ve learned a bit of my craft!”

“You wish, what does that have to do with you? Today, I met a young man with the surname Jiang in the small kitchen, a very warm-hearted professional chef. He helped… guided me. He said he’d teach me again tomorrow, and whatever I make will definitely be better than today’s,” Mrs. Qian accidentally let slip.

Her husband, who had keen ears, caught every word Mrs. Qian mistakenly revealed and laughed, “I was wondering, you can even overcook vegetables, how could you possibly cook well. Turns out you called in some reinforcement for the beef stew with carrots.”

“What reinforcement? My talent for cooking is great. That young man even praised my knife skills today. I’ 11 cook for you again tomorrow, and I’ 11 do it all by myself, not letting anyone else touch it. You’ll taste it tomorrow, and it will definitely be better than today’s!” Mrs. Qian said.

“Oh, who knew my wife was a cooking genius!”

“Just you wait. From nowon, I’ll cook. I’ll cook for you everyday.”

“Great, I’ll eat what you cook every day.”

“Stop fooling around all day. Have another bite of carrot. After you finish, I’ll go to the cafeteria and buy you some porridge. You need to heal properly. You’re not an old man in your seventies or eighties. Dad had surgery the same day as you and he’s recovering just fine, isn’t he? You’re only in your fifties and still robust. Once you get out of the hospital, whatever you want to eat, I’ll make it for you,” Mrs. Qian said, her eyes reddening as she talked. She looked down and picked at the carrots in the bowl, not wanting to look at her husband. “Lijuan, I actually have a feeling.”

“What feeling? You haven’t been right about anything in all these years!” “Alright, alright, I’ll stop talking. Don’t cry,” he hastened to say.

“Cry? You saw wrong,” Qian Lijuan put down the bowl, stood up, and turned to leave. “I’m going to get your porridge.”

After finishing the vegetarian dishes, Jiang Feng began to wait for the call.

Little did he expect to wait until past 7 p.m.

“Hey, lil’ bro, we’re done here and there aren’t many people in the emergency department now. How are the dishes coming along on your end?” Jiang Shoucheng sounded completely spent as he spoke from his office.

“Brother, the dishes are almost ready, but where should I send them to, the orthopedic cafeteria?” Jiang Feng asked.

As soon as he heard the dishes were ready, Jiang Shoucheng perked up instantly. His back stopped aching, his legs weren’t sore anymore, he didn’t feel sleepy from being up all night the day before, and he even deluded himself into feeling like he could handle three more night shifts in a row.

“Don’t worry about it, we’ll come and get them ourselves, just bring them to our office. Quick, quick, quick, Xu, Zhou, clear the table, it’s time to eat! Forget it, Sun, you clear the table. Xu and Zhong, let’s go get the food!” Jiang Feng could feel the chaos on Jiang Shoucheng’s end of the phone line.

“Lil¹ bro, we’re coming now, I’m hanging up.”

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Feng got the oil hot and put the carp in the pan.

After working for so long, it was finally time to eat.