The Game of Life

Unlike the ostentatious newcomers of February 14th and May 20th, Qixi definitely holds the prestigious title of queen among Valentine’s Days. Major malls and hotels also launch various Qixi discounts and packages, putting on a facade of ‘I’m at a loss, I’m at another loss, I’m so at a loss I might as well be the richest person around’ with their distasteful expressions.

Early in the morning on Qixi, Jiang Feng was awoken not by his alarm but by a sweet, cloying scent in the air.

It sure lived up to being Qixi; even the air didn’t quite smell the same as on other days.

Jiang Feng took a deep breath. Hmm, it was the smell of tang bu shuai.

Eh, tang bu shuai?

Why would it be the scent of tang bu shuai?

With an agile flip, Jiang Feng sat up in bed and followed the scent. Sure enough, he found tang bu shuai on the dining table, and not just any tang bu shuai but those stuffed with black sesame. The round, black tang bu shuai were sprinkled with a generous amount of crushed peanuts and white sesame seeds, looking incredibly enticing.

Tang bu shuai, also known as “Ruyi fruit,” is a traditional delicacy from Guangdong Province. It looks somewhat like tangyuan but is sweeter because it’s boiled in piping hot syrup and usually sold as a dessert.

The two bowls of tang bu shuai on the table were still steaming, clearly fresh out of the pot. Jiang Feng checked the kitchen and, seeing no signs of recent cooking, went to look for Wu Minqi, who was watering the plants on the balcony.

“Did Ji Xue bring over the tang bu shuai on the dining table?” Jiang Feng thought that nobody but Ji Xue would bring tang bu shuai made so early in the morning just to deliver them.

“Yeah, Xue just brought them over. She said they were still quite hot and told us to let them cool before eating,” Wu Minqi replied.

After washing up, Jiang Feng saw that Wu Minqi had finished watering her flowers. The two hanging baskets and a cactus on the balcony had been bought just a couple of weeks prior. Even though Jiang Feng had told Wu Minqi that cacti didn’t need frequent watering, she couldn’t help but water the cactus every other day. Now, the cactus was showing faint signs of dying, and Jiang Feng suspected that its roots were almost completely rotted.

Having tang bu shuai on Qixi morning was unexpectedly fitting for the occasion.

Ji Xue was meticulous in her cooking. Anything she seriously put her mind to would be beyond reproach. And so was the tang bu shuai before him. This was Jiang Feng’s first time trying black sesame tang bu shuai. They had a smooth surface, coated in a layer of syrup that looked sticky, and they were quite large in size.

Upon biting into half of a tang bu shuai, Jiang Feng’s first reaction was its sweetness.

And not just any sweetness, but the sweetness of the syrup mixed with the richness of the black sesame filling—a blend of distinctly different flavors—accompanied by the chewy and smooth texture of the glutinous rice, it was slightly sticky on the teeth, but the flaw didn’t overshadow its excellence.

A bowl contained seven tang bu shuai, and after consuming five in one go, Jiang Feng couldn’t eat any more. Sweet treats are great as snacks or accompaniments to meals, but they’re too much when served as the main course, unless you’re someone like Jiang Jiankang who has a sweet tooth. Ordinary people usually can’t handle it.

Jiang Feng put the remaining two tang bu shuai into the fridge to save them for later that evening, while Wu Minqi, whose combat effectiveness when it came to sweets was impressive, had somehow managed to finish all seven.

“Shall we go downstairs to buy some soy milk?” Jiang Feng suggested.

Wu Minqi nodded; she was also a bit overwhelmed by the sweetness.

The young couple tidied up, interlocking fingers, and went downstairs together to buy soy milk before heading to Taifeng Building.

Although the Qixi dinner package at Taifeng Building was only available in the evening, the preparation for many ingredients had to start from the morning due to the large quantity. This would be the first major festival that Taifeng Building faced since its opening, and it coincided with a Saturday, which could pretty much be treated as a holiday. It was an excellent opportunity to test the work ethic and efficiency of all Taifeng employees.

During Qixi, all the working staff at Taifeng Building would get double wages for overtime. Since everyone was going to work extra anyway, at least the double pay could make them more willing to work overtime.

By the time Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi arrived in the kitchen, there were already people there, including workaholic Ji Xue, who had started processing the ingredients needed for Jar Pot Hua Diao Chicken. She would be the busiest one today. Apart from the normal sales volume of Jar Pot Hua Diao Chicken, she had to prepare an additional six for the Qixi 3344 special package. Making this dish was already labor-intensive, and adding six more meant she had to spend a lot more time and effort.

“Yo, Brother Feng, you’re quite early!” Sang Ming, who had arrived early, greeted Jiang Feng.

“You’re quite early too,” Jiang Feng replied, taking a quick scan of the kitchen.

Those who arrived earlier than him were all single.

“Who has the Qixi set menu reservation list?” Jiang Feng asked.

“I do.” Zhang Weiyu handed the list to Jiang Feng, “It’s quite a load, and we’ll probably have a lot of walk-in diners tonight, so we have our work cut out for us.”

Jiang Feng glanced at the list, which indeed indicated a busy evening ahead. Each reservation for the Qixi set menu meant two pickled vegetable dumplings must be given away as part of the promotion. Judging from the current number of reserved sets, the 60 buffed pickled vegetable dumplings wouldn’t be enough. He estimated that he would be kneading dough for hours that morning.

Jiang Feng remembered the fear of kneading dough that had gripped him that day at Jiang Jianguo’s home.

Another person destined for a busy day was Zhang Guanghang, who, in a certain sense, would even be busier than Jiang Feng. Each of the Qixi special meals included a cake he needed to make. Though small, the high volume of orders could be overwhelming. Jiang Feng was even slightly worried that after surviving the day, Zhang Guanghang might develop a passion for baking cakes and decisively switch from being a Red Chef to a pastry chef.

Zhang Guanghang came with the raw materials for making cakes because there was a lot of stuff, he didn’t drive his usual Bentley, but instead switched to a more spacious Mercedes that could haul more goods.

So now the question arises, how many cars does he have in his garage?

Jiang Feng and Zhang Guanghang, one kneading dough and the other making cakes, could easily give someone the illusion that Taifeng Building was actually a bakery.

After nearly two hours of long and painful kneading, Jiang Feng carried a small stool over to the back kitchen door to rest.

The back kitchen of the restaurant during the height of summer was as hot as a stove.

Ji Yue and Qi Rou carried heart-shaped cards and fresh flowers they had purchased from the flower shop in the morning, placing them on each table. Seeing Ji Gezi like this, it seemed he was getting more and more adept at being a waiter.

Just as Jiang Feng was wondering whether he should go to the nearby flower shop at noon to buy a bunch of flowers for Wu Minqi and give her a clichéd surprise, someone patted his shoulder.

He turned his head and saw Zhang Guanghang.

“Do you have a moment? I want to ask you something,” Zhang Guanghang said, extending his right hand to point toward a corner by the changing rooms, “If you have time, let’s talk over there.”

“Sure,” Jiang Feng moved the stool back.

As soon as they got to the corner, Zhang Guanghang cut to the chase and asked, “Do you think Qixi is a good time to confess love?”

Jiang Feng: ???

What??? You spend at least ten hours a day with us and we had no idea you were planning to stop being single.

“Are you planning to confess?” Jiang Feng asked.

“I’m prepared for it,” Zhang Guanghang admitted frankly.

Jiang Feng’s first reaction was actually that Ji Gezi was about to be heartbroken again, heartbroken before it even started.

Why did he think to use the word ‘again’?

“Confessing on Qixi is quite suitable, it’s a traditional lovers’ festival, so I guess a lot of people choose to confess on Qixi,” Jiang Feng said, indicating he wasn’t very knowledgeable about these matters either.

“Weren’t you raised in Beiping? How do you not know these things?” Jiang Feng pressed.

“When I was in Beiping before, people didn’t really celebrate Qixi,” Zhang Guanghang said.

Jiang Feng then understood; he almost forgot, Zhang Guanghang had gone back to France in the past years and had lost touch with the trends. This strange atmosphere of celebrating every festival, and creating new ones to celebrate if there were none, had only risen in the past few years.

“How do you plan to confess?” Jiang Feng suddenly turned into a gossip.

“I sculpted a rose out of chocolate and carved the initials of her name on the leaves,” Zhang Guanghang revealed.

Jiang Feng immediately looked at Zhang Guanghang with a newfound respect.

Such a master.

Who would have thought, behind the handsome straight-male facade, there lay such expertise.

Truly the enemy of men everywhere.

“That’s pretty good, you’re bound to succeed, and if not, I’ll make you some chopped pepper fish head,” Jiang Feng encouraged him.

Zhang Guanghang: ???

Back in the kitchen, Jiang Feng resumed kneading the dough, pausing midway to gaze thoughtfully at the noodles.

Maybe… I should use cornmeal to make a bouquet of roses with Minqi’s name carved on it and steam it for her as a gift?

Zhang Guanghang uses one rose for a confession, so a whole bouquet for my girlfriend’s Qixi gift isn’t too much, is it?