The Game of Life

Chapter 769: Chapter 768: Gift (Part One)

It was still in the kitchen of Fen Garden.

If it weren’t for the fact that the kitchen at this moment lacked the many modern appliances of today, and that distinct, incredibly huge oven, Jiang Feng might have thought he had never passed through memory at all. Being in the same place both before and after entering memory gave him a feeling of temporal dislocation.

This was Fen Garden more than a decade ago, Zhang Guanghang was still a child, slightly older than during the last memory Jiang Feng had witnessed. Judging by his age, he should have been old enough to attend junior high school.

Destined to grow into a handsome 1.88-meter-tall French-Chinese mix with long legs, the young Zhang Guanghang was already quite tall. If it weren’t for his tender, childlike face, one might believe from his silhouette alone that he was a high school or even a college student.

Of course, no one would believe it based on his outfit.

Under Xia Mushi’s unique aesthetic, Zhang Guanghang wore the peculiar clothing that your grandparents would love to dress you in, colorful and oddly neither childlike nor suited for the elderly, and he was earnestly chopping vegetables.

The kitchen was vast but only occupied by two people.

Zhang Guanghang was chopping vegetables while Xia Mushi was by the stove. Jiang Feng approached and saw a fish in the pot, seemingly a simple, common dish like braised fish.

Just outside the kitchen was the dining hall for guests. Standing inside the kitchen, Jiang Feng could hear the loud conversations and laughter of the guests, which sounded quite lively.

Jiang Feng walked through the wall into the dining hall and saw that it was indeed crowded with patrons today. All four tables were packed with over a dozen people in total. Judging by the position of the sun, it was around noon, and considering the fierce summer sun, the antiquated air conditioner inside the dining hall was cooling extremely effectively, though the noise it made was thunderous, comparable to an engine, forcing those seated nearby to raise their voices just to ensure they could be heard.

“Zhao, not to criticize you, but coming to Master Xia’s Fen Garden and ordering braised fish is a waste of opportunity. One dish per person is already not enough, and now we have to account for that darn braised fish taking up a spot,” yelled the middle-aged man closest to the air conditioner.

“What’s wrong with me eating braised fish? A decade ago, you’d be drooling over a braised fish dish. I just like it, so I can argue that you guys are the vulgar ones, always eating abalone, shark fin, and sea cucumber without getting sick of it,” Zhao retorted, clearly dissatisfied.

“Alright, alright, what’s the point of arguing? This guy’s just like a cat, you know that; he can’t go a meal without fish, or he feels off. Besides, Master Xia cooks the big dishes well, as well as the ordinary home-styled ones, being able to eat here at all is good enough,” another person at the table intervened, trying to make peace.

The middle-aged man who had complained only did so casually without much intent and sipped a small mouthful of his drink, squinting his eyes and sighing, “Well, frankly, I think Master Xia should hire more help. Only eight tables are open each day, it’s nearly impossible to secure a spot, and each person can only order one dish — that’s hardly enough to satisfy the hunger.”

“That’s where you show your ignorance,” the peacemaker said with a half-smile, glancing at him, “You wonder why the dishes Master Xia makes are the tastiest, it’s because he does everything himself from start to finish. If others were hired to help out, the dishes just wouldn’t have the same flavor.”

“You think you know so much, come on, let’s drink,” he retorted.

The three tablemates clinked glasses and drank merrily.

With their loud voices, although the dining area was spacious and the tables were set far apart from each other, their conversation was still overheard by the people at the next table.

Since they had overheard, a series of discussions naturally unfolded.

A young man at the adjacent table, wearing a colorful shirt with an indeterminate necklace material around his neck, would have been mistaken by Jiang Feng for a member of the Smart Clan if not for his black hair. He asked curiously, “Uncle, I just went to the bathroom and glanced in the kitchen as I passed by, and I saw a blond guy in there. Who’s that?”

“Didn’t they just say Master Xia didn’t hire any help?”

Obviously new, not even knowing who Zhang Guanghang was.

The flower-shirted uncle instinctively glanced toward the kitchen door: “He’s Master Xia’s apprentice; I remember he’s American, I think.”

“What American, the guy’s French,” another at the table corrected.

“French? Master Xia is that impressive, having a Frenchman come to be his apprentice,” the flower-shirted man exclaimed in surprise.

“Indeed, and let me tell you, that French guy is quite particular. I remember he became Master Xia’s apprentice a few years ago. A few years back, wasn’t Master Xia running around the city daily, looking for fresh milk to be delivered every morning? He changed suppliers several times, all for this young man,” someone explained, “But honestly, drinking fresh cow’s milk might really be beneficial. If I remember correctly, the kid’s only thirteen or fourteen this year. Look at his height; he doesn’t look thirteen or fourteen at all. My son is sixteen and not even close to his height.”

“Master Xia chasing around the city for milk a few years ago was for him?” the flower-shirted uncle was astonished, “I thought Master Xia wanted to make some dessert or a dish, and wasn’t satisfied with the quality of the milk, which was why he was searching for fresh milk.”

“If you ask me, Master Xia is raising this Frenchman like his own grandson.”

The others at the table nodded in agreement.

So, at this very moment, what was Zhang Guanghang, the boy being treated like a grandson by Xia Mushi, doing?

He was getting scolded by Xia Mushi.

When Jiang Feng walked in, Xia Mushi had almost finished his ranting, so he couldn’t be sure why Zhang Guanghang was scolded, but he could guess it had probably been because of cutting the wrong vegetable, as Xia Mushi’s last words when he returned to the stove were, “Can’t even understand what you’re told.”

There were four tables of customers, and about a dozen dishes, none of them in large portions. Jiang Feng wasn’t sure if it was because this was the style in which people went out to eat at that time, or if it was Xia Mushi’s style of selling food, but he noticed that among these dozen dishes, aside from the braised fish, the others were mostly made with expensive ingredients like sea cucumbers, bird’s nests, abalones, and shark fins; even the vegetables were stir-fried with strips of sea cucumber.

After cooking the customers’ dishes, Xia Mushi began to prepare their own lunch. Compared to the luxurious dishes they had made earlier, Xia Mushi and Zhang Guanghang’s lunch was much simpler.

A plate of stir-fried greens, a dish of egg custard, some twice-cooked pork, and a winter melon and pork rib soup, they just ate in the kitchen since it was big enough.

What Jiang Feng found strange was that the master and apprentice duo did not speak a single word during the entire meal. It was normal for Xia Mushi to be quiet, but Zhang Guanghang was just a boy of about thirteen and exhibited no signs of becoming taciturn due to Xia Mushi’s recent scolding. On the contrary, he seemed very excited throughout the meal, as if he was itching to do something.

Just not talking.

The two ate in silence until Zhang Guanghang gulped down a full bowl and couldn’t help but belch, at which point Xia Mushi finally spoke.

“What are you eating so fast for? No one’s competing with you,” Xia Mushi said with a look of disdain.

Zhang Guanghang flashed a silly smile that didn’t match his handsome face but fit his clothes well, and in a perfect Beijing dialect, he burst out, “Because Master’s cooking is delicious.”

Xia Mushi didn’t react much and instead started to show concern for Zhang Guanghang’s education, “Have you done your homework? If not, go take a nap quickly. After the nap, do your homework. You’ll be going back soon and can’t fall behind on your studies. Don’t let it be that your parents turn around and blame me for not supervising you properly.”

“As I see it, I couldn’t supervise even if I wanted to; I don’t recognize a single character in those books of yours, all looking like some drawn talismans.”

Zhang Guanghang took another bite of the twice-cooked pork and asked, “Master, have you thought about how you’re going to celebrate your birthday tomorrow?”

Xia Mushi waved his hand dismissively, “What’s there to celebrate? It’s not even a proper birthday. We adults are not like you kids; we don’t celebrate birthdays. When have you ever seen me celebrating my birthday?”

Zhang Guanghang’s big eyes filled with even greater confusion, somewhat perplexed, “But Sir Niu next door just celebrated his birthday, didn’t he?”

“That was his sixtieth birthday celebration; I’ve already had mine long ago. How can it be the same? Besides, mine isn’t a proper birthday so there’s nothing to celebrate,” Xia Mushi said without care, getting up to clear the dishes, “Go sleep. After the nap, do your homework.”

“Oh.” Zhang Guanghang stood up.

“But a few years ago, my grandpa also celebrated his birthday, and it wasn’t his sixtieth birthday celebration either.” Zhang Guanghang still didn’t quite understand.

“That was his last…” Xia Mushi almost let the words slip but caught himself in time, “Your grandpa’s birthday is different from mine.”

After saying this, Xia Mushi himself felt his excuse was far-fetched and came up with a new one to fob Zhang Guanghang off, “I’m different from your grandpa; he has a proper birthday; I don’t.”

“Why?”

Xia Mushi paused for a moment, “I don’t remember my birthday.”

Zhang Guanghang: ?

Seeing Zhang Guanghang looking as if he would not rest until he got to the bottom of it, Xia Mushi decided to lay it all out, “You know what human traffickers are, right?”

Zhang Guanghang shook his head.

Xia Mushi: …

“Not knowing isn’t important; it’s just a profession, selling people. It’s illegal now, but when I was young, it was legal,” Xia Mushi didn’t worry that talking about this with the boy would twist Zhang Guanghang’s values, “When I was a kid, my family was poor and couldn’t afford to raise me, so they gave me to human traffickers. Later, I came to Beiping and was purchased by my foster father.”

“So, I don’t have a birthday; I simply don’t remember the day I was born.”

“But last month, didn’t you say tomorrow is your birthday, Master?”

“That’s the day my foster father bought me. It’s not a proper birthday, so there’s no need to celebrate. Hurry up and go to sleep. After the nap, do your homework,” Xia Mushi kept harping on about homework.

“Oh.” Zhang Guanghang still didn’t quite understand, mainly because his education thus far hadn’t included any content about human traffickers, so he didn’t grasp what Xia Mushi meant by a proper or improper birthday.

Pondering the meaning of Xia Mushi’s words, Zhang Guanghang left the kitchen, heading towards his own room.

Source: .com, updated on N𝘰vgo.co