The Game of Life

Ji Xue played checkers with Ji Xia for a while, ate two pieces of candy, then went to her room to change into a new set of clothes, and let Ji Xia stay in the living room to watch TV.

The TV could only receive Channel One and Channel Three of the central station; their family hadn’t renewed the cable TV subscription, so those were the only few channels they could watch. However, Ji Xia still watched with great interest.

She was young, and her parents didn’t feel comfortable letting her go out to play. There was no TV to watch at home, nor any books suitable for her age to read, or rather, whatever was suitable she had already read through. No one else was at home to accompany her, and now Ji Xue was also going out.

Jiang Feng took the opportunity of the sisters playing checkers to look around their home—an apartment with three bedrooms, two living rooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a small balcony, fully furnished with good decoration. Although Jiang Feng couldn’t tell much else, he could see that Ji Xia’s family had good-quality flooring.

Both sisters had their own separate small rooms; the apartment was at least 120 square meters or more, and Jiang Feng felt it was even larger than his own house.

Jiang Feng reasonably speculated that, when Ji Xia’s father still had the restaurant running, their family business must have been pretty successful. They surely earned more than his family’s health snack shop used to, especially since the housing prices here were much higher than in Z city.

Ji Xue put on a set of dark clothes. These clothes were from last year. As she was growing taller a size each year, clothes from last year were now obviously too small for her, looking tight as if she was wearing a body suit.

She really couldn’t find any more suitable clothes. The two new pieces she had bought this year were both white, and she had helped out at the family restaurant before, knowing too well how easily white clothes could get dirty in that environment.

“Xiaxia, sister has to go out for a bit and will be back in the evening. You stay at home and watch TV, don’t go out,” Ji Xue instructed.

Ji Xue was taken aback for a moment and after some thought, she remembered which book ‘Little Princess’ was. She found it odd and asked, “Xiaxia, can you understand it?”

“I don’t understand it,” Ji Xia honestly replied, “but I want to be a maid like Sara (the protagonist of ‘Little Princess’).”

Ji Xue was utterly stunned, and it took her a long time before she slowly asked, “Why do you want to be a maid, Xiaxia?”

Jiang Feng was also stunned, curiously staring at Ji Xia.

It was unexpected that Ji Xia’s childhood dream was so different from others her age, who wanted to be astronauts, spacemen, scientists; and here was Ji Xia thinking about being a maid. Fortunately, later on, Ji Xia had changed her ambition to opening a breakfast store, which compared to being a maid, could indeed be considered a lofty aspiration.

“Sara originally had many beautiful dresses, could eat lots of candies and pastries, then later she had none. She became a maid, but after becoming a maid, things were like before. If I also become a maid like her at school, we could also be like before, buying dresses in the summer and going out with mom and dad to buy cakes on weekends,” Ji Xia said.

‘Little Princess’, as a children’s novel not particularly childish, Ji Xia had only grasped the superficial meaning of the book, and she even felt a sense of empathy.

Ji Xue didn’t know how to respond to Ji Xia and could only smile and say to her, “You don’t have to be a maid, Xiaxia, sister can be the maid.”

“I’m leaving now. If I come back late and you get hungry, Xiaxia, just heat up half of this morning’s steamed bun and eat it,” Ji Xue said.

“Mm,” Ji Xia nodded, “Sister, come back early.”

Jiang Feng left the apartment with Ji Xue, actually not quite understanding the meaning of Ji Xia’s words just now, but he could tell that she had definitely misinterpreted the original story. ṛåΝÓ₿Ęꞩ

After leaving the apartment, Jiang Feng realized that Ji Xia’s family lived quite high up on the 6th floor without an elevator, which made going up and down rather strenuous.

The neighborhood location was good, with a bus stop right at the entrance. Tan Family Small Restaurant was not far from Ji Xue’s home. No transfer was needed by bus, just a 20-minute ride, which was probably why Ji Xue chose to work there.

As an expensive private dining restaurant, Tan Family Small Restaurant was not very big in area, and the decor was standardized, really not showing any signs of the typical private kitchens.

Ji Xue clearly had been there before to inquire, as the boss’s wife recognized her and showed little reaction when Ji Xue arrived, even seeming somewhat indifferent.

Ji Xue went to talk with Master Tan’s daughter-in-law, obviously discussing specific compensation; meanwhile, Jiang Feng wandered around the Tan Family Small Restaurant.

The Tan Family Small Restaurant was small, with only a few tables. Including the second floor, Jiang Feng counted a total of just six tables, which explained why their Watan Chicken in Hua Diao Wine was so hard to come by in the past, with reservations running several months or even a year in advance.

With only six tables, even if Master Tan’s son and daughter-in-law wanted to make more money, they couldn’t possibly rush out diners who had just started their meal. Even if they did manage to rush their customers, Master Tan alone couldn’t handle everything, especially with his age.

Jiang Feng was surprised to find that there was nobody in the back kitchen of Tan Family Small Restaurant, with only Master Tan’s daughter-in-law managing the front; Master Tan himself was probably not there, likely having gone to rest.

After looking around the Tan Family Small Restaurant from inside out, not missing even the storage where they kept their supplies, Jiang Feng went back to find Ji Xue and discovered that Master Tan’s daughter-in-law had already taken her to the back kitchen to start work.

“First, I’ve got to make this clear to you, our restaurant doesn’t have the one or two days off a week like others, we’re open all year round without rest, including two days from now during the Lantern Festival; you must come to work, don’t call it quits after working just two days and mess up my business,” Master Tan’s daughter-in-law emphatically warned Ji Xue.

“You’re an apprentice, you know that, right? An apprentice is here to learn. You’re getting 600 yuan a month because you’re young and your family is having a hard time, but other places only provide meals for their apprentices and no money.”

“I understand.” Ji Xue said.

“Good to know. Since you’re here to work, you need to be proactive. Don’t wait to be asked to do something; just go ahead and do it. Whether it’s chopping vegetables, washing dishes, cleaning, or wiping tables, if you can do it, then do it. Only leave after you finish your work. No one is allowed to leave if the kitchen hasn’t been cleaned up, even if you’ve finished eating.”

“Our Sir is a renowned chef. If you weren’t so young and seemed honest, and not here to steal trade secrets, I wouldn’t have let you into the kitchen to help. When you’re working, keep your eyes to yourself. Don’t be snooping around trying to learn this or that on the sly. You’re an apprentice and will be taught when you should be. No learning things you should not. If I find out you’re trying to learn something on the sly, I’ll have you thrown out right away,” Master Tan’s daughter-in-law lectured in a long tirade, giving Ji Xue a taste of tough love.

“I understand.” Ji Xue said.

Seeing how obedient Ji Xue was, Master Tan’s daughter-in-law nodded in satisfaction, “Then start working. Today’s a trial and there will be no pay, but you’ll get a meal tonight. Those vegetables over there need to be chopped. Looks like they haven’t been washed yet. Wash them first and then chop them. You chopped vegetables in front of me the other day, right? I remember you did an okay job. Anyway, show me when you’re done, in case I remembered wrong.”

“Okay.” Ji Xue said.

Master Tan’s daughter-in-law then left the kitchen.

Ji Xue began washing the vegetables, and from the way she moved, it was clear that she wasn’t very experienced in doing so and didn’t often wash vegetables.

Actually, that was normal. Even if Ji Xue’s family had owned a restaurant before, they wouldn’t have had the boss’ daughter help wash the veggies.

Jiang Feng himself rarely washed vegetables since they had an expert in the craft, Mrs. Wang Xiulian, who didn’t leave much opportunity for others to do it. Mrs. Wang Xiulian was proficient in a vigorous vegetable washing method; although the vegetables didn’t look that appealing afterward, they were clean and washed quickly.

As Ji Xue washed vegetables in the kitchen, Jiang Feng watched from the side. It was only when Ji Xue had cleaned two basins of vegetables and was halfway through chopping them that the kitchen door opened again.

An elderly man with graying hair walked in.

He was the founder of the clay pot beggar’s chicken and the late Red Chef Master Tan Weizhou.

In his lifetime, Tan Weizhou was famous for two things: for his clay pot beggar’s chicken and for his unfilial son, Tan Lin.

In a sense, Tan Weizhou’s money-grubbing, culinary-arts-ignorant unfilial son was even more infamous than his clay pot beggar’s chicken. When Jiang Feng first infiltrated the Beiping culinary scene, the old gossip he heard the most from other chefs was about Master Tan and his son.

After all these years, while Shandong chefs had been gossiping about Cantonese chefs, one could imagine how widely circulated and explosive the gossip about his son had been, and how it had shaken the culinary world.

In short, Tan Lin was a poster child for unfilial behavior, leeching off his father until the year before the old man died.

Jiang Weiming’s eldest son could be considered a saint compared to Tan Lin.

Jiang Feng remembered that Tan Weizhou died when he was just over 70, so Tan Weizhou would now be around 65.

Due to overwork, Tan Weizhou looked much older than 65, visibly aged and worn, his white hair being the youngest thing about him.

Seeing a young girl cutting vegetables in the kitchen, Tan Weizhou paused, then turned to ask, “Lin’s wife, who’s this young girl in the kitchen?”

The daughter-in-law quickly came over, her face beaming with a warm smile, “Dad, she’s the new apprentice.”

“An apprentice? Isn’t she a little too young? She’s even younger than Wenwen,” said Tan Weizhou with a hint of displeasure.

“Dad, this girl has a special situation. Both her parents are seriously ill, and she has a younger sister at home. They’re really struggling, so I couldn’t help but take her in. Don’t let her age fool you—her family used to run a restaurant, and she’s learned quite a bit. She can certainly help out in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and such, no problem at all,” the daughter-in-law hurriedly explained.

“The one before, that Red, she quit because she was tired and found the work bothersome and wouldn’t show up. During the New Year festivities, it’s incredibly difficult to find help. You know how my health is—if I overwork myself, I can’t take it, and these last few days my shoulders have been sore. Tan Lin? Forget about him helping you in the kitchen; he’s nowhere to be found until meal time. I’m tired too from looking after our big family every day,” she said, her use of the word “tired” sounding genuinely heartfelt.

Tan Weizhou seemed about to say something, but then swallowed his words, exhaling deeply, “Well, let it be then.”

“Great, Dad, I appreciate it. Be a bit careful when you’re cooking, okay? After all, even though this young girl’s family is pitiable, we don’t know her background well,” the daughter-in-law said with a smile, then noticing Tan Weizhou seemed a bit unhappy, she quickly changed her tone, “Really, where did that Wenwen scurry off to? I asked her to help in the kitchen and she vanished. I’ll go catch her and bring her back for you!”

And with that, she left.

Ji Xue had already put down her knife and was watching Tan Weizhou with some nervousness.

“Girl, it’s okay, you… just keep working,” Tan Weizhou said, forcing a smile as he walked towards the cooking station with heavy steps.

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