THE GAME OF LIFE

Chapter 679: Chapter 677: Control Group

Jiang Feng never imagined that his fire control would upgrade before his knifework.

But thinking about it, that made sense. After all, the proficiency required for Grandmaster Level, from the starting point of 950k, couldn’t be increased by just stacking time and quantity—it demanded quality. Although Jiang Feng hadn’t calculated the exact numbers, he could roughly analyze that the complexity of the dishes he practiced each day, and the amount of thought put into them, proportionally increased the proficiency earned.

After spending a week learning stock from the most formidable chef, the expertise gained in fire control surpassed the proficiency of knifework he had laboriously developed on his own for half a month.

What did this mean?

It underscored the importance of a good teacher!

Jiang Feng looked at the proficiency of fire control over and over again, not stopping until he could recite the adjacent proficiencies for knifework and seasoning by heart, and then he hummed a tuneless little song as he left the bathroom.

When Jiang Feng returned to the kitchen, Jiang Weiming had already left, only leaving behind the plate of chopped pepper fish head on the cooking station that was still emitting a bit of heat and had been picked at with chopsticks a few times.

Jiang Feng picked up a pair of chopsticks, walked over to the dish, and like Jiang Weiming earlier, picked up a piece of the snow-white fish meat that didn’t have much chili on it, savoring it carefully and squinting his eyes with delight.

An A-grade chopped pepper fish head, delicious!

His own A-grade chopped pepper fish head, even more delicious!

After devouring several bites, Jiang Feng tried everything from the fish flesh to the fish skin to the chopped peppers sprinkled on top. After tasting, he put down the chopsticks, picked up the plate, and quickly walked out.

“Mom, stop sleeping, come and try my chopped pepper fish head!”

“Where’s Dad?”

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“Ji Gezi, stop watching TV, come and try the chopped pepper fish head I made, Ji Xue, did you see that? And Old Zhang from your family, call them over, get everyone to try it!”

The chopped pepper fish head was just the beginning. Once the fire control reached Grandmaster Level, it meant that Jiang Feng could effortlessly create A-grade dishes for many that relied on heat control.

In one afternoon, Jiang Feng attempted several dishes that tested heat control, including Crispy Double Delight and Kung Pao Chicken. Except for Crispy Delight, which Jiang Feng had seldom practiced before and could only make to a B-grade, all the other dishes were A-grade. Not only did he complete the long-overdue main mission in one go, but he also made quite an impression in the back kitchen.

If it wasn’t for the lack of time as he had to start preparing the cuisine for Peng Changping and Zhang Chu’s table, Jiang Feng could have made ten more dishes.

As long as everyone could eat, he could keep cooking!

Jiang Feng’s reputation was now nearly enough to call to arms and lead a revolt to start his own faction.

No, why would he start his own revolt?

“Sang Ming, are you free? If you are, could you help me get the eels from the basin in the far corner that I picked out earlier?” Jiang Feng had already started planning the dishes.

Five minutes earlier, he had messaged Zhang Zhiyuan, who told him that Zhang Chu and Peng Changping had been strolling in the hutong alleyways all day, Qin Guisheng was combating jet lag playing online games, and after taking a nap, had just woken up and continued playing without having breakfast—deducing that it was still early morning in the United States.

“Sure, Feng, just the eels? Do you need me to gut them for you?” Sang Ming was very enthusiastic, even using the honorific “you.”

Jiang Feng: …

That’s completely unnecessary.

The eels didn’t need someone else to handle them, the rabbit did. Taifeng Building had staff specialized in processing live poultry and rabbits, but Jiang Feng didn’t quite trust their skills. He originally intended to ask his father for help since Wang Xiulian once had a phase of being addicted to eating rabbits, and Jiang Jiankang’s rabbit slaughtering skills were top-notch. However, since Jiang Jiankang had disappeared and was nowhere to be found in the back kitchen, Jiang Feng had no choice but to trouble the always low-key and versatile Master Wang.

“Master Wang,” Jiang Feng approached Master Wang, who was selecting vegetables, carrying a rabbit, “Do you have a moment now? If you do, could you help me process this rabbit? I’ll need it for stir-frying later on, so the blood has to be drained cleanly and cut into small pieces.”

“No problem, leave it here and it will be ready in a few minutes.” Master Wang also seemed very enthusiastic, and as he looked at Jiang Feng, it’s as if he suddenly remembered something. Hesitating slightly, he whispered, “Feng, the skill you demonstrated today was truly exceptional. You’ve kept a low profile indeed, worthy of someone taken as Master Peng’s closed-door disciple.”

Jiang Feng: …

Master Wang, your son is almost my age—get a grip!

Jiang Feng wanted to clarify, but he wasn’t sure where to begin. He had clarified the matter of being apprenticed to Peng Changping as soon as it happened, but it seemed that few people cared, and some even thought he was being modestly insincere.

As for Feng…

Don’t mention Feng to him; he’s allergic to that word now and it gives him a headache just hearing it.

Jiang Feng had no choice but to return to the kitchen to focus on cooking, while others took advantage of the lull in activity to gossip.

“I feel Feng has changed from before; every movement seems to have the aura of a master, and he speaks less too. It’s true what they say, that less is more with masters.” Sang Ming said to Zhang Weiyu with a sigh.

Zhang Weiyu was emotionlessly chopping potatoes and flatly said, “Only villains die from talking too much.”

His meaning was clear: you could talk less.

Unfortunately, Sang Ming didn’t grasp the underlying message from Zhang Weiyu and continued to sigh, “Actually, Feng’s food has always been tasty, but I don’t know why he used to make those strange dishes that would make you cry and laugh and provoke all sorts of thoughts. Whenever I ate Feng’s food, I always thought of my sister, no idea why. Now it’s better like this, tasty without making you overthink. It’s all my sister’s fault for not being good-looking. If she were a beauty, maybe I’d be happy to think of her.”

Zhang Weiyu: …

I think that’s your problem, not the food’s.

“I think Feng’s cooking has indeed changed from before.” While deboning the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon that Jiang Feng was working on, Zhang Weiyu, who had a better understanding of Jiang Feng’s previous culinary skills than Sang Ming did, said: “He might have had an epiphany.”

“An epiphany?” Sang Ming thought for a while, “You mean like in those cultivation novels, where you overcome inner demons and master your martial arts?”

“…You’re talking about martial arts novels.”

“It’s all the same.”

Zhang Weiyu placed the sliced potatoes on the plate. “That should be about right. I’ve never had an epiphany, so I wouldn’t know, but my dad has. You see, my family used to be blacksmiths, and my dad wasn’t very good at it. No matter what he did, there was always something missing. This went on until I was in primary school. His craftsmanship was subpar, and our family business wasn’t doing well, so we were really poor back then. I remember thinking that I never wanted to end up like him, unable to master blacksmithing and struggling to feed myself.”

“And then?” Sang Ming was hooked by the story.

“Well, when I started middle school, my grades weren’t great and I needed to attend remedial classes, but we didn’t have the money. That’s when my dad started to worry, and somehow, through his worries, he had an epiphany,” said Zhang Weiyu.

Sang Ming: ?

“So…” Sang Ming thought for a moment, “Feng had an epiphany from eating? After a big meal, he just got it?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t experienced it myself, but maybe. From that point on, my dad’s skills improved, his reputation grew, and he started making money. He even took on several apprentices. But I still didn’t want to join the blacksmithing trade.”

“Why not?” Sang Ming was puzzled.

“What if I never have an epiphany? This whole thing is like some mystical art; no one knows for sure. I figured it’s better to study hard and get into a good university. Even if I don’t make a lot of money, at least I won’t starve,” Zhang Weiyu explained.

Sang Ming looked at him with growing skepticism.

Zhang Weiyu: …

“This whole situation is an accident!”

Sang Ming remained unconvinced.

“Really, not all my classmates are like me. Listen, let me explain…”

Others didn’t go as far as Sang Ming in thinking that Jiang Feng’s culinary skills came from a rich meal, but they all had a consistent idea—it was all because of Peng Changping.

It was all thanks to Master Peng’s excellent teaching!

Even Jiang Feng’s own father and grandfather thought so.

Jiang Jiankang was having a heart-to-heart with his father.

To be precise, it was Sir who was having a heart-to-heart with Jiang Jiankang.

Jiang Jiankang was extremely nervous; he felt his father was somewhat off that day.

“Jiankang,” Sir was questioning life, “do you feel like I’ve held you back over the years?”

Jiang Jiankang: …

Dad, if you want to hit me, just do it directly. No need for these roundabout ways. I’m scared.

“How could that be, Dad? Our family owes our current good life to your guidance!” Jiang Jiankang asserted with conviction, “How could you entertain such terrible thoughts? Without you, where would we be after all these years? How could that be considered holding us back?”

“But I feel like I have,” Sir reflected on his teaching methods throughout the afternoon, deeply feeling that his level of instruction couldn’t hold a candle to Peng Changping’s. Maybe his sons and grandsons were all prodigies, but he failed to bring that out, which is why Jiang Feng was able to make such a dramatic improvement after just a week with Peng Changping.

“Impossible!”

“It must have been my fault. You and your elder brother had so much talent, but it was probably squandered by my inadequacies,” Sir muttered to himself.

Jiang Jiankang: ?

Am I hallucinating, or did my dad just praise my talent?

“Ah, it’s all my fault,” Sir fell into a loop of self-recrimination.

Jiang Jiankang: …

This is bad, my dad’s mind seems to have taken an odd turn.

In a state of panic, Jiang Jiankang looked around frantically, hoping to find someone to help. Suddenly, he thought he saw Peng Changping.

He didn’t particularly remember Zhang Chu and Zhang Zhiyuan, but he remembered Peng Changping, mainly because he had recently eaten grilled meat cooked by Peng himself.

“Dad, I think Master Peng has arrived. Why don’t you go to the kitchen and keep an eye on Feng, making sure he’s careful with his cooking and doesn’t make mistakes?” Jiang Jiankang thought he had found a perfect out.

Sir also noticed Peng Changping, who was currently on a video call with Qin Guisheng using his phone.

Ha, a point of comparison.

“Hmph,” Sir snorted, “what’s there to see? After so many years of culinary training, one can’t even cook a few home dishes? If they still need supervision after all these years, hasn’t all their learning gone to the dogs?”

After speaking, Sir left Taifeng Building in a huff and headed for the teahouse.

The tea he missed at noon, he was determined to have now.

He, Jiang Weiguo, was skipping work. Understand?

Jiang Jiankang: …

Hey, it seems like my dad is back to normal.

So why did he call me out of the kitchen if he didn’t have anything important to say?

After a few nonsensical remarks, he stopped talking.

Confused, Jiang Jiankang shook his head and went back to work.

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