The Game of Life

In the past, when Jiang Feng accompanied Wu Minqi and Ji Xia shopping, most of the stores they visited were clothing and boutique shops or an assortment of miscellaneous stores that sold who-knows-what, which he found uninteresting.

But today was different—it was all about food stalls.

Jiang Feng and Jiang Zaidi, along with the three young ladies, walked and grazed, eating wherever they went. Donkey rolls, sugar twists, all sorts of biscuits, candied hawthorns, assorted candied fruits—they missed nothing. They went in empty-handed and came out with their hands full, so much so that by mealtime, Jiang Feng didn’t feel hungry at all.

When the group of five arrived at Eight-treasure House after 12 p.m., they were carrying so many bags that the waitstaff thought they were out shopping for Lunar New Year goods and had stopped by the restaurant to eat.

Since Jiang Feng’s party consisted of only five people, the waiter led them to a table for six. Jiang Zaidi noticed immediately that the table was too small to fit their dishes. He turned to the waiter and said, “This table is too small, get us a round table.”

When the waiter saw Jiang Zaidi remove his hat, scarf, face mask, and earmuffs and reveal the round face that all the major restaurant owners welcomed, he immediately turned and led them to a smaller round table.

“Here’s the menu,” said the waiter as he handed over two menus to Jiang Feng’s group, standing by with the order device.

“Do you have any dishes to recommend?” asked Jiang Feng.

Hearing Jiang Feng speak with a distinct southern accent, and thinking that he was a tourist visiting Beijing, the waiter replied, “You’re from out of town, right? If you want to try some of Beiping’s special dishes, I would recommend the sautéed sea cucumber with scallions, braised pork ‘family happiness,’ our signature roasted fruitwood duck, jar-cooked meat, Beijing shredded pork in soybean sauce, roasted lamb leg, and mustard duck feet. If you’d like some vegetables, our refreshing crispy bamboo shoots, oyster sauce lettuce, iron plate-fresh mushroom sauce, and stir-fried cabbage hearts with meatballs are all excellent. Recently, we also had a dim sum chef from the south join our restaurant, and the dim sum has been very popular. If you’re interested, you might want to order a few more of those.”

The waiter rattled off a long list of dishes, leaving Jiang Feng momentarily stunned.

“Then we’ll have a roasted lamb leg, mustard duck feet, jar-cooked meat. Do you have roasted lamb ribs too? If so, we’ll have that as well,” Jiang Zaidi said, ordering four meat dishes and then turning to look at Ji Xia, “Xiaxia, do you want to eat roasted duck?”

“Yes!” Ji Xia was extremely excited.

“Then add a signature roast duck as well. Little brother, would you like to order anything else?” Jiang Zaidi asked, turning to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng thought for a moment, quickly filtering through the messages and Moments posts that Ling Guangzhao had shared in the chefs’ WeChat group yesterday, and asked, “Do you have wine lees steamed buns today?”

“Yes, the wine lees steamed buns are a new item we just introduced today,” confirmed the waiter.

“Then we’ll have a serving of the wine lees steamed buns,” said Jiang Feng.

“Also, bring us a large bottle of cola, chilled,” Jiang Zaidi added.

After the waiter left, Jiang Zaidi couldn’t help but ask Jiang Feng, “Little brother, why did you order wine lees steamed buns? Grandpa knows how to make them. If you wanted some, couldn’t you just ask Grandpa to make them for you when you go home for the New Year? His are surely tastier than the ones here.”

“Yesterday, Ling Guangzhao was raving about their restaurant’s wine lees steamed buns in the WeChat group and on his Moments. I just wanted to taste them and see how they are,” explained Jiang Feng as he began to take in Eight-treasure House’s décor.

Speaking honestly, the decoration of Eight-treasure House was quite exquisite. From the potted plants and porcelain vases on the cabinets and sills to the chairs, benches, chandeliers, stair railings, and the front door—all were harmonious, making one feel immediately that this was a time-honored establishment upon entering.

This was Jiang Feng’s first time at Eight-treasure House, and after looking around, he couldn’t pinpoint any area on the first floor that resembled the former small snack-selling area, prompting him to ask, “Miss He, has Eight-treasure House been renovated in the past few years?”

He Yueru, who had been fully occupied cracking open the seeds served by the waiter, looked up after hearing Jiang Feng’s question and assuredly said, “It hasn’t changed. It was pretty much like this before.”

“The tables have changed. I remember when I was little, the first floor of Eight-treasure House had those small square tables from our family’s restaurant, and it was only the second floor that had the large round tables,” He Yueru said as she pointed in a certain direction for Jiang Feng. “All those snacks used to be displayed over there, with a long glass window where everything was kept inside, and behind it, the masters would make them fresh for everyone to see. If you wanted to eat, you’d go to the entrance to buy the corresponding tickets and get your food with them. They didn’t just have snacks, but also soups, porridge, noodles, and the like. The Eight-treasure House’s zhajiang noodles were so delicious before, but now they’re far worse. I came last month to eat them, and although they weren’t bad, they were just too expensive.”

“And that place over there, by the window. Originally, that window was open, a small glass one, selling some cheap pastries, like flaky biscuits and such, with different items for different seasons.”

From He Yueru’s tone, one could tell she held a deep nostalgia for the Eight-treasure House of her childhood.

“Did you come here often as a child to eat?” asked Jiang Feng.

“Yes. When I was little, my mom thought I was too fat and didn’t let me eat ‘huo shao’ at home every morning. She gave me some money to go out and buy buns or ‘shaomai’ instead. I would eat breakfast every other day, save up money for two days, and then head to Eight-treasure House’s first floor for breakfast. Many classmates did the same thing. If there was money left, I’d run to that little window after school to buy flaky biscuits,” said He Yueru.

Jiang Feng nodded as if he understood something. It was no wonder that even though Eight-treasure House had been declining year after year and the old masters had almost all left, it still managed to maintain its status as one of the four heroes of Beiping’s catering industry, steadfast and unmoved, unlike Huang Ji Restaurant, which almost closed rapidly after Master Huang retired due to his old age.

As long as there are people like He Yueru who grew up in Beiping City and had their entire childhood filled with Eight-treasure House, its position would remain unchanged.

If Ling Guangzhao were a bit luckier and could dig out a few more hidden gems like Zheng Siyuan from the populace, revitalizing Eight-treasure House would just be a matter of time.

In an instant, the villain’s script could turn into the hero’s script, and the one holding the villain’s script would only be Eight-treasure House’s greatest enemy — Jiang… cough, cough.

The roast duck was ready, just waiting for customers to order and then it would be sliced and served. Just as He Yueru started discussing the specifics of their family shop’s renovations with Jiang Zaidi, the waiter brought over the roast duck.

Pure duck skin, pure duck meat, skin with meat, along with all the accompaniments for the roast duck: lotus leaf buns, green onions, cucumber slices, and other sauces, all served on three large plates.

Now that the dish had been served, it was time to eat first; the conversation could be set aside for later. Everyone present had tasted many famous roast ducks before, and although it was their first time eating Eight-treasure House’s roast duck, it wasn’t as fresh and astonishing as the first time they had roast duck in Beiping.

“De, do you feel that Eight-treasure House’s roast duck isn’t as good as Yonghe House’s?” Jiang Feng had just taken a bite of the duck and already felt somewhat full, so he stopped eating.

Wu Minqi didn’t eat much either—she only picked up a piece of duck skin, dipped it in a bit of sugar, and then put down her chopsticks.

“It’s not as good as Yonghe House’s,” Jiang Zaidi nodded and took another piece of duck meat into his mouth, “Perhaps it’s the skin that’s not up to par, but I think the meat is about the same.”

“Maybe it’s because the duck-slicing master is different,” Jiang Feng guessed haphazardly, admitting that he didn’t understand the intricacies of roasting duck.

“It’s the lotus leaf buns that aren’t up to par,” said He Yueru. “I can’t really say which restaurant in Beiping City has the best roast duck since some places have better duck-slicing masters and others have better duck-preparing masters, and I can’t really tell the difference in those aspects, so I don’t have much to say. But if you ask me which place has the best lotus leaf buns, then it’s definitely Yonghe House!”

“Lotus leaf buns?” asked Jiang Feng.

“Yeah, the lotus leaf buns. Actually, the lotus leaf buns at Eight-treasure House used to be delicious too, but I don’t know what happened in recent years—they’ve become worse and worse, not much different than the ones sold at the small stands on the street,” said He Yueru. “But to pinpoint exactly what’s better, I can’t really say, as I don’t know how to make them. I just remember in middle school, my mom still thought I was too fat and refused to give me allowance for fear I would buy snacks outside. At that time, you could buy just the lotus leaf buns at Yonghe House, 5 yuan for a serving, and you’d get a lot. Whenever I craved roast duck, I would go to Yonghe House to buy lotus leaf buns and then go home to make my own wraps with green onions, cucumber slices, and sweet bean sauce.”

“Unfortunately, Yonghe House doesn’t sell just lotus leaf buns anymore. Some places specialized in roast duck still sell them separately, but they are expensive and not as good as Yonghe House’s.” He Yueru’s tone suggested she missed the days of wrapping cucumber and green onions in lotus leaf buns.

Jiang Feng & Jiang Zaidi & Wu Minqi & Ji Xia: ???

This strategy is simply superb—quenching thirst by looking at plums, allaying hunger with pictures of cakes, the real-life version.

No wonder He Yueru is plump, it’s well earned.