The Game of Life-Chapter 653 - 651 I’m Hungry

Chapter 653 -651 I’m Hungry

Mr. Xu Cheng and Peng Changping arrived at the entrance of the self-service barbecue restaurant, and because of a private event, there was a “Temporarily Closed” sign on the door. However, because the door was made of glass, both of them could clearly see the bustling scene inside the restaurant.

As to what kind of bustle, it was roughly everyone gazing eagerly in one direction, their faces all but writing: Ah, I wish I could have a bite too.

Peng Changping: ?

Peng Changping was puzzled, but Xu Cheng probably understood what this was all about—he recognized many of the waitstaff from Taifeng Building, and quite a few of them recognized him, too.

A few Taifeng Building staff members who noticed Xu Cheng and Peng Changping standing at the door went and whispered to Fan Mei, who immediately ran to the door to open it.

“Mr. Xu, what a coincidence, I didn’t expect to see you here. Are you looking for someone?” Fan Mei asked with a warm smile, stepping aside to make way for Xu Cheng and Peng Changping, “There’s a breeze outside, please come in and take a seat.”

...

“We were eating across the street and came over after catching the scent,” Xu Cheng said as he and Peng Changping walked in, looking around in surprise at not seeing any Jiang Family Members, “Aren’t Jiang Feng and the two Master Jiangs here?”

“The two head chefs are dining next door, didn’t you see them just now?” Fan Mei replied, “Jiang Feng and the others are currently in the kitchen. I’ll go get them for you.”

With that, Fan Mei headed to the kitchen.

The people in the kitchen were still savoring the delicious Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall they had just eaten.

The flavor lingered in their mouths, making everyone reluctant to speak, fearing that the taste would escape with their breath. It was as if by standing still, time would not flow away, and the lingering savory taste of the Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall would not fade.

Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang both wanted to lick their bowls—as children of the Jiang Family, who hadn’t reluctantly scraped their bowls for one last taste during the New Year’s Eve dinner?

Unfortunately, they couldn’t.

After all, there were outsiders present.

Especially a certain handsome mixed-race man with the surname Zhang—in front of such a handsome man, one can’t afford to lose face or composure.

Father and son, Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang, both held their bowls, stared at them, and sighed together.

Then Fan Mei entered.

Fan Mei: ?

“Jiang Feng, Mr. Xu Cheng is here, it seems he’s looking for you, he’s right outside,” Fan Mei said.

When Jiang Feng heard that Xu Cheng had arrived, his first reaction was that he couldn’t believe Xu Cheng had arrived so quickly, and he wondered where Xu Cheng had gotten the news from, considering the last time Mr. Xu Cheng came unannounced was for the Eight Treasures Chestnut Fragrant Pigeon.

With that thought, Jiang Feng looked at his empty bowl and breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully they had eaten quickly enough; Mr. Xu Cheng was still one step too late.

Jiang Feng put down his bowl and walked out with Fan Mei, only to see Mr. Xu Cheng sitting at the table drinking tea and Peng Changping examining the grill with some interest.

“Mr. Xu.” Jiang Feng approached and greeted.

“I was dining next door and came over when I caught the scent,” said Xu Cheng with a smile, getting straight to the point, “I wonder if this Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall is made by your grandfather or Granduncle Weiming?”

“It was made by my grandfather.”

“It does recall the taste of the Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall from Jubao Building several years ago, but since your grandfather and Master Sun were on good terms, it’s normal for the dishes to have similarities,” Xu Cheng said, noting that the aroma was much fainter now and thus he refrained from speaking too assertively.

Jiang Feng was startled, not expecting that Mr. Xu didn’t know that Sir’s Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall was learned from Sun Zheran. But on second thought, it seemed reasonable since Mr. Xu wouldn’t have known about Sir a year ago.

“My grandfather’s Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall was indeed learned from Master Sun Zheran,” said Jiang Feng.

This caught Mr. Xu and Peng Changping off guard, and Peng Changping was so stunned that he fell into a long reverie before coming back to his senses and slowly said, “Sun Zheran… it’s been so many years since I’ve heard someone mention him, I had almost forgotten about him.”

Sun Zheran had been almost half a century gone, and nowadays when people speak of a master of Cantonese cuisine, everyone mentions Sun Maochai; only the very old are likely to remember Sun Zheran.

Jiang Feng did not recognize Peng Changping and only felt that the elderly man before him seemed frighteningly old. Age, after all, is something no amount of care can hide – not the skin, the wrinkles, the bones, nor the expression.

Seeing Jiang Feng looking at Peng Changping, Mr. Xu realized that in his eagerness to ask about the Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall, he had forgotten to introduce Peng Changping to Jiang Feng, and quickly said, “This is Master Peng Changping, whom I especially invited from abroad to assess your grandfather and Granduncle Weiming for the ranking of top chefs. By the way, do you have time tomorrow? It’s better to strike while the iron is hot, how about we set the appointment for then?”

Jiang Feng showed a look of difficulty, “My grandfather should be okay, but Granduncle might be… somewhat reluctant.”

With so many people around, Jiang Feng really didn’t want to tell Mr. Xu in such a setting that Jiang Weiming had completely lost his sense of taste.

Mr. Xu misunderstood at once, “It must be that Master Jiang hasn’t fully recovered yet. No worry, Master Peng will be staying in Beiping for quite a long time, we can set another date once Master Jiang is better. After all, it’s only April now, there’s plenty of time before the selection ends.”

“So, this is a… gathering?” Peng Changping, who had been quietly observing the grill, suddenly spoke up.

“Sort of. Today is our team-building day. It’s inconvenient for so many of us to dine together at a restaurant, so we booked this buffet barbecue place for a BBQ,” Jiang Feng explained.

He had seen Peng Changping before, but it was the younger Peng Changping. Although young, Peng Changping had appeared mature and stable, the image of a reliable and honest person. Compared to the more conspicuous Cao Guixiang and Qin Guisheng from his memories, Peng Changping was always like a background board, silently cooking in a corner without a word.

Now, Peng Changping’s appearance and demeanor were completely different from his youth, and if it wasn’t for Mr. Xu’s introduction, Jiang Feng definitely wouldn’t have recognized him.

Perhaps it was because of his longstanding position as the number one chef in the culinary rankings, towering over chefs from all over the world, that Peng Changping now had an air of an imposing figure who, when seated, seemed like a highbrow recluse.

And with someone explaining this, he seemed even more like a hermit from the outside world.

Except this worldly hermit was a bit hard of hearing, and Peng Changping hadn’t caught much of what Jiang Feng and Mr. Xu had said, only a few key words like Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall, Sun Zheran, grandfather, and Granduncle.

A subtle smile played on Peng Changping’s face, “My great-grandson also likes to go out and do this kind of thing with friends, always pestering me, asking me and his grandfather to take him out for a picnic and a family BBQ in the suburbs.”

“I haven’t really heard about these team-building activities you folks are doing now, but if we had this kind of thing back when I was young, my junior brother and sister would have loved it. They were always restless, always eager to be the first to hand out herbal tea on the street,”

“Oh, Master Peng, I’ve been meaning to ask how Master Qin is doing these days?” Xu Cheng asked.

“Him? Not too good nor too bad, a bit worse off than me. His health always takes a hit when the seasons change. He wanted to come back with me originally, but I reckon getting off the plane might have cost him half his life, so I didn’t let him come,” said Peng Changping. “As for my junior sister, before she went abroad, she clearly sent a letter and left her contact information, and we even exchanged letters once or twice. But then, all of a sudden, there was no more contact, and I have no idea how she’s been or if she’s still around.”

“Do you know your junior sister’s approximate address? If you tell me the details, it’s easier to look for people nowadays than it was in the past. I can ask my assistant to help you inquire,” Xu Cheng said.

Since Cao Guixiang was brought up, Jiang Feng felt it was his turn to speak up: “Master Peng, is your junior sister Cao Guixiang?”

Peng Changping looked at Jiang Feng: “You know her?”

“Her grandson and I were classmates. Last year when their family visited Beiping, they even made a special trip to eat at Yonghe House. His grandfather mentioned this to me, and when you said that just now, I thought it might be her,” Jiang Feng said.

Peng Changping hadn’t expected such an extraordinary coincidence and was visibly delighted and slightly agitated: “Then she…”

“She passed away many years ago.”

Peng Changping sighed; he seemed to have anticipated this outcome.

As they spoke, people from the kitchen started coming out one after another. Wang Xiulian saw Jiang Feng speaking with Xu Cheng and an elderly gentleman she didn’t recognize, and without interrupting them, simply urged Jiang Jiankang to hurry up with the barbecue.

Though tasty, that small bowl of Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall had not been filling, it didn’t sate their hunger, but instead, it had roused everyone’s appetite.

Wang Xiulian felt like she could eat 100 skewers today!

Big meat skewers!

Jiang Jiankang, already drooling at the thought of 150 skewers, had started eagerly grilling lamb skewers.

The lamb skewers, threaded by Wang Xiulian and brushed with two coats of sauce, tumbled over the charcoal, sizzling and dripping fat. The aroma of the lamb was completely covered by cumin and chili powder, leaving the air filled with nothing but the roasted meat and cumin flavors enhanced by the charcoal fire.

“Snap.”

A droplet of oil landed on the charcoal, producing a delicate yet crisp sound.

Zhang Guanghang nearby was not to be outdone as he performed his Turkish barbecue master’s work, just short of a big mustache to truly embody an authentic and dashing Turkish barbecue master.

Gradually, the lingering fragrance of Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall was overpowered by the scents of various types of grilled meats.

Pork, beef, lamb, Chinese leeks, green beans, potatoes, chilies, cumin, and a multitude of spices and even the aroma of the sauces began to fill the whole self-service barbecue restaurant, finally giving it a semblance of a barbecue joint.

Jiang Feng was initially explaining to Peng Changping about Cao Guixiang, based on what he knew and what Zhang Chu had told him, but as he spoke, he couldn’t help swallowing repeatedly—not from thirst, but from a craving for meat.

Who grilled these lamb skewers? They smell so mouth-wateringly good.

Oh, who sprinkled that cumin? It’s making my mouth water.

Damn, who’s grilling bread? Which heretic would choose to grill bread over meat?

“There’s a regular customer at our restaurant who is a painter. He has savant syndrome and an exceptional memory. He recognized Sir Zhang at a glance during a meal because he once had a meal at his house as a child, cooked by Mrs. Cao. Ah, no, not lamb skewers, it was grilled bread, no, no, it was…” Jiang Feng’s mind was so full of lamb skewers and grilled bread that he inadvertently blurted out about lamb skewers and grilled bread.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

The atmosphere turned incredibly awkward, tainted even with the smell of lamb skewers and grilled bread.

Jiang Feng couldn’t go on, looking embarrassingly at Peng Changping.

Peng Changping chuckled lightly: “I was negligent; you mustn’t have eaten yet. Here I am making you tell me all this on an empty stomach.”

With that, Peng Changping turned to Xu Cheng, who was trying not to laugh, “Did you get enough to eat just now?”

“Ah?” Xu Cheng was taken aback. Even if he hadn’t felt full after the scent of Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall, he hadn’t felt like eating anything else, “More or less.”

“Then you eat less. I see there are two grills over there that nobody’s using; can we use them?” Peng Changping pointed towards two corner grills that everyone else was ignoring.

“Of course, you can.”

“If you don’t mind, allow me to grill a few skewers for you. I can assure you that my great-grandchildren are quite fond of the skewers I make,” Peng Changping offered with a smile.

Jiang Feng: !!!

Jiang Feng looked at Wang Xiulian, Ji Yue, Ji Xia, and Jiang Jiankang, who were all heartily eating meat, and felt they had missed out on a billion.

Whereas he had just made ten billion!

“Mom, are there any skewers left? Give them to me! Where’s the sauce? Do we still have charcoal? Where is it?”

“Dad, stop grilling, don’t ruin such good lamb. Just grill the bread!”

“Where’s the beef? Who took all the beef?”

Xu Cheng: …

I’m hungry.

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