THE GAME OF LIFE

Chapter 702: Chapter 701: The Feeling of Being a Big Shot

When Jiang Feng discovered his phone had crashed, he was utterly bewildered.

He vaguely remembered the last time his phone crashed; it was at the very beginning of his freshman year in college. Back then, he was discussing with Mrs. Wang Xiulian on WeChat which brand and model of a new phone to buy, using the phone that had barely survived his three years of high school and was on the verge of retirement. An instructor had sent a message in the QQ group, and a bunch of classmates replied that they received it. At that time, he was a naïve and unknowing freshman, not realizing the importance of muting class group chats. Seeing others replying, he switched to QQ to respond, and his phone just froze.

Later, Jiang Feng muted the class group chat.

Chatting with classmates had to be done in smaller groups; even the dorm group wouldn’t do.

Years later, experiencing the sensation of a phone crashing due to too many messages once more, Jiang Feng only wanted to say,

Mom, I need a new phone!

After spending several seconds rebooting his phone, Jiang Feng finally managed to open WeChat, only to see a series of messages from family members.

Every person’s message had a two-digit prefix.

Just as Jiang Feng was about to open the message from his eldest aunt at the top of the list, Jiang Zaidi sent another message that bumped his mom’s message down, so Jiang Feng went ahead and clicked on De’s messages.

The first thing that came up was 8 incomprehensible emojis.

De: Little bro, I heard you made Chickpea Tofu today.

De: I also heard that Grandpa and Granduncle Weiming praised your Chickpea Tofu.

De: Little bro, you’ve just been discharged from the hospital not long ago, and your body hasn’t fully recovered, don’t overwork yourself. Dishes like Chickpea Tofu are too difficult; you should make them less in the future. Cooking can wait, your health is the most important.

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De: Our company just happened to distribute some nutritional supplements recently. I’ve been so busy with work and overtime that I haven’t had time to go home. I’ll bring some over to you when I get a chance.

Seeing this, Jiang Feng felt his eyes well up with tears.

Indeed, De still cared about him. Besides a casual mention of Chickpea Tofu, everything else was filled with concern for him, every word brimming with solicitude.

And then, Jiang Feng saw the next message, the one sent just now.

De: I’ve been thinking, and I might not have the time recently. I don’t know what’s going on, but we’ve had a particularly high number of orders lately, and I wish I could just sleep at the company. How about this, little bro? You tell me the next time you make Chickpea Tofu, and I’ll take a couple of hours off work specially to bring it to you and also try some of your cooking.

Jiang Feng: …

He silently replied to Jiang Zaidi with an emoji, whose meaning even he was unsure of, and went back to the main screen to open his eldest aunt’s messages.

Coming from Jiang Zaidi’s mom, the eldest aunt’s approach held a curious similarity to that of Zaidi.

Eldest Aunt: Feng, your eldest aunt just saw the group message. Congratulations on making Chickpea Tofu just now.

Eldest Aunt: Don’t wear yourself out, okay? Your eldest aunt knows how hard it is to learn cooking. To make Chickpea Tofu, you must have put in a lot of effort. I’ve recently learned to make Orange Pie, and I’ll make some for you when I get the chance.

Eldest Aunt: Oh, and your uncle recently also learned a new nutritious dish; you definitely need it. I’ll ask him to make some extra portions to send over to you. Try them out, and if you like them, I’ll have him bring them to you every day.

Eldest Aunt: I’ve always seen it, out of all the kids in our family, you, Feng, are the most promising. Not like our Dede, who although smart, lacks focus. He’s been like this since he was little. He gave up on learning to cook after just two days, such a scatterbrain.

Eldest Aunt: If you have time, talk with Dede more, let him learn from your good qualities so he won’t be so all over the place. If Dede could learn even half of what you have, I would be content.

Eldest Aunt: I’ve also been learning to cook recently. I’ve been helping your uncle in the kitchen the past few days, and even he says I’m a quick learner. Next time you’re free, come over to our place, and your eldest aunt will cook a table of good food for you to try my culinary skills.

At this point, Jiang Feng was completely confused, even feeling that he could hear his eldest aunt’s voice inside his head.

Jiang Feng continued reading; his eldest aunt talked about everything she had recently learned, without mentioning Chickpea Tofu at all, as if she had sent all these messages just to share with him her own efforts in practicing her cooking skills.

Until the last message—

“Feng, next time you plan to make chicken tofu pudding, call Auntie to help out, let her practice too. Just don’t mind her.”

Jiang Feng: …

No wonder she’s Auntie, a role model in the Jiang Family. Truly impressive!

With a sense of curiosity, Jiang Feng found the message sent by Jiang Jianguo and opened it.

Uncle: “Feng, I heard you’ve been diligently practicing cooking lately. I’ve recently learned a new recipe for a nutritious meal. I’ll make some and send a few portions over next time.”

Jiang Feng: …

Indeed, apples don’t fall far from the tree in this family.

Jiang Feng opened each message one by one, finding that everyone’s approach was pretty much the same. They begin with phrases like “I’ve heard” or “I’ve seen,” followed by expressing concern for his health, subtly complimenting him, then diverging onto other topics before finally circling back to chicken tofu pudding and ending there.

It was as if they were all trained in the same class, lacking the unrestrained passion they showed when fluffing up Sir’s ego.

But thinking about it made sense. Sir was of a higher status, and everyone else was from the younger generations. One could rave with high-flying flattery about an elder as much as one wanted, shamelessly too. But Jiang Feng was different; he was among the juniors, and everyone there was of an older generation than him, or at the very least his elder brother. Thus, the flattery had to be more reserved. It couldn’t be blatant, needed subtlety, like playing a lute while partially covered up—it posed a true test of one’s skill and cultural refinement. Out of everyone, Jiang Shoucheng unexpectedly stood out, causing even Auntie to admit defeat.

That was until Jiang Feng opened the message from Jiang Junlian.

Mischief Demon King #1: “Brother!!!!!!!!”

Mischief Demon King #1: “I heard from Third Uncle that you made chicken tofu pudding!!!!!!”

Mischief Demon King #1: “I want some too!!!!!!”

Mischief Demon King #1: “Brother, Junqing and I are so miserable now, we both flunked math and physics in our final exams and mom won’t let us go to Beiping, she’s making us take remedial classes here in Alan City. Our math tutor is so scary and bald, he gives us tons of homework every day, Junqing didn’t finish hers yesterday so her phone got confiscated and now I can only message you.”

Mischief Demon King #1: “I really want to go to Beiping 15551, Junqing wants to go too, we both missed out on the chicken tofu pudding Granduncle Weiming made last time.”

Mischief Demon King #1: “Brother, Third Uncle said your chicken tofu pudding is as delicious as Granduncle’s, when Junqing and I get back to Beiping, will you make some for us too? You’re the best, bro, you’ll definitely make it for us, won’t you? I’ve saved so much candy for you, I didn’t even let Junqing have any, it’s all stuff Uncle brought me last time, there are potato chips, pork jerky, and chocolate.”

Mischief Demon King #1: “Brother, Junqing told me to tell you she’s saved lots of candy for you too. I know you’re the best, you’re handsome and smart, all my classmates are so jealous we have a brother like you. Junqing and I just want to try the chicken tofu pudding, we’ve never had it before, dear brother, you’re so kind-hearted, generous, handsome, clever, standing tall like a pine, graceful, noble in demeanor, gentle and refined. You’re simply a phoenix among people so just wait for Junqing and me to come over in August, and make us some chicken tofu pudding, please!”

…

The entire message was a candid outburst of flattery, without any need for pretense, the abundance of exclamation marks expressing Jiang Junlian’s excitement. To Jiang Feng, the central message screaming, “I want to eat chicken tofu pudding,” felt absolutely refreshing, and he even thought of telling Jiang Junlian to write a book if she could talk like that.

Jiang Feng: “No problem.”

It didn’t take more than a few seconds for Jiang Junlian to respond rapidly.

Mischief Demon King #1: “Thank you, brother! Love you the most, muah! When I come back in August, I’ll definitely bring all the candy to you, not letting Junqing sneak even a crumb!”

As Jiang Feng put down his phone, he felt an instant boost, all the weariness gone, his back no longer ached, his legs no longer hurt, and he could ascend six flights of stairs without feeling it at all.

Is this what it feels like to be the boss?

Is this what it feels like to be the boss in the Jiang Family?

Really…

It feels so awesome!!!

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