The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 521: Chapter 519 Battle for the Pot

After leaving the realm of memory, Jiang Feng couldn’t wait to open his attribute panel.

As expected, a new name lit up in the recipe column.

Jiang Weiguo (1/4)

It seemed that his primary task for the New Year was to master sticky rice lotus root, and preferably to get it to an A-grade level. The difficulty of making sticky rice lotus root wasn’t high; it was just time-consuming and labor-intensive. However, compared to stuffing oranges with crab meat, it was definitely easier, so to Jiang Feng, practicing sticky rice lotus root was virtually no challenge at all.

After all, he was an excellent player who had managed to achieve an A-grade with the stuffed oranges.

As long as one followed the tutorial and did it honestly, any newbie who couldn’t cook would be able to succeed. Just add a ton of sugar; in the end, the only difference would be whether it was 4 pounds sweet, 6 pounds, or 10 pounds sweet.

Harboring the great ambition to master sweets, Jiang Feng clicked on Jiang Weiguo’s name.

Jiang Feng: ???

The recipe he obtained this time was unexpectedly:

[Mixed Sugar Water D-grade]

Creator: Jiang Weiguo

Recipe details: A precious sugar water that can only be obtained through making sticky rice lotus root. Due to its excessive sweetness, it’s unacceptable to most people, yet it became Zhao Lanhua’s most cherished sweet memory from her days of scant clothing and food. Consuming it within 24 hours can slightly increase the happiness index during a date and significantly increase the success rate of blind dates. (Friendly reminder: If the Mixed Sugar Water is successfully made, the sticky rice lotus root cooked in the same pot will also receive a system rating, but without any buff added.)

Daily production limit (0/2)

Jiang Feng, after reading the recipe details: …

Indeed, the sweetness of the sticky rice lotus root simply wasn’t enough to satisfy Mrs. Jiang. It looked like in the future, to flatter her, he didn’t need to talk through his hat—just serving up 4 pounds of sweetness in sugar water would do the trick.

From then on, he could eat his pancakes any way he liked; with sesame seeds if he fancied, with green onions if he desired.

Jiang Feng checked the time, it was just a little past 10 p.m., far from his usual bedtime. In such a nationwide festive day, a day of family reunion, togetherness, and welcoming the New Year, how could he go to sleep early, not staying up to greet the arrival of the new year at the first moment?

Jiang Feng wriggled inside the blanket, rolling it all around himself into a super cocoon, leaving only his head exposed, with even his neck tucked inside the blanket.

Then, Jiang Feng carefully extended his phone and two fingers, braving the risk of his fingers freezing from playing with his phone in the cold winter, and began to watch TV, feeling both tense and joyful.

It wasn’t until the firecracker noises outside the window started that Jiang Feng realized it had hit midnight.

Amidst the sounds of fireworks, the old year passed, and the new year arrived.

After waiting more than 10 minutes for the fireworks outside to gradually cease, Jiang Feng laboriously stretched his arm out to pull the data cable beside the bed to charge his phone, then quickly retracted his hand into the cocoon of blankets, turned over, and closed his eyes.

The first day of the lunar new year wasn’t a day to sleep in; let alone the round of visits to wish people a good new year, the continuous firecracker sounds from early morning ensured that no one could sleep in a cozy, lazy slumber.

A night of sweet dreams.

True to Jiang Feng’s expectations, he was awakened by the sound of firecrackers the next day.

It happened every year, so he had nothing to complain about. If others’ fireworks woke him, his family’s would surely wake somebody else too. With mutual disturbances, no one was at a loss.

After wriggling out from under the blankets, Jiang Feng wrapped himself up tightly and left the room, only to find that aside from Jiang Zaidi and Jiang Shoucheng, who were still in their rooms engaging in a death struggle with the warm blankets, everyone else had finished their morning routines, and some had even started eating dumplings.

The mutton soup was gone, but the steaming hot mutton dumplings were delicious no matter how you ate them.

Jiang Jiankang and Jiang Jianguo, the two brothers, sat like door gods on either side of the entrance, eating dumplings. Jiang Jiankang had soup dumplings, Jiang Jianguo had dry ones with chili oil—a spicy one and a plain broth, looking as if they were enjoying a yin-yang hot pot.

“Son, wake up!” Jiang Jiankang saw Jiang Feng get up, and his smile was as broad as a Fortune Doll in a New Year’s painting, except this Fortune Doll was a bit older, with a budding beard unshaved.

“There are still some dumplings in the pot, go and eat some. I’ve already had three bowls,” Jiang Jiankang said, “Junqing and Junlian just went into the kitchen, and your grandma is also there.”

Hearing Jiang Jiankang say this, Jiang Feng hurriedly walked toward the kitchen, and as soon as he reached the doorway, he smelled the aroma of pan-fried cakes. Jiang Junqing and Jiang Junlian, the two sisters, each holding a bowl of dumplings, looked eagerly at Mrs. Jiang frying the cakes.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Grandma, Feng hasn’t gotten up yet. The cakes will not taste good once they cool down. How about my sister and I eat this one for him?” Jiang Feng walked in just to hear Jiang Junqing making this enthusiastic suggestion.

“Ahem.” Jiang Feng intentionally coughed very loudly.

“Look, your little brother is up, isn’t he? Feng, do you want the ones with black sesame or white sesame?” Mrs. Jiang asked with a grin.

“I want both, Grandma, add more black sesame,” Jiang Feng stared at the pot.

He arrived just in time, the cake was nearly ready, just lacking the final sprinkle of sesame.

“The pancake is almost done; go get a bowl of dumplings for now. Remember to add plenty of soup. Dumplings with soup go especially well with pan-fried cakes, Grandma has the experience,” Mrs. Jiang said.

Jiang Junqing and Jiang Junlian, standing behind Mrs. Jiang, looked as if their faces might twist with jealousy.

Because the pan was big enough, Mrs. Jiang fried three cakes at once, coating the surface of each with sesame seeds. The cakes Mrs. Jiang made were neither too thick nor too thin, sometimes crisp on the surface yet still very soft when bitten into, ordinarily flavored but winningly fragrant, the kind of cake that makes you want more as soon as you start eating and can’t stop.

Jiang Feng filled his bowl with almost too many soup-laden dumplings and added a dash of vinegar to the dumpling soup. Since the pancake was too large to lay flat on the plate without falling off, Mrs. Jiang folded it neatly into the plate while she leisurely walked to the cabinet, took out the brown sugar jar, and made herself some brown sugar water to drink.

Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing, mouthful of dumplings, had their eyes glued to the pancakes on the plate.

Jiang Feng found it amusing and picked up a piece of pancake with his chopsticks, putting it on top of Jiang Junlian’s dumplings.

Jiang Junlian first looked surprised, then let out a cheer, impatiently picked up the pancake with her hands, tore it in half and stuffed one part to Jiang Junqing.

Together the sisters said, “Thank you, big brother, Happy New Year.”

The surprise was so sudden they hadn’t even prepared any flattering compliments, so they just wished Jiang Feng a Happy New Year!

Mrs. Jiang stood in the corner, sipping her brown sugar water with a smile, “Feng, remember to wash the pot later.”

The pancake was made for Jiang Feng, so naturally, he would have to wash the pan.

After finishing, Mrs. Jiang put down the empty bowl and left.

“Big brother, I’ll wash the pan!” declared Jiang Junlian instantly, deciding to take on the chore.

“No, big brother, let me wash. My sister can’t clean it properly; let me do it!” Jiang Junqing, unwilling to be left behind, also sought to gain the honor of washing the pot.

“Who says I can’t clean properly? I clean the pot very well, it’s just that I usually don’t do it, big brother, let me wash!”

“Sister, don’t pretend, you really can’t clean it well! Big brother, let me wash it!”

Jiang Feng: ???

Why did this scene feel so familiar to him?

It was rather like when his mother, Mrs. Wang Xiulian, and several aunts and uncles fought over who got to wash the dishes.

“As you wish, as you wish,” Jiang Feng said as he grabbed his bowl and plate and slipped away.