The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 488: Chapter 486 Absent-minded

The heating on the high-speed train was very sufficient. Jiang Feng had just stowed his luggage when he felt hot and took off his coat. When he returned to his seat, he noticed that Jiang Weiming had only removed his scarf, mask, and ear muffs, but his down jacket was still tightly wrapped around him.

“Feng, take a look at my phone. Is it broken? Why is it taking so long to load this video, and it still won’t load,” Jiang Weiming squinted at his phone and handed it to Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng took the phone and glanced at it. The video had turned into a black screen, and the little loading circle kept spinning wildly.

“Granduncle, the signal on high-speed trains is not good. It’s normal,” Jiang Feng handed the phone back to Jiang Weiming.

Jiang Weiming could only look disappointedly at his phone, like an internet-addicted teenager whose game is cut off in the middle of playing due to a lost connection.

“Feng, when will we get there?” asked Jiang Weiming.

“At 5 pm, Second Uncle has said he will wait for us at the station exit,” Jiang Feng said.

Jiang Weiming sighed and continued to show that internet-addicted teenager look.

Seeing Jiang Weiming like this, Jiang Feng thought for a moment, took out his own phone, and suggested, “Granduncle, I’ve downloaded a few episodes of a domestic TV series that I haven’t watched yet. Shall we watch it together?”

Jiang Feng secretly prayed that Ji Yue’s recommended series would have a normal storyline and values, hoping there would be no painful plotlines like those involving brothers, uncles and nephews, or mistresses and wives.

Otherwise, he didn’t know how to explain it to Jiang Weiming.

“Sure,” Jiang Weiming agreed.

Thus, the two of them, sharing a small phone and one earphone each, watched the sweet TV series recommended by Ji Yue on the high-speed train.

Thankfully, the TV series recommended by Ji Yue this time was very normal. After three episodes, Jiang Feng was relieved to find that not only was it domestic production with high attractiveness of the male and female lead, but there was also no dodgy plot, nor any seemingly possible appearances of socialism-style ‘brotherly love’ that would be hard to explain to Jiang Weiming.

Everything was normal, except the TV series was not interesting.

After the third episode finished, Jiang Feng felt like checking the news.

Jiang Feng sneakily glanced at Jiang Weiming and, seeing him staring at the phone screen with the expression and focus one reserves for watching the evening news broadcast, he knew that he was not interested in the series either.

Noticing Jiang Feng’s action, Jiang Weiming took the initiative to speak, “Feng, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?”

Jiang Feng hadn’t felt hungry, apart from when he got on the train and the smell of passengers eating instant noodles triggered his appetite; he hadn’t yet felt the desire to eat. But Jiang Feng had only had a small bowl of hangover soup and several cups of warm tap water since he got up, and when Jiang Weiming mentioned it, he really did feel hungry.

“A bit. I didn’t expect you’d brought food, Granduncle. Biscuits?” Jiang Feng asked.

“I steamed some buns this morning, and there are two left. I originally didn’t want to bring them because I ate lunch with your Fifth Uncle before leaving, but he insisted on packing it, scared we might get hungry on the way. Looks like your Fifth Uncle was right,” Jiang Weiming said with a smile, gesturing to the small bag on the luggage rack, “It’s in that bag.”

Jiang Feng stood up, took the small bag from the luggage rack, and upon opening the zipper, indeed saw two flat, white buns wrapped in a plastic bag.

Jiang Feng took the buns out of the bag. The originally flattened buns slowly expanded back to their original shape.

“Granduncle, did you steam these this morning?” Jiang Feng asked.

“Yes, your Fifth Uncle mentioned a couple of days ago that he wanted to eat steamed buns. I meant to make them yesterday but forgot, so I made them this morning. When you get to my age, you tend to wake up early; I’m up by five o’clock most days, which is perfect for steaming buns,” Jiang Weiming said, looking at the bun in Jiang Feng’s hand, “Feng, if you like them, I’ll make some especially for you after the new year. These buns have gone cold; I suppose they’re not as tasty now.”

“Sure,” Jiang Feng replied with a smile, tearing open the plastic bag holding the bun and taking a bite, his mouth still full of bun.

“My grandfather used to always make buns too… steamed wine lees buns, we all liked—” before he could finish saying “happy,” Jiang Feng paused, silently chewing the bun in his mouth.

The buns Jiang Weiming had made were also wine lees buns. However, he hadn’t noticed when taking them out since they had already gone cold.

Compared to fresh steamed wine lees buns, the taste and texture of the ones that Jiang Feng was eating, which had gone cold and been pressed down in the bag for hours, were obviously lacking.

But this was a familiar taste.

It was almost identical to the taste of the pickled vegetable steamed bun Jiang Weiguo made after it had cooled.

Jiang Feng believed that the pickled vegetable steamed buns made by Zheng Siyuan would also taste like this once they had cooled.

After quickly chewing and swallowing the steamed bun in his mouth, Jiang Feng couldn’t wait to ask, “Granduncle Weiming, who did you learn to make these steamed buns from?”

Jiang Weiming was momentarily startled, then smiled and said, “Oh, Feng, you must think it tastes like your grandfather’s, right? Your grandfather can make them too. We learned to make these buns from your great-grandma.”

“Great-grandma?” Jiang Feng hadn’t expected this answer. After a moment’s thought, he swiftly recalled the image of Qin Wan from his memory.

His great-grandma, despite being impoverished and in debt, heavy with child, still smiled gently. She would comfort her husband with a soft and gentle voice while sporting a large belly, and at the dinner table, she would patiently spoon-feed her second son, smiling more tenderly than any demure woman from the South.

“Yes, your great-grandma made the best pickled vegetable steamed buns,” said Jiang Weiming with a nostalgic look. “Has your grandfather ever told you about your great-grandma and the rest of us?”

Jiang Feng shook his head.

“Well, I guess I have no right to criticise him; I’m the same. I originally didn’t like bringing them up because I always felt that their passing left a regret in the heart, and mentioning it only added to the sorrow. But now that I’m older, I think it’s good to be able to talk about these things with others. We can’t wait until we’re gone and leave you younger ones knowing nothing about the family’s history.”

“Your great-grandma was named Qin Wan, a very gentle person. Before she got married, her family owned a small pastry shop. Being a girl, she didn’t learn much craftsmanship and could only make simple things like steamed buns and dumplings. Back then, girls got married early, and boys took wives early too. Your great-grandma was married off to your great-grandfather at 14, had your granduncle at 16, and gave birth to your grandpa at 35, but she passed away due to illness at 37.”

As he spoke, Jiang Weiming sighed.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Jiang Feng could only listen silently, taking small bites of the steamed bun while Jiang Weiming recounted the past.

“In those days, having many children was considered a blessing, with some families having as many as a dozen or more. However, what might have been a blessing for the family was not necessarily so for the mother. Your great-grandma gave birth to seven children. Originally, she had been healthy, but her body was worn down by childbearing. Because Taifeng Building was so busy, your great-grandfather had to rush to the restaurant early each morning, and it was usually your great-grandma who prepared breakfast. We all loved pickled vegetable steamed buns, so that’s what your great-grandma made the most. Interestingly, the first dish your grandfather learned to make was pickled vegetable steamed buns.”

“The first dish?” Jiang Feng said, surprised.

“By the time your great-grandma had passed away, your grandfather was born much later; by the time of his birth, your granduncle was already betrothed. All of us were taught our first dish by your great-grandfather, except for your grandfather, whose first dish was taught by your second granduncle.”

“Second granduncle?”

Jiang Weiming chuckled, “It seems he’s as tight-lipped as me, not willing to mention those years. Your second granduncle, Jiang Weijin, was the most talented in cooking among us brothers. Your great-grandfather favored him the most and always said he was the most qualified to take over as the head chef of Taifeng Building. We would always compete with him as if beating him meant winning the position of head chef.”

“Second granduncle was that impressive!” Jiang Feng exclaimed.

“He was truly impressive, both the Red Chef and the White Chef were talented, learning anything effortlessly. While your granduncle and I were still apprentices at the restaurant, helping your great-grandfather, he was already capable of preparing pastries for guests on his own. For his sake, your great-grandfather made special trips to other restaurants to ask visiting chefs from Gusu to teach him pastry-making; a treatment that we other brothers never received.”

“It’s just a pity, ah,” Jiang Weiming sighed again.

The more Jiang Feng listened to Jiang Weiming, the more he believed his own incredible suspicion might be true. He couldn’t help but probe indirectly, “Granduncle, are you certain that all your brothers, apart from you and grandfather, perished during your escape?”

Jiang Weiming could tell what Jiang Feng really wanted to ask and couldn’t help but smile as he patted his head, “What are the chances of that? Even if they didn’t die back then, by now… that your grandfather and I are still alive and have found each other is already incredibly fortunate. To have wishful thoughts about the others would be presumptuous.”

“How did you get separated from grandfather and the others back then?” inquired Jiang Feng.

“Back then, when we left Beiping City, there wasn’t a war there yet. The area Outside the Pass had already fallen, and many people had heard rumors and were fleeing south. We had arranged to meet with your grandaunt’s family in Jinling. With the trains stopped and unable to buy boat tickets due to our large group, the journey was chaotic, full of displaced people and bandits, and many cities had their own uprisings. As we walked, we lost track of where we were.”

“First, we lost your eldest aunt-in-law’s child, and your granduncle with his wife went out to search and never returned. Then, while passing through a county, your fifth granduncle and sixth granduncle caught dysentery, the local doctors had fled, and I had to go to the neighboring county overnight to find a doctor. Unfortunately, I was captured by bandits on the way. When I eventually escaped and went back to look for your grandfather and the others, they were no longer in the county. I just continued south with other refugees, somehow ended up joining the army, fought in the war, and somehow became a deserter.”

“Back then, being caught as a deserter meant execution by firing squad. I escaped with people from Shu because they said the mountains were many there, and if we escaped to Shu, we would surely not be caught. So, I fled to Shu with them. I managed to survive while he died on the way,” Jiang Weiming said with a wry smile. “That’s how it was back then, everyone was living in confusion, some lived and then died just as confused. Others, like me, somehow survived until the victory came.”

Jiang Feng knew that Jiang Weiming deliberately used the term “somehow” repeatedly to make these events sound lighter, to mask the mountains of blood and tears accumulated behind that confusion.

It is rare to be confused in life.