The Game of Life

Chapter 508: Chapter 506 Hero’s Banquet

“`

Mrs. Jiang’s memory was like water in a sponge, gently squeezed, it vanished; left unattended, it naturally evaporated.

Jiang Feng and Mrs. Jiang had been walking and chatting the entire way, and even after Jiang Feng had bought the flour, Mrs. Jiang was still muttering about her “mo-something science” like chanting a spell, not stopping until they reached the old and reputable shop selling marinated goose.

“Boss, give me a marinated goose, no need to chop it, wrap it up tight.”

The owner of the marinated goose shop was quite old, and the shop only accepted cash, no mobile payments. Jiang Feng put down his things and started to fish cash out of his pocket, and given the pockets of his down jacket were so deep, he had to search several times before he could gather enough money.

Mrs. Jiang stared thoughtfully at the marinated goose through the glass window. It was unclear whether she had fallen into deep thought while staring at the goose or if she happened to be staring at the goose while lost in thought.

“Hey, Feng, I remember now,” Mrs. Jiang exclaimed excitedly, slapping Jiang Feng so forcefully that she nearly knocked over the Jiang Feng who was carefully retrieving his money.

In her earlier years, Mrs. Jiang developed quite a hand strength from smacking her five big, chubby sons, and this slap was no less powerful than those delivered by other Jiang Family Members.

Jiang Feng stumbled but quickly regained his footing. His expression swiftly changed to delight, “Grandma, you’ve remembered? What was it that Grandpa called the dish?”

“What’s it called? I remember now why your grandpa and Master Huang had a whole sheep feast that year!” Mrs. Jiang’s concerns were completely different from what Jiang Feng had in mind,” How could I forget such a thing, look at my memory. Really, the older you get, the weaker your memory becomes, ah, old age is truly old age.”

“Oh, Feng, what are you buying? If you’re getting marinated food, get a marinated goose too. I almost forgot about this as well, how could we not have a marinated goose for the new year?” Mrs. Jiang said as if suddenly awakened from a dream.

Jiang Feng: …

“Grandma, we’ve already bought the marinated goose,” Jiang Feng said helplessly, his expression quickly shifting to curiosity, “Why did Grandpa and Master Huang have a whole sheep feast back in the day?”

“That was all decades ago, back when your dad and the others hadn’t even been born and I had just gotten pregnant with your eldest uncle. I can’t remember exactly why, but it had something to do with a huge forest fire. Many firefighters were injured trying to put out the fire, and it seems a few even lost their lives. Back then, the radio, newspapers, and the local district office were all discussing it, and it was a big topic. At first, many people thought it was arson, others said it was the work of spies, but later investigations clarified it as an accident,” Mrs. Jiang explained.

The shop owner had already packaged the marinated goose and was handing the change to Jiang Feng when he heard Mrs. Jiang talking about the incident that happened decades ago and casually interjected, “Are you referring to that forest fire 50 years ago?”

“50 years? Has it been that long?” Mrs. Jiang paused, realizing it was indeed the case, and couldn’t help but reflect, “It’s already been so long, it’s no wonder I didn’t recall it right away.”

“You know about it too?” Jiang Feng inquired.

Interested, the shop owner of the marinated goose put the package on the counter and started to chat with Jiang Feng about the past, “How could I not know? I was in primary school at the time, and it was quite sensational.”

“Sensational?” Jiang Feng was puzzled, “Was the forest fire that serious?”

Although the area around city Z is mountainous, the woods are not very dense. In Jiang Feng’s memory, there was no place that could actually be called a forest.

The shop owner gave Jiang Feng a smile and said, “You kids wouldn’t imagine it. Now, living conditions have improved, but it wasn’t like this back in the day.”

“Back then, mountains connected to mountains, and the forests were full of everything, wolves were everywhere, sometimes even tigers could be seen. Those who lived remotely in the mountains might not be able to leave the area more than twice a year,” the shop owner recounted.

“Right,” Mrs. Jiang nodded in agreement, “Feng, don’t be fooled by the lack of trees on the mountain in front of your maternal great-uncle’s village. In the past, that mountain was covered with trees, and wolves lived in those woods.”

“What happened with that forest fire?” Jiang Feng persisted.

“Seems it was caused by dry conditions or some other natural reason, not by humans, that’s what the newspapers said.” The shop owner was uncertain due to the long passage of time, “I remember our school teachers organized us to write letters to the firefighters, and later there was even a Heroes’ Feast. I remember that feast clearly, the newspapers said the city invited two chefs from state-owned restaurants to manage the event, and they used over a dozen sheep. Back then, mutton was so precious, not to mention wool, even wool sweaters were treasured in the cooperative stores, for display only, not to touch.”

“A Heroes’ Feast?”

“`

“Right, the Heroes’ Banquet. Back then, our Chinese teacher even asked us to write an essay on the Heroes’ Banquet. What did I write about? I remember my essay was pretty good and was even posted on the wall at home by my mom. What was it about?” The owner of the braised food shop fell into deep thought.

Jiang Feng and Mrs. Jiang said goodbye to the owner of the braised food shop and left with their things.

Jiang Feng hadn’t expected that Sir had been the chief chef for such an important feast when he was young, and most importantly, Sir had never mentioned a word about it. If it had been Jiang Jiankang with such an experience, Jiang Feng guessed he would boast about it to his grandchildren, his own children.

“Grandma, why have you and Grandpa never mentioned this to us before?” On the way home, Jiang Feng couldn’t help but ask.

Mrs. Jiang, carrying only two bags of vegetables, answered with a relaxed, smiling face, “What’s there to talk about something like that?”

“But it was an important banquet. That braised food shop owner from just now still remembers it after fifty years, of course, it’s worth talking about.” Jiang Feng said with earnest.

If he could take on such a banquet now, he’d probably hang a banner in front of Taifeng Building.

“What’s important are the guests who attended the banquet, not the chefs who cooked. There’s nothing to talk about,” Mrs. Jiang said nonchalantly. “If you talk about such things over and over, wouldn’t your grandfather end up talking himself to death every day?

Jiang Feng was utterly confused.

“Things weren’t as remarkable as you think back then; they were all very ordinary. The most skilled chefs around these few cities were your grandfather and Master Huang. They were in charge when hosting leaders or sometimes foreign guests. Every time chefs were needed, it was your grandfather and Master Huang, and I remember that the neighboring cities would even come here to borrow people to cook,” Mrs. Jiang explained.

“Usually, Master Huang would take those out-of-town jobs unless there weren’t enough hands, then your grandfather would go.”

“Why?” Jiang Feng asked, puzzled.

“Those out-of-town jobs, though tough on the road, had extra bonuses. Master Huang’s mother was in poor health and needed imported medicine. The medication expenses for their family were tremendous each month.” As she spoke, Mrs. Jiang sighed, “These things might sound impressive, but that’s really all there is to it. Your grandfather and Master Huang may have appeared distinguished back then, but every family has its issues, life is not easy for anyone.”

Jiang Feng nodded thoughtfully.

“Everyday life is just like that too, there aren’t that many remarkable things, it’s all ordinary little stuff,” Mrs. Jiang said earnestly. “Don’t be like your dad and your uncle, always boasting about the smallest things, making a mountain out of a molehill. I don’t know who they’ve picked up that habit from, blowing things up to the skies every single time.”

Jiang Feng silently glanced at Mrs. Jiang: …

“We’re just an ordinary family. Qiqi’s family over in Shu also runs a shop like us, they’re an ordinary family too. We ordinary families should just live our lives well, you’ll understand when you get married.”

Jiang Feng was nodding in agreement, when suddenly he felt something was off.

Ordinary families?

Wu Family Restaurant.

Taifeng Building.

Ordinary families?

Mrs. Jiang continued saying, “Actually, working hard when you’re young is all worth it when you get old. We ordinary folks don’t yearn for great wealth or high status, being free from illness and calamity is the greatest happiness. Look at Grandma Chen, knitting sweaters, raising pigs, playing mahjong with me every day, that’s all the comfort you need.”

Jiang Feng: ???

Grandma, aren’t you mistaken about the meaning of ‘ordinary family’?”