The Game of Life

Chapter 646: Chapter 644: Clear Soup Noodles

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Whether it looked the part or not, Jiang Feng had done his utmost.

After the skimming came making the broth, which meant reusing the previously skimmed red and white froth, reintroducing it into the soup, and stewing over controlled heat for more than an hour. Only by fully infusing the meat flavor into the broth could it achieve a clear yet fragrant aroma.

By the time Jiang Feng finally filtered the perfected broth through paper two more times and poured it into a basin, he was so sleepy he could hardly keep his eyes open, yawning countlessly. The sight and smell of the pale yellow, rich aromatic soup didn’t even tempt him to take a sip for tasting; all he wanted was to rush back to his room and sleep.

And so Jiang Feng popped the finished broth into the refrigerator, skipped showering and brushing his teeth, carrying the scent of the soup on him as though he were a shabby old hen just plucked from a pot of broth, and he dashed to his room, plunging into the soft embrace of his bedcovers to sleep.

He slept until dawn.

Had it not been for the alarm he’d set beforehand—one that vibrated and rang at the loudest volume—he truly wouldn’t have been able to wake up.

Jiang Feng had set his alarm for 6:30 am, but Wu Minqi had gotten up even earlier. These days it had been a routine that Jiang Feng would prepare the soup in the evening, and the following morning, they would both wake up to enjoy it. Wu Minqi had actually prepared to have some chili oil mixed noodles with the clear broth for breakfast that morning.@@novelbin@@

Actually, Wu Minqi didn’t understand what use there was for the fancy clear broth Jiang Feng suddenly decided to make, since he didn’t know how to prepare dishes that would require such an upscale broth. And she didn’t think he could make a genuinely high-class clear broth either; at best, he could make something that looked somewhat like a high-end broth but was really just a standard clear broth.

But Wu Minqi was stunned when she opened the fridge in the morning.

She was no stranger to fine things. To share a laugh, as a child, she and her cousins even pilfered some of their grandfather’s fancy clear broth. She was very clear about what a proper fancy clear broth should look like, and the level of color, fragrance, and taste it should reach.

The broth that Jiang Feng had made was far from a high-end clear broth, yet it was still a high-end clear broth.

It was a broth that conveyed the toil, the effort, the time, and the struggle of its maker. Even though it did not quite reach the mark and wasn’t quite right to label as a low-quality high-end clear broth, calling it anything less didn’t seem quite fair either.

It was this pot of broth that made Wu Minqi forget she had opened the fridge door intending to grab the chili oil to prepare the spicy noodles.

Wu Minqi stood motionless in front of the open fridge, eyeing the clear broth inside, scrutinizing it for several minutes until the fridge began to beep its warning, at which point she leaned in for a whiff.

The very faint scent of the broth mixed with the extremely chilly sensation rushed towards Wu Minqi’s nose, almost causing her to sneeze right at the open fridge.

Finally, Wu Minqi stood in front of the fridge until she felt a chill and shivered before coming back to her senses. She grabbed a spoon, scooped up a bit of the already chilled broth, and held it in her mouth for a moment.

When Jiang Feng came out, this was the scene he witnessed.

Jiang Feng: ?

Did he sleep too little and was seeing hallucinations before dying suddenly?

Why was his Qiqi standing in front of the fridge early in the morning, sipping his broth in secret like the time when he and his cousins stealthily tasted the steamed eggs Sir had made for Mrs. Jiang?

Unfortunately, when Jiang Feng was caught red-handed as a child, he was panic-stricken and ran for his life, whereas Wu Minqi, when caught by Jiang Feng, simply nodded calmly.

“Fengfeng, you’re up, I was just about to make you some chili oil mixed noodles,” Wu Minqi said, setting down the spoon as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, oh, no,” Jiang Feng had a moment of genuine doubt that what he had just seen might have been an illusion.

“Qiqi, no need to make the noodles today. I’ll make breakfast, I’ll do it,” Jiang Feng said as he ushered Wu Minqi out of the kitchen, taking total control of the kitchen for breakfast for the first time.

Clear soup noodles are simple.

A bowl of high-end clear broth, a cheap pack of noodles from the supermarket, a pinch of salt, a cracked egg, a couple of blanched greens, a sprinkling of chopped green onions for garnish—anyone who saw it would have to praise its creation.

Knowing Wu Minqi didn’t like soft-boiled eggs, Jiang Feng made sure to cook hers thoroughly, and he filled her bowl of clear soup noodles to the brim with broth.

Wu Minqi was baffled at the sight of the noodles.

She had thought of many things, but never that Jiang Feng would go to great lengths and spend so much time making a pot of fancy clear broth just to make two bowls of clear soup noodles in the morning.

When Wu Minqi looked at the noodles, they seemed to glow.

“Qiqi,” Jiang Feng began as he sat down.

As a child of the Jiang Family, Jiang Feng knew full well that when giving a gift, one had to convey the purpose, the process, and the hardship of the gift-giving to the recipient to make the gift valuable and meaningful.

“Today’s our one-year dating anniversary, you know. At first, my adviser Wang Hao told me that anniversaries like one year, two years, three years aren’t really significant, not like a wedding anniversary. But I felt that wasn’t right. Last Valentine’s Day, I actually made you a gift but was too shy to give it. I didn’t give you anything this Valentine’s, so it wouldn’t be right not to give you something on our anniversary,” Jiang Feng began, subtly belittling adviser and handyman Wang Hao.

Wu Minqi didn’t expect that the two bowls of clear soup noodles weren’t a spur-of-the-moment creation but specifically made for her, and she couldn’t help feeling overjoyed. Since she didn’t conceal it, her happiness was plainly visible on her face.

“I know, last Valentine’s Day you made a rose out of cornmeal,” Wu Minqi said.

“Ah?” Now it was Jiang Feng’s turn to be surprised; the excuses he was about to make slipped completely from his mind. “How did you know.”

“I saw you making it secretly, and I always waited for you to give it, but you didn’t, so I never asked,” Wu Minqi said. “It’s okay if it looks a bit ugly anyway…”

“After all, once it’s cooked it’s food, right.”

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Jiang Feng: …

“But, Fengfeng, why did you want to make… such a clear broth noodle dish?” Wu Minqi took the initiative.

Jiang Feng was still immersed in his sadness, thinking he had hidden it well, only to discover it had long been noticed.

How would he hide his private stash of money in the future? Did he have to, like his father, steal pocket money from his future son to buy kitchen knives?

“Ah, because, because…” Jiang Feng, whose fabricated excuse was interrupted by Wu Minqi, couldn’t remember it on the spot and couldn’t come up with a new one, so he had to tell the truth.

While telling the truth, he added a little embellishment.

“Because I wanted to give you a special gift.”

“Not a messy gift like that corn flour rose from last time. I wanted to give you a heartfelt one that could really make you happy.”

“Qiqi, ever since we started dating, it has been you who always made food for me. From the very first Dragon Dumplings, to all sorts of soups later on, to noodles, cold skins, mung bean jelly, and pancakes, it has always been you doing the cooking.”

“But Fengfeng, you have also made food for me,” Wu Minqi looked at Jiang Feng.

Jiang Feng shook his head: “That’s different.”

“You made food especially for me, while what I made was…” Jiang Feng clearly couldn’t say that what he made was just to practice his buff dishes, so he had to rephrase, “were things I wanted to do, not things I wanted to do for you.”

“But today’s clear broth noodles are different. This is the first time I have ever made a high-grade clear broth. I’ve never done it before, and I have never made something so time-consuming and laborious before either.”

“Although when compared to the stock and clear soup made by my grandfather and Granduncle Weiming, it looks a bit like child’s play, this is something I sincerely and specially wanted to make just for you.”

“I wanted to give you this unique, unprecedented, first-time effort as a gift.”

“Even if it’s just a bowl of noodles.”

This time, Wu Minqi was truly stunned.

She didn’t speak, but took a small sip of the soup.

Even though no sugar was added, it tasted faintly sweet.

She understood the chef’s dedication and sincerity.

Wu Minqi didn’t speak, which made Jiang Feng feel a bit awkward. For someone like him, who wasn’t good at sweet talking, had never flirted with girls, and had only been in one relationship, as well as having a bit of a straight male mindset, saying such words was probably a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

All because of the mood.

With the right atmosphere, anything can be said.

Jiang Feng began to daydream.

Wu Minqi: ?

He goes silent after saying all that?

Wu Minqi picked up her chopsticks and began to eat the noodles and drink the soup, little by little.

Actually, it was quite delicious.

Wu Minqi thought to herself.

After all, this was the only time in her life she had the luxury of eating noodles boiled in a high-grade clear broth.

Wu Minqi glanced at Jiang Feng, who was still zoning out.

“Fengfeng, start eating, we have to gather at 8 o’clock. If you don’t eat now, it will be too late,” Wu Minqi urged.

Jiang Feng snapped out of his reverie and began to eat.

Wu Minqi ate her whole bowl of noodles at a leisurely pace, swallowing the last mouthful of soup.

Even though her boyfriend seemed a bit out of sorts now, he still really liked her.

And she liked him too, even though he seemed somewhat off at the moment.

That was enough.