The Game of Life

Chapter 656: Chapter 654: Bragging Expert (6000+ Mega Chapter!!!)

Jiang Feng couldn’t figure out why, but he suddenly felt like he was in one of those fantasy cultivation novels where after defeating the lesser foes, the boss shows up out of nowhere. The problem now was, they hadn’t even beaten the underlings yet, but the boss had already appeared, totally not playing by the normal rules.

Even though Jiang Feng had never paid serious attention to who exactly were in the top ten of the Celebrity Chef rankings, or knew who Chef Arno was, Chef Arno, being the only active player among the top ten in the rankings, made even the constantly over-performing Jiang Feng want to report the top-tier restaurant for cheating.

After arriving at Taifeng Building, Jiang Feng spent almost twenty minutes reading through all the news, gossip, encyclopedias, and some unfathomable expert reviews and assessments about Chef Arno that he could find on his smartphone.

Turns out Chef Arno was also an internet-famous chef.

Unlike most faux Internet celebrities, Chef Arno was genuinely famous because he had been well-known for many years.

This big-bearded, burly man with a somewhat fierce look, who could easily pass off as mafia once he shed his chef’s whites, was full of dominance. Years ago, he had participated in a reality cooking show. In that show, Chef Arno had a fiery temper, loved to swear at people, diss others, and confront his peers with disdain. He showed no mercy to juniors, was a bit petty and very vengeful. He could tear anyone apart in argument, even the female judges in the show couldn’t out-argue him, but truth be told, he was a great chef.

Because of his outstanding performance on the reality show, this homegrown American chef became an overnight sensation across America even when the Internet wasn’t all that developed, becoming a household name known to all.

Although Chef Arno had kept a low profile in recent years, like all top-tier chefs, he rooted himself in restaurants, occasionally participating in some cooking competitions and leading a simple and dull life after winning some championships. But because of the huge popularity of his variety show back then, many reality show participants afterward tried to imitate his path to fame, leading them down a path of relentless bickering with no return.

But when others tried to mimic Chef Arno’s bickering, they lacked his natural talent, smooth skills, seeming divine assistance, leaving audiences feeling something was off, missing the fire control, the right feeling. Thus, every time a new large-scale bickering reality show premiered, and journalists needed material, they would dredge up Chef Arno’s old glories, ensuring his legend stayed alive in the world of gossip, making it impossible for him to stay low-profile.

So here’s the question, how did the top-tier restaurant manage to dig up such a rich, famous, and not-so-young chef with such a bad temper from across the ocean?

Had all the restaurants in America closed down, forcing their top chefs to cross the ocean in search of work?

After going through Chef Arno’s information, Jiang Feng suddenly realized, utterly baffled, “Such an amazing chef, and his set meals come with a discount?”

Wu Minqi said, “I also find it strange. Although I’ve never met Chef Arno, I heard that he has a bad temper and used to switch restaurants almost every few years until he settled down in the last four or five years. He often got into fights over trifles with the owners of his restaurants.”

“Actually, him changing restaurants is quite normal, but him coming to the top-tier restaurant is incredible because Chef Arno really likes to target Chinese chefs. He’s never talked about it openly or taken a stance, but whenever he’s in a cooking competition, if his opponent is a Chinese chef, his ridicule after the match is exceptionally sharp.”

“Exceptional?” Jiang Feng caught onto the keyword.

“Chef Arno likes to mock his opponents after cooking competitions; he’s quite famous for that, I’ve been mocked by him before,” Zhang Guanghang, who had joined the gossip squad, added.

Jiang Feng: …

Sure enough, a chef who once became famous across America through bickering.

“But Chef Arno’s particular dislike for Chinese chefs…” Zhang Guanghang squinted as he pondered, seemingly recalling, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone mention that. How do you know about it?”

Jiang Feng and Ji Yue also looked over at Wu Minqi, as Zhang Guanghang, who had been mocked by Chef Arno to his face, was oblivious, so how did Wu Minqi know?

“I heard it from Master Pei Shenghua,” Wu Minqi replied.

Everyone suddenly realized it then; the scoop came from the Gossip King himself, which meant there must be some credibility to it.

“Well, that’s indeed weird. He doesn’t like Chinese chefs, so why come here and subject himself to aggravation? Could it be that he’s run out of money recently and needs to earn some extra cash?” Jiang Feng boldly speculated.

“Impossible,” Zhang Guanghang immediately denied, “It’s true that many chefs aren’t good at managing finances, and some celebrity chefs end up facing bankruptcy after retirement, but Chef Arno definitely doesn’t have that problem. Although he has a bad temper, he’s very astute when it comes to investment and finance. Other than his restaurant going under in the early years due to poor management, he has never had any major issues, so his financial state should be very good.”

“Could it be… the mysterious owner behind the top-tier restaurant is actually Chef Arno’s son?” Jiang Feng blurted out an even bolder guess.

“He’s been married and divorced once, without any children.”

Jiang Feng: …

It seemed only the last possibility remained, that all restaurants in America had closed, forcing their top chefs to travel far and wide in search of work.

“Actually…” Zhang Guanghang paused, obviously hesitating whether he should say what he was about to say, “since the top-floor restaurant has launched the chef’s tasting menu, I think if possible, we could go and grab a spot.”

Jiang Feng: ???

Old Zhang, you’ve changed. Before it was me funding the enemy, and now you’re actually leading the charge!

“Chef Arno’s tasting menu, which he cooks himself, usually requires reservations made more than half a year in advance, and the price fluctuates, but generally doesn’t drop below five figures,” Zhang Guanghang thought for a moment, “in US dollars.”

“What’s more key is that Chef Arno is the only one among the top ten chefs in the famous chef directory who is still working. A couple of years ago, when Fen Garden was still open for business, it might have been slightly easier, but ever since Fen Garden ceased operations, Chef Arno has become the only choice.”

“Chef Arno’s cooking style is very distinctive. He likes to use fresh, valuable ingredients, and his dishes are bold and wild with a strong Western cooking style. Tasting top chefs’ cuisines with different culinary styles is very beneficial for chefs at our level.”

Jiang Feng was immediately tempted.

Eating is earning!

Although he didn’t know why the renowned Chef Arno would suddenly run off to work at the top-floor restaurant, but who cares – he should just go and have a meal. Jiang Feng had no idea how much he had spent on full-price Eight-treasure House pastries and mooncakes, with delivery fees included; missing out on a one-tenth priced chef’s tasting menu would be a mistake.

Having decided to fund the enemy, Jiang Feng sent Ji Yue to keep an eye on the latest updates from the top-floor restaurant and to notify him immediately of any news. Then, like before, Jiang Feng went back to grinding for experience.

No matter how many big shots showed up at the top-floor restaurant, even if Peng Changping himself was working there incognito, the experience that needed to be farmed still had to be farmed.

At noon, Jiang Feng received a message from Zhang Zhiyuan. Zhang Chu got a little excited upon hearing that Peng Changping was back in the country and couldn’t wait to book a ticket to Beiping. But the Zhang family didn’t feel comfortable letting the retired old gentleman travel to Beiping alone, so they sent Zhang Zhiyuan, who evidently had an easier time getting days off, to take a few days leave and accompany Zhang Chu to Beiping.

Zhang Zhiyuan wanted Jiang Feng’s contact information for Peng Changping, but Peng had neither WeChat nor a domestic phone number, so Jiang Feng gave Zhang Zhiyuan Lu Sheng’s contact information and also messaged Lu Sheng to inform him of the matter. With that, it was settled.

After sending the message, Jiang Feng intended to go to the neighboring convenience store to buy some snacks before continuing to grind experience in the kitchen; however, just as he entered the store and before he even began to choose snacks, his phone rang – the call was from an unfamiliar number.

This unfamiliar number looked somewhat familiar.

Jiang Feng stared at his phone for a few seconds before it belatedly dawned on him that this unfamiliar number seemed to resemble that of the suspicious telemarketing number that had called him several times that morning.

Jiang Feng sighed in his heart at how tough salespeople have it these days—the same number calling in the morning, and still at it by noon—he answered the call.

“Hello?” The voice on the other end sounded slightly familiar, a bit nervous, and a little excited; Jiang Feng could even clearly hear the person on the other end swallow after saying hello.

“Young boss, how’s the… business at the restaurant recently?” Jiang Feng recognized the voice. It was Zhou Shi.

With WeChat, Jiang Feng didn’t save the phone numbers of many of the back-of-house staff at Taifeng Building.

Jiang Feng thought Zhou Shi, being far from home, might not be well-informed about the recent top-floor restaurant news and was thus calling to check on his former employer’s business. He replied with a smile, “It’s okay, hasn’t been impacted much, how about you? How’s the matchmaking going, have you found someone yet?”

Jiang Feng and Zhou Shi had only briefly contacted each other over the New Year greetings calls, and afterward, they only interacted by liking each other’s moments on WeChat.

Their relationship was only average to begin with; they had hardly any contact at all until Zhou Shi told Jiang Feng about his plan to resign, and then they began to connect somewhat.

“It’s okay, no, I mean, I do have someone now, we’re still in the dating phase.” Zhou Shi was as nervous as a student reporting to a teacher about a homework assignment, which was not at all his style.

Even when Jiang Feng was his boss, he wouldn’t have behaved this way, let alone now when Jiang Feng was merely his former boss.

“Um, young boss, I called you a few times this morning but you didn’t answer. Then later in the morning, I was afraid to disrupt the kitchen’s business, so I didn’t call you again until now,” Zhou Shi explained briefly, his tone calming a bit, “I was actually calling you today to ask you about something.”

“What’s that?” asked Jiang Feng, “Actually, you could’ve just asked me on WeChat instead of calling, as I often miss your calls.”

“It’s just a little thing, but I wanted to confirm it directly—it’s about the WeChat moments post by Sang Ming I saw yesterday, is it really true?” Zhu Shi asked with a tone full of barely restrained excitement.

“Social media feed?” After a startling revelation this morning, Jiang Feng had long forgotten whatever else had happened last night, aside from eating Peng Changping’s barbecue and Buddhas Jumping Over the Wall. It took him almost half a minute to remember.

“Oh, you’re talking about Sang Ming’s social media feed, right? Yeah, we went team building yesterday, had some barbecue, what’s up?”

“I’m not asking about the team building. I’m asking… it’s just that I saw on Sang Ming’s social media feed that he had Peng Changping’s barbecue yesterday. Is that the Peng Changping we know? Or just someone with the same name? Is it… Master Peng Changping, the one who’s ranked number one in the chef rankings?” Zhou Shi even asked the last question timidly.

Jiang Feng finally understood why Zhou Shi had made the call. He had actually forgotten; Zhou Shi was a fan of Peng Changping.

In previous conversations with Zhou Shi, Zhou had mentioned Peng Changping more than once, his tone laden with admiration for Peng. Zhou had even said that if he knew Peng’s exact address, he would like to visit him across the ocean, even if just to catch a glimpse from afar.

“Yes, it’s Master Peng Changping. He’s returned to the country,” Jiang Feng said. “The barbecue place we went to for our team building is right across from Yonghe House. Didn’t Master Peng used to be the head chef there? He was dining at Yonghe House with Mr. Xu Cheng and came over for a special reason. He got in the mood and personally cooked some barbecue.”

“I remember you said before that you always wanted to meet Master Peng. He’s going to be in the country for a long time this time. If you need, I can help you… Hello, Zhou Shi, are you still there? Hello, can you hear me? Is it a bad signal? Hello!” There was no response on the other end of the phone.

Zhou Shi was holding his phone, his head slightly raised.

He was afraid that if he lowered his head, tears would fall uncontrollably.

How he regretted!

How he loathed!

Why did he resign? Why did he return to his hometown? Why did he open this damned private kitchen?

If he hadn’t resigned a few months ago, he would still be an employee of Taifeng Building. He would be in Beiping, he would have participated in last night’s team building, he’d have been able to meet his idol, Mr. Peng Changping in person—maybe even talk to him. And most crucially, he could have tasted the barbecue personally grilled by Peng Changping!

Barbecue grilled by the idol himself!

He was just a resignation away from barbecue grilled by his idol.

But now, all was lost; the chance to talk was gone, the chance to eat the barbecue was also gone.

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Feng, receiving no response, thought it was a signal problem and hung up. Zhou Shi could only clutch the now black-screened phone and grieve alone.

“Kid, what are you standing around for? Have you had lunch? Don’t work too hard, you should still eat on time. Money can’t be earned all at once. Why aren’t you answering me?” Zhou Shi’s mother noticed her son in a very odd state, gazing up at the wall with a look of gloom.

“Mom, I’ve eaten. Don’t talk to me right now, I just want to be alone.”

“If you want to be alone, just call her. What’s the matter, have you two fought? Weren’t you fine yesterday? You’re not a kid anymore, don’t throw a tantrum like the young ones. I think Jingjing is a good girl, treat her well.”

“It’s not that Jingjing.”

.

In the following days, everything at Taifeng Building was normal, with business volume as usual and no significant fluctuations. The top-floor restaurant, after announcing their poster and the cryptic promotional message, went quiet again. They did not reveal how the chef’s special set menu worked, how many were available for purchase daily, as if the subject was dropped.

Ji Yue and the head steward from Eight-treasure House spent this time trying to cozy up to the head steward of the top-floor restaurant in hopes of gleaning some information about it, but to no avail.

What everyone didn’t know was that the quiet from the top-floor restaurant was because their new head chef had been in quite a foul mood these past few days. He’d scold his colleagues at work and his boss after hours. If Chef Arno were still participating in reality shows, the material of him cursing from these few days alone could probably be edited into an entire episode, teaching those poor imitators in subsequent reality shows the true pioneer of the so-called “feudal” style.

Chef Arno was no linguist; he had briefly studied Spanish and French, but even daily conversation was beyond him, except for the profanity. This meant that when he cursed, it was usually a mix of English with Spanish and French, which to the uninitiated all sounded the same.

Tao Shu couldn’t understand a word.

Tao Shu was an inconspicuous sous chef in the back kitchen of the top-floor restaurant, whose experience was somewhat similar to Zhou Shi’s. Young yet having drifted through many kitchens in Beiping, both Chinese and Western, with slightly less culinary skill than Zhou Shi, Tao Shu was a mediocre middle-aged man who only wanted to find a well-paying job, earn some money, and return to his hometown to buy a school district apartment so his children could attend a good school in the future.

By the way, Tao Shu used to be colleagues with Zhou Shi for a while, and it was he who had told Zhou Shi about the job openings at the top-floor restaurant. However, Zhou Shi didn’t apply because he lacked experience in Western cuisine, but Tao Shu got lucky and was hired.

After a busy day at work, Tao Shu returned home, wanting to vent to someone about his day at work. As usual, he opened WeChat on his phone, found Zhou Shi in his contacts, and started griping to him about who the head chef had yelled at today.

Originally, Tao Shu and Zhou Shi got along well precisely because Zhou Shi was willing to listen to his minor gripes. It wasn’t that Zhou Shi liked to hear gossip; back then, Zhou Shi was young and ambitious, spending every day after work wondering how to secretly learn a trick or two from the other chefs at the restaurant.

Although Tao Shu was a complainer, he was well-informed, and Zhou Shi could pick up a lot of useful information while listening to him. One loved talking while the other was willing to listen. Coupled with being close in age, having the same educational background, and sharing the experience of being drifters in Beiping, they developed a pretty good relationship over time.

After they resigned from their jobs, they gradually lost touch, but Tao Shu re-established contact when he informed Zhou Shi about the job openings at the top-floor restaurant.

Tao Shu was very envious when he learned that Zhou Shi had saved enough money to go back home and open a private kitchen. He would often chat, hoping to learn from Zhou Shi so that he could also go back home one day and open his own restaurant. As they chatted more, Tao Shu fell back into the habit of complaining to Zhou Shi about work issues. Remembering Tao Shu’s favor regarding the news about the top-floor restaurant hiring, Zhou Shi was willing to listen to his gripes, and without realizing it, he became very familiar with the goings-on at the top-floor restaurant.

Zhou Shi even knew a thing or two about the top-floor restaurant’s owner, which even Jiang Feng and others were not clear about.

Like how, although the top-floor restaurant is located in Beiping, most of the staff in the kitchen are foreigners, with only the odd-jobs workers and a few kitchen assistants being Chinese. Tao Shu felt like he was abroad every time he went to work and only returned to China once he was off work. The head chef usually spoke English habitually, and sometimes even French. Over time, Tao Shu began to understand simple sentences and a word or two in French, thinking that if he continued like this for a few more years he could probably pass the English Level 4 test.

Zhou Shi also knew about the new head chef that had joined the top-floor restaurant recently, because Tao Shu had spent the last few days complaining to him about this new chef. The chef had a bad temper and loved to lecture people. His voice was particularly loud, and even though Zhou Shi couldn’t quite understand, he knew the chef was scolding someone. The chef was also burly and strong, seemed older, and gave off the impression of a pirate captain from a movie.

As usual, Tao Shu began by complaining to Zhou Shi about how the new head chef had scolded someone again today, and then told Zhou Shi that he realized this new head chef was quite renowned.

Tao Shu: I heard from Luo today that our head chef seems to be a chef with a very high ranking in “Famous Chefs List”. Didn’t I tell you yesterday that when I passed by the utility room, I overheard him quarreling loudly on the phone? That person was our boss! It seems he was arguing with the boss about being dissatisfied with the restaurant’s decision to discount his menu. You know, it’s weird. If he’s such a renowned chef from the “Famous Chefs List”, why would he come to our restaurant? I heard that he used to work at one of the most famous restaurants in the United States. These Americans are really strange, instead of staying in their own country, they come and open restaurants here.

Tao Shu: But our boss really is rich, truly the son of a Wall Street magnate. The restaurant is preparing another promotional discount recently—just when we thought things had eased up, it’s likely that we’re going to get busy again soon. Once I’ve saved enough money, I’ll go back to my hometown and open a restaurant like you, where I can spend more time with my wife and kids. No matter how tiring or busy, at least the money I earn will go into my own pocket.

Tao Shu: I can take two days off this month. I wanted to ask for two more days off so I could use them to visit my wife and kids at home. It seems unlikely I’ll be able to take leave now.

Tao Shu: Ah, I envy you.

Tao Shu: Remember to let me know in advance when you’re getting married. I’ll take time off to attend your wedding.

Zhou Shi: Ah, I envy you.

Confused, Tao Shu, who was in full swing: ?

Zhou Shi didn’t want to say anything initially; after all, Tao Shu was just venting, and Zhou Shi didn’t need to respond to every message—a reply every six or seven messages would suffice. But the words “Famous Chefs List” from Tao Shu’s first long message struck a chord in his heart and, in a moment of impulse, he ended up hitting copy and paste.

He wanted to return to Beiping, but he knew all too well that even if he went back, he wouldn’t be able to eat the barbecue he made.

His dream had once been just meeting his idol, but ever since he learned that the entire staff at Taifeng Building had tasted the barbecue made by his idol, his dream had changed.

Zhou Shi didn’t hear the last few words Jiang Feng said on the phone. He really wanted to go back to Beiping, but he was too embarrassed to ask Jiang Feng for a favor. After all, he had refused Jiang Feng’s attempt to keep him at the restaurant all too willingly, and now turning back to ask a former boss for a favor seemed a bit face-slapping, not to mention somewhat unscrupulous.

Zhou Shi’s thoughts drifted far away.

On the other side, Tao Shu was startled by Zhou Shi’s copy-paste response, then took it as a conciliatory copy-paste and continued rambling.

Tao Shu: Next week is my daughter’s birthday, and it just so happens to be on a Saturday. I wanted to go home for her birthday, but now it looks like I can only get my wife to bring my daughter to Beiping and use my vacation to take them out for fun. I hope the boss won’t ask us to work overtime next week. But I guess it’s inevitable, with the change of head chef, two new chefs arriving, and extended business hours, plus Cao resigned last week, supposedly poached by Eight-treasure House, now we need to hire a kitchen assistant. I guess for a while we’ll have to do the work of two people. I really don’t know what to do.

Tao Shu: Today, the manager asked if we knew any chefs who could be recommended as kitchen assistants, offering a reward of 1000 if successful. Our restaurant is making a commotion every day, becoming almost a public enemy of Beiping’s Chinese restaurants. It’s not easy to recruit chefs. If it weren’t for the high pay, I would have quit too—you go to work every day feeling like you’re betraying your country.

Tao Shu: What a headache.

Tao Shu: Why doesn’t Eight-treasure House come poach me? I want to be poached away too.