The Game of Life

Chapter 739: 738

About Chef Arno running off, Sun Maochai and the others didn’t have much of a reaction.

Their lack of reaction was mainly because Tao Shu was just an ordinary sous chef at the top-floor restaurant, and his words didn’t carry much credibility. It’s like if Sang Ming told someone that Jiang Feng had run off to Yonghe House, not many people would believe it either.

Sun Maochai told Jiang Feng that when he used to work at the Hong Kong City restaurant, it was quite common for him to take several days off in a row to go abroad for exchanges or competitions. Chef Arno, a competition fanatic, was even more so, and his sudden disappearance wasn’t something to make a fuss about.

It was just that the timing of his disappearance this time was rather coincidental, so it looked a bit like running away. But Chef Arno’s character was definitely not that of someone who would run off.

Having heard Sun Maochai say this, Jiang Feng actually felt a bit relieved.

Compared to what Chef Arno was up to back in America, everyone was more concerned about when Peng Changping would arrive.

The news of Peng Changping wanting to take Zhou Shi as a disciple had just been shared by Jiang Feng with everyone. It was a happy occasion, and he mentioned it to cheer everybody up. People were happy, some were envious, and others were confused, but one thing was certain—today’s center of attention was Zhou Shi, and nobody could steal his limelight.

Even the cold sea cucumber dish that Zhou Shi had prepared was safeguarded, placed in a very secure spot. They made sure no one would accidentally bump into it while passing by or let anything strange drift into it, affecting its taste and flavor.

You could say it was given VIP level protection.

Zhou Shi was oblivious to this, even striking up a calm conversation with Tao Shu.

Having just ordered, Zhou Shi noticed that the menu at Taifeng Building had undergone quite a few updates and couldn’t help but exclaim, “I didn’t expect that after being gone for more than half a year, the menu has completely changed.”

“Oh, have there been a lot of changes?” Tao Shu asked curiously.

“The prices have gone up quite a bit.”

Tao Shu: ?

Zhou Shi sighed sorrowfully, “If I had resigned just half a year later, maybe I could have taken over that bigger storefront nearby.”

Tao Shu: ???

Without any dishes served yet and nothing else to eat, Tao Shu could only drink several sips of the complimentary kumquat lemon water, “I feel like… you seem to have some regrets.”

Tao Shu couldn’t understand why Zhou Shi was talking with such a nostalgic tone about his old employer. He thought if he himself one day saved up enough money to open a shop back home, he would happily leave the top-floor restaurant without any reluctance.

Zhou Shi was living the life he aspired to.

“Regrets?” Zhou Shi hadn’t even realized his tone had been a bit off, “Maybe it’s after starting my own business that I’ve discovered… it’s different from what I had originally imagined.”

Tao Shu looked at Zhou Shi, unusually quiet, just listening to him talk.

“I used to think that drifting around without a fixed abode, without security, was no good. No matter how hard or tiresome the work was, I was always working for others, and the money I could take home each month was just that fixed salary. Even with bonuses, I couldn’t earn much. It seemed better to save enough money to go back to my hometown, open a shop, have a more stable life, and spend time with my parents.”

Tao Shu nodded; he had thought the same.

“But when I really opened my shop, I found it wasn’t as wonderful as I had imagined. I had been in Beiping for over a decade and had grown accustomed to the nine-to-five, busy life. After returning home, I was actually quite exhausted, especially during the initial stages of renovating, choosing a location, and hiring staff. Although my mom helped, I was still busy from dawn to dusk without a break for those few months. Yet, I always felt it was too quiet, as if I was missing something. Despite being so busy every day that I didn’t even want to talk after coming home from the shop, showering, and just wanting to sleep, I felt it was too quiet,”

“After the shop opened, the business was indeed pretty good, I was earning much more than when I was in Beiping. But… I just felt something was off, I felt this was not what I wanted. Am I being too sentimental?” Zhou Shi said with a self-deprecating smile, “Especially just now, when I went into the kitchen and looked around, I didn’t say much. I just made a dish, and it felt as fulfilling as it did when I was working before,”

Tao Shu: ?

“I think you just felt nostalgic when you saw the previous work environment in the kitchen. Didn’t you tell me earlier that the working environment in Taifeng Building was good? You’re just a bit nostalgic. Let me tell you, if you really close your shop and come back to work here, I bet you’ll miss the days when you had your own shop,” Tao Shu said, spotting a waiter approaching him, he quickly said, “The dishes are here, let’s eat, I’m starving.”

Zhou Shi just smiled and ate quietly.

The dishes were all ordered by Zhou Shi; he didn’t order much, just three dishes and a soup. Although Tao Shu worked in the restaurant at the top floor, such a high-end place wouldn’t have each Furnace Chef take turns cooking like Taifeng Building. The staff meals at the top-floor restaurant were worse than those at Yonghe House and quite perfunctory.

He wasn’t like Zhou Shi, who just got a girlfriend at the age of 30. He had a family, a wife, and kids, and the daily expenses were large. He usually lived frugally and simply couldn’t afford to dine at a restaurant like Taifeng Building.

The meal was so delicious that they didn’t even want to talk, and it was only after finishing that the chatterbox mode was activated.

“Zhou Shi, let me tell you, don’t you ever get the idea of closing your shop back home and drift back to Beiping,” Tao Shu still remembered what Zhou Shi had told him before the meal, “Do you still keep in touch with those few who used to mess around in the shop with us?”

Zhou Shi shook his head; the only person he had kept in touch with all these years was Tao Shu.

“Let me tell you, even someone like me has actually done pretty well. You remember Wang, right? The one who was recruited into the shop with you, the one who could not do anything and wasn’t allowed to chop vegetables at first.”

With Tao Shu mentioning that, Zhou Shi seemed to have a vague memory.

“A tall guy, right?” Zhou Shi asked.

“Exactly, that one. He went back to his hometown several years ago and hasn’t worked as a chef since. I heard he went into sales, sold furniture first and then real estate. It seems like he made a bit of money selling houses and just went straight back to his hometown,” Tao Shu said, “I still have some contact with him. I casually mentioned to him once that you had gone back home to open a shop, and you wouldn’t believe how envious he was. I’m telling you, out of all those people in the shop back then, you are doing the best now.”

“Actually, I’ve always thought you were the most impressive. I was just lucky. My dad was a chef, and I learned a bit from him when I was young. Later, I joined the shop through connections and followed the masters to learn a few tricks, which allowed me to get into some big hotels and muddle through as an assistant chef.” Tao Shu burped, “Although I haven’t saved much money over the years, at least I haven’t starved to death. Luckily, I got married early and bought a house, otherwise, I wouldn’t even have the chance to think about getting a mortgage now,”

Zhou Shi was amused by his last sentence.

“Don’t laugh, I’m serious. I’ve always thought you were impressive. Tell me, what could you do when you first entered the shop? You could only hold a knife, and you didn’t even hold it correctly, couldn’t chop veggies, no one taught you, and you just watched others and learned sneakily.”

“I remember back then I didn’t know how to chop meat, always made a mess and got scolded by Master Peng. In the end, it was you who taught me,” Zhou Shi smiled.

“That wasn’t really teaching, chopping meat is simple. Even if I didn’t teach you, by watching others for a week or two, you would have learned. Back then, I thought it was odd why you chose such a job, it was tough, tiresome, and didn’t pay much, plus you didn’t know how to do anything and earned the least.”

“I was just a teenager then, how could I think so much? I just happened to see a help wanted sign at the restaurant door and went to apply, got hired on the spot without thinking, and didn’t have any money in my pocket, not even enough to pay rent, so I had no choice but to keep at it,” Zhou Shi said.

“At first, I really didn’t accept it. With Master Peng’s terrible temper, I had used a connection back then to ask him to teach me something, but he didn’t teach me much and never showed me a good face. And you? You haven’t even been in the restaurant for half a year, and Master Peng is willing to teach you two good dishes. I was much better than you back then,” Tao Shu spoke and felt his mouth getting dry, so he took a sip of his kumquat lemonade. “But actually, afterwards, I understood why Master Peng would teach you. You were just a handyman, and they let you cut vegetables only because the kitchen was short-staffed. You couldn’t even cut meat at the beginning, but in just a few months, the vegetables you cut started to look decent.”

“You’re so smart, if I were Master Peng, I would teach you too.”

“Actually, it wasn’t Master Peng who actively taught me; at first, I learned secretly,” Zhou Shi said.

Tao Shu was shocked.

“At first, I just felt that the money for doing odd jobs was too little. If my cooking skills could improve, and I could become a cutting board chef or even a furnace chef, then my wages would be much higher. So, I started watching how others did it and taught myself a little on the sly.”

“Back then, my idea was simple. Our shop wasn’t very big, but the business was always good, all thanks to Master Peng’s cooking skills. I thought since I was going to learn secretly, I might as well learn from the best; so, recklessly day after day, I curried favor with Master Peng, acted as his assistant, hung around him trying to watch and learn as much as I could. As a result, I really did pick up a few things.”

Tao Shu was so astounded that he couldn’t speak; he had not expected Zhou Shi to have begun his journey as a chef in this way.

“Because this matter wasn’t something to be proud of, I never dared to tell anyone. Later, when Master Peng caught me learning secretly, he was quite angry, but surprisingly, he didn’t lose his temper. Instead, he even taught me two dishes and a lot of basic skills, helping me lay a good foundation and teaching me a lot,” Zhou Shi continued, “Master Peng is really a good person.”

“Yeah, Master Peng is really a good person,” Tao Shu echoed, “You were silly; you should have just directly become Master Peng’s disciple from the start.”

“Don’t laugh at me, you know who I wanted to take as my master at that time?”

“Who?” Tao Shu asked curiously.

“Didn’t Master Peng say that you can only formally acknowledge one master, and once you’ve recognized one, you can’t change because it would be betraying the master and disrespecting the ancestors? Back then, whatever I did, I wanted to do the best. When secretly learning, I wanted to learn from the best so I targeted Master Peng, and when thinking of becoming a disciple, I also wanted to…,” halfway through, Zhou Shi started laughing at himself, leaving Tao Shu utterly puzzled.

“Do you remember, didn’t Master Peng always tell us his father was a chef at Yonghe House?” Zhou Shi asked.

“Remember? Of course, I remember. Master Peng always brought it up, as if he couldn’t say it enough three times a day. He’d say his father was a chef at Yonghe House and just because of bad luck and being too old, he missed the chance to become Master Peng Changping’s disciple. If his father had managed to become Master Peng’s disciple, his life would’ve been completely different by now. Master Peng always boasted about Master Peng Changping, practically idolizing him as if he had met him,” Tao Shu became animated as he talked but suddenly realized something and turned to look at Zhou Shi with disbelief plastered on his face, pointing his hand towards him, still hanging mid-air.

“You… you couldn’t have…”

Zhou Shi helplessly nodded.

“Wow, you… you…” Tao Shu stuttered for a long time without managing to say another word, “You sure have got some ideas. No wonder you told me you wanted to go to America; I thought you just wanted to play.”

“Back then, I just wanted to go simply to have a look. Later I gave up because I didn’t know where Master Peng lived, right? Plus, how old was I back then? I was only 20, okay? 10 years ago!”

“But now Master Peng has returned to the country, why don’t you give it a try?” a voice that didn’t belong to Zhou Shi or Tao Shu came from behind Zhou Shi.

Zhou Shi turned his head and saw a smiling Peng Changping and Lu Sheng, who was staring at the ground as if the tiles of the Taifeng Building were incredibly beautiful, very unique, and extremely attractive.

“Why are you here? Weren’t you supposed to go to Yonghe House for tea this afternoon?” Zhou Shi asked in surprise.

“I had some things to take care of today, so I didn’t go. Just accompanying a junior for a simple meal at Taifeng Building; I didn’t expect to run into you. My reserved table is right next to yours,” Peng Changping said with a smile, gesturing towards the vacant table next to them.

Lu Sheng continued to stare at the ground.

“You still haven’t answered me, now that Master Peng Changping has returned to the country, right? I think you have a chance. Weren’t you a chef at Taifeng Building before? Now Taifeng Building is truly unrivaled, standing out on its own. I think you could give it a try, maybe Master Peng will say you’ll be his… final disciple.”

Lu Sheng kept staring at the ground, wishing he could stare a hole into it and jump down.

“Stop joking with me. I’m just an ordinary chef, I’ve never even been mentioned in the famous chefs’ list. How could I possibly be good enough for Master Peng to take me as a disciple? Didn’t I tell you before? Master Peng is already a hundred years old, how could he still take disciples. Besides, I’m already 30, who would take on a disciple this old these days!” Zhou Shi took Peng Changping’s words as a joke.

Lu Sheng had something to say, but he knew he couldn’t say it, at least not now.

“How do you know if you don’t try? Maybe that Master Peng you’re talking about just wants to take a final disciple, maybe he even likes them over 30.” Peng Changping had a look that screamed ‘I’m a troll’ written all over his face.

“Please, stop joking.”

Peng Changping stopped talking, sat down at a dining spot next to Zhou Shi, and said to Lu Sheng, “Send a message to get them to serve the dishes.”

Lu Sheng immediately took out his phone to send a message.

In the kitchen, Jiang Feng had been clutching his phone waiting for Lu Sheng’s message since he was told they were almost arriving. Seeing that Lu Sheng finally sent a message saying they could serve the dishes, Jiang Feng hurriedly carried the cold sea cucumber salad to the serving window, instructing the responsible waiter to remember to be steady, not to spill or splash.

The waiter solemnly carried the cold sea cucumber salad, walking extra slow, extra careful.

Tao Shu, with his sharp eyes, spotted from a distance that the waiter was heading to serve Peng Changping’s table and sighed, “It’s good to make a reservation in advance, you can have your dishes served as soon as you arrive without waiting.”

Zhou Shi glanced subconsciously at the waiter and immediately recognized the cold sea cucumber salad she was carrying.

Very familiar.

It was precisely the dish he had just made!

And one that hadn’t been touched at all.

Zhou Shi watched in disbelief as the waiter served the cold sea cucumber salad he had previously prepared to Peng Changping’s table, looked at Peng Changping, and saw Peng Changping smiling at him and picking up his chopsticks.

Zhou Shi: ?

Suddenly, he felt that something was a bit off.

Not a bit off, but very off.

Just who is this old gentleman?