The Game of Life-Chapter 647 - 645: Bragging Feels Good for a Moment

Chapter 647 -645: Bragging Feels Good for a Moment

Mrs. Wang Xiulian had set the meeting time for 8 a.m. at the entrance of Taifeng Building, where she rented two buses to take the fully equipped Taifeng Building staff to the foot of the Badaling Great Wall to begin their climb.

Since this was a team-building activity, Mrs. Wang Xiulian generously bought several cases of functional drinks and some not-so-cheap small cakes, placing them on the bus so that everyone could grab some when they got off.

Jiang Feng had originally packed some biscuits and jerky in his bag for when he got hungry at noon. Seeing that Mrs. Wang Xiulian had thoughtfully prepared small cakes, he immediately took the biscuits out of his bag and replaced them with the cakes on the bus.

For the Great Wall climb, everyone had changed into comfortable clothes and sports shoes, and their bags were mostly filled with essentials like food and water rather than unnecessary items.

The only thing that Jiang Feng couldn’t understand was why, while everyone was wearing run-of-the-mill backpacks, Zhang Guanghang alone stood out like a crane among chickens. From the moment they got off the bus and gathered at the entrance to begin their climb, young tourists were taking pictures of Zhang Guanghang. Those in the know realized they were there to climb the Great Wall. Those who didn’t might have thought they had come for Zhang Guanghang’s personal fan meet-and-greet.

“Everyone has worked hard in the restaurant, and it can get dull staying in all day. Since today is our team-building day, let’s be a bit more relaxed as we climb the Great Wall. It’s now 8:47 a.m. We’re going to take the north route, which is a bit steeper and longer. Everyone should aim to reach the top by 1 p.m. If you really can’t make it, at least get to where the cable car is and take that down. Remember not to get separated, as we have other activities planned for this evening,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian said, then distributed the tickets, indicating that everyone could go about freely.

...

While Zhang Guanghang was still twisting open his water bottle to take a couple of sips, Jiang Feng, shouldering his backpack, strode ahead with a healthy pace. Wu Minqi hurried to catch up.

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“Fengfeng, why the rush?” Wu Minqi asked.

“I want to keep my distance from Zhang,” Jiang Feng replied.

Wu Minqi: ?

Jiang Feng began his climb, and naturally, the Jiang family elders who had been closely monitoring him, preparing to impart ideological education and have one-on-one talks, could not be left behind, so they followed closely.

Jiang Feng had never climbed the Great Wall before, but he was no stranger to climbing mountains. In the past few years, every Tomb Sweeping Day seemed to be the time for Jiang Feng’s so-called ‘reclamation project.’

For some reason, the Wang family had their ancestors buried in different locations—some near and some far, with a few buried deep in the mountains. These mountain paths were rarely trodden on ordinary days, only seeing visitors during Tomb Sweeping Day or a few other holidays for grave visits and offerings.

Every Tomb Sweeping Day, Jiang Feng would venture out with his uncles and cousins, machete in one hand and shovel in the other—cutting grass and chopping down trees as needed—battling his way through overgrowth and thickets taller than himself, forging paths in the wild, all to pay respects with paper money and incense to their ancestors.

Climbing the Great Wall was certainly tough, but compared to reclamation, it was a piece of cake.

At least when climbing the Great Wall, you wouldn’t accidentally get snagged on some tree stump.

Jiang Feng had an easy time climbing the Great Wall, but this spelled trouble for Mrs. Wang Xiulian and his aunt.

They were in their forties and fifties, and although they regularly went to the gym, their Great Wall climbing speed couldn’t compare to that of a young man in his early twenties like Jiang Feng.

While Jiang Feng marched ahead effortlessly, they panted and struggled to keep up.

“Xiulian, your Feng… climbing the Great Wall so… so quickly, we two old bones probably can’t keep up,” his aunt said, gasping for breath as she walked and noticing the widening gap between them and Jiang Feng, wanting to stop and rest on the spot.

“Why don’t we wait until we’re at the top before talking to Feng?” she suggested.

Mrs. Wang Xiulian was panting too, just not as heavily as his aunt: “No, we can’t. By the time we get to the top, it’ll be crowded with people. It’s actually good that Feng is climbing fast, as they haven’t come up yet.”

“Then… shall we climb a bit more?” his aunt was almost out of breath.

Mrs. Wang Xiulian waved her hands repeatedly: “No, no, no, let’s rest for a bit. I’ll message Qiqi to tell Feng to take a break as well.”

After she finished speaking, Wang Xiulian sent a message to Wu Minqi, asking her to control Jiang Feng and tell him to stop climbing.

When Wu Minqi saw the message, she quickly grabbed Jiang Feng, who was only thinking of rushing to the top to take a photo and post it on his social media to show that he was the first to climb the Great Wall that day.

“Fengfeng, your Aunt Wang and your great-aunt are right behind us. They’re tired from climbing and didn’t bring water; they’re asking if you have any to bring them a bottle,” said Wu Minqi.

“My mom and great-aunt didn’t bring water?” Jiang Feng found it strange; his great-aunt, as a model of the Jiang Family, how could she make such a basic mistake?

Jiang Feng turned around and saw his own mother and great-aunt sitting on the steps, looking unmistakable and eye-catching. He quickly took out an unopened bottle of purified water from his bag and said to Wu Minqi, “Minqi, you just wait here for me. I’ll go down and bring water to my mom and them.”

“Okay,” Wu Minqi said with a smile, nodding her head.

As soon as Jiang Feng turned to go down, Wu Minqi’s smile faded, and she took a few deep breaths, sitting down to rest.

God knows why her Fengfeng climbed the Great Wall so fast without stopping. She wouldn’t have been able to keep up if they had climbed any longer.

“Mom, great-aunt, have some water; I also have some small cakes in my bag, do you want to eat a couple?” In addition to bringing water, Jiang Feng also thoughtfully helped them open the bottles.

Wang Xiulian, looking weak, shook her head; her face was even a bit pale, “No need, climbing made me nauseous. I feel sick.”

“Why did you climb so quickly? Didn’t we say that it was fine as long as we got there before 1 o’clock? The others aren’t even up here yet, what’s the hurry?” Jiang Feng said.

Wang Xiulian thought to herself, I climbed so quickly all because of my pathetic son.

But she couldn’t say that.

“Just because I ate too much in the morning.”

“Great-aunt, are you okay?” Jiang Feng began to show concern for his great-aunt.

“I’m fine, just a dry throat, not feeling nauseous.” The great-aunt usually visited the gym more often, so she was a bit stronger than Wang Xiulian when climbing the Wall.

“Then I’ll continue climbing up; you two sit here and rest for a while,” said Jiang Feng and was about to go back.

“Wait,” Wang Xiulian suddenly grabbed Jiang Feng, “your great-aunt and I have something to tell you.”

“Minqi is still waiting above…”

“Let Minqi have a rest!”

Jiang Feng: ?

After drinking half a bottle of water, Wang Xiulian finally recovered from her Fast & Furious pace, shifted her position to face Jiang Feng and said, “Son, tell the truth to your mom, have you been keeping something on your mind lately?”

The great-aunt, holding the water bottle, looked at Jiang Feng, resembling someone in the crowd enjoying a spectacle.

“Huh?”

“You’ve never been like this. When have you ever been proactive in anything you do? Even with your studies, you aren’t as eager as your cousins. Look at you today, climbing the Great Wall with such enthusiasm. Mom thinks you must have something on your mind, you’re preoccupied with thoughts, that’s why you have been climbing nonstop, right?” Wang Xiulian chose a brand new angle.

Jiang Feng: ?

I just wanted to post on my Moments…

“Son, we’re all your family and your elders, who have watched you grow up. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about in front of me and your Great Aunt. We’ve seen how you’ve been behaving recently and are very worried about you. If there’s something on your mind, any worries or concerns, just speak up boldly. What kind of storm hasn’t our family weathered? We’ve even been billions in debt; what more could we possibly be afraid of!”

Jiang Feng: …

“Feng,” Great Aunt began, “everyone has their secrets, their concerns, and it’s normal not to want to share. As your elders, we will respect you, but problems need to be addressed. At the very least, don’t let us worry. We all care about you and want to help, not harm you. If there’s something you truly can’t handle on your own, just let us know so we can help you solve it.”

“Great Aunt hasn’t seen much of you lately, and it’s been a while since you’ve visited her home.”

“Whether you want to talk about it or not, there’s one thing you must know: we all care deeply about you, including your grandfather, who is also very worried about you.”

“Great Aunt, I…”

I just want to make some chicken tofu pudding…

But Jiang Feng couldn’t say that.

Clamping his teeth, Jiang Feng exclaimed loudly, “Mom, Great Aunt, I’m fine, I just want to get on MasterChef!”

Since there weren’t many people around on this stretch of road, bragging loudly wasn’t illegal.

“Ah?” Mrs. Wang Xiulian and Great Aunt were taken aback, with the latter not even knowing what MasterChef was.

Fortunately, Mrs. Wang Xiulian knew and could continue the conversation: “MasterChef?”

“Yes, MasterChef,” Jiang Feng confirmed with certainty.

“Isn’t MasterChef starting its new selection this year? It’s only done once every four years, so if I wait for the next time, it’ll be four years later.”

“The restaurant on the top floor next door is just too arrogant, not only squeezing our family’s business but also Eight-treasure House’s business. When we launched a spring seasonal menu, they came out with a spring set menu. Eight-treasure House released a dim sum gift box, and they also came out with a Western pastry gift box. They simply don’t see the local Beiping Chinese restaurants in their eyes, blatantly challenging us.”

The most crucial thing was, it had caused Ling Guangzhao to give out fewer red packets lately.

Ling Guangzhao’s red packets were an important source of Jiang Feng’s personal spending money.

“Not just to steam buns to ease my anger, when they go on variety shows, don’t they advertise Rolan as a genius chef who made it onto MasterChef at 28? If I make it onto MasterChef at 22 this year, I will definitely rub it in their faces and claim back face for our Taifeng Building and Eight-treasure House.”

Taifeng Building was the closest to the top floor restaurant, and Eight-treasure House was the weakest among the similar class of restaurants. These two places were the ones most affected recently.

As Jiang Feng was in the middle of spinning his tall tale, suddenly, a familiar voice sounded from behind him.

“What is MasterChef?”

Jiang Feng was about to turn and answer, taking the opportunity to brag even further. After all, he rarely had such a blatant chance to boast, and if he was going to boast, he wanted to do it right.

Then he realized the voice belonged to Zheng Siyuan, who wasn’t asking him.

Zheng Siyuan was asking Ling Guangzhao.

Ling Guangzhao.

Ling Guangzhao was looking at Jiang Feng with a very mixed expression.

An expression that suggested a man on the verge of bankruptcy.

Jiang Feng: …

Damn, is Eight-treasure House closing down and no longer doing business? Why is the boss and the head chef taking advantage of the good weather to not work and earn money in the store, instead coming to the Great Wall to learn from our Taifeng Building’s way of climbing the Great Wall?

“Mr. Ling, you’re also here to climb the Great Wall today,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian noticed Ling Guangzhao too and greeted him.

“The weather is nice today, and since Master Zheng is off, I invited him to climb the Great Wall and unwind,” said Ling Guangzhao.

He really didn’t want to stay in the restaurant looking at the financial reports that were giving him a headache, almost convincing him that he was about to go bankrupt.

“I just didn’t know why Manager Wang and Master Jiang would also…” Ling Guangzhao suddenly remembered that when he was coming up the path, he seemed to have seen a group of somewhat familiar people, which he now realized might be other employees from Taifeng Building; only at the time he hadn’t paid much attention.

“Taifeng Building is not working today, it’s a team-building day. We organized everyone to climb the Great Wall together,” Manager Wang Xiulian said with a smile.

“Oh, I see. Well, Manager Wang, you carry on chatting, Master Zheng and I will head up,” Ling Guangzhao said, his feelings mixed. For the moment, he wasn’t sure if Jiang Feng was friend or foe, or just bragging.

If it was bragging, why did he have to involve Eight-treasure House?

Ling Guangzhao walked up to Manager Wang Xiulian and Jiang Feng.

And then he found he couldn’t get past.

Jiang Feng quickly moved aside to make way.

As Zheng Siyuan passed by Jiang Feng, he said, “I heard from Junior Dong and the others that today is your birthday. After climbing the Great Wall, I’ll go back and make you a longevity peach bun and bring it over in the evening.”

“Thank you,” Jiang Feng said, feeling his facial expression was perfect, his smile spot-on.

After Ling Guangzhao left, Jiang Feng asked with a face full of panic, “Mom, do you think Ling Guangzhao heard what I said just now?”

Recalling how loud Jiang Feng’s boasting was, Mrs. Wang Xiulian nodded affirmatively, “He heard.”

Jiang Feng felt like jumping off the Great Wall.

“It’s okay, my boy, just keep at it,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian patted Jiang Feng’s shoulder, choosing to believe his boastful claims, “I’ve heard about this MasterChef thing from your grandfather. It seems pretty tough, but it’s no big deal if you don’t get on. What if you do, though? You got second place in the Good Taste culinary competition without your father and me ever expecting it.”

“Keep it up, work hard!”