The Game of Life-Chapter 671 - 669: Gluttonous Feast

Chapter 671: Chapter 669: Gluttonous Feast

Jiang Feng had given Zhang Zhiyuan a vivid lesson using simple words, and although Zhang Zhiyuan had missed out on the last few mouthfuls of the richest part of the thick soup, Jiang Feng believed that he had gained something far more precious than that small half-bowl of condensed essence.

A brutal lesson from people of the world.

This chapter is updated by freēwēbnovel.com.

Master-level lies from an honest man.

What Jiang Feng hadn’t expected was that Zhang Zhiyuan would turn out to be the same kind of honest person as he once was. After getting over his initial shock and dazed confusion, Zhang Zhiyuan asked blankly.

“Feng, have you always had such a big appetite?”

Jiang Feng: …

...

His conscience hurt.

“Yeah,” Jiang Feng swallowed the last spoonful of soup, the rich flavor of yellow-braised shark’s fin still lingering on his taste buds, “You’ve met my cousin, haven’t you?”

Zhang Zhiyuan nodded; the members of the Jiang Family were the kind people you don’t easily forget once you’ve met them.

“My appetite is actually almost the same as my cousin’s, but I have a bad stomach and don’t absorb nutrients well, so I don’t gain weight. Otherwise, I’d definitely be even bulkier than my cousin and the others.” Jiang Feng began to tell outright lies with a straight face.

Zhang Zhiyuan had a sudden realization: “No wonder, having a bad stomach really keeps you from gaining weight. I had a classmate in high school who was the same, ate a lot every meal but never gained weight.”

Jiang Feng: …

He didn’t believe it, and his conscience hurt even more.

After finishing the yellow-braised shark’s fin, everyone began to rinse their mouths with warm water as they awaited the clear soup swallow’s nest. The Swallow-wing Feast consisted of nine dishes, each grand enough to be the main attraction at an ordinary banquet, including the soups. It was precisely because the courses of the Swallow-wing Feast were not served quickly that the diners had to eat course by course, taking a break after each dish to let their taste buds and stomachs recover before moving on to the next one.

Just as Jiang Feng felt that his taste buds were ready, the door opened.

In came Peng Changping, this time holding a soup plate in his hand that was much smaller than the one used for the yellow-braised shark’s fin. The nest, white as snow and shaped like a cluster, was placed at the very center of the soup plate, mostly submerged in a light milky-yellow broth, with just a small tuft exposed to the air, looking from a distance like a blooming flower.

Compared to the yellow-braised shark’s fin, the clear-soup swallow’s nest appeared much more elegant and restrained, not only in color but also in its ingredients. Jiang Feng took a closer look and found that, indeed, other than the bird’s nest, there was nothing else in the soup; it truly lived up to its name as clear-soup swallow’s nest.

Because the clear-soup swallow’s nest was served in smaller quantities, everyone was relatively reserved when scooping it up

, with no one filling their bowls more than halfway. Still, having half a bowl of bird’s nest was an extravagant affair—the clear-soup swallow’s nest had plenty of nest and little broth, whereas the yellow-braised shark’s fin had plenty of broth and less fin.

Jiang Feng reflected carefully and realized that he had actually never eaten bird’s nest his entire life. For an ordinary family like his, there was no habit of treating bird’s nest, a dietary supplement, as a meal to be served on the table, except for the time Wang Xiulian became fond of having Mr. Jiang Jiankang wake up early to stew a pot of rock sugar bird’s nest for the sake of beauty and health.

This luxury indulgence lasted for about two weeks before coming to an end—Mr. Jiang Jiankang simply couldn’t get up early in the mornings.

Having no need for beauty treatments or health supplements, and never having been seriously ill since childhood, Jiang Feng began his first experience of eating bird’s nest.

Upon the first taste, it was the flavor of the clear soup.

The bird’s nest itself really had no distinct taste, much like the shark’s fin; the flavor depended entirely on the soup. Therefore, Jiang Feng deeply felt that eating these bird’s nests and shark’s fin dishes was not as good as drinking the soup directly, which was both flavorful and nutritious.

Unlike shark fin, bird’s nest is a bit crunchy.

It’s not the type of crunchiness you’d find in white fungus, just a little, but enough to be astounding. The deliciously refreshing broth was smooth and easy on the throat, and paired with the soft and glutinous bird’s nest that was slightly crispy, gave Jiang Feng an exquisite experience. The broth was flavorful but not heavy, and somewhere in between, Jiang Feng felt as if he could taste the essence of the bird’s nest. As for what that essence was, Jiang Feng couldn’t quite say, since this was his first time eating bird’s nest and he had no idea what it was supposed to taste like in the first place.

The one thing Jiang Feng could be certain of was that ordinary bird’s nest couldn’t possibly offer this kind of texture and taste; otherwise, the worldly Xu Cheng wouldn’t have shown an expression so rapturous it could be made into a meme.

Peng Changping also had some bird’s nest, not much, but a few mouthfuls nonetheless, unlike the previous dish of braised shark fin where he had only sipped the soup.

In the end, the one to comment was still Zhang Zhiyuan: “I never thought bird’s nest could taste so good; I always thought it was flavorless.”

Jiang Feng: …

For a moment, he didn’t know how to explain to the honest man beside him, and before he could speak, the door opened again.

The third dish, oyster sauce abalone, arrived.

Oyster sauce abalone was served individually, one for each person, one on each plate. The abalones weren’t big, and the oyster sauce drizzled on them was just a thin layer, like a piece of tinted paper. The sauce in the plate was extremely rich, and Jiang Feng found that there was only a tablespoon’s amount when he scraped it with a spoon.

This dish proved what ‘concentration is the essence’ truly meant.

A small abalone could be fully savored in one big bite, and the soup and flavor it encapsulated couldn’t fully be described in a few words. A mere spoonful of the concentrated broth could be gently licked up with the tongue, leaving an aftertaste that lingered for half an hour.

After finishing the abalone on the plate and scraping the last bit of rich sauce, Jiang Feng felt a sense of unfulfillment, wishing he could have ten more if possible!

Before Jiang Feng could recover from the regret of not having enough, Braised Big Black Sea Cucumber was served.

Jiang Feng had seen this dish countless times in his memory, knew the recipe by heart, and even contemplated paying out of his own pocket to try it at Yonghe House, a plan that was never realized due to a tight budget.

This time, he had the top-quality version.

The sauce for this Braised Big Black Sea Cucumber was not prepared by Peng Changping but by his disciple, who was also the current head chef of Yonghe House. The same went for the dishes that followed. Therefore, the dishes served later, although plentiful, did not awe like the first three, tasting good but lacking the sensation of a Swallow-wing Feast.

With the last dish, a unique pearl soup made from freshly sprouted old corn, served at the table, the hot dish segment of the Swallow-wing Feast came to an end.

One bowl of pearl soup per person, everyone in the private room, except Peng Changping, was touching their stomachs and sighing at the table full of dishes. Jiang Feng, with his exceptional willpower and over-the-top performance, not only finished the last dish but also exceeded historical records, turning the “I have a big appetite and can eat a lot” lie into the honest truth.

Jiang Feng felt that if the waiter were to bring up two plates of oyster sauce abalone now, he could continue eating.

After a satisfying meal naturally came the time for chatting.

Peng Changping and Zhang Chu hadn’t seen each other for decades, and after this feast for a glutton, the conversation was theirs to dominate.

Peng Changping took a sip of tea, cleared his throat, and asked, “How… have you all been these past years?”