The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 516: Chapter 514: Memories Attached to the Chocolate Wrapper

The Jiang Family’s Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner table was filled with laughter and cheerful voices.

Because dinner started early this year, there were many bowls and dishes, but just one Morshock took up 16 of them; honestly, the variety of dishes did not compare to previous years.

Jiang Feng, having already tasted the flavors in advance while in the kitchen, was not as enthusiastic as in previous years. For each dish, he just took a few light bites then laid down his chopsticks, scooping up a small half-bowl of dumplings to wrap things up.

When Jiang Junlian, who was fiercely contending with her three older cousins over the pork knuckle, noticed Jiang Feng starting on the dumplings, she was so startled that the piece of knuckle she had just won fell onto her plate, swiftly captured by Jiang Junqing’s fast hands into his own bowl.

“Little brother, you’re not eating anymore?” Jiang Junlian asked in surprise, her tone filled with concern.

If Jiang Feng didn’t remember how his pocket money had been squandered over the past few years, he would truly believe that this cousin in front of him was a rare gem of goodness.

Jiang Junlian’s survival amidst family elders and not being killed off all these years relied on her sweet-talking skills and ability to gauge the situation. If Jiang Ran needed to see which way the wind was blowing before adjusting his sails, Jiang Junlian did not even need to look — she was practically a meteorologist who could predict the wind’s direction.

“After smelling lamb all day, I just can’t seem to eat much right now,” Jiang Feng said modestly.

He obviously couldn’t say that he had already eaten in the kitchen.

“Indeed, smelling too much mutton can make it hard to eat; shredded radish is refreshing. Little brother, you should eat more shredded radish,” Jiang Zaidi nodded and concurred.

“Yeah, little brother, eat more greens,” Jiang Shoucheng chimed in as he helped Jiang Feng to a big mouthful of vegetables.

Jiang Feng: “…Thank you.”

“Little brother, eat these,” Jiang Junlian brought out a big handful of preserved plums from her pocket and placed them in front of Jiang Feng, each one plump and enticing.

“These were given to me by the village chief. I only ate one on my way here. They’re particularly delicious, sour and sweet. Little brother, you have these!”

Jiang Feng looked at the greens in his bowl, then at the preserved plums on the table, and his eyes suddenly moistened.

Where could he find such an amazing cousin? A cousin like this can’t be found even with a lantern!

Jiang Feng instantly forgot about all the pocket money that had vanished over the years.

“Junlian, what do you want to eat? Your big brother will make it for you tomorrow!” Jiang Feng said, moved and brimming with zeal, wishing he could rush into the kitchen and prepare a dish for Jiang Junlian right then.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Big brother, I want to eat Sweet and Sour Yam while watching TV tomorrow afternoon!”

“Are six plates enough? Big brother will make six plates for you!”

“That’s enough, thank you, big brother! Oh, and I have some green tea-flavored sunflower seeds in my room. I’ll bring them out for us to share tomorrow afternoon!”

Such a heartwarming scene of sibling affection.

Totally outmaneuvered by Jiang Junlian’s antics, Jiang Zaidi and Jiang Shoucheng exchanged looks, realizing their earlier missteps, and hurriedly tried to make amends.

“Ah, little brother, it’s my fault. What nonsense I was spouting. There’s nothing enjoyable about shredded radish. Here, eat this beef jerky that Mr. Ma just gave me!”

“Yes, little brother, I wasn’t thinking straight just now. Who eats greens during the New Year? Eat some pork jerky. This is the pork jerky Mr. Gao made himself!”

“Oh dear, little brother, I just remembered. When I went to Uncle Sanfuzi’s place, he gave me…”

Brotherly love and respect.

By the end of the New Year’s Eve dinner, Jiang Feng hadn’t eaten much of the dishes, but he had filled his stomach with plenty of snacks.

Because dinner started early this year, the evening entertainment program had just begun by the time they were nearing the end of their meal. The Jiang family found it rare to watch the program with clear mouths, but everyone was accustomed to the unease of not nibbling on something during the show.

Therefore, they casually snacked on this and that, and before they knew it, the coffee table was covered with sunflower seeds, peanuts, small cookies, various candies, and an assortment of meat snacks.

Mrs. Jiang, due to her poor dentition which kept her from joining the challenging activity of eating sunflower seeds, grabbed a handful of candy and watched the show on TV with a contented, squinty smile.

This year’s New Year’s Eve dinner revealed Jiang Feng’s most significant finding: Mr. Jiang Jiankang’s penchant for sweets was likely inherited from Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang is generally silent when she eats, and if one doesn’t pay close attention, it’s hard to discern what and how much she has eaten. But, with careful observation like Jiang Feng’s, one would discover that over 70% of what Mrs. Jiang consumes in a day is sweet.

Before the meal, Mrs. Jiang had a small dish of double-sweetened Sweet and Sour Yam made especially for her by Jiang Feng. After the meal, despite her poor teeth, Mrs. Jiang bravely nibbled on three large pieces of Sweet and Sour Yam. After dinner, she sat on the sofa with candy in her mouth, staring intently at the TV.

Jiang Feng even suspected Mrs. Jiang’s smile was not because of the enjoyable Spring Festival Gala but because of the delicious candy in her mouth.

If he hadn’t miscalculated earlier, Mrs. Jiang alone had consumed seven chocolates in this short period of time.

They say women are made of water; the Jiang Family women might be made of greasy water, but Mrs. Jiang is most likely made of sugar water.

When Mrs. Jiang began eating her ninth chocolate, Jiang Feng started to doubt whether her past weight gain was due to eating meat or instead from consuming sugar. Her poor dental health wasn’t due to old age but rather cavities.

How had he not noticed before that his grandmother loved sugar so much?

Could it be because her acting skills were too good?

Jiang Feng fell into deep contemplation, his gaze growing vacant.

“Feng, are you feeling sleepy?” Mrs. Jiang asked with a smile while stealthily popping the eleventh piece of chocolate into her mouth.

“Huh?”

“If you’re sleepy, go have a shower and head to bed. You’ve worked hard all day and deserve to rest now. Leave your uncle and the others to stay up for the midnight fireworks,” Mrs. Jiang said.

“No need, Grandma, I’m not…”

“Eh? Who ate all the chocolate? Who ate all the chocolate I just left here?” Jiang Junlian looked utterly baffled.

Jiang Feng looked toward Mrs. Jiang, only to see her casually sweeping the candy wrappers from in front of her onto the floor, then she spoke, “All the things were together. Maybe someone wasn’t paying attention when they took them. If you want some chocolate, Junlian, there’s more in my room. Do you want me to get it for you?”

“No need, Grandma, I was just asking. I have more chocolate in my room; I’ll go get it,” Jiang Junlian replied with a sweet smile to Mrs. Jiang.

“Strange, who ate all the chocolate? There were over a dozen pieces,” Jiang Junlian murmured to herself.

Jiang Feng: …

He knew why he had never noticed all these years that Mrs. Jiang loved sweets.

He also knew why, despite the fact that Sir was such a stern, upright, and serious person, all the Jiang descendants loved to act.

The real actors always blend seamlessly into the crowd.

It’s just that occasionally there might be slight oversights, such as sweeping candy wrappers to the feet of the person next to you.

Jiang Feng quietly bent down and picked up two chocolate wrappers that Mrs. Jiang had just swept to his feet. He crushed them in his hand to destroy the evidence.

“Ding, you have obtained [A Segment of Zhao LanHua’s Memory].”

Zhao LanHua? Who is Zhao LanHua? The name sounds somewhat familiar, as though he had heard it somewhere…

The next second, Jiang Feng looked at Mrs. Jiang with a face full of terror.

Those who truly loved sweets left their memories attached to chocolate wrappers.

“Feng, what’s wrong?” asked Mrs. Jiang.

“Nothing, Grandma, I just suddenly felt very tired. I’m going to take a shower and go to sleep,” said Jiang Feng as he stood up, ready to slip away.

“Rest well. I’ll make pancakes for you in the morning,” Mrs. Jiang said, popping another candy into her mouth.