The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 534: Chapter 532: Returning Home in Glory

Jiang Feng was actually quite idle during the Chinese New Year period.

Though it might sound ungrateful to say this, Jiang Feng thought it was somewhat monotonous but nice not having to work or wake up early, sleeping in every day and lazing in bed as a happy fatty, not being urged by Sir to practice cooking in the kitchen, not having to tutor his younger female cousins while being able to enjoy the flattery they showered on him, and having the luxury of eating meals personally cooked by Sir.

He always felt something was missing.

Perhaps, deep down, Jiang Feng was just a person who loved to work.

Just as Jiang Feng was pondering whether he should find something to do to make his leisurely holiday less relaxed, Mrs. Wang Xiulian packed him up and took him back to her mother’s home.

Every year when Jiang Feng visited his grandmother to wish her a happy new year, he would stay over for a day, except for last year. Last year was an exception because, in a moment of folly, he signed up for the Good Taste culinary competition under Taifeng Building’s name, and was caught by the two Sirs for a devilish pre-competition training, which is why he went and returned on the same day.

If nothing unexpected happened this year, Jiang Feng should be staying at his grandmother’s house for a few more days. With the Jiang Family having so many joyful events this year, Mrs. Wang Xiulian surely had to take her husband and children back to her parents’ home to share the good news and, incidentally, to show off in front of her two sisters-in-law.

Jiang Feng felt that if Mrs. Wang Xiulian were to play in a local drama, she would undoubtedly be the vindictive sister-in-law to a kind-hearted female protagonist, one who takes an eye for an eye and believes that doubling her happiness could be achieved by building it on the pain of others. Not only did she want to trample those who had wronged her under her feet, but she also wanted to grind her heels into their faces to make them see how expensive the shoes she wore really were.

On the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, Mrs. Wang Xiulian, with her husband, children, and a plethora of bags and packages, boarded the bus to her mother’s home.

Because Mrs. Wang Xiulian took quite some time packing things, the three of them only had a few seats left in the back row when they arrived at the bus terminal.

The highway was old and in disrepair, and was pitted with large and small holes caused by the to-and-fro traffic of heavy trucks. Jiang Feng, holding the small package Mrs. Wang Xiulian had given to him, sat in the last row feeling as though he were on a trampoline.

Sitting to Jiang Feng’s right, Mr. Jiang Jiankang was on the brink of bouncing out his breakfast dumplings.

“Wife, what were you packing this morning? If you hadn’t insisted on bringing these two bags, we might have gotten seats at the front,” said Jiang Jiankang, referring to the bags he and Jiang Feng were holding.

“How would I be able to go back to my parents’ home today without these two bags?” Mrs. Wang Xiulian felt that her year’s hard work was all for the contents of the two bags, “Hold them tight, don’t let them get scattered. These are for our ancestors to burn.”

Jiang Feng instantly understood what was in the bag he was holding.

The Wang family had a peculiar tradition; if a descendant did something that could be considered an honor for the family, they had to make photocopies of any documents proving such achievements and burn them at the ancestors’ grave.

Every year during Qingming Festival and the Chinese New Year, the Wang family ancestors would always receive photocopies burnt by their descendants.

Getting into a prestigious university meant copying the acceptance letter to burn at the gravesite, graduating with a master’s or doctorate meant doing the same with the diploma, and even buying a house in the county required a copy of the property deed to be burnt at the gravesite.

When Jiang Feng got into UAL University that year, Mrs. Wang Xiulian had copies of his acceptance letter burnt at over a dozen graves, without missing a single one.

Carefully, Jiang Feng unzipped a small opening of the bag in his hands, wanting to peek at the photocopies inside.

“Son, don’t touch it! The contents are arranged in order, don’t mess them up when you open it,” Mrs. Wang Xiulian placed great importance on the photocopies that Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang were holding.

Jiang Feng could do nothing but hold the bag obediently and continue riding the trampoline.

After being bounced around on the minibus for several hours, and despite some smooth sections along the way, the journey was mostly jolting, and Jiang Feng felt all his bones were about to disintegrate.

When he got off the bus, his legs felt a bit wobbly.

Maybe it was because his eyes were still blurry, and he might have been hallucinating, otherwise he wouldn’t have thought that the old lady in front of him, holding two bags and with silver hair, looking thin and petite in a down jacket, was his grandmother.

At this time, his grandmother would surely be at home washing and cutting meat, waiting for them to return. Why would she come to the bus station to pick them up?

Then, Jiang Feng felt that his hallucination was getting worse, as he thought that the slightly sturdier, severely balding, slightly stooped old man beside the thin small old lady might be his grandfather.

“Mom, those two elderly people up ahead, the old man and old woman, look just like grandpa and grandma!” Jiang Feng exclaimed, pointing.

Jiang Jiankang followed the direction Jiang Feng was pointing and said with surprise, “Really, wife, they do look a bit like your father and mother from this distance.”

Mrs. Wang Xiulian only wished she wasn’t holding so much, so she could have given Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang a flick on the forehead each: “What resemblance, that’s them!”

With that, Mrs. Wang Xiulian strode forward: “Jiankang, Feng, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and go over there!”

Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang were momentarily stunned, then quickly followed suit, the father and son unusually in perfect agreement:

“What kind of day is today that even Grandpa and Grandma, father-in-law and mother-in-law are startled into action.”

Jiang Feng’s grandparents were smiling from ear to ear as they watched the three of them approach, and it was only after Jiang Feng got closer that he realized his grandparents were actually holding bags full of firecrackers.

With two bags in each hand, they had a total of eight large bags of firecrackers.

Jiang Feng thought, could there really be some happy event, like a cousin getting married?

Apart from marriage, Jiang Feng could not think of any other occasion that would bring the elderly couple to the streets to buy so many firecrackers.

“Dad, Mom, did just the two of you go to the street? Didn’t Big Brother and Second Brother accompany you?” Wang Xiulian asked.

“Your Second Brother is at home preparing the joss paper, and the eldest went to buy firecrackers. We thought you would be arriving soon, so we just walked over,” Jiang Feng’s grandmother said with a beaming smile.

Then Jiang Feng saw his eldest uncle, carrying three bags in one hand, jogging over with six large bags of firecrackers in total.

Jiang Feng: …

Alright, now there are fourteen large bags of firecrackers.

At the bus station, there were shuttle vans specifically to take people to the entrance of their village with the fare based on the distance, costing fifteen yuan per person for Jiang Feng and his group.

Jiang Jiankang sat in the passenger seat while the others squeezed into the back. Once everyone was aboard, the driver shut the door—which might as well have been soldered shut—and they set off.

“Grandma, is there some kind of celebration at home this year? Why did you, Grandpa, and Eldest Uncle buy so many firecrackers?” Jiang Feng couldn’t help asking after boarding.

Jiang Feng’s grandmother looked at him with smiling eyes filled with irrepressible joy, “Of course, there’s a celebration! Isn’t your return the biggest celebration of all?”

“Huh?” Jiang Feng was utterly confused.

“Yes, yes, Feng, you placed second in the national competition this year, appeared on TV, were mentioned in newspapers, and featured in magazines. Isn’t that a huge celebration?” his eldest uncle said excitedly. “The Wang family hasn’t had such a big celebration in many years!”

Although the Wang family was large, there weren’t many occasions worth burning offerings to the ancestors during the New Year. Jiang Feng remembered the last time they did something like this was when one of his cousins graduated with a Ph.D. from a well-known institution. For that occasion, this cousin’s father, one of Jiang Feng’s uncles, specifically hired a chef and hosted a grand feast for the family on the sixth day of the New Year with more than a dozen tables.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

It was on that day that Jiang Feng was plied with so much drink by his uncles that he got completely drunk.

Remembering this episode, Jiang Feng even felt a bit dizzy.

Wait a second, the feast.

Jiang Feng’s expression tightened, realizing there was more to it than just fourteen bags of firecrackers.

“Eldest Uncle, don’t tell me you…”

“With such a grand happy event, of course, the whole family should celebrate together,” the eldest uncle said, beaming with joy.

Jiang Feng: …

“Mom…” Jiang Feng felt maybe there was still a chance to salvage the situation.

“Brother, did you hire Master Jiang or Master Wang?” Wang Xiulian asked.

“Definitely Master Wang, his cooking is the most famous in all the eight surrounding villages. Who else would we hire if not him?” the eldest uncle said proudly.

Jiang Feng: …

It seemed he would find it very difficult to get through today with a clear head.