The Game of Life

[A Well-Made Counterfeit Bill]

Jiang Feng did not take the money and, with an apologetic smile, said to the burly, bald man with an impatient face in front of him, "I'm sorry, sir, but I don't have any change left. I can't break a hundred."

"Can't break it?" The customer reluctantly took his money back and handed over a twenty-yuan note to Jiang Feng. After getting his change, he left the shop, still cursing under his breath.

"Feng, don't we have any small change in the box?" hearing the commotion in the shop, his mother, Mrs. Wang Xiulian, poked her head out of the kitchen to ask.

"It was counterfeit money." Jiang Feng expertly cleaned the table and arranged the chairs, ready to close for the day.

"Counterfeit?" Mrs. Wang Xiulian's smile disappeared in an instant, and even her double chin tightened into a single one as she said fiercely, "Who's that good-for-nothing trying to fool my son? Next time he dares to come, I'll teach him a lesson for you!"

Indeed, with Mrs. Wang Xiulian's stature, even a strong man like the one just now would likely be no match for her.

"Our son is a university student; he can't possibly be fooled by such people." Mr. Jiang Jiankang, Feng's real father, walked out of the kitchen with a shiny bald head, holding a dish with a big smile on his face and said, "Come on, son, your favorite Kung Pao chicken."

[A Plate of Greasy Kung Pao Chicken]

"I'm on a diet." Jiang Feng said expressionlessly, rejecting the offer as he began to ponder how to convince his dear father to install an air conditioner in the kitchen—an important mission.

Considering Mr. Jiang Jiankang's hefty weight of 240 pounds, working in the less than ten square meters kitchen in this season was indeed tough for him.

"Why on earth would you diet like other girls? My son could gain another hundred pounds and still not be overweight!" The proudest achievement in Mr. Jiang Jiankang's life was having a son who was tall and slim, improving the Jiang family's genes. His father had five sons, plus four grandsons and two granddaughters, and out of all of them, aside from the twin middle school daughters from the youngest son, only his son weighed under two hundred pounds.

Jiang Feng suddenly recalled the scene at his grandfather's house during New Year's, where a large round table could not fit seven people, and even with a separate table for the women and grandchildren, there still wasn't enough space. He decided to stay silent.

"Come on, eat some meat!" Mr. Jiang Jiankang placed a large piece of meat into Jiang Feng's bowl.

"That's right, listen to your father. Does my son need to diet?" Mrs. Wang Xiulian echoed.

Oh well, for the sake of fatherly love.

Jiang Feng resignedly picked up his chopsticks.

"Dad."

"Yes?"

"It's too hot these days. You should install an air conditioner in the kitchen."

…

After the meal, the Jiang family of three went on to tidy up the shop and clean the kitchen. Mrs. Wang Xiulian and Mr. Jiang Jiankang remained in the shop to check the ingredients, while Jiang Feng was ushered home to rest.

Before leaving, Jiang Feng did not forget to take a glance at their shop's sign.

[A Worn and Neglected Signboard]

With one turn, Jiang Feng could no longer see any hints like the annotations he'd seen before.

So, it really only shows up in our own shop, huh?

After two days of testing, Jiang Feng finally determined the range within which these strange annotations appeared.

"Ding, congratulations to player Jiang Feng for activating the game. The game is loading, please wait a moment."

A crisp female voice made Jiang Feng jump.

Approximately two minutes later, the crisp voice sounded again, "Loading complete. Please, player, check the panel and explore on your own. Strive to complete the tasks."

Jiang Feng noticed a small exclamation mark appear in the upper right corner. He couldn't help but reach out and click it, and to his surprise, an attribute panel really appeared.

Player Name: Jiang Feng

Level: 0 (0/100)

Remaining Experience: 0

Skills: Appraisal (Basic): You can only obtain some basic information

Main Quest: ??? (Players need to explore on their own)

Side Quests: None (Activated after choosing a main quest)

Achievements: None

Titles: None

Items: None

Evaluation: A rookie just starting out

Game Instructions:

1. This game offers a high degree of freedom; players are encouraged to explore on their own.

2. This game will not interfere with any choices made by players; players are encouraged to unlock achievements.

3. All explanations are owned by the game.

A game?

This attribute panel really does resemble one from a game.

Jiang Feng reached out and clicked the exclamation mark in the top right corner again, and the panel disappeared.

It looked interesting.

If he explored on his own...

Jiang Feng stood at his own doorstep, lost in thought.

Before he could sort out his thoughts, he was brought back to reality by Mrs. Wang Xiulian's loud voice.

"Feng, what are you doing standing at the door like a fool?" Mrs. Wang Xiulian asked from the stairwell entrance. She and Mr. Jiang Jiankang stood one behind the other at the turn of the small staircase, creating the impression of a blockade that water couldn't even flow through.

"Forgot my keys," he blurted out a nonsense excuse on impulse.

"You child, why didn't you call? How long have you been waiting?" Mrs. Wang Xiulian stepped forward to open the door, while Jiang Feng quickly stepped aside.

"Right, Dad, what did you think about what I just mentioned, installing an air conditioner in the kitchen?" Jiang Feng let Mr. Jiang Jiankang enter first, closing the door and asking as he did.

"No need for that, we've been fine all these years without an air conditioner. Your second uncle's clinic was demolished, he loaned us seventy thousand, and I bought a shop near your school. Once school starts, your mom and I will go there too," Jiang Jiankang said indifferently, beginning to fantasize about future life, "Think about it, if your mom and I move the restaurant there, you won't even need to eat at the cafeteria anymore. I've heard from your eldest cousin that college cafeterias are terrible now. Tomato stir-fry with mooncakes, is that even fit for human consumption? Your mom and I..."

Jiang Feng didn't even have time to ponder how Mr. Jiang Jiankang managed to buy a shop in such a prime location near the school just by borrowing seventy thousand from his second uncle, or how wealthy his family actually was, or whether he could afford to be a lazy homebody after college—a matter concerning his future fate—when he heard a familiar female voice.

"Ding, a new optional main quest discovered: [Rising Little Store]– Make the Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant reach a popularity of 100 at UAL University."

Their family's small restaurant was currently called Healthy Snacks.

"Dad, what do you plan to name the new shop?" Jiang Feng asked.

"Name?" Jiang Jiankang paused for a moment, then said with a chuckle, "Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant, how's that? Not bad, right! Your mom thinks this name is too plain, but that's exactly what we need for a stir-fry shop - a name that's straightforward and easy to understand. If we go for something too fancy, customers won't feel inclined to visit."

"Your uncle helped us find this shop, two floors totaling 180 square meters. We didn't have enough money and didn't want to take out loans, so we thought about looking around some more. But then your second uncle's clinic's demolition reimbursement came through just in time, lending us seventy thousand and it fit the bill perfectly. How lucky is that?"

Lucky, incredibly lucky.

Jiang Feng even started to suspect that this game had it all planned out.

"Your second uncle also bought a shop next to our restaurant. Now it's great, the five brothers are together in the same city again. Don't worry about the new shop, your uncle is overseeing the renovation and everything!"

Jiang Feng's few uncles had all worked in this small city, and including Jiang Feng, all four grandsons from the Jiang Family had graduated from the same elementary, middle, and high schools. As a kid, besides Jiang Feng, who had a normal physique, his three cousins were all tall and strong. When the four brothers were together, the local troublemakers never dared to mess with them.

Going back further, Jiang Feng's grandfather, Jiang Weiguo, was a cook in a state-owned restaurant before retiring, and even during the times of scarcity, he was the most noticeable among a crowd of thin people – the fat man. He raised Jiang Feng's grandmother, his father, and four uncles to become well-known fat individuals in the area, and even the daughters of Jiang Feng's youngest uncle showed signs of the Jiang Family's robust build.

Among the Jiang Family five brothers, apart from the third in line, Mr. Jiang Jiankang who took over from Jiang Weiguo, the rest branched out into different occupations after the state-owned restaurant closed. The eldest, Jiang Jianguo, became a tailor. Due to the poor business environment in the small city, he moved his tailor shop to Alan City several years ago and is now thriving. The second brother, Jiang Jiandang, opened a small clinic. The fourth, Jiang Jianye, and the youngest, Jiang Jianshe, jointly owned a pet store in Alan City.

Jiang Feng considered that his uncles, aunts, three male cousins, and two female cousins would likely often visit the family restaurant, and he understood Mr. Jiang Jiankang's earnest reasons for wanting a large premises.

In the living room, as Mr. Jiang Jiankang had already started dreaming about his future grandson taking over the Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant and expanding it, Mrs. Wang Xiulian, who had finished washing up, came into the living room disapprovingly interrupting him: "Go take a shower and get some sleep. You owe your second brother a big debt and you're here boasting with your son!"

Look at that, how ambitious Mrs. Wang Xiulian is.

Back in his room, Jiang Feng opened the attribute panel, which had now changed to —

Player Name: Jiang Feng

Level: 0 (0/100)

Remaining Experience: 0

Skills: Appraisal (Basic): You can only get some basic information

Main Quests: 1. (Optional) [Rising Little Store]– Make the Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant reach a popularity of 100 at UAL University[Select: YES/NO]

2. ??? (Please explore on your own)

Side Quests: None (Activated after selecting a main quest)

Achievements: None

Titles: None

Items: None

Evaluation: A greenhorn just starting out

Jiang Feng clicked yes, and the main quest changed to:

1. [Rising Little Store]– Make the Healthy Stir-fry Restaurant reach a popularity of 100 at UAL University, progress (0/100).

Quest Tip: Reputation is key for the development of a new shop, and popularity can only be gained amongst the teachers and students of UAL University.

Quest Reward: Unknown

Teachers and students, huh...

Jiang Feng had a profound understanding of Mr. Jiang Jiankang's culinary skills; after all, he was a former state-owned restaurant chef. School at UAL University would start in just a month, and Jiang Feng felt that this main quest was very achievable.

As for the invitation to explore on his own, he had a whole month to do just that.