The Game of Life

The next morning, Jiang Feng and Jiang Jiankang were packed off back to their mother’s family home by Mrs. Wang Xiulian.

Jiang Feng had only two uncles, but ever since he could remember, his family was distant with both uncles’ families, the kind of superficial relatives who would smile and greet you, yet turn expressionless the moment they looked away. However, he had a great relationship with his maternal grandparents. The situation with Mrs. Wang Xiulian’s family was the complete opposite of Mrs. Jiang’s; with a slew of sons, Wang Xiulian had over a dozen male cousins, while she was the only daughter at home, showered with love ever since she was a child. Before she dated Jiankang, she was a regular chubby girl weighing around 170 pounds at 5’7″. It was only after giving birth to Jiang Feng that her weight soared to 300 pounds.

Having too good a confinement diet also poses a sweet burden.

Xiulian’s parental home was in Lin County, inaccessible by high-speed train or EMUs, so they could only take a shuttle bus for the nearly three-hour trip. Due to the heavy traffic during the holiday season, the family arrived just in time for lunch when they set out early in the morning.

When Jiang Feng’s family arrived, the meal was not yet ready. His uncles and aunts were sitting in the dining room, cracking sunflower seeds and chatting away, while a few of his cousins sat together glued to their phones, ignoring each other.

“Dad, Mom, I’m back!” As soon as Wang Xiulian entered, she headed straight for the kitchen, completely ignoring her two brothers and sisters-in-law, with Jiankang following closely behind her.

“Hi Uncle, hi Second Uncle, and hello to both Aunties, happy New Year!” Jiang Feng greeted his uncles and aunts with a smile, conveniently ignoring his cousins as he walked into the kitchen.

“Hey, what’s up with Xiulian’s family, do they have a problem with us?” Second Aunt immediately sounded displeased.

“Didn’t Feng just wish you a happy New Year?” Second Uncle glanced at her as he continued to crack sunflower seeds, “Jiankang has come all this way to cook for us; you should be grateful, not unhappy. You better not eat when the meal’s

ready.”

Second Aunt fell silent.

“But in the last few years, Xiulian really has been indifferent to us. Well, it figures, she’s making money now and looks down on us poor relatives.” Aunt Li Hong said.

“That’s what we deserve, isn’t it? We all know very well what we’ve done,” said Uncle casually cracking seeds, as if he hadn’t just included himself in the insult.

Li Hong remained silent as well.

Although she kept quiet, she was seething inside! If asked who she loathed the most in her life, it would undoubtedly be her sister-in-law, Wang Xiulian. When she first married into the family, Xiulian was already working at the textile factory and never contributed her salary to the family expenses.

Anything good to eat or drink at home was reserved for her, with Li Hong, the sister-in-law, playing second fiddle. Even though Xiulian was as fat as a pig, she was fortunate enough to marry a chef from a state-run hotel. The wedding was spectacular, and the envy of everyone in the neighboring villages.

Later, when the textile mill shut down and the state-run hotel closed its doors, turning the once prosperous couple into unemployed refugees asking to borrow money from her in return. Those years were her moment in the limelight, always cutting Xiulian and her husband down to size whenever she saw them, dropping by their house regularly to take whatever she could. Even her husband, usually biased towards his sister, began to listen to Li Hong’s pillow talk, and the in-laws couldn’t help even if they wanted to, silenced by Li Hong’s influence.

Her sister-in-law had a sharp tongue but no brains. Without Xiulian to lord over them, Li Hong ruled the roost for a few years.

But who could have foreseen, in just a few years, Xiulian would make a triumphant comeback? The little rundown shop she opened somehow earned even more than before. She started to treat Li Hong indifferently, the mother-in-law would take every chance to insult her, and even her own husband began to harbor some resentment towards her.

Li Hong held resentments of her own; had she known Xiulian could make such a comeback and eventually go to Alan City to open a shop and get rich, she would have tolerated her for a few more years. That way, she could have benefited for a few more years. Not like now, displeasing both sides.

“I feel like Feng looks a bit sturdier than last year,” Second Uncle said to Uncle.

“Seems like he’s gotten a bit bigger,” Uncle nodded in agreement.

in the kitchen, Jiang Feng’s grandmother was stir-frying while his grandfather was chopping vegetables. As soon as Jiankang entered, he took over the stir-frying, and Jiang Feng naturally assumed the job of chopping vegetables, letting the two elders rest.

“Big Sister, Second Sister, you really shouldn’t be making the two of you cook. You both are over seventy!” Wang Xiulian complained.

“Those two? They’re beyond my control now. I can hardly even get my own son to listen to me; how could I dare command my daughters-in-law? Your two brothers are spineless, they’re real white-eyed wolves. I saw through them 20 years ago,” Grandma said with an annoyed tone.

Wang Xiulian knew what her mother was referring to. Twenty years earlier, when she and Jiankang wanted to start a business, Jiang Feng’s uncles were either just starting to work or still in school with no money. They gathered all their family savings to lend to them, which amounted to just 40,000 yuan, still 10,000 short of what was needed to open the store. She went back to her parental home to borrow money from her two brothers and their wives, who demanded a whopping fifty percent interest. Not only that, for the next two years, the two sisters-in-law would regularly come to their house to eat and take, always seizing the opportunity to insult them.

Later, the money was paid off, and so was the affection of many years. Her relationship with her two brothers was now even less intimate than with other male cousins.

Jiang Feng’s maternal grandparents were getting on in years, and their movements were slow. It took them over an hour to cook just three dishes in the kitchen. After Jiang Jiankang took over, the pace naturally picked up, and lunch was ready in just over half an hour.

Eight dishes and one soup, all simple and light homemade fare. There wasn’t much to talk about at the dinner table. It was always Wang Xiulian who chatted with her own parents, that is, Jiang Feng’s maternal grandparents. Every year Wang Xiulian would take Jiang Feng’s grandparents to her home for two months. As for her few brothers, she only saw them once a year; with grudges in her heart, naturally, there wasn’t much to say.

Jiang Feng’s two uncles were also quite the characters. When their sister spoke to them, they would respond with smiling faces, and when she didn’t, they contentedly focused on their meal. If Jiang Feng’s aunts openly or covertly took a jab at them, the two men would bluntly retort.

Jiang Feng’s two male cousins and one female cousin seemed to be fused with their mobile phones, barely lifting their eyes from the screens throughout the meal.

“Xiulian, your son-in-law and Feng should stay a few more days this time. Your whole family has moved to Alan City, and we two old bones can’t run around anymore,” the grandmother said with a smile.

“Mom, don’t worry. Jiankang and I will stay a few more days, and we’ll let him do the cooking. You and Dad, just take it easy. But Feng can’t stay, he’s got a competition to attend in April, so he has to go back today. I’ll let him come back to spend more time with you during the summer vacation,” Wang Xiulian said.

“Feng is doing well and can even take part in competitions? Do well and bring back a good result to tell your grandma!” The grandmother didn’t even ask what kind of competition it was and cheerfully encouraged.

Throughout the meal, Jiang Feng’s cousins did not utter a single word. After the meal, Wang Xiulian went to wash the dishes, while Jiang Feng, Jiang Jiankang, and Jiang Feng’s two uncles, the four men sat side by side cracking sunflower seeds, an incredibly harmonious scene.

“Brother-in-law, how’s business this year? Is your shop still busy?” Aunt Li Hong started the conversation.

“It’s alright; Feng has been helping us out so we don’t get too tired,” Jiang Jiankang continued to crack sunflower seeds without pausing and grabbed a handful of peanuts, “Big brother, are you still farming this year?’

“Not anymore, it’s too exhausting,” said the elder uncle.

To speak of it, Jiang Feng’s elder uncle was quite a character. With little education and an inability to keep up with schooling, he quit just after two years of primary school. But he was a master at farming and raising pigs. With the same seeds and similar land for crops, his harvest was always 10% higher than others. His vegetables tasted better than those of other households, and the pigs he raised were fatter and of better quality meat than others.

If it were a video game, Jiang Feng’s elder uncle would be the one who allocated all his leveling points to farming and raising pigs—a talented individual in these areas.

If this were a novel, then Jiang Feng’s elder uncle would be the legendary one who had received the Shennong System, capable of selling a kilogram of cabbage for an astronomical price of 88 yuan. However, a couple of years ago, there was a surplus of spinach, and the six mu of spinach in his uncle’s farm rotted in the fields. Forget 88 yuan per kilogram; no one would buy it for even eight cents.

Moreover, what’s the use of having a game system? Look at Jiang Feng; he was still being roughed up by the two old Sirs.

By mid-afternoon, Jiang Feng had to head to the town to catch a shuttle bus back. Before his departure, his grandmother stuffed a bag of homemade dried sweet potatoes into his hands. Jiang Feng tried one; it tasted strongly of sweet potato, but it was quite tough on the teeth.

He had only eaten one, and his cheeks were already sore from chewing. Carrying his grandmother’s love, Jiang Feng returned home to face the full extent of love from the two old Sirs.

On the shuttle bus, Jiang Feng sighed.

At twenty years old, he felt so tired..