The Game of Life TGOL

Chapter 514: Chapter 512 Honey Glazed Grilled Lamb Chops

Time: Lunar New Year’s Eve, 4:57 p.m.

Location: Sir’s living room.

Characters: All the Jiang Family members, except for Jiang Feng and Sir.

Event: Discussing what to eat tonight.

The Jiang Family members were all adept at making dumplings, not only eating them quickly but also wrapping them swiftly, maintaining a self-sufficient small farm economy over the years. What seemed like large basins of dumpling filling would only take a few hours to wrap with everyone working together.

Just recently, they smelled a wonderfully strange aroma.

The scent wafted from the kitchen, through the courtyard, diluted somewhat by the howling cold wind, before reaching the living room and being detected by the Jiang Family members—diminished but no less enchanting.

It was the fresh scent of mutton, carrying a hint of gaminess that didn’t mar the overall pleasure but rather enhanced it. The aroma was mutton yet more than mutton, intertwined with miscellaneous fragrances that weren’t like spices or vegetables, leaving even Jiang Jianguo, the family’s most skilled at identifying dishes by smell, unable to discern what it was exactly.

In short, it was an unprecedented and wonderful aroma.

“Dad, have you figured out what dish it is?” Unable to identify it himself, Jiang Zaidi sought help within the room.

Jiang Jianguo furrowed his brow and turned to look at Jiang Jiankang, who shook his head toward Jiang Jianguo. Without a word exchanged between the brothers, everything was understood.

Jiang Jianye, a frequent loafer in the field of culinary sniffing, pretended to ponder and declared, “Seems like this year’s culinary contest won’t be easy.”

Jiang Zaidi: …

Jiang Zaidi realized that his father wasn’t reliable at the crucial moment and that he had to rely on himself. Taking a deep breath and preparing to analyze the aromatic components himself, he was surprised to find that the smell had vanished.

In the kitchen, Jiang Feng followed Sir’s instructions to place sixteen pots of Morshock on the stove, stacking them like steaming buns to keep them warm. Whatever preparation methods were used during the course of making this mutton offal dish, they all converged in the end: Pour the mutton soup and slowly simmer on low heat.

If Jiang Zaidi stepped into the courtyard and moved closer to the kitchen, he would understand that the wonderful scent everyone had smelled was actually a combination of various dishes—the stewed knuckle in the clay pot, the broth in the big pot, the Morshock in the steamer, and the lamb chops Sir was smoking. With so many fragrances mixed together, even deities would be challenged to distinguish them.

The honey-glazed lamb chops were an impromptu addition by Sir. After all, what was abundant in a rural stove was the always-burning firewood, easily rigged into a makeshift barbecue grill. Sir meticulously managed the fire control and turned the pre-chopped, marinated lamb chops brushed with honey water as they slowly roasted over low heat.

Jiang Feng watched layer upon layer of honey water being brushed on the lamb chops; part of it bubbled with the sizzling fat, while the rest seeped into the meat under the influence of the heat. The high temperature gradually cooked the meat, changing its color from the inside out, from raw to cooked, with the sizzling sound filling the entire kitchen.

At 6 PM, the lamb chops were ready.

As is well known, barbecue-style food should be eaten hot.

Jiang Feng decided to lead by example and taste test the seasoning for everyone.

“Grandpa, I’ll try it first,” Jiang Feng picked up a lamb chop.

Sir didn’t object, which was akin to approval.

The lamb chops that were roasted first had been sitting for a while but had not cooled down due to the high temperature near the heat source; they were just at the right temperature. Since the lamb had been pre-marinated, Sir had not brushed anything on it except honey water during roasting. Up close, it was the aroma of roasted meat.

The exterior was crispy, the inside tender.

It only took two bites for a lamb chop to be devoured.

After eating one, Jiang Feng was still not quite satisfied and went on to eat three more until his mouth was filled with the taste of lamb. Even as his tongue swept over the surface of his teeth, he could taste the remnants of the honey-glazed lamb chops.

“Once you’re done eating, take the rest out to them; lamb chops should be eaten while they’re hot,” said Sir.

Jiang Feng picked up the basin holding the lamb chops, and incidentally, the Jiangs didn’t lack anything except pots and pans; as long as you wished, you could find any desired bowls and basins from various places.

“Grandpa, aren’t you eating?” Jiang Feng asked out of filial concern.

“No,” Sir replied, “bring back some dumplings later and cook them. After the dumplings go into the pot, start preparing the crispy apples. We’ll have dinner early this year.”

“Alright, Grandpa!” Jiang Feng went out with the basin.

As soon as Jiang Feng stepped out of the kitchen with a basin of freshly roasted honey-glazed lamb chops, the Jiang Family members in the living room, who were looking at the dumplings to stave off hunger, caught the scent.

One by one, they instantly sat up from their near-death stupor, like fat zombies catching a whiff of humans.

“What’s that smell? It’s so good!” Jiang Zaidi’s food-sniffing radar started beeping.

“Lamb chops, definitely lamb chops, and they’re honey-glazed! The lamb chops I had during my final exam smelled just like this!” exclaimed Jiang Junlian.

“Junlian, you must be mistaken. Your brother said your grandpa isn’t making lamb chops and roast legs this year,” Jiang Jianshe started to pour cold water on his daughter’s excitement.

“It’s definitely a mistake,” Jiang Ran, the first to flip-flop in the family, agreed.

Jiang Junlian glared at Jiang Ran, “It’s absolutely honey-glazed lamb chops! I purposely went to eat them during my finals; it’s the exact same aroma!”

Just as the sibling rivalry was about to erupt, Jiang Feng entered the living room with the basin, and all eyes fell on the basin in Jiang Feng’s arms.

Although Sir roasted quite a few lamb ribs, given the number of Jiang Family Members, the most each person could get was only two if they were divided equally.

“Honey-glazed lamb ribs. Grandpa just made them, said they’re best eaten hot, so he asked me to bring them out first. And Grandma, Grandpa said we might have dinner a bit early today,” Jiang Feng said.

“Yay, I guessed right! Dad, Grandma, Big Uncle, Second Uncle, Third Uncle, Fourth Uncle, does this count as me guessing one of the dishes right?” Jiang Junlian said excitedly as she jumped up from her chair, quickly grabbing a large rib from the bowl as she did.

“Of course it counts, Junlian is really impressive,” Mrs. Jiang said with a smile.

“Impressive indeed,” Jiang Zaidi said while gnawing on a rib, eyeing the bowl intently, embodying the phrase ‘to eat what’s in hand while eyeing what’s in the pot,’ “Grandpa’s roasted ribs are really delicious.”

After a day of hunger, the first bite of food was steaming hot lamb ribs gleaming with oil, rich in fat and protein. The feeling of happiness and satisfaction was self-evident.

“Feng, you’ve been busy all day too, you must be exhausted,” Mrs. Jiang said, not joining the major event of eating ribs due to her poor teeth.

“Grandma, Grandpa asked me to bring over some dumplings,” Jiang Feng said.

“Sure thing, Feng, wait a moment. Gran will pick them out, this side has leek fillings and the other side has radish fillings, don’t mix them up,” Mrs. Jiang said, getting up to fetch dumplings for Jiang Feng, “I’ll help you carry them over.”

“When you deliver the dumplings later, give Old Madam Li more dumplings with leek filling, she loves that,” Mrs. Jiang instructed, “How’s Grandpa doing? He’s been busy all day, hope he hasn’t tired himself out?”

“Grandpa’s fine. I did most of the heavy lifting; he isn’t tired,” Jiang Feng said.

“That’s good, oh my it’s cold now, and my old bones cannot stand this weather. I need to drink two bowls of lamb soup to warm up. Is the lamb soup ready?” Mrs. Jiang said, walking quickly while holding the dumplings.

“It’s ready, the Morshock is cooked too; they’re keeping warm in the pots,” Jiang Feng quickly said, keeping pace with Mrs. Jiang.

“What else is ready?” Mrs. Jiang asked.

Jiang Feng found it a bit strange but still truthfully answered, “That’s all, the pork knuckle is still stewing in the casserole, the Sweet and Sour Yam and Crispy Apple have not been started yet, Grandpa should be getting ready to make Garlic Braised Black Fish right now.”

“No vegetarian dishes?” Mrs. Jiang frowned, “How can we have a meal with only fish and meat, no veggies?”

“There are vegetarian dishes. The Smashed Cucumbers and Mixed Radish Strips are vegetarian,” Jiang Feng explained.

Mrs. Jiang nodded in satisfaction, “That’s more like it, we need some veggies. Isn’t there also some leafy greens? Feng, you fry up some greens later. Eating too much lamb can be too rich.”

After saying this, Mrs. Jiang carried the bowl into the kitchen.

To Jiang Feng’s surprise, Sir was not preparing ingredients for the Garlic Braised Black Fish; he was cutting apples.

“I’ll make the Crispy Apples; you start on the Sweet and Sour Yam after you finish boiling the dumplings,” Sir said.

Mrs. Jiang, familiar with the process, put down the dumplings and quickly scooped up a bowl of lamb soup before standing by the steamer without moving, sipping the soup and watching the steamer.

“Old man, which bowl is tastier?” Mrs. Jiang asked.

“The one with the blue rim. It’s stuffed sausage that’s been pan-fried, with added onions and cabbage, should be about ready now,” Sir replied.

Mrs. Jiang began skillfully scooping the dish.

Jiang Feng, who was boiling dumplings, was puzzled: ???Nôv(el)B\\jnn

“Feng, make sure to cut the yam into smaller pieces, your Grandmother’s teeth aren’t so great, too big and I can’t chew them,” Mrs. Jiang said, eating the sausage.

Jiang Feng: ???

Was it really an issue of size?

After all, the honorable yet arduous task of serving Crispy Apples these years had fallen to Mrs. Jiang because her poor teeth supposedly prevented her from snacking on them and made everyone accept this arrangement.

However, looking at things now, it seemed Mrs. Jiang was much more adept at sneaking snacks than anyone else.

Jiang Feng tried hard to recall and realized that when he was cooking Sweet and Sour Yam in the past, Mrs. Jiang did eat some, although sparingly and with apparent effort, which always seemed consistent with her story of having bad teeth, so no one had ever doubted her for a long time.

“So… Grandma, you… you can chew Crispy Apples?” Jiang Feng asked soulfully.

Mrs. Jiang’s practiced movements led him to believe she was an old hand at this, and he absolutely couldn’t believe it wasn’t so.

Who could have guessed that the most skilled at sneak eating in the Jiang family would be Mrs. Jiang!

“I can chew them just fine; it’s only an apple, what’s there to chew? Although I have bad teeth, they’re not that bad,” Mrs. Jiang said smilingly, once again looking at the steamer, “Old man, which other bowl is tasty?”

“Your Grandma doesn’t eat apples,” Sir said, “Try the one in the middle.”

“Feng, remember to cut them into smaller pieces,” Mrs. Jiang said with a smile, looking as if she were ordering a dish.

Jiang Feng: “…Yes, Grandma.”