Hidden Quest

Jiang Jiankang came home after a busy day. The moment he saw the pot of still-warm congee in the kitchen, his face turned green.

During the period when his son had become obsessed with cooking congee, Comrade Jiang Jiankang had suffered and rejoiced in equal measure. Jiang Feng had never shown much interest in cooking, and the years when he had seriously studied culinary arts had all been before ninth grade. Jiang Jiankang had once suspected that he would have no successor and could only pin his hopes on a future grandson.

Jiang Feng's sudden enthusiasm for making congee gave him hope again.

But why did it have to be congee?

How could a chef of the Jiang Family make congee his signature dish?

After drinking congee for several days in a row, Jiang Jiankang felt as though he had already finished all the congee he was meant to drink in this lifetime.

He sniffed it. Preserved Egg and Lean Pork Congee.

Fine. At least it had meat in it.

Resigned to his fate, Jiang Jiankang picked up a ladle and scooped out a spoonful.

Things were different now. They were deep in debt, and his son still did not know any better. They had to be frugal and could not waste food.

Hm, today's congee...

Jiang Jiankang stared into the pot with a look of surprise.

This was nearly as good as his eldest brother, Jiang Jianguo!

Though the Heat Control was lacking, there was nothing wrong with the proportions of the ingredients. One look was enough to tell that he had figured it out on his own, rather than blindly following those so-called online recipes.

The Jiang Family had a strict hierarchy when it came to culinary skills. Old Master Jiang Weiguo was undoubtedly at the top of the food chain, followed by Comrade Jiang Jiankang. Jiang Feng's four uncles were tied for third, while Jiang Feng barely counted as fourth. As for the other cousins, they did not even qualify to enter the food chain.

The congee Jiang Feng had made today meant that he had finally risen from last place to second-to-last!

Becoming tied for last place.

His son had finally shown some promise!

For a moment, Comrade Jiang Jiankang was overwhelmed with emotion.

"Son!" Comrade Jiang Jiankang did not even have time to drink his congee. He set down the ladle and rushed into Jiang Feng's room.

Jiang Feng had been sitting by the bed checking his status panel when Comrade Jiang Jiankang suddenly burst through the door, startling him so badly that he nearly fell off the bed.

"Come on, Dad will teach you how to cook!" Comrade Jiang Jiankang was brimming with heroic spirit, as though he wanted to pass on all his culinary skills to Jiang Feng right then and there.

Jiang Feng: ???

Dad, it's eleven at night. Get a grip!

After much persuasion, Jiang Feng finally talked Comrade Jiang Jiankang into drinking his congee first. He did not even have time to close the status panel. With words floating all over his face as he dealt with Comrade Jiang Jiankang, Jiang Feng nearly went cross-eyed.

Comrade Jiang Jiankang hugged the large pot with a pleased expression and gulped down congee, one mouthful after another. Even Comrade Wang Xiulian, who had been applying a face mask in her room, came out after catching wind of the commotion.

The enormous face mask, large enough to cover her entire face, was stretched taut. Comrade Wang Xiulian tilted her head back slightly and looked down at Jiang Jiankang. "Why is your dad going crazy in the middle of the night?"

"He said he wants to teach me how to cook," Jiang Feng said.

Wang Xiulian sighed, then patted Jiang Feng on the head so hard that she nearly knocked him silly. "Our family suddenly owes so much money. Your dad is under a lot of pressure too. Stop making congee. Look what you've driven your dad to—he can't even get a decent bite to eat every day, and he's gotten thinner."

In the kitchen, Comrade Jiang Jiankang remained broad-shouldered and round-waisted, his face full of flesh, with his neck and chin mysteriously merging into one.

No, wait. There seemed to be the tiniest bit of a neck.

Jiang Feng nodded, sighing over how difficult life was for his biological father.

"He really has lost so much weight! Mom, don't worry. I had my buddies promote our family's new restaurant in their social media circles. We definitely won't lose money!"

"Good son!" Wang Xiulian was greatly comforted and returned to her room to lie down and continue applying her face mask.

Ding. Achievement obtained: Learn Through Diligent Practice.

Ding. Hidden quest available for exchange: Pass Down Teachings and Receive Instruction.

The system notification sounded, and Jiang Feng hurried back to his room to check.

His status had changed to—

Achievements:

Diligent and Inquisitive (No attribute bonuses)

Not Ashamed to Ask (No attribute bonuses)

Learn Through Diligent Practice (No attribute bonuses)

Hidden quest available for exchange: Pass Down Teachings and Receive Instruction. Yes/No

Title: None

Items: None

Evaluation: A novice just starting out

After choosing to exchange them, the Achievements section was cleared, and a new Hidden Quests section appeared beneath the Side Quests section.

Hidden Quests: (Can be triggered under special circumstances)

Pass Down Teachings and Receive Instruction: Jiang Weiguo's greatest worry in life was that he had fathered five good-for-nothings who failed to inherit his craft, and those five good-for-nothings had gone on to produce four little good-for-nothings. Make a dish that earns Jiang Weiguo's approval. Quest progress: (0/1)

Quest hint: Jiang Weiguo is already over eighty and urgently needs an heir capable of carrying forward Jiang Family Cuisine. The player may seek Jiang Weiguo's guidance to complete the quest.

Quest reward: Unknown

Jiang Feng, one of the little good-for-nothings: ...

He had never known that his grandfather possessed such lofty ambitions to carry forward Jiang Family Cuisine.

When it came to Jiang Family Cuisine, Jiang Feng had often heard the old man talk about it while learning to cook at his place during winter and summer breaks as a child. Being a chef was a hereditary profession in their family. Going back seven or eight generations, they had all been chefs. It was said that a few imperial chefs had even emerged among them, though that could no longer be verified. Before the War of Resistance broke out, during the golden decade of the Republic of China, Jiang Feng's great-grandfather Jiang Chengde had truly brought Jiang Family Cuisine to prominence.

Before Jiang Chengde, Jiang Family Cuisine had always belonged to the Lu Cuisine tradition. During the Republic of China, the owner of the restaurant where Jiang Chengde worked moved the establishment to Beiping. In Beiping City, where masters of the four great culinary traditions gathered, Jiang Chengde absorbed the strengths of many schools and completely separated Jiang Family Cuisine from the single tradition of Lu Cuisine.

He had nearly reached the pinnacle that a chef could attain in that era without imperial chefs.

Jiang Weiguo had six older brothers, and every one of them was a better cook than the last. Any one of them, taken alone, was a master fit to cook state banquets.

Then, before Jiang Weiguo had finished learning Jiang Family Cuisine, all of them died alongside Jiang Chengde during the War of Resistance.

The legacy of Jiang Family Cuisine had effectively been cut off.

Before middle school, Jiang Feng had always thought that the Jiang Family's former glory was nothing more than exaggerated bragging from old Comrade Jiang Weiguo. Then, on his first day of middle school, he ate in the cafeteria.

Having eaten only food cooked by Jiang Weiguo and Jiang Jiankang since childhood, Jiang Feng was horrified. What kind of pig slop was this?!

It was even worse than the pig feed old Comrade Jiang Weiguo specially cooked for pigs!

Yet the students around him were eating happily.

At that moment, Jiang Feng finally realized how fortunate he was to have been born into the Jiang Family.

In Jiang Feng's heart, his great-grandfather was practically equivalent to an immortal.

And now old Comrade Jiang Weiguo hoped to find an immortal who could carry forward the half-lost Jiang Family Cuisine.

Jiang Feng had to admit that Jiang Weiguo truly was an old comrade with ideals, ambition, and a gift for dreaming.

But old Comrade Jiang Weiguo was currently immersed in raising pigs in the countryside, determined to provide the whole family with green, pollution-free pork. Where would he find the leisure to taste dishes made by a little good-for-nothing like him?

Impossible. Absolutely impossible.