Chapter 886: Extra 5: Marriage Proposal (Part 1) Chapter 886: Extra 5: Marriage Proposal (Part 1) Before anyone realized it, Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi’s wedding became the top gossip news for everyone at Taifeng Building.

Probably because there simply weren’t any other hot topics to talk about recently.

Xiaxia went to Taste House to learn the craft, Ji Yue and Zhang Guanghang’s relationship was stable, and those two didn’t look like they’d marry early. Mr. Sun still occupied the coveted position of top-tier golden bachelor in the kitchen, devoted to cooking and not interested in romance. Zhang Xi was busy juggling her culinary skills and studies, staying far away from any gossip.

Initially, people would just occasionally mention why Jiang Feng and Mr. Wu hadn’t progressed to the next step, until Jiang Zaidi and He Yueru suddenly hand-in-hand succeeded in their engagement and set their wedding date, becoming the first among the younger Jiang family generation to snag a wife, and the situation changed.

Not only would Jiang Jiankang stare at Jiang Feng with a look of disappointment during lunchtime, but Wang Xiulian would also often talk to him with a tone that suggested she was just sharing some gossip, mentioning who’s son got married or who’s daughter was pregnant, the kind of hints Jiang Feng could understand.

After some time, someone spread the news that Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi had reached the engagement stage. This directly led to an incident where, at a culinary exchange, Melon King Pei Shenghua intercepted Jiang Feng to ask when exactly he planned to marry Wu Minqi.

For Pei Shenghua, the marriage of Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi was not only a big deal for the culinary world but also a major event for him as the matchmaker.

Round it up, and he was the matchmaker after all.

When he was asked, Jiang Feng felt as though he could see the invisible melon in Ling Guangzhao’s hand not far away, staring intently at him.

Jiang Feng: …

Spend your days watching the drama, and eventually, you’ll become the drama yourself.

“Soon, soon,” was all Jiang Feng could say.

Amidst the chorus of “soon, soon,” Jiang Zaidi was getting married.

Yes, that quickly.

In order to fit into a tailored suit for his wedding, Jiang Zaidi stopped taking orders, uninstalled all food delivery apps from his phone, started eating fat-reducing meal plans with precise calorie counts prepared by his own father, and enjoyed the same gym as his mother.

In just half a year, Brother De slimmed down unprecedentedly from 240 pounds to 180, reverting to his high school days and donning a custom-made suit in preparation for stepping into the grave of marriage.

It turned out that the Jiang men, to get married, would indeed do anything.

To celebrate Brother De’s success in losing weight, and also to congratulate him on his upcoming smooth marriage, Jiang Feng decided to take an afternoon and an evening out of his busy schedule to treat his three elder cousins, and simultaneously strategize and advise on his own imminent wedding.

After finishing his master’s degree, Jiang Ran did not pursue a Ph.D. but became an ordinary accountant at Taifeng Building.

In Jiang Ran’s words, his master’s degree wasn’t that high-level, especially not impressive to top companies. Although being an accountant at Taifeng seemed like an underuse of his potential, how could he not accept it when his master’s direction was more management than finance? Moreover, Taifeng didn’t need to settle billions like some coffee chain–it was not listed, it didn’t take loans or engage in other shenanigans. The accounts were clear, and the financial situation was good; truly an accountant’s paradise.

But Jiang Ran had his own theory, which, in his words, meant working at other companies that seemed to make more efficient use of one’s skills wouldn’t be enough to afford a few good meals at Taifeng Building. Family members should settle accounts clearly–apart from family gatherings, even if relatives eat at the restaurant, they have to pay, just like Jiang Feng and Wu Minqi have their pay docked if they’re late for work. If he worked at Taifeng Building as an accountant, he could have Taifeng Building’s staff meals every day, which, if rounded up, would be a huge gain.

Upon hearing this, De quite admired Jiang Ran’s insight and almost wanted to quit his job on the spot to ask Jiang Feng if Taifeng Building needed a designer.

By the way, the sisters Jiang Junlian and Jiang Junqing did not score high enough on their college entrance exams to get into their preferred universities in Beiping, one ending up in the central region and the other in the south, hence the separation and farewell to delicious food.

To prepare for Jiang Feng’s meal, Jiang Shoucheng had taken half a day off. He hadn’t even had lunch when he rushed back and waited outside Jiang Feng’s kitchen, ready at any moment.

“Cheng, you’re about due for a promotion, aren’t you?” Jiang Shoucheng had just arrived when Jiang Feng was still chopping vegetables, not even starting on the meat.

“It’s still early days; I’ve just recently become a regular employee. Of all those who started with me, only two of us remained, and I survived mainly because Director Zhong helped me out.” Jiang Shoucheng simply brought a chair and sat at the kitchen door, “Not many want to go to the ER, but I think the ER is pretty good. Look, Director Zhong is so amiable, and Dr. Cao is also nice–they even saved Granduncle Weiming’s life. Dr. Lu may be a bit of that but is still a good person, and Sun Huihui and the others go without saying, I’ve rotated through many departments and felt the most at ease in the ER.”

“It’s a bit busy and the pay isn’t much, but our family isn’t too concerned about that anyway. My dad’s resettlement money is still being saved for me to buy a house.”

Jiang Feng: …

If it weren’t for that last sentence, he might have marveled at how open-minded Cheng was.

“Your uncle hasn’t bought a house yet? The housing prices have gone up quite a bit in the past two years,” Jiang Feng asked curiously.

“He has, but it’s in Alan City. Since we’re all in Beiping now and only go back during the New Year, my dad is thinking of selling the house in Alan City and taking out a loan to buy a smaller one in Beiping. I’m used to sleeping in the dorm, so it doesn’t bother me much, but my dad always feels uncomfortable renting.”

“My dad feels the same.” Jiang Feng echoed, “The past few years, we couldn’t afford to buy a house because we were paying back the money we owed uncle. Just last month, when we finally finished paying off the debt, my parents started contemplating buying a house.”

“Isn’t this neighborhood nice? Could it be that your uncle has his eye on another area?”

“It’s nice, but we can’t afford it because the prices here are too high.” Jiang Feng vented his financial woes.

“Actually, I think there’s no rush for either of our families; it’s only our elder uncle and his wife who are in a hurry,” Jiang Shoucheng said.

“Why?” Jiang Feng asked as he put the diced tomatoes on a plate.

“Isn’t De getting married? According to our customs back home, you need to have a wedding house. I heard from my dad that our elder uncle had his eye on a house in an old neighborhood last year and wanted to buy it, but De insisted on waiting, and now it still hasn’t been decided.” Jiang Shoucheng explained.

“Why?” Jiang Feng was puzzled.

“I don’t know, but De just keeps saying it’s not the right time yet; maybe he’s waiting for a new development to open up.” Jiang Shoucheng speculated.

The brothers chatted sporadically like this until the meat was put into the pot to cook, and just then, Jiang Ran and Jiang Zaidi also arrived.

Jiang Zaidi had been scrimping for over half a year for his wedding, and as soon as he walked in and smelled the savory meat, his eyes brightened.

“Bro, what are we having for dinner tonight?”

“Eight-treasure chicken, pigeon stuffed with swallows, pan-fried baby lamb chops, a medley of seasonal vegetables, and radish pork rib soup,” Jiang Feng said. “Mom said you haven’t been looking so good lately, De, so she told me to cook you something nourishing. The lamb chops are a new dish I learned from Old Zhang in the past few days, it might not be perfect, so please don’t mind.”

“We don’t mind, we don’t mind,” Jiang Zaidi, Jiang Shoucheng, and Jiang Ran said in unison.

Kidding me, Jiang Feng is now the master chef of our family, how could we possibly mind.

Even if it were C-grade whole roasted lamb, they wouldn’t mind.

It wasn’t a lot of dishes, apart from the eight-treasure chicken and pigeon stuffed with swallows, the rest were just simple home cooking. The only reason Jiang Feng had been so busy was that there were only two stoves at home; in a professional kitchen, he could have prepared the dishes in half the time.

There was no need for Jiang Feng to serve; while he was watching the soup, the other three had already diligently set the table, poured the cola, and dished up the rice. And when the soup was ready, Jiang Shoucheng didn’t even wait for Jiang Feng; he carefully moved the radish pork rib soup from the kitchen to the dining table while Jiang Feng was washing his hands.

Everything was ready, time to dine.

Jiang Zaidi, who had been nibbling on grass for half a month, looked at the sumptuous dishes on the table, his eyes moistened.

Even the tip of his nose felt a little sour.

Jiang Zaidi blinked, wiping away non-existent tears, his heart filled with emotion.

Indeed, his little brother still loved him.

All his hard work over the years hadn’t been in vain, his savings hadn’t gone to waste.

From now on, he would surely be able to mooch off his brother’s meals anytime!

No need for words when the meal started; Jiang Feng picking up his chopsticks was the signal to begin. The four brothers first buried their heads and ate their fill, only starting to chat leisurely amidst the meal.

“By the way, De, I heard from Cheng that you haven’t bought your new house yet, is there something special about buying a new house?” While the other three were still battling for the eight-treasure chicken and lamb chops on the table, Jiang Feng leisurely began to drink his soup.

“Ah, nothing special, and my dad and your dad have already picked one out.” Jiang Zaidi’s mouth was still full of chicken, so his words were a bit muffled.

“My dad?” Jiang Feng was confused.

“Yeah,” Jiang Zaidi swallowed the meat and lifted his head, “Brother, isn’t it a coincidence? Just so happens that your dad and my dad fancied the same neighborhood, adjacent units on the same floor. You and Minqi are almost there too, aren’t you? Your dad has started to prepare to buy you a wedding house.”

“We could be neighbors in the future~” Jiang Feng could even hear the lilt at the end of that sentence.

“Ah…” Jiang Feng hadn’t expected the conversation to turn to him, nor had he expected Jiang Jiankang and Mrs. Wang Xiulian to be so anxious; he hadn’t even proposed yet, and they had already picked out his new house.

“Tha…that really is quite a coincidence,” Jiang Feng wasn’t sure what to say.

Jiang Zaidi just nodded outwardly, but inside he was thinking how much effort he had put into making this “coincidence” happen.

But looking at the dishes on the table and thinking about his happy life ahead, Jiang Zaidi felt all the effort was worth it.

His hair hadn’t fallen out for nothing!

Jiang Ran and Jiang Shoucheng didn’t pick up on the implications in Jiang Zaidi’s words, so after agreeing that it was indeed a coincidence, they continued to focus on their food.

Jiang Ran worked at Taifeng Building, and because he was Jiang Feng’s cousin, lots of people asked him about the gossip that Jiang Feng shared, but he knew nothing and was just another spectator enjoying the show.

“Right, Feng, since De is about to get married, don’t you and your Minqi need to…”

“Cough, cough, cough.” Jiang Feng coughed a few times, his expression serious, “Actually, I invited you guys for a meal because I wanted to ask for your advice.”

“There’s something about me and Minqi…,” in a state of nervousness, Jiang Feng took another sip of the soup.

As someone who had seen plenty of real-life domestic dramas in the emergency room lately, Jiang Shoucheng instantly had a dreadful thought and blurted out.

“Little brother, you haven’t fallen for someone else, have you? I’m telling you, you really shouldn’t, uncle and grandpa would absolutely kill you for that,” Jiang Shoucheng exclaimed.

“Pfft, cough cough cough cough cough cough…” Jiang Feng almost choked on the soup.

“What the heck, Cheng, what are you even saying? I just don’t know how to propose to Minqi, I’ve had the engagement ring for several years now, that’s why I wanted to ask for your advice today, and here you go talking all kinds of nonsense!”

Jiang Shoucheng smiled sheepishly and handed a napkin to Jiang Feng.

“It’s just that there have been quite a few cases at our ER recently, husbands cheating and then getting chopped up by their wives and brothers-in-law and landing in the hospital. I just said it offhandedly, don’t take it to heart, really, don’t take it to heart.”

“Several years?” Jiang Zaidi caught the slip in Jiang Feng’s words, “You and Minqi haven’t even been dating for that many years, have you?”

Jiang Zaidi was surprised; he hadn’t realized his little brother was such a forward planner, having bought the engagement ring already at the start of the relationship.

“Cough cough cough cough cough cough…”

Jiang Feng felt that inviting his three cousins for this meal might have been a mistake from the start.