National Tide 1980

Listening to Kang Shude's eloquent talk, Ning Weimin's thoughts were taken to the very distant past.

Unconsciously, there was something heavy in these stories that locked him in, making him feel the cruelty of fate and the depression of his mood.

The noise outside the bathhouse private room, the white skylight above his head, and even the steaming hot water could not make him feel relaxed and soothed.

To be honest, the two old men beside him who could be called mentors had too many similarities.

It not only refers to their age, values, and thinking patterns, but also their life experiences.

And he remembered Kang Shude's desolate scene when he just returned to Beijing.

Compared with how prosperous the old man's life is today, how miserable the old man's situation was in his memory.

Therefore, he could fully imagine what kind of sad state of mind Zhang Dashao would have when he returned to Beijing in embarrassment and faced with his hometown where things and people had changed and his unknown fate.

He even understood where Zhang Dashao's abilities came from and why he was not good at both Chinese and Western food.

I also understand why Kang Shude and Zhang Dashao, who have different personalities and similar preferences, can become close friends.

We are all in the same world, we share the same illness, and we care about each other. This is probably the main reason.

"Master, is Master Zhang in jail?"

"He's in jail. How could he talk to others in those days? He was impoverished and was brought back as a prisoner of war..."

"Then if he really goes to jail, he won't continue to be the prison warden's cook, right?"

Ning Weimin, who was soaking in the bathtub, couldn't help but lean out half of his body and asked anxiously because he was concerned about what happened to Zhang Dashao.

"Hey, I kind of let you guess half of it."

Kang Shude was very steady. As he spoke, he covered his face with a wet and hot towel.

"What is a celebrity chef? A real celebrity chef is not someone who is awarded the title. Someone has to recognize him. Master Zhang is the cook among chefs, and his skills are unparalleled. The difference in taste of the dishes he cooks can be seen as soon as you eat them. . You must know that his inherited skills are the hard work of several generations of the Zhang family. In the past twenty years, with his head in his arms, he continued to learn and make progress, integrating Chinese and Western food, and honing himself more and more. How can others reach the level of excellence? Therefore, he cooks the same dish better than others. Don't talk about high-end dishes such as 'Ziqi Donglai' and 'Ziqi Donglai', even a 'roasted cabbage', The 'roasted eggplant' was extraordinary. So although he was imprisoned after he came back, his skills on the stove saved him again. However, the warden's rank was too junior and he was not lucky enough to eat Master Zhang's food every day. . That guy was really smart and sent him as a gift to the receptionist’s house..."

"Reception officer?"

Ning Weimin still does not have a comprehensive understanding of what happened before liberation, so he inevitably has blind spots in knowledge. This term is quite new to him.

So the old man gave him a more detailed explanation.

"Yes, you have to know that when Master Zhang was sent back, it was the thirty-fourth year of the Republic of China...that is, 1945. At that time, Japan had just surrendered. Baldy Chiang, who had the Americans on his back, was in a hurry to send out troops and rebuild the country. While taking control of the recovered areas, he also dispatched senior officials from various fields to take over power from the Japanese and puppet government on his behalf."

"This is a fat job. So those politicians with connections, who are thinking about getting a vote, all try their best to get the appointment letter, and then rush to rush from the rear to the once-occupied areas. Then they start to say: What party, Government, military, culture, education, industry, mining, enterprises, etc. In addition to accepting the administrative power of the Japanese invaders and puppet government agencies, they also need to accept the property of senior Japanese and puppet officials, which is 'counterproductive'."

"Initially, the people in the capital had great hopes for the high-ranking officials who flew from the south. They believed that when the capital fell, the power of the city was in the hands of the Japanese invaders and traitors. They were enemies and would only oppress and exploit the capital. Ordinary people. Now that the mountains and rivers have been restored, these officials sent here are our own. They will definitely treat their compatriots well and make decisions for the common people."

"But in fact, these reception officials have greatly disappointed the people. After these reception officials came to the capital to take over everything, the problems of the people in the capital were not only not solved, but became worse and worse. In 1946, thirty-two school-age children in the capital Ten thousand, and as many as 150,000 to 60,000 are out of school. At the end of the same year, there was a vicious incident of two American soldiers bullying our female students at the Dongdan training ground."

"What particularly disappoints the people is the skyrocketing prices. In order to expand the military and prepare for war, Bald Chiang's indiscriminate issuance of banknotes caused inflation, which made people miserable. In 2019, hundreds of retail stores in the capital closed down. In May, every kilogram of rice was sold in French currency. One thousand yuan rose to 3,500 yuan. After the gold yuan coupons were issued and Baldy Jiang made it mandatory to exchange three million French currency for one gold yuan coupon, the economy collapsed further."

"But these reception officials are indifferent to the sufferings of the people. They don't care about it. They only care about collecting money for themselves, especially gold and US dollars. When undergoing reverse childbirth, they keep a good house and a car for themselves, and they also find women. . So at that time, the common people ridiculed these receptionists as 'five-child candidates', which refers to money, gold, houses, cars, and women."

"Then think about it, these officials are so focused on making money and being happy every day, how can they do without banquets? In order to curry favor with his brother-in-law, who was the mayor of the capital at the time, the warden heard that this man was planning to hold a full-moon banquet for his son. Well, I sent Zhang Dashao to this man's house..."

To be honest, after hearing this, Ning Weimin completely believed that with Zhang Dashao's ability, he could conquer all those who are addicted to food and drink.

But he already knew about Zhang Dashao's ups and downs in the first half of his life. For this enthusiastic elder who had always been a famous chef that he admired and helped him a lot, he was concerned but confused.

I am really afraid of hearing about any changes again.

So he still couldn't bear his temper and asked eagerly, "This should be a good thing, right? Has Master Zhang's situation improved because of this? Is the owner impressed by Master Zhang's craftsmanship?"

Sure enough, I heard Kang Shude say, "No need to ask. Master Zhang's craftsmanship is that the higher the banquet, the more skillful he is. He arrived at the mayor's brother-in-law's house. At that time, the mayor's mother-in-law heard that the warden gave The chef who was sent could cook what the Queen Mother would eat, so he had to try the dishes himself. Probably deliberately trying to test him, the old lady prepared two fans of pork for him, which was equivalent to a whole slaughtered pig. What else? There are no materials.”

"After meeting Master Zhang, the old lady told her face to face that we should not talk nonsense. Nowadays, there are people using the imperial chef brand everywhere to make excuses. But no one has eaten the food in the palace. God knows whether it is true or false. ? If you can do it, just use these two fans of pork to make it for me and try the knife. What to do? Lion's head, rice noodle meat, sweet-scented osmanthus meat, these common dishes, you can make thirty-six dishes for me, if it's good Eat, and you stay. Otherwise, go back to where you came from."

"And in the words of Master Zhang, the co-author used him as a cook. The question was too simple. It was a common meal and he didn't have the energy to do it. Anyway, let's do it. Master Zhang didn't have it that day. With one person helping me, I picked a sharpened kitchen knife and a mutton-faced knife from the kitchen, and prepared all the ingredients in one afternoon. Deboning, dicing, slicing, chopping stuffing, and matching fat and thin. . Which meatballs have more fat, which meatballs have more lean meat, which ones have 70% more oil, which ones have 50% or even 30% more oil. There are all rules to follow."

"As a result, that night, when these ingredients were officially turned into dishes and served one after another on the table, the whole host family was dumbfounded. Not only were the dishes served beautiful and palatable, but there were too many dishes. Just meatballs There are just a few kinds, dry fried meatballs, Sixi meatballs, Nanjian meatballs, Babao meatballs, glass meatballs, burnt meatballs, crispy meatballs, stove meatballs... Master Zhang’s thirty-six dishes are unbeatable. , in fact, one hundred and eight items. Among them are not only royal dishes such as braised pork and boiled suckling pig, but also Western dishes such as fried pork chops and roasted pork knuckles. The meal was praised by everyone, my lord. The children are satisfied.”

"The old lady of the house knew that Ganqing had really met a good cook. She was so happy that not only did he stay, but she was also rewarded with five yuan. From then on, Master Zhang escaped from prison and settled in this house. A few days later, he showed off his skill at the Panlong Banquet at the grandson's full-moon wine. Not only did he win a good fortune for the master's family, but he also convinced all the guests that they all wanted to borrow the chef from the master's family. , and he even gained a foothold in this house. From now on, whenever the host family entertains guests, it will be Master Zhang who comes to the table. Even the warden who recommended him got his wish and was promoted..."

This kind of plot is what people like to see.

When Ning Weimin heard this, he not only felt very high-spirited, but also finally breathed a sigh of relief for Zhang Dashao.

He said in his heart that there is really no one who knows how to appreciate Master Zhang’s cooking skills better than us Chinese people.

I also knew that Master Zhang's craftsmanship would not be lost when he met such a wealthy owner who was very particular about food and often had banquets.

It's a pity that at this moment, Zhang Dashao's life experience took another big turn.

Kang Shude immediately lamented, "But as the saying goes, good fortune and misfortune lie behind, and misfortune lies behind blessings. Master Zhang turned bad luck into good fortune several times with his craftsmanship. At this time, he was comfortable for a few more years, but his back foot fell. Because in the past few years, the scenery has suffered a lot, and I have suffered a lot. Since then, I have been in a state of depression, and I have never been in high spirits again..."

After hearing what the old man said, Ning Weimin suddenly woke up and remembered the changes that would follow.

But at the same time, he didn't understand. Zhang Dashao was just a craftsman. How could he be implicated by his employer while working?

"Master, is this okay? Master Zhang is just a worker? After all, he is also a working people who are exploited and oppressed? How could..."

As a result, these words made Kang Shude shake his head, showing an even more helpless and sad expression.

"A worker? Yes, he is a worker. But the bad thing is that he does his job so well, so well beyond ordinary people's imagination. How can a worker live in such a nice courtyard house? When the whole city is starving, you still have wine and meat, so you don't have to worry about food and clothing? Who would believe this?"

This almost stopped Ning Weimin. He faltered a few times, not knowing what to say.

The old man was minding his own business and continued to reminisce.

"I remember clearly that in the 37th year of the Republic of China, that is, in the second half of 1948, the capital was enveloped in an atmosphere of war. The rich fled, and the middle-class families bought food and stored it for fear of being besieged. The poor families had nothing to eat. I wasn’t afraid, I was just looking forward to destroying the city and changing the world. My Ma’s Garden was bought at that time. All the Ma’s family could leave. By the end of the year, all the city gates were closed, and important crossroads in the city were closed. Defenses have been built at the entrance, and there is news from outside that all trains have been stopped, and even Nanyuan Airport has changed hands."

"At this time, in order to receive the materials shipped from Nanjing and send away famous scholars and professors from various universities, the city had to build an airport in the city. At first, it was planned to build it in the Temple of Heaven, but later it was considered that there were too many ancient trees in the Temple of Heaven. Trees needed to be cut down, and the south side of the Temple of Heaven was close to the east wall of Yongding Gate, which was unsafe. So it was later decided to build a temporary airport in Dongdan. It can be said that the last batch of scholars and military and political dignitaries in the capital fled to the south from the Dongdan temporary airport. .”

"Master Zhang's family also left at this time. He originally wanted to take Master Zhang with him. Even though a plane ticket was worth thousands of gold at that time, many people would break their heads and couldn't get it. But Master Zhang couldn't leave his hometown, and he was really afraid of being displaced. This time, he refused to leave even if he went back to jail. He told his family that he would not leave even if he went back to jail and wanted to die in the capital. So the family could not force themselves and they would miss him for several years. Out of gratitude for his service, in the end, instead of sending him back to prison, he was given a few gold bars, two bags of flour, and a lot of household items that he couldn't take away."

"It turned out to be bad now, because the relationship between Master Zhang and the master's family is even more unclear. They say you are a prisoner and that you were forced. Then why did the master's family run away and didn't send you back to prison? I have given you so much property? If there is nothing fishy about it, who would believe it? And what about your traveling around the five countries and serving fascist and American imperial officers? You are actually hooking up with so many foreigners? Do you have connections with foreign countries? Are you the person responsible for lurking? Who can explain this clearly? "

"So when Master Zhang was assigned work in the new society, because these historical issues could not be explained or investigated clearly, he had to go to work in a small restaurant first. In addition, due to the changing of customs, the new society advocated diligence and frugality, and luxurious food was also It turned into a wasteful behavior that should be criticized. From then on, Master Zhang had fewer opportunities to display his skills. In the 1960s, he was assigned to make croquettes in a food shop. He worked there for more than ten years. Later he was able to go Polar Bear Palm Stove, that’s a job I only get after I retire, just like me going to the jade factory to look at the gate. I’m not a regular employee there.”

"All in all, look at the rest of his life, he has been wasting away without any sparkle. Even if he is better than me, he is still very limited. What can people say? Master Zhang's life has benefited from his Skills, but he will suffer hardships because of his outstanding skills. This is really a confusing account."

"So from Master Zhang's point of view, after such a lifetime, he might have died long ago. Especially at this age, his income is enough to meet his needs, and he will not value fame and fortune. It's profitable. I think all you can do is be polite to others, and the rest can only be let nature take its course. You can make demands, but it's difficult to give in. If people are willing to give it to you, it's yours. If you are not willing to do so, don’t force yourself..."

The entire bathroom was filled with mist, and the water droplets on the glass and tiles were like melancholy tears.

At this time, Ning Weimin was speechless except for feeling confused.

He was finally able to understand Zhang Dashao's state of mind.

Why is the old man's temper always so harsh? Seems so inhumane?

It is the embarrassment of being helpless about fate, and the sigh that the orange has turned into a orange.

It contained frustrations about the injustice of fate, but there was no way to vent it.

Ning Weimin suddenly felt extremely bitter.

This old man has suffered so much in his life, he is really a bit confused...

Think about it, how does it make sense that such a master-level celebrity chef wandered around for the first half of his life, but spent the second half of his life stuck in a frying pan frying meatballs?

Nothing is absolute. This means that a gentleman is not guilty, but he is guilty of having a jade in his possession.

Sometimes people are too capable, and if they are not generally recognized and needed by society, it would be a tragedy.

Thinking of this, he suddenly felt blessed, lying in the bathtub and looking at the ceiling.

"Master, I know how to persuade Master Zhang. I will talk to him later. There should be no big problem..."

Seeing him so determined, Kang Shude was puzzled. "What? Are you so sure?"

"Well, I finally figured out what Master Zhang needs."

"What does he want?"

"It is a self-realized sense of belonging. It is society's recognition of his value. That recognition should have been his long ago."

After the old man was silent for a moment, he seemed to have a taste of it, "Maybe..."