National Tide 1980

Wotou is the food of the poor.

There are often related jokes in Jingcheng dialect.

"When I was a child, I ate the top of my head, and when I grew up, I became a high official!"

"Look at you, you little brat!"

"Look at your fate!"

"You only have two pieces of corn left in your pocket!"

etc……

Wotou in these words all interprets one meaning - poverty.

But to be honest, Ning Weimin didn't have much feelings about this in his previous life.

This is because the steamed buns he has eaten are all the same as dim sum.

In an era when the economy was quite prosperous, the chestnut flour steamed buns that Empress Dowager Cixi loved to eat were no longer only sold in Beihai Fangshan Restaurant.

Almost all the capital is mass-producing this thing, and then puts it into exquisite packaging boxes as gifts.

And the steamed buns in restaurants of all sizes have become a fashionable dish with a new twist.

What about stir-fried steamed buns with leeks, stir-fried steamed buns with cabbage and vermicelli, fried steamed buns with oil residue and salt and pepper, stir-fried steamed buns with pepper and minced pork...

There are simply too many ways to make it, with a variety of side dishes and different tastes.

Therefore, Ning Weimin once believed that people in the past would mention wotou when mentioning the hard times, which seemed a bit pretentious and ignorant of blessings.

Wotou is so good, its nickname is "Golden Tower".

It's nutritious, healthy, delicious, and doesn't cause diabetes.

Otherwise, why is it more expensive than rice and white flour?

This is called value discovery.

If you don’t even like steamed buns, what do you want to eat?

But when he returned to this era when the economy was just starting out and had to be around this thing every day, he didn't think so.

In the environment of lack of salt and oil, steamed buns are no longer just decorations at banquets, but have become an indispensable staple food for every meal.

To use a folk proverb, it means, "It's a big steamed bun all day long, but the old pickled radish has no oil at all."

So this thing suddenly lost all its gorgeous decorations and accessories, leaving only the dry, rough, gritty texture, and the shabby holes.

This directly caused Ning Weimin's attitude towards Wotou to undergo a 180-degree turn.

He went from eating voluntarily and liking to eat to forcing himself to eat and having to eat.

He even came up with a lot of simple tricks because it was hard to swallow.

For example, adding some saccharin to the steamed buns can give the steamed buns a hint of sweetness.

For example, cutting the steamed bun into slices and roasting it on the fire will produce a brown and crispy shell, which will be crunchy when you bite it.

Another example is fermenting cornmeal, and the steamed steamed buns will be much fluffy, making them easier to swallow.

In short, during the period of time traveling, he stayed at home every day and tried various methods to coax himself to swallow.

Just to have a stable stomach and not be hungry.

How can we talk about being healthy or unhealthy, nutritious or not?

The leisurely leisure time that I used to enjoy in the past has long since been abandoned in Java.

The final result is that he confirmed one thing with his personal experience - steamed buns are not delicious!

The reason why people regard this thing as a symbol of hard life is definitely not mixed with any prejudice or exaggeration.

Fortunately, the days spent munching on the steamed bun were not very long, just over twenty days passed.

Today, these bitter memories have turned into a particularly gratifying sense of satisfaction and accomplishment.

That's right! The best feeling in life is to find joy after all the hardships.

The most interesting thing about life is the changes in fortune and water.

Under the dim light, Ning Weimin placed pig ears, deboned meat, rice sausage and peanuts on the table in sequence.

These foods that Ning Weimin thought were quite ordinary in his previous life now not only exude an appeal that is no less attractive than delicacies from the mountains and seas, but even have some philosophical flavor.

Life seems to be interpreting the ups and downs of life in an extremely affordable way.

After placing the food and wine, in front of Kang Shude, Ning Weimin happily unscrewed the bottle cap and started pouring wine again.

He filled the old man's cup first, and then poured a glass in front of himself.

And he stood up very respectfully and raised his glass with both hands.

"Old man, let's touch one. I really need to thank you very much."

Kang Shude was very satisfied with Ning Weimin's courtesy. He picked up the wine cup with warm eyes.

But he waved his hand generously.

"Thank me? Just to give you advice? You're welcome, that's nothing."

Unexpectedly, Ning Weimin was really sincere.

He held the wine glass with both hands and carefully touched the lower edge of the old man's glass.

"That's not what you said. Without your guidance, I would have been unable to find the answer even if I thought about it. You just said it casually like a piece of gossip, but it was of great use to me. You are not a mortal, you are a pointer. Turn me into a living god. I’ll drink this cup, you can do whatever you want!”

Seeing Ning Weimin go ahead and swallow the wine in one gulp, Kang Shude couldn't help laughing.

"You're talking nonsense. What kind of god? I'm just an ordinary lonely old man. It's better for you to be smart enough to seize the money..."

But even though he said this, he really understood it in his heart.

Because no one doesn’t like to hear compliments, and they also like people who are grateful.

Ning Weimin could appreciate his kindness, and the old man felt that it was worthwhile to help him.

"Hey, I didn't expect you to make a lot of money from such a low-level business. You made a hundred yuan a day! Okay, boy, this business is doing well. Just because of your brain, I have to put it aside early. During this period, I must accept you as my apprentice."

After drinking down the wine in one gulp, he put down the glass and licked his lips. The old man couldn't help but praise Ning Weimin a few more times.

The speaker is unintentional, but the listener is intentional.

Ning Weimin is now covered in news.

As soon as he heard this, he immediately poured the old man some more wine and climbed up the pole.

"Why do you still have to do it in the early years? It's the same now. As long as you are willing to accept me, I will kowtow to you and become your disciple immediately."

But Kang Shude was really unexpected. He didn't believe his ears.

"What? Do you really want to become your teacher? Are you talking nonsense? What can I teach you now? Paper boxes?"

Ning Weimin still persisted.

"Why do you go back on what you just said? Why should I learn how to paste paper boxes? Of course I am learning your old trade."

Kang Shude was stunned again.

"You are sincerely teasing me, aren't you? My old profession? That has been abolished? What's the use of learning that?"

Unexpectedly, Ning Weimin was quite serious.

"Don't say that. Trades can be abolished, but learning has never been abolished? Apart from other things, the imperial examination system has been abolished long ago, right? Then why do students still have to learn ancient Chinese in Chinese classes? It is really abolished. , unless that’s not true knowledge.”

While talking, Ning Weimin filled Kang Shude's bowl with pork head meat and rice sausage.

"Old man, others don't know, but I know best. The things in your stomach are all true knowledge that can make real money. It's useless? Then where did the food and drink we two get now come from? "

"Yes, you are not popular now, but that's just bad luck. How can people compete with the general trend? That is a side effect of the changing times. You have to think like this, thirty years from Hedong to thirty years from Hexi, the general trend is Sooner or later it will change. Sooner or later people's luck will turn back."

"Isn't there a saying, gold in troubled times, antiques in prosperous times. In my opinion, this refers to things, people, and knowledge. To me, you are antiques in troubled times and gold in prosperous times... …”

It was quite good to be here originally. It had to be logical and reasonable, and Kang Shude was a little fascinated by it.

But Ning Weimin really shouldn't be moved by the scene, so he was so moved by the glaring pot of steamed bun next to the table full of food and wine that he spoke more words.

"And...this nest of wowotou right now."

This metaphor is a bit inappropriate, and the U-turn is also very abrupt, which surprised Kang Shude, who was so praised.

"Wowotou?"

As for Ning Weimin, who was thinking about Wotou, he smiled awkwardly and quickly explained.

"Don't get me wrong, what I mean is that although the stick noodles and steamed buns don't look like much now, they seem to be the cheapest food. But miscellaneous grains also have the benefits of grains, and their nutritional value is ultimately better than rice and white flour. One day , it will make pancakes to death and steamed buns to shame. It will be displayed majestically among the delicacies of mountains and seas, and it will be more mouth-watering than big fish and meat. Do you believe it? Even it has its day of soaring into the sky..."

But it was obvious that Kang Shude would not recognize his unintentional secret.

With the old man's experience and knowledge, he could not imagine such a scene, so he could only shake his head helplessly.

The expression on his face was like seeing him exchange his hard-earned money for monkey tickets every day these days.

Very worried about his brain circuitry.