National Tide 1980.

The changes in Beijing in 1990 were truly immense.

Perhaps due to the upcoming Asian Games, the pace of construction in Beijing has accelerated compared to other parts of the country.

Or perhaps it's because Ning Weimin has been focusing all his attention on Japan this past year and hasn't paid much attention to things back home.

Anyway, this time when he returned to China, he clearly felt that the capital city was very different from what he remembered a year ago.

It's as if Japan is static, while China is dynamic, creating a sense of things having changed.

It's not that there's construction everywhere in Beijing, with two streets being demolished today and several alleys being torn down tomorrow.

Today a skyscraper rises here, tomorrow another large building is completed there—that kind of simple change.

Rather, it is a comprehensive change that permeates the content of life, from top to bottom, from large to small, encompassing the spiritual, material, and even emotional levels.

First of all, it is worth acknowledging that, from the perspective of urban development and social progress, the positive changes are obvious.

This can be clearly seen from the construction of sports stadiums and newly completed large public buildings in Beijing.

Putting aside everything else, just this year alone, how many luxury hotels have been completed and how many foreign-related hotels have opened for business?

Besides the Wuzhou Hotel, which served the Asian Games, other hotels that mainly cater to Japanese guests, such as the Changfugong Hotel, the Wangfu Hotel with its artificial waterfall, and the Kailai Hotel in the embassy district, have also opened for business.

Moreover, according to media reports, the Jingguang Center, the tallest building in Beijing, the VIP Lou Hotel invested by Mr. Huo from Hong Kong, and the China World Trade Center invested by the Guo Group will all be completed this year.

In addition, the number of cars on the streets has clearly begun to increase, and according to the Beijing Daily, more than 5,000 of the cars on the streets are private vehicles purchased by entertainment stars and new-era businessmen.

It can be said that by 1990, Beijing had begun to show the characteristics of a modern metropolis, getting closer and closer to the image of Beijing that Ning Weimin had in his previous life.

However, at the same time, the rapid pace of urban development, the influx of migrants, and the increase in new immigrants are all quietly changing the ancient and traditional culture of Beijing.

For example, without realizing it, state-run breakfast stalls have become increasingly rare.

Ning Weimin was almost surprised to find that, apart from a few snacks such as fried liver, cut cake, and tea soup, most of the breakfast items had been taken over by migrant workers.

Although the snack market has become more diverse as a result, with the addition of Lanzhou ramen, Tianjin pancakes, and Xi'an roujiamo (meat sandwiches).

However, these snacks are not actually very authentic; most of them are variations that are not quite the same.

Moreover, buying a "fried dough stick" for your child early in the morning is harder than climbing to heaven.

As for the farmers from the outskirts of Beijing who used to wander through the alleys in spring and autumn, carrying a small basket and hawking braised donkey meat and deboned meat, they no longer come.

However, large numbers of farmers from more distant places such as Anhui, Sichuan, Shandong, Henan, Hebei, and the three northeastern provinces flocked to Beijing to find work or do odd jobs.

With winds blowing from all directions and dreams intersecting, a new term has quietly become popular—"Beijing drifter".

Gradually, people began to notice the changes on the streets. Surprisingly, the capital city was now more crowded than it had been in the years when the original prophet Qing Da returned to the city, and there were more voices from all over the country.

The Beijing accent and its distinctive style are no longer the only sounds in this city, and are gradually losing their dominant position that they have held for many years.

Thus, a transitional household registration system—the blue-stamp household registration—emerged in the capital, falling between "temporary residence" and "permanent residence."

The resulting side effect is that the capital city's capacity to accommodate its population and its security environment have faced unprecedented challenges.

The local residents of Beijing began to experience a conflicted state of mind.

They worry that these new residents, outsiders, will take away their resources for education, healthcare, work, and housing, and challenge and change the social norms and moral standards they have become accustomed to.

On the one hand, they are well aware that these outsiders have taken on many of the originally arduous and unpleasant jobs for the people of the capital. At the same time, they also enjoy the market abundance brought by these people and the convenience of life they provide.

No one knows what the future holds, or how people should choose.

However, these very problems are subtly influencing everyone's perception of society and continuously changing the future trajectory of the city.

To be honest, the conflicts of interest between migrants and local Beijing residents are an inevitable part of social development and cannot be avoided. Moreover, they are internal contradictions among the people and can be reconciled.

The reason why various conflicts attract so much attention and appear so intense is simply because most of these conflicts are superficial, low-level clashes that are too easy for people to see. They are really not a big deal.

Compared to that, what we should pay more attention to and be more vigilant about are those foreigners who come from outside our country, bringing civilization, technology, and inexpensive goods to "preach with good intentions."

They are the real "wolves from afar," with a deadly blade hidden behind their smiles.

For example, a foreign chemical company successfully promoted its chemical-based industrial soaps in mainland China by airing a brand advertisement featuring German actress Nastassja Kinski on television.

This has led to a decline in the sales of the natural, handmade soaps we've been using in the past.

Established domestic brands like Peony and Green Treasure are becoming increasingly difficult to find in stores.

As far as Ning Weimin is concerned, he doesn't care about the technology and ruthlessness of the Americans, nor does he mind the strong smell of the compound fragrance.

However, some people have sensitive skin and cannot tolerate certain chemical products with unknown ingredients, especially older people.

Just like Jiang Nianyun, the old lady never dared to use chemical soaps in the United States because her hands would itch if she did.

After returning to China, she repeatedly praised the quality of soaps made in China, saying that the soaps here did not cause any adverse reactions on her skin.

But now things are in trouble. It's not so easy to find a suitable soap anymore; everywhere is selling the same things she used to avoid.

In the end, thanks to Zhang Shihui's help, they managed to get two boxes of Green Treasure and three boxes of Bee from the warehouse of a small shopping mall. Otherwise, the old lady would rather use the Tower brand soap than use regular soap.

The same applies to things we use and things we eat.

The Golden Dragon refined oil, a product of the Guo Group's collaboration with COFCO, has finally been made available for sale in Beijing, and opinions on this clear oil are mixed.

Even the old neighbors in No. 2 Shan'er Hutong have split into two factions.

Some people feel that the oil is not as fragrant as it used to be, the stir-fries are tasteless, and the price is also higher, so it's not worth it.

Some people, however, felt that this oil was clear in color and had fewer impurities, and tasted less greasy than rapeseed oil and lard, believing the advertisements that it was more beneficial to health. Ning Weimin didn't know how to respond to the two sharply contrasting opinions of his old neighbors.

All he knew was that refined oil would become the only option for ordinary people to make a living in the future.

Lard, however, is an indispensable raw material for enhancing the flavor and aroma of a restaurant, and it will never be completely replaced by refined vegetable oil.

That's not all. Two other similar incidents also infuriated Ning Weimin.

First, Ning Weimin's favorite chocolate wafers and vitamin bread are no longer available in the grocery store.

Especially vitamin bread.

That was something Ning Weimin was used to eating all his life, just like polar bears' soda and ice cream bowls.

Before Maxim opened his shop in Beijing, this was Ning Weimin's favorite bread.

While it can't be said to be particularly delicious, nor is it a traditional Western bread, its advantages lie in its soft and palatable texture, unique sweet flavor, and especially its low price.

Buying a loaf of bread is only a few cents more expensive than buying two steamed buns, and it doesn't even require food coupons. In terms of cost-effectiveness, it's simply unbeatable.

Therefore, in the past, he often asked Aunt Mi to buy things for him from the grocery store.

Now that he's back in Beijing, sometimes when he gets hungry at night and wants something to eat, there's nothing more convenient than this, but he can't find it anywhere. He even asked his old neighbor, Aunt Mi, about the reason.

Later I heard that Yili Food Factory, which sold chocolate wafers and vitamin bread, merged with a foreign company.

Yili's original production workshops are currently undergoing adjustments, and the products being produced are new products that foreign companies are launching to the market, which has led to a sharp reduction in the quantity of Yili's original products.

So there's no way around it. Even Ning Weimin, who has hundreds of millions in wealth, has to ask for help and find internal channels at Yili Food Factory if he wants to eat this.

Secondly, Zhang Dashao also came to Yunyuan to watch the play with Kang Shude, and couldn't help but mention it to Ning Weimin.

He said it's hard to buy good vinegar and soy sauce now, and asked if he had any connections, otherwise the quality of the cold dishes from the large wine vat would be hard to guarantee.

Ning Weimin was puzzled when he heard this. He thought it couldn't be that bad. This is a big city like Beijing. It's not like it was a few years ago. What could be missing? Why would it be lacking vinegar or soy sauce?

Unexpectedly, Zhang Dashao said that he no longer runs a restaurant in Beijing and naturally does not know about the changes in Beijing today.

It turns out that there are not many manufacturers in the brewing and condiment industry in Beijing to begin with, and the total number of employees is only a few thousand.

Therefore, vinegar and soy sauce have always been in short supply in the capital, especially high-quality condiments, which can only be supplied in limited quantities. So in the past, soy sauce in the capital's grocery stores was graded, and the really good stuff had to be obtained through the special channels of the Second Bureau of Commerce.

For a time, the supply of soy sauce was so bad that people in Beijing had to eat solid soy sauce.

In order to change this situation, in 1989, the Beijing condiment industry and the port city's Tiankuan Food Company merged and began business and technical cooperation.

Nowadays, the condiment industry in Beijing, whether it is soy sauce, yellow bean paste or vinegar, all adopt industrial production methods. Compared with the past natural fermentation method, the time cycle is greatly shortened and the production cost is also reduced sharply.

People no longer have to worry about not being able to buy bulk vinegar and soy sauce at grocery stores.

But there's one problem: we can't buy really good vinegar and soy sauce anymore; we're completely out of supplies.

According to Zhang Dashao, those industrial soy sauces and vinegars have lost their fermented flavor and are made with chemical additives to enhance the taste. They might be okay for making a simple home-cooked meal.

But to truly perfect the dishes at the manor, which require a harmonious blend of five flavors, absolutely not.

So, the old man was really worried about this. In his words, it was like asking all the hardworking cooks to jump into the river.

No matter how skilled you are, without the right ingredients, even the most skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice.

Over the past year, he hasn't been able to enjoy his food. If Ning Weimin hadn't given him some good Japanese soy sauce, he wouldn't have been able to cook himself a decent meal.

To be honest, these two things made Ning Weimin somewhat depressed, and he inexplicably felt like his home had been "stolen".

That's right, he went to Japan to scheme against them, hoping to bring back all the good things about life.

But when I got back, I found that I couldn't even get the food I liked. Even the seasonings had been replaced with high-tech and grueling ones. What is this if not a disgrace?
The second issue, in particular, is not just affecting the reputation of a single large wine vat, but the future of the entire catering industry in Beijing.

No wonder he always thought Chinese food was just so-so in his previous life, all the same.

Looking back now, it's no wonder things turned out this way, since even decent seasonings were wiped out by others.

So not long after, Ning Weimin made a decision: if things didn't work out, he would set up a soy sauce and vinegar factory.

This is for Zhang Da Shao, for himself, and for the sake of Qinxing in Beijing.

Given the immediate crisis facing the large wine vat, he could simply source brewed condiments from elsewhere, or even Japan, to fill the gap.

On the other hand, he will definitely open a restaurant in Beijing in the future, and it will be a high-end restaurant.

In the long run, we'll probably have to set up a soy sauce and vinegar factory to meet our own needs.

This matter is both easy and difficult.

The easy thing is that people are easy to find. The technological reforms haven't been going on for very long, and there are plenty of skilled technical personnel. We can just rehire retired people.

The only difficulty is the lack of economic returns; in fact, it may even result in losses every year.

But it doesn't matter. Others might be afraid of losing money, but he isn't. After all, he's a genuine tycoon.

With his current domestic assets, he earns millions in interest every year, so setting up a soy sauce and vinegar factory doesn't seem like much of a deal for him.

Anyway, he didn't want future Chinese restaurants to be like the gingerbread men he created, relying on selling pre-made meals to make money. He could ruin Western food like that, but he couldn't ruin Chinese food like that.

Otherwise, Chinese cuisine will truly be doomed.

At least in this lifetime, he cannot be a traitor to this nation. (End of Chapter)