Riding the wind of rebirth

"Shuangliu Airport, Air China, Sichuan Airlines. Which company is better?" Yan Xiao asked. "It seems like Air China is the stronger one, right?"

"I really don't know, I'll have to ask around to find out," Zhou Zhi said. "Theoretically speaking, airport management and dispatch should be more powerful, right? Airlines have to follow their orders too."

"Could you ask Zhong Gang for help?" Liu Lu said. "He has many comrades-in-arms at the airport."

"Pork knuckle is still the best. I started my PhD in my senior year of college," Liang Hong said with envy.

"Old Yang is definitely more enviable, isn't he? He went abroad to perform with the delegation and easily got a master's degree, unlike me who has to work hard on projects and write papers. Although my study time has been compressed, my academic workload hasn't decreased at all..."

"Is your workload just as daunting as Sister Wei Yi's? I heard she has to finish her studies while also helping the law firm with its affairs. She's always working on her studies until one or two in the morning, and then she has to continue early the next morning..."

At this point, everyone suddenly fell silent, because the path Wei Yi had walked was actually the path Jiang Shuyi was walking now. The more difficult it was for Wei Yi in the past, the more difficult it was for Jiang Shuyi now.

“Well, when it comes to learning, the path of geniuses is different from that of us ordinary people,” Zhou Zhi said. “Xiao Miao is only twenty years old, and he is already a PhD and a subject leader.”

"Don't you dare!" Yang Honghui said, both amused and exasperated. "Who gave you permission to piggyback on our ordinary people's reputation?! You're hardly an ordinary person yourself!"

At this moment, the teahouse owner came over and said that the food had been delivered, so everyone moved to the dining table to continue their conversation.

The small restaurants next to the teahouse usually serve classic and simple dishes, such as cold pig's ear salad, shredded pork with garlic sauce, shredded pork with green peppers and ginger, twice-cooked pork, Kung Pao chicken, stir-fried water spinach, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and bok choy and tofu soup. The taste is usually quite good.

"The more I travel, the more I like the taste of Sichuan cuisine," Yang Honghui said. "Oh, by the way, when we were performing in Italy, the embassy treated us to a meal. The chef in charge of the banquet was from Sichuan, and that meal was quite good."

“In fact, many chefs in the country’s embassies and consulates abroad are Sichuan cuisine chefs,” Zhou Zhi said. “This tradition started as early as the Republic of China era. At that time, Chongqing was the wartime capital, and many foreign consulates and embassies were set up in Chengdu and Chongqing. As a result, the staff of foreign embassies and consulates had a relatively deep understanding of Sichuan cuisine.”

"Because of this, the diplomatic system and Sichuan cuisine have a certain connection. In addition, many of the founding fathers and veterans were from Sichuan, and they were used to using Sichuan chefs, which also promoted Sichuan cuisine."

"After the reform and opening up, the country's diplomatic work has flourished. As a result, Sichuan cuisine chefs have gone abroad to work in various overseas institutions. So if you are invited to a banquet by an embassy or consulate abroad, Sichuan cuisine is often served."

"I see." Yang Honghui laughed. "You travel abroad often, Zhouzi, have you eaten at several embassies and consulates?"

“Uh…” Zhou Zhi recalled for a moment: “It seems that I have never eaten at the embassy or consulate, but I have eaten boxed lunches at Xinhua News Agency, which were terribly bad.”

"The Italian and French food that Zhouzi treated us to on this trip back to New York was pretty good," Mai Xiaomiao said. "The Chinese food is hard to judge, though. I think it's far inferior to the food at the Lianhe Township Grain Station."

"Isn't the quality of the grain station in Lianhe Township just as good as that of a pork knuckle?" Liu Lu laughed. "He's so picky about food, if he doesn't like the tastes when he goes down there, he'll have to cook for himself."

"It seems so, huh?" Mai Xiaomiao felt that what Liu Lu said was the truth: "Indeed, he created many of the dishes. A few days ago, his dish of braised loofah and chicken with mushrooms in clear oil even received praise from Master Zhang Yuanfu." "Saying he created it is a bit of an exaggeration. It's just a common dish from the Yi ethnic minority countryside." Zhou Zhi laughed: "Actually, many of the dishes are made in a home-style way, but the ingredients are a bit special. They all have to be local and novel ingredients. Otherwise, it's like a skilled cook trying to cook without rice."

The cuisine of Liangshan Prefecture is quite distinctive, mainly due to the many special ingredients, such as water chestnuts, water chestnut sprouts, bracken, deer ear leeks, taro, and flower potatoes.

The bracken in Liangshan Prefecture is very special. In addition to the bitter bracken commonly found in the south, there is also a very special bracken with a cucumber flavor called "Cucumber Fragrance". This bracken can only be found in Liangshan in the entire Sichuan region and cannot be seen anywhere else.

In addition, there are water worms, sand worms, wasp pupae, fried meat, and grilled small intestines...

Of course, there are also proper poultry and livestock, such as rock eagle chickens, Jianchang ducks, Yazhou black pigs, Huili black goats, and Zhaojue yellow cattle.

Now, taking advantage of the local pasture planting, the Lianhe Township Poultry Farm has introduced a local breed—the Xichang Steel Goose.

Steel geese are a local specialty of Qionghai Lake in Liangshan Prefecture. They are called "Ironclad Geese" because their back feathers, wing feathers, and tail feathers are brown or white-edged gray-black feathers that resemble armor.

Xichang steel goose is rich in nutrients, with a tender texture and delicious taste. It contains a large amount of unsaturated fats and various vitamins that are beneficial to the human body, making it most suitable for children and the elderly. Tests by the Academy of Agricultural Sciences have found that its protein content is 1% to 4% higher than that of ordinary goose meat, its total amino acid content is 1% higher than that of ordinary goose meat, its fat content is 1% to 3% higher than that of ordinary goose meat, but its cholesterol content is surprisingly low, being 2% to 4% lower than that of ordinary goose meat.

In other words, this goose meat is more fragrant, flavorful, and savory than regular goose meat, and most importantly, it is more nutritious.

However, these geese also have a drawback: their egg production rate is relatively low. The Academy of Agricultural Sciences is currently conducting research in Lianhe Township to protect the breed, while also trying out new hybrid varieties, artificial incubation technologies, and scientific feeding. If all goes well, Lianhe Township will have another key agricultural product.

Qionghai Lake recently opened for fishing, and several fishing villages around the lake started fishing. The fish caught were hauled away by tractors and dumped on the roadside, piled up in heaps, and sold at random prices of two or three yuan per kilogram.

What pleases Zhouzhi the most are the wild mushrooms from Liangshan Prefecture: large termite mushrooms, small termite mushrooms, matsutake mushrooms, big-footed mushrooms, green-headed mushrooms, coral mushrooms, egg mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, red mushrooms, and blue-shouqing mushrooms... In the past two years, they have really enjoyed eating all kinds of mushrooms.

"You've made me really want to go," Liang Hong exclaimed.

“You are welcome anytime,” Mai Xiaomiao said. “Autumn is the best time to come. We can ride horses through the red maple forest to soak in hot springs, and there’s also delicious deer ear chives there.”

“You’d better come sooner rather than later,” Zhou Zhi said with a smile. “My research project on the Yi ethnic group’s Bimo is basically finished. Lianhe Township has also been upgraded from a township to a town. Once the supporting team is in place, that will be the day I retire successfully. I estimate it will be within the next six months.”

“Come and celebrate the Yi New Year with us,” Mai Xiaomiao said. “That’s the liveliest time in the village, when everyone can join you in the Moon Dance.”

This immediately hit Liang Hong's sore spot. She loved this kind of excitement and grabbed Yang Honghui's hand: "While Zhouzi and Xiaomiao are in Liangshan, let's hurry up and go! Let's try all the local specialties that Zhouzi mentioned!"

The old friends hadn't seen each other for a long time, and chatting was naturally enjoyable. However, even though they were seniors, skipping a whole day of class was still a bit inappropriate, so after dinner, everyone said goodbye. (End of Chapter)