That year the flowers bloomed 1981

Chapter 1317 This woman's eyes are strange!

If Seryozha's private residence only appeared to be "oversized" from the outside, Li Ye and Lao Shao were at a loss for words once they entered the main house.

Putting aside the fact that there are so many rooms that it's easy to get lost, just looking at the dazzling and magnificent chandeliers, the thick and soft carpets, and the walls decorated with various oil paintings and artworks made Li Ye wonder if he was a country bumpkin.

Li Ye was, after all, someone who owned a luxurious estate in Lighthouse, and when he bought the estate, the previous owner boasted about how amazing it was.

Compared to Seryozha's villa, Li Ye's manor, though not quite a cowshed compared to a mansion, could certainly be described as "economical and practical."

By the time everyone arrived at the restaurant, Li Ye had become immune to silver cutlery, art tableware, and servants who stood to serve.

They're remnants of the Tsarist regime, we're successors of Marxism-Leninism; if we can't compare, we can't compare!

But after everyone started eating and chatting, Li Ye almost couldn't help but complain.

It's one thing to say you're heading towards becoming an oligarch, but to express such strong "confusion" and "heartache" about the future of this country is just too contradictory.
Seryozha said, "When Sofia, Sun, and I were in school, we already realized the drawbacks of the planned economy."
But we still believe our red will never fade, and that as long as we reunite, we can dominate the world together. But now, we sleepless nights, unsure of where the future leads.

Sofia sighed and said, "Actually, our situation started to become difficult a few years ago. The situation in Moscow is a little better, but in my mother's hometown, people's lives have become problematic, but we still couldn't believe we had come to this."

"."

Li Ye lowered his head, looking at the newly served main dish, unsure of how to respond.

This dish is so famous in China that he had never eaten it in either of his two lifetimes.

But now, he's eating in a place where "people's lives are in trouble."

Yes, this dish is called bear's paw, the bear's paw that you can't have both fish and bear's paw.

Li Ye had heard of European-style bear paw dishes, but today he finally witnessed one.

The red broth and yellow sauce didn't look as appetizing as braised pig's trotters, especially with Seryozha and Sofia still there "compassionately lamenting the fate of humanity."

Fortunately, Lao Shao, the liaison group leader, was very experienced and immediately lit up the atmosphere with a smile.

He pointed to the bear paw on the table and said, "We came here today with Comrade Sun Xianjin to express our greetings and goodwill to you both, but you are far too kind, making us feel somewhat flattered."

Seryozha smiled and said, "This isn't just politeness, it's sincerity. When we went to school with Sun, he personally cooked for us, allowing Sofia and me to taste the specialties of China. I still remember those delicious meals."
But Sun said he was just a mediocre cook, and that true Chinese cuisine had a deliciousness that words couldn't describe, so he started preparing these dishes as soon as he knew he had boarded the plane, and it was just in time.”

Seryozha pointed to the bear paw on the table and said, "Sun told us in detail about this dish back then, saying that it is very precious in your China, and he also told us many stories about it, such as that you can only eat the right hand and not the left hand, and the reason is very interesting."

"."

Li Ye turned to look at Sun Xianjin, thinking, "So it was you, you greedy bear, who did this! When we get back, if I have to write a report, I'll have you write mine."

Sun Xianjin's gaze towards Li Ye was quite interesting, probably thinking, "Brother, I was just bragging, who knew they would take it seriously."

However, according to popular belief, bears do indeed eat the right paw and not the left, because bears like to eat honey and lick their paws afterward.

Most bears are right-handed, so they habitually lick their right paw. Bears are fattest during hibernation, and their paws are also at their fattest. In their sleep, they plug their anus with their left paw and place their right paw near their mouth, licking their right paw in their dreams, as if they can taste honey. Over time, their right paw becomes very plump and tender from licking.

However, you can't eat the left hand, because it blocks the "gate" of the bear's digestive system; all the farts you release during the winter will be stuck there. Therefore, when people in China eat bear paws, they eat the right hand, not the left.

However, some say that this folk tale was invented by hunters in ancient times to inflate the price of bear paws. In reality, there is no difference between the left and right paws.

But no matter what, the more outlandish something sounds, the more it seems to have a heritage and culture, making it more suitable for fooling those barbarians and bumpkins.

At this point, Seryozha suddenly asked Li Ye, "Mr. Li, after receiving news that Sun was coming, I specially prepared this dish. Are you satisfied with it?"

【I've never eaten this dish before, why are you asking me? Am I supposed to say it's not much different from pig's trotters?】

Li Ye didn't understand why Seryozha was asking him this, since he was ranked after Sun Xianjin and Lao Shao.

But he certainly couldn't show weakness, so he said confidently, "Our Chinese tradition of eating bear paws has been going on for at least two thousand years, but we generally don't eat them fresh; we prefer dried ones."
However, in recent years, bears have become protected animals in our country, and bear paws have become increasingly rare, leading to the near extinction of the traditional method of preparing dried bear paws.
Just like many things within a country, everything is constantly changing. What was popular in the past may not be so popular now, and current changes do not necessarily have to follow past traditions.

"."

Li Ye's words were so cryptic that the translator rolled his eyes. In the end, it was Sun Xianjin who rambled on and on before Seryozha and Sofia finally understood.

A look of melancholy crossed Seryozha's face: "Yes, as time goes by, much of the past glory will fade and be lost. What we should be concerned about is where the future leads."

Seeing that Seryozha was in a turbulent mood, Li Ye guessed that he had fallen into a state of "worrying about the country and the people" again, so he immediately picked up his wine glass and drank with him, making him even more sorrowful as he drank.

The Russians weren't afraid of drinking contests, and Seryozha immediately perked up, drinking one cup after another with Li Ye.

Then he became more and more surprised and frightened as he drank, and finally had to hint to Sofia to help him quickly, otherwise the image of the men of the Mao family would be shattered.

After drinking a few drinks with Li Ye, Sophia's eyes also began to glaze over.

"Li, do you know? When we were in school, Sun once told us that one of his classmates made a miraculous prediction that our country would decline. Because of this statement, Seryozha and Sun got into a fight, and that's how we became good friends."
But we really don't believe that the great Sugo has come to this, so can you tell me how you knew our country would collapse in the first place?"

Li Ye looked at Sun Xianjin speechlessly.

How can you spout such nonsense, you bastard?

When Li Ye was in college, his classmates often had discussions about world affairs, sometimes even arguing heatedly.

After all, it's a field of world economics! It's normal for them to discuss things together, so Li Ye couldn't help but subtly express some opinions.

He thought he was being very "reserved," but to some people it was still quite surprising.

Su'e's decline is obvious. Li Ye's teacher, Zhang Qiyan, had said something similar, but now the way Sophia looks at Li Ye makes him uneasy.

[This woman's eyes are strange!]

(End of this chapter)