Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 355 Why do you like eating and drinking so much?

Yu Hua felt that he was not here to eat today, but to broaden his horizons.

Two days ago, he went to Li Tuo's house to attend a party, and also listened to people talk about knowledge that he had never heard of. What the people in Li Tuo's family said was not bad, but it always gave people a stiff feeling.

And when he listened to Lin Chaoyang chatting, although he was just talking about how to eat shabu-shabu, he gave people a sense of calmness and ease, which made people feel very comfortable and convinced.

The most important thing is that they can tell stories in a different and interesting way.

He felt that what Zhu Wei said that day was very true, and listening to Teacher Chaoyang's lectures was indeed insightful.

"Okay. Stop showing off your knowledge. The meat is still in the pot!" Tao Yushuo on the side reminded.

"Forget it, forget it. We are all old." Lin Chaoyang quickly stretched out his chopsticks to pick up the meat in the pot.

Yu Hua couldn't help but smile knowingly when looking at this scene. Such a life interest is really enviable!
"I heard that Zhu Wei brought you to a party with Li Tuo and others that day?" Tao Yushu asked Yu Hua.

"Yes. I met a lot of friends and learned a lot. Everyone also talked about Teacher Chaoyang. They said that you are a good cook and knowledgeable. It's just that I've been too busy recently and didn't feel comfortable disturbing you."

"Do they still know what it means to be embarrassed?"

Yu Hua knew that Li Tuo's group had a good relationship with Lin Chaoyang, and this teasing revealed the intimacy between good friends.

The wind was howling outside, the soup in the copper pot on the table was bubbling, and mist was rising. Yu Hua listened to Lin Chaoyang chatting while eating mutton bite by bite with his chopsticks.

Teacher Chaoyang said that the emphasis of hot pot is on clear soup and white. Clear refers to the clear soup pot, and white refers to the white porcelain plate where freshly cut mutton is placed on the plate. When the meat is put into the pot, not a drop of blood can be left on the plate. It is as white as it is when it is served, and it is still as white as it is when it is eaten.

Halfway through the meal, they had finished the mutton that had been cut before the meal, so Lin Chaoyang went to cut another plate of meat.

Yu Hua saw Lin Chaoyang cut the mutton into slices as thin as cicada wings and placed them on a plate. He slowly stood the plate upright and the mutton was indeed stuck to the plate without a single piece falling off.

Then he put another plate of meat into the pot, and the plate was still as bright white as before.

Yu Hua wanted to applaud when he saw it. Anyone with a little common sense knows that to achieve this effect not only requires good meat and good knife skills, but the key is to freeze the mutton just right.

"You guys eat first, I'll cut some more meat."

Lin Chaoyang said something and went back to cutting the meat. Yu Hua felt a little embarrassed to pick up his chopsticks.

Tao Yushu smiled and said to him, "It's okay, eat. There are not so many rules in our family. Look at that..."

Yu Hua looked in the direction of Tao Yushu's finger, and saw Tao Yumo's cheeks bulging, still picking up food with her chopsticks. The plate of meat that had just been put into the pot had been almost finished by her.

Seeing this scene, Yu Hua felt relieved.

Eating is not only about the deliciousness of the food, but also about your mood.

Since arriving at Lin Chaoyang's house, Yu Hua went from being nervous and restrained at the beginning to gradually relaxing and feeling comfortable in the end, and even his appetite increased a lot than usual.

Of course, he believes that this is also closely related to the delicious taste of mutton.

After dinner, he stayed for a while before saying goodbye to Lin Chaoyang and his wife.

When I went out, I found that it was snowing outside.

Lin Chaoyang and his wife sent him out of the hospital. Yu Hua walked more than 20 meters and turned around. He could still vaguely see the couple's figures at the gate in the dim light. This feeling of being valued made him feel warm in his heart.

After leaving the alley, the street lights were on and the wind blew the snowflakes, which seemed to turn into countless silver threads under the light.

Flying and scattering in succession, lingering and accumulating.

The words Lin Chaoyang said appeared in Yu Hua's mind again.

Wind, snow, waves, and clouds, all here!
It’s an unforgettable experience!

In the last few days of 83, the novel was completed and sent to Huacheng. Lin Chaoyang had nothing to do, and with only a few days left before the New Year, he focused all his energy on purchasing supplies.

Last month, the royalties settlement of Ming Pao Publishing House and the foreign exchange settlement left Lin Chaoyang with a large amount of overseas remittance vouchers. If he used them for daily use alone, he might not be able to use them up in a few years.

On the afternoon of the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, he did some shopping at the Overseas Chinese Store on the second floor of Xidan Shopping Mall and hired a tricycle to transport his goods to Yanjing University.

Arriving at the Langrun Lake Apartment, Lin Chaoyang carried his things upstairs. As soon as he reached the door, he ran into Tao Yucheng who was opening the door with a bag, as if he was about to go out.

"Brother, where are you going?"

"This year, take the children back to your sister-in-law's family home to celebrate the New Year."

Tao Yucheng said something and went back into the house. Lin Chaoyang came in and put the things down.

"Why did you buy so many things?" Tao's mother couldn't help asking when she saw the things Lin Chaoyang put on the ground.

"There's more downstairs."

Mother Tao waved her hand and said, "Don't move. We are the only two old people at home during the New Year, and we can't eat so much."

"It's okay. These things can be stored for a few months without any problem. My brother is going to Yunnan soon, so they can come in handy."

Lin Chaoyang and Tao Yucheng went downstairs again to move things. The New Year goods he bought were varied, including cigarettes, alcohol, sugar and tea. He was really not afraid of leaving them behind. He said to Tao Yucheng, "Brother, pick some and take them away."

Tao Yucheng said quickly: "It's not appropriate, it's not appropriate."

"What's inappropriate? If you don't want to pick it, I'll get it for you."

Lin Chaoyang took two Marlboro cigarettes and said, "These cigarettes don't take up much space, take two. As for the Hershey's chocolate, give some more to Xiwen and Xiwu, so that they can look good in front of the other kids when they go back to grandma's house..."

Tao Xiwen and Tao Xiwu were so happy watching Lin Chaoyang's generous work that they wished their uncle would pack all the New Year's goods for them. Lin Chaoyang took four or five kinds of New Year's goods in a row, and Tao Yucheng said anxiously, "Okay, don't take any more. There's no room left."

Lin Chaoyang then stopped and sent Tao Yucheng's family of four out. They had to catch the train.

After Tao Yucheng's family of four left, Lin Chaoyang invited Tao's father and mother to celebrate the New Year in Xiaoliubukou Hutong.

"My eldest brother and his family are gone, so it's just you two old people at home for the New Year. It's too lonely. It's lively over there."

Lin Chaoyang convinced Tao's father and mother without much effort.

A few days later, on New Year's Eve, Tao's father and mother came to Xiaoliubukou Hutong early in the morning.

As soon as Tao's mother entered the main room, she saw Tao Yumo sitting on the sofa, watching TV and drinking Coke. Since the winter vacation, Tao Yumo has been staying at her sister and brother-in-law's house most of the time, and has rarely returned to Langrun Lake Apartment.

Tao's mother frowned and asked, "Why are you fat again?"

Hearing her mother's words, Tao Yumo, who was originally happy and carefree, immediately became unhappy. "Mom, what do you mean by getting fat again? I am healthy and beautiful!"

Tao's mother had a disdainful expression on her face. The youngest child in their family had been spoiled since childhood, especially his mouth, which could not be controlled.

From a mother's perspective, the changes in her child can always be seen at a glance.

Tao Yumo had such good food at Lin Chaoyang's during this winter vacation that she gained 7 or 8 kilograms, but still less than 110 kilograms. She was 1.7 meters tall, so this weight would not be considered fat even in later generations.

In later generations, there is a distorted aesthetic that a good woman should not be over 100cm tall, and height is not even considered.

Nowadays, women's aesthetic taste is not that morbid. Everyone likes a well-proportioned body shape. Although Tao Yumo's words may sound a bit self-boasting, they are not wrong.

Her figure does give people a feeling of youth and health, but it may also be because she is heartless. Even after working for half a year, she still retains the clear and stupid feeling of a college student.

"It's healthy, but it doesn't have beauty!"

Tao Yumo was upset by his mother’s attack. What did I do to offend anyone?

She turned off the TV, got up and went to the kitchen, and said to Tao Yushu, "What a shame, Mom, she scolds me as soon as she comes in!"

Tao Yushu was mixing dumpling fillings when he heard her complaints and replied, "Who told you not to go home?"

"Isn't it because I asked you to take care of my nephew?"

Tao Yushu wanted to roll his eyes when he heard his sister's righteous words. If someone didn't know, they would think you were working for nothing!
"What did they scold you for? Let me hear it!"

The three words "let me listen" are translated as "let me have fun".

Tao Yumo said aggrievedly: "You said I was fat!"

Tao Yushu looked at his sister helplessly and said, "I'm just stating the facts. Can this be considered scolding you?"

"Sister~"

Tao Yumo called her "sister" in a roundabout way, and Tao Yushuo didn't want to make any more sarcastic remarks. She glanced at the Coca-Cola in her sister's hand.

"I'm not afraid of you drinking this. Your brother-in-law said that cola has a very high sugar content and is the easiest way to make people fat."

Tao Yumo was skeptical after hearing what her sister said, "Is it true? Who told him that?"

"Looking at the paper, it says it's research done abroad."

Tao Yumo curled her lips and said, "According to this logic, if I only eat candy, I won't starve to death, and I can become a fat man?"

Tao Yushu glanced at his sister unhappily, "Sophistry!"

How could Tao Yumo not know that she was making excuses? Of course she knew that the key was that she couldn't admit it, otherwise how could she drink Coke happily in the future?

It's just a small bottle at 4 cents, and she can only buy 5 bottles with her monthly salary. If it were her, she would definitely not be willing to buy it.

After the reform and opening up in 1978, Coca-Cola planned to return to China. The reason why it is called returning to China is that as early as the Republic of China period, Coca-Cola built a factory in Shanghai and invited the famous star Ruan Lingyu to be its spokesperson.

After many twists and turns in selecting a site for the Coca-Cola plant, it finally landed in the old plant of the Yanjing Roast Duck Factory under COFCO. It was already 1981, and the CEO of the Coca-Cola Group was very optimistic:
For Coca-Cola, China is a giant baby. Although its size is huge, the opportunity for growth is even greater.

But obviously the CEO underestimated the difficulty of opening up the Chinese market.

Coca-Cola was officially put into production in April 81, priced at 4 yuan a bottle, which was an expensive expense for most Yanjing citizens. It was almost equivalent to a working class person with a monthly salary of 4 yuan spending 5 yuan to buy a bottle of drink in later generations.

What's more, Arctic Ocean soda, which is also a carbonated drink, only costs 1 yuan.

Although people nowadays admire Western products, it does not mean that they will ignore the cost-effectiveness.

Therefore, when Coca-Cola was first launched in the Yanjing market, sales were very poor.

In order to open up the market as quickly as possible, Coca-Cola also launched promotions, giving away balloons and chopsticks when buying Coke, which gradually opened up sales.

Lin Chaoyang's family doesn't drink Coke on a regular basis, they only buy it when they're preparing for the New Year and want to have a few more drinks.

While the two sisters were chatting, Lin Chaoyang had already rolled out the dough. Tao Yushu said, "Put down the Coke and start making dumplings!"

However, Tao Yumo did not put down the bottle. Instead, he drank the remaining Coke in the bottle in one gulp, and then put down the bottle to make dumplings.

Looking at his sister's actions, Tao Yushu's face was full of disgust. Why does she like eating and drinking so much?

(End of this chapter)