A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Three days before the opening of the cultural festival, the breeding area was already bustling with activity.

"Move the banner a little further to the left, no, it's too far to the left."

Batur stood on a ladder, directing the hanging of the large red banner for the first Liaoning-Xinjiang River Crab Culture Festival.

A gust of wind blew, making the banner flutter loudly, almost pulling him down with it.

Ding Xuemin came out of the temporary command post carrying a stack of brochures. Seeing the scene, he shook his head and said, "Batur, come down first and let the professionals do it."

"I'm a professional!"

Batur was stubborn, but he still obediently climbed down.

He leaned closer to Ding Xuemin and lowered his voice: "Director, I just heard that more than a dozen restaurant owners and purchasing managers from three supermarket chains are coming from Dalian."

"I know."

Ding Xuemin handed him a brochure, "That's why we need to make sure things go well. Is the experience area I asked you to prepare ready?"

"Okay, okay!"

Batur patted his chest and said, "Twenty sets of waterproof pants, thirty fishing nets, and the scales have been calibrated three times."

"I guarantee those city folks will have a blast."

Ding Xuemin nodded and walked towards the folk cooking area.

Before we even got close, we could hear Aunt Sadette's loud voice:

"This pot won't do."

We Kazakhs cook crabs in thick-bottomed pots; thin-bottomed pots will burn them!

Uyghur auntie Aygul retorted, "We need a big iron pot to make pilaf crab, yours is too small!"

The two old ladies argued heatedly, their faces flushed, while the young women nearby covered their mouths and laughed.

Ding Xuemin quickly smoothed things over: "Ladies, this is a cultural exchange, not a competition."

How about this: we set out thick-bottomed pans on one side and large iron pots on the other, each cooking its own, so the guests can try different flavors?

The two old ladies exchanged a glance, then snorted and went about their own business.

On the day of the cultural festival, the breeding area was brightly lit before dawn.

Ding Xuemin got up at five o'clock and walked around the entire venue again.

In the intelligent aquaculture demonstration area, Researcher Lü was debugging the equipment; the long table in the signing area was covered with red velvet, and the contracts were neatly stacked; the most eye-catching was the live broadcast area—three large screens and six camera positions, as professional as a TV station.

"Director Ding, our guests from Dalian have arrived!"

Batur came running over, panting.

Three buses drove into the breeding area.

As soon as the car door opened, fifty or sixty people got out, including young people carrying cameras and taking pictures everywhere, bosses in suits and ties, and several burly men in chef's uniforms.

Manager Wang, who was leading the team, reached out his hand from afar, "Director Ding, we meet again!"

"Welcome, welcome!"

After shaking hands, Ding Xuemin called out to the crowd, "Thank you all for coming from afar. You've had a long journey."

Our cultural festival is about to begin, so let's start by experiencing the fun of crab catching!

The crowd surged toward the experience pond.

Once the waterproof pants were on and the fishing net was in hand, the city dwellers immediately became interested.

"Wow, this crab is really fierce!"

A young man wearing glasses had just caught one when he almost got his hand pinched by the crab claw.

The burly man in the chef's uniform next to him laughed: "Young man, you have to grab him from behind, look at me like this—"

He skillfully pinched the crab's back, and the crab's eight legs kicked wildly, but it just couldn't turn around.

"Master is amazing!" the young man said, giving a thumbs up.

"Having been a chef for twenty years, how could I not know how to catch crabs?"

The big man said proudly, "But the crabs raised in this snow water are indeed different; they have hard shells and firm meat."

Batur was maintaining order on the side, but his eyes were always on the men in suits. They were the supermarket purchasing managers, and whether or not they could close a deal today depended mainly on them.

The folk cooking competition officially began at 10:00 AM.

The Uyghur and Kazakh ethnic groups each sent three teams, all using local ingredients, but the cooking methods were completely different.

Aunt Aygul braises crab, mutton, carrots, and raisins together in pilaf, and the aroma is irresistible when it's done.

Aunt Sadette used brick tea and fresh milk as a base, added crab and grassland spices, and cooked a pot of milky white soup.

The chefs from Dalian gathered around, watching with great interest.

A chubby chef stroked his chin and said, "This combination is amazing! The freshness of the seafood and the aroma of the lamb blend together perfectly. I have to try it."

Another skinny chef said, "That crab cooked in milk tea is truly innovative. I'll try making it that way with seafood from Dalian when I get back."

On the judges' panel, Ding Xuemin and Manager Wang sat side by side, with six dishes laid out in front of them.

"How would you rate this?"

Manager Wang smiled wryly, "They're all too delicious."

"Then award them all first prize."

Ding Xuemin was prepared, saying, "This is an exchange, not a competition."

When the results were announced, both elderly women beamed with joy.

Aunt Sadette grabbed the Dalian chef's hand and wouldn't let go: "Let me teach you, this is how you put the spices..."

The highlight of the afternoon was the signing ceremony.

Ding Xuemin stood on a makeshift stage, with more than a dozen business owners sitting below, each with a draft contract in front of them.

"Everyone, let's get straight to the point."

He opened the PowerPoint presentation, and a live video of the aquaculture area appeared on the big screen: crabs swimming in the water, data jumping, and solar panels shining. "This is our aquaculture base."

The entire process is traceable and transparent.

The contract signed today guarantees a stable supply and consistent quality.

He paused, then emphasized, "Moreover, we guarantee that every crab that leaves here is raised with snowmelt from the Tianshan Mountains and carries the blessings of our fellow villagers from all ethnic groups."

There was a few seconds of silence from the audience.

Then Manager Wang was the first to stand up: "Our Dalian Seafood Restaurant will sign a three-year contract!"

As if that was the beginning, one after another, people stood up:

"Carrefour has signed a two-year contract!"

"Liaoning Fishery Group signed a three-year contract!"

"Seaside resort lease..."

Batur took notes beside him. Once the last contract was signed, he leaned close to Ding Xuemin's ear, his voice trembling, "Director, in total... an order worth over eight million."

Ding Xuemin took a deep breath and bowed deeply to the audience.

The live-streaming team got busy as soon as the signing ceremony ended.

"Hello everyone, we are currently at the Liaoning River Crab Culture Festival."

The female anchor smiled brightly at the camera, "As you can see, behind me are the bosses who just signed the cooperation agreement. And to my left—"

The camera then shifts to the aquaculture pond: "This is where these crabs live."

Through the cameras we've set up, everyone can see the breeding situation in real time.

Come on, let's zoom in and see what the baby crabs are doing...

The number of viewers in the live stream skyrocketed. The chat was flooded with comments:

"You can see the crab grow from scratch, so you can buy with confidence!"

"Please provide the link; I want to buy that cultural festival gift set!"

"That blessing knot is so pretty, is it sold separately?"

Ding Xuemin looked at the backend data and saw that within half an hour of the broadcast, the number of viewers had exceeded 500,000, and more than 1,000 gift boxes had been pre-sold.

"Boss, it's exploded!" The young man in operations was so excited his face turned red.

"Don't rush, stay calm," Ding Xuemin said, but couldn't help but laugh herself.

As evening approached, the cultural festival drew to a close, but the crowds had not yet dispersed.

Several restaurant owners from Dalian wouldn't let Ding Xuemin go:

"Director Ding, we'd like to establish a long-term partnership. We'd not only buy crabs, but also consider using this place as a research and study base, bringing our chefs here to learn."

"Yes, yes, we'd like to try your crab-grass-mushroom ecological farming method when we get back."

Ding Xuemin agreed to each one.

As they were talking, Batur came running over again, this time even faster:

"Director! The airport duty-free shop called, asking if we can stock our Tianshan souvenir gift boxes!"

"We also want to set up a counter in a boutique supermarket in East China!"

Ding Xuemin looked around—the lights in the aquaculture area were already on in the setting sun. Children were still catching crabs in the experience pond, the aroma of food wafted from the folk culture area, and the owners in the signing area chatted about their cooperation in twos and threes.

Manager Wang walked over and handed him a cigarette: "Director Ding, today's show is a success."

Ding Xuemin took the cigarette, but didn't light it; he just held it in his hand.

"This is just the beginning." He looked into the distance. "When our crabs enter every household in Dalian, the airport duty-free shops, and the supermarkets in East China, then we'll truly be a success."

"Ambitious."

Manager Wang smiled, "But I like it. Let's work together."