"Shanxi cuisine cannot be served on the table."
In 1938, Huangpu gentleman Chu Yunfei said these words to Li Yunlong, commander of the Eighth Route Army, in front of a table full of local dishes, which he would regret for half his life.
He did not expect that he would travel from a food researcher in the 21st century to the person who said this. What's more, I didn't expect that in the raging war, what really failed to make it to the table was not the food, but the fragility of civilization under the iron heel.
So, this most "fastidious" commander of the national army began to secretly do the most "rustic" things:
——The Japanese army engaged in "dietary assimilation", and he secretly rebuilt the old vinegar shop;
——His wife Fang Mengying is an underground party member, and he tacitly guards the cultural relics transfer line;
——He even joined forces with his "old enemy" Li Yunlong, using jealousy to make landmines and rancid military rations, fighting a series of tongue-in-cheek sniping battles.
From the Taihang Mountains to Kinmen Island, from the streets of Taiwan to Chinatown in the United States, he guarded several jars of vinegar and made the Shanxi flavor that was "not on the table" onto the world's dining tables.
However, when he finally returned with a multinational catering empire, what awaited him was that his old friends were gone and the country had changed.
Li Yunlong asked: "Brother Chu, what are you trying to do in your life?"
Chu Yunfei looked at the crowds of tourists in the museum and chuckled:
"Brother Yunlong, look -"
"This Shanxi cuisine that is served now is the dish that has been served on China's counters for centuries."
**[An epic about dignity: A gentleman may not be able to guard the mountains and rivers, but he must guard the fire of civilization. **
