Chapter 259 Eating

Zhuang Baoru picked up a piece of turtle skirt for the old lady and said, "Try the turtle that your son-in-law bought but stared at with no idea how to deal with it."

"Zhuang Baoru, you've said this several times today." Mo Weiwen pretended to be angry, "Mom, she always calls me 'thirteen'."

Yu Siqi picked up a piece of rock sugar turtle and asked, "What does '13 o'clock' mean?"

"Crazy line." Zhuang Baoru explained succinctly.

The younger generation couldn't help laughing. Although Mo Weiwen didn't understand Cantonese, he knew that this was definitely not a good thing to say, so he picked up a piece of turtle leg for his lover and said, "Okay, save some face for me in front of the children, okay?"

Zhuang Baoru lowered her head and started to eat the soft-shelled turtle. The skin of the turtle was soft and glutinous, the sauce was rich and mellow, and the sweetness and saltiness blended together, making people want to eat more.

Seeing her reaching for her chopsticks again, Mo Weiwen said, "I bought it and didn't know how to kill it, so I asked Ningning to come over to help, but you ended up scolding me for being silly. Now you're eating it, one piece after another, and you can't stop."

Zhuang Baoru rolled her eyes at her lover and gave him a piece of meat: "Eat your meal well."

Mo Weiwen took a small bowl, scooped two spoonfuls of pond carp stewed eggs for Zhuang Baoru, and placed it in front of her: "You eat too."

The old lady looked at the young couple... No, Baoru is already in her early fifties. But no matter how old Baoru is, she is always the chirping lark in their family.

"I'm going to start eating. Do you want to eat?" Qiao Junshen opened the aluminum pot and said, "Salted pork and vegetable rice."

The aroma of bacon and the freshness of green vegetables hit you in the face. Each grain of rice is covered with crystal oil. The green leaves and diced bacon mixed in the rice are particularly tempting.

"I'll eat too."

Everyone wanted to eat, so Qiao Junshen served rice to everyone. Ye Yunxian took a bite of the rice, the rice grains were springy, the salty aroma and fat of the bacon were completely permeated into the rice grains, and the vegetables still maintained a crisp and tender texture. She exclaimed: "Ningning, how can you make rice so delicious."

"The first time I tasted Ningning's cooking was when she made Dongping chicken rice. I will remember the taste for the rest of my life after having it once." Cui Huiyi looked at Qiao Junxian, "Junxian has been looking for Ningning everywhere because he missed that bite of chicken rice."

"When we were in the northwest, it was hard to eat rice, so we cooked it with potatoes and shallots," Mo Weiwen recalled with a smile. "With Ningning and Zhirong, those days were not so hard."

Speaking of Ningning's father, Mo Weiwen asked again: "Ningning, you should have no problem getting into college, right?"

"Uncle-in-law, she has already found a good teacher for herself." said Qiao Junshen.

Mo Weiwen was a little confused and asked, "What's going on?"

"Professor Wanboda, don't you know him? Do you know him?" Yue Ning asked.

Before Mo Weiwen could speak, Professor Zhu, who had just finished his meal and was washing dishes, ran over and said, "Who? Wan Boda? Did I hear you right?"

"It's Professor Wan who wrote "Inflation and Currency Collapse." Yue Ning said.

Professor Zhu held the basin and asked, "Did Mr. Wan go to Hong Kong?"

"He retired due to old age and went back to Tianjin. Then he passed by Gangcheng and I happened to have a chance to chat with him. He wanted to go back to his hometown in Tianjin to teach, but after interacting with teachers and students, he found that the entire theoretical system was completely different. He said that if he were younger, he would have the energy to teach bit by bit, but now he is old and does not have the energy to teach from the beginning. I suggested that he stay at Gangcheng University. After all, Asia will become the engine of global development in the next few decades. It is convenient to do research here and it is also convenient to go back to the mainland for exchanges."

"Did you suggest it to him?" Professor Zhu asked.

Mo Weiwen moved a stool over and said, "Old Zhu, sit down and have a bite together."

"No, no. I'll go wash the dishes first and ask the girl later." Professor Zhu felt embarrassed to disturb everyone's meal at this time, so he took the basin and went in to wash the dishes.

The sink was right next to him, and Mo Weiwen continued to ask Yue Ning: "Why did you make this suggestion to Mr. Wan?"

"I had a very good conversation with him and we had similar views. I think the future development of the world economy will be in Japan in ten years and in China in fifty years." Yue Ning picked up a piece of celery and dried tofu with chopsticks. "Before I left, he called me and said that he would be able to join City University of Hong Kong soon and would be able to teach me when school starts."

Mo Weiwen and Zhuang Baoru sent their daughters to study in the United States last summer vacation. After decades of absence, their black hair has turned white, but that's not too bad.

Classmates and friends from 20 or 30 years ago have now become top figures in various industries. Now Europe and the United States are trying to win over China to jointly deal with the Soviet Union. As Chinese scholars, they are welcomed and have the opportunity to see some advanced technologies and equipment.

The couple felt somewhat lost. The United States did not allow scientists like them to return to China, so they traveled to many countries before they were able to return to China. In the years since returning to China, Mo Weiwen spent nearly half of his time growing potatoes in the northwest, and although Zhuang Baoru was in Shanghai, his research work was also sporadic.

At this time, when I heard my child say, "Look at Japan in ten years, look at China in fifty years," I could only sigh that it's great to be young, but if I say that China will be like Japan in the future? He has no confidence.

In any case, Mo Weiwen was happy that his child had a good teacher. After sending Xiaoying and Xiaoya to the United States, he felt more and more that Ningning's talent might be better if she went to the United States to study. Now that the top American scholars have gone to Hong Kong, he is relieved that his child can have such a teacher to teach him.

Mo Weiwen responded casually: "I hope so. If our country can seize the opportunity and develop pragmatically, if it can be like Mexico and Brazil..."

"Pah, pah, pah, uncle, please don't talk nonsense. Our country can't be like Mexico, which is vulnerable to storms." Yue Ning put down his chopsticks and shook his head repeatedly. "The problem with South American countries is that they borrow foreign debt to build infrastructure, but the money they earn can't even fill the interest hole. Mexico's foreign debt is now almost catching up with its GDP. It has experienced two oil crises in the past decade. When crude oil prices soared, their lives were certainly better, but once crude oil prices fell, how can they repay their debts? Moreover, the United States is raising interest rates sharply at this time, and foreign exchange will be cut off immediately. By then, there will be no money to import food."

She suddenly realized that her tone was too hasty, so she softened her voice and said, "Uncle, the growth they have built up by selling resources and raising foreign debt is like building a building on the beach. It will collapse as soon as the waves hit it."

Zhuang Baoru paused while picking up the food. She had seen many drawbacks of colonial economy when she was in Southeast Asia. She asked, "So you're saying we need to focus on manufacturing?"

Yue Ning nodded heavily: "Yes! Just like Japan started with textiles and home appliances after the war, turning people into 'skilled workers', this is a hundred times better than simply selling mines and agricultural products. We are now building special economic zones to attract foreign investment to learn technology. As long as we firmly control the industrial chain in our own hands, even if it is windy and rainy outside, we have food at home and we don't have to panic."

Professor Zhu, who was washing dishes, put down his chopsticks and rushed over to ask, "Little girl, do you mean that the 'import substitution strategy' won't work?"

Yue Ning shook his head and explained, "Teacher Zhu, Latin America is doing 'import substitution', but they only focus on heavy industry, leaving agriculture and light industry in tatters. Even matches and soap have to be imported. Latin America's debt crisis is imminent. We can't go down this path. We should develop township enterprises first, get light industry going, earn foreign exchange and then feed back to heavy industry. We have to 'walk on two legs'."

Professor Zhu studies macroeconomics and has returned from overseas. He was also sent to a distant place during those years. He has just returned for two years and picked up books to do research again. The textbooks he wrote in these years are no longer usable. He is currently rewriting the textbooks, but because he has been in the countryside for too long, he has not been able to update his knowledge in time, and he is afraid of delaying his students. He makes up for his knowledge every day. Recently, he happened to be studying the economic situation of South American countries, especially after the country opened its doors. Seeing that Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina are so developed, he naturally wants to learn from them.

Now that everyone is talking about this topic, how can he not be anxious to ask?

"Yes! The US dollar interest rate is rising, and those countries can't pay back their debts. I'm afraid these seemingly prosperous countries won't be able to hold on." Professor Zhu sighed, "So we can borrow foreign debt, but it must be used to purchase technology and equipment, not to build luxury hotels or import color TVs and refrigerators."

Mo Weiwen pulled Professor Zhu to sit down again and gave him a set of bowls and chopsticks.

"Teacher Zhu, don't worry! We will not be like Latin America. China will definitely become the most dynamic emerging market in the world." Yue Ning began to elaborate on her argument that "the future is in China."

Mo Weiwen listened to Yue Ning's confident words and thought it was a good thing that the child was willing to think. Although he knew that a child like Siqi, who was already a big boss in the family, would have his own judgment, it was still inappropriate for the child to make such a sudden conclusion. He planned to talk to the child privately later and ask her to be more calm.

"Uncle, our family has opened up many South American routes and ports over the years. This time when Dad came to Gangcheng, he also talked about the current situation in South America. He was originally hesitating whether to sell the ships on the South American route. After talking with Ningning, he made up his mind." Yu Siqi smiled and said to Mo Weiwen, "This girl kept asking us to invest in China, invest in Shanghai, invest in Guangdong Province, and invest in Beijing. She has been publicly saying in Gangcheng that the best investment target in the future is China."

"Cousin, this statement is ambiguous. I think Japan will develop rapidly in the next ten years, followed by South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Our mainland will not really start to develop rapidly until after the 1990s. But as Chinese, or people of Chinese descent, if we don't just consider maximizing benefits, we can start investing in China now." Yue Ning said, "If you want to make quick money, investing in Japan now is a good choice."

Ye Yunxian said to Zhuang Baoru: "Aunt, let me tell you, these little bastards secretly took advantage of me and Sister Yuanyuan. They brought Zhiyuan together to set up an investment company and bought up a lot of real estate in Japan."

Yuanyuan is Yu Siqi's nickname.

Yue Ning smiled and said, "There's no rush. There's no difference between buying last year and buying this year. Aren't we planning to wait ten years to see the results?"

Professor Zhu asked questions while listening to everyone's conversation. He went to Japan to attend a conference in the first half of this year. Standing on the streets of Tokyo, even though he had studied there before, he felt as if he was in another world.

Now listen to Yue Ning explain the context of Japan's development and listen to her talk about the arguments in Professor Wan's new book "Economic Driving Force in Asia in the Next Decade".

"Ningning! Can you help me buy these books? The books we can find here are really limited." Professor Zhu asked Yue Ning.

Yue Ning nodded and agreed: "Okay! After I go back, if I come across a good book, I will send it to you."

"Thank you! Thank you so much."

Professor Chen took out the bowl and said, "Ningning! Today everyone in my family praised the braised eel you made. It tasted so good. You can really go to the Xijiao Guest House and be a chef."

He recognized the mandarin duck and peony enamel basin in the sink and said, "Teacher Zhu, are you going to wash the dishes?"

Professor Zhu stood up immediately: "I'm coming, I'm coming."

"What are you doing?"

"I was talking to Ningning about Japan's economy."

Professor Chen looked at Yue Ning and asked in confusion: "Isn't the little girl a chef?"