New Year’s Eve 1964.
Lin Sanqi never dreamed that he would not spend the holiday in his new home in Baishan Villa in Hong Kong, but in Daqing, 3,400 kilometers away.
One is the southernmost part of the motherland, and the other is the northernmost part of the motherland, as if they are two different worlds.
Lin Sanqi couldn't even call home because the call was too difficult with all the connections. It would take him at least an hour to make a call.
Faced with the oil workers queuing up to call home, Lin Sanqi had no choice but to give way.
At 6 p.m., it was already completely dark.
Lin Sanqi stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, feeling particularly unhappy as he watched the oil workers heading to the auditorium in groups to watch a movie.
Minister Zheng also sighed:
"Comrade Sanqi, you were right to criticize us during the day. Even if the task is arduous, we don't need a day or two. It's New Year's Day, and we should let our workers rest instead of working day and night."
Lin Sanqi ended up saying something without thinking:
"Those who plant trees will enjoy the shade. These respectable and lovable people dedicated their lives to this great northern wilderness. But decades later, they helped a bunch of prodigals. They've forgotten their original aspirations."
Minister Zheng had a lot of question marks in his mind, thinking, I'm talking about now, why are you talking about decades later?
But officials are always full of energy, and Minister Zheng didn't think Lin Sanqi would express this sentiment for no reason, so he also said:
"Comrade Sanqi, do you think that in a few decades, our country will be self-sufficient in oil supply?"
Lin Sanqi thought, I'll scare you to death if I tell you this, but in a few decades, my country's annual oil imports will reach 500 million tons, which is fifty times the current national oil production.
Moreover, this oil gap is not getting smaller, but on the contrary is getting bigger year by year.
Then the two oil companies that monopolize the national supply of refined oil settle accounts every year and make losses every year. It is really a bizarre society.
"Minister Zheng, who can predict what will happen decades from now? But with such lovely oil workers like us here, I believe all problems will be solved."
Minister Zheng also laughed out loud when he heard this:
"Yes, the future must be handed over to the next generation. I hope each generation will be stronger than the previous one, so that our country can prosper."
Lin Sanqi curled his lips. In a sense, each generation is stronger than the previous one, for example, the speed at which they spend money.
Just here, Director Wu came out of the cafeteria and shouted excitedly:
"Minister Zheng, Minister Lin, the New Year's Eve dinner is ready, let's get started."
Lin Sanqi was delighted when he heard this and trotted towards the cafeteria.
"Ha, good, good, I heard you prepared a lot of game, so I'm going to feast on it today."
As you walk into the cafeteria, you will see a large round table with plates of steaming dishes on it, and the aroma instantly hits your nose.
Lin Sanqi trotted over, drooling:
"Wow, this smells so good, what kind of meat is this?"
As soon as Director Wu saw Lin Sanqi's excited expression, he knew that the flattery he had received at tonight's dinner was a success.
You should know that in order to prepare this table of wild game, he called all the communes in the nearby Anda County and urgently collected all the wild game that could be hunted by the local people. All of them were the freshest, not frozen.
"Minister Lin, this is roe deer meat, this pot is yellow sheep meat, and this pot of dry pot meat is rabbit meat. They are all game we just hunted today.
There is also this basin, this basin is sika deer meat, but I will not prepare deer blood for Minister Lin, otherwise, Minister Lin will definitely not be able to sleep well tonight after drinking the deer blood."
Hahahaha~~~
Today, all the men at the table have expressions that say you know what I mean, and they all understand each other tacitly.
After Director Wu finished laughing, he continued:
"But don't worry, Minister Lin. We have already prepared the deer antlers. This is our way of thanking Minister Lin for sending so many gifts today, hehe."
Lin Sanqi's eyes were now fixed on the other basin of frogs, his face filled with fear.
"No, Director Wu, you have a whole basin of frogs. Why didn't you just cut open their stomachs and take out their internal organs? Why did you just cook them? This is so, so unhygienic."
The people around wanted to laugh again, and Director Wu also happily introduced:
"Minister Lin, you're wrong. This is called the wood frog, a specialty of our Northeast. It's very delicious and doesn't require removing the internal organs.
Because there is a seed on each side of the frog's stomach that must not be removed. It is very nutritious and delicious. Minister Lin, you must not miss it.
Lin Sanqi swallowed his saliva. Although as a Cantonese, he would eat anything, but the whole frog made him feel a little scared.
This is because there are a lot of parasites in the stomach of this kind of frog. If you swallow them all with one bite, you don't know what disease you will get.
At this time, the chef brought up another basin of new dishes. Lin Sanqi looked at it carefully and laughed:
"Oh, I know this dish. Chicken stewed with mushrooms, right?"
Apart from Errenzhuan, the most representative Northeastern culture on TV decades later is the stewed chicken with mushrooms.
Director Wu nodded repeatedly and flattered:
"Minister Lin really has good taste. Chicken stewed with mushrooms is a very common home-cooked dish in Northeast China, but it is delicious. The combination of this flying dragon meat and these hazel mushrooms is simply eye-popping."
Lin Sanqi was a little surprised:
"That's not right. Chicken stew with mushrooms, they didn't use ordinary domestic chickens? And what is this flying dragon?"
Director Wu introduced very patiently:
“You can use ordinary chicken as the material, but the most authentic material must be flying dragon.
Flying dragon usually refers to the hazel grouse, a forest resident bird unique to our Greater Khingan Range. Its meat is snow-white and tender, rich in nutrients and delicious. It is known as the dragon meat in the sky and is a rare delicacy in the Northeast.
Lao Zhang, you still have a few living flying dragons, right? Bring them over to Minister Lin to have a look."
When Chef Zhang heard this, he immediately picked up a "bird" from behind. The bird was about 40 centimeters long and smaller than an ordinary chicken raised at home.
As soon as Lin Sanqi saw the pattern and color of the feathers, he knew it was almost certain that it was a beast that had been in prison for a long time.
I thought to myself, it’s a good thing this was 1964. If it were 2016, no matter if you were a minister or a department head, this table of food would probably be enough to sentence you to ten years in prison.
Before he could finish complaining in his mind, another dish came up from the kitchen.
At this time, Director Wu said as if he was presenting a treasure:
"Minister Lin, this is tonight's highlight dish, braised bear paw. Our chef spent a full eight hours cooking this dish."
Lin Sanqi was sweating when he heard this, thinking to himself, well, it was really bad luck for him to encounter wild animals in the Northeast.
But the aroma of the braised bear paw still made his mouth water unconsciously.
Minister Zheng said with a smile:
"Come on, Comrade Sanqi, please take your seat. Our comrades from Daqing Oilfield have gone to great lengths to welcome you, the God of Wealth. We've searched through several nearby counties to get these wild game. I'm really taking advantage of you, haha."
Lin Sanqi thought, Old Zheng, we have company when we go to jail.
"Okay, then I'll obey you. These are all great treasures. I have to eat them quickly. In a few years, they might even be protected animals."
Director Wu then filled Lin Sanqi and Minister Zheng's glasses with wine, then raised his bowl and said:
"It is an honor to celebrate the Spring Festival with Minister Lin and Minister Zheng tonight. Come, comrades, let us drink this cup to the fullest, to celebrate our motherland, to celebrate our oil industry, and to celebrate Minister Lin and Minister Zheng!!!"
“Okay~~~”
The atmosphere when northerners drink is extremely lively, and the whole cafeteria became lively in an instant.
Lin Sanqi had seen drinking parties in Shandong before, so he was naturally extremely wary of this kind of reckless drinking. The feeling of being drunk was really too uncomfortable.
So after finishing a bowl of white wine, Lin Sanqi covered the mouth of the bowl with his hand.
Director Wu was even more enthusiastic and insisted on pouring wine:
"Minister Lin, it's a rare opportunity for you to come to our Daqing Oilfield. We must make sure you eat and drink well. You only drank a bowl of wine. It seems you are not satisfied with our reception."
Lin Sanqi looked at the table full of animals in prison and thought that you really put a lot of thought into preparing this table.
If you were to mess with this table a few decades later, he would start to suspect that some unscrupulous people were out to harm him. (End of this chapter)
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