Chapter 78: Delicious food can also be written in a high-class style
That afternoon, Gao Jialin met Niu Xinliang at the Meilong Town Restaurant on Nanjing West Road. This time, they were going to discuss the new book, so they didn't invite anyone else.
This is a time-honored restaurant founded during the Republic of China period. It was named after the anecdote of Emperor Zhengde's secret visit to the "Meilong Town Tavern" in the classical Peking Opera "The Dragon and the Phoenix". It specializes in Huaiyang cuisine. Classic dishes such as crab meat and shark fin, dry-fried prawns, crystal shrimp, fish inlaid noodles, and dry-fried green beans are well-known in Shanghai and have made a name for themselves as "Mei's cuisine".
As soon as they sat down, Niu Xinliang asked in confusion, "Didn't we eat here last time? I told you a long time ago that the quality of this restaurant is not as good as before. We didn't enjoy the meal last time, so why come again?"
"I came here because I didn't feel comfortable eating. Last time you told me that once Lu Wenfu's "Gourmet" was published, no matter where he went to eat, the restaurant had to serve him well, for fear that he wouldn't eat well! I also want to learn from Lu Wenfu!" Gao Jialin said with a smile.
He also ate at some good restaurants in later life, many of which had the problem of serving different dishes to different people. For the same price, the dishes served at your restaurant and at Suipo's restaurant would be completely different.
Now that I'm rich and I love to eat, I naturally don't want to experience this feeling again, so I'd better make myself famous as a food connoisseur, so that when I go to these restaurants to eat in the future, I can enjoy the same treatment as Sui Po and avoid wasting money.
Niu Xinliang thought seriously for a moment and said, "Novels with food themes? There aren't many good works on this theme, but there are reasons for this. First, authors don't have the same good conditions as Lu Wenfu to taste all kinds of food frequently. Second, it's not nice to say that food is delicious! It's hard to write without material and life experience, and it's not convenient to write with a bad reputation. This is why food novels are scarce!"
Gao Jialin wrote down a few dishes on the menu and handed it to Niu Xinliang for him to order. Niu Xinliang ordered braised pork and shark's fin with crab roe without even looking at it. "These are the only dishes they have now."
After ordering the dishes, Gao Jialin asked him a question, "Do you think readers like to read works on food? I don't know about others, but when I read the Gaoyou Salted Duck Eggs written by Mr. Wang Zengqi, my mouth was watering for a long time!"
"Of course I like to read it, but if you want to publish it, you can't just write about food, otherwise the editor-in-chief will not be happy! You can either learn from Mr. Wang and incorporate folk customs and hometown feelings; or learn from Lu Wenfu and use food to reflect the changes of the times! Only in this way can the article be enriched. Otherwise, now that people can't even eat meat freely, you talk about food in your work, which is definitely not right!"
Niu Xinliang's expression became serious as he spoke. "I've seen your name in the newspapers quite a lot recently. You have a bright future ahead of you, but you can't get a bad reputation because of your greed. It's not good for your future!"
"Teacher Niu really cares about me." He cares about himself, so of course he has to thank him. However, Gao Jialin had already thought of what he said, "But don't worry, I will definitely not make such a mistake. I will tell you the story I plan to write. You will definitely applaud after listening to it!"
"Oh? Go ahead."
"The inspiration for this story actually comes from the story you told me when we came here for dinner last time." Niu Xinliang likes to tell stories while eating, sometimes they are about a certain dish, sometimes they are about restaurants. These stories reminded Gao Jialin of a food movie in later generations, "Spring Breeze in Meilong Town".
"My work begins with the victory banquet you told me about. In 1946, to celebrate the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, Mei Songxiao, Long Enen, Fang Yuanzhen and Li Yishao worked together in the kitchen of the Meilong Town Restaurant to carefully prepare thirteen dishes for the victory banquet. Each family prepared three dishes for the first twelve dishes, and the last dish, 'Dragon and Wind Four Joys Coming Together', was prepared by four people. All the diners who tasted it praised it as excellent, especially the last dish..."
"One year later, on New Year's Eve, although the atmosphere was still lively, Mei, Long, Zhen and Shao had a fierce quarrel. In the end, the sign of 'Meilong Town' fell to the ground and was divided into three parts. 'Mei', 'Long' and 'Zhen' fell apart from then on..."
"In the decades since then, Shanghai has undergone many changes, and the Meilong Town Restaurant has also experienced several ups and downs. After the reform and opening up, Fang Yuanzhen's grandson Fang Zhenjin re-hung the sign of the Meilong Town Restaurant. Unfortunately, because the cooking skills were lost, the Meilong Town Restaurant was never able to regain its former glory."
"One day, a well-dressed old man came to Meilong Town and ordered four dishes for the victory banquet. Three of them were made by Fang Yuanzhen in the past, and the last one was 'Dragon, Phoenix and Four Joys Coming Together'."
"The story is good enough, but the theme is not enough. If you write it, it won't be a problem to publish it in "Story Club", but it won't be published in our "Sprout"." Hearing this, Niu Xinliang couldn't help but interrupt him.
It can be heard that he was quite dissatisfied with Gao Jialin's secret contribution to "Story Club". This is normal. Serious literature has always looked down on popular literature, even in later generations.
"Don't worry, I've only just started!"
Just then the dishes came up. Gao Jialin happily ate a few pieces of braised meat, whetting Niu Xinliang's appetite. Then he continued, "The old man tasted these four dishes and pointed out the shortcomings of each one, which made Fang Zhenjin admire him greatly."
"When the old man talked about the grand victory banquet, Fang Yuanzhen was envious. He couldn't help but want to find the descendants of the three families, Mei, Long, and Shao, and restore the glory of Meilong Town in the past!"
"Through the old man's narration, Fang Zhenjin learned that Wu Shaolong, a descendant of the Long family, is now in Hong Kong, Meihua, a descendant of the Mei family, is in Taiwan, and the descendants of chef Li Yishao are in Macau."
"Bang!" Niu Xinliang didn't move at all after hearing all the things that Gao Jialin said before. Only then did he realize what kind of story Gao Jialin wanted to write. He suddenly became so excited that he couldn't control himself and slapped the table hard.
"Just tell me whether my topic is good or not!"
"Your theme is so clever." Niu Xinliang was so excited that he spoke in Shanghainese.
What time is it now? At the end of last year, China and the United Kingdom signed a joint statement, deciding to take back Hong Kong in 1997; at the same time, the chief architect also proposed to use the same method to solve the Macau issue.
And the anticipation for the treasure island has never stopped. Before his death, Mr. Liao wrote a personal letter to Nicholas. This year, Guangxi Film Studio began filming "Bloody Battle of Taierzhuang". In addition to commemorating the contribution of the national army in the War of Resistance, it also wants to use this film to convey some information to the island.
Isn't the divided Meilong Town Restaurant the country that has not yet been unified? Needless to say, the following plot is known, and it must be the four companies working together to restore the former glory of Meilong Town. Doesn't this symbolize that the Chinese nation will be unified and will achieve great rejuvenation?
For a work like this, who dares to say that the theme is not lofty enough?
A work that caters to the general trend, establishes the image of a food connoisseur, and earns royalties is simply killing three birds with one stone. No wonder Niu Xinliang praised him for his clever mind. Is this something that an average person can come up with? (End of this chapter)
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