Chapter 16 third chapter

Murray is depressed and bored now, and he doesn't want to explain too much and prevaricates, "No... maybe it's just a similar taste." A few friends noticed that Murray was in a bad mood now, and he didn't want to say more, so he stopped asking. After walking silently for a while, Murray suddenly yelled "Ah", which startled everyone. "That piece of meat... I didn't finish it!" Murray yelled. "You just remembered now?" Lao Yu's eyes widened, "We thought you couldn't eat anymore," "No, I have to go back..." Murray turned and walked back, "Why do you want to go back to pack after walking for so long!" Lao Yu held him back, "There is no chance."

"Maybe they didn't clean up so quickly!" Murray held a glimmer of hope. He only realized now that he should take this piece of meat home and study it carefully. Lao Yu waved his hands and said, "It's not a matter of cleaning up. Lao Su saw that you haven't come back for a long time, so he helped you eat..." "You!" Murray stared at Old Su in anger. "I thought you couldn't eat it..." Lao Su scratched his head and said embarrassedly: "Besides, it won't taste good when it's cold." Murray closed his eyes helplessly and let out a long sigh.

"Old Mu, don't be angry, next time I will invite us to eat here." Old Su said apologetically. "The dishes here are random every time." Murray shook his head and said, "Who knows if we can eat that kind of crock pot stew again next time?" "Then eat something else!" Lao Su said: "There are many delicious dishes here, maybe we will find new delicacies next time we come." "I just want to eat this dish... well, forget it." Murray sighed depressingly. The atmosphere was a bit tense for a while... After a while of silence, Lao Chen broke the dullness, "By the way, speaking of the random order of dishes, have you noticed that every dish we eat can remind us of people of different ages and tastes?" Wonderful woman, I was wondering if it was because the table was full of male chefs that they made the corresponding dishes."

Old He smiled and said, "You mean if there is a table of women at the table, the chef will arrange dishes for them to imagine all kinds of beautiful men?" This remark caused everyone to burst into laughter, and Lao Yu said: "If the people who eat are half men and half women, what should we eat?" "You can't guess it, you can only know by eating it yourself." The friends chatted happily, but Murray fell silent again.When we got to the parking lot, everyone saw that he was out of his mind and suggested that he not drive and let Lao Yu take over. The car was driving on the night road, and Murray sat in the back seat, thinking about things.

He couldn't tell anyone around him what he had promised. But that was at that time, and now that this kind of meat is in the world again, it is absolutely impossible for him to ignore it and stop asking. But who should I talk to about this matter? After much deliberation, I think the only person who is most trustworthy and able to keep secrets is his son Mu Dongcheng. Mu Dongcheng went directly to his father's house after finishing the show from Vietnam before returning to work!Because my father called before and said that he had something important to discuss with him. Murray's wife died of illness the year before last.Mu Dongcheng is not married now. The father and son should be able to live together in the same city, but because of their respective jobs.Coupled with the different lifestyles of the two generations, they live separately.Mu Dongcheng usually visits his father every one or two weeks.Murray often appears on TV shows and has a group of old friends to accompany him, and his life is full and happy.

Under normal circumstances, he would not summon his son and call him must have a business. It was already seven o'clock in the evening when Mu Dongcheng arrived at his father's house. He dragged his suitcase into the living room and sat on the sofa looking a little tired. Mu Dongcheng was tall, thin and fair-skinned.He doesn't look like his father in appearance and figure. Morey poured a glass of water for his son and asked, "Did you eat when you were tired?" "I ate it on the plane." Mu Dongcheng drank half a glass of water and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Murray sat next to his son and asked, "How was this trip to Vietnam?" "It's not bad. We visited Hanoi, Haiphong, etc. The classic food and traditional snacks in several places are enough to open the eyes of readers. Dad, there are some things that you probably haven't eaten before." "Well," Murray said, "your magazines are getting more and more attractive." Mu Dongcheng saw that what his father wanted to discuss with him was obviously not his trip to Vietnam and asked, "Dad, what do you want to tell me?" Murray had already prepared his words before his son arrived.

He was silent for a moment and said: "Do you remember that I called you last week to taste a private kitchen in Yuechuan Ancient Town?" "Yes, but I couldn't go. You went?" Murray nodded, "I went with some friends." "It's Uncle Su, Uncle Chen and the others." "Yes, there are six people in total." "How about that private restaurant?" “Shocking, every dish is superb.” Mu Dongcheng was taken aback for a moment, and then showed a look of joy.He knew that his gourmet father rarely spoke so highly of a restaurant.He came to his senses: "Dad, are you going to ask our magazine to do an exclusive interview to introduce the latest gourmet information?"

"Of course. But that's not the point I'm talking about." Mu Dongcheng looked at his father and noticed his father's serious expression. Obviously what he wanted to say was not just recommending delicious food. Murray was silent again for a while, and finally decided to tell his son the secret that had been buried in his heart for nearly forty years. "There is one thing that I have kept in my heart for a long time. Only your grandpa, me and your mother knew about this matter. Then your grandpa passed away, and your mother also passed away the year before last. Now I know about it, but today I plan to Tell you about it."

Mu Dongcheng twisted his body uncomfortably - his father rarely talked to him so seriously, "What's the matter, Dad? It made me a little nervous." "Listen to me carefully." Murray looked at his son, "Dad has experienced three years of natural disasters, you know that." Mu Dongcheng nodded, "At that time, there was a famine all over the country. It was a little better in the city, and everyone had a rationed supply of food, but we were in the countryside at that time, and there was a serious shortage of food. In 1959, there were still some sweet potatoes and wheat bran. Eat, in 1960 and 1961, there was nothing to eat, only to scrape the bark and dig the grass roots. In the end, even the bark and grass roots were eaten by people. In order to fill their stomachs, they can only eat Guanyin clay. You Do you know what Avalokiteshvara is?"

Mu Dongcheng said: "It seems to be a kind of white clay used to make porcelain. Can it be eaten?" "Avalokitesvara soil is also called white eel mud in our hometown. Now it seems that of course it cannot be eaten, but people at that time had no choice but to use it to satisfy their hunger. Because this kind of soil cannot be digested by the human body, so eating it You will not be hungry, but because you cannot absorb and have no nutrition, people will eventually die. But at that time, many people had no choice—it is better to die of hunger than starvation—your grandma died because she ate too much Guanyin soil." Mu Dongcheng had never seen grandma, but he was still very sad to hear about this situation. Murray continued to recall the dusty past, "At that time, people in the countryside got married very early. I married your mother when I was sixteen, and gave birth to you when I was eighteen—but people who were born at that time were really born at an untimely time. You were born in 1961, which happened to be the worst time of the famine. There was a new person in the family, and there was no festive atmosphere, but it was even more gloomy. Because there was almost no food in the house, your mother had no milk. Watching a newborn baby starve to death?" Mu Dongcheng had never heard his father say these things, and now he was very curious and asked, "Then how did you support me?" Murray sighed, "I can't help it. Your grandpa had the cheek to go door-to-door to borrow food, but who could get food at that time? In the end, he only borrowed a little bit of wild vegetables and grass roots to satisfy his hunger. These things , All of them are eaten by your mother, I hope she will feed you with some milk after eating. Your grandma eats Guanyin soil every day in order to keep her grandson. "Your grandpa and I really couldn't eat it, so we had to bear it. In the end, the Guanyin clay that your grandma ate into the stomach could not be digested, causing abdominal distension and discomfort, and being unable to defecate—and died in extreme pain. "After your grandma died, grandpa lost all hope. He felt that the family was on the verge of death, and the whole family could only starve to death. At that time, my mother, my grandpa and I were hungry, swollen and weak, and you were about to die. He starved to death in his infancy. One afternoon, your grandpa took one last look at us, wiped away his old tears, and staggered out of the house. He knew he was going to die, and he didn’t want to die at home, because we didn’t even carry the corpse. I have no strength at all!" "I know that your grandpa may not come back when he goes out. But I didn't feel sad at that time, because I knew that our family of three would meet him in another world soon. At that time, I even looked forward to seeing him sooner. If you die, you will be completely relieved, and you will no longer have to endure the pain of starvation." When Mu Dongcheng heard this, his heart tightened.He was still a baby under one year old at that time, so he naturally had no impression of these things. At this moment, it sounds like there is really no way out of this situation, and he can't help asking: "Then how did our family survive in the end?" Woolen cloth?" Murray bit his lip and fell silent for a moment, "What happened later was very strange. My illusion at the time was like a dream." Mu Dongcheng stared at his father intently, "What happened?" "Your grandfather came back after going out for about two or three hours, and he grabbed the clothes on his chest tightly, and when he got home, he closed the door and took out a bag of things hidden in the clothes—that It was a package wrapped in oiled paper. I was so hungry that my eyes were dim and I didn’t see what was in the package. I only heard your grandpa excitedly say, “It’s saved, it’s saved! There’s something to eat this time!” The first reaction at the time was——Dad was already hungry and fainted, and his spirit was abnormal. Then, I saw your grandpa lit a fire in the kitchen, boiled a pot of water, and seemed to be cooking. After a while, I smelled A long-lost smell of food, but I still thought it was an illusion at the time—you know, it would be a miracle if you could pick up some wild vegetables at that time, and it would be as unrealistic to dream of being the richest man in the world today if you could eat meat.” "Those who have never experienced such a thing, it is difficult to imagine our feelings and emotions at that time. We were so ecstatic that we wolfed down the food without thinking about the source of the meat, and we didn't bother to ask - to be honest , even if we knew that this pot of meat was poisonous and we would die if we ate it, we would eat it without hesitation." "In a short while, the three of us ate up the whole pot of meat, and drank the soup upside down. The sense of satisfaction and happiness is really indescribable. After the meal, our physical strength and spirit recovered. Yes, your mother will soon have abundant milk, which can feed you well, and this pot of meat has brought our family back from the death line." Hearing this, Mu Dongcheng's eyes widened, he was extremely surprised, and asked, "How could such a thing happen? Where did Grandpa get this kind of meat?" "Then you and your mother really didn't ask?" Murray fell into a brief silence. After a while, he said: "Anything depends on the specific situation at the time. If you look at this matter now, it will make people feel incredible-meat of unknown origin, How could we keep eating it in a daze? But under the background of the great famine at that time, we really didn’t dare to inquire, for fear that if we did something wrong, we would never get this kind of meat again, that Sometimes, the fear of hunger far outweighs the satisfaction of curiosity." It sounds like you have eaten this meat more than once? " "Yes." Murray paused. "In fact, from 1961 to 1962, we ate almost a whole year." "What?" Mu Dongcheng was extremely surprised, "One year...that is to say, all of you can overcome the difficulties and survive three years of natural disasters only by relying on these mysterious meats!" "You should say 'we'." Murray reminded, "Don't forget, you are also a beneficiary of this meat. Without this meat, our family would not have survived the famine." "Well... yes." Mu Dongcheng bit his lip and thought for a while, then said, "My God, where did Grandpa go to find so much meat in a year?" "So, in order to keep the secret from leaking out, you guys have been hiding at home and eating this meat for a whole year?" "It's not that you don't go out at all. It's just that you don't go out often. At that time, people were hungry and had little energy. In order to preserve their energy, they stayed at home a lot of time." Murray said, "This situation continued until 1962. After increasing production, the famine was alleviated and controlled." "After the food crisis is over, will we still eat this kind of meat?" Murray shook his head, "No more. After the abundance of food, ordinary rice, vegetables and meat appeared on our table. Your grandfather never brought out that kind of meat again." "why?" "I asked that question, only once. Your grandpa put a stern look on his face and ruled that we were not allowed to ask any questions about that kind of meat. He told us to act as if we had never eaten this kind of meat. Forget No one is allowed to mention this matter again. Neither your mother nor I dared to make her angry, so we never dared to ask again. Until many years later, when your grandfather passed away, you did not hand over the truth—this fleshy matter is Became a fan." Mu Dongcheng frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Dad, I have to say, Grandpa's attitude is very acceptable." Murray looked at his son, "What do you want to say?" Mu Dongcheng hesitated for a moment, and said, "Dad, I didn't want to say that I disgusted you. Haven't you thought about it? Could this kind of meat be..." He didn't dare to continue. "You want to say, could it be the flesh of a dead person?" Murray understood what his son meant, he sighed, shook his head, and said, "Why didn't I think about it? In fact, there were such people who ate meat at that time." Human phenomenon. Some people were so hungry that they couldn’t take it anymore, so they quietly brought some fresh corpses home... But this kind of meat that your grandfather got is absolutely impossible.” "How are you sure?" Murray said: "You were too young to have seen people in famine areas at all. At that time, almost everyone was skinny, and the people who starved to death were even more terrible like skeletons. How can this kind of fat, fat Fat meat? If a person still has this kind of meat, he won’t starve to death. Besides, if your grandfather goes out to kill human flesh every day, can it last for a year?” "That's...that's really weird. You eat it every day. You can eat several big fat pigs in a year. Where do you get so much meat?" Murray frowned and said, "Yes, this matter has puzzled me for many years. Later, in order to find the answer, I searched for this mysterious meat all over the country and around the world. As a result, 40 years have passed, and I have not found it in any country. I ate it again in the region and region. In the process, I became a so-called gourmet.” "It turns out that it is for this reason that you study the cuisines of various places." Mu Dongcheng suddenly realized. "There are two reasons why I searched for this mysterious meat." Murray said, "The first is that I really want to find out what kind of meat your grandfather gave us to eat. If I don't know, I will I will never feel at ease in my life! Another reason is that this meat - is the most delicious food I have ever eaten in my life! After eating all over the world, I can say that there is no food taste that can be compared with This meat is on par! I really want to eat it again in my lifetime..." Speaking of this, Murray stared at his son, "Originally, after so many years, I haven't tasted it again, thinking it would be impossible. Unexpectedly, last week, I tasted this incomparable delicacy again." Mu Dongcheng froze for a moment, then widened his eyes in surprise, and said, "Dad, what do you mean..." "That's right, I ate the meat I ate 40 years ago again in the private restaurant in Yuechuan Ancient Town." Mu Dongcheng now knew the special significance of this private restaurant to his father, and he asked eagerly, "Are you sure? The meat you ate there was really that kind of meat?" "It can't be wrong." Murray said firmly, "Although it has been so many years, the wonderful taste of that meat has always been fresh in my memory, and I tasted it in one bite!" "Then did you find out what kind of meat this time?" "Still can't eat it." Murray shook his head and said, "It's not just me, you Uncle Su, Uncle Chen can't eat it either, they just think it's very delicious." "Then did you ask the chef of that restaurant what kind of meat it is?" Murray sighed: "This private restaurant has many weird rules, one of which is that guests are not allowed to inquire about the source of ingredients and cooking process of any dish. Even so, I still have the cheek to try my best to ask the owner of the restaurant The master inquired about..."