The War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression Begins in Songhu

Chapter 447 The Little Prince of Feasts (Bonus Chapter for Satan the Wolf)

On the 13th day of the rest period, at 12:06 pm, in a courtyard in a village in a certain township, a wedding combining Chinese and Western styles was in its most lively moment.

To put it more bluntly, they've done everything they could to make things happen.

As the emcee announced, "Enjoy your meal and drinks, dear friends and family," the most exciting time for all the foodies was about to begin.

Unlike other relatives and friends, everyone here wore a genuine smile.

Xu Mengmeng wore a smile on her face, but inwardly she was furiously ranting:

"Zhu Zhu was the same. So many handsome men from well-off families in the city pursued her, but she didn't like any of them and ended up marrying into such a rural place."

That's right! This girl is complaining on behalf of her best friend, feeling that her friend got married at a bad price.

Despite her objections, her best friend was determined to marry this country boy, and there was nothing she could do about it.

So even though she was willing to attend the wedding today, she didn't agree to be her best friend's bridesmaid, and she was extremely picky about everything related to the wedding.

For example, she not only had no expectations for the upcoming wedding banquet, but even felt quite disgusted by it.

They not only thought that a rural banquet chef couldn't possibly have any skills or produce any decent food, but also that it wasn't very hygienic.

The key point is that she also thinks the custom of holding banquets in rural areas is bad, to the point of being somewhat disgusted.

Although she had never eaten at a rural banquet before, she had seen them on video websites more than once. Before such a banquet began, an older woman would hand out plastic bags to everyone.

Once the food is served, it's often barely put down before someone's chopsticks fly up and snatch it all up, stuffing it into those plastic bags.

During this process, some people even grabbed it directly with their bare hands.

So, are you expecting a fashionable urban woman like her to fight with a group of old men and women for food, and then go home carrying a plastic bag full of groceries?
Just imagining such a scene made Xu Mengmeng's scalp tingle, and she mentally prepared herself to just eat a few bites casually after the banquet started, pretending to eat.

However, what happened next was a slap in the face for her.

With a long, drawn-out shout of "The food's here!", some of the women began serving the dishes.

First came eight cold dishes, then fourteen hot dishes, and finally two soups. The meal included chicken, duck, fish, meat, and seafood, far more abundant than she had expected.

It looks delicious and has a great aroma and flavor.

The tableware and ingredients were also very clean, with no greasy feeling.

More importantly, the elderly men and women sitting with her did not have their plates snatched up as soon as they were put on the table, as seen in the video; they ate and drank normally.

Even an older woman next to her, seeing that Xu Mengmeng hadn't touched her chopsticks, started to call out to her:

"Daughter, eat quickly, the food won't taste good if it gets cold."

"You all took bags, aren't you going to take the food back with you?" After hesitating for a moment, Xu Mengmeng couldn't help but ask this question.

The older woman said with a smile, "Everyone has just started eating, so there's no need to pick up food yet; we only pick up food when everyone has almost finished eating, so as not to waste any leftovers."

Try this taro with braised pork belly; it's the best dish I've ever had.

As they were talking, the older woman placed a piece of braised pork into Xu Mengmeng's bowl.

Looking at such a plump piece of meat, the girl was initially quite reluctant; however, seeing how enthusiastic the other party was, she could only grit her teeth and take a small bite.

The next second, her eyes lit up, and she took another big bite.

Because this braised pork belly wasn't greasy at all, but rather infused with the rich aroma of taro, it tasted fragrant and glutinous, incredibly delicious, instantly tantalizing her taste buds.

As she ate, the older woman, with a smug expression that said, "I knew it," began to describe what she was eating:

"This taro and braised pork dish is Master Lao San's signature dish."

It's strange, but the third master chef used to be just good at making banquets, but about ten days ago he seemed to have suddenly become a genius, and his skills improved dramatically.

Especially this taro and braised pork dish, everyone who tries it says it's delicious.

And look! Now, the young people in the village have given Chef Lao San a nickname: "The Little Prince of Banquets." Whenever there's a wedding or funeral in the surrounding area, he's the first chef they want to hire.

"Master Lao San, the Little Prince of Banquets, seems pretty impressive, doesn't he?"

Having already finished a large piece of braised pork, Xu Mengmeng then picked up a large piece of taro, muttering to herself as she ate.

Surprisingly, I developed a strong curiosity about this chef who specialized in catering for weddings and funerals in the countryside.

This curiosity reached its peak when Xu Mengmeng, carrying a plastic bag containing half a bowl of taro and braised pork, prepared to drive back to the city from the village entrance.

She couldn't help but glance in that direction as she walked past a makeshift kitchen on one side of the yard.

Then she saw a remarkable man; he was sitting on a stool, dressed in a pristine white chef's uniform, the sunlight making him look exceptionally clean. He was engrossed in reading a copy of "On War," seemingly oblivious to the loud sounds of drinking games and toasts coming from the courtyard.

Coupled with his hesitant gaze, stubble, and an unlit cigarette at the corner of his mouth.

In an instant, Xu Mengmeng knew that this man, who stood out like a rat dropping in a bowl of snow-white rice, must be the legendary third master, the prince of banquets...

Alright! Enough with the nonsense.

This so-called third master is actually a newbie who just joined the transmigrator team this time, nicknamed Zhang Yishou's third brother.

After returning to the modern world, he discovered the masterful technique of making 'Taro Braised Pork Belly', which allowed him to make significant improvements in his overall culinary skills.

After preparing several banquets for people, his reputation quickly spread throughout the surrounding villages.

As for why he received 130 million in cash this time, the value of the other two antiques would only be even greater if they were sold.

It's like suddenly getting millions in hand, a windfall, yet he still chose to run rural banquets.

All I can say is that I experienced a time travel and witnessed that terrible era of war and chaos, where human life was worth less than a dog's.

He then understood a simple, and quite basic, truth:
Being born in a peaceful era and living in a powerful country makes even the simplest and most ordinary life precious.

When people have money, they might do nothing but eat and drink at home every day. But it doesn't seem as comfortable as they thought. Instead, they might as well do something.

And so he continued to work as a chef at rural banquets, and his reputation grew ever greater.

Normally, I exercise every day and study various professional and historical knowledge whenever I have free time.

The copy of "On War" in my hand was something Hu Biao found quite good after reading it, and he strongly recommended it to everyone in the group.

Then the third brother also bought a copy and read it in his spare time...

*****
Three days later, around 4 p.m., in Hu Biao's office.

After putting down a wad of banknotes still smelling of ink, Hu Biao praised the two girls in front of him in a very appreciative tone:

"Boss lady, sister-in-law! You completed this mission beautifully. Tell me, what reward do you want?"
Consider this a reward I'm giving on behalf of the team, to everyone involved.

The reason Hu Biao said that was because the task assigned to Mina and Annie by the team had been completed perfectly.

To be more specific, the two of them found a fake document dealer and made their various demands.

As for printing the various banknotes we have today, let alone whether these dealers have the guts or the technology.

But if it were during World War II, those banknotes that had already been withdrawn from circulation would be no problem for that dealer as long as the payment was right.

On the one hand, the crime of counterfeiting money only applies to the production of currency that is currently in circulation.

Banknotes from World War II have long been withdrawn from circulation, so printing them freely seems to pose no problem.

On the other hand, although banknotes from World War II already had anti-counterfeiting measures, they are rudimentary compared to current technology.

Even some of the technologies that were kept secret back then have long since been made public.

So at this moment, on Hu Biao's desk, there are printed engravings of large denominations such as US dollars, British pounds, Japanese yen, Japanese military notes, Manchurian yuan, Central Reserve Bank notes, and Union Bank notes.

There is also a detailed set of technical information on ink formulation, paper composition, manufacturing, and printing.

Because Mina and Annie offered a high price, the dealer even printed a batch of finished products; anyway, when Hu Biao held the finished products in his hand, apart from being a little too new, he couldn't tell that they were fakes at all.

In other words, if they have the opportunity to operate this trip, they won't have to worry about money at all.

Come to think of it! If you can print your own money, why would you need to worry about money? If you want a certain amount of money, just start the printing press and print it out.

That's why Hu Biao was in a pretty good mood and naturally, he was unusually generous.

That led to the promise above, on behalf of the team, to give the two of them a reward.

Faced with Hu Biao's rare generosity, Annie shook her head and said, "You should save up enough money to buy a car as soon as possible. We need to go to Shanghai first for the Mid-Autumn Festival before returning to our hometown in Hunan Province."

Mina, however, was not polite at all, shouting, "I want a reward!"

"Say it, what do you want?" Hu Biao said magnanimously.

The cheap sister-in-law took a deep breath, stepped forward, grabbed Hu Biao's arm, and shook it vigorously while saying in a coquettish voice:

"Brother-in-law! I need monthly tickets! I need monthly tickets..."

(End of this chapter)