But Downing was not at all surprised by this, because he had the impression that the United States, especially in the fifties and sixties, had always been our hated enemy, and the president of the United States was all to blame without exception. If nothing else, just from the popular ballads sung by girls when they dance rubber bands, you can see how tragically the image of the president of the United States has been trampled on: "One, two, three, four, five, go up the mountain to fight tigers, tigers don't eat people, they eat Truman, Truman is a big fool"

As Downing, it was naturally impossible to follow President Nixon to the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse to rest, he followed the staff to the Minzu Hotel, which was naturally the same as the Shanghai Airport, all of which were cleared, and there were no other guests in the entire hotel.

It's a pity that the so-called free activity is accompanied by someone wherever he goes, which makes Tang Ning feel very awkward, although he has been prepared for this for a long time, but fortunately, it will soon be time for dinner.

Before they arrived, they were told that perhaps the Chinese side would entertain them shark fin, bird's nest, sea cucumbers, snakes, or other foods they had never seen before. And those familiar with President Nixon's eating habits know that the president was not a fan of Chinese food, and when he was in the White House, Nixon often ate low-fat cottage cheese with ketchup, and he also liked to taste expensive steaks, wines, and French meals.

That night, though, none of this imaginary thing appeared. The Chinese side arranged a grand banquet in accordance with courtesy. That night, when Premier Zhou raised his chopsticks, it meant that the dinner had officially begun. In television footage that can now be seen, President Nixon struggles to use chopsticks to clip the dish onto his plate, looks at it carefully, and then puts it in his mouth to chew. The whole world watched through this image as the President of the United States tasted Chinese food.

In fact, China has put a lot of thought into this dinner. This time, the menu breakdown is as follows: Cold cuts: crystal shrimp jelly, roast duck with shiitake mushrooms, white chopped chicken, cucumber with tomatoes, Hunan preserved fish, seaweed salad, spiced treasures, cherry radish.

Hot dishes: jasmine bamboo shoot soup, duck and arrowroot rice, Buddha jumping over the wall, sweet and sour sea bass, Bazhen soft-shelled turtle, steamed crab

Dim sum: three-silk spring rolls, Ruyi steamed dumplings, assorted rice cakes, bread, butter, Yangzhou fried rice

Drinks: Moutai, red wine, Tsingtao beer, orange water, mineral water, soda, cold boiled water

Fruits: cantaloupe, oranges.

Now look at this state banquet menu, that is, the level of wine that the common people like. But at the time, wow! However, Premier Zhou was not satisfied, and he saw the problem at a glance: Is this crab a sea crab or a lake crab? Of course, when you go to Shanghai, you have to eat hairy crabs in Yangcheng Lake, but where to catch them in winter? What should I do if the crabs are big or small? Foreigners don't know how to peel crabs (not to mention foreigners, Chinese don't all know how to peel), how can they eat them? Do you want us to peel them for them? You all think about these questions. I'll report back when you've thought about it!

When the people of Jinjiang Hotel heard this, they were drenched in cold sweat, but after all, it was the master of the old hotel, and they immediately came up with a way, peeling and dismantling the meat of all the hairy crabs, and then using starch to make an artificial crab shell to hold crab meat. The problem was solved, and when this matter spread to the people, it became a joke circulated among the people, and Nixon even had to gnaw on a basin!

When it was learned that Americans like to eat seafood. It was decided to prepare fresh Yellow Sea abalone for later use. After receiving the task, the diving team of Zhangzidao People's Commune in Changhai County, Liaoning Province, braved the severe cold of more than minus 20 degrees Celsius to fish, and selected high-quality products to be shipped to Beijing. When Nixon heard that these fresh abalone were harvested from the depths of the Yellow Sea, he couldn't help but be moved by the hospitality of the Chinese.

At the banquet to welcome Nixon, there was a "hibiscus bamboo soup", the raw material used in which the bamboo sunflower was produced in Changning, Sichuan. In that year, Changning County received a notice from the higher-level leaders to urgently mobilize 2 catties of Changning Zhusun, and said that this was a political task. Don't delay. Later, local leaders saw an article in the newspaper titled "Bamboo Sun: From State Banquet to the World". I was convinced that Zhusun at that time was prepared for the banquet of Nixon's visit to China. The deliciousness of the bamboo sunflower attracted President Nixon's repeated praise. Kissinger also gave a thumbs up and said, "This is your white pearl of China." Even the Encyclopædia Britannica, the most authoritative book in the world, has not yet had time to record it. ”

At the welcome banquet, one of the dishes calls for fresh fava beans. However, spring-sown broad beans are generally harvested in July and August, and it is very difficult to find fresh broad beans in January and February. Due to the urgency of time and the Spring Festival holiday, most of the comrades of the supply group in Pingyang County, Zhejiang Province were temporarily called back. Everyone realized that at this time, the significance of broad beans has gone far beyond its own value. Finally, in the area of Qiancang Town, Pingyang County, I found a good growth of broad beans.

According to locals. This is the broad bean, which is known as "Qian Cangzao" in the agricultural world. Since the fruit of broad beans was still relatively small at that time, the working group repeatedly asked local experienced farmers to make calculations and predict how big the broad beans would grow on the day of transportation. When they learned that the meat of the broad beans on the day of transportation was ready to be eaten, the staff immediately reported to Beijing. That's it. After many efforts, this batch of fresh broad beans was finally delivered to Beijing before Nixon's arrival, and the small broad beans in Qiancang were served at the state banquet on time, which became a good story at that time.

Foods such as cheese and fish roe, which had never been seen by Chinese at the time, were indispensable on the tables of foreigners, which made it difficult for those in charge of purchasing. At this time, the United States also offered to prepare a juice for Mrs. Nixon that could be drunk directly. It sounds like a very simple thing today, but at the time, it made Zhang Tao and others struggle a lot. At that time, I only knew that the soda produced in Shanghai was drunk with water, and I had not heard of the juice that could be drunk directly. Later, they used the "soil method" of manual pressing, and processed the "juice" for the guests.

What is a headache for the US side is not the food, but Moutai. In Kissinger's view, the liquor "is a shame not to be used as jet fuel, because it is too flammable." The secretary in charge of arranging Nixon's schedule said that before clinking glasses with Zhou Enlai, Nixon had been reminded not to actually drink Moutai, a Chinese spirit, but to raise his glass and touch his lips.

Kissinger also revealed that after Nixon returned to Washington from his visit to China, he once demonstrated to his daughter Tricia the power of Moutai, he poured a bottle of Moutai into a bowl and lit a fire, but the fire was not extinguished, the bowl exploded, and the Moutai spitting flames flowed all over the table, almost causing a fire in the White House. (To be continued.) )