Canteen System Assistance Notes

Zhou Fulin, a star entrepreneur in Chengdu, Sichuan, and Chongqing, the owner of "Jinniu Xuecheng M" and a secret agent of the Communist Party, was reviewing this month's financial statements and sales reports in his office, where he could not hear the noise from the lobby, and questions involuntarily occurred to him.

"Why is the central government buying so much raw silk? They even specifically asked for high-quality, long threads without broken ends." "And there are so many Pu'er tea cakes, and they want aged, high-quality ones. Are there so many people drinking Pu'er over there?"

He turned to look at the tea samples on the table and the red, gem-like tea in the glass beside him. He took a sip and smacked his lips. "Using this to make milk tea? That seems too expensive."

"It's strange."

Chapter 717 KMTStory (7) Today’s celebration banquet at the Guoju family

(Update)

Linyuan, located on the southern foot of Gele Mountain in the mountain city, is one of Chiang Kai-shek's residences. Although he donated the main building of this residence to Lin Tianbo, the then chairman of the KMT, in the 29th year of the Republic of China, this is still where he holds banquets and entertains guests.

Because when guests are entertained here, it is nominally a banquet for the "President of the State".

Today, the banquet hall at Linyuan is packed with distinguished guests, toasting and chatting. It's a lively scene—yes, today's banquet is a celebration. What does the KMT have to celebrate? Of course it does.

Despite the recent "Battle of Hankou"—or, as the KMT recently termed it, the "Battle of Western Hubei"—the losses were enormous, and a significant portion of the gains came from the New Fourth Army deployed from the Hunyu-Anhui base area, the Nationalist Army still managed to recapture Yichang, the gateway to Sichuan, and pushed the Japanese back hundreds of miles. Furthermore, following the achievements of part of the New Fourth Army of the National Revolutionary Army, the Nationalist Army not only recaptured Yichang, but also conquered Xinyang, Dawu, and Suizhou, and at one point pushed as far as the vicinity of Hankou, nearly annihilating the Japanese 33rd Division and severely defeating the Japanese 3rd Division. This was a brilliant and awe-inspiring victory.

Such achievements should certainly be celebrated!

So, in the not very big banquet hall of Linyuan, Chiang Kai-shek, holding a short stick, and the complacent "Nicholas Chiang" who had just flown back from Burma,

General Chen, who finally won the battle, and his companion, Grandma He

On the other side were Clarence Gauss, the American ambassador to China; Maxwell Taylor, the head of the US military advisory group who made great contributions to this operation; and John Magruder, commander of the US 14th Air Force in China, who shone brightly in the battle and "almost single-handedly determined the direction of the battle" (commented by the Central Daily News).

In any case, the planner of this battle, Commander-in-Chief Li Delin, was not invited to join the dinner.

However, as the leader of a faction, Li Delin was not interested in attending Chiang Kai-shek's dinner party - he had his own team to entertain and his own people to celebrate with.

...The United States and China support each other and walk a long way together, achieving even greater success in the Allied War... At today's banquet, we won't leave until we're drunk. Cheers, cheers!"

Chairman Lin, now aging, raised his glass at the stage and delivered his opening toast before being escorted from the banquet hall by a waiter. He swiftly departed, leaving the stage to the Chiang Kai-shek father and son. "Director Chiang led the troops, possessing courage unmatched by ten thousand men. He also orchestrated strategies, capable of decisive victories from afar. This victory is truly well-deserved!"

"Commander Chiang was so young, yet he was able to achieve a great victory against Japan: it is truly a blessing for China!"

Chiang Ching-kuo, the great hero who had contributed greatly to the victory and annihilated several Japanese divisions, was naturally the center of the spotlight at the banquet, receiving the lion's share of attention from the reporters present. Even the Americans present at the banquet were respectful and offered their congratulations to this rising star in the political and military affairs of the Republic of China.

"Thank you all for your kindness. This victory is mainly due to the dedication of the soldiers and the unity of the military and civilians..."

Under his father's gaze, Chiang Kai-shek had no choice but to step onto the podium and deliver an impromptu speech before the flashing spotlights and reporters clutching their notebooks. Compared to the experienced Chairman Lin, Chiang Kai-shek's impromptu performance wasn't as polished, but he managed to deliver his speech smoothly, earning applause.

It was only at this point that the banquet in the small banquet hall officially began.

Considering that besides reporters and a few accompanying personnel, representatives of powerful allies were also present today, Chiang Kai-shek hadn't eaten crisp potatoes or even crispy yam slices all day. Dressed in the uniform of a Republican marshal, he sat upright and spoke little, only issuing instructions at key moments during the banquet, directing this politically charged meeting to the next stage.

Therefore, even though Nicholas Chiang Kai-shek was the undisputed protagonist today, Chiang Kai-shek, the "Chairman" in the shadows behind the scenes, still effectively controlled the progress of the banquet.

The Battle of Western Hubei was a rare victory, and Chiang Kai-shek was in good spirits. For this banquet, held to celebrate the victory and entertain the allies, he personally instructed the Linyuan chefs to prepare a menu suitable for all ages, both Chinese and foreign, as a gesture of hospitality.

So, when the waiters brought the dishes to the table, Chiang Kai-shek put on a rare smile. With the help of his wife's translation, he began to chat and laugh with several American military representatives.

"During this battle, your army's heroic fighter planes were deployed at a critical moment, bombing the river and destroying countless Japanese ships. This frightened the Japanese invaders and made them afraid to send in reinforcements by ship. This was a truly great achievement!"

"Thank you for your compliment, respected Chairman Chiang. If your army had not driven the Japanese out of Yichang, this battle would probably not have been able to continue." Ambassador Clarence Gauss had spent a long time in China and had learned some diplomatic skills. He knew that he needed to be humble when necessary.

Then, Commander John Magruder followed up with a sentence: "As fellow Allied comrades, we will continue to assist you in defending your airspace and striking the Japanese invaders."

This scene of allies sharing hearts and supporting each other was naturally the best topic of conversation during a war. As Magruder spoke, flashbulbs popped around him, and reporters jot down notes in their notebooks, seemingly preparing to feature this scene as part of tomorrow's front-page article.

Seeing this, Chiang Kai-shek naturally felt very happy, and he simply introduced the delicious food on the table to the American soldiers.

"This is taro stewed chicken... This is stir-fried volcano sausage with asparagus and peppers. I love it. You guys should eat more too."

"Respected Chairman Jiang, thank you for your kindness."

This is indeed a banquet of high standards in China.

Four exquisite cold dishes were already placed on the table: crispy fried dried fish, refreshing and appetizing pickled tomatoes, delicately shaped zucchini in sauce, and exotic salami and cheese. Later, a series of smaller but exquisite dishes appeared.

For example, there was Turkish-style fried fish served with lemon; there was also "black pepper beef ribs" grilled on a tin plate with onions and eggs... plus Mr. Jiang's favorite taro and chicken, and the novel "volcano sausage" stir-fry, this celebration banquet truly achieved a "fusion of Chinese and Western" without losing its class.

However, the American ambassador and American commanders present were experienced men, and they ate these exquisite dishes with great restraint. They enjoyed this new "Western-style Chinese cuisine" with Georgian Khvanchkala wine, a rare commodity in the Allied camp, and transparent Iron Man and orange Jianlibao sodas produced at the Yangzi Company's Hanzhong soda plant, praising the taste.

At the end, everyone had blueberry yam and toast ice cream as dessert.

Chiang Kai-shek, with a smile on his face, ate taro stewed chicken and stir-fried vegetables while conversing with several American generals through his wife's translation. He expressed his approval of Mr. Chiang Kai-shek, the "rising star of the national army and the hope of the future," and hoped that his colleagues from all friendly countries would give him more advice and assistance in future cooperation and work together to achieve great results.

Several American officers naturally understood Chiang Kai-shek's subtext of praising Chiang Ching-kuo and knew that at this time, they should make polite remarks. They all said that in the Eastern Front against Japan, the National Army would naturally remain the key force in China's war of resistance, and General Chiang Ching-kuo was naturally a young talent among them with a promising future.

After all, substantive issues were discussed offstage, and the conflicts and disagreements arising from discussions with Guosu regarding US aid and troop training were naturally not to be aired in front of the reporters. Finally, with the sound of reporters snapping film, the celebration banquet came to an end.

While Chiang Kai-shek and Chiang Ching-kuo were demonstrating their alliance with the Americans in Shancheng Linyuan, Li Jiayu of the 47th Sichuan Army, far away in Suizhou, was sitting on the ruins next to their base outside the city, eating rice from their bowls with chopsticks.

There wasn't much rice in the bowl, just a shallow one, and the rice was even a little concave, not filling the coarse porcelain bowl, which wasn't very big to begin with. However, the soldier eating had no intention of complaining at all. He vigorously used his chopsticks to pick at the rice, and in two or three bites, he put it into his mouth.

Dislike? What nonsense!

There's white rice in the bowl! With pickles! And soy sauce and lard!

This is "Lard Rice"!

The soldier ate carefully, eating every grain of rice at the bottom of the bowl. After scraping the bottom of the bowl two or three times to make sure there was no rice left, he stood up from the pile of stones, put the chopsticks into his mouth with one hand, patted his butt with the other hand, and kicked his feet as he walked to the side.

"What are you kicking about? You can't even eat properly, why are you hanging around? Do you still want to eat my meal?"

Someone nearby yelled at him, but the soldier showed no sign of admitting his mistake. Instead, he chuckled, "I'm just going to add some boiling water to the bowl. This boiling water, soaked in lard, is like lard soup—it's delicious! Believe it or not, after we finish eating, you'll all be like me."

As soon as this was said, the people around him instinctively opened their mouths, wanting to refute. But the rice was indeed incredibly delicious, and they figured they'd definitely want to soak it in some water later. So, with a few "fuck you" and "idiot," everyone went back to eating their remaining rice.

"Next time I eat lard rice, I'll choke you to death!"

"Next time? Ha!

"This time, there are only less than 4,000 brothers left in our entire 47th Army. Our guns and artillery are broken, and we have very little food. If it weren't for those red-brained...bah, if it weren't for those Communist brothers helping us, wouldn't we have starved to death long ago?"

The soldier picked up a spoon, scooped up hot water from the iron bucket, and poured it into a coarse porcelain bowl. He swirled it back and forth, fascinated by the oil droplets floating on the water. "Those idiots in the Chengdu garrison are lucky to be able to send us a full load of new brains to keep our troops from withdrawing. How can they afford to transport food, drink, and military pay from Sichuan Province? If they don't get plucked out by those loyalists along the way, the sun will rise from the west!"

"You can't expect the Communist brothers to act like our nannies every day, giving us aid every week under the pretext of a 'celebration banquet,' can you?

"Even if those bosses are kind-hearted, if the Party-state transfers us to another place, who will send us lard and rice? When will we have the chance to eat some meat again? Let's take it one day at a time!" He blew on the bowl of "lard soup" and drank it in one gulp until he was shivering from the scalding.

"Damn it, it's scalding!"

The soldier cursed contentedly.

Two extra menus

Lin Yuan celebration banquet menu

Appetizer:

Salami with cheese slices

Oil-stuffed cherry tomatoes

Crispy fried dried fish

Zucchini with sauce

Hot dishes and main courses:

Sizzling Black Pepper Cowboy Ribs

Turkish-style fried fish fillet with lemon

Grilled Prawns with Cheese

Asparagus and Pepper Volcano Sausage

Taro Chicken Stew

fry vegetables

Soup:

Tofu and Cabbage Soup

Corn Egg Drop Soup

Dessert:

Blueberry Yam

Toast Ice Cream

Wine and Beverages:

Merlin Cola

Iron Man Soda

Jianlibao soda

pineapple beer

Khvanchkala wine

Main dishes:

rice

Butter bread

------

47th Army Celebration Banquet Menu

A bowl of white rice

1 liang of lard

50 cents of soy sauce

Unlimited pickles

One egg (for the wounded)

One chicken drumstick (sergeant, non-commissioned officer)

Stewed Chicken (Senior Officer)

A bowl of tofu pudding (for senior officers)

Chapter 718: Carbonated Legend (Part 1) Red Coke

As a permanent, densely populated place with administratively defined boundaries, a city often has the densest non-agricultural population in the surrounding area and provides the most abundant industrial production capacity in the surrounding area.

But just as cows need to eat grass to produce milk and horses need to eat feed to run fast, such export-oriented cities are inevitably accompanied by the input of a large amount of resources. Therefore, under certain productivity conditions, cities that are normally born in a region must have the most intensive market demand and the strongest purchasing power.

During this period, the Eighth Route Army, adhering to the policy of sending power to the countryside, also established four major commercial systems within rural towns: Guanghua, which dealt in agricultural products and means of production; Jiaotong, which specialized in bulk goods; Yongchang, which specialized in textiles; and Gongxiao, which offered a wide range of daily consumer goods. These systems secured access to China's largest rural market. Furthermore, measures such as land reform, changes in production relations, agricultural technology training, and the optimization of fertilizer and seed varieties increased the incomes of farmers in the liberated areas and further stimulated the market potential of rural areas within these areas.

With the superposition of these two markets, supplemented by the summary of modern business and historical experience, effective administrative control capabilities, and the support of the canteen system, the "T-made industry" in the Jiefang District has flourished and become the "T top stream" in the Jiefang District market.

During this period, the rather "incongruous" fast-moving consumer goods industry of carbonated beverages in the liberated areas also achieved unprecedented development. These strange "red carbonated waters" not only dominated the Chinese market during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, defeating imported products such as Coca-Cola and Schweppes, but also left an indelible collective memory in the subsequent socialist camp market and even in major free trade zones around the world.

In this time and space, the Eighth Route Army's "soft drink" journey actually started quite early: before the canteen system was implemented in January 1937, Comrade Liu Helian from the future had already begun to use this thing to earn foreign exchange for the CCP's overseas lines and accumulate funds for activities.

At that time, Comrade Zaoshu, who was still studying and working in the Soviet Union, took advantage of his connections in the Communist International and the convenience of working in Vladivostok, and used his allowance and a small amount of applied funds to start a work line in the economic field.

He asked his colleagues working in Haojing, Guangdong Province to register a trading company, and through franchising, he opened a "Sino-French Pharmacy" - this is

-A national capital enterprise founded in 1890, which adopts the contracting and franchising method

It is a high-quality "shell company" with a legal cover.

Liu Helian chose it not for any other reason, but mainly because the company's branch in the coastal area of ​​Guangdong Province was contracted by an accountant named Chen, while the person in charge in the Haojing area was Comrade Huang Wenrong, a real one of their own. Therefore, Liu Helian's trading company was able to carry out its trade work smoothly, and the newly established "Sino-French Pharmacy" was able to provide cover for medical procurement for our party and army, which was still the Red Army at that time.

To create a cover, you need to have "normal" business operations.

In order to make this "Sino-French Pharmacy" appear normal, Liu Helian referred to the tastes of the audience at that time, and took the prototype of a cow-shaped beverage as a reference, and launched the "Airo Brain Tonic Liquid", which violently took advantage of the reputation of its own product "Airo Brain Tonic Liquid". Later, this product containing caffeine and taurine, with its powerful and refreshing effect, beat many herbal teas and prescriptions at that time, and won a lot of praise, which successfully accumulated the first pot of gold for the Eighth Route Army and Comrade Liu Helian.

After 1931, the death of its founder, Huang Chujiu, plunged the Sino-French Pharmacy, located in the Shanghai Concession, into chaos. Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinyong exploited and seized the opportunity. The CCP's Sino-French Pharmacy successfully established itself as a separate entity, joining the China Resources Group and becoming its own subsidiary.

Comrade Huang Wenrong of the Haojing branch even spent some money to help the widow and children of the Huang family who had lost their families, making the "Sino-French Pharmacy" under the Eighth Route Army have a more "orthodox" claim.

Now I could do many things more freely. Soon, with the canteen system unlocked, to boost the company's sales, "remote control shareholder" Xiao Liu injected a new legendary seed into the company's product line: "Melin Cola."

Although the canteen system can produce the real future Coca-Cola and Pepsi syrup, the Eighth Route Army in this time and space does not intend to be a seller or bottler of American syrup. Instead, they decided to mix the raw syrup of this cola and produce it themselves.

Thanks to the efforts of Liu Helian and several Eighth Route Army experts including Comrade Li Qiang, and after many rounds of experiments and failures, the Eighth Route Army finally obtained a "cola" drink with a unique flavor.