Cao Yong was not a native of Xiangjiang. His grandfather Cao Tianbao was poor when he was a child and sold to a wealthy family as a servant by his family. His boss was from Zhengbai Banner, and belonged to Shangsanqi, and was a real Eight Banners. Cao Tianbao was a scholar to the young master of his boss since he was a child, and continued to be a follower when he grew up.

On February 12, 1912, the last emperor of the Braided Kingdom announced his abdication. A few days before this, the boss had already received news that they hurriedly sold their property and the whole family ran away. The boss was quite conscientious and returned Cao Tianbao's contract before leaving, gave him some money, and begged the new owner of the house to leave a place for him to live.

The house was built by the ancestors of the original owner. Although he was a bannerman for generations, he did not have real power and jobs. He was paid monthly and had some money to pay filial piety. He could be considered a wealthy life and a good meal, but he was not a rich family. In addition, he had a few generations of people, so he bought half of the homestead, about half a mu (1 mu = 666 square meters), which was slightly narrow and long, without a wing room, just an ordinary second-entry yard with three main houses in front and back yards. The other half was bought by someone else.

The new homeowner calls himself Lao Jintou, a Northeastern man who is nearly fifty years old. He looks stern, but he is actually very kind, generous, and speaks with a big mouth. After Lao Jintou bought the house, he moved in to the backyard, with three rooms, one living room, one book and one bedroom. The backyard is smaller, but he has no family, so he lives alone very comfortably.

There were three main rooms in the front yard, and Lao Jintou left one for Cao Tianbao, and rented out the remaining two.

Cao Tianbao was quite kind and lived in the west room consciously (Note 2). The middle room was rented by someone surnamed Sun, and the tenants in the east room were not very stable. He changed many homes until more than ten years later, but he was rented by the couple surnamed Liu for a long time.

The downward house in the front yard (Note 3) Lao Jintou was not rented out, but was converted into a public hall, kitchen and wood-room, which everyone shared. He often said that he was old, had no children, and had no worries about food and clothing. He didn't care whether the rent or rent, and he wanted to be a lively home. Lao Jintou said that he only collected rent for one year for each tenant, and the Sun family in the middle room was like this. Cao Tianbao lived in the west room for nothing. The east room either the tenant refused to renew the rent, or the old Jintou looked down on him and no longer rented it to the tenant. So it was not until 1924 that the long-term tenant, Mr. Liu and his wife were waiting for.

Cao Tianbao, who regained his freedom, stayed in the capital to make a living. Because he could write and calculate, he worked in several stores and accountants until he got married and had children. Although he was not rich, his life was still leisurely.

Cao Tianbao's life is like "eating". The strange pig farming policy of the Braided Kingdom made most of the Eight Banners children not work in production and specialize in various food, drinking and having fun. Cao Tianbao's boss is no exception. Cao Tianbao, who has been influenced by his childhood, doesn't care about fun, but is very interested in eating. When he was not working, he went around in the four or nine cities to find new food. Not to mention, he actually made some famous food later, and was also a little famous in the circle. Many new restaurants opened or old restaurants changed to masters, and often invited him to try and review.

Unfortunately, Cao Tianbao has no cooking talent. Even after the master demonstrated himself, the dishes he made were all weird, not to mention the taste. In today's words, it was born with dark cooking skills. Cao Tianbao, who was discouraged, held his newborn son and named it "Chef Cao". He didn't expect that he had mistaken Chef Cao, but he had mistakes. Chef Cao lived up to his expectations. Although he could not be considered a real chef, he had always been very stern and well-like when cooking. Cao Tianbao was happy every day, hoping that his children would grow up quickly and become a real chef.

Things went against my wishes. When the Japanese pirates entered the pass in 1937, the nationwide anti-Japanese war was in full swing. The 16-year-old passionate young Chef Cao followed his neighbor's brother Sun Cheng, who was five years older than him. Under the guidance of Teacher Liu and his wife, he embarked on a journey to northern Shaanxi to find a party organization and seek a way to fight against Japan and save the country.

Time is like water, and time is like a song. In the blink of an eye, 12 years have passed.

In the winter of 1949, in the suburbs of Guangzhou, on the Pearl River, a temporary camp of a certain army.

Several fishing boats were moored on the shore, and the fishermen carried large fishing baskets and surrounded the gate of the military camp.

"No, this is absolutely not possible!" A fat black man in a brand new military uniform shouted, stalking his neck there.

"Why can't it work? I think the price is already very good. Yesterday, the day before yesterday, didn't you charge it directly?" A thin black woman was also shouting, her voice louder than a fat black man.

"How can that be the same? It was free two days ago. If you charge your goods at the price you quoted today, I will make a mistake. I won't charge it." The fat black man was so anxious that he jumped straight.

"What should I do if you don't accept it? You must accept it. If you don't accept it, I won't leave!" The black skinny man was not showing any weakness.

"This is a military camp, you can't block it here." The fat black man looked at the guards in the military camp behind him, full of confidence.

"So what? If you have the ability, you can arrest me or shoot me." The thin black man ignored the threat and insisted on his own opinion.

Both sides were talking, they were in a state of excitement, and the scene was booming, and it was a moment of impending breaking out.

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Note 1: This book will try not to mix English and Chinese, unless necessary abbreviations are required. In addition, foreign languages ​​or dialects will be expressed in Mandarin unless the content requires it.

Note 2: In a row of three rooms, the middle house is the best, the largest area, the east and the west house are the same size, but people generally respect the east.

Note 3: Recessed room: a house close to the main gate, facing south and north, opposite to the main room. It is usually an external living room, account room, concierge, guest room, servant residence and other purposes. Cao Tianbao originally lived in it.
Chapter completed!