"Boss, you are not a real Eskimo, are you? My dad said that real Eskimos usually call themselves Inuit."
"Ahem..." Zhang Hao quickly winked at his daughter, and then apologized to the store owner: "Toussaint, Guoguo is not sensible, don't mind."
"It doesn't matter. In fact, what your lady said is right. Although my grandparents are Inuit, I grew up in New York and cannot really be considered a real Inuit.
It's embarrassing to say that the reason why we named the store 'Eskimo' is just because 'Eskimo' is more famous and easier to remember." Toussaint explained patiently.
Zhang Hao turned to look at his daughter: "Guoguo, hurry up and apologize to Boss Toussaint. How did your father educate you in the past? Have you forgotten it?"
Zhang Guoxin grew up in a foster care center and was somewhat savvy about worldly affairs. At her father's request, she immediately said to the store owner: "I'm sorry."
Toussaint smiled and waved his hand, and then got into the kitchen. He was going to cook himself. After all, the consul was a distinguished guest and could not tolerate any sloppiness.
Less than half an hour later, there was a "dong dong dong" knock on the door outside the igloo.
Zhang Guoxin hurriedly ran over to open the door.
Under the direction of the shop owner, several beautiful waitresses quickly set out the tableware and food.
The cutlery is very simple, just a knife.
After the waiter left, Toussaint personally acted as the commentator:
"Please see, this is a salmon weighing more than twelve pounds. It was transported from the farm early this morning. It is very fresh."
Zhang Hao was a little worried and asked a lot: "There are no parasites in farmed salmon, right?"
"Archon, all the salmon in our store are farmed in the deep sea. There are very few parasites. Moreover, they have been stored in an environment of minus 30 degrees for a whole day before being delivered. Even if there are parasites, they will be eliminated.
It’s frozen to death, you can eat it with confidence.”
Toussaint hurriedly explained.
Zhang Hao smiled and nodded: "It's no problem!"
Immediately afterwards, Toussaint pointed to another large plate of meat slices and introduced:
"This is seal meat, which has just been slaughtered. Seal meat is rich in 22 kinds of nutrients including calcium, manganese, zinc and vitamins, especially vitamin C, which is particularly rich in content.
As we all know, we Inuit people live in the Arctic Circle and it is difficult to eat fresh vegetables in our lives. We usually rely on seal meat to supplement vitamin C and avoid sepsis. Seal meat is indispensable to us."
Zhang Hao chimed in casually: "I spent some time in the Arctic Circle and ate a lot of seal meat. It tastes really good."
Toussaint smiled, finally opened a dinner plate cover, and slowly introduced:
"These are two seal hearts. It is a traditional delicacy that our Inuit people use to entertain distinguished guests. It tastes very similar to sashimi. You are welcome to try it."
"Huh? Why aren't there slices?"
Zhang Guoxin couldn't help but wonder.
Toussaint quickly explained: "There is oxygen-rich arterial blood in the seal's heart. Slicing it is not conducive to preserving the blood, and it will also affect the taste of the food."
"Then how should I eat it? Just chew it?"
Zhang Guoxin said in great surprise.
Toussaint immediately gave a thumbs up: "Eating it raw is the traditional way of eating for our Inuit people. In addition to eating it raw, it can also be cut into small pieces, but it must be cut and eaten fresh."
"It's too exaggerated. This way of eating is simply like drinking blood from the flesh." Zhang Guoxin said with disgust on her face.
Toussaint smiled and spread his hands: "If Miss Guoguo is not used to it, you can eat more sashimi."
Zhang Hao recalled his experience in Alaska, and his greed was suddenly aroused, so he reached out and picked up a seal heart from the dinner plate:
"If I remember correctly, the seal heart should be eaten while it's hot, right?"
"Consul, you are indeed an expert. Cooling it will indeed greatly affect the taste."
Zhang Guoxin looked at her father and couldn't help but widen her eyes: "Dad, you don't really want to chew it alive, do you?"
Zhang Hao nodded, then bit the apex of the seal's heart and tore off a piece of meat.
Toussaint asked impatiently: "Consul, how does it taste?"
Zhang Hao swallowed the piece of meat with residual heat in his mouth, and a familiar taste immediately came to his heart, especially the little fat on the tip of his heart, which was like a dipping sauce, bringing out an incredible freshness and sweetness.
That kind of taste is difficult to taste in other dishes, and it is full of a primitive throbbing.
"It tastes great, it's a man's food."
After Zhang Hao finished speaking, he took several bites in a row, causing his face and hands to be covered with bright red blood.
Seeing that the consul was eating happily, Toussaint hurriedly said a few words, and then left the igloo in a sensible manner, not wanting to disturb the distinguished guests' meal.
After the shop owner left, Zhang Hao pointed to the table full of sashimi and called for everyone to eat: "Everyone, try it. It tastes really good. I promise you won't be disappointed."
The big boss spoke, and the assistant and several bodyguards stopped being polite and started using their chopsticks, but no one touched the remaining seal heart.
Zhang Guoxin took out a few napkins and handed them to his father: "Dad, please wipe your mouth quickly! You look a little scary like this."
"Haha..." Zhang Hao took the napkin and wiped his mouth, then pointed to another seal heart: "Would you like to try it? It's definitely more flavorful than sashimi."
Zhang Guoxin was already moved when she saw her father eating so deliciously. However, the girl's reserve still made her hesitate. After all, the food looked too ugly.
Zhang Hao said meaningfully: "If you don't eat it now, you may not have a chance next time."
Zhang Guoxin immediately understood what his father meant. If the higher-ups really wanted to force the transformation into public ownership, this sashimi shop would definitely be closed next year.
"Then let me try?"
Zhang Hao picked up another seal heart and put it directly into his daughter's hand: "Try it quickly. If you really don't like it, dad will help you get rid of the rest."
Zhang Guoxin imitated her father's eating method, took a small bite on the apex of the seal's heart, and tasted it carefully.
There is nothing to say about the taste. There is no fishy smell at all as expected. Instead, it has a sweet taste, which gives people a very novel experience.
With just one bite, it completely captured her tongue and soul, as if injecting a kind of beauty into her own life, allowing people to experience what a vital dish is.
Zhang Hao smiled and asked: "Is it delicious?"
Zhang Guoxin nodded repeatedly: "It's not as bad as expected. It tastes quite good. If you eat it once in a while, it really has a unique flavor."
"It tastes good, so eat more."
Zhang Hao's face was filled with relief.
Zhang Guoxin said while chewing the meat in his mouth: "I will definitely bring Little Fat Tiger and the others here for a big meal this weekend."
"Don't take them with the younger ones. Children's stomachs are weak and they will easily have diarrhea after eating them."
Zhang Hao reminded.
"Yes, I remember."
After Zhang Guoxin finished speaking, he didn't speak again and concentrated on dealing with the seal heart in his hand.
In less than five minutes, a complete seal heart was inserted into her stomach, which greatly satisfied her body and mind, and also surprised several people at the dinner table.
Assistant Huang on the side smiled and joked: "Guoguo, you look more like an Inuit than the store owner."
"Really? Hehe, maybe I was an Inuit in my previous life, and this meal is too good for my taste."
Zhang Guoxin licked her lips.
"Would you like some more seal meat?"
"Okay! I haven't eaten enough yet!"
Zhang Hao was afraid that his daughter would overeat, so he couldn't help but said with concern: "Don't be brave, don't eat if you can't eat."
"Dad, don't worry! I feel like I can get another seal heart."
Zhang Guoxin said carelessly.
Zhang Hao did not add any more vegetables, but helped his daughter to pick up some sashimi. Sashimi is easy to digest.
In the end, the meal took an hour to finish and all the food was gone.
…
time flies.
Unknowingly, the 121st year of the Federation has arrived.
On New Year's Day, Zhang Hao did not stay at home with his family, but took his wife to the Taoyuan Special Economic Zone for an inspection. He had long wanted to go there, but he was busy with the shift handover and could not spare the time.
In just these three months, the candidates for the next governor of the Federation have been announced, and the reformist Zhou Jiangyu finally won.
At the same time, it also means that a storm is coming that will affect the entire federation. No one can be spared and can only drift with the tide.
After taking the train for more than six hours, at around two o'clock in the afternoon, Zhang Hao suddenly woke up Yang Huaqing, who was dozing off: "Honey, wake up quickly, we're at the station."
"Has Taoyuan Special Zone arrived?"
Yang Huaqing rubbed his eyes and turned to look out the window. The train was slowing down. What came into view was a huge square with bright lights like daylight.
Zhang Hao smiled and replied: "We haven't arrived yet, but the entrance to Taoyuan Special Economic Zone is ahead. We need to transfer to the subway here."
He has been here several times before, so he is very familiar with it.
"Why don't you just drive in?"
Yang Huaqing said doubtfully.
The subway is a railway, so you can drive directly into it, which saves trouble.
"The Taoyuan Special Economic Zone is underground and is a semi-enclosed space. The train we are taking burns diesel, so the exhaust gas is difficult to discharge, so we must take a tram instead."
Zhang Hao explained casually.
Due to sandstorms and other reasons, today's train systems have long been downgraded from electrification to steam engines or diesel engines, which makes maintenance easier.
As soon as he finished speaking, the train stopped steadily.
Zhang Hao immediately stood up from his seat and straightened his clothes.
Yang Huaqing held her bag in one hand and her husband's arm in the other. The couple got off the train quickly under the guidance of many flight attendants.
The station was already crowded with receptionists.
"Consul, madam, welcome to our Taoyuan Special Economic Zone." The speaker was the mayor of Taoyuan Special Economic Zone.
Zhang Hao reached out and shook hands with the other person, and said hello with a smile: "Mayor Lu, we met again. If I remember correctly, it should have been seven or eight years ago, right?"
"Yes, the last time you came here was eight years ago."
Lu Zheli smiled and nodded.
"You have worked hard for so many years!"
"Actually, it's not bad. Apart from being isolated from the world, the living environment here is quite good. I think it's at least better than outside." Lu Zheli said humorously.
Yang Huaqing couldn't help but interjected: "Mayor Lu, I want to ask, how long has it been since you left here?"
"To be honest, madam, I was one of the first batch of personnel back then. I was assigned here right after I graduated from university. I also found my wife here. So far, I haven't left here for thirty years."
Lu Zheli replied.
"Thirty years? What will your parents do?"
Yang Huaqing couldn't help but be surprised.
Lu Zheli sighed and quickly explained: "I am an orphan. My parents passed away while I was in college. I guess it is for this reason that the superiors arranged for me to work here."
"Excuse me……"
"Madam, it's okay. After all, it's been decades. I even have grandchildren now, so I've already adapted to it." Lu Zheli waved his hand.
After a conversation, Zhang Hao and his wife, surrounded by Lu Zheli and others, quickly got on the subway to Taoyuan Special Economic Zone.
Arriving at the subway station, Yang Huaqing looked at the surrounding environment and couldn't help but ask: "Mayor Lu, when was this subway built? Why does it look so shabby?"
"Madam, this subway was built almost twenty years ago. It took tens of thousands of people eight years to open this subway."
"So long? How long is this subway?"
Yang Huaqing asked.
"The whole journey is 880 kilometers, and it is located two to three hundred meters underground. The geology is complex and the construction is relatively difficult. Many places were dug out bit by bit by manpower." Lu Zheli explained in detail.
"Eight hundred and eighty kilometers? Doesn't it run through the entire Taoyuan Special Economic Zone?"
After all, the entire Taoyuan Special Economic Zone is only 15,000 square kilometers.
Lu Zheli nodded: "Madam, you are right. This subway does run through the entire Taoyuan Special Economic Zone and is one of the main roads in the special zone."
Zhang Hao then added: "In addition to being a main road, this subway also serves as an escape route. In the event of a collapse accident in the future, quick rescue can be carried out through the subway."
"I see. No wonder it takes so long to build a subway."
Yang Huaqing was enlightened.
Lu Zheli then introduced: "Actually, in addition to the subway, there are three other highways leading to the special zone, but the subway is the most convenient."
As we chatted, the subway arrived at the station soon.
Probably to welcome the arrival of the consul, the train is brand new and should have just been put into operation.
Everyone boarded the subway one after another.
After the train started, Yang Huaqing asked again: "Mayor Lu, how long will we ride?"
"This is the starting station. We have to get off at the second station, but the distance between the two stations is a bit far. It takes about thirty minutes." Lu Zheli replied.
In fact, the SAR City Hall is located at the second stop.
After all, the closer you are to the cave entrance, the safer you are. If an unfortunate incident occurs, you have the greatest chance of escape.
For the same reason, the villa built by the old Zhang family is also located near the city hall, and is right outside the subway entrance. In order to acquire this land, Zhang Hao spent a total of more than 500 million yuan.