Cheng Ruming, a national treasure culinary master, was young and poor. From an ordinary farmer, he became a Zhongnanhai chef in charge of Chairman Mao's diet.

needless to say, the hardships along the way, the splendid scenery along the way, also needless to say.

I came to Chairman Mao's side in 1954. In these 22 years, what impressed him most was the Chairman's smile on New Year's Day.

Cheng Ruming was born on October 1, 1926 in a poor peasant family in Yexian County, Shandong Province.

In that old time, Shandong was invaded by foreign powers and the warlords fought fiercely, so people's lives were extremely difficult.

In such a difficult environment, Cheng Ruming, from a poor family, became a laborer at home at the age of 9, working in the fields to support his family.

Later, farmers had a hard life. In order to make money, Cheng Ruming, who was still ignorant at the age of 13, followed his fellow villagers to Tianjin.

When he came to Tianjin, his life began to turn and he embarked on the road of becoming a chef.

In this bustling city, he worked as an apprentice in Huizhong Hotel, Jewish Club and Victor Li Restaurant opened by foreigners.

being an apprentice is not so easy. At that time, craftsmen all attached great importance to their own skills and were unwilling to teach them to relatives or friends.

As the saying goes, "Learn from an apprentice and starve to death a master". At that time, craftsmen treated the apprentice as a thief, fearing that the apprentice would learn his own unique skills.

Even some masters with poor character regard apprentices as cheap tools and abuse and beat them at every turn.

At the beginning, Cheng Ruming would get up at 5 o'clock in the morning with a cold wind, work until 11 o'clock in the middle of the night, and grope his way back to bed in the darkness.

besides the heavy work, I have to endure the hostility of the master.

Many people can't stand it and don't want to continue as apprentices. But Cheng Ruming, endure to come over one by one.

He is talented, hardworking and meticulous. After ten years' experience, he has finally become a chef who is proficient in western food practices of various departments and cooking all kinds of cakes.

In the second year of the founding of New China, Cheng Ruming signed up for railway recruitment and became a worker.

In 1952, Beijing held a regional conference to defend Asia and the Pacific. Cheng Ruming, as a well-known chef who made West Point at that time, was arranged to take the train specially for foreign guests attending the meeting and was responsible for western food.

It was the early days of the founding of New China, and some hostile countries had been spreading bad publicity about China.

This meeting is also an opportunity to establish a good image of China.

to maintain the national image, we must not let go of all aspects, including catering.

Cheng Ruming's exquisite and authentic western food conquered the foreign guests. After eating, they raised their thumbs in recognition. "I didn't expect to eat such authentic western food in China. It's amazing!"

This time, the food show was praised by westerners who came here. Therefore, Cheng Ruming was praised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and became famous in one fell swoop.

In p>1954, it was the most unforgettable year in Cheng Ruming's life. In this year, his cooking was recognized and he was transferred to Chairman Mao.

Today's TV dramas often capture such a plot that Chairman Mao likes to eat braised pork. But in fact, at first, Chairman Mao didn't like to eat braised pork.

At that time, Cheng Ruming just took office, and he wanted to show off his skills.

Therefore, that night, a bowl of braised pork appeared on the dining table. The meat was fresh and tender, and it was crystal clear, which made people's forefinger move.

Cheng Ruming waited for Chairman Mao's praise with joy, only to find that Chairman Mao didn't move a single piece.

Cheng Ruming was very surprised and asked, "Chairman, do you think it tastes bad? I will work harder and improve this dish. "

Chairman Mao smiled and said, "It's not that it tastes bad. I don't like soy sauce."

It turns out that when Mao Zedong was young, there was a soy sauce workshop at home.

The brewing of soy sauce needs fermentation. One summer, in broad daylight and unbearable heat, Mao Zedong came to the workshop, but he accidentally saw some white spots floating in the soy sauce tank.

Mao Zedong walked in, only to find that these white spots turned out to be maggots bred during soy sauce fermentation.

When he saw this, he felt sick. From then on, he never wanted to eat dishes with soy sauce.

if the chairman doesn't eat soy sauce, should he cook braised pork? Cheng Ruming felt a little embarrassed.

Of course, braised pork is a good dish, and the New Year's Eve dinner must be put on, but it needs to be cooked in a different way.

You can't put soy sauce. Cheng Ruming pondered for a long time before he finally came up with a solution, that is, boiling sugar.

This method can not only replace soy sauce to color and flavor braised pork, but also add a sweetness to the cooked braised pork, which is salty and delicious.

Since then, braised pork has also become a favorite dish of the Chairman. As long as braised pork is served, the Chairman can guarantee that it will not be left.

the chairman appreciates cheng ruming's skills very much, but he doesn't always have an appetite.

On New Year's Eve soon after entering Zhongnanhai, Cheng Ruming was in charge of preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.

Before preparing dinner, Cheng Ruming specially asked some chairmen what kind of stuffing jiaozi liked. The chairman replied, "Any stuffing will do. I can't eat much."

Cheng Ruming thought that the chairman had a bad appetite today, so he specially prepared his best three-flavor jiaozi.

He is very good at this dish. It's delicious and mouth-watering, but the chairman only tasted one and never touched it again.

Cheng Ruming was surprised and asked if the chairman didn't like the taste of Sam Sun.

Someone told him, "President may not like jiaozi, but southerners prefer to eat rice cakes during the Spring Festival."

After hearing this news, Cheng Ruming improved the menu again, and rarely gave jiaozi to the chairman. On the second year's New Year's Eve, he specially prepared a stack of rice cakes.

At that time, the chairman began to eat several pieces of rice cakes, and this scene was always remembered by Cheng Ruming.

In normal times, Cheng Ruming will put more soup when cooking, because it can keep warm. The chairman is very busy at work, and always eats while reading documents, which makes him eat slowly and the dishes easily get cold.

But on the New Year's Eve, Cheng Ruming won't put too much soup in his cooking. Because the Chinese New Year is a time of reunion and celebration, the chairman usually doesn't read books and documents when he eats this rare meal.

In p>1961, natural disasters were very serious. Affected by the harsh environment, the national economy declined this year, and many people were hungry.

In order to save government expenditure, Chairman Mao specially ordered that his meals should be reduced.

Therefore, in this difficult period, he issued an order: "No meat is allowed in the future."

At that time, the situation was extremely serious, and eating a meal of meat cost a lot of money. The chairman thought that this expense was completely unnecessary.

now, cheng ruming is in a dilemma. If you don't eat meat and vegetables and eat vegetarian food every day, the chairman's nutrition will not keep up, which will affect your health. The chairman's poor health also has a great influence on the country. As the chairman's chef, he has to take good care of the chairman's diet.

for the sake of the chairman's health, meat dishes should still be cooked.

but the chairman can't find out, so this meat dish has to be hidden.

Cheng Ruming, a native of Shandong, likes to eat green onions, but the chairman doesn't like them.

He really wanted to share his favorite food with the chairman, so he made a chopped green onion cake with green onions. Unexpectedly, the chairman tasted it and said yes, and began to appreciate the delicious chopped green onion.

To cook a meat dish for the chairman, Cheng Ruming immediately thought of this chopped green onion cake.

On New Year's Eve this year, Cheng Ruming cooked a bowl of lard with fat pork, mixed the meat oil into the noodles, kneaded the noodles constantly, and then mixed a few diced meat into the chopped green onion.

the chairman really didn't find out. He thought that Cheng Ruming's skill was further improved, and repeatedly praised him: "Master Cheng's chopped green onion cake is delicious!"

however, it was not long before the chairman found out and once again strictly prohibited Cheng Ruming from making meat.

From 1954 to his departure, Cheng Ruming worked as the chairman's chef for 22 years.

For 22 years, the first thing he has to do every day is to make a menu and then destroy it.

when he first came to work with the chairman, he was told a discipline: staff were not allowed to leave menus.

at first, he was puzzled.

When he asked his colleagues about this discipline, they told him: "Eating habits are very important information. If Chairman Mao's diet menu is taken by hostile forces, they will judge the chairman's physical condition on that day according to this information, and then they will take advantage of the chairman's poor health and directly attack our country, causing unexpected disasters."

after listening to this, Cheng Ruming suddenly realized that this small menu in his hand was so important.

from now on, every day when he works beside the chairman, he will report the menu of each cooking first, and then take a copy to the kitchen after approval. When the food is ready, he will burn the menu in his hand, keep the chairman's menu closely and never reveal any information.

As the chairman's head chef, Cheng Ruming is extremely cautious and will never reveal his unit.

At first, in order to keep secret, every time he wrote to his family and sent something, Cheng Ruming filled in the address "Zhongnanhai 111 mailbox". The family only knows that he works in Zhongnanhai, but they don't know the specific situation.

Later, the Cheng family learned that this "Zhongnanhai 111 mailbox" was sent to Mao Zedong's home.

In p>1976, Chairman Mao passed away, and Cheng Ruming ended his 22 years of working with the Chairman.

those 22 years, which he often turns out to look closely, are a period of time he will never forget.

he remembers that the chairman lived frugally and never wasted money. Leftovers appeared on New Year's Eve, which was not good, but the chairman would definitely eat them the next day. He remembered that the Chairman loved fish, but he was satisfied with a bowl of fish head and tofu, which was purely a "fish" dish.

he remembers a lot, the president's service for the country and the people, his hard work day and night, and his dedication to the country.

In 2112, this conscientious master passed away in Beijing at the age of 86.

after the death of the chairman, he also worked as a chef for later leaders, but what he will never forget is those simple 22 years. In his later years, he always said, "I have been by the chairman's side, and this life is enough to be gratified."