Chapter 494: Singles Champion, Magic Food, and the Conflict of Civilizations

In his previous life, Li Xiaofan had a technical secondary school classmate named Zhong Jian who worked in a private enterprise called Duya Mechanical and Electrical in Mingzhou and served as the head of the technology research and development department.

This Duya electromechanical company initially produced tubular motors that imitated Somfy's core product.

Previously, France's Somfy was the world's leading company in products such as tubular motors, smart doors and windows, and sunshades.

But later, the tubular motor products of Duya Electromechanical Company were completely transformed. From imitation to self-research and development, the market share in the mainland market surpassed Somfy of France.

Finally, in 2011, the French company Somfy acquired the Duya electromechanical company for tens of millions of dollars. Before Li Xiaofan was reborn, the annual sales of Duya Electromechanical had exceeded 2 billion yuan.

The test fixture software and hardware for the control circuit part of Duya Electromechanical were all provided by Li Xiaofan's company, which impressed him deeply.

In Li Xiaofan's impression, his hometown of Mingzhou has many "singles champions in subdivided industries" like Duya Electromechanical. Before the rebirth, more than 300 companies in Mingzhou entered the individual champion enterprise cultivation library. Nearly 100 companies rank first in the world in market share of leading products, more than 170 companies rank among the top three in the world, and more than 200 companies rank first in the country. Products are mainly concentrated in key basic materials, core basic parts, components and other fields.

Good companies like Duya Electromechanical were easily sold to foreign investors back then. Li Xiaofan felt it was a pity. In the future, when he returns to China to set up industrial funds, he can collect all these good projects and let them go public if they are suitable for the development of the capital market... …

…

After visiting Frank's Somfy Company, Tang Lina mysteriously said to Li Xiaofan and Tang Xinyi: "Wait a minute, Frank and I have arranged a very special restaurant for you. Let's go eat lobsters raised in the snow water of the Alps."

"Lobster? Shouldn't lobster live in sea water?" Tang Xinyi asked curiously after hearing this.

"Haha, actually this delicacy is called crayfish, and it is raised in Lake Annecy..."

Li Xiaofan was also very confused in his head: Logically speaking, this crayfish is the favorite of people in mainland China. Do the French also like to eat crayfish? It's unheard of, so I'm curious.

Frank introduced to Li Xiaofan and Tang Xinyi that ordinary crayfish live in fresh water, and the crayfish raised in places with better water quality have the best taste.

The most famous lakes in Europe are Lake Geneva in Switzerland and Lake Annecy in France. The water is crystal clear and is the real melted snow water of the Alps. The famous Evian water comes from here.

The restaurant Frank introduced to them is located on the west side of Annecy, away from the bustling tourists, and overlooking a lake and worldly life. And one of the crayfish delicacies inside comes from the Annecy Lake area in front of you.

The table they reserved was under a big tree outside the restaurant.

When Li Xiaofan and Tang Xinyi took their seats, the sun had not completely set. Looking at the golden sunset and the tranquil Lake Annecy in the distance gave people a sense of tranquility and comfort.

Ahead are four hors d’oeuvres. A small fish, the fish is delicious and the bones are crispy. There are also delicate and long cheeses from the restaurant's own cheese fermentation cellar that are flavored with lemon. The flowers during the decoration period were also freshly picked in the morning.

Next, the beautiful waiter sent a letter to each of Li Xiaofan and the others. When he opened the wax-sealed letter, it turned out to be a map of the old city of Annecy, with a few hastily sketched out lakes and mountains. The letter contained a message from the chef, which roughly reflected his understanding of food, as well as an introduction to the supply of ingredients that was as detailed as the name of the fisherman.

Frank smiled and introduced that this restaurant is very special and domineering. You can't order food when you come to eat, and there is no menu. What they enjoy in the evening only uses crayfish supplied by designated fishermen in specific production areas. Every crayfish here seems to have its own name and temperament!

The next dinner starter was mushroom shavings. The mushroom slices were cut out with a sharp knife to look like a flower ball. The beautiful waiter said that a small cup of delicious food was also included.

"Isn't this mushroom soup?" Li Xiaofan blurted out.

"No, sir, this is mushroom cappuccino!" The serious waiter corrected Li Xiaofan, looking like a very serious beauty.

Mushrooms are foods that are easily oxidized and darkened. These white and tender slices look simple, but they actually contain a lot of skill. The fresh and tender mushrooms must have been picked from the surrounding mountains that day, giving Li Xiaofan a refreshing aroma of the mountains and forests. Under the shavings was a mushroom salad, and the so-called mushroom cappuccino was a soup with an extremely rich flavor.

Soon, the long-awaited crayfish delicacy was served.

The beautiful waiter held a stone plate in her hand and introduced the structure of the crayfish one by one. Finally, she emphasized: not a single bite of the crayfish will be wasted, and all of it can be eaten.

Inside is a pancake fried with delicious shrimp juice and egg liquid. When you open the pancake, there is a sashimi salad mixed with lemon juice in the bowl. As expected, the shrimp yellow and shrimp brains in the shrimp heads were piled into a small spoon, with a peeled shrimp clam on top. In the end, even the shrimp shells were fried into crackers, so no bite was really wasted.

Finally, a hot small cup was served on the table. The beautiful waiter opened the lid. There were six tender, peeled crayfish inside. She slowly poured the soup in and then closed the lid.

The beautiful waiter mysteriously introduced that this is a crayfish dish inspired by the East.

She opened the lid. Li Xiaofan and the others were curious. Hey, the soup was missing? Are you bringing a magic show with you for dinner?

The beautiful waitress beside him had a smug smile that said "You'll understand in a while."

Li Xiaofan took a bite and found that the crayfish in the soup was very delicious, but there was too little of it. It was funny and unsatisfying. But then he immediately discovered that there was a hole at the bottom of the small bowl, and the soup just leaked to the bottom. No wonder the beautiful waitress in front gave everyone a delicate silver spoon.

Li Xiaofan used a spoon to scoop soup from the bottom of the bowl, but unexpectedly dug out a mouthful of solidified steamed egg. The moment he put it in his mouth, he secretly shouted: Oh my god, it's actually sea urchin steamed egg!

Oriental elements, the most commonly used ingredients in Japan, the natural transition from river fish to seafood, a spoonful of steamed egg with hidden surprises and magic fun. Li Xiaofan admires the romantic French people's creative ideas in cooking, which elevates ordinary crayfish to the height of art and combines the concepts of Eastern and Western cuisine.

This dinner gave Li Xiaofan a feeling: many famous Michelin restaurants in the world are not just about the taste, but the ideas and creativity behind them. Inspiration cannot be measured by price...

...

The short and pleasant French vacation soon ended. Tang Xinyi reluctantly said goodbye to Li Xiaofan and boarded the flight to San Francisco.

While strolling in the bookstore at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, Li Xiaofan bought a recently published book "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" by Harvard University professor and international political scientist Huntington.

Three years ago in the summer of 1993, the American magazine "Foreign Affairs" published Huntington's article "The Clash of Civilizations", which caused widespread and heated debate around the world.

The current book "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" by Huntington further elaborates and defends his own views on the basis of "The Clash of Civilizations".

It is said that Huntington's "The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order" became a classic as soon as it was published, and has been ranked in the top 10 books borrowed by American college students for many years.

On the plane, after more than 20 years, Li Xiaofan flipped through the book and found that the development of international politics was surprisingly similar to Huntington's prediction more than 20 years ago. Many of the predictions in the book have come true...

...

On Sunday evening, Li Xiaofan returned to the terrace house dormitory from Changi International Airport and found it was pitch black inside. Strange, where did the two girls go?

At this time, Li Xiaofan suddenly remembered that Liu Mengchen had temporarily accompanied Guo Hanyue back to Chengdu to help Yueyue open an optical glasses store.

The terrace house was deserted without two girls, and the lonely Li Xiaofan seemed to be a little uncomfortable.

He turned on the computer and surfed the Internet for a while. Li Xiaofan found that the first metropolitan area network Shanghai hotline in China and the Guangzhou Window website under Guangdong Telecom had been opened one after another, and the first BBS station in China, "One Network Love", was already very lively.

While reading posts on the "One Network Love" BBS station, Li Xiaofan's mobile phone rang. He opened it and saw that it was Wang Danrong calling.

"Mr. Li, good evening. Are you back in Singapore?" Wang Danrong asked on the phone.

"Yes, I just got home and was surfing the Internet."

"Mr. Li, Junling and I are at the Changi Village Market near you. Junling asked if you are free. She wants to invite you out for a cup of coffee?"