Fusion April. 2014 | Page 52

On that day, children use silk strings to make colorful sacks for the eggs and pick the cutest eggs to put in. “It is the most precious decoration for children. But it won’t last long. When the kids are in the mood to eat the eggs, they will just take it out and eat the tasty eggs. The newly salted eggs has very mild tasted.” Although I’ve never done this at my hometown (which is only about 100 miles away), it is such an interesting and nice tradition to know.

On the paragraph I like the most, he wrote:” I’m not very happy that people from other regions speak too highly about the salted egg from my hometown. It sounds like the eggs are the only thing we have in this poor place! But the salted duck eggs from Gaoyou(his hometown) is good for sure. I’ve been too many places and I’ve tasted too many duck eggs, none of those is even close to the duck eggs from my hometown. Once you’ve seen the ocean, you won’t be satisfied by a pond. The salted duck eggs from other places doesn’t worth a penny to me.” Although the translation has turned the words pale, we can still feel his pride about this certain food from his hometown.

Literature itself contributes to the reputation of the food. Salted duck egg was not as famous in the old ages as it is today, because before famous authors write about it, its name remained local. Now the salted duck egg has become the biggest industry in Gaoyou, and has attracted a lot of tourists to this town. Nowadays, the difference between salted duck eggs from Gaoyou and other cities are not that big anymore, but people still believe Gaoyou has the best salted duck eggs, simply because of the myth and legends that has been spreading via poems and literatures for hundreds of years.

Foodsion/April, 2014 51