A Bowl of Farmhouse Dishes Connects “Chinese Mother” and “Foreign Students”

(Zhong Yunyan with “foreign students” in the kitchen. Image provided by Jiulonghu Town)

Yesterday at noon, the aroma of freshly cooked food, mixed with the gentle spring sunshine, wafted into Hongmudan International Home in Jiulonghu, Zhenhai District.

“Time to eat!” 55yearold Zhong Yunyan carried farmhouse dishes—such as roasted spring bamboo shoots and stirfried shredded potatoes—and warmly greeted the “foreign students” in the classroom.

“Smells so good; we’ve been looking forward to this feast all week!” exclaimed the students from India, Lushu, Xibi, and others, as they eagerly took out their utensils.

This heartwarming scene unfolded during a rural international public class at Hongmudan International Home. Zhong Yunyan, a villager from Hengxi Natural Village and a friend and assistant of class organizer Jiang Hongsheng, has been cooking farmhouse dishes at her home every week to provide free meals for the foreign friends attending the class.

For nearly a year now, Zhong Yunyan has persistently delivered meals, regardless of the weather. Each time she brings food, she kindly asks if the “foreign students” have eaten enough. In winter, she wraps the meals tightly and, braving the biting cold, rides her electric bicycle to deliver steaming, fresh food, fearing they might not receive a hot meal.

When asked why she works so tirelessly, Zhong Yunyan said, “In my eyes, Teacher Jiang’s ‘foreign students’ were initially guests visiting Jiulonghu, but over time they became like the children here, so I treat them as if they were my own.”

“In the hearts of my ‘foreign students,’ Aunt Zhong has long been their ‘Chinese Mother’.” Jiang Hongsheng recounted that once, when he went to pick up an Indian student named Aajana, she excitedly said the previous night that she was overjoyed at the thought of enjoying another feast from “Chinese Mother,” filling her with anticipation.

Before this year’s Spring Festival, Aajana along with her friends Lushu and Xibi presented a set of unique bells to Hongmudan International Home. “The set contains 7 bells, representing the 7 days of the week. This gift is very novel,” said Jiang Hongsheng. The bells are hung in the classroom as a “dinner bell”; whenever the bell rings, it signals that “Chinese Mother” has arrived and it’s time to eat.

Later, under Jiang Hongsheng’s organization, these “foreign students” even visited Zhong Yunyan’s home to help her select vegetables and cut shredded potatoes, learning to cook Chinese farmhouse dishes from her. Each student then served a bowl of their “learning outcome,” filling the entire round table. Zhong Yunyan’s modest kitchen became filled with the love of the foreign students.

This March, a new session of the “Hongmudan Xiangcun” public class commenced at Hongmudan International Home. Jiang Hongsheng now leads the foreign students on weekly trips to various rural areas and also provides free painting classes for local villagers. During the preparatory stage, Zhong Yunyan voluntarily joined as a “Hongmudan Volunteer.”

Now, in addition to consistently providing free lunches to the foreign students each week, she also uses authentic Ningbo dialect to translate and serve the elderly villagers attending the public class. The foreign students and local elders have grown as close as family, sharing joyful moments together.

“In my view, Aunt Zhong’s warm actions epitomize the simple, genuine customs of Ningbo’s beautiful villages. She has transformed humble farmhouse dishes into ‘rural cultural cuisine’ that touches both the hearts and palates of foreign friends, imbuing our Jiulonghu ‘Hongmudan’ with a unique spiritual connotation and an even richer fragrance,” said Jiang Hongsheng.