When people’s busy day is finally coming to an end, they are already hungry. They take out a bowl of instant noodles, pour boiling water, the unique aroma of wheat penetrates into the nose, and take a sip of the soup-rich noodles. The fatigue of the day seemed to dissipate at this moment. As a fast food, instant noodles have entered China from Japan for more than 50 years. Its inventor, Wu Baifu, is also a legendary figure.

A bumpy life

Momofuku Ando, ??also known as Wu Baifu, was born in Chiayi, Taiwan in 1910. His parents died when he was young, and he ran a fiber wholesale shop left by his grandparents in Tainan City. In 1932, at the age of 22, he used his father's inheritance as capital to run the Toyo Moko Textile Co., Ltd. His business talent seemed to be innate, and he immediately established the Nitto Chamber of Commerce in 1933.

Unfortunately, when World War II broke out and air raids destroyed Ando's office and factory, his hard work was destroyed. Blessings never come in pairs, and misfortunes never come singly. The frame-up by a business rival forced him to go to prison for the first time. The year he spent in prison not only damaged his body and mind, but also ruined his once prosperous career.

By the time he was released from prison, World War II was coming to an end. With nothing left, he did not lose his fighting spirit, but chose to start a new business. Faced with the declining people's livelihood in Japan at that time, he established a student fund out of good intentions. The scholarship was considered a means of tax evasion, so he was imprisoned again and all his property was confiscated. When he was released from prison for the second time, all Momofuku Ando owned was an empty house.

Before and after World War II, Japan faced serious food shortages. People were so hungry that they even ate potato vines. This experience convinced Ando that "if we have enough food, the world will be at peace", which led to the idea of ????entering the food industry. In 1948, he established the China Communications Corporation (Nissin Foods). At the same time, Ando was officially naturalized, changing from Wu Baifu to Momofuku Ando, ??becoming a full Japanese national. However, perhaps the road to success should be full of ups and downs. An accident in 1957 caused him to lose all his meager property, which made his already poor life worse, so he had to start from scratch.

Inspiration born of hunger

The road to success is inevitably full of thorns and bumps. The light at the end of the road always needs to be pursued through darkness. After going to jail twice and going bankrupt three times, Momofuku Ando was not willing to sink, but started another entrepreneurial venture, setting sail again when his life was already halfway through.

The concept of "eating the world with enough food" has always been rooted in Ando's heart. When he started his third business, he began to engage in nutritional food research and made nutritional supplements using chicken soup as raw materials, which can be convenient Brewing, which laid the foundation for the future development of instant noodle seasonings. After experiencing three entrepreneurial failures, Ando started his fourth attempt. He thought of the scene he had seen on the street of people waiting eagerly for ramen to be cooked in the cold wind. This hunger inspired him. ——If there was a kind of noodles that could be eaten just by washing it with boiling water, everyone would definitely like it.

In the spring of 1958, Ando built a simple hut in the backyard of his house, where the world's first package of instant noodles was born. He collected old noodle-making machines from various places and spent a large amount of money to purchase raw materials for the experiment. From then on, he devoted himself to the experiment without sleep and food, and started various experiments before the advent of instant noodles from dawn to dusk.

However, he is a businessman, not a pastry chef. He knows nothing about making noodles, and because the combination of raw materials for noodles is very subtle and he has a lot of knowledge, so for him Failure has become commonplace. It was precisely because of these countless failures that Ando finally realized a truth: a delicious food must achieve some kind of subtle harmony.

By chance, Mrs. Ando's fried dishes inspired him. He used the "instant hot oil drying method" to put the noodles in an iron frame and fry them in an oil pan to make them appear... Regular and easy-to-package shape. It was precisely because of this piece of dough that "one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century" was born. He was 48 years old this year.

Invention reaches thousands of households

In 1958, the development of instant noodles had basically met the requirements for entering the market. Ando mobilized the whole family to try this new product, and the results were great. It has received favorable reviews from many people, which gave Ando enough confidence to bring instant noodles to the market. He firmly believes that this will become a new product that everyone loves.

As expected, instant noodles soon opened up the market, changing the lives of Japanese people at that time to a certain extent. Five years later, Nissin, which was originally just a small workshop, was officially listed on Japan's securities institutions.

However, there are also many problems during the development. Because instant noodles have good sales and considerable profits, a large number of imitators have appeared on the market. Therefore, he began to apply for patents and trademarks to ensure the credibility of the club. Nissin Foods officially registered its trademark in 1961 and obtained a patent for instant noodles manufacturing.

Since a large number of subsidiaries under the company received warnings of "monopoly", Ando suspended the market monopoly by Nissin Isha in 1964. He took the lead in establishing the Japan Noodle Industry Association, transferred and Disclosed process patent rights. As a result, instant noodles have reached more people’s dining tables. In addition to promoting the instant noodle industry, Momofuku Ando also made outstanding contributions to the creation of the Food Hygiene Law. He advocated marking instant noodles with the production date to ensure the high quality of the product and people's health. Before this, there was no such thing. Food items will be marked with dates.

Promote instant noodles to the world

Although Ando has achieved success in Japan, this is not enough for him. Promoting instant noodles to the world is his next step planning. In the 1970s, Ando decided to break away from the United States, officially entered the United States with instant noodles, and opened a Japanese factory in the United States.

The opening of the European and American markets originated from the birth of cup noodles. The problem of how to preserve cup instant noodles for a long time has troubled Ando for a long time, but fortunately, the observant Ando quickly solved the problem. He accidentally discovered the aluminum lid cup used by the stewardess on the plane, which inspired him. This change helped him quickly open up the European and American markets. As a souvenir, the container that came on the plane is still preserved.

Momofuku Ando announced his retirement at the age of 95, leaving the company he founded and worked for for 57 years. He is the well-deserved "Father of Instant Noodles." When he was 97 years old, Mr. Ando left us forever due to heart disease. Mr. Momofuku Ando has left us forever, but the contribution of his inventions to mankind will remain in the world forever. Throughout his life, he has achieved great success through ups and downs, carving out his own space in the stormy waves. The brilliance of humanity shines in him all the time. Mr. Ando’s entrepreneurial spirit of perseverance and bravery will always inspire us.