It is said that people's "hunger memory" is the deepest, and what they eat is the most unforgettable, but people's memory is limited after all. Although I am ordinary, I can only say that I am ashamed compared with what I have forgotten. However, all I can remember is written, more or less a description of the years I have experienced. There will be a sureness in my heart when I write. This is one of the reasons why I am not afraid of being disturbed by my friends and want to try my best to write what I can remember.
? All right, go on.
? Alcohol, tobacco, sugar and tea are actually an extension of the topic of eating. It's just a little extravagant than eating that simple meal.
(1) Smoking
Tobacco was introduced into China around the Ming Dynasty. For hundreds of years, from the south to the north, from the palace to the countryside, smoking may be one of the most common daily consumption of China people.
There was no smoking ban in the 1960s and 1980s. People at that time knew that Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin and many of our own leaders smoked. Ordinary people don't necessarily imitate great men, but they also have the experience of smoking to relieve fatigue, such as "a cigarette after a meal is better than a living fairy" It is said that because of the high tobacco tax, there has always been a saying that "smoking is patriotism". Therefore, smoking was a very common phenomenon in daily life at that time.
? When I was a child, one of boys' favorite games was "slapping cigarette cases". That is, fold the cigarette case into a triangle, push or pat it on the ground, and turn the cigarette case on the other side over, even if you win. Through this game, we know all kinds of cigarette cases and know the "value" of different cigarette cases. For example, the "value" of Chinese, peony and butterfly cigarette cases is higher than that of Qianmen, Evergrande and Haihe. It can be said that tobacco culture has influenced us very early.
? In the 1960s and 1970s, cigarettes were also supplied by ticket. Is it 15 packs or 20 packs per household a month? I can't remember clearly. I have the impression that at that time, cigarettes could be opened and sold one by one, which was basically unrestricted. Sometimes a pack of cigarettes is sold without a ticket. It can be seen that compared with other goods supplied by ticket, the supply of cigarettes is relatively sufficient.
Another impression is that when I was in Jiangxi, I sold an Albanian cigarette, which is said to be a foreign aid product of Nanchang Tobacco Factory and exported to the domestic market. That kind of tobacco is not the traditional flue-cured tobacco in China, nor the mixed tobacco that became popular later, but the so-called Turkish tobacco, that is, raw sun-cured tobacco. That kind of cigarette smells bad. But the cigarette case is very beautiful, and it looks quite bluffing. The key is cheap, a box of 1 1 min, or 15 min. People with little money like me can afford it.
? Having said that, I have to admit that my smoking history is long enough. The first cigarette I smoked was given by a child in the same hospital 1969. Then in Jiangxi, when I was playing on the basketball team, I played with several big shots and smoked a few. Then, about 197 1 year, I bought the first pack of cigarettes and invited others back. Then, off and on, I started smoking.
? At that time, cigarettes were still graded. China, Peony, Butterfly, Bai Jinlong and so on are all high-end. Daqianmen (from Shanghai, Tianjin and Qingdao), Evergrande, Dazhong Jiu, etc. And quite advanced. Pegasus, Jinye, Haihe River, and later Xiangshan and Beihai are all in the middle. Waiting for the next time to quit smoking, it's many and miscellaneous, a few cents a pack. Strangely, the names of cigarettes were hard at that time. For example, "bumper harvest", "workers, peasants and soldiers" and "great unity" are basically a few cents a pack. Besides, there are cheaper tobacco leaves. It is also a pleasure to buy a little tobacco leaves and then spend 20 cents on a stack of cigarette paper, or simply "roll guns" with newspapers.
? By the early 1980s, foreign cigarettes appeared. What kind of "555", "Marlboro" and "camel" have gradually entered the room, and domestic cigarettes have also cancelled tickets early, which is already another scene.
(2) wine
? No one in my family used to drink, so I drink now, which is purely my own business.
? Although no one drinks at home, parents are hospitable and guests should prepare wine when they come. Therefore, my memory of wine is first related to my relatives and friends. For example, when one of my uncles comes home, he must have wine. Xifeng, Yanghe, Zhuyeqing and Erguotou were all seen at that time.
? At that time, there was a small hotel near my home that sold all kinds of bulk wine. Liquor 13 12, bamboo leaves 15 12. There is also plum wine, which is placed in a large glass jar and juxtaposed with bulk wine. Bright colors, beautiful.
? After arriving in Fenyi, Jiangxi, our company has several fermentation experts from the Ministry of Light Industry. For them, making wine is a piece of cake. Sure enough, it didn't take long for several old gentlemen to achieve fruitful results of "fully implementing the May 7th Directive"-turning waste into treasure, brewing high-quality liquor with barnyard grass (a weed seed) and naming it "Xinfeng Liquor" (Xinfeng is the name of the village where our company is located). That kind of wine is not only very popular in cadre schools, but also quite famous in Jiangxi. It is said that it is more popular than the famous Jiangxi "Sterling Wine".
? At that time, we often went to restaurants to work. When the wine comes out, we will take a teapot, a wine head and a wine tail and drink whatever we want. Moreover, people in the company can buy wine at a low price, and it is inevitable to drink two cups when they buy it back. Perhaps, the ability to drink, or the tolerance to alcohol, has been developed.
? In Fenyi, Jiangxi, there is a kind of rice wine, and the local old watch is called "Shuijiu". Seven cents a bowl, 41 pounds. That wine is light, not strong, and cool. It is said that drinking too much will go to your head. But we didn't have much money at that time, and occasionally we had a bowl to entertain ourselves. It really doesn't feel like we're at the top.
? The first time I drank beer was in Jiangxi. I remember that the cadre school pulled some beer from Nanchang, which was 50 cents a bottle, which was quite expensive. At that time, it was a "double grab", hot and tired, and I didn't want to eat it when I got home from work, but the beer taken out of the well water was cold and cold, and I liked it at once. Unfortunately, conditions were limited and there was no place to buy beer.
? Later, when I returned to Beijing, the five-star beer of "Shuanghesheng" and "Beijing White Brand" and the light beer of 40 cents a liter were also affordable for ordinary people. But when it comes to beer, the deepest impression is still in Qingdao. In the summer vacation of 198 1, I went to Qingdao with three classmates, lived in Qingdao No.1 Middle School, drank Tsingtao beer or bought it in bulk, or bought a "cannonball" (canned), which was really cool. Another impression is that I was in Harbin, 1983 was on a business trip in the summer. In restaurants on the street, beer is served in a washbasin and in a rice bowl with a big spoon. Therefore, the per capita beer consumption in Harbin ranks first in China.
(3) sugar
? At that time, sugar was also bought by ticket. How much is two taels per household per month? I don't remember. What I can remember is that sugar was not white at that time, and some of it was yellow, and it was said that it was imported from Cuba. Brown sugar is black and there should be a lot of impurities.
? The supply of sugar is limited, so there is saccharin in the shop at 20 cents a pack. It is also sweet to buy it home, melt it with water, knead it into noodles, steam steamed bread and make cakes. I remember once going to a chemical store in Xisiyi to buy some lemonade and pigment. When I came back, I changed some saccharin, added some baking soda and washed it with tap water, which was a homemade soda. In fact, the regular products at that time, such as soda water and popsicles, also used a lot of saccharin, such as "soda water" at 80 cents a bottle and popsicles at 20 cents a bottle, which were definitely sugar-free.
? I don't like candy very much since I was a child, and I don't have a deep impression of candy. I remember that the average fruit candy is 20 cents a piece, and there are candy bars wrapped in candy paper, which are placed in glass bottles at the store counter. They are red, green and yellow, which are very attractive. There is a kind of "white rabbit toffee" in Shanghai. It is said that two pieces of candy can make a glass of milk. I've eaten it, and I think it's really milky, but that's all. In addition, such as bean flour sugar, peanut sugar, crisp sugar, kwantung sugar and so on. It seems that you can basically buy it without a ticket, but it is expensive and you seldom eat it. As for chocolate and chewing gum, I really didn't taste it at that time.
(4) Tea
? China people have a long history of drinking tea, and tea was once a necessity of life. Seven things to open the door, tea first.
? At that time, parents also drank tea, but not often. So although there is a tea cone at home, it is often half empty. However, my parents often send tea to my hometown, and it is often my responsibility to buy tea on holidays.
? There is a tea shop opposite my home (north of Fuwai Street Road). I don't remember the name, but I remember that there was an advertisement outside the store for "West Lake Longjing, Jasmine Fragrant Tablets", "Junshan Silver Needle, Tuocha Pu 'er" and a flag that said "Tea".
? At that time, tea was bought by industrial rolls, and 0. 1 roll could buy half a catty. Some teas, such as boycott scented tea, such as "high crushing" and "high powder" as Beijing people say, are free from kneading. At that time, the price of tea was not expensive, but 0.80 yuan or 1 yuan a catty of jasmine tea was very good. Like some famous teas, they are more expensive. For example, a catty of Longjing tea is 4 yuan. I remember this price because once I took the initiative to buy half a catty of Longjing tea for my family and told my parents that I didn't know how to spend money on tea.
At that time, why should tea be "industrialized"? I still don't understand this truth.
? I was deeply impressed by two things about tea. First, when I was learning to drive, my teacher liked drinking tea, not smoking or drinking. At that time, the master was old-fashioned, swearing and swearing, and his skills were great. Our disciples should also abide by the old rules, study with an open mind, and honor Master. For example, make a pot of boiling water before boarding the bus every day to help Master make tea. In addition, you also chipped in to buy some good tea for your host.
? Another thing is, 1982 When we were on a wedding trip, we were cheated by a guy in Huangshan and bought two packages of "Huangshan Mao Feng". That kind of tea is of good quality, but it is sold to me at a high price. At that time, I basically couldn't identify tea. I didn't expect people to have ulterior motives. There are many tricks of the liar, so I paid the money in a muddle. Anyway, I have been cheated several times in my life, and now I am not afraid of jokes from future generations.
? Of course, I bought a teapot in Wuxi on the same trip. That pot is absolutely authentic, simple in shape and exquisite in materials. It was only worth one or two dollars at that time.