——Henan Province Shilongyan liquor industry development documentary.
Text|Liu Hongjuan.
Laborer is a shining term, not discredited by the sweat of humble status;Laborer is a simple word, soaked in salty sweat and shining.
Labor is always a condition for our survival and development, and only the harvest that we have through labor is the most reliable.
The development and change of cities often transcend our limited horizons and thoughts. Some of your footprints have not arrived, and some of the scenery and changes are that you pass by every day but pass by negligently, dazed.
The West Gorge in 2023 can be described as beautiful, and the fire is out of Henan and the whole country. Xixia has been listed on the ** Radio and Television Station's "Home Between Mountains and Waters" and "Remember Homesickness" columns, and Xixia has also become one of the "Top 100 Counties and Cities in China's County Tourism"!When it comes to the West Gorge, people will think of the kiwifruit, shiitake mushrooms and dogwoods in the West Gorge, and those who know the West Gorge know the Shilongyan rice wine that is loved by every household in the West Gorge. In the winter of Xixia, almost every family must have rice wine, and during the Spring Festival, invite guests and friends, visit relatives, rice wine is an indispensable gift. Shilongyan Qiaojia rice wine is a well-known specialty of the West Gorge, and is favored by tourists who come to the West Gorge for sightseeing.
Xixia, located in the hinterland of the 800-mile Funiu Mountain, has a forest coverage rate of 81% and is known as the green kingdom. Shilongyan Rice Wine (later renamed Shilongyan Qiaojia Rice Wine) is the first rice wine in Xixia, with a history of more than 350 years. Selected high-quality red millet, millet, glutinous rice, Daqu, using the source of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project from the source of Shimen Lake upstream of Laolongquan water as raw materials, by the winemaker using traditional technology and modern scientific methods, combined with the time and place, through more than 30 processes such as cooking, mixing koji, saccharification, fermentation, pressing, filtration, decoction, storage, etc., the high-quality pure grain brewing liquor is made with ingenuity.
Shilongyan rice wine is rich in vitamin B1, B12, vitamin E, dietary fiber, chromoic acid, ammonia, amino acids, protein, isomaltose, zinc, iron, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, carbohydrates and other nutrients. Set sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, fresh, astringent six flavors in one and neutral, seamless, natural fusion, the formation of a different ordinary style, comprehensive just right, keep but not go, sweet and sour, prevent indigestion, regulate sleep, promote appetite, enhance immunity, promote growth and development, prevent anemia, promote blood stasis, prevent oxidative damage to the body's cell membrane, and can remove metabolic garbage such as oxygen free radicals in the body, help blood circulation, nourish blood and beauty, and promote metabolism.
Inheritance has roots
Qiao's rice wine originated from Qiao's ancestor Qiao Zhonghe. During the Spring and Autumn Period, the White Feather City in the West Gorge was the earliest famous city in the former Chu. The king of Chu often came here to entertain guests, which required high-quality wine, and the king of Chu recruited from the world.
Good water is needed to make good wine. After investigation, Qiao Zhonghe found that the old dragon spring water in the east of Shimen in the middle reaches of the Guan River tasted very good. Using local red millet and millet as raw materials, wheat malt as koji, and Laolong spring water as the base, the traditional brewing technology was used to repeatedly explore, and finally made a high-quality liquor. Long-lasting, mild, mellow and delicious, low aroma, nutritional and health care, loved by people from all walks of life. The king of Chu designated it as Qiaojia rice wine, and all the rice wine produced was used as royal tribute wine.
Inherited to the generation of Qiao Yongfeng (general manager of Shilongyan Liquor Industry in Henan Province) father Qiao Siqin, Shilongyan rice wine has become a household name in Xixia.
Qiao Yongfeng's home in Beitang Village, Wuliqiao Town, Beigongqu, Shimen Lake, has more than 350 years of traditional customs of brewing rice wine, and is a veritable rice wine village. In the past, every household had several large wine vats. Futian selects the best wheat and makes wine with high-quality September cold rice in winter. The family made wine and the neighbors came to help, the atmosphere was warm and the scene was harmonious. Throughout the winter, the aroma of wine permeates the village. The villagers enthusiastically brought out their own rice wine and invited their neighbors to taste it. You talk to me, and your laughter is soaked with the smell of wine and the smell of fireworks in the world of joy and peace.
Qiao Siqin recalled: "At first, I brewed some rice wine, just for my own family. Give a little to your confidants and relatives during the New Year, and there are also famous people around Fangyuan to buy. ”
After the reform and opening up, at the end of 1983, Qiao Siqin used the money from selling pigs to buy back more than 30 clay pots from Zhenping and set up a small family workshop. Production ramped up, and then began to market it. Qiao's father used a rack car to pull rice wine to sell on the county street, mainly to the restaurant canteen. At that time, the sellers of braised pork at the entrance of the distillery and canning factory had to buy a pot of Qiao's rice wine every other day. At that time, there were two kinds of Qiaojia rice wine: five cents a pound of original juice and three cents a pound of water wine, all of which were packed in plastic pots. In neighboring counties, townships, towns, Shangnan and other places, the demand is also slowly increasing. Sometimes six or seven hundred catties of wine were sent to the inner countryside at a time, and Qiao's father put livestock on the cart and set off early in the morning. Along the way, he didn't stop and couldn't take a break, and when he arrived in the morning, Qiao's father spent two cents to buy a baked cake for a meal. After unloading the rice wine, I hurried back, and it was already dark when I got home. Later, Qiao's father bought a girder bicycle, with a basket hanging on both sides of the back seat, plus the back seat, which can hold 150 pounds at a time, mainly to Xiping and Neixiang. Qiao's father is honest and kind, never short of catties and short twos, to the countryside to sell wine, where the past stops, must be invited to taste first. Qiaojia rice wine is a pure grain wine, rich aroma, sweet and delicious, mellow flavor, left a good reputation in Xixia and neighboring counties, and soon opened up the market, many scattered customers in the county are vying to buy their own door-to-door.
The son inherits the father's business and vows to develop and expand
Good culture and craftsmanship need to be passed on.
Qiao Yongfeng was born in 1973. After graduating from high school at the age of 18, he began to learn how to make wine with his father. In order to ensure the quality of the wine, the local production of September cold rice has not been able to keep up with the production of Qiaojia rice wine, because of the development of urbanization, the arable land is getting less and less, Yongfeng went to Xinyang to buy rice. Yongfeng followed his father in the family workshop for 12 years. With the opening of sales channels, Qiaojia rice wine has been in short supply. Often, new sake is booked out before it is produced, and it is imperative to expand the scale of production.
In 2007, the county called for all towns to implement "one village, one product". Qiaojia rice wine is second to none, and has been selected as a famous brand product in Wuliqiao Township. With the support of the township, the village cadres came home to call for Qiao Minhua, who was the village party secretary at the time, and Yongfeng discussed the plan to expand the implementation plan.
Yongfeng Qibi submitted a land application to the village, and the village was very supportive, and specially approved 30 acres of industrial land for Qiaojia Huang Distillery. Yongfeng took out the 50,000 yuan he had accumulated, and borrowed 30,000 yuan from his neighborsQiao Yongfeng gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, and decided to do a big job!Shilongyan rice wine factory was officially established.
The site was on the side of the Guan River more than ten miles away from the village, and the riverside road had not yet extended to Shilongyan at that time. It was still a meadow with a river beach and a desolate place. Yongfeng and his wife brought some daily necessities from home and set up a simple tent to live in. Neighbors and villagers all came to help Yongfeng build the courtyard wall of the factory and build the factory. Yongfeng said gratefully: "Thank you, folks!."Everyone is very busy and comes to help me work, I can't let everyone work in vain, the salary is owed first, and I will give it to everyone at the end of the year. "Yongfeng is honest and honest, he doesn't talk much, but he is loud.
Under the opposition of his parents, Yongfeng spent four or five thousand yuan to buy an old small truck, a large vat, and a hundred and ten wine vats to buy glutinous rice from Xinyang. Yongfeng drives his own procurement and delivery. To deliver goods to Miping and Sangping, it will start at four or five o'clock in the morning, and it will be even more difficult in winter. The watershed and Dufu Ridge were frozen, and the car could not be slipped up, so Yongfeng got out of the car and twisted the roadside hay into a rope to wrap the car ......The wine is sent to the ground, and then clumsily stumbling back.
Qiao Yongfeng still clearly remembers the first time he pulled 400 catties of wine to the watershed Baoyu River, and it only took half a day to come and go. Yongfeng said: "I feel happy. The 4 wheels not only hold a lot of wine, but also run fast. The car has autonomy, and it can go when it wants. ”
The aroma of wine is not afraid of deep alleys
Shilongyan rice wine has won a good reputation by virtue of quality and taste, and sells well in various towns and villages in Xixia, as far as Neixiang, Xinyang and Shaanxi. At that time, the old, middle-aged and young villagers in several towns and villages in Beishan praised Shilongyan rice wine, and when they mentioned Qiao Yongfeng, they all gave a thumbs up: people are really thick wine!Wine is like character, Yongfeng father and son used their sweat and hard work, and used their conscience and character to make the first rice wine in Xixia!Wine of conscience!A healthy life for those who are used to drink!
In 2012, Yongfeng went to Qilu and Xuzhou to purchase assembly line equipment, and the mechanized equipment for the whole process of rice wine production in Shilongyan Rice Distillery was gradually improved. After several years of hard work, Shilongyan Qiaoshi Rice Distillery has finally transformed from a handicraft workshop to a mechanized modern liquor company.
Speed increases, production throughput increases. Shilongyan Yellow Distillery has more than 30 workers from the past when one family closed its doors for production to now. Yongfeng invited experts from Zhengzhou colleges and universities to guide and build a professional laboratory and exhibit room.
After the foundation of the factory was firmly established, Yongfeng began to go to Zhengzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhou and other places to expand the market. In the export ratio, Shenzhen's sales ratio is significant, and the boutique "Shanghai Impression" is exclusively for the Shanghai market, and the sales volume in the province has gradually increased.
In the 14 years since the establishment of the factory, Yongfeng and his wife have worked together to be obscure and take the factory as their home. Yongfeng's lover Wang Jinli, a typical rural woman, is kind and enthusiastic, respects her in-laws, and takes care of her three children. Jin Lifu sang with her whole heart to support Yongfeng. Yongfeng personally drove the purchase, rice wine production, sales, delivery, and market expansion;Both technology and quality are controlled by Jinli.
We often say that the older the rice wine, the better. Rice wine has to go through different temperature differences throughout the year, accept the aura of heaven and earth, and the essence of the sun and the moon, and then become mellow, rich and soft. This can only be achieved if it is actually cellared in a ceramic jar. Because the pottery jar has tiny holes, during storage and aging, various reactions change the irritation of the new wine, making the wine mellow and soft, and the aroma full.
In 2015, Yongfeng went to Sichuan and Guizhou famous wine manufacturers to inspect and returned, and invested more than 300,000 yuan to build a large wine cellar with an area of 10 acres. Yongfeng said that in this way, the classification of more than 30 kinds of rice wine is relatively clear. In the wine cellar, more than 100 jars of original juice aged for more than 30 years are still treasured, which are used to produce new wine blending and debugging, and it has been stored for ten years to obtain a fine wine. Yongfeng also recruited professional sales staff. Yongfeng said: "Now the logistics is very convenient, but in view of the fragile particularity of the bottled rice wine, we are all large trucks and special vehicles, and I will drive the small amount by myself, and there are also door-to-door purchases in neighboring counties in Hubei Province, Shaanxi." ”
When I asked Yongfeng about his future ambitions, Yongfeng said calmly: "I just want to be a brewer." Make some contributions to the national and local finances and repay the motherland and the party. ”
Yongfeng said that technological innovation, expansion of production, more new products, plans to produce more than 10,000 tons of annual output. Strive to sell Shilongyan rice wine to Beijing and sell it to the whole country.
In the future, Qiao's Rice Distillery will develop into the largest and most bullish rice distillery in Henan Province.
Epilogue
God rewards hard work, and the future can be expected. In 2013, Shilongyan rice wine was rated as the intangible cultural heritage of traditional handmade brewing skills at the municipal level. Qiao Yongfeng was elected as the representative inheritor of the rice wine brewing process of Nanyang Municipal Intangible Cultural Heritage Project, and the executive vice president of the Rice Wine Committee of Henan Liquor Industry Association.
The dazzling signboard was hung at the door of Qiaojia Huang Distillery, which leads to Shilongyan and Shimen Lake on Binhe Avenue in Xixia County - Shilongyan Liquor Industry in Henan Province
I can't use empty rhetoric to imagine the future of Shilongyan Yellow Distillery for Yongfeng. In life, people always have to do something practical, even if it is just to work for the sake of living. Among ordinary workers, if you can make one thing bigger and stronger and do a good job in your life, that is a great worker, an excellent person, and a model in the industry!
Eight hundred miles of Funiu Mountain is majestic and heavy, three hundred miles of river water flows endlessly, and three hundred years of Shilongyan rice wine is mellow and long.
This article was originally published in Time Report, Issue 12, 2023.