When it comes to cigarettes, we have to mention the most classic memories of those years:
3 cents of luxury in the last century.
Most of the people who can recognize the 5 brands of cigarettes are not young anymore. At that time, there were a dazzling variety of cigarette brands across the country. The average retail price of cigarettes is more than 32 Mao, you have to buy it with a ticket, those who bought cigarettes back then have long been full of children and grandchildren, the only thing that remains unchanged is their obsession and feelings for cigarettes.
As a foreign product, cigarettes can be said to have "dominated" in China for many years, and it is almost impossible to find a "foreign item" that is more enduring and in demand than it.
Whether in terms of cultural dissemination, influence, or economic development, cigarettes have achieved extraordinary historical achievements and status in China and even in the world. The only foreign product that can be compared to it is beer.
However, beer is still far less than cigarettes due to the restrictions of consumer groups, consumption scenarios and other factors. How did cigarettes soar from obscurity to skyrocketing in China?
China's first cigarette appeared in Shanghai in 1897, brought to China by the American Philik retail, its main brands are "Pinhai", "old car", the price at that time was 3 Wen each.
Don't look at it as an inconspicuous gadget, it quickly became popular all over the country.
In 1902, China's first Sino-US joint venture tobacco company, "Beiyang Tobacco Company", was completed in Tianjin. Seeing that there are so many smokers in this vast land of China, how can other powers turn a blind eye, yes, in this beautiful land of China, there will soon be "British American Tobacco Company", "Nanyang Tobacco Company" ......
Looking at foreigners, using Chinese land and Chinese seeds, and finally letting the Chinese help process the tobacco, sell it, and make Chinese money, the Chinese people are not vegetarians.
So the *** Chinese's own tobacco company was born. The advertisement is even more domineering, so that as a Chinese, you are embarrassed not to buy, "Chinese, smoke Chinese cigarettes". The Chinese's own cigarette "Double Happiness" was born.
In the blink of an eye, in the early days of the founding of New China, all kinds of cigarette factories came one after another. Most of them are small in scale, done by hand, the packaging is relatively rough, and the shelf life is short. Later, large-scale "public-private joint ventures", "state-run", or "local state-owned" cigarette factories across the country were implemented.
At this time, the spring breeze of reform and opening up slowly swept in.
Tobacco king Chu Shijian can be said to be a household name among the people of the country. After all, who doesn't have a few smoke-loving old men in their families, which old man will not know the famous "Yunnan Yuxi". Anyway, I remember when I was a child, I didn't go to the store downstairs to buy Yuxi for my father, and the ** at that time was about 40 yuan a pack.
Yunnan Yuxi Cigarette Factory turned out to be just a little-known small factory that was about to close down.
The basic equipment is poor, the workshop staff discipline is poor, and the leadership team is poor. It is no exaggeration to say that if there was no Chu Shijian, it would be impossible for the people of the whole country to smoke the pack of cigarettes in Yuxi, and no one would know what kind of generation my country's entrepreneurs in the 80s were.
Throughout Chu Shijian's life, he lost his father when he was young, lost his daughter in middle age, and was imprisoned in his later years.
An old man who is over half a hundred years old, what kind of mind and bearing did he use to conquer thousands of workers who were originally messing around, and what kind of faith supported him to persist step by step.
The older generation of entrepreneurs at that time should have understood, but in the end, Chu Shijian was 71 years old and was imprisoned for **crime** and sentenced to life imprisonment.
When I heard the following paragraph, I felt a little sad in my heart.
In July 1995, a new president came to take over from me. I think when I step up, the decision-making power is handed over. I've worked hard all my life, and at this point, I have to think about myself and my children. In my life, I can't be in vain. So I took advantage of my position to take $3 million, thinking that I would have enough to eat in my life. ”
*That's it**, even if he is Chu Shijian, everyone is equal before the law. But you can take a look at this set of data:
In the 18 years that Chu Shijian worked in the Yunnan Cigarette Factory, he created a total turnover of 99.1 billion yuan, and the brand value of "Hongtashan" product alone was 40 billion yuan.
In the past 20 years, he has not dared to be selfish for a moment, and he has always kept in mind the great purpose of serving the people. In 20 years, the total salary received is less than 1 million. And the value he has created has far exceeded this amount countless times. In his twilight years, he is about to hand over the cause for which he has fought all his life. Maybe it's a moment of confusion, maybe it's unwillingness. It was a big mistake, but it still makes people feel sorry for it.
Wu Xiaobo once said, "The 'Chu Shijian phenomenon' is a mirror that reflects the real situation of Chinese businessmen in front of the law under the system at that time. ”
Chu Shijian's father was killed by a Japanese plane.
Chu Shijian was born in a large family. My grandfather came to Yunnan for conscription during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, and settled down after starting a family there. His grandfather, Chu Zhenfa, was very capable, excellent in character and learning, and began to work for the French in 1910, taking charge of the security of the railway. Later, he started a business and started a brewing business.
His father, Chu Kaiyun, was flexible and engaged in the timber business since he was a child. Chu Shijian also has two elder brothers, but they died early one after another, so he is the eldest son in the family. Chu Shijian, who grew up in a solid family, is kind and charitable, and often uses the family's money to supplement the neighbors' friends.
Therefore, the people in the village have a very good impression of Chu Shijian. It was also for this reason that after Chu Shijian was imprisoned, he received donations of more than 1 million yuan from his fellow villagers.
Last words. The incident happened in 1942, Chu Shijian's father Chu Kaiyun was injured by a Japanese bomber in the process of transporting wood, and the seriously injured Chu Kaiyun was carried home on a stretcher, and he recuperated at home for more than half a year, but his injuries did not improve. My father knew that time was running out, so he called Chu Shijian to his side and instructed:
You are the eldest son in the family, and after I leave, you will have to shoulder the burden of taking care of your mother and younger siblings. After completing his studies, he will marry his uncle's daughter Ma Jingfen, the eldest sister-in-law is like a mother, Jingfen will honor her mother and take care of her younger siblings with you. In the future, you will need to take care of the timber business and wine cellar business at home. You can't be willful like a child, at home, it's all up to you. The father struggled to say his last words in a heavy voice, and after explaining the aftermath, his father passed away within two days. His father was 42 years old that year, and Chu Shijian was 15 years old.
Later, Chu Shijian recalled: "For my father's death, I was the one who changed the most in the family. I spent 15 years carefree in that small village called Inzawa, and by 1943 I had grown from a teenager to an adult. A lot of my understanding of parting, responsibility, and human feelings and accidents in my life started at that time."
After his father's death, 15-year-old Chu Shijian, as the eldest son in the family, shouldered the burden of taking care of his mother and younger siblings alone. After completing his studies, he took his younger siblings and his mother to help manage the family's winery and lumber mill business.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, in 1949, he joined the party and entered the Yunnan border column guerrillas, serving as an instructor of the 9th company of the 14th regiment of the 2nd detachment.
In 1949, his cousin, who had always had a good relationship with Chu Shijian, died in battle, which had a great impact on Chu Shijian. Later, Chu Shijian mentioned in his autobiography, "Living every day well is the greatest responsibility for life." It doesn't make any sense to think too much......People who have experienced that there is no tomorrow after living today, it doesn't matter how the past is or what the future is, the present and the present are a lifetime. ”
Later, I learned that Chu Shijian, who was 90 years old, most often said, "Life is much more important than death, and to live, you have to do things seriously." ”
Later, Chu Shijian also served as the head of the personnel section of Yuxi District, and in 1963, he was sent to the Gasa Sugar Factory as the factory director. Beginning in 1970, the Gasa Sugar Factory led by him became one of the few profitable sugar factories in Yunnan at that time. 42-year-old Chu Shijian showed his business talent for the first time.
For Chu Shijian, 1979 was destined to be an extraordinary year. In October of that year, Chu Shijian became the director of the Yuxi Cigarette Factory. Chu Shijian was 51 years old that year. How Chu Shijian turned an old factory on the verge of bankruptcy into the first in China's peers and a world-renowned star enterprise in just 8 years.
Rigorous product production process is the foundation.
Everyone knows that Chu Shijian's family started with winemaking. Because of his father's early death, 15-year-old Chu Shijian ran the family's roasting wine business alone. Winemaking is an extremely refined process, from soaking to evaporation to fermentation, and finally to the process of producing wine, each link, quantity and time of fire, the difference is thousands of miles.
Brewing a good jar of wine requires a great deal of skill and patience. According to Chu Shijian's own words, he has always believed that a serious attitude, the spirit of study, as well as the accuracy of raw material allocation and cost accounting, are the cornerstones necessary for him to do anything.
No matter what you do, it is with the mentality of a craftsman, and you can't deviate from the concept of a single penny.
If the high attention at the level of consciousness is the spiritual outline of Chu Shijian's success, then a set of practical and beautiful combinations is Chu Shijian's successful action strategy.
Quality determines market demand.
At that time, the tobacco planting technology was very backward, Chu Shijian went to foreign countries to investigate and study, the introduction of varieties to improve planting, under the leadership of Chu Shijian, tobacco farmers planted tobacco from low quality and low quantity to high quality and high yield, from the source to change the quality of cigarettes.
The level of science and technology determines productivity.
At that time, the cigarette factory was still using old machines from decades ago because of backward technology, and there were often problems and low output. So Chu Shijian decisively borrowed 2.61 million yuan from the state to purchase a set of British MK9-5 cigarette roll pick-up machine.
The consciousness of cadres determines the height of the enterprise.
Chu Shijian knows that the development of the Yuxi cigarette factory to the verge of bankruptcy has a lot to do with the inaction of local cadres. Once he directly patted the table and said to the deputy factory director: Listen, you and I are clear about the specific situation, and if you want to continue to support everyone to "make trouble" in the factory together, I will remove you as the deputy factory director first. A few days later, the deputy director went to the municipal party committee to complain, but was reprimanded and came back. Since then, the cadre team has taken a firm stance and worked with Chu Shijian with one heart and one mind.
The root cause of the lack of effort of the masses.
There are a lot of people in the factory who are gags and wait for death. But the root cause of these people's actions is not actually their laziness. Instead, it follows the inactive leadership team, those who are capable cannot get ahead, and those who are incapable can ensure their harvest in drought and flood. After a long time, this unhealthy trend has formed.
After Chu Shijian arrived at the post, he immediately carried out vigorous reforms in several aspects, such as machines, personnel distribution, working hours, and workers' wages. He made all the employees in the factory believe that with him Chu Shijian, as long as they worked hard, they could get rich. And the Gasa Sugar Factory that he personally led before is ironclad proof.
Under the dual impetus of Chu Shijian's iron-fisted management methods and excellence in product quality control, in 1982, the turnover of Yuxi Cigarette Factory reached 182.4 billion yuan, and the profit reached 11.03 million.
Compared to 8 years ago, it has more than doubled. At this time, the treatment of cigarette factory workers was the best in the whole of Yunnan. There is even a rule that there is more work and more rewards, and there is no cap. For a time, many people felt honored to work in Yuxi. There are many ** children, and even want to enter the Yuxi factory through relationships.
After Chu Shijian and his wife and daughter were imprisoned, the thing that hit him the most should be the suicide of his daughter Chu Yingqun in prison in December 1995. After all, he only has this one daughter. According to reports, Chu Shijian was very devastated by the death of his daughter, and because of the guilt of his daughter's death, he once considered leaving all his property to his granddaughter.
's daughter died, and his only son, Chu Yibin, has always had serious ideological differences with Chu Shijian. After graduating from Kunming Institute of Technology, Chu Yibin went to study in Tokyo, Japan, and after returning from his studies, he and his wife settled in Shenzhen, and then went to the United States, Canada, and Singapore until 2013, when he had to return to China due to his father's old age. is different from Chu Shijian, who has been engaged in industry all his life, his son makes a living by investing in financial management all year round. The old father really didn't understand the young man's thoughts.
Therefore, father and son get together less and leave more all year round. When they meet, they almost go their separate ways, and they don't give in to each other.
Imprisoned at the age of 71. Chu Shijian, who was released on medical parole at the age of 74, raised 10 million yuan from his former relatives and friends and contracted 2,400 acres of land in Ailao Mountain, Yunnan. Start growing oranges. In Chu Shijian's words: I always want to do something. When I am old, my financial and material resources are limited, and I don't dare to do too many things for fear that I won't be able to do it. Think about it, find an industry that has potential, the threshold is not so high, and you should be able to do well by studying hard.
It's like brewing wine and producing tobacco. Chu Shijian is also very strict with the oranges he grows. In order to ensure the particle size, nutrition, and sweetness of oranges, only how many oranges can be produced on a tree, and cannot be higher than the maximum value required by Chu Shijian. Including pest control, fertilization, etc., Chu Shijian has developed a set of standardized processes after in-depth research. And it is planted in strict accordance with the process all year round.
This is in stark contrast to those ordinary farmers at that time, and it is also for this reason that Chu Shijian's oranges, in terms of appearance, quality, and yield, are in stark contrast to other brands of oranges. Therefore, Chu Cheng has once again become a star product that has swept the country. Chu Shijian also relied on Chu Cheng to transform from the king of tobacco to the "king of orange".
After reading the above, I believe everyone should be very clear about the reasons for Chu Shijian's success. The concept of meticulous work, ten years of perseverance, and unswerving willpower, the courage to turn the tide, no matter where you are, do not change the original intention of the strong and unyielding. Any of the above qualities is enough for a person to succeed.
Did you know that the world's first cigarette came from?
Archaeologists have recorded that the first cigarettes came from the Americas. At that time, mankind was in a primitive society. A primitive man stumbled upon a plant leaf while gathering food, and he found that chewing on it in his mouth made him feel a strong sense of irritation. Let him instantly refresh his mind and restore his strength.
Chew a few bites before catching your prey, and the tiredness will disappear instantly. Because mosquitoes are rampant in South America, they accidentally found that igniting the leaves of this plant can repel mosquitoes, but because there are many mosquitoes, they always need to constantly extinguish and ignite, and when they are about to extinguish, they will use their mouths to suck the fire. They believed that tobacco smoking was a medium between humans and the gods, and from then on it was believed that it would ward off disasters and take refuge.
When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, the habit of smoking was introduced to the Western world. Since the 17th century, the whole world has been fascinated by it. This is the origin of the legendary life story of cigarettes, the little thing that makes you want to stop when you take a puff.
In the 16th century (400 years ago), tobacco was introduced to China, and at that time it was mainly dried tobacco. In 1900, Taiwan Province tried to grow flue-cured tobacco. In 1940, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou began to successfully grow flue-cured tobacco on a large scale.
Later, cigarettes just caught up with the trend of the times, and it stepped on the east wind of China's reform and opening up, and achieved its vast tobacco empire. It brings memories to people who have worked hard all day, and there are also a variety of brands and characters with twists and turns.
When I saw these old brands again, the contemporaries of the year were already grandfathers, but our memories are always fresh and shining in our memory.