It is difficult for you to find the place of Beidu on the map.
But in Jianghu dishes, Peking University and Beida Fish are familiar names.
The northern capital is located in Qijiang County under the jurisdiction of Chongqing. Qijiang used to only know coal production, but I don't know what other products there are. Later, what reminded me of Qijiang again was the collapse of the Rainbow Bridge at 1998.
Now, the fish from Beidu has entered my mouth, and Qijiang has deepened its impression in my mind.
En fen Bei du fish
1. From Qijiang to Beidu, the shepherd boy pointed to Xinghua Spring.
Qijiang is 37 kilometers away from Chongqing, and the whole journey is in expressway, with excellent road conditions.
Looking at the location of the new rain through the window, I never imagined that the scenery along the way was so beautiful. The mountains with overlapping obstacles appeared in front of us in turn, and the mountain fog hovered on the mountainside, vaguely seeing the village houses in the ravine. Some mountains have patches of Quan Song, which are charming in majesty. I wanted to stop to take some scenic photos, but unfortunately the light was weak, so I planned to take another one on my way back.
It only took more than 30 minutes to get to Qijiang County. As long as you look at the street, it's easy to see the restaurant about Beidu Fish. Local residents said that there are Qihechun and Yuxiangchun in Beidu Fish House, which is relatively large here. A truck driver knew that we were here to interview the fish in Beidu, and enthusiastically said that Beidu was only 16 kilometers away from the county seat, and the road conditions were not bad. After thanking Master, we continued to cross the north.
Beidu is a small town with charming scenery. A bridge connects the two banks of Beidu, and Qihe River flows under the bridge.
I have been to many small towns with rivers, bridges and delicious food, such as Tai 'an, Qiuxi, Laifeng, Yuxi, Jiangkou and Suji ... The Beidu in front of them has both similarities and distinct differences. It's quiet, clean and seldom polluted. There is neither sediment nor dead pigs and cats on the river, and there is a sentry set by fishermen at the backwater. On both sides are lush trees and bamboo forests, as well as endless green hills, and the empty sky is distant and vague.
What interests me very much is that Beidu Bridge is the dividing point between Qijiang and Jiangjin. Here is Beidu Township, Qijiang County, and opposite is Pengqiao Township, which belongs to Guangxing Town, Jiangjin County. Before the bridge was repaired, it was greeted by a ferry pier, so-called Beidu, hence the name. Although Pengqiao belongs to Guangxing in Jiangjin, it is 20 miles away from Guangxing, which is not as convenient as Beidu across a river. Even Qijiang County is closer to Pengqiao than Guangxing, only 14 Li. Therefore, Pengqiao people sometimes feel more like Qijiang people, or simply Beidu people. So that the Jianghu dishes originated from Pengqiao were named "Beida Fish" by diners, and they accepted it gladly without giving up the theory.
Up to now, there is no well-known Beida Fish Restaurant in Beida Township. However, Beidu people are hospitable, have questions and answers, and the directions are unambiguous. At the Qiaotou of Qijiang River, I asked the cigarette seller where the earliest Beidu Fish Restaurant was. Enthusiasts pointed to each other and said that in Pengqiao, the old brands are Qi Hechun, as well as Yingfeng Building and Yuxiangchun.
The man's guidance led us into the artistic conception of ancient poetry: "Excuse me, where is the restaurant? The shepherd boy refers to apricot flowers. "
On Pengqiao Road, there are many fish shops with the signboard of Beidu Fish, with various names, but the theme is to prove that they are the oldest, the most authentic and the first. Needless to say, the name dispute has existed for a long time, just like Jianghu dishes were invented in many places, and everyone was in chaos.
In the catering industry, place names and fish names cannot be used as registered trademarks, so it is difficult for a new dish with place names and fish names to obtain exclusive legal protection. Fortunately, as long as the founder does not leave the place and fail in business, the local government will give the founder a name to prove who is the first and who is the most authentic. People don't play the trick of calling a deer a horse, but speak with conscience and justice. Unfortunately, if a foreigner passes by here, how much leisure and energy does he have to investigate who is the first?
I met the village cook by accident in Pengqiao.
In the process of asking the local aborigines who was the founder of Beidu Fish, we found a family holding a funeral in the street.
A huge plastic sheet was put into a shed with more than a dozen tables under it. The village chef and his people are busy with their nine bowls, which is the simplest rural banquet in China. This kind of folk original ecological food activity is hard to meet, so we immediately decided to interview and film the activities of the village cooks first.
Just as we were setting up the camera to take pictures, an old man with hale and hearty spirit came forward and asked if we were reporters of food magazines. In fact, he knows perfectly well past ask, because he has seen the words "China Food Geography" printed on our T-shirts. I say we come to Beidu to interview the inventor of Beidu fish. The old man said that he was the inventor of Beidu fish, and his shop was nearby, called Yingfeng Building.
I said, no, some people say that Qi Hechun is the founder of Beidu Fish.
The old man was a little excited, but he soon controlled his emotions. He said, "Well, let's interview here first. I am a relative of this family. I'll talk to the host family to facilitate your work. Would you please come to my shop after the interview? "
I remember a month ago, we interviewed at the Gaomiao Temple in Hongya Ancient Town, Sichuan. There, we met a middle-aged man in his fifties. When he was asked when the high temple was the hottest, his answer made us dumbfounded. He said that the hottest day is when people die, especially when local respected people die, which is hotter than any festival. Because of death, neighbors, relatives and friends will get together well, and everyone can concentrate on communication together.
It turns out that in towns and villages, people often regard weddings as a simple social activity. It doesn't pay so much attention to form and deliberate sadness as city people do. Even if the relatives of the deceased are still immersed in grief, they will not give a cold face to the guests who are guessing and smiling at their funeral. Today, we saw a family in mourning, and didn't interfere with those who were noisy in the mourning shed, guessing six times and drinking five times.
On the wine table, I went to find an old man and asked him to take us to the place where the village cooks cook. The old man enthusiastically took us to the kitchen next door, which is the operation room of the village cook. There are many women in the kitchen. I didn't know the chef was a woman until I asked. There are also four chefs, all of whom are women. Under the command of the chef, everyone is doing their own thing in an orderly way. When a dish is repackaged, the men and women who help the chef carry it to the table in the funeral shed in a rectangular shallow wooden box. According to the chef, they will hold a three-day feast for the family. On the first day, they will make 26 tables at noon, 24 tables at night, 30 tables at noon the next day, 24 tables at night, and 15 table at noon the third day, but not at night. The dishes are what we call nine bowls, namely, the first bowl of sugar cook the meat, two bowls of wine and rice, three bowls of sand meat, four bowls of boiled white, five bowls of bone boiled or fragrant boiled (glutinous rice is kneaded and fried, and then cut into small pieces for steaming), six bowls of chopped meat, seven bowls of crispy meat, eight bowls of cold dishes and nine bowls.
After interviewing the cook in the village, we went to the mourning hall to interview the master who did things, that is, the kind of person who danced with wood blade, threw paper money and painted spells that we often saw in Hong Kong films. It's a bit difficult, because they think journalists are against feudal superstition and are afraid of our exposure. I spent a long time squeezing toothpaste out of their mouths to get some information. What we do here is a five-person team. The leader is Yan, who is called the "main altar". Yan Zhutan has been doing this kind of crossing the necromancer for more than ten years, which he learned from his parents. Their costumes include Sichuan gongs, Sichuan drums, cymbals, shells, knives, tokens and hats. Because the deceased had been buried here, we didn't have a chance to see their on-site practices, and Yan Zhutan had concerns, so the interview couldn't go deep.
At this time, a man came out from under the mourning shed, his face flushed with drinking. He said to us loudly: "Journalists, you interviewed the chef and the main altar. Why not interview Longji? "
We were at a loss: "What do you mean by holding a dragon pole?"
Everyone around this question laughed. Someone said, "The person who carries the dragon pole is the person who carries the coffin to the cemetery. The songs they sing are very nice. "
Eight lean men sat at a square table in the funeral shed, all flushed with drink. They are people who carry dragon poles. On the way to carry the dead to the cemetery, you should sing while carrying them. One of them is the lead singer, and the others sing along, so that it is powerful to carry the coffin. A man of medium height said he was the lead singer, and seven others sang along. Probably to prove that what he said was true, the man began to sing. Before we could hear what he was singing, seven people next to him sang along.
The lead singer has a loud voice and the chorus is magnificent. The songs of these eight people startled us. We didn't expect their chorus to shock the eardrum so much.
These simple men are still a little shy in front of the camera, but their voices are always original and high, and they have not discounted their voices because of shyness. To be honest, I thought they would sing for a few minutes at most, but I didn't expect this song to last for forty minutes. Although I like the original ecological sound of folk songs that is hard to hear at ordinary times, it's a pity that I don't understand a word of the lyrics. But we respect these people. They start and end. They sang for a long time when they carried the coffin to the cemetery, and they sang for us without discount. This is not only a respect for us, but also the simplest people's professionalism.
[13] Jianghu feud with Wu.
When we arrived at Yingfeng Building, the old Wuman Wen Chao who greeted us in the funeral shed had prepared several bamboo chairs outside the store, waiting for us to interview him.
That was 25 years ago.
1980, Jiangjin Industrial and Commercial Bureau issued a collective license for non-staple food catering to Guangxing. At that time, Wu Wenchao, a barefoot veterinarian in Pengqiao Village, voluntarily obtained this license from the township, and the annual management fee was less than 100 yuan. He opened a small shop on the roadside beside the ferry, selling non-staple food and snacks, and named it "Pengqiao Road Cross Food Store". The name of the store is very simple, and the signboard is correspondingly simple. It is made of two pieces of wood and a square piece of cow felt, with white characters on a black background, which is also very eye-catching. Soon, Wu Wenchao found a lot of passers-by, so he added home-cooked dishes and wild river fish to his snacks, and the business was booming day by day.
There was no pollution in Qihe River at that time, and there were many kinds and quantities of wild fish, including grass carp, catfish, carp, crucian carp and diced yellow pepper, as well as the precious upturned shell at that time (this is a very delicious fish with a sharp head like a mouse and a thin scale like a silver carp). When cooking fish for the first time, Wu Wenchao followed the most traditional methods: braised whole fish in brown sauce, home-cooked flavor and douban flavor, all of which were salty and spicy. However, the tired coach drivers demanded more exciting tastes, so Wu Wenchao introduced spicy and hot fish and typical Jianghu dishes. Interestingly, Wu did not stop there. Most Jianghu restaurants will insist on the main flavor for at least five years before introducing other flavors and gradually forming a series. But Wu Wenchao felt that there should be more flavors for diners to choose from at the beginning. In addition to home-cooked fish, watercress fish and spicy fish, he also insists on making traditional flavors such as wazi fish, crispy fish and tofu fish.
There are more and more diners. Wu Wenchao, who was overjoyed, did a simple thing: he climbed the ladder and added a big word "fish" in the blank beside the words "Pengqiao Road Restaurant". Who would have thought that it was this simple move that established the status of "North Island" in rivers and lakes for more than 20 years? It was not until 1989 that Wu Wenchao built a new building, and his son Wu Weixing took the name "Windward Building", which now sounds very carefree.
1984 pondering fish with Chinese sauerkraut outside Zou. 1988, he introduced tomato fish. Up to now, his family's Beidu fish is mainly spicy, pickled cabbage and tomato, which can be eaten three times, that is, a fish (the weight must reach more than two kilograms). This is so different from the unique flavor style of most Jianghu dishes that when I first saw Wu Wen working overtime, I was surprised by the way he handed me a business card with a string of fish on it-even Taian fish. Wu Wenchao said that as long as diners want to eat, he can do it. But I thought, who will come to Pengqiao to eat Taian fish?
As for the name "Beidu Fish", Wu and his son both said that it was called out by diners at 1983. Mainly long-distance bus drivers, they often say, "Let's go to Beidu to eat Beidu fish." Pengqiao people also feel that there is nothing wrong with it. Except the self-awareness of Pengqiao people, everyone thinks that since it is a fish, the word "crossing" is better than "bridge", which reminds people of the famous dock culture in Chongqing. "Beidu Fish" is definitely louder than "Pengqiao Fish". Therefore, all the fish sellers in Pengqiao only compete for who is the first, and no one has come to clarify the name between Beidu and Pengqiao. -This is quite different from the territorial dispute between Qiuxi and Yuxi. In Hill, people not only compete for shops, but also for land.
Recalling the fish scene from 1986 to 1998, Wu Wenchao's eyes sparkled. He said that more than 20 fishermen provided him with fresh fish at that time. Every day, more than 20 fishing boats are moored at the side of the Beidu River behind his windward building, and those fishermen also sign a "life and death" contract with him to compete for goods.
I asked, why didn't anyone come to eat fish today when the fish business in Beidu was booming? Wu shook his head and said, "Beidu is the only place for Sichuan, Chongqing and Guizhou. In the past, cars from Sichuan and Chongqing to Guizhou and cars from Guizhou to Sichuan had to go through Beidu. The fish I cook is delicious, and there are many kinds, such as bean fish, crispy fish, spicy fish, pickled fish, tomato fish and boiled fish. Every fish is delicious, and all the wild fish newly salvaged from Beidu River are used, so the business is very good. However, on 1998, when the Rainbow Bridge on Qijiang River collapsed, expressway in Guizhou was opened to traffic. There are very few cars coming and going on the old Sichuan-Guizhou road, and the business has plummeted. "
As for our proposal, every household here hangs the brand of "First Beida Fish" or "Authentic Beida Fish" and "Old Beida Fish", while the brand of "First Family" cannot be hung in Yingfeng Building without customs. How to treat this phenomenon? The old man was a little excited: "others can't do anything about me, but there is a man named Qi Hechun." Having said that, the old man was indignant, got up and went to his bedroom, and brought back a piece of paper full of words for us to see. It's a certificate from Hunan merchants, which says Yingfeng Building is authentic. ...
Wu Shuo, 1982, his neighbor and elder Wu saw that his fish restaurant was booming, so he offered to pay the management fee to share a license with him. After the township agrees, the license will be divided into two parts: as a 1 store and Wu as a second store. Older than Wu, but his qualifications are lower. Wu started by making handmade candy and didn't make much money, so he followed suit and learned to cook fish. 1983, Wu's restaurant opened. Because a round door was built in front of the store, it was called "round door food store". (In the second year, I changed my nickname: Qi Hechun. This is another story. After the opening of the business, Wu Chaochang gave full play to help, not only helping each other with food and money occasionally, but also teaching each other how to cook fish. The so-called "teach people to fish, not teach people to fish." Since then, Erwu has been giving orders in Pengqiao, making the business of Beidu fish prosperous. The local people were envious when they saw the long queues of people and cars parked outside eating fish, and they also opened shops through the wall to sell fish.
199 1 February, Yingfeng Building and Qi Hechun both changed from collective to private. Supposedly, both businesses are good, so they should live in peace. Unexpectedly, the rivers and lakes are stormy and the ground is thundering. One day in 1990s, a friend of Wu Wenchao was invited to eat fish in Qihechun. During the dinner, Wu showed the guests a history of Pengqiao Town, which clearly stated that he was the founder of Beidu Fish. The friend was surprised and told Wu Wenchao about it after dinner. Wu Wenchao more not neglect, immediately go to XiangShang theory, ready to make a scene. It turns out that the history of this town has just been printed and has not yet been issued. Because this matter involves Wu, I gave him a sample book first. According to Xiang's explanation, this paragraph was written by Wu's teacher. Later, at the request of Wu Wenchao, after some investigation, Xiang admitted that the book was untrue, and the publication of this township history with thousands of copies was cancelled.
"He Wuwenrong opened a shop in 1983, and I opened a shop in 1980. 1983, I taught him how to cook fish on the stove, and I gave him money to pay for his meals when he opened the shop. How can he be the first fish in Beidu? If Wu dares to say that he is the founder of Beidu Fish, and I am the first one to impersonate him, it must be a lie. I bear all legal responsibilities for what I said. " After that, Wu Wenchao signed his name in our interview book to prove that he was telling the truth.
Wu Wenchao is 72 years old, and now he has retired and lived a leisurely life. He stopped shoveling into the kitchen next to the pot. He has a son and two women under his knee. My son opened a shop in Nanping, Chongqing, and my two daughters once opened a shop in Deyang. For some reasons, Deyang Store lost more than 900,000 yuan in just one year and has closed. Now, the elderly have 8 direct stores and 16 franchise stores all over Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Zhejiang.
Before leaving Pengqiao, we specially went to Beidu Bridge to take photos of the scenery. At this moment, a young man came and asked us to interview Yu Xiangchun. He said Yuxiangchun was the first fish shop in Beidu. Unexpectedly, when he said this, an old villager came. He interrupted the young man: "Who said that Yu Xiangchun was the first? Not even Qi Hechun, let alone Yu Xiangchun! The first fish shop in Beidu is Wu Wenchao! I don't know anything about it! "
The young man was a little angry and quarreled with the old man. The simple-minded old man raised his voice very high in the argument with the young man, and the blood on his neck bulged. We advised them to quarrel lest they should get angry about it.
The most regrettable thing is that Wu has been unable to contact several times, and many doubts cannot be confirmed.
4. The Decline of Beidu Fish: The Story of Red-billed Carp
In the years when fish in Beidu were the hottest, from 1986 to 1988, there were dozens of restaurants in Qijiang City and Pengqiao Township, among which Pengqiao was the most spectacular: from Xiaoheping at the end of the town to the dam at the mouth of the bridge, there were many roadside shops and Beidu fish. Most diners are drivers. 2 10 National Road leads to Guizhou, Guangzhou and Guangxi, which is the main sea route leading to the North Sea. In those years, drivers worked hard, but their income was not low. In addition, there are often buyers on the owner's side who are invited to eat and drink by richer buyers from time to time. In order to compete with the old shops, some up-and-coming fish restaurants have used their brains from the drivers. Most of these shops are concentrated at the end of the street, and some benches are placed in front of them, so that some "ladies" dressed in red and green can sit on them and wait for passing vehicles. Once they come, they will get up and stop in the name of soliciting business. The drivers didn't expect to be accompanied by wine, so they sat down happily. After dinner, the lady hinted that they could go upstairs to have a rest. There are always drivers who can't stand the loneliness of the journey and will inevitably "rest" at the expense of extremely high meals. It doesn't matter, but I don't want one day, when a driver just wanted to "rest" after getting on the bus, the boss and the man broke in and said that he had molested the boss's girlfriend. So, fighting, holding a knife, killing people, but foreign drivers are no match for the flat-headed people in the river, and they are all ready, hoes, shoulder poles and steel pipes. On one occasion, a car full of people came to Qijiang Power Plant, but it didn't work. Beidu fish began to have the name of the black shop, and all the cars in the past knew that they could not park in Xiaoheping.
It is said that the black shop started from Laifeng Town, Bishan County, the hometown of phoenix fish. Many Laifeng fish restaurants that follow the trend are at the end of Zhentou Town, forcibly stopping for dinner. Because of the thick lipstick, those ladies who are attracted by the boss are called "red-billed carp". If the boss says to you: Do you eat red-billed carp? It's all 782 taels a catty. It means: all the ladies here are seventeen or eighteen. Both Laifeng and Beidu produce fish, which leads to this strange situation that makes regular fish restaurants feel sad.
The driver stopped, but the ladies took the initiative under the boss's command. If you don't stop, I will stop. They are divided into three ways: first stop a few people in front of the car, then stand two people on the pedal next to the right window, hang two people on the left window, and grab the steering wheel with their hands. Finally one day, a driver honked his horn, his heart crossed and his eyes closed. I don't believe you really won't let go ... Another time, on the bridge in Xiaohegou, Pengjiawan, a few ladies hoisted the car and forced the steering wheel, and the car turned into a ditch. ...
Many people died, and the retribution of the black shop owner finally came. As several leaders became victims of the law, those black shops disappeared. However, the reputation of Beidu Fish will be hard to get rid of for a while.
On the morning of going to Qijiang from Chongqing, when we were about to go to Chongqing-Guizhou Expressway through Nanping Toll Station, we found that there was not much oil in the car, so we asked the toll collector where we could refuel, and replied that Nanquan, which is 14 km ahead, could refuel. When we arrived in Nanquan, we found that Nanquan gas station was not near expressway, and we had to get off the expressway to refuel, which led to our overpayment of 15 road and bridge fees in Chongqing. The person at the gas station said that there is no gas station in Chongqing section of Chongqing-Guizhou Expressway. I would like to remind friends who drive by car that if they drive along the Chongqing-Guizhou Expressway, it is best to fill up the gas before entering the Nanping toll station to avoid unnecessary trouble.