In 1990, the biscuit factory made two large mooncakes for a parade to celebrate the Asian Games in Beijing. (Infographic)
Zhang Deqiang, an old employee of the biscuit factory, is telling the story of the biscuit factory that year.
A number of mooncakes have won provincial honors.
The older generation of Yulin people, when talking about the mooncakes in Yulin, will definitely mention the Yulin Candy and Biscuit Factory (hereinafter referred to as the Biscuit Factory). Because in the minds of many "old Yulin", only the mooncakes produced by the biscuit factory are the real "Yulin flavor". The "Shanshui Brand" mooncakes produced by the biscuit factory have a variety of flavors, such as lotus paste, bean paste, char siu, Wu Ren, assorted moon cake, etc., of which lotus moon cake and bean paste moon cake are also rated as high-quality products of the Ministry of Commerce.
The mooncakes produced by the biscuit factory are also exported to Sichuan Province and carried out "technology export", which is produced locally and taught technology. At the same time, the biscuit factory invited Guangzhou restaurants to the factory to produce Guangzhou restaurant mooncakes, took the opportunity to learn the production technology of others, and also sent staff to Guangzhou restaurants to learn. It is this "go out, please come in" model that has made the production and sales of mooncakes in the biscuit factory continue for decades.
Dealers stay in the production workshop to "grab goods"
How popular are mooncakes produced by biscuit factories? "Let's put it this way, every year after the fourteenth day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, merchants come to the biscuit factory almost every day to order." Zhong Denghai, the last director of the biscuit factory, said that in the era of the planned economy, there was no private production of mooncakes, and the supply was even more scarce. Distributors have to plan ahead so that the biscuit factory will supply them. Not only the local merchants in Yulin, but also customers from Guiping, Pingnan and other places. In order to get the goods in advance, they often wait in the production workshop of the factory. At that time, the workshop of the biscuit factory to make mooncakes was on the second floor, and the good mooncakes were all hoisted down with a hanging cage (equivalent to an elevator) after being packed into boxes, and some anxious dealers came forward to grab the goods every time they saw the mooncakes hanging down. That kind of scene, many old employees of the biscuit factory still remember it vividly.
Zhong Denghai introduced that at that time, the mooncakes produced by the biscuit factory were thin and soft, the filling was also sufficient, and the best raw materials were selected. Lotus seeds for making lotus mooncakes are specially purchased in Hunan. There is also a kind of beef leg melon used in the winter mooncake called "Xiangjiang Flower Moon Night", which is produced in Pubei, which is not only crispy, but also has a particularly sweet taste.
"Since more than two months before the Mid-Autumn Festival, workers have to work overtime to catch goods." Zhong Denghai said that at that time, it would take a lot of time just to prepare materials. The raw materials used more are olive kernels, melon seeds and so on. After cutting the olive core in half with a knife, the olive meat inside is taken by hand. Melon seeds are also peeled manually, so when it comes to the "moon cake season", a large number of temporary workers must be recruited.
He sent staff to Sichuan to teach mooncake making techniques
In the 1980s, the biscuit factory entered its most glorious period. At that time, it was famous. Mooncake making technology is one of the best in Guangxi. When selling mooncakes from biscuit factories in Nanning and Liuzhou, banners such as "Yulin Candy and Biscuit Factory Production" are specially made to attract customers.
In the mid-1980s, the biscuit factory also sent two groups of technicians to Guanghan, Sichuan Province, to teach mooncake making techniques. "The first batch of five technicians was sent to a local mooncake factory." Lin Zhong, an old employee of the biscuit factory, was one of the technicians who went to Guanghan, Sichuan at that time. He said that at that time, the biscuit factory was in the form of cooperation to teach technology, that is, to produce the products of the local biscuit factory, and the local mooncake manufacturer sent staff to follow up and learn. Later, due to the sharp increase in sales of mooncakes, it was also specially pulled from Yulin to pull semi-finished products, and then the local manufacturers could make cake types. This cooperation method, while exporting production technology, also expands the influence of the biscuit factory and increases the sales of the biscuit factory's products.
In the early 1990s, the mooncake manufacturers in Wuzhou also extended an olive branch to the biscuit factory and took the initiative to invite the biscuit factory to cooperate in the same way as Sichuan Guanghan. "At that time, first they sent people to study, and then the biscuit factory sent people to their factories to teach." Lin Linzhong said that at that time, the Cantonese-style mooncakes in the biscuit factory were the most popular among customers from other places, and also entered the markets of many cities in Guangdong.
While teaching technology to the outside world, the biscuit factory also took the initiative to learn from the Guangzhou restaurants that were famous in the two Guangzhou areas in the production of mooncakes and pastries at that time, and cooperated with the Guangzhou restaurants, while sending staff to guangzhou restaurants to learn, while inviting Guangzhou restaurants to send technicians to make Guangzhou restaurant products in the biscuit factory. It is this "go out, please come in" cooperation model, so that the production technology and popularity of the biscuit factory has been continuously improved, and the development of the biscuit factory has been steadily advanced and the glory has continued.
A number of products have won national awards
Since the reform and opening up, the biscuit factory has the courage to open up, strive to forge ahead, and the average production and marketing efficiency has increased by more than 30%, and it has been rated as an advanced enterprise during the "Seventh Five-Year Plan" period of Guangxi's commercial system. In 1990, it passed the national total quality management acceptance. After that, it was rated as an advanced enterprise in guangxi economic benefits for several consecutive years, and was also rated as a second-level measurement qualified unit and a "contract-abiding and trustworthy" enterprise.
The biscuit factory also has a "feat" - after Beijing won the right to host the 11th Asian Games in 1990, Yulin held a celebration. For this purpose, the biscuit factory specially made two dustpan-sized mooncakes and used large floats for street exhibitions. In the current biscuit factory office, there is also a photo of a float displaying mooncakes. In the photo, two large mooncakes are placed on the top of the front of the float, which is very eye-catching.
The biscuit factory is also an "award-winning professional household", and its products have won provincial and national awards many times. In 1989, the high-quality products of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China included lotus paste and bean paste mooncakes, and the high-quality foods of the autonomous region were char siu, assorted and Wuren mooncakes. In 1990, snowflake coconut juice, shallot cream biscuits and other foods won the Autonomous Region Quality Food Award, and the candy series was also awarded the Yulin City Quality Products. In 1990, the plant won the title of "Advanced Unit of Economic Benefits of the Autonomous Region".
After that, the biscuit factory continued to advance with its head held high. In 1993, "Little Angel" active calcium yogurt was awarded the "93 National Tourism Food and Beverage Expo Gold Award" product; in 1994, this product won the gold medal again in the National Famous Beer Beverage Food Expo. The sandwich shortbread won the "93 Hong Kong International Food Expo Gold Award". The Mid-Autumn Festival mooncake has become a traditional famous product in Guangxi.
Nowadays, the biscuit factory has fallen silent, but its glorious past is still a warm memory for many Yulin people. Many old employees of the biscuit factory will still stand quietly for a while when they pass by the door of the original factory area. In his eyes, there is reluctance, and he seems to have some kind of expectation. The once bustling factory, like a speeding train, rumbled and rumbled, and it went far, can it come back?
Original title: Tracing the dusty memories of Yulin Candy and Biscuit Factory (Part 2) Mooncake is its loudest signature product