On the way back to the company for an interview a few days ago, I happened to pass by a cake shop, and the sample shape in the window was strange, and the ancient morning was full of earthy fashion, like déjà vu.
Looking up, the "Plum Blossom King Cake" on the signboard instantly took me back to the way from elementary school, I remember spending 1 piece of pocket money to weigh a small bag of bulk cake, eating until I couldn't eat dinner at home, eating a croissant crisp early in the morning, and the whole day was sweet.
For many Wuhan Ling, who were born around 90 years ago, Meihuawang is the first chain store that can open Western-style pastries throughout the three towns of Wuhan, and the number of stores is now a certain Ji, as long as the house bought snacks, the bag must be a red five-petal small plum blossom.
I walked into the store with childhood memories and was instantly amazed by the two cakes. An Audi with a license plate number of "E-A88888" and a bikini-shaped "Husband I Love You".
The owner looked at me and stopped for a long time, and warmly came up to greet me: "Want to order an Audi?" ”
"Oh, no, I think these two are so special, usually someone will set this?"
"Yes, it doesn't sell much, but the best selling is the Black Forest."
The owner is called Brother Li, 32 years old, and the two plum blossom kings on Jiefang Avenue are opened by him in 1997, one is next to the 17th and the other is on Baofeng Road.
I opened the cake book in the shop, wanted to find some "Audi" of the same model, found that the names are very ancient, "summer love", "eternal love", the next side is estimated to have a "crystal love".
Brother Li took out an iPad and said that none of the books had been done, and asked me to see the new products.
I thought it was definitely a foreign style that surpassed "husband I love you", but I didn't expect that in front of the text, even the gorgeous cream pattern would look pale.
Some blessings don't say, they are all in the cake
Peppa Pig's frontal photo exposed, who said that his eyes are on one side?
Next to the toast on the cupboard, there is a row of jams very intimately, the name is "after this day and tomorrow", and now the jam is used so high-grade, the shelf life is only today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow?
Turning to the back to see, the shelf life is 24 months, it seems that we eat jam every day, good health.
The quality control in the store is very strict, the shelves are placed on the production time of the pastry, Li Ge said that it will be made in the morning according to the flow of customers, and the goods can be completed at about 10 o'clock every day, and the scraps will be made into rusks, 6 yuan two bags, the price is sufficient, and the unsold will be disposed of.
I found a few pieces of "difficult brothers and difficult brothers" in the corner that may be handled, the big jade pillow sells 5 pieces, the small jade pillow sells 4 pieces 5, but the naked eye can't tell the difference, you will even worry about taking the small jade pillow to pay the big jade pillow. (Without looking at the logo in the picture, can you guess which is the big jade pillow and which is the small jade pillow?) ）
Li Ge Science, the molds used for large and small jade pillows are different, each product he has been on the scale, the big jade pillow is 10 grams more than the small jade pillow, the deviation will not exceed 1 gram, which is convenient for customers with different needs to choose, quite the spirit of the volkswagen out of the nesting doll.
Looking through the photo album in the review, I found a "Chrysanthemum King Cake", the store is rich in variety, some people say that this shop is a cottage plum blossom king.
Brother Li said that this store has always been called Chrysanthemum King 09 years ago, and later a friend introduced the trademark of Meihua King, and the Plum Blossom King in Wuhan was basically opened through the introduction of friends in the circle.
"There is no cottage plum blossom king in Wuhan, or every family is a cottage plum blossom king."
"Then the franchise fee must be very expensive, right?"
"No franchise fee, ah, is to use the plum blossom king cash register, 5,000 yuan per year."
"Does the account really go out of the system?"
"The money is collected by themselves, this system mainly plays a function of recording members, customers come here to do membership card charge 100 to get 10 free 10 yuan, consumption can also be discounted by 9%.
Pinch your fingers, a store only collects 5,000 per year, the account is not from the system, rely on what to make money? Brother Li solved the puzzle, the original plum blossom king boss made money very early ago and did not do retail, turned to cream and other raw materials, opened his own factory, and also opened his own plum blossom king foundation, joining the club to buy raw materials will have discounts.
"Big windmill" is a hot item in the non-production category, and Li Ge said that it is all goods imported on Minquan Road.
I asked if the sweet horn puff pastry was there when I was a child, that is, it was added with a large lump of cream, sprinkled with sugar granules, sweeter than the first love. Brother Li said that the earliest batch of products had long been replaced, and the raw materials for making puff pastry could not be purchased.
"If you like to eat sweet, then I recommend you try this." Brother Li pointed to the caterpillar in the container, the amount of cream in it was no less than the horn puff pastry, I took a bite, the sweetness was full, but there was no greasy feeling in the memory, and I wanted to take another bite.
Brother Li said that the original use of vegetable cream, eat more people can not stand, now use cream cream, soft taste, delicious can not be.
After searching for a long time, I finally found the original original product in the corner of the shelf, the official afternoon tea of Miao Miao Kindergarten - Egg Heart Circle, which looks a bit like a large Wangzai small steamed bun.
Brother Li said that the appearance has not changed, the formula has changed, at that time the dessert was lacking, the sugar in the ingredients was heavy, and now everyone likes the natural taste, so the eggs are given more, and the egg flavor is stronger.
Chatting and chatting, Brother Li took the initiative to help me open the memory door, "By the way, when you were a child, you also had that tiger skin cake." ”
I remember the tiger skin cake of my childhood was huge and domineering, and the tiger skin emitted a naturally baked caramel aroma, but there was no such behemoth on the shelves.
Brother Li took out a small plastic box, the cake inside was cut into small pieces and evenly stacked, carefully observed, there was indeed a tiger skin pattern, but inexplicably handsome.
I looked at such a delicate box of pastries as if I had seen the Tiger King of the Zoo being sliced. May know that his domineering spirit is limited, and changed his name to Little Tiger Skin.
The cupcakes that I used to eat as a child have also been upgraded, and the volume has been reduced by 2 or 3 times, sprinkled with crushed peanuts, which is particularly delicate.
Remember the original cupcake, 2 tubes full, the wrapping paper will take away a part of the "essence", it is difficult to pour lick the yogurt cover of the hitman.
In order to attract the attention of girls, some boys will also use clumsy means such as braiding and caterpillars, some boys have learned to insert a small candle on the cupcake to give birth to the girls at the same table.
My childlike heart fell to the ground, and it seems that the explosive items of my childhood have not disappeared, but have been replaced.
Wall posted price list, 18 inches (nearly half a meter) two layers of European fruit cake only 466, the official data is suitable for 24 people to eat, buy a party for the newsroom to open 3 days and 3 nights, oh no, double layer, that is 6 days and 6 nights.
On the public comments, there are 66 plum blossom kings in Wuhan, a lot of them, but in Hanyang District (2), Jianghan District (3), Wuchang District (2), Qiaokou District (6) and other central urban areas have dropped significantly, and some have hung up signs that only take out takeaways and only do cake customization.
Expand the search scope, found that the plum blossom king footprints all over the country, Xi'an, Taiyuan, Jilin, the farthest to Hohhot, must be a wuhan wanderer that year, brought the seed of the plum blossom king to Wulanchabu.
Although these plum blossom kings outside the province have not existed for a long time, and all of them are currently closed, looking at the red dots on the map, you can still feel the domineering spirit of the local original cake "national" chain stores.
Brother Li said that the current Meihua Wanggan can not win some large chain stores in Wuhan, and the newly opened stores are in places around Wuhan such as Caidian and Huangpi. Meihua King also gave birth to its own new brand, called Echo West Cake, which is developing in full swing in the surrounding cities, and a new store opened in Yang has a daily membership recharge of 100,000. However, the Wuhan market is too saturated, and now the head of the pastry industry also has a tendency to develop to the surrounding areas.
"Then where will the Plum Blossom King go?"
"Continue to sink, someone will eat it and someone will open it."
There is a huge insulation shelf in the store, which is a "special counter" set up for the elderly, with a constant temperature of 50 ° C, packed with peach crisps, sesame strips, pig ears and other scattered snacks, some of the elderly are not accustomed to new-style pastry, eat not much at a time, and want to taste every point.
The shop was renovated twice, but this cabinet has been kept until now.
I remembered that near the Liudu Bridge where my family lived, there were many new bakeries, but she would still go to the plum blossom king on Minmin Third Road to buy snacks, and when I went to see her during the New Year's Festival, she would still take out two pieces of peach crisp from the tin snack box and make me a cup of milk.
For them, the Plum Blossom King has not become less, nor has it changed its taste.
Before leaving, I bought two boxes of "little tiger skins" and took them back to the office to share, which triggered a large wave of memory killings.
"I was saving money to buy a four-wheel drive car, and every morning I bought a big tiger skin cake for two and five spoons, and I ate two meals and more."
"The fruit cake in their house, the fruit is quite enough, my birthday mom buys one every time, and I can't finish it in the refrigerator for a few days."
"There is a family downstairs in my house, just open at the mouth of Friendship South Road, a plum blossom king, a saint king, and the caterpillars of the saint son king are quite delicious."
"Wait, you're talking to me like you're talking about a family..."
“？ Where did you go to elementary school?"
The post-00s friends watched the gradually crazy post-90s collective silence... What is Plum Blossom King? Was it ever very popular in Wuhan?
It was once the "luxurious" cake with wishing candles inserted at the first birthday party of many Wuhan Ling, and it was the satisfaction they could buy with very little pocket money on their way to school. It is also the place where many people first taste new pastries such as egg tarts and beef horn puff pastries.
It may not be exquisite enough, and it may not guarantee that the products of each store are consistent, but in the era of no certain ji and a certain ancestor, the savagely growing plum blossom king gave Wuhan people a cake freedom in 1990.