In the 1960s and 1970s, when I was young, whether I lit a lamp or cooked, everything that needed fire was inseparable from foreign fire. Foreign fire is a common name for matches, which was called "foreign fire" because it was completely dependent on imports at first. For as long as I can remember, the foreign fire we used was the Botou match, and it never changed until the match was completely eliminated.
Impression, Botou match packaging is simple, rough, the outer packaging is dark blue tissue paper, very brittle, after tearing open there are ten small boxes inside, made of light yellow hard straw paper paste, one side printed "Botou", the other side printed "safety matches", are red characters. Push open the small drawer in the middle, and inside is a red-headed white matchstick, about 100 or so.
I remember that at that time, it was a planned economy, unified prices, supply and marketing cooperatives, small shops are two cents a pack, two cents a box, scattered buy can be. It is said that botou match factory is a real conscience enterprise, which has never exceeded the price for decades, and has made indelible and huge contributions to stabilizing the market and serving the people.
Matches, as a necessity of life, are indispensable at all times. Many smokers often carry matches in their pockets, and matches are indispensable in windowsills, smoke baskets, stoves, etc. where lamps are often placed at home. Some people have renovated the stove and left a small ridge on the side of the stove hall to store matches.
However, repeated use of match rubbing, the sand surface of the matchbox will gradually smooth out, increasing the difficulty of burning, sometimes the match is less than half used to catch fire difficulties, coupled with the return of the tide on a rainy day, even in vain to cross off a few matches. Helpless, only to change a new box.
In addition to lighting a fire, matches are also indispensable toys for children. Sometimes stealing matches and playing with them is to hold a match in the left hand, let the match head stand on the sand surface, hold the middle finger of the thumb, and then use the middle finger of the right hand to fly vigorously, and the match will burn with a sound.
Sometimes, I still play with the white ash wall, especially the newly painted white ash wall. Standing by the wall, take out a match, carefully put the match head on the wall, and then set up a posture, open the bow left and right, quickly rub it on the wall, stab and stab, and also ignite the match.
In addition, there are many other ways to play, such as playing small guns, shooting matchboxes, swinging matchsticks, and guessing matchsticks when adults drink. Because the matches are available in every house, when they can easily come to hand and do nothing, they naturally become items that people compete to use.
In those years, Botou matches have been accompanied by daily life, although they are used every day, but I have never examined where it originated. Until the early 1980s after joining the work, I finally knew that in fact, Botou is in Cangzhou, not far from Xiongxian County, and if you put it on until now, it is more than an hour's drive.
What is even more unexpected is that the Botou match factory is famous and world-class, and its scale is not only second to none in China, but also the largest in the whole of Asia. In its heyday, Botou Match Factory covered an area of more than 300 acres, with more than 2,300 personnel, and could produce 7 million boxes of matches in one day, continuously delivering warmth and light to thousands of households.
Moreover, Botou Match Factory has a long history, its predecessor was founded in 1912 Bozhen Yonghua Match Co., Ltd., which was built after Feng Guozhang, the acting president of the Republic of China, invested 40,000 yuan in the company, and after it was put into production, it completely rewrote the history of Chinese relying on "foreign fire".
However, the wheel of history is rolling forward, and if it cannot keep up with the pace of development, it will be ruthlessly eliminated. After the reform and opening up, with the rapid popularization of durable, low-cost and easy-to-use lighters, they have successively entered the homes of ordinary people, and the amount of matches has shrunk sharply, and sales are not as good as a day.
On September 18, 2012, the last batch of equipment auctioned by Botou Match Factory marked the century-old Asian dragon of the world's match king, extinguishing its last light and completely drowning in the dust of history. Since then, botou matches have ceased to exist and become the unforgettable memories of our generation. (The picture in the article is from the network and has nothing to do with this article)