At 6:00 a.m. on February 22, three Lantern Shaking Machines in ciqikou metropolis started on time again. Since the ninth day of the first lunar month, Jinfang Lantern Ciqikou Store has moved the Lantern Machine into the first floor of the mall, and began to sell it in the store, working overtime to catch up with the Lantern for the public. In the shopping mall behind the New Year greenhouse, stacks of boxes containing lanterns high up to the ceiling have been circled around the door, showing a fiery festive atmosphere.
At 8:00 a.m., the citizens who came to buy the Lantern had already lined up in front of the Jinfang New Year Goods Greenhouse, where more than a dozen masters in white coats were busy packing the lanterns in advance. "Half a pound of 15, 1 pound of 30, before buying half a pound of people more, now close to the Lantern Festival, most of the customers are 1 pound to buy." A master in charge of bagging the Lantern said.
In recent days, the store has been busy every day from 6 a.m. until late at night. According to Liu Chunping, manager of Jinfang, nearly 10 tons of Lanterns are now being shaken every day, and this number is still increasing day by day. "Yesterday the masters were busy until twelve o'clock at night, sometimes catching up with a large number of group purchases, customers waiting for the next morning to pick up the goods, the shop masters may still have to work in shifts, 24 hours a day uninterrupted Lantern." Liu Chunping said.
According to reports, in previous years, before each Lantern Festival, the store had to hire dozens of hourly workers to help with lantern packing. This year, due to the needs of epidemic prevention and control, the whole class participating in the Lantern Production and Sales is an internal worker, and all have completed the new crown vaccination and regular nucleic acid testing. "In recent days, the leaders and employees of various departments of the group have come to support, in addition to the production and sale and sub-packaging of lanterns, there are also special personnel outside the store to guide the public to queue up in an orderly manner." Liu Chunping said.
The reporter learned that this year, the store prepared a variety of flavors such as black sesame, cocoa, blueberry, hawthorn, osmanthus and assorted lanterns, and last year's new Wuren flavor also began mass production. At the same time, it also launched a low-sugar Lantern, including 5 flavors such as black sesame seeds and cocoa, which are suitable for the elderly who cannot consume a lot of sugar.
Last year, due to the epidemic situation, Jinfang Lantern Ciqikou Store cancelled the store that had been in the past every year, and the Lantern machine in the store was restarted this year, which also attracted many surrounding citizens to come to buy. In order to facilitate the citizens who live far away can easily eat this old taste, Jinfang Lantern can also be purchased through flash delivery this year. Consumers only need to place an order in advance, and after the flash delivery master picks up the goods and delivers them, they can eat the Lantern of the day at home. According to Liu Chunping, many orders have been delivered to Haidian District, Fangshan District, Daxing District and other areas.
Source Beijing Daily client | Reporter Deng Wei Intern reporter Yang Tianyue
Edited by Wang Wenmiao
Process Editor Liu Weili