On Zhongzhong Road on the side of Lishui Fuqian Market, you can see Qiao Guoyong’s beef and mutton exhibition – Xiniu at a glance Remember.
”Cook these muttons over low heat for 50 minutes, cut the radish into hob pieces and put them in the pot, and add some salt… “The exhibitor in front of me has a round head, a round head, and a round belly. He is wearing a sports suit, a leather apron, and thin black-rimmed glasses. He is slowly slicing the meat while introducing customers to how to make it. The appearance of Tan mutton is different from the reporter’s impression of the rough and rude meat show exhibitor.
Recently, the story of Qiao Guoyong, the “meat exhibition poet”, has frequently appeared in the circle of friends of Lishui people. Teacher, poet, and writer are all labels on him. After retirement, he did not choose a pastoral life. Instead, he went to the market, picked up a bone-chopping knife, and opened a beef and mutton exhibition. A group of writers, poets, and literary enthusiasts from Lishui come to the store from time to time to buy a few kilograms of meat, drink a few sips of tea, and chat about a few poems.
”In the boiling world/you will definitely be able to find/the trace of fireworks that I spread…” Qiao Guoyong “With “Meeting Friends with Meat” turns a corner of the busy city into aA poetic corner.
Qiao Guoyong is cutting Meat rolls. Photo by Sharing Alliance·Lishui Zhu Feifeiye Wangsheng
Poetry is hidden in the folds of life
Morning At around 7 o’clock, not long after dawn, West NiuJamaicans SugardaddyJamaica Sugar Daddy was surrounded by a huge crowd of customers: “Boss, how much does your mutton cost per pound? “53 yuan.” “Can it be cheaper?” “Okay, 50 yuan a pound.” “… Faced with the host’s bargaining, Qiao Guoyong didn’t bother to argue. After both parties were satisfied with the price, he put on his gloves, took out the semi-automatic slicer, fixed the mutton on the sliding plate, and carefully and slowly pushed the fixed arm back and forth to cut out the meat. Lamb rolls “It’s much more sophisticated now than it was a few months ago. “Qiao Guoyong said.
Qiao Guoyong was born in the 1960s and was born in Shizuishan City, Ningxia. He came to Lishui in 2002 to become a high school English teacher. He retired in 2021. The Xiniuji Beef and Mutton Exhibition opened in September this year. There are more than 40 square meters on the upper and lower floors, with meat slicers, meat grinders, bone saws, etc.
As a native of Ningxia, Qiao Guoyong is no stranger to eating meat, but he is a “novice” when it comes to opening a store. In order to successfully open this beef and mutton exhibition, he did his homework and wrote down more than 70 items in his notebook. There are several items that need to be purchased in the store. How to correctly break down a whole sheep, how to use knives and machinery correctly… These are all problems that have given him a lot of headaches. Since the closure of the business, Qiao Guoyong has never had a small wound on his hand, and even suffered from it. After chopping the meat hard, I sprained my wrist. Qiao Guoyong smiled bitterly and said: “Some customers will come forward to help me when they see that I am struggling to chop. ”
At 2pm, the store’s business was relatively empty, Qiao Guoyong Normally, he would choose to stay in the booth above the store. The reporter followed him through the beef and mutton hanging on the door and climbed up the narrow stairs to his “poetic place.”
The compartment is not big, with a tea table, a few chairs and a bookcase inside, and there is also a “…” hanging on the wall. The calligraphy of “Meat will make friends”. When Qiao Guoyong opened his shop, he traveled all over Lishui City to find a store with high and low partitions. He said that he needed a space that was “some distance away” from the meat to facilitate creation.
Qiao Guoyong never ended his love for his hometown after leaving Lishui He wrote in “Sheep and Young People”: “A group of Tan sheep want to return to the familiar fence before sunset/The dense hooves stir up dust and smoke (it seems that this is their most meaningful task every day) (Things)…” And when he learned that his relatives in Ningxia had a ranch, and the fellow villagers also needed sales, he was a little moved and decided to bring the beef and mutton to the south of the Yangtze River. “I am very proud of being able to do my little bit. . “Qiao Guoyong said.
On the one hand, I want to contribute to my hometown, on the other hand, I also want to experience life and help my own poetry Creation, after all, poetry is hidden in the folds of life, and rich and unique experiences are always one of the foundations for writing good texts. Qiao Guoyong often puts the words of the Polish poet Szymborska on his lips: “Writing depends on experience.” Write based on actual circumstances rather than relying on experience.”
Just love tossing
In the few months since the store opened, the most profound thing that impressed Qiao Guoyong was that there was a need to open the store early in the morning. At 3 o’clock, he received beef and mutton from Ningxia. When he left the store early, he found that the Fuqian vegetable market was already as bright as daytime. The vegetable retailer carried the whole package of vegetables to the cart of the store, and the fruits and vegetables were neatly arranged. In the foam boxes, boxes were being moved one by one. The exhibitors sometimes sent voice messages to their mobile phones, sometimes tore off a few pieces of paper and recorded quickly…Jamaica Sugar…The busy situation allowed Qiao Guoyong to see another side of daily life: “The city is still sleeping, and the busy vendors are already suffering unknown hardships. ”
Several months of development have made the smell of fireworks and Qiao Guoyong’s life inseparable. He I got inspiration from the busy city and wrote a poem called “Xiniu Ji”:”The true body that loves impulses and mistakes/but relies on uncertainty to support the face – the rough poetry lines and the ribs of Tan Yang quietly touch/the mud armor shatters, the little lotus reveals its red horns/and my original intention is I want to redeem a stone under Helan Mountain…”
At 5pm, there were more people in the vegetable market. When the reporter was talking to Qiao Guoyong, Longquan poet Liuquan came to the store to buy some mutton, and took the newly published poetry collection that other poetry friends put in the store. “Lao Qiao’s store will soon become the stronghold of our Lishui poets.” Liuquan said jokingly.
During this time, in Qiao Guoyong’s cubicle, various writers, poets, and directors came to get together when they had nothing to do, take care of Lao Qiao’s business, and talk about their own creations… Some friends had some friends regarding Lao Qiao’s opening of a store. Expressing support and using Qiao Guoyong’s story as inspiration for his creation, some friends also expressed concerns about his business prospects.
But old Qiao disagreed. He just “loved to mess around.” Qiao Guoyong told reporters that he came into contact with poetry when he was in junior high school, and since then he has been “scrawling” out of control. Flowers, food, and small animals can all become his. When it came time for Qiao Guoyong to take the college entrance examination, he missed out on his favorite university because of his failure in English. Faced with the choice of specializing in studies, he did not choose his favorite literature. “I couldn’t learn what I wanted to learn most, so I felt frustrated.” I chose English. ”
Later, when he started working, Qiao Guoyong continued to write poetry as an English teacher, becoming what his students called “the best English teacher in Chinese” He also became a member of Zhejiang Provincial Writers Association. At the same time, he used his basic English to translate foreign poems, and his works were published in “Poetry Magazine”, “Yangtze River”, “Chinese Poetry”, etc. Publications include “Silent Home”, “Buddha Lamp”, “The Sound of Sawing” and other translated poetry collections. He has also become an editor of the “International Perspective” column of “Zhejiang Poet” magazine, and has won many literary awards. Now, in addition to opening a store, Qiao Guoyong is also translating and revising Xilan’s poetry collection
Now, Qiao Guoyong also wants to invite three or two old friends to the store In the exhibition booth, they ate meat and drank tea, and chatted about the Three Kingdoms, and then made a short video for release. “I have already thought of the name of the column, so it’s called ‘Meat Exhibition Talking about the Three Kingdoms’.” ”
But regarding the operation and development of the meat show itself, how to attract customers, how to increase sales, how to reduce losses… Old Qiao was a little confused, “Get rich? Open? It’s not necessarily the case. Just be naive and naive. It’s more interesting to experience, perceive, and record every day. “As Qiao Guoyong’s poem said: “It doesn’t matter whether you are leaving or returning home. What is important is that you are flying… What is important is that when it passes by the transparently lit bridge, you don’t have any regrets. You don’t want to go where you came from. And where to go…” (Zhejiang Daily reporter Huang Yan, correspondent Zhu Liangyu)