Return To 1977 Chapter 581: Behind the Beer

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Dancing is no longer possible, summer leisure life has become boring again, and many young people have become sluggish.

But even older people may not be able to cheer up. Because for them, on a hot day, although it is a good thing that the noise of dancing is gone, it is a bad thing that the beer is gone.

When it comes to beer, in fact, people in the old capital were not eager to see it at the beginning, and it took a long time to get used to it.

Like after the founding of the People's Republic of China, except for a few people from well-off families, most ordinary citizens in the capital were resistant to the taste of beer. Not only could they not appreciate its fragrance and killing power, they also called it "decoction" and "horse urine".

Later, in the early 1960s, people gradually changed this concept, from never accepting it to gradually accepting it.

The 1970s was a golden age for the growth of "loose beer" consumption. Because it is cheap, it quenches thirst better than soda popsicles. In essence, it is another addictive drug. People in the capital not only fell in love with it, it could be said to be "sought after".

But because it was during the "movement" period, although more people drank, the output failed to increase accordingly. As a result, "loose beer" has become increasingly difficult to buy, and the price has risen from 20 cents per liter, 26 cents per liter, 40 cents per liter, to the current 56 cents.

But even in the summer of 1980, almost all young and old men in Beijing regarded drinking a warm pot of "loose beer" as an indispensable summer enjoyment. At this time, there were still only two old breweries in Beijing with outdated equipment.

One is the "Five Star Brewery" renovated by the national capital "Shuanghesheng", and the other is the "Jingcheng Brewery" renovated by the Japanese "Mai Liquor Co., Ltd."

Even if these two breweries operate at full capacity, they can only produce less than 3,000 tons of beer a month. If calculated based on the capital’s population of 4.665 million at that time, each person would receive less than one bottle per month.

However, not all the beer can be put on the market, because most of the beer has been sold to cooperative units and has not entered the market. There is also a part dedicated to supplying special commercial systems, large hotels and government guest houses.

In fact, it is put directly on the market. The beer that ordinary consumers can buy is less than 100 tons per month, and most of these 100 tons are bulk beer.

Think about it, three thousand tons, less than one bottle per month per person, let alone one hundred tons, not even a cup of wine.

So this year has become the tightest year in the history of Beijing for beer supply. The summer, when supply is already tight, is of course the time when the contradiction between supply and demand breaks out and reaches its extreme.

How scarce was beer at that time?

Although there are people holding thermos bottles, plastic buckets, cold cups, etc. eagerly looking forward to the arrival of the beer delivery car around ten o'clock every morning. But the people's wait was in vain. There was no trace of beer at all in the grocery stores.

At that time, "130" tank trucks were used to haul loose beer, which could hardly be driven on the streets. Because once it hits the streets, it becomes a hunting target for the masses. The car drove in front, followed by a long line of people on bicycles chasing after them.

Of course, although you can sometimes catch up to the place where the truck is unloaded, there is no chance if it is too far away. What's even more unlucky is that after chasing for a long time, the bottle is often empty and there is no wine at all.

The only place where you can definitely buy "loose beer" is in restaurants. But starting from June, various restaurants in Beijing have posted unwritten rules - "Buy a bottle of beer and buy two plates of food."

As a result, not only the majority of consumers had no choice but to sigh while looking at the wine, but even the customers dining in the restaurant could not enjoy themselves to the fullest.

In response to this situation, "Beijing Evening News" reported the relevant situation in a timely manner. And during this period, due to the great public opinion, a caricature also appeared.

The painting shows two images of Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie. Bajie said, "Brother Monkey, it's too hot. How about a glass of beer?" Wukong said, "Bajie, you can't drink! You can't drink! We don't have enough money, we only have enough to drink, not enough to add food!"

In this way, the pressure of public opinion increased, and the commercial system in the capital had to respond. Some relevant leaders expressed their position in newspapers, saying that they would immediately order a strict investigation and immediately ban the "tying" behavior.

But mandatory administrative orders have always been ineffective when it comes to market problems. No matter how loud you shout, the fundamental problem will not be solved without beer. Even if the people at the bottom complain that they can't do it, and they are fooled in overt and covert ways, the top people can't do anything.

As a result, the people discovered that the bad attitude of the restaurant service staff towards the customers who bought beer became even worse, and they continued to treat them as they should. Although it is true that some places no longer "tie in" sales, they are beginning to be short-changed and even raise prices themselves.

Customers will of course have opinions on this, and some people will want to express their opinions. "Isn't the beer 56 cents a liter? Why did you buy 60 cents? Besides, the one you gave me wasn't a full liter!"

But the waiter said, "This is not in stock yet! Do you like to drink it?" Then they started to quarrel, and this happened almost every day.

Some places are even more unscrupulous. They don’t raise prices even if they don’t need anything, but the trick they use is to water down the prices. Restaurants that use this method will directly pour a whole can of beer into a big iron basin, and then buy it with a big ladle.

The restaurant’s excuses were high-sounding. There were too many people buying wine, the tap was too slow to dispense wine, and the management was too thin to keep an eye on the customers.

But when the customer buys it and drinks it, my dear, the beer tastes very bland. Only then did I realize that I had been fooled.

Later, there were even rumors in the society that some even went too far, not only adding water, but also adding washing powder to the beer in order to enhance the flavor.

Although it is a rumor whose authenticity cannot be judged, it still frightens and confuses the general public.

People are in panic, and the working people are completely confused. They really couldn't understand why it was just for such a small amount of beer. Have state-run restaurants become so unrealistic? Are public institutions no longer trustworthy?

Perhaps this issue can really be explained clearly only with Hong Yanwu, who is in the market and understands the market.

Because the problem of beer is not as simple as it seems, it exposes more than just the contradiction between supply and demand. There is also the problem that the original unchanged price system is beginning to shake, and the Chinese people's concept of price is beginning to recover.

This is entirely due to a combination of factors.

Since 1979, when the state took the initiative to adjust the prices of some non-staple foods, the situation of long-term price stability ended. While prices continue to rise, farmers' markets are popping up everywhere, not only providing a large number of negotiable goods, but also making some tickets no longer important.

Under such circumstances, in order to mobilize production enthusiasm, the higher authorities began to study specific methods for state-owned enterprises to expand their independent management rights and retain profits. Even the bonus system of the commercial system has been reformed and has begun to be linked to profits.

It turned out to be this most critical reason, which not only allowed the "Friendship Store" and the handicraft store to give Hong Yanwu more discounts, but also made the entire business system start to care about money.

After all, if it affects one's own interests, who can be as careless as before?