The beautiful and intoxicating scenery of Betel nut Xishi

It is a trip that meanders south along the East Coast Highway from Yilan, Taiwan, through Hualien, Taitung, and Pingtung to Kenting at the southern tip of Taiwan Island. On the right are rolling rocks and dense woods, and on the left is the vast expanse of blue Pacific Ocean. The wind from the Western Pacific blows slowly, soft and warm, making people intoxicated, and unconsciously fell asleep a little hazy.

At this time, some strange shops gradually appeared on the roadside. There are many small shops selling tobacco, alcohol, fruits, cold drinks and meals along the highway, and they are even more numerous in the towns. Their shop names all use auspicious words, and some are just named after the names of villages and towns. Most of these stores have unusual names. They all sell betel nuts, and the shop signs all read: Blue Sky Betel Nut, Ayu Betel Nut, Little Red Betel Nut, Ye Xiaojing Betel Nut, Achampagne Betel Nut, Ahui Betel Nut. Some of them are very provocative: Black Beauty, Rouge Girl, Gillian , Little Lover, Tiantian, Double Beauties

Why are there so many small shops selling betel nuts?

The poet Lotte who accompanied us on our trip to the East Coast saw that we were puzzled by the names of such small shops, so she smiled and said, "This is a unique scenery on the East Coast Highway." Taiwan. People like to chew betel nuts, I've heard. Not only Taiwan, people in many places in the subtropical zone have this hobby.

I visited Vietnam more than 40 years ago and saw betel nut vendors selling betel nuts almost everywhere in the streets and alleys of cities and towns, even in big cities like Hanoi and Haiphong. It is said that many rural men and women in Guangdong, Yunnan, and Hainan are addicted to betel nut. I have never seen it with my own eyes, but I guess there are not as many small shops specializing in betel nut as there are on Taiwan's East Coast Highway, with so many different store names.

"Is there so much business?"

Lotte said that business is very good. Men, women, and children all love to eat betel nut. The more customers there are, the more stores there are. In order to compete in attracting customers, shop owners recruit young and beautiful girls to sit at the counter. These girls are called "betel nut beauties". Those Axiang, Xiaohong, Tiantian, and Black Beauty are the names of betel nut beauties. Betel nut beauty has become a profession, specifically for the working girls who serve betel nut shops. The main targets they attract are not the residents of nearby villages and towns, the elderly and children, but the car drivers and tourists who go north and south on the highway from morning to night.

Ordinary farmers grow a few betel nut trees at home, just like growing tobacco leaves for their own consumption without going to the store to buy them. It is said that chewing betel nut can refresh your mind, act as a stimulant, and can be addictive, so it is especially popular among car drivers who travel long distances. "It's daytime now, so you can't see much." Lotte pointed to the betel nut shops one after another on the roadside and said, "It will look better at night, when the betel nut beauties will come out."

After him After pointing it out, we discovered that this betel nut shop is indeed different from ordinary tobacco, alcohol, groceries and cold drink shops. Most of them have a separate cabin, which is very similar to a traffic police box. It is slightly larger than the box, and is inlaid with glass on three or four sides. It is completely transparent. The betel nut betel-nut beauties were all dressed up in gorgeous clothes and greeted people with smiles. As you can imagine, at night the lights around are dimmed and the noisy noises are weakened. Only the bright glass houses on the roadside play music, and the "Xi Tzu" with heavy makeup sitting in front of the counter will inevitably attract cars. Betel nut is not a high-end food, and the price is low (10-15 Taiwan dollars per serving, equivalent to three or four yuan), but drivers are attracted by Xishi, and there is a constant flow of people and a large number of people, so the income is very considerable.

It’s not just betel nuts that are sold

I was just trying to see how betel nuts attract customers, and the opportunity came. On the road outside the store, a truck stopped, and the driver looked at the sexy Betel Nut Xi Tzu with interest. Betel Nut Xishi seemed to sense it and immediately stood up and winked at the driver several times. Later I learned that in Taiwan, it is illegal to hail a car with your hands on the sidewalk, and the police will intervene, so the Betelgeuse must learn to use its eyes to attract customers. "Sir, come on! Buy a pack of betel nuts. It's tender and juicy. I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Looking at the sexy girl and listening to the gentle words, the driver couldn't wait to get out of the car.

In addition to having a "viewable" appearance, a qualified betel nut betel nut must also master certain professional skills, the most important of which is wrapping betel nut.

I saw her take out a small bag, take out a betel nut, skillfully cut off the head and tail with a knife, then open a small box similar to cosmetics, use a knife to cut out a little white mud paste, and spread it flatly on the betel leaf. White mud paste is actually something like lime, which can reduce the adverse irritation of betel nut. After wrapping it up, she handed the betel nut to the driver, but obviously the driver was not satisfied, so she simply fed him the betel nut. While eating betel nuts, the driver took the opportunity to grab the other person's hand. No wonder some Taiwanese people often say, "Buying betel nut does not necessarily mean chewing betel nut." Generally speaking, 50 yuan (NT$, the same below) can buy 8-9 betel nuts, but one betel nut sold in this way costs 100 yuan. Of course, Betel Nut Xishi’s income is considerable, earning 40,000 to 50,000 yuan per month.

Of course there will be some problems, such as public security, traffic management, environmental sanitation, etc. It is said that there was a debate, and someone proposed a motion, suggesting that the authorities ban such small shops, and even Demand a ban on betel nut cultivation. However, it was strongly opposed by most people, who believed that eating should not be stopped due to choking. Many people make a living by growing betel nuts and running betel nut shops. Even betel nut beauties, as long as there is no deviant behavior, are normal jobs and cannot be criticized as a "prostitution industry." If it were banned completely, how many lives would be cut off.

Furthermore, eating betel nuts has been a living habit of the common people for many years, and it cannot be ordered to change. The sponsors were still very convincing, citing Singapore as an example, saying that Singapore mostly passed the ban on the grounds that eating betel nut was harmful to people's health and chewing and spitting betel nut residue on the road was an obstruction to the city's appearance. Opponents said that Singapore is a small land with few people, and the situations in the two places are different. , cannot be copied. The dispute has been going on so far, but the bill has not been passed, so today we can still enjoy this landscape with Taiwanese characteristics.

Such a discussion aroused everyone's interest and they all wanted to taste the betel nut for themselves. So on the way to Kenting, we stopped in front of a small shop. Lotte went in and bought a box. Several friends followed her in to see the beauty of Xi Tzu. Back in the car, Lotte gave each person a piece of betel nut wrapped in lime leaves. After chewing it for a few times, it was not unpleasant to eat and did not produce any flavor. I don’t know why so many people were so drunk. Perhaps the drunkard's intention is not the wine, and the driver's intention is not the betel nut but the beauty.