"Pucking the sleeves" has been an intangible cultural heritage for hundreds of years
Open the mouth of the cow to see the teeth, touch the back and thighs of the cow with your hands, Lu Shengshan, the "Tooth Chronicle", will communicate with the seller He put his hand into a piece of clothing and started making gestures. A few minutes later, the two parties paid the money with one hand and held the cow with the other. Without anyone else knowing the price, the transaction was completed.
"Pucking the sleeves" - This ancient and unique trading method has been included in the intangible cultural heritage of Hebei Province in 2011. It has lasted for nearly 100 years in a livestock trading market in northern China. , is still happening every day. However, the parties and the environment of the transaction have quietly changed.
"The seller's asking price and the buyer's price are not stated directly. Instead, you have to touch your fingers in the sleeve of the 'Yaji' and express the amount with specific movements or code words. This method can prevent others from knowing. Raising prices, lowering prices, or forcing purchases and sales after a certain period of time is conducive to maintaining market price order," said Yan Zhiping, director of the North China Livestock Trading Market Management Office.
This trading method is widely used in livestock trading at various border crossings of the Great Wall, including Northeast China, northern Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Bashang, Hebei. There is no historical record of the specific time of its origin. Except for livestock trading, It also extends to the bulk tea trade, medicinal materials, grain and other businesses.
“A good tooth recorder can identify the mouth, place of origin, and temperament of an animal. With just a look and a touch, you can estimate how much meat an animal produces, and the difference is within one or two kilograms. The price of the livestock is then calculated based on market conditions. For each livestock produced, Yaji can earn an intermediary fee of 60 yuan," Yan Zhiping said. "There are currently 116 Yaji households in the market, mainly trading cattle. , horses, donkeys and mules, with a transaction volume of 210,000 animals last year, and the average annual income of each 'Yaji' household is about 400,000 yuan."
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, most of the "Yaji" in Zhangjiakou were changed. After that, only a few stayed to continue engaging in livestock trading, and most of them inherited the business from their fathers.
My grandfather is Lu Shengshan of "Ya Ji". He has been in this business for 19 years, and now he has passed the skills to his son. Like other "Yaji", Lu Shengshan's home is a two-story building that can provide accommodation for more than 20 customers at the same time. The backyard is a horse pen covering an area of ??about one acre, with more than 100 horses stocked every day.
This ancient trading method has its own advanced nature. But today, the original code word trading method has also added a lot of modern flavor.
60-year-old Lu Shengshan now uses the Internet more to publish advertising information, and mainly communicates with customers through the Internet and telephone. His more than 100 old customers come from all over the country.
At the same time, the trading environment of "Ya Ji" has also been fully improved, and the service awareness under the market economy has been significantly enhanced.
"The key to doing 'Yaji' is credibility and service. When customers come, they stay at home, and food and accommodation are free. Just explain what you want and the quantity, and we will go to the market It also provides services such as transaction procedures and car rental," said Lu Shengshan. "Now the market is managing the issuance of employment certificates to us, but more importantly, the 'Ya Ji' people have established business rules for many years. We are familiar with the market, but we never You don’t earn the difference.”
In Lu Shengshan’s memory, the trading site used to be bumpy and dusty. At that time, “Ya Ji” lived with livestock and the sanitary conditions were very poor. Since 2008, Zhangbei County has transformed the market environment and implemented the separation of humans and animals. All 116 "Yaji" households have built two-story buildings.
At the time of the reporter's interview, one of Lu Shengshan's Shanxi customers was loading the 150 cattle he had purchased into a truck. "This customer is buying fattening cattle. First of all, the breed of these cattle is good, and secondly, the gross weight. The cattle I picked for him are all about 500 kilograms," Lu Shengshan said with a smile. "I will raise them to more than 1,000 kilograms before selling them." If we go out, our customers will definitely make money."