The beauty and intoxicating scenery of betel nut beauty

Starting from Yilan, Taiwan Province Province, along the East Coast Highway, passing Hualien, Taitung and Pingtung, it is a pleasant trip to Kenting at the southern end of Taidao. On the right are continuous rocks and dense forests, and on the left is the blue Pacific Ocean. The wind in the western Pacific is blowing slowly, soft and warm, which makes people ecstatic and fall asleep unconsciously.

At this time, some strange shops gradually appeared on the roadside. There are many small shops selling cigarettes, wine, fruits, cold drinks and meals along the road, and there are countless shops in towns. Their shop names are all auspicious words, and some are only named after villages and towns. It's just that most of these stores take different general store names. They all sell betel nuts, and the shop signs all say: Blue Sky Betel Nut, Ayu Betel Nut, Xiaohong Betel Nut, Ye Xiaojing Betel Nut, A Xiang Betel Nut and Ahui Betel Nut. Some are very sexy: black beauty, soft sister, Gillian, little lover, sweet and beautiful.

Why are there so many small shops selling betel nuts?

Seeing that we were puzzled by the names of these small shops, the poet who accompanied us to the East Coast smiled and said, "This is a unique scenery of the East Coast Highway." People in Taiwan Province Province like to chew betel nuts. I've heard of it. Not only in Taiwan Province Province, but also in many parts of the subtropical zone, people have this hobby.

When I went to Vietnam more than forty years ago, betel nut stalls were everywhere, even in a big city like Hanoi and Haiphong. It is said that many rural men and women in Guangdong, Yunnan and Hainan are also betel nuts. I haven't seen it with my own eyes, but I don't think there are so many small shops specializing in betel nuts on the east coast highway in Taiwan Province Province, and there are not so many different shop names.

"Is there so much business?"

Charlotte said business was good. Men, women and children love eat areca. The more customers there are, the more shops there are. In order to attract customers through competition, the shopkeeper recruited young and beautiful girls to sit at the counter. These girls are called "beauty of betel nut". Those A Xiang, Xiaohong, Sweetness and Black Beauty are the names of betel nut beauty. Betel nut beauty has become a profession, especially for working girls who serve betel nut shops. The main targets they attract are not the residents, the elderly and children in nearby villages and towns, but the car drivers and tourists who come and go from morning till night on the expressway.

The average farmer grows a few betel nuts at home, just like planting tobacco leaves to eat at home, without going to the store to buy them. It is said that chewing betel nut can refresh the mind, play the role of stimulant, and be addictive, so car drivers who run long distances especially like it. "It's daylight now, and I can't see anything." Lydia pointed to one betel nut shop after another on the roadside and said, "It will be beautiful at night, and betel nut beauty is out."

After his guidance, we found that this betel nut shop is really different from the general cold drinks shop for tobacco, liquor and groceries. Most of them have separate huts, much like the traffic police's boxes, slightly larger than the boxes, with glass inlaid on three sides and all transparent. The betel nut beauties are all dressed up and smiling. As you can imagine, the lights around the night are dim and the noisy sound is weakened. Only these shiny glass huts on the roadside have music, and the "Xi stone" sitting in front of the counter is bound to attract cars. Betel nut is not a high-grade food, and its price is low (NT$ 10- 15 yuan, equivalent to RMB 34 yuan), but drivers are attracted by rocks, and their income is considerable.

It's not just betel nuts that are sold.

I just want to see how betel nut beauty attracts guests. Here comes the opportunity. On the way outside the store, a truck stopped and the driver looked at the sexy betel nut beauty with great interest. Beauty betel nut immediately stood up like an induction and gave the driver a few glances. Later, I learned that it is illegal to rent a car by hand on the sidewalk in Taiwan Province Province, and the police will intervene, so the beautiful betel nut must learn to attract customers with her eyes. "Sir, come on! Buy a bag of betel nuts, tender and juicy, and you will be satisfied. " Looking at the sexy girl and listening to the gentle words, the driver couldn't wait to get off.

A qualified beauty of betel nut must master certain professional skills besides the "visibility" of appearance, and the most important thing is to make betel nut. I saw that she took out a small bag, took out a betel nut, skillfully cut off the head and tail with a knife, opened a small box similar to cosmetics, gouged out a little white mud paste with a knife and spread it evenly on the betel nut leaves. White mud paste is actually something like lime, which can reduce the bad stimulation of betel nut. After wrapping, she handed the betel nut to the driver, but the driver was obviously not satisfied, so the betel nut beauty simply fed him. Eat areca, the driver took the opportunity to grab each other's hands. No wonder some people in Taiwan Province Province often say that "you don't have to chew betel nuts". Generally speaking, 50 yuan (NTD, the same below) can buy 8-9 betel nuts, but a betel nut sold in this way costs 100 yuan. The income of betel nut beauty is certainly considerable, earning 40 thousand to 50 thousand a month.

Naturally, there will be some problems, such as public security, traffic management, environmental sanitation and so on. It is said that there has been a debate, and some people have proposed a motion to suggest that the authorities ban such small shops and even demand that betel nut cultivation be banned. However, it was strongly opposed by most people, and they thought that they should not give up eating because they choked. Many people make a living by planting betel nuts and opening betel nut shops. Even the beauty of betel nut is a normal job as long as there is no deviant behavior, and it cannot be accused of being a "prostitution industry". If it is banned, how many people will be cut off.

Moreover, eat areca has been a habit of ordinary people for many years and cannot be ordered to change. The promoters also spoke plausibly, taking Singapore as an example, saying that Singapore passed the ban on the grounds that eat areca was harmful to human health and chewing betel nut residue and throwing it away was harmful to the city; Opponents say that Singapore has a small population and the situation in the two places is different, so it cannot be copied. So far, the motion has not been passed, so we can still enjoy this landscape with the characteristics of Taiwan Province Province today.

Such a discussion aroused everyone's interest, and everyone wanted to taste betel nut in person. So on her way to Kenting, she stopped in front of a small shop. Green went in and bought a box. Some friends followed her to see the beautiful scenery. Back in the car, Green gave everyone a piece of betel nut with lime leaves and chewed it a few times. It's not bad, and it's tasteless. I don't know why many people are so intoxicated. Perhaps, the original intention of drunkards is not wine, and the original intention of drivers is not betel nut but beauty.