At the National Customs General Administration Inspection Office, several staff mbers are busy, registering hundreds of boxes of handcrafted cigars just imported from Cuba.
"Life conditions have improved in recent years. People at ho look down on old brands like ’Zhonghua’ cigarettes, preferring foreign stuff. Classic case of infatuation with foreign things," one of the staff mbers said, opening a box of Cuban Cohiba cigars encased in a finely crafted mahogany box.
The box contained only three cigars, with each cigar priced at several hundred or even thousands of RMB. Even during inspections, the Customs Inspection Office had to specially clear out a tobacco office to avoid any interference, ensuring that the inspected products didn’t get damp or show any signs of damage.
"The so-called upper-class people can truly afford to regularly smoke these money-burning luxuries. For people with incos like ours, we only dare to gift a box during the New Year or festivals to our in-laws and elders. I bet young folks still prefer ’Marlboro’ and the like, and even the wife’s complaint about the sll is milder," the staff remarked, yet still carefully put on gloves, took so leaves from the stack of hundreds of boxes, and proceeded with the inspection.
After this inspection, due to the wooden box packaging, it also had to be sent to the Inspection and Quarantine Bureau to test for any germs on the box. Once all inspection processes are completed, these cigars will be sent to corresponding upscale cigarette and liquor stores, doubling their price.
"Foreign cigarettes have great flavor but the prices are intimidating. Look, a box of these costs us a month’s salary. I still miss the old cigarettes produced by the early tobacco factories," the speaker said, who was an old inspection staff mber wearing reading glasses, with streaks of white in his hair. A shriveled cigarette case was pinned to the pocket of his work uniform.
"Mr. Chu is going to talk about the past again, when he joined the National Customs General Administration back in the late seventies," a few younger inspection staff joked. Although their tone was teasing, none dared to truly mock Mr. Chu.
Mr. Chu from the Customs General Administration is the longest-serving staff mber in the Administration. Though he reached 54 years old, only last year did the Deputy Director issue a docunt promoting him to a section-level position. With his thirty-year tenure at the bureau, even the newly arrived director treats him with courtesy. Not to ntion, most of the inspection staff in the inspection office were trained by Mr. Chu himself.
The staff placed the tobacco leaves extracted from the cigars under the corresponding testing equipnt, clearly displaying the composition of herbs and various additives.
"All data indicators et international standards. Truly worthy of being a reputable brand cigar, no problems at all," another staff praised.
Listening to the praise from his colleague, Mr. Chu’s eyes showed a hint of lancholy. It was about seven or eight years ago that he was responsible for inspecting the batch of dostic first-grade tobacco that got destroyed.
"If I talk, you’ll say I’m leveraging my seniority. It’s often said that Cuba’s red soil produces the best tobacco leaves in the world. I want to say, once our country’s southwest region also produced tobacco leaves as good as Cuban cigars. Unfortunately, those leaves sohow turned into cigarettes that beca addictive ’drugs’," Mr. Chu lanted.
"Mr. Chu, are you referring to the big dostic brand toxic cigarette scandal from a few years ago? I’ve heard about that. My grandfather kept smoking those right up until he passed," one new staff mber who just joined this year listened with curiosity as Mr. Chu talked, while others were unsurprised by his sudden lant.
This young staff mber doesn’t smoke himself, but his late grandfather, even before dying, instructed the family juniors to burn a few boxes of cigarettes for him each year during Qingming and Double Ninth. Age always brings a touch of nostalgia.
The newly joined young staff today saw the traditionally reserved Mr. Chu chat about that affair, feeling inevitably curious.
Being specialized personnel responsible for tobacco inspection, they are well aware of the entire tobacco sales circulation process. Those cigarettes were fine during dostic sales. It wasn’t until they were ready to export, sent as per practice to Customs Administration that issues were discovered. What were the supervisory inspection departnts doing during factory release and circulation steps?"
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