Twenty or thirty years ago, "bristle toothbrushes" made from pig bristles were a necessity for citizens' daily lives. Time has passed, plastic products have become popular, and bristle toothbrushes have faded from the historical stage. In the alleys of Wenchang South Road in Guangzhou, 71 year old Xu Bo has been holding onto the small stall of the "Guangzhou Pig Mane Toothbrush Factory Branch" for 19 years. Nowadays, people from Australia, Hong Kong, Macau and other places in China come here specifically to buy.
Transitioning from large shopping malls to narrow alleys
On Guanyin Straight Street on Wenchang South Road, between various stalls on both sides of the narrow and deep alley, 71 year old Xu Bozheng is chatting and laughing with his neighbors. His stall is simple: an old-fashioned bicycle, a wooden board, a mooncake box, and a few handwritten billboards. This small stall has been set up by the elderly for 19 years. When the old street vendors pass by to buy groceries after work, they will say hello and chat a few times.
The old man's name is Xu Qizhang, and everyone calls him Uncle Xu. Xu Bo sells bristle toothbrushes, which are now difficult to find in Guangzhou. When Xu Bo was young, he was mainly responsible for delivery work at the bristle toothbrush factory. At that time, bristle toothbrushes were very popular, and he delivered to stores such as Nanfang Building, Friendship Store, Women's and Children's Department Store, and Guangbai.
From cow bone handle to plastic handle
Pig bristle toothbrush, as the name suggests, is a toothbrush made from processed pig bristles. Xu Bo introduced, "This kind of pig mane hair grows on the back of the pig's neck. The material is natural, does not damage the gums, and can also have a * * effect on the gums, which is better than many plastic hairs
Xu Bo's sales of bristle toothbrushes are different from others. Others just take it out for people to choose from, so I would first ask if it's for men or women? What age group is it for? "Xu Bo classifies toothbrushes based on their softness and width, and recommends different types of toothbrushes according to gender and tooth quality. Xu Bo analyzed the reporter's mouth shape and tooth texture and recommended a product on the spot, asking for 7 yuan. The reporter went home to try it out and felt that the fur was soft. In terms of touch alone, it was indeed more comfortable than a plastic toothbrush.
Xu Bo introduced that in the past, toothbrushes were manually threaded with pig bristles, while cow bone handles were even more complex, requiring repeated polishing, cutting, and soaking. A toothbrush can condense a lot of blood. He proudly took out a cow bone toothbrush handle from the mooncake box and said, "Everything has changed now. The toothbrushes we used to make had cow bone handles, but now they are all made of plastic
Persist for distant guests
Xu Bo is not the "last person" selling pig bristle toothbrushes in Guangzhou. He told reporters, "As long as you look carefully, there are still people selling in Xiguan, but the time and location are not fixed, making it difficult to find." Among Guangzhou people who are still familiar with bristle toothbrushes, most of them know about Xu Bo's stall.
Why not set up your stall in a more prominent location? He said, "Those who come to buy are all old customers. If you really want to buy, you can always find me here
Xu Bo's persistence has a special reason: he doesn't want the guests who come from afar to leave empty. Many of my toothbrushes were specially bought by others, including many people from Australia, Hong Kong, Macau, the Pearl River Delta, and other regions of China