Chapter 1084: Handmade cigar

Speaking of Cuba, it must be mentioned that the late former head of state Lao Ka, this bearded cigar dangling has made himself a global icon.
When it comes to Lao Ka, what people talk about most is that he is the person who has suffered the most assassinations in the world. According to statistics, he has been assassinated 638 times, ranking first among leaders of various countries. In the end, the CIA was desperate and simply gave up. The assassination of Castro.
This incident actually originated from a book, the memoirs of Fabian Escalante Wundt, the former director of the Cuban Counterintelligence Agency (now the predecessor of the Cuban Ministry of Internal Affairs), called "638 Ways to Assassinate Lao Card" , This book allowed a British documentary director to see that Hou Jiu made a documentary of the same name, and then this statement was widely circulated.
In Lao Ka's own words: "I have escaped countless assassination conspiracies. If (how many assassinations) this is an Olympic event, I will definitely win the gold medal."
However, this argument is open to discussion, because in 1977 the Star Stripe State had a decree prohibiting government employees from participating in political assassinations, prohibiting cia from participating in assassinations. Their reason was that they were not the Israeli ‘Mossad’ known for assassinations. (Of course, whether the CIA is really obedient is another matter.)
638 times is indeed a bit exaggerated, but dozens of times should be fine, right? After all, when it comes to Castro, the seven or eight presidents of the Star-Spangled Countries hate their teeth, but there is no way ------ this guy is so alive!
No matter how many times Lao Ka has been assassinated, the Cuban Ministry of Internal Affairs is definitely behind the scenes. Major incidents such as the'Bay of Pigs' incident were the first warnings issued by the Cuban Ministry of Internal Affairs to thwart such conspiracies. If it weren't for them, I'm afraid Cuba would have become another country long ago.
Hearing that Xiao Peng was interested in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Garcia said quickly: "Mr. Xiao, if you want to see it, I will take you there now."
Xiao Peng waved his hand and said, "Forget it, I'll just go to the door and take two photos, otherwise your colleague will feel like a monkey in a zoo."
After hearing Xiao Peng's words, several people laughed.
Xiao Peng asked curiously, "Dana, what do you do now?"
Dana replied, "I am working in a TV factory, and I am studying mechanical and electrical engineering, right?"
Xiao Peng thought about it: "Dana, please forgive me for being rude, I have a question to ask you."
"Mr. Xiao, please ask." Dana looked at Xiao Peng.
Xiao Peng asked: "You are in Maple Leaf Guoxue Mechanical and Electrical Engineering. This is very promising. If you stay in Maple Leaf Country, it is probably easy to enter the middle class. Why did you choose to return to Cuba? Earn more money in Maple Leaf Country than here. Is it too much?"
Dana laughed: "Mr. Xiao, everyone who does not understand Cuba will ask this question. Believe me, life in Cuba is much better than you think. You should see the lives of us Cubans with your own eyes. in conclusion."
Xiao Peng smiled and said: "That's for sure! Of course I have to look around here when I come here. The first thing I do not come to Cuba is to come here to open my eyes?"
Dana waved her hand to Xiao Peng: "Let's go, but before we go, I must first give you a gift."
Garcia raised his hand after hearing this: "I want me too!"
Dana smiled and said: "You can't do without you, come with me!"
Xiao Peng was confused and followed Dana into a room. There was a workbench in this room. On the workbench there were tobacco leaves one after another. Dana was sitting next to the work, looking for two suitable tobacco leaves. Put them together, then roll the tobacco leaves together like spring rolls, and then rub them repeatedly to shape them. On the left hand side of the worktable, there is a wooden mold like a Huaxia washboard. The rolled tobacco leaves are stuck in it, so that the length and thickness are controlled. The part that grows is directly cut off with a knife.
Dana was skilled in handwork, and in a short time, twenty cigars of the same thickness and length were placed in the mold. After she buckled the other half of the mold, she placed it in a manual screw press to compact the mold. After opening it for a while, it will be a cigar.
Xiao Peng blinked, "Wow, this is the first time I have seen the hand-made cigar making process. It is so amazing? Dana, how did you make cigars?" In fact, what he wants to say is that this making cigars looks like It's really easy. Just roll it up and press it in the mold?
Dana said with a smile: "My mother turned out to be a tobacco maker from Cohiba Cigar Factory, Mr. Xiao, don't underestimate this cigar, it looks simple to make, but it's really not like that. You must know that making this cigar leaf is unique. The formula of this cigar is not as simple as it looks. It’s too tight or too loose. My mother made great tobacco. She made money by selling cigars in Havana. ."
Xiao Peng asked curiously: "As far as I know, it's very cheap for Cubans to buy cigars by themselves?"
Dana blinked, with a playful look: "Sell it to tourists!"
Xiao Peng gave a thumbs up: "Can I taste it?" He pointed to the freshly made cigar.
"Of course!" Dana nodded and said, "Is this a gift for you."
Xiao Peng picked up one, lit it and tasted it.
"Huh?" Xiao Peng's eyes lit up: "Cinnamon with cane sugar? And the smell of roasted coffee and oak? It also adds salt and pepper? This taste is so complicated. It seems that there is still a small amount of honey and cloves? There is also a trace. The taste of banana! Such a complex taste should not taste good, but how can it be so comfortable?"
After listening to Xiao Peng’s words, Dana was first dumbfounded: "Mr. Xiao, are you too godly? You are the first person who can extract my cigar formula. How did you do it? Garcia, it wasn’t you who did it. My cigar formula told Mr. Xiao, right?"
Garcia smiled bitterly: "Dana, what are you kidding? I don't know if your cigar formula is good?"
Xiao Peng blinked: "Uh, maybe my taste buds are better. Your blending technique is absolutely amazing. When so many flavors are kneaded together, it becomes a very comfortable smell. If you don't distinguish carefully, it will be true. Can't tell."
Dana stretched out her thumb: "Mr. Xiao, you are amazing. If my mother knew about this, she would be terrified."
Xiao Peng smiled and asked, "Where is Auntie? Why didn't I see them?"
Dana replied: "They are harvesting tobacco leaves. My family grows some tobacco leaves. Would you like to see it?"
"Of course!" Xiao Peng nodded, "Your mother shouldn't be an ordinary tobacco maker. Why doesn't he work at Gao Xiba?"
Dana said as he walked: "How should I put it, before 1985, my mother had always made cigarettes for Mr. Lao Ka. After Lao Ka quit smoking in 1985, Cohiba cigars began to be sold, which happened to catch up with Cuba. The economy is sluggish, so many cigar technicians have begun to drift away. My mother also became a tobacco grower at that time. Our family also moved here from downtown Havana. But the facts proved her choice was correct."
Dana took them along a path for more than half an hour. They did not see the tobacco planting area. Instead, they first saw a few thatched buildings made of palm leaves. An old lady was bending from one of the thatched houses. Walked out.
"Mom!" Dana stretched out her hand to say hello.
"Mr. Xiao, Mr. Sun, let me introduce you. This is my mother, Regla, Mom, this is Mr. Xiao and Mr. Sun from China, and they are guests of Garcia." Dana introduced her mother to everyone: "Mom, you Never believe what happened just now, Mr. Xiao took a sip of his cigar and tasted all the recipes for your cigar. It was amazing!"
"Really?" Regola and Xiao Peng had just finished kissing, and they were taken aback by Dana's words, "Comrade Xiao, how did you do it?"
Xiao Peng hasn’t heard the term ‘comrade’ for a long time, but I heard it in Cuba.
Xiao Peng smiled and said, "I can only say that I have a better sense of smell."
The people next to him were stunned again: "Mr. Xiao, do you speak Spanish?" Because the old lady speaks Spanish, Xiao Peng also answered in Spanish.
Xiao Peng waved his hand: "Don't care about these details, Mrs. Grayla, what are you doing?"
Greira smiled and said, "Just call me Greira. If you call my wife, you should call me Mrs. Armas, that would be too far-fetched. This is called the'tobacco leaf house'. I make tobacco leaves here. Come and see. a bit?"
Only then did Xiao Peng see that behind the row of huts was invisible tobacco: "Grela, you grow so many tobacco leaves? Are these tobacco leaf houses enough for processing tobacco?"
Greira smiled and waved her hand and said, "According to our country's regulations, 80% of the tobacco leaves here must be turned over to the country. Only 10% belong to our own."
Xiao Peng frowned upon hearing this: "This doesn't seem fair, right?"
After hearing this, Greila shook her head and said, "Mr. Xiao, planting tobacco leaves is not as simple as you think. Pests, fertilizers, agricultural machinery, and irrigation all require money. When we grow tobacco, the money comes from the country. Provided, so it is relatively cost-effective in comparison, and for me, 80% of the tobacco can be left, which is completely enough. And this is because the tobacco I grow is too good and it is a reward for me. If it is something else Tobacco farmers can only keep 10%."
After hearing this, Xiao Peng asked curiously: "Tobacco is so good? Is there any difference?"
Greira pointed to the tobacco trees thrown on the ground triumphantly: "Look, these tobacco trees are either too tall or too short. These are all substandard. The thickness of the tobacco leaves is appropriate. The size and height should be about the same. Those genetic mutations are not very good. And there are only so few unqualified trees in a tobacco field as large as mine. This shows how good the quality of my tobacco leaves is."
After speaking, she opened the door curtain of the'Tobacco Leaf House': "A few of you come in and have a look!