中國(guó)小龍蝦產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展紅火

One in eight residents in Xuyi county, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province, works in the crayfish industry, and the signs are visible everywhere.

江蘇省盱眙縣八分之一的居民在小龍蝦行業(yè)工作，小龍蝦的形象在這座縣城隨處可見(jiàn)。

Chinese diners hungry for fresh seafood and eager for an unconventional dining experience are gobbling up crayfish, spurring an economic bonanza for once-impoverished rural counties, where farmers have developed new cultivation techniques to satisfy demand.

那些愛(ài)吃新鮮海鮮且渴望非傳統(tǒng)就餐體驗(yàn)的中國(guó)食客正沉迷于小龍蝦的盛宴，這為一些曾經(jīng)貧困的農(nóng)村帶來(lái)了一個(gè)致富機(jī)遇，這里的農(nóng)民們開(kāi)發(fā)了新的養(yǎng)殖技術(shù)以滿足需求。

Yang Weiwei, general manager of Xuyi Power Faction Ecological Agriculture Development, one of the largest producers and distributors in Xuyi, takes pains to describe why Jiangsu crayfish are superior to those from rival provinces such as Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui.

盱眙一家生態(tài)農(nóng)業(yè)公司的總經(jīng)理?xiàng)罹S偉(音譯)是盱眙最大的生產(chǎn)和經(jīng)銷商之一，他竭力解釋為什么江蘇的小龍蝦要?jiǎng)龠^(guò)湖北、江西和安徽等競(jìng)爭(zhēng)省份的小龍蝦。

“Hubei craws have big heads and small tails, so the edible part is small. Anhui craws are the lowest quality of all. Their cheeks are black, which means they’re not clean,” Mr Yang says over a dinner of crayfish and baijiu, the clear Chinese spirit. “Jiangxi mostly has green craws. Their shells are soft, so they’re not suitable for shipping. The death rate is high.”

楊維偉對(duì)著晚餐上的龍蝦和白酒說(shuō)到：“湖北蝦頭大，尾巴小，可食部分少。安徽蝦質(zhì)量最差，蝦鰓是黑色的，這說(shuō)明它們不干凈。江西大多是青殼蝦，它們的殼很軟，所以不適合運(yùn)輸，死亡率很高。”

Production of crayfish more than tripled in China from 2007 to 850,000 tonnes last year, according to a report on the industry commissioned by the ministry of agriculture.

根據(jù)中國(guó)農(nóng)業(yè)部委托的一份行業(yè)報(bào)告，去年中國(guó)小龍蝦產(chǎn)量達(dá)到85萬(wàn)噸，是2007年的三倍多。

As Chinese policymakers seek to promote domestic consumption in order to reduce the economy’s reliance on fixed-asset investment and exports, the growth of industries such as crayfish is a welcome development.

隨著中國(guó)的政策制定者力圖促進(jìn)國(guó)內(nèi)消費(fèi)，以減少經(jīng)濟(jì)對(duì)固定資產(chǎn)投資和出口的依賴，小龍蝦等行業(yè)的增長(zhǎng)是一個(gè)可喜的發(fā)展。

Affluent urbanites enjoy the ritual of donning plastic gloves to peel and eat the critters, which are typically slathered in a spicy sauce. Some note that the sauce-drenched gloves prevent fellow diners from checking their mobile phones during a group meal, encouraging social interaction. The restaurants typically stay open late at night, the aroma drawing in revellers.

富裕的城市居民享受著吃小龍蝦的儀式，他們戴好塑料手套，剝?nèi)バ↓埼r的外殼，然后開(kāi)吃。小龍蝦通常泡在濃稠的辣醬里，有些人注意到在團(tuán)體聚餐中，沾滿醬汁的手套妨礙了同桌食客查看手機(jī)，從而鼓勵(lì)了社交互動(dòng)。小龍蝦餐館通常開(kāi)到深夜，撲鼻的香氣引來(lái)了狂歡的人群。

A breakthrough for China’s crayfish came in the late 1990s, when connoisseurs developed ways to add flavour. Previously, they were mostly boiled in salt water, leading to a bland flavour.

中國(guó)小龍蝦行業(yè)在20世紀(jì)90年代后期迎來(lái)突破，當(dāng)時(shí)的行家們開(kāi)發(fā)了種種增添風(fēng)味的方法。之前的方法大多是用鹽水煮，味道較平淡。

Mr Yang, whose parent company also produces seasonings, claims that Xuyi is home to the original “13 flavours” recipe, which is now widely used to create the classic reddish broth. Despite the name, the sauce is made from 32 herbs and spices.

楊維偉的母公司也生產(chǎn)調(diào)味品，他說(shuō)盱眙是“十三香”做法的發(fā)源地。雖然名字叫十三香，其實(shí)這種醬汁是由32種草藥和香料制成的。

Another boon for the industry came around the same time, when Liu Zhuquan, a village official in Hubei province responsible for agricultural development, pioneered a new technique for cultivating crayfish. Mr Liu realised that rice paddies, with thick grass, plentiful water, and reliable drainage, were an ideal environment for crayfish.

大概在同一時(shí)間，小龍蝦行業(yè)迎來(lái)了另一個(gè)利好。當(dāng)時(shí)一位名叫劉主權(quán)的湖北省負(fù)責(zé)農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展的村官率先開(kāi)創(chuàng)了養(yǎng)殖小龍蝦的新技術(shù)。劉主權(quán)發(fā)現(xiàn)稻草茂密、水量充足、排水可靠的稻田是小龍蝦的理想環(huán)境。

“At that time, the village was in bad shape. Grain prices were low, and a lot of fields were left fallow because farmers couldn’t even cover their costs,” he said. “I had a feeling like I wanted to help farmers bust out of their rut.”

劉主權(quán)說(shuō)：“那時(shí)候農(nóng)村的情況不太好。糧食價(jià)格很低，大量農(nóng)田被休耕，因?yàn)檗r(nóng)民們連種地的成本都擔(dān)負(fù)不起。我那時(shí)就想幫助農(nóng)民擺脫這一困境。”

The industry is ideal for regions that had missed out on China’s economic boom, which was based on manufacturing, construction and heavy industry.

該行業(yè)對(duì)于那些錯(cuò)過(guò)了中國(guó)以制造業(yè)、建筑業(yè)和重工業(yè)為基礎(chǔ)的經(jīng)濟(jì)繁榮的地區(qū)是一個(gè)理想選擇。

Xuyi county’s Hongze Lake is one of the largest in China but is mostly free from the industrial pollution that plagues some other Chinese water systems. The animal’s naturally short lifespan — a brood can mature from eggs to full-grown in two months — means there is little need for hormones to promote growth.

盱眙縣洪澤湖是中國(guó)最大的淡水湖之一，而且基本沒(méi)有受到工業(yè)污染，不像中國(guó)其他一些深受污染困擾的水系。小龍蝦自然壽命很短，一窩蝦從卵到生長(zhǎng)完全只需兩個(gè)月，這意味著幾乎無(wú)需添加激素以促進(jìn)生長(zhǎng)。

When it is time to harvest, farmers send bubbles through the water to engorge their stomachs with gas, then force them to drink water. The crayfish vomit, leaving their stomachs clean and white.

到了收獲的時(shí)候，農(nóng)民們會(huì)往水里注入氣泡，用氣體充滿小龍蝦的腹部，迫使它們喝水。隨后小龍蝦會(huì)吐出腹部的水，其腹內(nèi)變得干凈潔白。

The industry has apparently been good to Xuyi. Mr Yang drives an Audi, and similar vehicles dot the parking lot at the flagship restaurant owned by Sizhou City Agricultural Development, his parent company.

這個(gè)行業(yè)顯然利于盱眙的發(fā)展。楊維偉駕駛著一輛奧迪，他的母公司盱眙泗州城農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展(Sizhou City Agricultural Development)旗下旗艦餐廳的停車場(chǎng)里也停滿了奧迪。

The city is burgeoning with new construction, and the region’s gross domestic product has grown by a yearly average of 15.1 per cent in nominal terms from 2011 to 2016, compared with the national average of 10.4 per cent.

盱眙正迅速建起大批新建筑，2011年至2016年該地區(qū)的國(guó)內(nèi)生產(chǎn)總值(GDP)按名義價(jià)值計(jì)算年均增長(zhǎng)了15.1%，而全國(guó)平均水平為10.4%。

In a sign of its ambition, Sizhou City Agricultural has even invested in a film, My Kitchen Lover , to promote the industry. Scheduled to premier in theatres nationwide this August. “It’s about Korean spicy cabbage that falls in love with a Chinese crayfish. We’ve got some big kung fu stars,” said Mr Yang.

泗州城農(nóng)業(yè)發(fā)展甚至投資了一部電影，《泡菜愛(ài)上小龍蝦》(My Kitchen Lover )，以促進(jìn)該行業(yè)發(fā)展，顯示了該公司的抱負(fù)。本片計(jì)劃于今年8月在全國(guó)影院上映。“這部影片講的是韓國(guó)辣白菜愛(ài)上了中國(guó)小龍蝦。我們請(qǐng)到了幾位功夫巨星出演。”