Weed Scene | Dali-Diary
2025.03.26
When eating noodles at Xiduo, Jason had beef noodles in clear soup, and I had beef noodles with pickled cabbage. Every time I think of going out for noodles, a fork in the road always comes to mind. One road leads to "Xiduo Noodle House" with rich selections and a taste I like better. The other road leads to "Chuanxiangzi". Although I think the taste is mediocre, the food is served quickly and I don't have to worry about what to eat. Every time I just order spicy chicken noodles.
Different restaurants, like people, have different personalities. No matter how they cook, some people will think it tastes good, and some people will think it tastes just average. For a restaurant, sticking to its own characteristics is probably the most important thing, right? Just like a person, no matter what his personality is, it is not easy to maintain his own identity.
The weather was very hot, so we sat outside and ate noodles. I don't know if it was because of the fever or something else, but the traffic and camphor trees on Hongsheng Road made me feel light and happy. I scooped out all the noodles in the bowl, and started to scoop out the baby cabbage in the vegetable bowl. After I scooped out the baby cabbage, I scooped out the minced garlic in the cold seaweed. I wanted to stay here as long as I could.
Finally, we left the noodle shop and went to Li Zhenhao's shop to pick up the folding bike. When this bike appeared three months ago, we were planning to go out separately. This time it appeared, and Jason was officially leaving for Japan. And I haven't arranged my trip for next month yet.
On both sides of the national highway, the rose-red spring cherry blossoms are blooming gorgeously. I was dizzy in the van, passing by these cherry blossoms, like sleepwalking.
Turning left from the national highway and driving up along the creek, I stared at the roadside to see if the store that Sting was renovating had opened. I saw a man sitting in the corner. I turned around and told Jason the news. He stopped the car and wanted to go into the house to ask for details. I stayed in the car and waited for him.
When Sting's salmon restaurant was opened in the Peace Hotel, Jason and I would occasionally go there. There were a few tables and chairs, some music performance posters on the wall, no signboard, and we only went there through recommendations from friends. In the city, it's expensive to eat fresh salmon in a restaurant, but Sting's was inexpensive, fresh, and plentiful. We always left with full bellies.
I was not familiar with Sting, and we had almost no conversation when we went to dinner. Jason admired him and sometimes mentioned some things, but they were abstract to me.
Except for one time, we made a reservation for dinner.
We arrived on time at seven o'clock and sat down at the dining table. After waiting for a while, the food was not served. Sting was in the kitchen, and we guessed that he might be busy, so we didn't ask any more questions. It was winter and the weather was cold, so we moved from our seats to the charcoal brazier, warming ourselves by the fire and chatting. Just like that, more than an hour passed, and Jason smoked one cigarette after another, but the food was still not served. Huh? Usually the food is served not long after we sit down. Seeing that Sting was already sitting on a nearby stool drinking coffee and didn't look busy, we realized something was wrong. Jason finally walked over and asked Sting a little embarrassedly if our meal was ready.
"Is everyone here?" Sting asked doubtfully.
"It's just the two of us," Jason answered with the same confusion.
"Ah, aren't there seven of you?" Sting asked while checking the information.
“…I was mistaken. I had prepared the meal a long time ago. I thought you were not all here, so I didn’t serve the dishes yet.”
Sting hurriedly explained and apologized.
Jason was a little confused and embarrassed by this misunderstanding, because the fish was already cooked and it would be wasted if no one came to eat it. Sting thought it was his fault that he made us wait for so long in vain.
We misunderstood each other for an hour or two, and neither of us wanted to disturb the other. This waiting time is actually precious, and I think it is a sign of mutual respect and trust.
After Jason entered the store to confirm, he waved to me and asked me to get out of the car and go in. I was a little embarrassed, but I wanted to follow him in. I walked through the green curtain and found a chair in front of the bar and sat down. Jason sat at the corner of me, opposite Sting. Two or three years later, Sting looked a little older, and Jason had a lot more white hair on his temples.
Sting brought two cups of coffee, one for me and one for Jason. He handed me my cup and said, "It might be too bitter. Do you want to add some sugar?" I said, "No, I can drink bitter." I was mentally prepared for the bitter taste and took the cup to take a sip. It was not very bitter, but delicious.
I know very little about coffee, but I can feel that this dark roast is soft, rich, a little bitter but not the main taste. It tastes better than what I have tasted before. However, I am embarrassed to say such compliments.
"After you posted your WeChat account, many more customers from other places came to buy beans," Sting said to Jason.
"That's great, it means it's working." Jason was happy to hear that what he did was useful.
Sting: "The price of coffee beans has risen sharply recently, but I think I'd better sell it like this for now. It doesn't feel good to suddenly increase the price."
Jason: "I heard from other coffee friends that the price seems to have increased a lot recently. If the price has increased, it's fine to just follow the increased price."
The selling price written on the official account is more than 50 yuan for 250 grams of coffee beans, which is actually very affordable.
There was a period of time before, I heard that the price of salmon increased sharply, but Sting was unwilling to raise the selling price. So the salmon shop was closed during that period.
We talked about why the new store has been renovated but is not open for business yet.
Sting said that because the kitchen is less than 30 meters away from the stream, the village committee refused to stamp it, so he could not get a business license.
Sting: "I saw that the sun was good here and wanted to open a shop here. I saw that several restaurants nearby were open for business, so I didn't expect it to be like this."
"The landlord said let's open the business, no problem."
"I think I should finish all the formalities before opening."
"The landlord asked me to give them some cigarettes and money"
"I said I won't send them money or cigarettes, but I send them some coffee every week. I don't know if it will work."
Jason: "How about opening in the evening first? Or taking reservations like before?"
I could see that Jason really wanted to help, but he couldn't bear to say anything more.
Sting: "Anyway, let's just hand out some coffee to those who want it."
When I left the store and got back into the van, I wanted to record it, because it feels good to have such simple people around me.
I think: It is probably difficult for someone like Sting to tactfully avoid some of the difficulties in the secular world. But I think it doesn’t matter, it depends on what you think is more important.
