Jason | Chi Chi Restaurant

One night, I accidentally saw a post in which the person said that he went to a restaurant in Dali Ancient Town called Qiqi Restaurant because of its reputation, but was not satisfied with the service attitude and food. Someone else followed up with criticism, saying that it was "inevitably so". There were many people during the summer vacation, and the food was served slowly, which meant that the restaurant was arrogant; if the taste was not good, then it was judged that others should not like it either, and the reputation was of course false.

I have also met a few guests like this, so it is not surprising. It is just that seeing Qiqi Hotel reminds me of some people and things in the past.

It was two years ago. I have a friend named Wang Yong, he is a poet, and also the number one street vendor in Dali for the past ten years, who everyone knows. He makes a living by selling CDs on the street. He said that the owner of the September Bar took good care of him and let him set up a stall at the door, and sometimes he recited his poems in the bar with deep emotion. He can tell stories - his own stories, which often touch people's hearts. Guests think he is strange and often buy his CDs as support, although many people do not have CD players, and some do not even take the CDs. These are what he told me when he came to the late-night canteen for dinner. He would also vividly perform the stories he told to the guests. When he talked about the emotional part, he would stand up and recreate the scene between the narrow tables and chairs. I was often touched when I heard it, so I can imagine how guests on the road, in a strange and ancient town, could not help being moved when they heard such a bizarre and sentimental story.

Wang Yong is a poet. He not only writes poetry, but also his life experience, life choices, and until he leaves this world, are the characteristics of a poet. Born in the 1970s, he was born and raised in a collective factory. When he was young, he was a gangster, fighting and collecting debts. He loves music, and Zhang Chu has always been his idol and friend. Later, he left the factory and wandered around. He was poor and worked as a dishwasher to make a living. He married a Taiwanese screenwriter in Dali and became famous with the rise of Dali Utopia. These were the most glorious years of his life. Soon, with the squeeze of a new round of commercial forces, he and Jiuyue withdrew from Renmin Road. Jiuyue returned to the yard in the deep alley. He tried several times, but he could never find a place where he could live safely and continue to set up a stall. He could not return to a quiet life, even though the spotlight on him had gone out. Later, there was a malicious incident accusing him of abusing dogs, and he lost his spirit and became gloomy. Later, he found that his diabetes was very serious, but he refused treatment and was trapped in the inn for several months, and his body became weaker. He returned to his hometown after many twists and turns until he could no longer walk. Half a year later, I heard that he had passed away. Before he left, I sent him to the station. He said, "I have lived twice the life of others. That's enough."

I remember the last story Wang Yong loved to tell: "One year, Tingwei came to Dali from Taiwan to visit me. I asked Tingwei to make pasta and invited many friends to eat. After Tingwei left, I took a lot of pasta and cheese to the late-night canteen and gave them to Jason, saying, let's put it this way, these things count as ten meals for me. The later it got, the more reluctant I was to eat. Every time I ate a meal, it was as if Tingwei was still there, and I didn't want to finish it so quickly."

Afterwards, the two never met again.

It has been a year and a half since he passed away. At that time, he was not in a state of rapid deterioration. He was just thin and afraid of cold. He would come to my place in Guanyintang to chat every once in a while. Sometimes he looked gloomy, and sometimes he said that he had found a new place to set up a stall and paid the deposit. He was full of energy and wanted to start over. Later, there was no news, and I thought it was not suitable. Until diabetes made him weaker and weaker, he came less and less . He was also reluctant to go to the hospital, perhaps because he did not trust the hospital, or perhaps because he was tired of such a life. A few days after I insisted on sending him to the hospital twice, he sent me a message:

Soon he came to see me again and told me that he had been staying at the inn for a long time recently and didn't go out much during the day. He was in a bad state and didn't want to meet acquaintances. He only walked slowly to Qiqi Restaurant late at night to drink some soup and eat something. Qiqi Restaurant was in a small alley on Renmin Road. It was open until late at night and there were not many customers. At that time, he could no longer take care of himself. Of course, he was not very clean to begin with. He smelled bad and I often couldn't stand it. Most people would avoid him even more. He said that Qiqi treated him very well and he was willing to go there.

At that time, Qiqi also sent me a message, saying that she felt that Wang Yong seemed to be not well, and whether he was seriously ill. A few days later, Qiqi asked me which inn Wang Yong was staying in, because she found that he had not come for several days, and was afraid that he had nothing to eat, so she stewed chicken soup and wanted to send it to him. I sent her the location of the inn, and knowing that he did not want to see people, and worried about bothering him, she sent the chicken soup to the front desk of the inn. The innkeeper told her that Wang Yong had ordered takeout that day, and she felt more relieved. She and Wang Yong did not know each other before, but Wang Yong had been to the restaurant a few times.

Qiqi and I were not familiar with each other either, and we had only met once or twice. I only remember that she had short hair, was very energetic, and rode a motorcycle. When I first knew her, she was planning to take over the small courtyard of our original Earth Canteen and was going to learn how to cook at the Midnight Canteen. Friends around her did not agree with it, after all, it seemed unreliable. He Chen was in the Midnight Canteen at the time and was responsible for teaching her. He said: Then I will teach her while persuading her to give up this idea.

After seeing the critical article, I searched for Qiqi Restaurant again and found a lot of sincere positive reviews. One of them recommended other restaurants, but the opening sentence was: Don’t just know the fried rice at Qiqi Restaurant when you go to Dali.

I'm so glad she did this.