Chapter 1192 Cheap Buffet in the Hutong

The old hutongs in the capital are indeed not good places, especially the Dazayuan Hutong where a large number of migrant workers rent.

The houses are low and some are quite dilapidated. Compared with other glamorous places in the city, this place is obviously much messier. Some people with no sense of public morality want to be convenient at night, and they are too lazy to go to the public toilet to go to the toilet, so it is convenient to find a corner at random. Causes the pungent smell of urine in some places.

For Button, that's what he needed to see. Because the promotional video that Zhang Tong showed him was too positive, and it was too good to be true.

As a conspiracy theorist, he does not believe that there is a utopian world in the universe.

The so-called perfect world, such as a home for the hungry and food for the hungry, does not exist at all in Barton's view. If this kind of world really exists, then it is mostly made up of lies.

In a world where there is light, there is darkness. This is a phenomenon that both sides of one body must exist.

When looking at a world or a country, we must not only look at its upper limit, but also its lower limit.

Of course, maybe the place Qin Kuairen brought him here is not the lower limit of this country, after all, this is the capital of the country. But it can also reflect from the side how the country is.

As far as Barton can see now, this kind of mixed alley is indeed a bit more realistic than the brightly lit scene he saw yesterday.

It always feels unrealistic to see too many things that are too prosperous.

The dilapidated alley, the low-quality middle-aged man who delivered the water, the occasional smell of urine from the street corner, and the sound of beating and scolding children from the courtyard, all made Barton understand this situation better. The fireworks of the world.

Just like he wanted to find a small restaurant in the alley to eat, not because he was really hungry, but mainly because he wanted to see what the life of low-income people in the world was like.

It looks inconspicuous in the alleys of the capital, but in fact, various living facilities are quite complete inside. Whether it is a convenience store or a bathhouse, there are actually quite a few small restaurants inside.

Don't underestimate the small restaurants in the alleys, there are a lot of food sold in various restaurants. There are skewers, hot pot, stir-fried dishes, snacks and more.

In fact, the catering competition in the hutong may be more intense than the competition on the streets outside the hutong. Because all the small shops in Hutong are doing neighborhood business, the taste should not be too bad, otherwise people will stop coming after eating it once.

At the same time, the price should not be too high, because those who still live in this kind of courtyard alleys generally do not have much money.

Cheap and affordable home-cooked food is the secret of survival for small Hutong shops.

Qin Kuairen and Patton walked less than 100 meters in the alley and saw a restaurant. This restaurant is interesting. It made a cover with blue cloth at the door, and wrote "饭" on the cover with a white pen. Character. Let people know that this is a restaurant at a glance.

Needless to say, this small restaurant is going to attract customers like this. Because the Hutong does not have a big frontage, at most a single door can be opened to enter and exit. If there is no signboard, it will be regarded as the residence of ordinary people.

"That's it." Barton could smell the aroma of food through the door, he patted Qin Kuiren's shoulder and pointed to this small shop.

Qin Kuairen originally wanted to find a special alley restaurant. In fact, many alleys have such special restaurants, such as beef tendon hot pot and so on.

The store is a bit too small, there is not even a signboard, who knows how.

Just as Qin Kuairen was about to say something, the small door of the restaurant was pushed open. Two workers in the uniform of [China Railway No. 1 Construction] opened the door and came out. They looked like the kind of hard workers on the construction site. His face was tanned and tanned, with a little peeling. The greasy and messy hair was pressed by the yellow hard hat, the rough skin on the hands was cracked, and the tiredness and tiredness in the eyes all revealed how hard and tiring the work they were doing.

Patton watched the two construction workers leave, and he asked Qin Kuairen, "What do they do?"

"builder."

"Are you poor?"

"Um...it's hard to define. It's actually quite profitable to do construction. There should be one hundred thousand a year. But most construction, especially those from the countryside, are not willing to spend money. Because they are too tired to make money. It’s hard work, so every penny is very important, and if you can save it, you save it. They basically don’t go to any high-consumption places to spend money. Most of the construction sites I know, except for going to work every day, basically after work. I just stay in the dormitory and don’t go anywhere.”

"Master Barton, let's eat at another place..." Qin Kuairen originally wanted to ask Barton to eat at another place.

But Master Barton pushed open the door and walked in. The shop is not big, with only eight tables in total. On the white wall facing the entrance, there is a red paper and black lettering: the shop is small and the profits are low, please do not bring your own drinks.

Under the red paper is another menu written in black and white. Lunch is 17 yuan for self-help, self-serve, waste is strictly prohibited. For dinner, there are mutton pots and beef pots. A small pot costs 38 yuan, a medium pot costs 58 yuan, and a large pot costs 88 yuan.

There is no receptionist in the small shop. After Qin Kuairen opened the door and entered, an uncle in his fifties came out from the back kitchen. He had nothing to say, and simply said: "We are not here at noon. Stir-fry, only 17 yuan for self-service. Eat as much as you want, don’t waste it. Waste counts as double money. Pay first and then eat.”

Qin Kuairen glanced at Patton, and Patton nodded to him to indicate that he was eating here.

Qin Kuairen said to the boss: "Three. Are you Alipay or WeChat?"

The uncle boss glanced at Qin Kuairen and the others, and he muttered, "Are you taking foreigners on an alley tour?"

"Yes." Qin Kuairen nodded.

The boss uncle pulled Qin Kuairen aside and muttered in a low voice: "You tour guide is really good at coming. What's there to see in Dazayuan Hutong here? Aren't you embarrassing our capital internationally. You want If you take people on a tour, you should take them to Shichahai, Houhai, and Nanluoguxiang. What are you doing here!"

"And what do you bring foreigners to eat at my restaurant? My restaurant is for the neighbors and people who do physical work. The taste is very average. If you bring foreign friends to my restaurant, isn't it a sign of our Chinese cuisine? I don’t know how to take people to Jubaoyuan to eat shabu-shabu. I don’t know how to take people to BBQ Wan to eat barbecue. Are you a black tour guide, and the black family has money?!” The boss uncle said in one breath After a long walk, Qin Kuairen didn't even have room to interrupt.

When the uncle finished speaking, Qin Kuairen could only say: "Uncle, I am not a black tour guide. They just want to experience life in the real alleys of the old capital, not those scenic spots, which are too fake. They just want Try it for real."

The boss uncle stared at Qin Kuairen for a long time: "Aren't you a black tour guide who smeared our old capital people?"

"Absolutely not!" Qin Kuairen swears to the sky: "And you also care too much."

The boss uncle snorted: "Earning face for the country is the responsibility of everyone in our old capital. That's enough, you can order food, remember not to waste it."

Qin Kuairen shook his head helplessly at this shop owner who was extremely fond of national honor.

"Xiao Qin, what did you talk to that shop owner about?" Barton asked curiously after watching Qin Kuairen come back.

Qin Kuairen spread his hands: "Just now the boss saw that you look like foreigners, I was just afraid that you might not be used to the food here."

Button chuckled: "It's okay, let's try it. How do you cook here?"

The small shop is a way of self-service. The so-called self-service pick-up means that after paying the money, the boss will give each person a disposable lunch box and chopsticks, and then go to the pick-up area to get food.

The buffet in a small shop is naturally not comparable to that in a big hotel. The so-called dining area is the side of the wall where there is a vegetable storage table with thermal insulation function commonly used in restaurants. There are 20 kinds of different dishes in stainless steel basins in the table.

Seeing these dishes, Qin Kuairen understood why the boss forbade customers to bring their own drinks.

Because the 17 yuan buffet includes: braised grass carp section, gluten roasted pork, fried pork with bamboo shoots, steamed egg, fried pork head meat with double pepper, vinegared cabbage, vinegared potato shreds, roasted tofu, roasted eggplant, roasted wax gourd, Carrot fried white radish, spicy fried winter squash and so on. There is an additional one yuan charge for the staple food, and white rice and steamed buns are provided, which is enough to eat.

For a buffet like this at 17 yuan, customers can't be allowed to bring their own drinks. I guess the boss can make some money by pointing at drinks and beer. Qin Kuiren guessed that most of the house was owned by the boss himself, otherwise if the rent needs to be paid, the business would not be able to go on at all.

The dishes made by this small shop look like the kind of home-cooked dishes that are served with meals. The color of the cooking is very dark, and it is guessed that the taste should be salty, which is suitable for the tastes of those engaged in heavy manual labor.

The buffet situation of this small shop really made Barton and Von Meier feel a little interesting. There are four sections in the disposable plate, that is, up to four different dishes can be served at one time.

Button made braised fish, steamed eggs, shredded potatoes in vinegar and roasted tofu, and took a white steamed bun.

Feng Meier made fried pork head meat, braised pork with gluten, spicy fried bamboo shoots and roasted eggplant, and a bowl of rice by the way.

Qin Kuairen ordered four dishes at random, and the three of them found a table by the window and sat down. Because it is almost one o'clock now, the rush hour for lunch is over. The dishes in the buffet pick-up area have almost bottomed out.

"It's so salty." Feng Meier took a bite of the roasted eggplant and was almost stunned.

Qin Kuairen said helplessly: "The taste of this small shop is like this. The seventeen yuan buffet corresponds to people who have little money and want to eat a mouthful of food and clothing. The taste is salty and better for others. Those who do heavy physical labor I have to eat a little more salty to replenish my strength. Look, there are still two tables of people eating. The food they eat is pretty good."

Feng Meier heard the words and looked at it, it was indeed so. On another table in the small shop, there were apparently migrant workers eating, and on another table several sanitation workers gathered for a meal.

They ate the food with great mouthfuls and it was very delicious. Talking and laughing while eating. Eating, this kind of thing always makes people feel happy.

Warm food soothes the hungry and cold stomach, bringing not only food and clothing, but also the power and beauty to live.

Barton ate the braised fish with red lips. It was indeed very salty as Feng Meier said, but despite the saltiness, it actually tasted good. The fish was also very fresh and not the smelly fish. The steamed eggs are also delicious, smooth and tender, and because they are topped with sesame oil, they also have a sesame oil aroma.

Looking at a group of sanitation workers who were eating and chatting happily, Barton looked at his lunch box. He patted Qin Kuairen on the shoulder, picked up the lunch box and walked to the side of the sanitation workers. And asked: "May I sit and eat with you?"

The sanitation workers who had been chatting well were taken aback by the sudden appearance of a foreign old man (face from Central Asia) speaking a foreign language (language from another world), and for a moment they didn’t know how to respond.