Our staff reporter (Jing Yiming) - Originally, it was thought that after this Vice President wiped his mouth and left, everything would be calm and quiet. However, Yaoji Fried Liver Store has now been pushed to the forefront of public discourse. After US Vice President Biden had lunch at Yaoji Fried Liver Store in Gulou two days ago, netizens began heated discussions online about Yaoji Fried Liver Store on Gulou East Street. "Presidential Set Meal" and "79 yuan" became buzzwords. Yesterday afternoon, the reporter visited Yaoji and found that indeed some people specially ordered the "presidential set meal", but Yaoji was not as explosively popular as described on the internet, becoming "another scene in Gulou."
Around 2:00 PM yesterday, when searching online for information related to Biden eating Zhajiang noodles at Yaoji Fried Liver Store, there were numerous comments. On Sina Weibo, the reporter also saw a microblog named after Yaoji Fried Liver Store. This microblog not only had pictures of the front of Yaoji, but also several pieces of information and photos uploaded by netizens. In one photo, on a few customers' table was the legendary "presidential set meal". Another photo showed a tour group blocking the entrance of Yaoji. Netizens said that Yaoji had become another attraction in Gulou, with even tour groups coming to visit.
To find out the truth, the reporter then visited Yaoji again. Upon entering, the reporter saw that there was no publicity made within the store regarding Biden's visit. The store was full of diners, and there was a long queue at the food pick-up window. Employees told the reporter that indeed, there were more people in the afternoon today, but not to an unimaginable extent. Also, there was no phenomenon of tour groups coming en masse to have meals.
Were there really people ordering the presidential set meal? Manager Yao of the fried liver store recalled that indeed, someone had ordered the presidential set meal, but such cases were still relatively rare. After the meal, one customer who ordered the presidential set meal requested that the details of the food ordered be written on the dining receipt, possibly wanting to keep it as a souvenir. At this moment, an employee came over to "report": "There's no Xierli Mei radish left, and no cucumber either!" These ingredients are necessary garnishes for Zhajiang noodles. This employee said that more people came to order Zhajiang noodles in the afternoon than before, and the footfall was slightly higher, equivalent to the traffic on weekends, but it wasn't exaggerated to the point where everyone was ordering the "presidential set meal". The "presidential set meal" was just a joke made by surrounding customers when Biden was having his meal, and there's no need to take it seriously. Manager Yao also said that they did not open a microblog account, and they do not know how that microblog on the internet came about.
Since Biden's next stop will be Chengdu, yesterday afternoon, several journalists from Sichuan specifically or coincidentally came to Yaoji Fried Liver Store for interviews. When other media friends were asking the employees inside the store for information, the reporter clearly observed at the entrance of Yaoji why there were photos of tour groups gathering online. Actually, the location of Gulou is right next to Yaoji. The small crossroads in front of Yaoji became a gathering place for many tour groups. Tour groups would occasionally gather here, count their numbers, and then leave, not to "tour" Yaoji.
A few customers who ordered the "presidential set meal" said that they were enthusiastic netizens who had agreed to come and try this 79-yuan "presidential set meal", just for fun. It seems that the endorsers for Yaoji and the "presidential set meal" were not Biden, but rather online discourse.
A customer eating fried liver smiled and said, all are eaters, one should choose the "set meal" that suits their own taste, why follow the trend?
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