Street Rumble (though Richie still has me beat)

I would like to discuss where I’ve been getting dinner the most lately, and why last night I ate my chaomein and chaofan on the curb.

At many corners in China, you will find people with carts on the street corners. On these carts they have buckets of burning charcoal, a wok, and a wide array of meats and vegetables. At these street venders one can get fried rice, fried noodles, dumplings of many varieties, skewers of meat, and an assortment of other Chinese style foods. Although this sounds like an unreliable place to get clean meals, it is arguably as clean as any reasonably priced restaurant (at least in my experience). These vendors are not only convenient, but they are cheap. I get fried rice and fried noodles with beef and chicken for about 1 US Dollar. I can then take it back to my room and eat it while I get work done.

Anyway, Ben and I have gotten into the habit of going to the street vendors on our street. I always go to the same middle aged couple who makes my food with just the right amount of spices. Ben gets the same food from a couple on the sidewalk who makes it less spicy for him. Our respective venders have come to know our orders and when we want it, so they are very friendly to us, and we can have short Chinese conversations with them before leaving.

So last night, we went at our regular time to get dinner (about 9 pm). This is when the street vendors arrive out of nowhere, and are instantly set up to cook. However, upon arrival, a new street vendor with an especially oversized cart had parked in the spot of Ben’s couple. We looked at each other like “OHHH shit is going to hit the fan tonight”

The regular vendors arrived, and instantly Ben’s couple, we’ll call them Couple 1, begin asking the 4 young guys with the new cart (New Cart Hooligans) to move out of their spot of business. The New Cart Hooligans respond by yelling about how there is enough space on the street for everyone and they should just move over. This is unreasonable, because the police prohibit the vendors from completely blocking off the sidewalk. Couple 1 responds with this statement.

Meanwhile, I am getting my food from Couple 2. In the middle of cooking my noodles, Couple 1 and the New Cart Hooligans begin shouting and getting in each other’s faces. The wife from Couple 2 turns around and gets into the fight. This disturbs the process of the cooking of my noodles, so my guy forgets to put in the spice. I finally get my food and retreat to the corner. Ben and I have decided to buy something from Couple 1 because they deserve it- they were losing business during the altercation. However, before we could do so, I was treated to a show while I eat my food on the sidewalk.

The New Cart Hooligans insisted not to move. Couple 1 insisted that they did. The woman from the couple got shoved by a young Cart Hooligan. The man from the couple yelled in response and shoved back. The argument continued at high levels and such speeds that I could not even begin to pick up what was said anymore. It lasted long enough for me to finish my dinner and be amazed while the security guards, who weren’t even 2 feet away, did nothing to settle the issue.

What surprised me the most, though, was that the New Cart Hooligans were about my age. They absolutely refused to budge a few inches for the middle aged elders who work there every night. They pushed and shoved them. They pointed their fingers in their faces. Hilariously, it seemed like the regulars to the street vendors didn’t buy anything from the new cart. The loyally waited for Couple 1, or bought from other regulars. Ultimately, Couple 1 did business in an illegal way by cutting of the passage to the sidewalk. Fortunately, China doesn’t really care about traffic laws so wandering in the street is common practice.

Ben ordered his food, though the usual friendly banter was conspicuously absent from the clearly upset couple. We left the street at about 10:15.

Those vendors stay out there until about 1:30. I wonder if anything changed when business died down. At any rate, I’m excited to see if they New Cart is still there tonight.

Oh by the way, that creepy girl that is obsessed with me has totally entered the mild stalker category. I’d go into detail, but she might be watching...

...just kidding. Maybe.