Chinese fried-rice vendor earns 50,000 yuan

A 19-year-old fried-rice vendor in Yantai, in eastern China’s Shandong province, has drawn wide online attention after videos showed him working a night-market stall in a dark suit rather than kitchen clothes. South China Morning Post reported on May 15 that the vendor, identified only by his surname Lu, said the business brings in about 50,000 yuan a month. Chinese media reports cited by aggregators said the attention began after local coverage on May 9 and spread further across social platforms in the following days. ### Who is the vendor at the center of the story? Lu is a 19-year-old stall operator who has been running the fried-rice business in Yantai since he was 17, according to South China Morning Post. The report said he has become the main support for his family and works the stall with help from his father, who prepares ingredients. (scmp.com) Yantai is the city named in multiple reports, including South China Morning Post and Chinese-language coverage carried by Tencent News and Sohu. Those reports identified him only as “Xiao Lu,” or Lu, rather than by a full given name. ### Why was he cooking in a suit? Lu told reporters he first put on a suit because he wanted to look more “decent,” according to Chinese-language reports summarized by Tencent News and Sohu. (scmp.com) South China Morning Post separately reported that he decided on a whim to wear a suit while cooking and kept the look as it drew attention online. (news.qq.com) Videos described in those reports show Lu flipping a wok, slicking back his hair, winking at the camera and using other stylized gestures while cooking. South China Morning Post said he also attached the hashtag “#sanjifriedrice” to his posts, referring to Sanji, the sharply dressed cook from the Japanese anime “One Piece.” (news.qq.com) ### How much money is he actually said to make? The headline figure attached to the story is 50,000 yuan a month, or about $7,400, as reported by South China Morning Post and repeated by other outlets. Chinese-language reports gave more detail, saying Lu claimed the stall sells at least 200 portions of fried rice a day at 10 yuan per portion. (scmp.com) A Douyin clip indexed in search results added a clarification from Lu after the income figure drew attention. In that clip summary, he said people should not misunderstand the 50,000-yuan number because it referred to sales generated by both him and his father together, and that profit after costs was closer to 20,000 yuan. (scmp.com) ### Why did some viewers question the numbers? Chinese reports published after the first wave of attention said some online viewers challenged whether the stall could produce enough meals during one evening shift to match the reported sales. One NetEase-circulated report said critics calculated that a 6 1/2-hour shift and a three-minute cooking time per portion would not easily reach more than 200 servings. (douyin.com) Lu responded, according to that same report and the Douyin result, that he does not cook every order one by one and can prepare two or three portions in a single wok during peak periods. He also said family members handle prep work and other tasks, allowing him to focus on cooking. ### How big did the online response become? South China Morning Post reported that Lu’s social-media account had amassed about 46,000 followers and 190,000 likes at the time of its May 15 story. (163.com) The report described the account as a place where he posted clips of his cooking routine and performance style. By May 17, the story had been picked up by outlets in Hong Kong, Singapore, India and elsewhere, extending the reach of the original Chinese posts and local reports. The next public trail is likely to remain on Lu’s social accounts and Chinese short-video platforms, where the cooking clips and follow-up responses were still being cited in media coverage through May 17. (mothership.sg) (scmp.com)