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Xi'erqi, an area where many Internet giants gather, is the most famous gathering place for programmers in Beijing. In the past few days, a large number of diners suddenly poured in from all directions. They went straight to an inconspicuous hot pot restaurant.

On August 10, Shandong native Luan Liuwei bravely rescued three children who fell into the water in Hebei, but unfortunately drowned due to exhaustion. On August 21, Luan Liuwei returned to his hometown and was buried in the Martyrs Cemetery in Ningyang County, Tai'an City, and was posthumously awarded the honorary title of "Ningyang Model in the New Era". Before his death, this hero and his wife ran an old Beijing lamb rib hot pot restaurant in Xi'erqi, Beijing. After his heroic deeds were widely spread, the hot pot restaurant attracted many diners and received high attention online.

On August 24 and 25, the New Yellow River reporter found on the scene for two consecutive days that just after 10 o'clock in the morning, customers began to line up in front of the hot pot restaurant. Some customers chose to come again in the afternoon because they could not get a number for noon. Even so, most people still could not get a chance to eat. Many diners told reporters that they learned about Luan Liuwei's heroic deeds on the Internet and were deeply moved by him. Some people came to dine in this way to support his store and express their remembrance and tribute to the hero; some people wanted to "stuff money" and leave directly to do their best. What's more, some people came from Hebei and other places, hoping to help in the store. There are also netizens from Suzhou, Inner Mongolia and other places. Due to the shortage of tables, several strangers shared a table to eat a hot pot meal. After setting up the group, they hurriedly went their separate ways and said that they would always pay attention to Luan Liuwei's family and hope that they can be well taken care of.

In just a few days, this hot pot restaurant in Beijing Xi'erqi, which has been open for less than half a year, has gathered warm energy from all over the country.

“Such an interesting soul”

"Such an interesting soul, rest in peace, hero." This was a message left by a netizen on Luan Liuwei's short video account recently.

"What is Luan Liuwei's personality like? What is he like in normal times?"... Faced with inquiries from the media and customers, the staff who have been busy at the hot pot restaurant suggested that everyone check out Luan Liuwei's short video account before his death, "He is usually like that, that is the real him." A search by the New Yellow River reporter found that a total of 59 works were displayed on this short video account named "Luan Liuwei", most of which were funny talent videos of Luan Liuwei and his employees in previous stores. Occasionally, netizens left messages to tease his "poor" talent, and he replied self-deprecatingly that he was "shy." There are also several videos of him interacting and playing with his daughter, and the scenes are very warm. One of them set the topic "Be crazy with you, make trouble with you, and grow up with you." Now, people keep leaving messages: "Come back and reshoot."

Network screenshots

Luan Liuwei, 41, was from the town of Ningyang County, Tai'an City, Shandong Province. He worked hard in Beijing for many years. Before taking over this hot pot restaurant, he also worked in other catering businesses. Because his previous store was demolished, he started to run this hot pot restaurant in Xi'erqi in April this year. He and his wife jointly managed the store. At most, there were six or seven employees in the store.

"We haven't talked about any big dreams. His wish is definitely to make everyone better." Sister Lu, an employee of the hot pot restaurant, told the New Yellow River reporter that she has been following Luan Liuwei for seven years and they know each other very well. Luan Liuwei usually doesn't act like a boss. He is willing to take the initiative to help anyone who has difficulties. When a fellow villager's child was diagnosed with leukemia, he took the initiative to organize donations. When the family of a hot pot restaurant employee suddenly fell ill, he ran around to accompany them to see a doctor. What he "talks about" most all day are his two daughters. I remember Luan Liuwei said that he hopes his children are happy and healthy, and he thinks "very openly" about life.

The signboard signed by Luan Liuwei in the store

At the same time, the little things told by others further portray the image of this good man from Shandong. A sanitation worker nearby recalled to the New Yellow River reporter, "They just moved in in April this year, and he came to the store almost every day. Several times he took the initiative to leave the waste for me, not saying it was a gift to me, but asking me to help clean it up." The restaurant staff next to the hot pot restaurant also revealed that Luan Liuwei was a very diligent and optimistic person, always coming to their restaurant early for breakfast. When the hot pot restaurant was not doing well in the early days of its opening, he would joke, "Today is a waste."

Hotpot restaurant gathering: Come for the heroes

Luan Liuwei's hot pot restaurant covers an area of ​​about 200 square meters, with 15 or 16 tables in the dining area and 4 or 5 private rooms. "Now the daily turnover may be tens of thousands (yuan), which is very high." A staff member of a nearby restaurant revealed that some people started to come to Luan Liuwei's hot pot restaurant on August 22, and there were sporadic queues. In the past two days, there are many more people than before.

Notice posted at the store entrance

On August 24 and 25, the reporter from New Yellow River saw a long queue in front of the hot pot restaurant during the peak dining period. Although the staff repeatedly said that the ingredients were sold out and advised people not to wait, there was still an endless stream of customers queuing up, leaving one group after another. Some of them came from other places, and some were nearby residents, all hoping to express their respect for Luan Liuwei in the most direct way.

The reporter learned from the customers in line that two customers came from Suzhou and Inner Mongolia after hearing about Luan Liuwei's deeds. As they could not get a number, they finally shared a table with another customer. They added each other on WeChat and planned to continue to pay attention to the life of Luan Liuwei's family in the future. There were also two elderly people who came from Gu'an County, Hebei Province. Because they had worked in the catering industry, they wanted to volunteer in the store and help the hot pot restaurant for free, but they were rejected by the hot pot restaurant in the end.

Another person who impressed the reporter was an 80-year-old man who came to eat with his children. He said that his original intention of coming was "not to let the hero bleed and cry, and to support his family as much as I can." Among the many people in line, a mother and daughter waited for nearly three hours before entering the hot pot restaurant. The parent told the reporter that she hoped that this way, her children would personally feel the positive energy of society. "I told my children that if they encounter something that they can help, they should boldly help, as long as they think it is right."

There were also deliverymen at the scene who kept stopping to talk. They told reporters that since the hot pot restaurant was newly opened, it had not yet been listed on the food delivery platform, and they had not taken any orders from this restaurant. They just heard about it and stopped to take a look.

Luan Liuwei's hot pot restaurant is a franchise store. The person in charge of the brand also told the New Yellow River reporter that the company will waive all fees that can be waived for the store. There are indeed many people now, and staff have been sent to support the store operations. "They are all our brother's stores. For the company, we don't want to rely on this kind of traffic. We just want to fully assist this store and help them get through this difficult time."

“Come and eat is the greatest support”

Mr. Liu, who also opened a store nearby, told the New Yellow River reporter that when Luan Liuwei's hot pot restaurant was crowded for the first one or two days, in addition to customers waiting in line to eat, there were also many people in front of the store holding their phones to take pictures. Some elderly people nearby were not used to this and expressed dissatisfaction. But now the situation is much better, everyone is queuing quietly, "Opening the door for business, eating in the store is helping."

The hot pot restaurant is a street-side restaurant, right next to Xi'erqi Street, with a constant flow of people and vehicles. Netizens kept coming, and some were warned by the traffic police who came to maintain order because of illegal parking. At the same time, the traffic police also reminded the store staff to maintain order and not affect the passage of people and vehicles.

Over the past few days, there have been many cases of people giving condolence money directly, ranging from a few hundred yuan to thousands of yuan. Ms. Lu from the hot pot restaurant said that people have been coming to "stuff money" every day these days. Some people threw money at the door of the store and ran away, and the staff had to chase them for a distance before returning the money. The staff also told the New Yellow River reporter that "the boss lady has already explained that she will not accept money from others, nor will she accept other things. Everyone coming to eat is the greatest support."

Some diners at the scene expressed confusion about the "stuffing money" behavior and complained to the reporter that coming to eat or even eating more times is a way to support the hot pot restaurant, and giving money directly is not appropriate. Especially when the clerk has to chase them out to return it, it is a waste of time and has no practical significance, and even seems to be a "show". However, the New Yellow River reporter noticed that the customers who gave money usually wanted to leave immediately after stuffing the money, and there was no follow-up filming or self-filming.

The New Yellow River reporter also noticed that although Luan Liuwei's hot pot restaurant remains popular on the Internet, a search on a live broadcast platform found that apart from a few official media outlets broadcasting live, there were no online anchor accounts broadcasting live in front of Luan Liuwei's hot pot restaurant. On the contrary, on Dianping.com, after the news of Luan Liuwei's sacrifice in saving people spread, many netizens and customers left messages of support under the store reviews in the past two days. As of 21:00 on August 25, the store had received more than 2,400 comments. One netizen left a message under the store saying, "I arrived at the store last night, but because it was so popular, the ingredients were sold out that day. I saw many people coming in one after another, but they also didn't get to eat. Some took photos and checked in as souvenirs, some left money and ran away, and some said they would not bother them today, they just came to take a look and come back in a few days."

As the night wore on, the restaurant fell silent. The diners gradually left, running in all directions. Tomorrow, this place will be crowded with people again, writing more heartwarming stories. As the diners in line said, the heat here may eventually fade away, but the stories left by the heroes will be remembered forever.

Reporter: Wang Likui Editor: Zhou Quan Photographer: Wang Likui Proofreader: Gao Xin