You can learn everything you need to know about someone by giving them the Proust Questionnaire. Or at least that’s what Proust said – seems legit. In our new series Getting Moderately Deep With…, we ask a food vendor tough questions. Well, sort-of tough. This month: Song Shiming, a dude selling lüdagun (a traditional Beijing gummy candy) on a street corner near Gui Jie.
When we approach, Song is wearing Ugg boots, and something that is either a quirky hat or a cloth napkin wrapped around his head. He is shouting, incredibly loudly, at passersby about his lüdagun. At first he is reluctant to talk to us, but then we offer to buy some candy, and the interview commences.
What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up this morning?
Going out to make money.
What is your most precious possession?
My food cart.
Who is your hero?
Lei Feng.
What makes you laugh?
Jokes.
Right. When and where are you happiest?
At home eating.
What era of Beijing’s history would you most like to have lived in?
During the Cultural Revolution.
Who is the person you most admire?
Mao Zedong.
What’s your idea of the perfect day?
A peaceful day is the best day.
Who’s your best customer?
I have too many great customers to count.
Who’s your worst customer?
I basically don’t have any bad customers because the stuff I sell attracts good people.
OK. What is your greatest success?
Living until today.
If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be and why?
I would travel to the ends of the earth.
What is the quality you most value in a person?
Honesty and uprightness.
What do you most dislike in a person?
Speaking foolishly or without purpose.
What talent would you most like to have?
Financial talent.
What is your personal motto?
You have to work for each day you live, until you have no more days to live.
What is the most surprising thing that has happened to you?
Finding the love of my life.
Find Song at the corner of Dongzhimen Nei Dajie and Cangjia Lu. Hours vary... a lot. Follow the shouts.
Photo by Holly Li
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