奇速英语

After the lunchtime rush, it’s time for the food delivery (递送) drivers to eat.

Liu Lijie, halfway through a 13-hour workday, usually rides to a restaurant in Beijing for his favorite choice—mutton noodle soup, for 12 yuan, 6 yuan cheaper than the regular price.

The reduced-price meals, known as aixincan or loving meals, are available at some restaurants in large cities, home to large populations of migrant workers (农民工) who come looking for jobs.

“There is a lot of pressure in life since I came to Beijing to work, so eating aixincan is both cheap and convenient,” says 40-year-old Liu, who arrived in Beijing two years ago from Shanxi province. In order to get back earlier to make money, he digs into his meal hurriedly at the Yushiji Restaurant.

Luo Shuai, another delivery driver, learned of Yushiji’s aixincan through his workmates and has since become a daily customer at the restaurant, which serves food from his native (本地的) Henan province.

“It reminds me of my hometown,” says 27-year-old Luo, who moved to Beijing at the end of last year.

Feng Yong, the 43-year-old manager of a meat pie restaurant, spends much of his day making pies. He says the restaurant began serving aixincan to help people in need and inspire others to do the same. As a Shandong province native who moved to Beijing more than 20 years ago, Feng says he has a deep understanding of being an outsider working in a new city.

The key, he says, is to avoid any embarrassment for customers who are in need. The staff do what they can to offer help and don’t ask any private things of the customers.

“We don’t refuse them anything, just as long as they’re full,” Feng says.