Online fame gobsmacks Beijing universities' beloved roast goose leg auntie
The sudden fame garnered through social media exposure has boosted the business of a 54-year-old woman, known as the "roasted goose leg auntie," who sells the treat at Beijing's top universities. But, it has had a flipside as the online accolades have been overwhelming, forcing her to stop the business temporarily.
The woman surnamed Chen has been making roasted goose leg for seven years on the street for students of Peking University and Tsinghua University, as well as those from other schools in the city's Haidian District.
Students gather around the auntie, surnamed Chen, to pick up their goose leg orders.
Chen's recent Internet fame began with posts of students from Peking University queuing to get roast goose leg late at night.
Students wait in line to get their goose leg orders.
Due to high demand for the delicious treat, priced at 16 yuan (US$2.24), Chen had to launch a WeChat group to receive orders from students – 16 WeChat groups were started for students from Renmin University of China alone.
Students from Tsinghua and Peking universities, who also wanted to get their hands on the limited grilled treat, had to figure out ways to outsmart each other. Last week, one student Xiaoyu from Tsinghua infiltrated many Peking University WeChat groups.
Still, Xiaoyu was one step slower.
The frenzied order-placing could be compared to those in livestreaming rooms, for every WeChat group had a limit of 20 orders each day. The messages all read "please take my money, auntie, I'm begging you." However, what most of them ended up with was not the the coveted goose leg but a refund.
The coveted roasted goose leg
Chen can prepare about 200 roast goose legs a day with the help of her husband Liang. She is considering renting a place to expand her business, but still wonders whether that will overly exert the pair.
Auntie Chen and her husband Liang.
Last week, she messaged her clients in the WeChat groups saying that the attention she had garnered would likely pass soon. But she was under a lot of pressure and scared by the amount of people who gather around her at night.
Before she halted her business, Chen used to deliver the grilled legs in insulation boxes to students who had placed orders through WeChat.
The online fame not only brought her more clients, but also scouts from the livestreaming and e-commerce industry, who reached out to Chen, hoping to cash in on her popularity.
Livestreamers gather around Chen to cash in on her fame.
Already accounts have been set up under Chen's name, using her photos and personal info without her consent. To avoid the public being misled, her son drove from Hangzhou, where he works, to Beijing to set up an account for her on Douyin (Chinese version of TikTok).
"The exposure and attention might overwhelm my aged parents. They can only make so many goose legs in a day, there's really little we can do about it. They only want to continue running the small business," the son said in an interview with Hongxing News.
Fake accounts set up on Douyin with Chen's nickname.
Hailing from Lianyungang City in east China's Jiangsu Province, Chen and her husband moved to Beijing in 2000 and started selling fruits for a living at Peking University, where she was allowed to set up a stall on campus.
"I adore the students from Peking University. They have good manners. Some of them even gave me gloves to keep my hands warm in winter. I also got umbrellas and raincoats from students on rainy days. They are another reason why I have stayed near the university all these years," Chen explained.
Later, the couple decided to try their hand at selling grilled food. They learned to make the grilled food from scratch, and their roasted goose leg stood out.
In 2016, the couple decided to just make goose leg. Since then, they have been getting up almost everyday at 7am to prepare the goose legs. The legs need to be washed, cut, marinated, and finally grilled.
Using a wooden barbeque grill, the couple can make about 30 legs in one batch, 200 at most in a day. Many have tried to talk her into expanding the business through online channels or work with livestreamers, but Chen insists that she wants to do everything by herself, so that she can control the quality of her food.
"I just wish to resume my business soon. Both of my sons are unmarried, I could help them financially through the only thing that I can do well, which is to make and sell roasted goose legs," she said.
Last week, Chen messaged her student clients, promising them to be back soon with her goose legs.
