A street vendor has become China’s latest internet sensation over the last week.
His name is Li Junyong (李俊勇), a 48-year-old owner of a stall selling 6-yuan friend chicken cutlets in Jingdezhen (景德镇) in Jiangxi Province.
Li hit top trending lists on social media as “Chicken Cutlet Brother” (鸡排哥) after one of his customers posted a short video of him serving chicken at his stall on Douyin.
In the video, Li moves at high speed, skilfully preparing chicken cutlets over his wok, taking multiple orders from customers in quick succession, all while cracking jokes with them.
Li works with the intensity of someone running a serious operation, saying:
“Don’t waste your youth waiting for chicken chops.
But my chops are worth the wait.”
你们别把青春耗在等鸡排上，但我的鸡排值得等。
The video quickly went viral.
It clocked up over 2 million likes within hours of posting. And in the following few days, social media posts related to Chicken Cutlet Brother surpassed 2 billion views.
Following his new-found online fame, Li opened his own Douyin account. He gained nearly 400,000 followers with just 8 videos, with one video getting over 700,000 likes.
What makes him so compelling is his uniquely warm and intense customer service.
And how he prioritises students over other customers.
Li sells his fried chicken cutlets near a local middle school in Jingdezhen.
From 4pm every weekday he serves only students as they come out of the school. He charges them one yuan less than other customers (so five yuan instead of six), and insists on serving all students before he allows other punters to buy.
His colourful sayings have become viral memes, like:
“You can refuse me, but please don’t refuse deliciousness.”
你可以拒绝我，但是请你不要拒绝美味
And:
“If you don’t eat the chicken immediately it’s no longer crispy.
So I will stop selling it to you!”
如果不及时吃，导致鸡排不脆，我将停止对你的售卖
The widespread attention online and has drawn crowds of customers offline too.
Queues of people hundreds of metres long have been seen patiently waiting in line to taste one of his crispy chicken chops.
Related
Li Junyong has been operating his stall in Jinghdezhen for over 20 years with just a tricycle and an iron wok.
He works 16-hour days. Li starts at 6am selling traditional meat wraps (肉夹馍), sometimes known as “Chinese burgers”. Then he heads over to the middle school at around midday to start selling chicken cutlets until 10pm.
Chicken Cutlet Brother’s rise to fame reflects a bigger issue in China’s food industry right now.
Major restaurant brands are facing criticism over high prices, low quality, and substandard service. A recent example is high-end restaurant chain Xibei (西贝), which came under fire just last week for selling high-priced ready-made meals.
And that’s why “Chicken Cutlet Brother” has struck a chord with so many people.
Not just for the delicious food he serves, but for something much more elusive, which is missing for so many customers when they eat out:
“A six-yuan chicken chop delivers 600 yuan worth of emotional value.”
6元的鸡排，600元的情绪价值。
Li is the chef, the waitstaff, and an entertainer. Whereas the likes of Xibei appear to be prioritising profit margins over customer experience.
In addition to his online name, “Chicken Cutlet Brother (鸡排哥), Li has been given another nickname using a popular internet slang phrase:
“Chicken Cutlet Curator” (鸡排主理人).
The three-character phrase “curator” (主理人)—which can also be translated as “manager” or “operator”—is an internet slang term which gained popularity at the end of 2024.
The term normally refers to professional content creators or brand managers who produce polished, scripted short video content to promote brands on social media.
But there’s an irony in this context: Chicken Cutlet Curator has turned that concept on its head.
This “curator” has no polish or filtered gloss.
No script or brand endorsements.
No high quality production.
Just authentic, entertaining, down-to-earth service, and great-tasting, cheap, crispy chicken.
So that’s what we’re discussing this week!
Favourite Five
1. 素人 sù rén
ordinary person, amateur
每次素人爆火，都有人问 “ 是不是平台在推 ”？ - Everytime when certain ordinary people become famous on the internet, some would question if it’s the algorithm that creates these stars. [3]
Related:
顶流 dǐng liú – top celebrity, most popular star
2. 主理人 zhǔ lǐ rén
brand curator
最近，景德镇有个卖鸡排的大哥突然爆火，还被广大网友封为“鸡排主理人” - Recently, a man selling fried chicken in Jingdezhen suddenly went viral and was even dubbed the “chicken chop curator” by netizens. [3]
More: Check out tomorrow’s Sinica Phrase of the Week for more on this trending internet phrase.
3. 烟火气 yān huǒ qì
flavour of everyday life
满屏扑面而来的都是烟火气 - You can sense the warmth of everyday life even on the other side of the screen. [1]
Related:
不食人间烟火 bù shí rén jiān yān huǒ - detached from reality, otherworldly
4. 情绪价值 qíng xù jià zhí
emotional value
6块钱的鸡排，吃出60块钱的情绪价值，600块钱的服务质量 - A 6-yuan chicken chop delivers 60 yuan worth of emotional value and 600 yuan worth of service. [2]
5. 童叟无欺 tóng sǒu wú qī
fair to all, honest business
历来做生意都是如此，“商无信不言”“童叟无欺” - Business has always been built on the same foundation: without trust there can be no trade, and fairness means cheating neither the young nor the old. [1]
🎧RTM Podcast Preview
This week on the RTM Advanced podcast, we explain common three-character phrases which came up in discussions about Chicken Cutlet Brother.
They can all mean “authentic”.
“Flavour of everyday life” (烟火气)
“Human touch” (人情味)
“Down-to-earth” (接地气)
“Authentically human” (活人感)
Tune in at 6 minutes where we break down what they mean…
How native speakers use them…
And how you can use them in real conversations right now and show off your amazing Chinese!
Consuming the Conversation
💡 Ready to get inspired to bridge the gap to real-world fluency? 💡
In every RTM Advanced post you unlock content and tools to inspire you, and help you get fluent.
So, ready to finally get started and wave good bye to that nagging rusty feeling?
Let’s jump in👇
Useful words
6. 活络 huó luò
sociable, lively
“鸡排哥”用他的活络、积极与自得，为小摊小贩的世界建立了另一套叙事体系 - With his social charm, upbeat energy, and self-assured presence, “Chicken Chop Brother” has reshaped the story of what it means to be a street vendor. [1]
7. 青睐 qīng lài
favour, preference
对西贝的抵触，以及对“鸡排哥”的青睐，看起来是反现代的社会情绪，但本质上或许恰恰是一次预警信号 - The rejection of Xibei and the preference for “Chicken Chop Brother” might seem to go against our modern instinct, but it in fact sends out a warning. [1]
8. 吆喝 yāo he
to call out, to hawk (goods)
大多数人只想回到人群、自然和吆喝声中，体验真正的人间烟火 - What most people want is to feel the pulse of daily life among nature, the open streets, and the vendors’ cries. [1]
Related:
唠嗑 lào kē - to chat, to have a casual talk
9. 拉满 lā mǎn
maxed out, filled to the fullest
顾客在排队等待时被重视、被细腻关照，情绪价值拉满 - Customers waiting in line feel valued and attentively cared for, which makes this experience emotionally rewarding. [2]
10. 扎堆 zhā duī
to gather together, to swarm
全国各地网友扎堆来打卡，摊位门口排起长长的队 - People from all over the country formed a long line at the stall entrance, as they were desperate to experience it themselves. [4]
