A Rat in My Soup

Iroquois Ridge High School

Assembled by Jeff Boulton

The International Business Case Study Series

A Rat in my Soup

Looking for the best-tasting rodent in town.

By peter hessler

―D o yo u w a n t a b i ra t o r a sm a l ra t? ‖ th e w a i ss g l tre asked. I was getting used to making difficult decisions in Luogang, a small vil g e i so u th e rn C h i a ‘ la n n s G u a n g d o n g P ro vi ce . I‘ co m e h e re o n a whim, having n d heard that Luogang had a famous restaurant that specialized in the preparation of rats. Upon arrival, however, I discovered that there were two celebrated restaurants— the Highest Ranking Wild Flavour Restaurant and the New Eight Sceneries Wild Flavour Food City. They were next door to each other, and they had virtually identical bamboo-and-wood decors. Moreover, their owners were both named Zhong— but, then everybody in Luogang seemed to be named Zhong. The two Zhongs were not related, and competition between them was keen. As a foreign j u rn a lst, I‘ b e e n ca j l d to such an extent that, in an o i d oe effort to please both Zhongs, I agreed to eat two lunches, one at each restaurant. Te waitress at the Highest Ranking Wild Flavour Restaurant, who was also named Zhong in Chinese, it m e a n s ―b e l‖), a ske d a g a i , ―D o you want a big rat or a l n sm a l ra t? ‖ l ―W h a t‘ th e d i re n ce ? ‖ I sa i . s ffe d ―T h e b i ra ts e a t g ra ss ste m s, a n d th e sm a l o n e s g l e a t fru i t.‖ I tri d a m o re d i ct ta ck. ―W h i ta ste s b e tte r? ‖ e re ch ―B o th o f th e m ta ste g o o d : ―Which do you recommend?‖ ‖E i e r o n e :‖ th I glanced at the table next to mine. Two parents, a grandmother, and a little boy were having lunch. The boy was gnawing on a rat dru m sti I co u l n ‘ te l i th e ck. d t lf drumstick had belonged to a big rat or a small rat. The boy ate quickly. It was a warm afternoon. The sun was sh i i g . I m a d e m y d e ci o n . ―S m a l ra t,‖ I sa i . nn si l d The Chinese say...