Entering ChinaLess than five o’clock in the afternoon on Wednesday, in the queue of stalls at the north gate of the east area of the West China Campus of Sichuan University, a young man’s booth was particularly eye-catching, with no signboards and no advertisements, but it was crowded with people in the queue, and the queue turned an S-shaped bend at the intersection along the walking path.
In the crowd, diners are holding their mobile phones, some are taking pictures, some are introducing the “boss” to their companions, and as time goes by, the line is getting longer and longer, and there is no loosening at all.
In front of his stall, the simple small food truck on the left neatly placed with folded ear root, coriander, chili sauce, dried radish and other seasoning ingredients, and the stainless steel thermos bucket on the right is filled with steaming mashed potatoes.
Looking at the slightly green “boss” in front of you, it is hard for you to imagine that he was a graduate student in the Department of Public Health of Fudan University a year ago, and now he is living the life he wants.
There was a long queue in front of Fei Yu’s booth
01
The first experience of setting up a stall
On the first day, he was “educated” by 50 pounds of potatoes
Friends came out to help
Time back to March 10th, this is Fei Yu’s first day out of the stall, before setting up the stall, he warmed up on the social platform early, telling his classmates and friends that he was going to start setting up a stall. Although everyone’s support is very high, he still has no bottom in his heart, everything is full of hope and unknown, nervousness and expectation are intertwined in his heart.
At one o’clock in the afternoon, there was the sound of the brakes of the tricycle downstairs, and more than fifty catties of yellow and clear potato pieces were lying quietly in the sack, he took a deep breath, steadied his horse, grabbed the two corners of the sack tightly with both hands, exerted all his strength, gritted his teeth, and carried the heavy potatoes along the narrow and dim stairs to the third floor step by step.
After moving the potatoes into the house, he quickly began the busy production process. should be full of energy, but the reality poured a basin of cold water on him, more than 50 catties of potatoes are piled up in the corner, like a hill, but the pot at home is like a small horse-drawn cart to deal with them, and he has no choice but to steam them three times.
At the same time, the green onions, coriander, folded ear roots, and sour radishes on the board are also waiting for Fei Yu’s “pointing”. He held a kitchen knife in his hand, the blade fell briskly, the green onion instantly shattered into dots of green, the coriander exuded a unique aroma, the special taste of the folded ear root also spread, and the sour radish was cut into even small cubes, each piece was crystal clear.
After the potatoes were steamed until they were soft and glutinous, he hurriedly crushed the mashed potatoes with a wooden shovel, and then pureed them with a blender and put them into a thermos bucket.
Seeing that the time for the stall is imminent, there is less than an hour left, and the work at hand is scattered. Fei Yu was anxious, like a headless fly scurrying around the house, suddenly, he grabbed his mobile phone and called for help in the group of classmates: “Friends, I’m going to be ‘cool’, the rivers and lakes are in emergency!” ”
Fei Yu makes mashed potatoes at the stall
As soon as the news was issued, it was like a rallying cry. After a while, a few friends roared to the door on a shared bicycle, and as soon as they entered the door, they rolled up their sleeves and started to work without saying a word. Some people relay the stir-fry of the sauce and meat foam, and they are so spicy that they cough and don’t stop; Someone quickly cut the material, and the kitchen knife struck on the board. Everyone, you bump me, I touch you, you are in a hurry, and the whole kitchen is a mess, like playing the realistic version of “Break Up Kitchen”. After a busy day, several people finally pushed the food truck to the stall at the planned time to start this unknown journey of setting up a stall.
“Among the people who came to support me on the first day, there were many acquaintances, and many classmates came to tie them up for me after reading my post, and they sold out all the mashed potatoes in more than an hour, with a turnover of more than 700 yuan.” Recalling the scene of setting up the stall on the first day, Fei Yu had a smile on his face.
Fei Yu makes mashed potatoes at the stall
02
Face your heart
Ignore the worldly vision and do what you want
A year ago, Fei Yu was a graduate student in the Department of Public Health at Fudan University, and in the eyes of everyone, the future was bright. But one day in February 2024, he decided to put a hard brake on his life, and he decided to drop out of school. “I want to live my life differently.”
During the year of being unemployed at home, Fei Yu fell into thinking about the future and kept asking himself what he really wanted. At this time, the idea of setting up a stall quietly emerged. He remembered the days when Kong Ming lanterns and hydrogen balloons were sold, although they were simple, they were full of happiness. In his sophomore year, he devoted himself to phone card sales, and with his excellent communication skills and sales strategy, he won the title of sales champion in one fell swoop. These past bits and pieces, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, piece together a clear understanding of his professional suitability – it turns out that he is more suitable to show his strength in the field of sales.
The road to setting up a stall was not entirely smooth, and the biggest obstacle came from his parents, “They feel that it is a pity that they have read so many books and put in so much effort, and now they choose to set up a stall.” Of course, more pressure comes from the world’s eyes, “parents will feel a little embarrassed in front of relatives and friends.” Although he verbally objected, Fei Yu’s strong insistence made the second elder feel that maybe he could also let him break through.
“You see, it turns out that my choice is pretty good.” Fei Yu said that since he officially set up his stall on March 10, his influence on social platforms has increased day by day, and now he has formed two fan groups. One group has long been full of 500 members, and the number of members in the other group is growing rapidly, now approaching 400. According to Fei Yu, the vast majority of the group are his alumni. The most important thing these enthusiastic fans care about every day is whether he will go out of the stall that day, and if so, where will he “open”. Everyone was looking forward to saying hello to him in front of the booth and cheering him on.
Of course, Fei Yu also has his own little secrets, he admitted frankly that when he shared his experience of dropping out of school and setting up a stall on social platforms, he deliberately blocked the teachers. Although he never regretted the decision to drop out of school and set up a stall, deep down he was still afraid of disappointing his teacher’s expectations and disappointing his former teacher.
Fei Yu’s experience caused a lot of shock on the Internet, and many people sent messages one after another. They confide that they are in a similar predicament, longing for change, but are held back by a lack of courage.
Everyone praised Fei Yu for his courage and daring to make choices that they didn’t dare to make. In reality, Fei Yu is also using his own actions to convey his heart to those confused friends in the comment area and private messages: you must muster up courage, face your heart, and ask yourself what you want. Once you have a clear direction, you should make bold choices, make bold changes, bravely step out of your comfort zone, stop running away, and take the initiative to meet new challenges in life. Only by facing oneself can we start a different and wonderful life.
