Shapowei Cafe in Xiamen, which is self-sufficient.

Morning Post reporter Liang Kaihong

Weibo, April 2 (Xinhua) according to the Hercynian Morning Post, "whether you come or not, the master may not be here; you can come whether the master is here or not." This is the word on the small blackboard in front of a shop at No. 19 Shapowei University Road. Nearby residents told reporters that this is an unattended free coffee shop, and whether to give money after consumption depends on self-consciousness. The boss is not in the shop on weekdays, and when he appears, he is also "invisible". When you come here, you are the owner here. Hearing the description of the residents, the reporter was skeptical and decided to go to the mysterious coffee shop to find out.

No one looks after the store to be self-sufficient

Walking into the inconspicuous small wooden door "nest" shop in the arcade on the university road, I saw a puppy squatting in front of the door to "watch the store". More than a dozen framed photos taken by professional cameramen hang on the white walls on both sides. All kinds of novel and strange old objects are placed neatly or staggered in every corner. The seven guestbooks on a small table are full of tourists' feelings after coming here. In the middle of the corridor, there is a teahouse of less than 1 square meter hidden in the recess of the wall, with simple tea tables, chairs and tea sets, which can hold 2-3 people. At the end of the 15-meter corridor is a larger teahouse that can hold more than a dozen people.

But look around, there are no cashiers, waiters, only consumers.

"come and have some tea!" When they came to the second floor, two women who were eating melon seeds while making tea greeted the reporter. "as a matter of fact, we are also tourists here. There is no owner in this shop, so we all have to do it ourselves." They said, here is very free, but also a test of everyone's quality, we will bring our own food to the store, after eating, the rest will stay in the store, but also pay some money.

The reporter saw in the guestbook that many tourists, passing by the "nest" store, were shocked and left a message here. "Great looming in the nest, urban utopia." "Tea on the first floor and coffee on the second floor are all free. a lot of things are put here by all kinds of friends themselves. I fell in love with it."

Create a free way of consumption

Subsequently, the reporter dialed the phone number left by the shop owner Shao Yeh on the small blackboard, and the owner enthusiastically came to accept the interview.

"We like to make a wide range of friends and don't like a formal environment. I believe many people do the same. Creating such a free leisure place for people to drink coffee, drink tea, be in a daze, chat, and read books for free is an attempt to put our ideas into action. " Shao Ye, one of the three partners in the Nest store, said that a place that needs to pay will naturally have services, and people will become unnatural and unfree.

As a result, he and two other like-minded friends, "Master" and Libin, invested together to open this eye-popping store. "We have no products or services, and the guests are the hosts here." "Master" said.

At first, they rented the three-story storefront with a monthly rent of 5000 yuan, went to the secondhand market to look for goods, went to the demolished house to pick up old things, and three people decorated together. "Coffee machines, picture frames and other objects are sponsored by friends."

Shao Ye said that the reason why he chose to open such a store in Xiamen is that Xiamen has civilized soil and the quality of its citizens is relatively high. "here, I say confidently that this kind of civilization can be promoted by us. Why not spend some money to benefit more people and enjoy this civilized atmosphere?"

There is no less but more things in the store.

If no one looks at the store, are you not afraid that things will be lost or damaged? Shao Ye said that since the store opened in June last year, there have been more and more things in the store. Tea, coffee beans, snacks and so on are all left by guests at the "nest" store, and some people even bring things specially when they come for the second time.

There is a nest box in the "nest" store, and many people put money into it. Shao Ye said: "1 yuan is the majority, and occasionally there are 100 yuan."

In view of the occasional uncivilized phenomenon in the store, the owner of the "nest" uses a more gentle way to remind. For example, many interesting slogans were posted in the store. "three drinks do not enter the nest" is to remind everyone not to enter the store after drinking or getting drunk. There are also slogans such as "drink tea freely, clean up casually; words are cool and come and go freely" and "it is better when you leave than when you come" and so on. Shao Ye said that here, most of the guests are more self-conscious and will remind each other to pack up before leaving.

Shao Ye also told reporters that at present, more than 300 people have keys to the store and can come and go freely.

Source: Taiwan Strait Network (Xiamen)