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Chinese version of "Coffee for use"

Published: 2026-08-25 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/25, The boss, Gao Wenqi, was worried when he looked at his small blackboard. The small blackboard, located next to the front desk of his fast food restaurant in Xi'an 's Meijiaqiao district, reads: "A total of 265 copies of suspended fast food have been subscribed, 63 have been taken, and 202 have been ready for use."

"ready-to-use fast food" means that customers who go to a restaurant buy one or two pieces of fast food in advance and store them in the store for other people in need. This small goodwill activity, formed spontaneously by ordinary people, can be traced back to the "coffee to be used" in Europe during World War II.

Chen Li, deputy director of the Shaanxi Provincial Public Security Bureau, forwarded a briefing on "suspended coffee" on Weibo in April 2013 and called for a "lunch box" to be launched in China. Two hours later, Gao Wenqi became the first respondent on Weibo.

Respond so quickly, because Gao Wenqi is no stranger to it. Gao Wenqi, 50, was born in Taiwan. When he was an eight-or nine-year-old child, he used to go to a wonton restaurant near his home with his mother. Once, a beggar passed by and asked the landlady for a bowl of wonton. seeing that the landlady was not very happy, her mother paid for a bowl and said to the landlady, "if there is an 'inconvenient person' in the future, you can give him a bowl and put it on my account. I'll pay you every week."

After that, Gao Wenqi sometimes checked out for his mother, and the landlady only charged NT $10 for a bowl of wonton at a 30% discount (cost price).

Is it possible to use fast food in mainland China? Gao Wenqi is not sure. However, he could not resist the desire to have a try. "I'm just here to see if it's true."

The normal price of Steamed Rice with Red-Cooked Pork's package is 16 yuan, but "the profits of the merchants cannot be taken into account." Gao Wenqi simply calculated the cost and the subscription price was set at 10 yuan. At noon on April 13, 2013, Gao Wenqi hung out a small blackboard at the door of the store, with the words: "We offer free fast food. Please come in and pick up your meal."

There will be subscribers soon, but most of the first few are media journalists. The concern of reporters is different from that of Gao Wenqi: who will supervise it?

Gao Wenqi was somewhat frustrated: why did he assume from the beginning that the store owner would do it well only under supervision?

The first user showed up the next day. An old man came to the shop after 10:00. The old man said that he had come here on purpose after reading the newspaper. "I just came to see if it was true." After taking one, the old man asked for two when he left. Gao Wenqi wanted to decline, but the old man said, "there are people who need help more than I do."

A few days before the start of ready-to-use fast food, Gao Wenqi's shop was full of people who read reports to try. They usually take a free meal and then subscribe for two or three.

However, the popularity of "ready-to-use fast food" has also brought consequences that Gao Wenqi did not expect.

Friends from all over the world called, "give me a bank account, I want to subscribe!" Some large catering companies require subscriptions ranging from 1000 to 5000.

Gao Wenqi does not understand that this is just a small "hands-on" righteous act, why does it look like an image project?

Two or three days later, his mind became clear. The restaurant owner, who graduated from the philosophy department of Taiwan's Fu Jen University, summed up his own eight-character spirit: neighborhood, respect, trust, and care. He only accepts subscriptions from customers who come to eat in the store in order to take care of people in need of help nearby. He also made the upper limit of subscription: 3 copies per person.

This rule is very difficult to obey. Some people come from afar and leave behind 100 yuan or 300 yuan. At first, Gao Wenqi was very surprised, but then he came up with an explanation: at present, the public welfare sector makes people lose confidence, and there is no outlet for compassion, so he has become an outlet. "such a simple thing. Where do you need any organization? "

The unused balance has gradually risen to more than 200, but there are very few users.

He still remembers that when an old man came to the store to pick up ready-to-use fast food, he insisted on showing Gao Wenqi a low guarantee and disability card: "I just want to prove that I didn't lie to you!" Gao Wenqi was so sad that he was speechless. "he doesn't believe that I really believe him." He found that no matter how much he expressed respect, users would inevitably feel inferior.

Over time, Gao Wenqi found that the small number of users may have something to do with the high end of the district where the fast food restaurant is located. So a volunteer friend offered an idea: to help patients and their families who come to see a doctor in Xi'an, the provincial capital. They printed leaflets and went to the hospital near the restaurant to promote them. The hospital thinks it's a good thing, but it's hard to do. One hospital even asked Gao Wenqi to sign a letter of responsibility, promising to bear all the consequences.

Seeing that the official channel did not work, the volunteers spoke verbally to the patients and their families in front of the hospital. Some people look confused and don't understand, while others shake their heads and don't believe, "have a free meal?" Don't trick us into buying medicine. "

What he is most uncomfortable with is this small charity, which takes individuals as the main body of participation. Is gradually becoming an organizational behavior. The logo of ready-to-use fast food was soon launched: a LOG0 with a red heart-shaped pattern, requiring participating merchants to hang it.

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