The barista in this store in Zhoushan can't hear the sound but can talk to the coffee beans.

Culvert storefront

Life is like a cup of coffee, it is bitter. If you want to live a sweet life, you must do it yourself and add some sugar cubes.

Han she, a cafe near the pedestrian street in Lincheng, Zhoushan, on a warm afternoon, the editor passed by, pushed open the door, and unexpectedly walked into a silent world.

The four baristas in the store are all deaf, and their entrepreneurial dreams bring them together. Last summer, with the help of Sun Le, a Zhoushan native who is engaged in public welfare, the dream of four silent boys officially set sail and the coffee shop opened.

When ordering a meal, a pen and a piece of paper become a bridge between customers and shop assistants. This is the first silent coffee shop in the island city, and perhaps the quietest coffee shop in Zhoushan. Every weekend, it is also the first place for the deaf to gather.

Here, you can participate in book donation activities, share books and share love.

If you go alone, you don't have to worry about boredom in this silent world. In the two-story shop, several large bookshelves are placed on the side of the wall, with various types of books neatly placed above.

Chinese and foreign literature, society, children's picture books. These thousands of books are donated by caring people. In this quiet environment, tasting a cup of coffee and reading a good book, time slows down with the peace of mind.

The books in Hanshe Book Bar range from 0 to 30,000, all donated by caring people.

Near the bar, several sign language teaching pictures are posted, and friends who are interested in sign language can learn some basic sign language movements while waiting for coffee.

Sign language teaching pictures are posted on the bar.

Brewing coffee, milking fresh milk, dripping chocolate sauce, making flowers. After the guest ordered, the barista Ludan became busy. After careful polishing, cups of carefully prepared drinks came out.

A qualified barista needs to have five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Deaf people have less "hearing", but when making coffee, "hearing" can be made up for by other advantages. Because they can't hear this noisy world, their hearts are very quiet, their sense of taste is very sensitive, and they are more focused on doing things.

Barista Ludan

Ludan told the editor through words that he graduated from Ningbo Deaf-mute School and encountered a lot of small problems due to inconvenient communication after work, and he had been unemployed for a long time. "it's interesting to be able to make coffee here, meet all kinds of people and sell products to different people." In this small storefront, Ludan learned the technology of making coffee and gained experience in production and management.

The small corner on the second floor of the culvert, carefully arranged, is a place for public welfare organizations to hold meetings and exchange.

Speaking of being able to start a business in Silent Coffee, Ludan mentioned to thank one person, that is, Sun Le.

Sun Le, a native of Putuo in Zhoushan, has been engaged in public welfare for many years. In July last year, Sun Le came up with the idea of using coffee as a medium to let society accept the deaf through coffee. He used the culvert as a platform to provide coffee business premises and equipment free of charge, and helped four boys apply for entrepreneurial subsidy funds for the disabled. Created this deaf barista program.

The second floor of Hanshe is Sun Le's public welfare platform.

The public area on the second floor of the building is a place for public welfare organizations to hold meetings and exchange.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Sun Le believes that most of the traditional public welfare is based on activities such as helping the elderly, poverty alleviation, and helping orphans, while the new public welfare does not engage in such activities, but strives to fundamentally solve social problems and improve social conditions. For example, this deaf barista project aims to meet the psychological needs and employment needs of the deaf, let them go to the professional field, rely on themselves to create value, and get social recognition.

The old photo posted near the bar is a souvenir of the first training course for deaf baristas.

This is a cafe, a book bar, a platform for exchanges between people in the public welfare field and enthusiastic people in Zhoushan, and Sun Le's "public welfare incubation base".

"I hope to use market-oriented means to help the development of public welfare and rationally guide love." Sun Le said.