Coffee, bread, and dumplings are all you can eat and drink, but if you don’t read this article, you don’t know why I brought them together.
In a coffee shop in Los Angeles, the United States, there is a peculiar way of operating: someone came here alone, but said to the waiter: “Bring two cups of coffee, and one cup on the wall.” Then, the waiter brought him a cup. coffee. When he checked out, he paid for two cups. After the person left, the waiter immediately stuck a piece of paper with “a cup of coffee” on the wall. There were also two people who came together, but ordered three cups of coffee, two cups were placed on the table, and the waiter asked the waiter to stick the note “a cup of coffee” on the wall. Although they only drank two cups, they paid three cups.
What is the “cup of coffee” on the wall for? It was given to other people to drink. For example, a homeless man who walked into this coffee shop, when he saw a note on the wall, would say to the waiter: “A cup of coffee on the wall.” The waiter respectfully gave him the usual posture. Serve coffee. The tramp finished his coffee and left with a touch of his mouth. At this time, the waiter peeled off a note from the wall.
Those who propose this method of operation should not only receive a creative award, but also deserve respect. From the staff of this coffee shop, to the customers who came here to consume, they all tacitly implemented it silently. Those who buy “a cup of coffee” don’t need to care who is here to enjoy it; those who call for “a cup of coffee” are also calm. And the store did not even turn down the visitors because of their mix-and-match dress and mess. The waiter will not lower the standard of service for those who have not paid for themselves but are required to enjoy it in the slightest.
All this is done as smoothly as a relay race of athletes, as natural as an elegant ink painting.
Herzen, the great Russian philosopher and revolutionary, was exiled to Siberia for six years for the crime of “a free thinker who is extremely dangerous to society.” When he later recalled this history, he said a plot: the residents of some places in Siberia had an unusual custom: every night, they would put some bread, milk or “kvas” (a kind of containing Low-alcohol beverages). Because they know that in the dead of night, there will be exiles passing by here occasionally. Although these people are exhausted and hungry and cold, they dare not knock on the door and enter the house to ask for charity. And the food placed outside the window can be taken away by those people at will, through the hardship.
Whether it is the “coffee” posted on the wall by the Los Angeles people or the “bread outside the window” by the Siberians, there is a common feature: both sides of the balance maintain the same dignity. Funders regard their behavior as a gift, not a charity. They have no condescending posture, let alone scornful and arrogant. Although the recipient is in a weak position, the two sides are separated by a layer of window paper, and they will not see each other unless they are broken. This is much more sincere and gentler than the kind of “clam” when throwing steel pewter into the beggar’s plate, and the kind of “send warmth” that asks the recipient to say “Thank you XX” to the camera.
This behavior of “posting coffee” on the wall or putting bread outside the window can be summed up in two words, which is “charity.” Today, this good fashion has spread to many countries in the world.
I just saw it on the Internet that the owner of a dumpling shop in Changsha once posted a video on the Internet: “If you encounter difficulties in Changsha, you can come to our shop and tell the clerk to have a’single dumplings. You’re good to go after eating. You are Welcome.”
On the evening of April 9, 2021, when the owner and his wife of this dumpling shop were about to close, an older sister came in outside and asked the owner and his wife if they could give her a dumpling. The owner and his wife were taken aback for a moment and asked, “Give you a dumpling?” They thought she wanted a raw dumpling to take home and cook for herself. The eldest sister then repeated: “Can you give me something to eat? I have no money for you.” The couple repeatedly agreed.
The eldest sister left after eating the dumplings. The proprietress Ms. Long said: “She said she had encountered difficulties. Anyway, please help if you can. A dumpling is not too demanding. She said thank you when she left. I hope that I will be able to meet difficulties in the future. Encountered such a kind person.”
