Talking shop: Frenchman in China invites random passers-by to enjoy cup of tea in street with him and discuss their personal problems
- Blogger asks people to write down problems, seeks advice from elderly
- Social media observers praise creative initiative which goes viral online
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A French blogger in China invites passers-by to enjoy a cup of tea with him while they have a personal problem exchange has gone viral on mainland social media.
Ruelle Olivier Herve, who lives in Hangzhou city in Zhejiang province in eastern China and runs a Weibo account @tealovinglaolu, set up a street stall to randomly invite young people to exchange their problems while enjoying a cup of tea, Tieji Video reported.
In a viral video, Herve is seen setting up his stall with two chairs and a table before listening to their personal problems after brewing Chinese tea for them.
One such interlocutor called Xiaofang tells him: “I have postponed my graduation.”
The details of her studies are unclear, but Xiaofang appeared to be concerned about them, to which Herve asks her: “So is this the problem that now troubles you most?”
After answering him in the positive, the pair have a conversation about her situation.
Another woman, Yi Tong, a trainee designer, tells him that she feels anxious about her application for graduate school and another woman explains that she feels pressured by the burdens her mother imposes on her.
A third person, photographer Chun Zhen tells Herve his parents put pressure on him to get married, after which the Frenchman also engages him in a discussion.
After listening to his passer-by tea-drinking friends, Herve asks them to write down the nature of their problems.
“I forward the letters to those who have been through the problems,” Herve said in the video.
He takes the letters he collects to a local nursing home for old people and seeks their advice based on their life experience.
The Frenchman has been sharing videos about his chats on his Weibo account which now has 111,000 followers.
His story has trended on mainland social media, striking a chord with many people online.
One person said: “I can really feel those young people.”
Another commented: “It’s a really nice tea talk.”
“This is a very creative idea. Everyone needs a good listener,” a third person agreed.
“The answers from the elderly people are very cool,” said another.
