Paid study room-dreams of expansion in those small grids
Deng Chenyang sat at the front desk, reading the latest version of the CPA exam textbook.
He has finished a quarter of his studies, and there are marks on the pages of the book that he drew with a marker.
This is a paid self-study room. The people who open this door include college students who are preparing for postgraduate entrance examinations, civil servants who are trying to get to the next level, white-collar workers aiming for various professional qualification certificates, and even those who want to do well in the exam. Junior high school students taking a mid-term exam.
They can rent a study desk in an office building in a big city for a few yuan to tens of yuan per hour.
Locate Beijing, search for "paid study room" with map software, and dozens of red dots will appear on the screen.
They are distributed in all areas of the city and contain all kinds of "life planning".
The earliest paid study room in China was established in Guangzhou in 2014.
2019 was dubbed by the media as "the first year of paid study rooms in China".
According to iiMedia Consulting's survey data, nearly a thousand paid self-study rooms were added last year, especially in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Xi'an.
43.2% of consumers are to "seeking their own independent space", followed by daily study, work and preparation for exams.
The infrastructure of these study rooms is similar, usually with high partitions erected on row desks.
Each independent space is small, with sockets and cabinets.
The sound of turning pages of books and the sound of water coming out of the drinking fountain are the most "noisy" sounds in these spaces.
"There are too many temptations at home"
Deng Chenyang tried to study at home, but "the temptation at home is too much."
Soft bed, comfortable sofa, movies, TV series... Finally, he pushed himself on the desk, but then clicked on the shooting game on the computer.
After a while, a few hours have passed.
This Beijing guy is 26 years old. Last year, in order to prepare for the CPA professional qualification examination, he specifically resigned.
He couldn't go to school at home, he had been to the library.
The nearest to his house is the Capital Library. Deng Chenyang squeezed into the bus and swayed all the way. When he walked to the gate of the first picture and looked at the watch, it had been an hour.
The cafe is too noisy, he thought, maybe there is a place for people to study.
With the idea of giving it a try, Deng Chenyang searched the Internet, "It's true."
The nearest one takes only 15 minutes to ride a bicycle.
Deng Chenyang finally found a suitable table.
Sitting in that small grid, propping up your arms on the table, your elbows can press against the sides of the baffle.
All around were people who were immersed in reading, strangers came in, no one looked up.
The whole environment forced Deng Chenyang to sink his heart, and he felt that he "found the feeling of learning".
Shi Suo (a pseudonym) is also looking for such a place to learn.
He is an urban and rural planner. He is from Hubei and came to Beijing after passing the civil service examination.
He has passed the civil service examination at the district and municipal levels in Beijing, and he will take the National Examination.
He could settle down and read at home, but his parents would push the door in from time to time.
The book was turned over two pages, the cut fruits were delivered, and some questions were made, and the hot water came.
The ardentness of his parents made him unable to say "Don't bother me".
Working, taking exams, and working hard in a big city, his family members are called "supporters", but his favorite way of decompression is to "change the environment". From home, he needs a place where he only needs to learn.
In the past, he was more accustomed to self-study at the university near his residence. Later, the epidemic came and the school gate was closed.
Coffee shop, library, book bar... He looked around, and finally turned his attention to the paid study room.
"This model meets the needs of young people in the city. Because now, exams are very important... you have to take them!" Exams are within Shi Suo's ability. He wants to use this method to get as far as he can." The farthest place".
According to data from the Ministry of Education, the number of applicants for the national postgraduate entrance examination in 2020 is 3.41 million, an increase of 510,000 over the previous year.
In 2020, the unified national examination for certified public accountants will involve more than 1.607 million candidates and 4.488 million subjects. The number of applicants for the judicial examination is 690,000.
Many people are looking for a study table, junior high school students carrying school bags, there is no special study room in the school, there are grandparents, and dogs at home.
The middle-aged man who was busy raising his family was worried about the textual research. Before reading a few pages of the book, the child cried.
There is an "old fritters" who claims to have been in the workplace for many years. Sitting in a small grid in the study room, at first he was a little bit "out of breath". He could not order takeaways or use his mobile phone.
But he was happy to discover that in less than 4 hours, he had finished reading the "two books of his heart" in this "little black room" and "taken notes seriously."
"The meaning is still unfinished." He sighed.
26 years old, I can’t even ask my parents for money
After studying in the self-study room for a year, Deng Chenyang immersed himself in reading books for 4 hours a day.
Such days will continue until September 2020, when a news came that the "Zhuhui" examination in Beijing that was supposed to be held in mid-October was cancelled due to the impact of the epidemic.
Deng Chenyang was okay, but when another girl preparing for the exam in the same study room heard about it, she cried out in front of the table in front of the house full of people.
"There is one more year of review time," Deng Chenyang comforted herself, and the anxiety of approaching exam time also eased.
But he quickly fell into a new trouble-livelihood.
In order to prepare for the exam, he resigned after having worked for two years. He had been studying for too long, and his savings were almost spent.
"I'm 26 years old, can't I always ask for money from my family?"
He sat on the chair by the front desk, the doors of several reading rooms were closed, and the reception hall was quiet enough.
Now, he is the "brother at the front desk" of this paid study room.
"I have been observing for a long time." Deng Chenyang laughed. "Working here does not affect my learning."
This self-study room has an appointment system, and regular customers can pay on their mobile phones and choose the time period for study.
Carrying their own learning materials, they went straight to the most familiar table, and when they left, the system would automatically deduct fees.
In this office building, there is more than one such paid study room.
The home where Deng Chenyang works occupies two floors, one of which provides 24-hour service.
"There are more students in Zhongguancun who are taking the postgraduate entrance examination, and there are more white-collar workers here." Deng Chenyang introduced to a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily.
These small study rooms are packed in an office building on Dawang Road in Beijing.
Diagonally across is a shopping mall with annual sales of RMB 13.5 billion and more than 900 well-known brands.
The Metro Line 1, with an average daily passenger flow of 1.22 million passengers, passes underground.
The bus bound for Yanjiao departs from the opposite side of this office building, moving white-collar workers who live in the suburbs and work in the CBD around the city day after day.
All the hustle and bustle from the city center are blocked outside the study room by a wall covered with a half-centimeter thick soundproof material.
From a customer to a staff member, what Deng Chenyang has to deal with also includes adjusting the contradictions among self-students, such as those who knock on the keyboard and click the mouse in the "silent zone".
"No one quarrels, at most they come to me and tell me if I can tell those who are influencing others." Deng Chenyang said.
This job is not highly paid, but it is easy and very suitable for him who is still preparing for the exam.
As the owner of another paid study room, Chen Leren feels that the emergence of this kind of institution originated from the Korean drama "Please Answer 1988", which later became popular in China.
This drama has been on the air about 5 years ago. The main character in the drama has a lot of people in his family, and the school does not provide a place for self-study, so he can only go to the paid study room.
Chen Leren posted a two-page list of recent exams on the bulletin board at the door. In the 90 days from October to December, there were 54 items.
Exam time is diverted to self-study students.
As soon as October passed, those who took the "teaching resources" and "Notes" examinations disappeared, and after December, those who took the postgraduate entrance examinations were also withdrawn.
In the winter and summer vacations, many middle and high school students appear.
Next to the list is a sticky note like "Exclusive Quiet", and there is a good news posted at the end of last year: "The little brother at the front desk has received the pilot's admission notice! My heart!"
The person in the good news is a relative of the former boss. Last year, he came to Beijing to take the exam, so he came here too, while presenting the stage while preparing for surprise until his dream came true.
In Shi Suo's view, life is to test and go forward.
Forget it, his 30-year-old life is either on the exam or on the way to prepare for the exam-exams for high school, university, graduate, civil servants...Being the enviable Beijing civil servants, the road to the exam is also Did not stop.
During the Spring Festival this year, Shi Suo met his girlfriend's family to discuss marriage.
He has a stable job, but "how can he be considered a foothold in Beijing without a house".
Several of his classmates have also worked in Beijing for several years. Because they couldn't afford a house, they returned to their hometown one after another. Shi Suo watched them float and float away, pinning their hopes on the next exam.
"Admitted to the ministries and commissions, housing is expected to be solved."
Some white-collar workers are grilling rice while reading
Shi Suo chose Chen Leren's shop.
Before that, this study room belonged to two friends of Chen Leren, and he took over it for only half a year.
Many people don’t know what he is in. Chen Leren posted the photos of the store in the circle of friends to show: "A place for people to study well!"
Operating this shop occupies most of his time now. After the door opens at 8:30 in the morning, he sits behind the bar for a whole day until the last guest leaves at 10:30 in the evening before cleaning.
Nearly half a year after its opening, the store has undergone a system update. Customers can make reservations and pay with their mobile phones. Chen Leren delegates most of the work to the computer instead of being tied to a stool by the reception work.
At the end of October, Chen Leren received a bad review, "the place is too small" and "not ventilated".
When he received this evaluation, he had just replaced the simple four-corner table with tea and snacks in the leisure area with a wood-colored sideboard. The store also bought a typewriter and a shared power bank.
He survived the suspension of business during the epidemic. Recently, the operation of the study room is improving.
Many schools have delayed the opening of classes, and many students have entered the study room.
On weekends, many people come with books or computers early in the morning, sit for a day, and learn before leaving at night.
Those who read books and those who type codes belong to the silent zone and the keyboard zone respectively.
Usually there are fewer people, some come at night, and some white-collar workers rush in with lunch breaks and packed lunches.
Grab rice in your mouth while reading.
"On average, more than 20 people per day." Chen Leren's wife said.
There are also parents who send their children over for self-study on weekends, and then pick them up when the time comes.
The 13-year-old girl was in junior high school, greeted the owner and his wife, and said "uncle and aunt", which made the self-proclaimed young proprietress dumbfounded.
She has a planning job and only comes to help her husband see the store on weekends.
She chose solid-color curtains and checkered tablecloths for the shop.
On the table in the relaxation area, spicy strips and honey plum cakes are provided free of charge.
The paper cups on the drinking fountains are also specially selected by her. They are thicker and larger than ordinary disposable paper cups. They can "feel less water a few times", allowing people to sit down and learn for a while.
Every month, Chen Leren has to pay nearly 20,000 yuan in rent and a lot of utilities.
In order to save costs, he did not hire anyone.
The service provided by the study room costs 12 yuan per hour, and the monthly card will reduce the unit price to about 9 yuan.
There are monthly, quarterly, annual, and secondary cards on the price list, and the unit prices are different after calculation.
But which kind of card is the most cost-effective, the boss has not been able to bear the temper to calculate.
There was once a person who took the "Note Meeting" exam for self-study, and helped the owner carefully calculate it.
"I didn't remember." The lady boss blinked.
China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily reporter Zhang Miao Source: China Youth Daily