This hot pot restaurant is quiet
The post-90s couple in Xinxiang, Henan opened a "silent restaurant" for 12 years to provide jobs for the deaf and mute
"Order at table 2...the next table needs to add soup...and get them a bottle of drink..." In the hot pot restaurant, the proprietress Li Nannan was busy in the store every day, instructing the clerks to ask Do something.
It's just something special. Li Nannan, who is able-bodied, uses sign language to communicate with the clerk.
Located in Xinxiang, Henan, "Crystal Bubble Hot Pot Restaurant" is a "silent restaurant" that has been operating for 12 years. The staff are all deaf and mute.
Here, customers can pick up post-it notes on the table to write down their needs, or tap the cartoons on the wall with their fingers to communicate with the deaf and dumb waiters.
Of course, customers can also communicate directly with the owner Wang Weisong or the owner Li Nannan.
Since its opening in 2010, the post-90s couple have successively provided jobs for 30 deaf and mute people. During their 12-year operation, the two have overcome various difficulties and set up a restaurant for deaf and mute and able-bodied people. communication bridge between.
The fourth Sunday in September is the International Day of the Deaf. On this occasion, a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily interviewed Li Nannan.
She said that the reason why she insisted on only providing jobs for the deaf-mute for 12 years is because she has witnessed the difficult life and work of the deaf-mute since she was a child, and hopes to do her best to help the deaf-mute around her.
Start a business
Insist on hiring deaf employees because they know the pain in their hearts
Li Nannan was born in a deaf-mute family. In her memory, learning to use sign language is like innate, so she will always play the role of a middleman, and it is still the same until now.
Li Nannan's parents have not attended any of her parent-teacher meetings since she went to kindergarten.
"If they attend the parent-teacher conference, I will become a 'communicator'. So, the teacher will always tell me directly if I have something, and I will pass it on to my parents when I go home. There is never any need to invite the parents to the school. Not only that, any Homework that needs to be recited or needs to be interacted with is always done by myself, which is a problem I have to face every day when I go to school." Li Nannan recalled.
She bluntly said that being independent and strong is an essential skill for a child growing up in a deaf-mute family.
When she was in college, Li Nannan also worked part-time as a kindergarten teacher and sign language interpreter, but she always wanted to do something for herself.
"Especially after my daughter was born, I wanted to do something practical for my daughter and my deaf friends. This idea has never been suppressed."
In 2010, 20-year-old Li Nannan and his lover Wang Weisong embarked on the road of entrepreneurship.
From the very beginning, Li Nannan was very sure to hire deaf people as employees, so they put great effort into choosing entrepreneurial projects.
At first, his lover, Wang Weisong, wanted to open a car wash, but he gave up because of the high level of professionalism. Later, he thought of working in the catering industry, where deaf and dumb people could help in the back kitchen. The operation is simple and easy to use.
"But in the catering industry, you can't do stir-fry stores, because it is too difficult to rely on chefs. So we chose a hot pot restaurant, which makes it easier to prepare and serve dishes." Li Nannan began to travel to Beijing Inspected and joined the hot pot project, and then returned to Xinxiang, Henan to open a store.
During the preparation process, Li Nannan, based on his understanding of the deaf-mute, will estimate the difficulties that may arise in various aspects. For example, they deliberately changed the gas stove used in the hot pot to an induction cooker, because it will be safer for the deaf-mute employees.
Ten years after the store opened, Li Nannan's business has become more and more prosperous, and he has also expanded his business. At the same time, he has three hot pot restaurants, each of which employs 3 to 5 deaf people, maintaining the style of "silent restaurant".
In 2020, after the outbreak of the epidemic, the catering industry was greatly affected. Li Nannan only retained a store of 40 to 50 square meters, and the number of employees was reduced to 2.
"Because I really can't afford too much rent, I can only consider it comprehensively. The remaining employees are the decisions I made after careful consideration and comparison of their respective family and living needs. The one who stays now is 50 years old. The old couple, they gave birth to four children, I have to keep them. I can only say sorry to the others, if the store can do better in the future, I still welcome these friends to come back." Li Nannan sighed.
Referring to the motivation of insisting on hiring deaf people, Li Nannan bluntly said that 6 of her family members and relatives are deaf and mute people. She saw that they always encountered obstacles in work and life due to their lack of congenital conditions since she was a child. There are fewer employment opportunities for deaf people.
"It is conceivable that if families with good living conditions can ensure that deaf children go to study, they may also protect them well and prevent them from going to work, so as to avoid being looked down upon by others. There are also families with poor conditions that may not let deaf children go to school. When deaf children go to school, I know some deaf people who can’t read until now, and it will be more difficult for them to find a job, and they are often marginalized and placed in unimportant positions.”
In the past 12 years, Li Nannan and Wang Weisong have provided jobs for more than 30 deaf people.
comics
From the back kitchen to the front hall, we must give the deaf people more confidence
Xinxiang City, Henan Province has a resident population of more than 6 million, of which more than 40,000 are deaf and mute, but there is only one school for the deaf.
Li Nannan's parents also studied in this school. Therefore, in the early days of the business, the employees in the hot pot restaurant were mainly from classmates around their parents. After that, Li Nannan's store was invisibly labeled as recruiting deaf and mute people.
The social circle of deaf people in Xinxiang City is not very large, and information in the school is also exchanged in a timely manner.
At first, due to communication problems, these employees only worked in the back kitchen, but Li Nannan still wanted them to try to work as waiters in the front hall.
However, as expected, there will inevitably be problems in communication between deaf people and customers.
Once, a customer waited for half an hour after placing an order and did not see any dishes. After many urgings, they finally served the food, only to find that the order was completely wrong.
The customer was very annoyed after waiting for an hour with an empty stomach.
Li Nannan and Wang Weisong once again acted as intermediaries, trying their best to retain the customer, freeing the customer from orders, and comforting the staff on the other.
"Even though they couldn't hear it, they could see the excitement on the customer's face. They would carefully ask me if I was causing trouble, if I wasn't up to the job. I would encourage them to take it easy and stay in the lobby. Waiters, let alone hold back because of this. We must give them more confidence and not discourage their original enthusiasm." Li Nannan explained.
In order to better solve the communication problem, Li Nannan began to post obvious signs on the walls that read "This restaurant is a silent restaurant, and the waiters are all deaf and mute".
In addition, they also asked friends to design cartoons, converting common service words into pictures, covering soup, tableware, beverages, etc.
As long as a customer points to one of the cartoons, deaf employees can immediately understand their needs, avoiding many communication difficulties.
For example, if the chopsticks fall out and need to be replaced, customers can signal them by pointing at the cartoon of the cutlery.
If you have more complex needs beyond comic content, you can also pick up a pen and write on a sticky note next to your desk.
Li Nannan also thought about using "scan code to order", but after actual operation, he found that "scan code order" also requires face-to-face communication with the clerk.
She thought that for simple dishes in the store, it is better to let employees communicate with customers directly, without adding a cumbersome operation in the middle, "direct communication is more effective".
Li Nannan and Wang Weisong are still busy in the store as "middlemen" every day, instructing the deaf and mute staff in sign language to serve customers, while asking customers for their specific requirements.
"The two of us are really tired to be the bosses. We need to greet each customer in person, but our employees are also very strong. They work very seriously and are no worse than anyone else. This is the most gratifying point for me." Li Nannan sighed.
She smiled and continued: "I thought of a previous customer who praised our store staff for their seriousness. He often came to the store and didn't need me to greet him at all. As long as I appeared next to him, he would say, 'I don't want to be with him. You said, I want to communicate with your waiter'. Slowly, he also learned simple sign language, communication became easier, and even had a sense of accomplishment."
shout
Take a vacation together and encourage them to make their own unique voice
Although he said he was tired, Li Nannan knew more about the hard work of employees and could feel their psychological changes. "A person who works in an environment for a long time and lacks the surprises of life will feel tired."
In addition to employees' normal sabbaticals, Li Nannan and Wang Weisong organize team building activities at least twice a year, take three days off each time, and take employees out to play.
She also compared the objective conditions of deaf people with the group building activities of able-bodied people: "We can't have meals every week like ordinary people, let alone watch movies and sing... Many interesting entertainment activities have nothing to do with them, because they There is no way to release emotions. My wife and I can only drive out with the employees to go out for a walk and see the scenery together.”
Xinxiang is located in the north of the Taihang Mountains, and there are many scenic tourist resources. It is an hour's drive from Xinxiang city to reach Baligou, Wanxian Mountain, Tianjie Mountain and other scenic spots. Both Li Nannan and Wang Weisong have taken them there.
In the process of swimming in the mountains and water, Li Nannan will encourage deaf and mute employees to shout a few times on the mountain to vent their emotions.
It's just that these people are often shy, so Li Nannan took them to a place where no one was there and called out his voice.
"They'll be embarrassed and feel like they can't shout, but they can actually make their own unique voice. Although it doesn't sound that pleasant, I don't think it's the voice that matters, it's the mood at the time of the cry and the release of the depression after the cry. comfortability."
After visiting the famous surrounding attractions, Li Nannan and Wang Weisong will take them to relax in the farmhouse, such as fishing, barbecue and picking fruits and vegetables, etc., to increase mutual interaction.
As long as the deaf-mute people who have been employees in Li Nannan's store, whether they leave or stay in the end, they still keep in touch with her, chat with her, and become friends.
"My friends are of all ages. Children as young as a few years old, and old friends as old as tens of years old, will communicate with me in depth, and they have a steady stream of topics with me. It may be because of my family environment since I was a child. Well, one is to communicate with them without obstacles, and the other is to be more patient than others in terms of personality."
Li Nannan said that everyone's knowledge is different, and their troubles are big and small, and they all need to do their own work one by one.
In her opinion, she can't just provide a special job position, but be responsible for the employees' emotions and psychology.
This is her habitual thinking, and she must make herself think a little more, and a little more.
love
When deaf people fall in love with able-bodied people, "light bulbs" and "vaccines" must be provided
Minmin, a deaf-mute girl, is a friend of Li Nannan and an employee who once worked in a hot pot restaurant for a while.
For a period of time in 2015, Minmin had something on her mind, she fell in love with a boy, to be precise, she fell in love with a sound boy.
Minmin's heart is very uneasy, on the one hand cautious, on the other hand has the impulse of love.
She can only ask Li Nannan if she can pursue the boy she loves.
After Li Nannan heard it, he immediately cheered on Minmin, and asked back: "Why not? You dare to chase!" In Li Nannan's opinion, as long as two people have true feelings for each other and love each other, communication is not a big problem at all.
However, Li Nannan thought a little more, she wanted to give Minmin a "vaccine" in advance to prevent her from being hurt: "If the other party doesn't like you and rejects you, it doesn't mean you're not good, it just means two things. Individuals are not suitable in terms of love concept, there are only slight differences, don't deny yourself."
Minmin listened to Li Nannan's words and wanted to see the boy and bring Li Nannan with her.
Li Nannan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, afraid that he would become a huge "light bulb" among them.
It's just that Li Nannan has long been accustomed to being a "middleman", and she finally met the boy with Minmin.
"When a deaf girl takes the initiative to pursue a sound boy, no matter what, the courage she has is worth encouraging. If the boy makes fun of Minmin, she can't hear it, it will be an invisible harm, and it will also cause a kind of Emotional gap. So, I thought about it, I must be this 'light bulb'." Li Nannan analyzed seriously, "However, that boy is very good. In the end, the two did not get together, but became good friends."
"Minmin is still married to an able-bodied person, and she is about to have a second child in a month." Li Nannan admitted that she was like Minmin's old mother, and she was heartbroken.
In this blind date story before Minmin's marriage, Li Nannan still acted as a "light bulb" and prepared a "vaccine".
At that time, Minmin had already left the hot pot restaurant, went outside, and returned to her hometown after some setbacks.
Minmin's mother arranged a blind date for her, but she was a little conflicted, so Li Nannan went to do ideological work.
She told Minmin, don't mind meeting new friends, you can meet, if you are not satisfied, don't agree.
Minmin listened to the advice and met her current husband on a blind date. "The boy is not romantic, but he is sincere and treats Minmin very well." Li Nannan described.
Not only do peers ask Li Nannan to talk to him, but some older deaf people also turn to Li Nannan for help.
The deaf-mute uncle in the store would ask Li Nannan to be the mediator. The uncle's child is a healthy person, and he often gets into trouble with the family, especially when it comes to whether the child should go to school or start a business. The father and son have great disagreements.
As an intermediary, Li Nannan persuaded the children again and again and persuaded the children to study hard and continue to school.
When Li Nannan talked about his identity as a mediator, there were too many stories to tell.
She feels that the main contradiction in many things lies in communication, and if they do not understand each other, there will be many problems, especially for deaf and mute people, who have "long mouths".
bridge
Deaf people don't need a 'handout' job
Li Nannan not only has to take care of her family and employees, but even in front of her parents' friends, she also has to build a bridge of communication, so that these deaf people can communicate with the able-bodied people smoothly.
She felt like a leader in a small group. She had to tell them what they should do and how to do it. Even when the relevant party issued a notice, she would often call Li Nannan first, and then she would relay it separately.
Once, the Disabled Persons' Federation notified the disabled person to apply for the replacement of the latest disability certificate and need to go to the hospital for a physical examination.
There was a long line in the medical examination center of the hospital, all of them were deaf and mute.
When they saw Li Nannan taking her parents to the hospital, they immediately surrounded Li Nannan and asked her how to do the physical examination according to the procedure.
"At that moment, I felt like a savior, and I started explaining the process to them one by one, such as where to line up for those with complete documents, and those with incomplete documents to fill out the files first, otherwise the queue would be no use. After reading their materials one by one, they began to do physical examinations in an orderly manner. Because there are not many people in their family who can sign language, unlike my family." Li Nannan said.
When it comes to learning sign language, Li Nannan believes that as long as you put down your mobile phone and type and try to communicate with deaf people in sign language for a long time, you can quickly master sign language.
She took her lover Wang Weisong as an example. He was self-taught in sign language. Li Nannan never taught him sign language, but let him chat with his mother-in-law.
"Usually, we only use sign language to express the words of life. As long as we master the gestures that are close to life, we can use them in many occasions. This is not a difficult thing."
Since Li Nannan is surrounded by many deaf people, a factory once wanted to recruit deaf people through her.
At the beginning, Li Nannan was very happy to hear the news, thinking it was a good job opportunity for the deaf.
And after in-depth understanding, Li Nannan discovered that this was a "scam".
When she asked what kind of salary, insurance or benefits the factory manager could offer, the other person began to be vague.
Later, she realized that the factory just wanted to get their disability certificate and meet certain quota standards to exempt the unit.
And these disabled people only get benefits of a few hundred yuan a month, and there are no real jobs at all.
Li Nannan refused the request without hesitation. She refused to be "used" by these disabled people.
She hopes that deaf and mute people can have their own life and work like able-bodied people, and use their labor to get reasonable wages. Going down, isn't there a saying - 'I've been in the rain, I always want to hold an umbrella for others', I hope to do my best to help the deaf and mute people around me, and I can help one more if I can." Li Nannan looked forward to on.
Text/Photo courtesy of our reporter Han Shirong/Li Nannan