Jason | Zayaa

2023.12.27

「 Zayaa Camping Cafe is like a slice of our past, present and future lives.

After the summer vacation, it was our off-season, so Aruna, He Chen, and Li Zhenhao cleaned up the yard and turned it into a community cafe: Aruna completed the initial decoration and was responsible for baking. She had her own bakery, making bread, bagels or cakes every Monday; Li Zhenhao made coffee drinks at the front desk; He Chen made community lunch and had his own kitchen.

With such a place, our team leaders, guests, and friends in the Dali community go there to sit or have lunch when they have nothing to do. We can meet each other by chance without appointment. We sometimes gather there for long-distance activities, and guests can have a simple lunch and a cup of coffee before departure. You can also see the specimens of various plants, ferns, and fungi collected by the team leaders when they go up the mountain in different seasons. Natural documentaries are played in the store. Everyone is busy with their own things and occasionally chats.

Aruna

Aruna is a girl from Inner Mongolia, of Mongolian ethnicity. Zayaa's current small courtyard was rented by her in Xiaocen Village in April this year, next to a field at the entrance of the village. A few days before that, after a simple conversation, she joined Cangshan Hiking House. We knew each other many years ago, when our Foothill Restaurant and Pirate Wine Castle shared a store, and she worked at Pirate, smiling.

After finishing the decoration of the yard, summer vacation came, and Aruna began to experience "flower cake making" there. She used to run a bakery and was familiar with it. When the independent camping group was established in July, she and He Chen watched the line and perfected it together, and then they were busy for two whole months. After all, she still preferred to go to nature, so she gradually stopped teaching flower cakes and spent more time leading camping and hiking. Before it became a job, she drove her van to travel camping and sold nomadic coffee (mobile coffee trucks) everywhere. I once drank a cup of coffee from her on the roadside at the north end of Cangshan Avenue. At that time, I didn’t know that we would work together in the future.

Aruna is a smart, brave and outspoken girl. When she first came to Dali, she built a house in the fields and raised 200 chickens. She likes freedom and can bear pressure when needed. She is willing to take on the next job, so others don't have to worry about it.

He Chen

He Chen is the longest-serving manager of the Late Night Diner. At one stage, he had to manage two stores, and there were many people and things to take care of. After my income from hiking work was enough to live on, I officially left the Late Night Diner two years ago. My 50% share in one of the stores was given to the manager He Chen as usual. In fact, he chose to leave Dali. To a certain extent, the reason why he has been working in the restaurant for so many years is that he is bound by the relationship between us, although it is not my wish.

He then went to Chengdu, not to seek development, but to try a new life. Li Zhenhao worked there. He tried to make bread, set up a stall to sell drinks and books, and worked as a clerk in a hardware store, but his income was meager. The outdoor business was getting better and better, and there was a shortage of manpower. We needed tailor Xiaochun to come and help. I sent him a message, asking him to come back. He didn't want to lead the team, or even drive a sports car, but he refused, saying that the time was not right. Xiaochun drank one day, and called him to come back to join us, but he didn't say yes or no. One day Xiaochun said to me: "Let He Chen come back. If there is not enough work, my team can lead him." He came back before the Chinese New Year in winter.

He started following me and Xiaochun Tailor in mid-January, and led his own team at the end of the month. Compared with others, He Chen is the one who is farthest from the traditional concept of a team leader. In a sense, he has the most potential to be an excellent team leader. This has been verified before: when he first came to the Midnight Diner, he was a person who had almost no social interaction and did not need social interaction. He had to try hard to control his emotions. In the end, he had the most people to take care of and the most things to do in his work and life. He seemed to be the most emotionally unstable person, but in the end he was the most resilient. Maybe it was my intuition, or maybe it was luck, he was the only person I asked to come to the store to work the next day without meeting him, and he was also the newcomer who took over the responsibilities of the store manager at a difficult time after working for a few months. We have been through a lot together, and we don't communicate much in language, but we understand and trust each other.

By the summer vacation, he was already an excellent leader. In July, he and Aruna formed a camping group and quickly improved in practice. In September, he independently started "Zayaa Camping": he opened his own line, wrote copy, did publicity, established a booking system, and found his own guests. Independence and freedom are probably the important foundations of creativity, just like truth is the foundation of beauty.

* Regarding the idea of ​​each group operating its own organization, I wrote an article: Crossing White Rock Creek

Because of his experience in cooking, He Chen is in charge of community lunch at "Zayaa Coffee". From Monday to Friday, he cooks different dishes every day. From the taste to the customers, everything has stabilized and is improving rapidly. When I wake up and don't want to cook, but want to have a cup of coffee, I go there.

Li Zhenhao

Li Zhenhao is the leader of the mushroom picking team. She collected a lot of mushrooms and plants during the summer vacation. Now that she has some free time, she made a lot of specimens in the cafe and hung them on the wall with frames. She also went camping to faraway places, such as Jinsha River, to pick various exotic plants and fruits. Her hobby has given this space its own unique beauty and atmosphere, and it is a natural atmosphere, without being fancy or deliberately catering to others.

American coffee costs 10 yuan per cup. This is what most people drink when they go to Zayaa. Li Zhenhao is also serious about it. Xiaohua is her coffee bean supplier. Milk tea and special drinks have gradually increased. At the front desk, I also have to greet the guests who come to dine, and serve them snacks, cigarettes, and tea. In my spare time, I watch documentaries about animals and plants and try to learn English from scratch.

In May, Li Zhenhao actually moved to Dali to join He Chen. Before coming, she was probably worried about whether she could integrate with a group of relatively unfamiliar people. I suggested that she could choose to work independently and run a third-party summer camp, but cooperate with our activities, and she thought she could give it a try. In June, the summer camp started, and she and Aruna hit it off and became good friends. In July, she joined the mushroom picking group and helped other groups when needed. In August, she was busy leading the team every day and no longer needed the summer camp.

Record Zayaa, record the beautiful people and times.

He Chen is cooking

Aruna is baking

Li Zhenhao is in the coffee area