只有一张桌的饺子馆，没人收钱，无酒无肉，却治愈着路人 | Beyond Food

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It’s a normal restaurant, except that you're both the customer and the cook; you just pay at a sum as you like. A business like this seems a bit unbelievable.

一盘饺子，有兴趣的话可以自己包自己煮，付钱随喜，全凭自觉。这种店铺的经营方式似乎颇为梦幻。

Yet Wu Meizhu has turned it into a reality, and found her ideal lifestyle in it.

伍美珠将这样的饺子馆变成现实，并且在其中找到了自己的理想生活。

Wu used to lead a normal life like many others.

曾经，伍美珠的人生也和其他人一样按部就班。

She left her hometown for college, and found a job in the city. "I seldom had my parents around in my childhood. They left as migrant workers, and I only got to see them during summer vacations."

她从农村走到城市，离乡求学，进入企业工作。 “我从小是跟父母分开的。爸妈去打工，只有每一年的暑假才能见到他们。”

So, Wu spent most of her time with her grandparents at her hometown, in a rural area.

于是，幼时的伍美珠常常和外公外婆一起，在田间生活。

Because of her childhood experience, Wu constantly asked herself: "What is the most important thing in one's life?"

也许是受到童年经历的影响，伍美珠的心中始终悬着一个疑问：人生最重要的事情究竟是什么？

When Wu's grandmother passed away in 2003, she failed to go back and see her grandmother at the last moment. As time went by, she found it harder to bid farewell to those who had been close to her. And that came out a turning point in her life.

2003年，外婆的去世。因为忙于工作，她没能见到外婆的最后一面。更何况，随着年龄渐长，与亲密之人的告别也越来越多。这些告别让伍美珠感到十分痛心, 也成为了她人生的转折点：

"Is it really worthy as people spend their lifetime working for a job and salary, at the cost of walking away from their lives' most important part?"

“一个人花掉所有时间，与生命中最重要的部分渐行渐远，得到的报偿不过是一点稳定的工资，这样真的值得么？”

So she started to practice yoga and became a vegetarian, trying to find the true connection between humans and the world. She quit her job and became a certified yoga instructor, which allowed her to travel around while giving yoga instructions. In her spare time, she volunteered to distribute humanitarian supplies in war-torn regions in the world and help impoverished children.

她开始练瑜伽、吃素食，试图找回人与世界的本质联系。之后，她辞掉工作，凑钱考了一个瑜伽证书，成为了一名瑜伽老师，边教学生边四处旅行。空闲的时候，她加入义工组织，到世界各地的战区分发物资，帮助贫困的儿童。

Over the years, she has witnessed death and famine. She has also been touched when some refugees in the worst conditions repay volunteers with the best thing they have, be it a flower or a tiny handicraft. 

在这个过程中，她直面了死亡、饥荒，但也感动于人们即使在极度困难的境地中，依然拿出自己最好的东西回报给志愿者，哪怕那只是一朵花，或者一个手工艺品……

These experiences made Wu think about how to share the inspirations and return the kindness she received from other people: "I want to get people connected together."

这让伍美珠开始思索，如何将自己感受到陌生人的鼓励和善意分享出去，如何回报她所感受到的种种温暖。“我要让人与人之间连接起来。”

In 2013, she opened the dumpling restaurant, with only one table in an alley in the east China city of Xiamen. "Sitting around the big table, the strangers can make and eat dumplings like a family."

于是，2013年，只有一张桌子的饺子馆在厦门的一个小巷中静悄悄地开张了。“一张大桌子，所有的陌生人像一家人，在一起包饺子吃饺子。”

The small restaurant is carefully decorated with wooden furniture and warm lighting. Neatly written on a blackboard are the 24 solar terms. The style feels more like a café for gathering and relaxing.

店虽然小，但装修毫不含糊。古朴的木色装饰，暖色的灯光，黑板上用工整的字迹写着二十四节气。这里的格调更像是供人聚会休息的咖啡馆。

The ingredients are all freshly purchased from the market every day. Wu learns to make dumplings even from the customers. The dough is dyed with vegetable juice, so the dumplings are colorful and more attractive, of course more tasty.

食材都是素菜，每天从市场上新鲜买来。包饺子的方法是跟客人学的，现包现煮。饺子用菜汁染色，显得多彩可人。

Once in a while, the restaurant holds community activities that encourage everyone to prepare and eat dumplings together. "The customers help each other like a family. No one has ever complained about waiting for the food."

有时候，店里还会举办社区活动。老人，孩子，都可以来包饺子吃饺子。“大家真的就像一家人一样，互相帮助，互相谦让。在等待的过程中从来没有客人抱怨过。”

People pay and take the change all as they like. Many people pay more than they should. The restaurant’s budget is balanced so far. Wu says: "I think trust is far more valuable than any sum I could earn." For her, the restaurant is a symbol of happiness for many including herself.

来店里的客人们付钱随喜，找零也自己从罐子里拿，很多人都会多给。目前，饺子馆的收入已能维持运转。伍美珠说：“我觉得这就是一种信任，这个比我赚多少钱都更加珍贵。”对她而言，这家店，就是许多美好东西的具象。

"Living in this society, we have to help and love each other," she says. "Although a very common food, it is the symbol of reunion and inclusiveness. Many beautiful things beyond food happen here every day. I feel so blessed,” says Wu.

“我觉得我们生活在这个社会上就是一个互助互爱的过程。”饺子这种家常食物，是团圆的象征，也是包容的象征。 “有很多超越食物的美好的事情，每天在这里发生。我觉得好幸福。”伍美珠说。

Cameraman: Kang Songwei

Film editor: Qi Mantong

Story written by: Zhu Siqi

English editor: Matthew Arrington Watson

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