Young Man Quits Fudan University to Find Success with Street Food Stall

A young man in China became famous on social media after he quit his master’s degree at Fudan University in Shanghai to start a street food stall.

Fei Yu, who is 24, was doing really well in school. He grew up in a poor family in Leshan, Sichuan province, and worked hard to get into Sichuan University. He studied public health and graduated in 2022 with the top grades in his class. Because he did so well, he didn’t even have to take an exam to get into Fudan University for graduate school.

But after just one term, Fei decided to leave school. He said he felt very stressed, had trouble sleeping, and had stomach problems because of the pressure and how he was treated by his professor. He said, “I could not continue my study any longer.”

After staying at home for a year, Fei tried to apply to PhD programs in preventive medicine in the United States. He was accepted with a scholarship, but the school later pulled the funding due to budget cuts, making it hard for him to afford going abroad.

Coming from a simple background—his dad is a coal miner and his mom does odd jobs—Fei chose to follow another dream: starting a small business.

He opened a mashed potato stall near his old university on March 10. Fei said, “So far, the business has been good.” He makes between 700 and 1,000 yuan (around US$100-140) every day, and people often wait in line to buy his food. He said, “I do not feel embarrassed at all. I’m an outgoing person. If they like the taste, they will come back.”

Some people criticized him for leaving school, but Fei thinks differently. “I do not think it’s a waste that I left my master’s degree. The result isn’t as important as the process,” he explained.

Every day, he spends about four hours cooking before opening his stall at 5 PM. He often sells out in just two to three hours. He mentioned, “It’s tiring, but I don’t feel the pressure of school anymore. I feel like I’ve entered a new world.”