New way to help people

Jiang Nan, 27, from Anhui province, has been running an online store since 2023, offering services like "wake-up calls" for people whose relationship has gone sour, and chatting with strangers to keep them "company". Before opening the store, he realized, while watching short videos, that virtual products, too, could be profitable. So he started his own business. Initially, his earnings were modest, but then he began offering chatting services to help customers feel better and relaxed.

Jiang has more than 200 customer service representatives who work with him on a freelance basis. Many of them have full-time jobs, and whoever is available to attend to a customer takes the orders. The representatives chat with the customers via WeChat or QQ, and Jiang trains them to ensure customers feel the services offered are worth their money.

At first, the service was not available at night, but some representatives offered to work overnight, because many customers experience emotional upsurge at night and need help. In some cases, overseas students, due to the time difference, seek chat services during the day.

The majority of Jiang's customers are between 18 and 30 years old, and the service costs about 20 yuan ($2.85) per session, with the pricing based on time. Customers often specify the topics they want to talk about, such as "counseling" after a breakup, casual chatting, or advice on studies, love matters or work. They are then paired with a representative who "specializes" in that field.

It is important to add a personal touch to the service, Jiang said. If the conversation is too compliant, it loses its meaning. For emotional subjects, the representatives who are older and have more life experience are assigned to offer guidance or help to lighten up the customer's mood.

In the earlier days, Jiang was asked by a customer to supervise a person's daily routine, and praise his drawings every day. Initially, he was not sure how to make the client happy, but after receiving daily drawings and praising them, both Jiang and the client grew in confidence. This continued for nearly three months.

Jiang started the business to earn some extra income, but as he continued helping people feel better, he realized it was a meaningful pursuit and decided to keep going."This service isn't a necessity," he acknowledges."Most people wouldn't search for it unless they really needed to share or outpour their emotions. Sometimes, customers don't feel comfortable sharing certain issues with people who are close to them, but they also don't want to keep things bottled up, so they turn to online chatting."

Jiang recalls a woman who was scared to be alone at night whenever her husband went on a business trip. She hired a female representative to stay on video call with her for one to two hours every night or until she fell asleep. The thought of being able to reach out to someone, even if virtually, whenever she wanted to gave her a sense of security.

Jiang, who receives tens of thousands of orders a year, said products with emotional value are becoming increasingly popular, with society gradually embracing "breakup support" services and other emotional offerings. Incidentally, most of his customers are women.

"Many people today prefer to not engage with others in the real world," he said. "They have their online world, their own little bubble. People working in big cities often don't have many friends, and fear that if they share their personal stories with someone, they could become the topic of gossip. But if you pay for a service online, you get what you need without worrying about privacy."

On Taobao, unusual products such as leaves and sand, even air bottled in containers high up in the mountains are gaining popularity. Jiang said this is because young people today live monotonous lives, with work and personal stress pushing them to seek solace online.

Jiang works for an e-commerce company in Shanghai, with his Taobao store being a side business that brings in about 10,000 yuan a month. He plans to marry his girlfriend next year. But the couple have no plans to buy property in Shanghai, because they don't want to live under pressure.

After hearing so many people's stories, Jiang hopes he and his loved ones can continue living happily.

Li Ren contributed to the story.

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