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At 40 years old, Zheng says she’s tired of searching for the perfect man (người đàn ông hoàn
hảo). So she’s decided to hire one instead.

Whenever she feels like some male company, the divorcée (phụ nữ ly dị chồng) heads to a café in central Shanghai named The Promised Land. There, she spends hours being pampered (được chiều chuộng) by a handsome young server, who fetches her drinks, watches movies with her, and listens attentively (lắng nghe chăm chú) to her anecdotes (câu chuyện, giai thoại).

The sessions cost over 400 yuan ($60) each time, but Zheng says they’re worth every cent.

“The butlers respect me and care about my feelings,” she tells Sixth Tone. “Even if you have a boyfriend, he might not be this sweet, right?”

…The outlets have found success by tapping into the frustrations (mệt mỏi, chán nản) of Chinese women, many of whom feel society remains far too patriarchal (gia trưởng)…

Wang Qian, a 24-year-old student, is a regular visitor to the café. She tells Sixth Tone she enjoys the feeling of empowerment she gets from spending time there.

According to Wang, many of the men she meets in normal life are pu xin nan — a term popularized by the female comedian Yang Li that roughly translates as “men who are so average, yet so confident.” The butlers, however, are considerate and never mansplain (nam giới, giải thích cho phụ nữ theo kiểu gia trưởng, bề trên) anything to her, she says…

The butler (quản gia, người hầu) feels he has to be flawless to progress at The Promised Land. The café imposes a rigid hierarchy (tôn ti trật tự). Butlers are divided into three levels: entry, advanced, and celebrity (ngôi sao) — with each priced differently. To spur competition, the managers hang a board on the wall displaying the number of tips each server has received.

Bài trước: Chơi ác