Man drops out of top China university, rejects US PhD offer to sell snacks. He earns Rs 12,000 a day

On March 10, Fei Yu launched his mashed potato stall near Sichuan University and so far, his business has been thriving with customers queuing up to buy his snacks. (Representational image: Gemini)

A 24-year-old man in China has gone viral for his unconventional life story. Fei Yu was once a promising master's student at one of the country's top universities, but now, he dishes out mashed potatoes near the gates of his university, earning up to 1,000 yuan (about Rs 12,000) each day.

Fei was a bright student from a poor family who was on a seemingly predetermined path to academic stardom, Jiupai News reported. His undergrad scores were so good that he did not even have to take an entrance test for his master's degree at Fudan University. But he dropped out after only one term in 2023 after suffering from depression, insomnia, and stomach problems due to being bullied by his mentor.

The youngster had to sit idle at home for a year before he decided to apply for PhD projects in preventive medicine at several public universities in the US. He was soon admitted with a scholarship to one of them at the beginning of this year, but a change in US administration policy under President Donald Trump led to funding cuts, resulting in the withdrawal of his financial aid. Unable to afford the overseas education, Fei abandoned his plans.

While his academic dreams got derailed, Fei looked to his past for inspiration, the South China Morning Post reported. Remembering his success as a young boy helping his grandmother sell balloons and his top performance as a telephone card salesperson during his undergraduate years, he considered setting up a business.

On March 10, Fei launched his mashed potato stall near Sichuan University and so far, his business has been thriving with customers queuing up to buy his snacks. He now earns between 700 and 1,000 yuan (about Rs 8,200 and Rs 12,000) daily.

Fei acknowledged that his unconventional career shift has gotten him a lot of attention both online and offline, and he is not shying away from the limelight. “I do not feel embarrassed at all. I am an outgoing person,” Jiupai News quoted him as saying.