'Making profit is a side product'

F.N.T restaurant, covering an area of 30 square meters, is packed with customers during lunch time, in Beijing's CBD, April 14, 2015. Customers are asked to deliver their leftovers to a recovery stand in the corner of the restaurant and get a free orange in return. [Photo by Song Wei/chinadaily.com.cn]

"That is what the Internet era offers - connect your customer with your brand," he said as he changed position again, riding the chair and two hands holding another in a dominating manner, just as he dominates F.N.T, "the trump card of F.N.T is this 100,000-member association."

F.N.T benefits from "Ba Man Club".

Half his staff are from "Ba Man Club", so are the volunteers who run F.N.T's WeChat account and the voluntary F.N.T brand designer, according to Zhang.

In March, when he raised money on social media to fund his attendance at a business training class, he received more than 516,000 yuan ($83,179) from 846 payments in 38 hours, most of which came from fans.

Zhang gives F.N.T a unique label - a non-governmental organization driven by shared values and ideals.

"Anyone who acknowledges my values will live in my system and push it forward. It is simply that in my system, selling rice noodles gains. Making profit is a side product," Zhang said with a smile.