The street lights of Dongguan Street have been lit, and the wind blowing from outside the street brings a trace of sorrow that belongs to the city, and my sorrow is the footsteps of passers-by, coming and going, repeatedly, and then quietly slipping away with the aroma of time and various fried foods......

Perhaps this is the truest feeling of facing an unfamiliar city before night comes! I like the strange atmosphere here, I like every light that flickers in front of me, and I like the words that I can't hear when the tourists come and go, but I don't like the feeling of loneliness when I see my own shadow!

I suddenly wanted to be a brick on this old street, lifeless, but so strong to fight against time for more than 200 years!

Extinguishing the cigarette in my hand, I went to the store that sold tricky toys next to me and bought a copy of "Nine Swords of Loneliness", then sat back on the bench and put the book on top of my head, so that Xiao Ai's friends could find me as soon as possible.

Through the shop window, I saw the large-screen LCD TV in the tea house opposite playing a variety show hosted by Chen Yi and another man, I didn't expect that in a strange city, she would be so close to me in this way, but so far away, because she was attracting people's love and appreciation on the TV screen, and I just stayed in a neighborhood that did not belong to me, waiting for a stranger than this Dongguan Street with "Lonely Nine Swords".

"Hey, brother, are you Xiao Ai's friend?"

I took off the "Nine Swords of Loneliness" on my head, then looked at the man in front of me, and nodded a little sneeringly.

"Hello, my name is Ji Xiaowei, Xiao Ai's fellow brother in Nanyi, a native of Yangzhou."

"Hello, I'm Jiang Qiao." I began to look at him as I spoke, he was slightly older than me, dressed in a punk, bearded face, and very handsome, so the contrast made it easy for me to remember what he was.

Ji Xiaowei looked at the book in my hand and said with a smile: "This book is good!" ”

I also subconsciously looked at the "Nine Swords of Loneliness" I had just bought, and then threw it into his hand and said, "I gave it to you." ”

Ji Xiaowei took it and smiled again, then put his arm around my shoulder and led me to his coffee shop......

……

Ji Xiaowei's coffee shop is called "1999", located in another slightly remote alley connected to Dongguan Street, I stood at the door and looked at the old storefront and asked, "Why is this coffee shop called 1999?" ”

Ji Xiaowei, who is also a smoker, handed me a cigarette and replied: "This coffee shop was opened by my eldest sister after returning from studying abroad in 1999, and it should be regarded as the first batch of coffee shops in Yangzhou." At that time, a latte was only sold for 4 yuan, and the rent was 8,000 yuan a year, and then my eldest sister got married, and this coffee shop was given to me to operate, and now a cup of latte is 39 yuan, and the rent is 280,000 yuan a year! ”

I nodded, it seems that some coffee shops like to use memory and time as the theme as a gimmick, but this "1999" coffee is really a product of time, its heritage is natural, and can survive in the rapidly changing market environment for more than 10 years, it must have its unique charm and business experience, so I really want to have a good chat with Ji Xiaowei as the owner of the "mood coffee" shop.

Pushing open the door and walking into the coffee shop, I found that 80% of the seats already had customers, but with such a good business, the decoration of the coffee shop was very old, the lights were relatively dim, and the American country music that was playing made people feel the urge to find an empty spot to sleep.

Ji Xiaowei and I found a corner seat and sat down, and then we talked about the experience of running a coffee shop, and he asked me: "Listen to Xiao Ai, you are also a coffee shop?" ”

I replied honestly: "Well, but it can't be compared with yours, my store is just barely profitable, so I would like to ask you for some business experience." ”

"It's good that coffee shops are barely profitable now! In these years, as long as the coffee shop is mentioned, it is to do characteristics and feelings, but after a long time, everyone is aesthetically fatigued, and the enthusiasm for feelings has gradually faded, so consumption has returned to rationality, and customers are more concerned about what kind of service you can provide to him in this coffee shop, rather than an empty concept. ”

After I was silent for a moment, I asked Ji Xiaowei, "Is there really no way out for coffee shops to do feelings now?" ”

"Yes, of course, but it depends on what kind of person and what kind of company does it...... Since a few years ago, there has been a company called Luku, specializing in inns and hostels, as well as coffee shops and bars. There are big investment companies behind people who pay for their feelings, and even if they lose a few stores, they don't care. ”

I sighed: "Do you even have to do it on a large scale these days? ”

"People are doing a really good job of this project, and it may not be successful if it is operated by another company. I heard that the boss of Luku is a typical example of the transformation from an angry youth to a literary youth, who can play music, and some celebrity friends spare no effort to promote his business feelings, plus there is capital support, so the success is not accidental! ”

I nodded, and I didn't have envy in my heart, because I have always been a down-to-earth person, and I am not interested in those business miracles that have risen overnight, so I asked Ji Xiaowei again: "Then how did your 1999 coffee survive in this flat market environment?" ”

Ji Xiaowei didn't hide it because I was a colleague, he said to me very generously: "If I tell you that our coffee shop can make more than 120 kinds of pastries and more than 60 kinds of coffee with different flavors, would you believe it?" ”

I looked at him in amazement, and couldn't believe that this very old-looking coffee shop could make so many categories in terms of food.

Ji Xiaowei said to me again: "Jiangqiao, if you want to do a good job in the coffee shop, you should work the substantive content, unless you really don't want to make money, it doesn't matter if you lose money." ”

I was silent for a long time, and then nodded, I was indeed a little too idealistic before, so Xiao Ai was right to ask me to come to Yangzhou to find Ji Xiaowei, if I can raise the "mood coffee shop" to a new height in the next time, there must be Xiao Ai's credit in it.

……

After chatting about the coffee shop, Ji Xiaowei talked to me about Xiao Ai again, and he asked me again: "How did you and Xiao Ai meet?" She is my little junior sister, I know her very well, she generally does not give men the opportunity to get close to herself, so for so many years, it is me and Yuan Zhen who are closer to her. ”

"You and Yuan Zhen?"

Ji Xiaowei nodded and replied: "I am so close to her because I was the most important student before her mother left the teaching position, but unfortunately I still failed the teacher's cultivation and did not engage in singing-related careers, but returned to Yangzhou to take over the 1999 coffee shop." ”

"Well, what about Yuan Zhen?"

Ji Xiaowei smiled meaningfully and replied: "As for Yuan Zhen, that is the man she will definitely marry in her life, it's just a matter of time." ”

When Ji Xiaowei said this, I remembered what Yuan Zhen said at the concert that day, he said, "Xiao Ai is a woman who allows him to see the light even when he stands behind him", and he also said: Xiao Ai is the favorite in the field of art......

I had a strange feeling in my heart, but I couldn't describe it, and finally I just calmly asked Ji Xiaowei: "Then why aren't they together now?" ”

"Although they are not together, it does not affect their mutual appreciation! …… Yuan Zhen is a person who can do everything for Xiao Ai, except for one exception. ”

"What's the matter?"

"Give up the music! If it weren't for this incident, they would have been together a year ago, because Xiao Ai needs a man who can give her everything in life, so only one person between Yuan Zhen and Xiao Ai can become an artist in the field of music, and it depends on which of them is willing to compromise for whom first. ”

I didn't have words, but I kind of believed what Ji Xiaowei said to myself, because Xiao Ai and I had only known each other for a few months, while he and Xiao Ai had known each other for several years. In the past few years, there must have been many things I didn't understand, and Xiao Ai's life before he met me was definitely not blank, just without my participation.

Ji Xiaowei threw me another cigarette, lit it for me, and said: "If I guess correctly, Xiao Ai's mind may not be in China, she should go to the Hannover Conservatory in Germany to continue her studies after finishing her studies in Nanyi, because my teacher, her mother, has always wanted her to be an artist rather than a star, so she will definitely embark on the road of studying abroad." ”

I looked at Ji Xiaowei and heard his two prophecies without psychological preparation, but no one can be sure of the accuracy of these two prophecies, but my heart is a little melancholy because of this, I can't say why I am melancholy, and finally I just took two deep puffs of cigarette with Ji Xiaowei......

Turning his head to look out the window, the wind outside the window seemed to be blowing restlessly, and the brightness of the light hid a secret sorrow......

……

Leaving the "1999 Coffee Shop", I returned to the hotel next to Dongguan Street.

Passing by her Mercedes, I couldn't help but stop, and then stroked the rearview mirror of the car. I thought: If one day Ji Xiaowei's two prophecies come true, no matter which one of them, I will definitely be a little reluctant in my heart, after all, she is so brilliant that she has come and gone in my life, and she has been good to me......

Looking up at the sky with only stars and moons that made me feel familiar, I thought of Chen Yi again, my real lover in this world......

I made a very sad assumption in this city where I had no contact with her, what would it be like if one day, I or she got tired and gave up the person we liked.

It should be like a fire that burns down the house we have lived in for a long time, and then looks at the wreckage and ashes full of despair, we all know that this is our former home, but we can't go back......

I was a little scared, and the next moment I took out my mobile phone from my pocket, and then hesitated to muster up the courage to make a call to Chen Yi, I don't want to lose my home in the fire of love, and in the Cold War, there must always be someone who compromises first......