The cup of coffee named “Calling Black White” was placed in front of me by the owner. I didn’t know what technique she used, but the liquid in the cup was clearly separated into black and white layers. Instinctively, I wanted to pick up a spoon to stir it, but I found there was no spoon on the tray.
The owner said to me, “No need for a spoon. Just lift the cup and drink.”
“Oh?…” After a brief moment of doubt, I picked up the cup and took a sip. The taste alternated between sweet and bitter, spreading in my mouth. I didn’t swallow immediately, allowing the two extreme flavors to blend on my tongue. Eventually, they transformed into a smooth sweetness. Even after swallowing, the taste lingered for a long time.
Compared to “West of the Old Town,” this cup of “Calling Black White” also had its unique flavor, but this taste had nothing to do with emotions. It was entirely created through technique. Therefore, perhaps there wasn’t a heart-wrenching story hidden behind this coffee shop. If one is perceptive enough, when tasting the coffee, one can indeed taste the barista’s mood, even his life experiences.
I put down the cup and said to the owner who was about to leave, “This should be a great time to relax in a coffee shop, but the view outside the window makes my mood complicated… Why is that, madam?”
The owner sat down across from me and replied, “This complexity is exactly the feeling I want to give my customers. It’s also the reason I opened this coffee shop here!” She paused briefly before adding with a soft sigh, “But what I like isn’t necessarily what the customers like… They can’t understand my expression.”
“Has business always been bad?”
The owner nodded and replied, “Yes.”
“Is it mainly due to the location?”
“Not entirely. There’s a large office building 500 meters behind my coffee shop, housing many software development companies. I did market research and found that there are at least 800 white-collar workers in this building, which should be enough to sustain my coffee shop… I even placed advertisements in that building, but for some unknown reason, they showed no interest in my coffee shop.”
I smiled and asked, “Before opening this coffee shop, did you have any other business experience?”
The owner shook her head…
“With the extent of your advertising efforts and a distance of 500 meters, converting 20 people out of those 800 into loyal customers would already be great. Your marketing direction has a significant flaw. This coffee shop absolutely shouldn’t be operated this way…”
“So, how should it be done?”
After thinking for a moment, I told her, “The geographical location is a major drawback, and this coffee shop is themed around colors… However, color can at most be a feature, but it cannot be the main selling point supporting the entire coffee shop. Coupled with the poor market environment in Xuzhou… It will be very difficult for this cafe to achieve profitability. This is no longer a marketing issue, but rather an investment mistake made from the beginning.”
The owner looked out the window into the distance, where the chimney had already disappeared into the night. Her expression was blank, immersed in a mood only she could understand. Yet she hoped that all the customers sitting here would feel the same way as her… Perhaps this idealism was the root of her failure in running the business, because besides me, who could understand her feelings, there wouldn’t be many people who cared about how far one could see from this spot…
Finally, the owner said to me, “Yes, I can’t continue running it anymore, so I’m planning to transfer the coffee shop…”
“Has anyone shown interest in this coffee shop?”
The owner looked very discouraged and replied, “Since I posted the transfer information on the local website, some people came to see it, but no one was willing to take it over. Everyone feels it’s unlikely to make money.”
Suddenly, I became interested in this coffee shop and asked her, “Can you tell me why you originally chose to open a coffee shop here?”
“I used to visit ancient towns like Lijiang and Xitang, where I found many unique coffee shops that interested me. My husband works in construction, and the developer here was short on funds, so they offset his payment with a commercial space. Well, I’ve never liked being constrained since I was young, so I used our own commercial space to open this coffee shop… Because I majored in fine arts in college and am sensitive to colors, I opened this coffee shop themed in black and white… Really, I truly feel that watching the unobstructed distance in such a black-and-white setting brings many strange emotions!! Unfortunately… This is just my own realization!”
I finally understood that the ownership of this commercial space was actually hers all along, which explained why she opened the coffee shop here. Still curious, I asked, “So, besides you, has there been no one else who was willing to sit here and quietly look toward the distant view beyond the city since you started operating?”
The owner thought for a moment and replied, “Yes… She sat here from morning until dusk, and it was she who taught me how to prepare this ‘Calling Black White’ coffee… However, I’ve never been able to recreate the exact flavor she achieved; I could only mimic its appearance…”
“Does that mean your coffee shop wasn’t originally named ‘Calling Black White’? Did this woman help you change the name?”
“Yes… She said doing so would give my coffee shop a soul—a soul related to colors and distant horizons… She also said that if one day I really couldn’t continue running the coffee shop, I should find a company called Luck and hand it over to them. That company would definitely be interested… But I think it’s unnecessary. After all, it’s my own property. If I can sell it, that’s great; if not, I haven’t lost much money… My husband and I are fully capable of bearing these losses, though… It’s a pity for my dream of running a coffee shop. It turns out being a literary youth isn’t as easy as it seems…”
The key phrases “Calling Black White,” “Luck,” and “soul” instantly filled my mind, and I seemed to see the shadow of CC…
Indeed, after such a long time, I finally learned of her whereabouts. She had once come to my city, but this was definitely no coincidence—it felt like a destined inevitability, because both of us were highly sensitive to this type of coffee shop. It made sense that she came to my city, since I had told her many times that my hometown was worth a visit. Although it’s an industrial city, it also has delicacies like di guo ji (a type of chicken dish) and kun xiang ti (a pork dish)…
I couldn’t yet fully confirm that the person the owner was talking about was indeed CC. Still excited, I asked again, “Did this woman tell you her name?… Was she also carrying a guitar?”
“Yes, she was carrying a guitar. I asked her name, and she said it was ‘Rose Patient’… Of course, that’s not her real name!”
“Rose Patient?” I instinctively repeated the name, already certain in my heart that this woman was CC, because all the characteristics matched perfectly. The name “Rose Patient” further reflected her current state of mind!
Seeing my excited expression, the owner asked me, “What’s wrong? Do you know her? From your accent, you seem to be a local of Xuzhou, but she was definitely an outsider!”
“Yes, we know each other, and we’ve been old friends for many years…” After saying this, I asked hopefully, “Madam, did she leave you any contact information? If so, please be sure to tell me… I’ve been looking for her for a long time!!”
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