The unexpected text message from Jian Wei stirred my mood again. I used to manage Lukou, so I was very clear about the profitability of its several stores in Xuzhou. The guesthouse, cafe, and bar constructed here could generate an annual profit of over 2 million yuan. If I accepted Jian Wei’s proposal, it would mean an additional annual income of 2 million yuan for me. This amount might not mean much to a company, but for me personally, it would be enough to pursue the best material life, relieve my father’s pressure on me, and eliminate the need for him to painstakingly build a new cafe with an uncertain future.
I was tempted, but I gave myself two reasons not to accept.
First, I had already made my choice and needed to take responsibility for it. Moreover, I had already gained enough from Lukou. This past year, I had bought a house in Xuzhou, purchased a car for my father, and spent a significant amount of money that was hard to calculate.
Second, accepting Jian Wei’s proposal would mean admitting my current cowardice, my inability to face life head-on, and my lack of confidence in myself. It would cause me to gradually lose my drive to strive within comfort, which, for my life, might be the greatest loss of all.
After weighing things carefully, I finally replied to Jian Wei’s message: “Thank you for your kind offer, but I don’t need it now. You don’t have to feel guilty either. On the contrary, the one who should feel guilty is me. It was I who gave up the artistic path, and I certainly cannot take these three stores from this project anymore…”
A short while later, Jian Wei replied: “I knew this would be your answer…”
“Actually, I’ve been quite smooth since returning to Xuzhou. You don’t need to worry about me. How about you? Has your mother’s matter been resolved?”
This time, Jian Wei replied after a long while: “You don’t need to worry about me. Get some rest early. It’s almost one o’clock.”
I felt inexplicably melancholy. I had so much to say, but my fingers only managed to type the simplest word: “Good night.” In reality, neither of us could have a peaceful night, as we each faced our own troubles and stayed awake in separate spaces…
Eventually, I put my phone aside and gently placed my arm around Mi Cai. Only then did I fall asleep, feeling the sense of security with her sleeping beside me.
…
The next morning, the city finally welcomed long-awaited sunshine. The snow piled outside the streets was melting under the sun. My father and mother woke up a bit earlier, had already eaten breakfast, and were taking a morning walk while the weather was nice. Mi Cai and I, after washing up, took the soy milk and steamed buns prepared by them from the rice cooker and began our breakfast.
Light poured through the glass into the bowl filled with soy milk, turning its pure white into colorful hues, which caught Mi Cai’s attention. I, however, was thinking about how to make the plain steamed bun tasty. I split the bun in half, spread some chili sauce inside, and stuffed some pickled cabbage into it, creating a homemade Chinese-style burger, which I ate with great relish… Mi Cai didn’t like my way of eating. She tore the bun into small pieces and dipped them into the soy milk. We debated, I said my way was tasty, she said hers was nutritious… In the end, neither of us could convince the other. She got nutrition, and I got taste, and thus the morning passed.
After washing the dishes together with Mi Cai, I called the owner of the cafe named “Black as White,” telling her that I was interested in discussing taking over the cafe again. She said she was already at the cafe and that I could come anytime.
Because I had already made plans with Mi Cai the day before, she would accompany me to visit the cafe today. However, she brought her DSLR camera with her. After asking, she told me she wanted to act as my model to test the photography effect of the cafe. I immediately became more confident. If Mi Cai could take a set of photos there beforehand, I would have more persuasive power and appeal when discussing with photography studios, after all, Mi Cai herself is the best example…
We didn’t drive to the cafe because we only had more than 50,000 yuan to take over the cafe, and driving an Audi Q7 or my father’s new Passat would definitely make others think we were joking, which would be extremely disadvantageous for negotiations. The electric scooter became the best prop to prove our worth. I planned to negotiate installment payments with the owner, and I had some confidence in this because the owner was a very straightforward woman, and thanks to CC, we also had some connection.
…
We rode the electric scooter, wearing hats and masks, becoming the most inconspicuous pedestrians in this big city. The cold wind was howling, making it hard even to exchange a few words with each other, so we gave up communicating. I felt Mi Cai holding me tighter from behind, knowing she was cold. I regretted not taking a taxi, even if we didn’t drive, it would have been much better than this… But she followed me through hardship without complaint, despite her noble background! It seemed she had already accepted this ordinariness in her heart, so she volunteered to become Li Xiaoyun’s assistant.
In fact, all along, she had never been an arrogant or proud woman, so she accepted the current situation very peacefully, without much emotional change. Or perhaps, for her, the real test had not even begun.
Twenty minutes later, we finally arrived at the cafe near the suburbs. After parking the electric scooter, I put my hand on Mi Cai’s shoulder, signaling her to look into the distance…
Because of her hobby, Mi Cai was much more sensitive to scenery than I was. She was very surprised by the openness in front of her. The only building in sight was a distant smoking chimney. Immediately, Mi Cai raised her camera in a professional manner, capturing this symbol of industrial civilization through her lens. Then, very enthusiastically, she handed the camera to me, asking me to take a photo of her under the blue sky and white clouds here.
After pressing the shutter button, her appearance and the surrounding scenery were captured together on the camera’s display screen. Although it was only a small screen and the photo had not been processed yet, and I was not a professional, the background’s vastness made the entire world seem to exist only for Mi Cai. The photo showed an extreme sense of emptiness beauty, which was the embodiment of art…
Mi Cai was very satisfied, repeatedly viewing this photo many times, and then she took a photo of me as well. However, we did not choose to take a group photo because here, only a solo scene had the power to impress…
At this moment, Mi Cai became even more convinced of the feasibility of my idea and supported me in taking over this seemingly ordinary but charming cafe… As for whether I could successfully start anew after returning to Xuzhou, it would all depend on the upcoming negotiations!
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