TPODN Chapter 29

Here is the suburban area of Dekai City – if you don’t live here regularly, it’s impossible to come here with great interest. Even if you are a local of Dekai City, you need a taxi driver to lead the way before you know how to get here.

Enter from a dilapidated tile house in the suburbs of Dekai City, walk along an unknown cement road, and then turn across several unknown bridges, you will find yourself in a “godforsaken” place, and the “Guangming (Bright) Cafe” is on your left. The “Guangming Cafe” is the only decent-looking building here, but it is still very dilapidated. Compared with the cafes in big cities, the “Guangming Cafe” is like a crumbling “old man”, soaked by the years, but still retaining its aged value.

“Guangming Cafe” has loyal fans. There are employees working in Dekai City who sip a glass here, and there are also “aboriginals” living in the suburbs, and even some “elderly single nobles” drive here to drink coffee… Some female coffee customers wearing retro dresses drink coffee here, and an ancient and strange style arises spontaneously.

Perhaps many years ago, there were hotels or restaurants like the “Guangming Cafe” located here, but now they no longer exist. Everything here seems like an antique, and the owner, Fan Keqin, feels that it needs to be changed. In order to cater to different coffee customers, Fan Keqin took out most of the funds for running the cafe to transform the “Guangming Cafe”. Although it is ancient, it can still be shown to people after being transformed by the owner, Mr. Fan.

—

Wang Linfei arrived in Dekai City sleepily, and everything here seemed particularly unfamiliar.

After getting off the plane, Li Haoran immediately rented an off-road vehicle, and dragged Wang Linfei to Dekai City in no time. Wang Linfei didn’t even eat lunch before being dragged by Li Haoran to this remote place.

“I’m a little carsick, Li Haoran…” Wang Linfei looked uncomfortable, because since Wang Linfei took the medicine prescribed by Doctor Liu Mei, he rarely had time to eat except for sleeping. Today, he was dragged by Li Haoran to drive hundreds of miles to this strange place without eating a bite, and now his stomach was churning and he just wanted to vomit.

After vomiting, Li Haoran took Wang Linfei to the “Guangming Cafe”.

[If you see this text, please exit reading mode, or go to the “source webpage” to read normally]
[Please go to the source webpage to read, the following content prevents automatic replacement] You — me, big — small, more — less, up — down, left — right…

At this time, Wang Linfei and Li Haoran were sitting in the lounge of the cafe, with a fire burning outside the stove, which seemed very out of place. The cafe didn’t have air conditioning, only a fireplace with coal and wood. The tables and benches here seemed very old. I don’t know where the owner found such retro tables and chairs, perhaps wanting to create an old-fashioned coffee-drinking scene, or perhaps these tables, chairs, or decorations were decades old.

It was time for drinking coffee, and the hall was full of people.

Although the “Guangming Cafe” has three floors, everyone has too unified ideas about drinking coffee and likes to sit on the first floor to drink. In addition to the coal stove and old-fashioned tables and chairs, there were even celebrity portraits from the 1980s and 1990s of the last century. There were items from the last century that you couldn’t usually see. Even if the sun was shining inside, everyone still liked to enjoy the quiet afternoon time there.

People drank coffee here and reached an unprecedented unified understanding. They all put down their mobile phones and discussed trivial matters in unison. Locals like to watch different people coming in and out, to see if anyone they know will come here today; Out-of-towners will look at the decoration of the “Guangming Cafe” and talk about the history of coffee, and knowledgeable regulars will also explain everything here to newcomers.

The owner here, Fan Keqin, often talks to different coffee customers about the history of the “Guangming Cafe”. He is tall, about sixty years old, and has the appearance of not being a modern person. He is humble and dignified, and makes light of everything. The waiters here carry out their daily work under the strict command of the owner, Mr. Fan.

Li Haoran went up and greeted the owner, Mr. Fan.

“Uncle Fan!”

“Hello, Li Haoran, what wind brought you here?”

“I’m taking my friend to see the purest cafe. I see, my friend seems so incredible going there.”

The owner, Mr. Fan, looked at Wang Linfei and sized up the young man, seeing the young man’s uncomfortable expression, Mr. Fan Keqin immediately brewed him a cup of medicinal coffee to drink.

“Young man, you’ll feel better after drinking it. You see, my biological clock has been out of whack recently, standing in a strange and unreal world, it seems so unnatural.” The owner, Mr. Fan, stroked his beard and said with a smile.

The owner, Mr. Fan, walked through the hall to the place where coffee was made, whispered a few words to the barista, and soon made a cup of “special coffee” for Wang Linfei.

Wang Linfei naturally didn’t refuse. He picked up the coffee and drank it, and a warm feeling instantly struck him. Wang Linfei closed his eyes, and then opened them, and then sat down comfortably.

Wang Linfei noticed the hall. There were many people drinking coffee here, and more than one table was filled with several cups of coffee. It turned out that he was not the only one who treated coffee as a meal.

“Where do the people here get so much money to drink coffee?” Wang Linfei looked at this remote wilderness, and it didn’t seem like there were people who could afford to drink coffee.

The “Guangming Cafe” is obviously a place where dragons and tigers are hidden.

“Don’t look at this poor and remote place, the locals here are all demolition households. I thought there were no buildings here, but they were all demolished. The people here have a lot of money. Look at those women, the women at home are either bosses or earn a lot of money in their careers. Those who go there to drink coffee are all people with status. Perhaps these old women miss their past, that’s why they like to drink here.” Li Haoran said to Wang Linfei.

“Even the lowest income is one or two thousand yuan a month to afford the expenses of the cafe. Of course, our cafe doesn’t cost hundreds of yuan a cup, it’s also a civilian price, it’s just that everyone likes to drink here, and they prefer to have one cup after another, they are addicted to coffee. Of course, our cafe is not just that.” Fan Keqin laughed loudly, and after laughing, the owner, Mr. Fan, went to the second floor.

Wang Linfei looked at the price of the coffee in the cafe, and a cup of coffee there was indeed not very expensive. An ordinary Americano was only fifteen yuan a cup, which ordinary people could afford.

As Wang Linfei thought about it, he followed the owner, Mr. Fan, and Li Haoran to the counter. The receptionist, Xu Jie, greeted Wang Linfei and the others cordially. Xu Jie is the wife of the owner, Mr. Fan Keqin. She knows every old customer in the cafe. Although Aunt Xu is over sixty years old, she looks very young. She tied her silver hair with a playful hairband, and even wore a waitress uniform, with a ruby ​​decoration on her chest, which made her look different from other waitresses.

“This is the special coffee that Lao Fan prepared for you. He is very happy today. Then you come to room ‘Ten’, Lao Fan wants to receive you personally.” Aunt Xu said.

“Is there a hotel here too, Li Haoran?”

“Uncle Fan wants his old friends to drink coffee more comfortably, so he prepared a ‘coffee hotel’ on the second and third floors, which can be regarded as an innovation.”

“Can people stay in this hotel?”

“Of course, the ‘Guangming Cafe’ is a comprehensive cafe that integrates coffee drinking, accommodation, and dining.”

Wang Linfei and Li Haoran were about to go upstairs, when they suddenly stopped. They saw the owner, Mr. Fan Keqin, exchanging greetings with a noble old man.

“Wow, I can actually see Mr. Lin Feng. This trip is really worthwhile.”

“Mr. Lin Feng?”

Lin Feng is also a legendary figure in the domestic coffee industry, and he is often regarded as the soul of the “Guangming Cafe”. The coffee customers here have always had a question, who is the owner of the “Guangming Cafe”? Many people have a deep impression of Mr. Lin Feng. Although he is old, he is always dressed appropriately, and everyone thinks that Lin Feng is the owner of the cafe.

At this moment, Lin Feng and Fan Keqin looked serious. After they finished the polite words, the conversation entered into formality.

“Old Lin, how can we attract old customers to continue to go there?”

“Oh, aren’t you satisfied with the current traffic?” Lin Feng found it very interesting, and continued, “The answer is very simple. Unless… you.”

Lin Feng paused for a moment, but Fan Keqin immediately understood Lin Feng’s meaning.

“Unless we continue to implement special offers, right?”

“Pretty close. Customers generally don’t know that they are enjoying discounts, and even if they realize it, they will think it is because they are old customers.”

“Ah? So they think it’s a matter of course for them to enjoy these discounts?”

“Yes, Old Fan, we are running a hotel. I still say that, I’m cold-hearted, but I want you to make money.”

“Then how do you make money?”

“‘Guangming Cafe’ already has everything it needs to make money… I think, new customers come to the suburbs of Dekai City, everything there seems so barren, and suddenly a cafe comes into view. Not only is there coffee, but also delicious old-fashioned Chinese food, and there are old-fashioned tables and chairs and old antiques placed in the hotel. Of course, there are also some daily and unremarkable things. ‘Guangming Cafe’ is very comfortable and warm. After drinking coffee and eating, guests can also enjoy themselves by the stove…'” Lin Feng described, and even smiled, almost grinning.

“I understand.” Fan Keqin said thoughtfully.

Lin Feng nodded in agreement.

“Oh yes. This place looks like a scene from ten years ago, but I think it must also have the comfortable conditions that modern people are used to. Although our customers all live in modern times, most people are nostalgic now, and they will definitely realize that although they are in the modern world, life has not adapted. And our customers can both sip coffee and feel the past.”

“Alas, it’s sometimes difficult to create this kind of scene.” Lin Feng said.

“It’s difficult. Although it’s spring now, the coldness of winter has not been completely removed. It’s the beginning of spring, and many customers need heating. In the past, there was no air conditioning. We now put charcoal and wood in the stove, and we have to prevent customers from carbon monoxide poisoning, and this kind of fire-roasting method is very easy to cause a fire. At the same time, there is also a point, that is, guests are also very picky about food. For example, some old people like to eat Chinese food, such as steamed fish or bean soup rice, but some relatively young people also like the retro mood, but their tastes do not match the old-fashioned Chinese food. They like Western food, such as bacon, steak, and even nuts after meals.”

“Bacon and steak?”

“Yes – some young people also want to eat hamburgers, ham, and even spread peanut butter on bread.”

“I have to tell my wife when I get back, don’t eat such things at home.”

Fan Keqin laughed.

“We try our best to meet any requirements of our customers.” Lin Feng said.

“Including what Western food or Chinese food, or a little Mapo tofu spread on a hamburger, so that everyone can get what they need…”

“What did you say?”

“Just talking casually, Old Fan. Two extreme combinations.”

Lin Feng took the key that Fan Keqin gave him and turned to leave. Inadvertently, he saw Li Haoran and his friend named Wang standing together.

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