The owner of the cafe who "collects rags"

Nothing can stop Chen Xian's yearning for "collecting junk".

Why do you open a coffee shop? Because there is so much "junk" collected and piled up at home that there is no place to put it. Asked at least twice, she answered earnestly that this seemed to be the case, at least for a very important reason. So why do you like to collect these things? The answer is simpler: because it looks good.

When I walked into her store for the first time, I was immediately attracted by the whole wall of collectibles. Radios, typewriters, telephones, frames, bottles and cans. The most is a variety of clocks, innumerable how many, this is her favorite.

Ask her whether these things are sold, she said not to sell, at least not for the time being, but if a guest likes it very much and feels predestined, he will give it to each other.

In addition to the things on that wall, in fact, many of the furnishings in the store are the "rags" she collected, including old door frames, bed frames, and various styles of chairs. Maybe Qianyuan is the most mixed cafe in Beijing, because it has a landlady who keeps collecting junk.

Chen Xian goes to the secondhand market once or twice a week, driving her second-hand jeep that seems to be falling apart, wearing a dress that is not afraid of dirt and makes her skills agile. The place I went to was the ghost market, which only existed in the middle of the night. There were no street lights in the open air, and everyone was dangling around with flashlights.

In the ghost market, you must have a good vision, move quickly, and be able to bargain. Chen Xian has all these things. I went with her once, and sure enough, she found a lot of good things in the messy, man-dominated market. Of course, proper patience and tactics are needed, and the things you like may wait for an hour or two before you can buy them at a lower price. Every time she will stroll in the ghost market for a few hours, a small place, countless trips back and forth, anyway, there are so many people, it is not surprising that everyone is like this.

Often go to the ghost market, know a lot of sellers, and some will take the initiative to come to her. Because of the tough counter-offer and frequent success, she got the nickname "Chen Shiyuan". Chen Xian couldn't help laughing when she said it, with a touch of The Smiling、Proud Wanderer.

The secret books she summed up are: overwhelm him in aura, communicate, and get familiar with each other.

Chen Xian said she was trained and may have talent. But the ghost market has the rules of the ghost market, and Chen Xian has also broken the rules. Once she saw an alarm clock that she liked very much. Someone was bargaining. After waiting for half an hour for that person to make up his mind, she said, "you don't want it."

"do you know the rules? do you still want to hang out here?" The man was angry.

"Don't be so ferocious." Chen Xian offered a kind apology and saved the day.

I originally thought that she had been in the north for a long time before she became a northerner, but Chen Xian said that she had always been bold enough to go to Xizang alone when she graduated from university. she hitchhiked on the way, and the car overturned into the river, and she went to find help herself.

In any case, she is still a typical Sichuan girl: beautiful, enthusiastic, capable, and can be said to be a professional expert, it is easy to entertain dozens of people for dinner. She used to open a restaurant called Kuanxiangzi in Beijing, and the business was booming. Later, the landlord was greedy and withdrew it and gave it to someone else, and the business went out of business again. "the landlord must regret it now." Chen Xian said with a trace of complacency. Her present cafe is called Qianyuan, and she can also eat, but it is not the main business and must be booked in advance. "there is no menu. You can eat whatever you want, as long as you can say it."

Asked if she still wanted to go back to Chengdu, she said: I decided to come to Beijing and sold my two houses in Chengdu. What do you think?

In a blog post in 2007, she wrote: "someone seriously asked me, do you like Chengdu or Beijing?" I answered without thinking: Chengdu. He thought about it and asked me, would you rather live in Beijing or Chengdu? I paused for a moment, then raised my head and answered in the affirmative: Beijing! Yes, I want to live in Beijing. "

Now that she has been in Beijing for six and a half years, she can see that her roots are getting deeper and deeper, although she is also worried that the newly opened cafe is not making much money. Of course, there must be a lot of happiness, not only "collecting junk", she also likes to collect high heels and bears, which sounds quite cross-border.

After knowing Chen Xian, seeing her collection and eating her cooking, I think of the saying "the people of Sichuan are the salt of the world". It is easy to think of her.

China Coffee Trading Network: www.gafei.com