Across the cedar road full of gears, the lonely man had a cup of coffee

This society is like a perpetual motion machine.

And we're all just one of the gears.

The winter cedar road does not have the hustle and bustle of summer.

At 08:30 in the evening, only a few diners of Bali lobster ate midnight snacks. The glasses Restaurant next door ended its busy dinner, and the messengers and cooks played with their cell phones in the kitchen.

Between the two restaurants is a resident aisle about five meters wide, filled with food stalls such as lo mei and stewed soup, which are the capillaries of the food street.

A young man in a jacket asked for a manning before pushing the cart, the ninth drink Gao Siyu sold tonight and her fifth month on Cedar Road.

It took Gao Siyu two months to transform the coffee car into a tricycle. The car is covered with colorful lights, and sometimes the ball of light used for the DISCO ball is hung to attract more attention.

At first, Gao Siyu thought there would be no coffee atmosphere here, but what he did not expect was that "the rate of coffee spots here is higher than that of coffee shops in business circles." However, after she recently moved to the crossing, her business deteriorated unexpectedly. "it was a far cry from selling on the roadside before." Her coffee cart has also changed from afternoon to noon, and regular customers who work in nearby office buildings hope to have a cup of coffee after lunch.

On summer nights, Cedar Road is so crowded that only electric cars can barely cross it, and coffee carts are often blocked by other stalls: but regular customers look for it, probably just for a cup of Vietnamese ice milk.

"the importance of money ranges from 1 to 10. How much are you?"

"10 points"

In the beginning, I chose to work in coffee because I wanted to make more money. When he was a sophomore, relatives set up a high school canteen, and Gao Siyu ran a milk tea shop in the canteen. The monthly rent is only eight hundred. You can earn seven thousand when the business is good and three thousand when the business is bad.

"I mistakenly thought that selling milk tea could make a lot of money, but I didn't expect that finance and the Internet would really make money quickly," says Gao Siyu. With the dream of making a lot of money and seeing the world, while still in college, she went to a casino in Macao to learn to make milk tea. What awaits her is the mechanical work from morning till night, and the living environment of illegal workers.

This is part of Gao Siyu's life experience. She has had a variety of part-time jobs since she was in college and has not asked her family for living expenses.

Before pushing the cart to start a business, Gao Siyu was a central China manager of a coffee chain who earned more than 10,000 a month and went to Hong Kong to purchase a batch of skin care products every year. But every month in Wuhan will not stay more than a week, flying, living in a chain, assisting the opening of new stores, meeting customers is the norm of her life.

"once I went online and traveled to Baidu. I did a test and found that I had gone to 61 cities." This busy state lasted for five years. She left her job for the third time in May, which allowed her to do what she had always wanted to do: sell her own coffee.

"can coffee trucks make more money than regional managers?" I asked curiously. Gao Siyu believes that coffee cars are more suitable for the future O2O industry, and the portable performance makes the coffee customers drink more fresh. "the impact of temperature change on coffee is no less than that of Japanese cuisine." In addition, she also hopes to do international coffee trade.

Gao Siyu gave ten points to the importance of money, because money can improve sense of security, but it also makes her more anxious and hard working. Gao Siyu, who is constantly busy by the coffee truck, always gives the impression that she is quick and not muddy: a circle of people surround her to buy drinks, collecting money, making drinks, chatting with guests, and packing drinks are all done by one person. In addition to her day-to-day operation, she also has to take care of the Weibo and official account of the coffee car and push the latest drinks regularly.

You can only rest when it rains, Gao Siyu said. The hard work of the past few years has made her develop some habits, such as feeling ashamed if she is still in bed at ten o'clock.

This "anxiety" is also reflected in the product. Gao Siyu hopes that even carts will be standardized. Sometimes, when making drinks for guests, she will deliberately lift the measuring tube. These habits stem from her past work experience in a fast-selling store: details such as quality control errors and quality assurance being one minute late will deduct money, and the manager will be nervous every day.

At the end of business hours, each container is carefully scrubbed. A lot of things seem useless because they haven't accumulated over time, she explains.

"A lot of people come here just to talk to someone."

When I was a child, when I watched some Hong Kong movies, people who were lovelorn would always order some snacks in the stalls and chat with the boss.

On Cedar Road, most passers-by will stop to watch as long as they notice the coffee cart, and some will have a drink. The two carts are "small and complete", equipped with bean grinders, hand tools, milk beaters, wine shakers, and you can drink milk tea, cocktails and individual coffee with constantly changing beans.

In summer, wine is a common drink for nearby diners, bringing more repeat customers. These raisins and bayberry wines are home-brewed and are paired with strong brandy.

Within two minutes of completing the steps of grinding beans, warming pots, steaming, brewing and filling cups, some people will become friends. Gao Siyu said that many people often come here, and some want to talk to someone. They love to talk about the delicious food on Cedar Road and occasionally talk about work stress.

Sitting next to me, the barista who came to visit from Xiamen explained to me: although everyone has friends, they always have a desire to confide in "strangers". The bar at Starbucks is lower than it used to be, and they want passengers to talk to baristas better.

It is said that in Japanese wine houses and tea shops, the boss will pay special attention to the guests who come alone-find that they are in a bad mood and have a chat before the meeting. Maybe the guests are talking to the bosses in the store, but they will tidy up before going out and walk expressionless on the street.

"I like the speed of motorcycles."

After ten o'clock in the evening, Gao Siyu was ready to close the stall and finish the day's work. The coffee car was locked in the aisle, and she rented a warehouse in a nearby neighborhood to store raw materials and utensils. A few days ago, because of a sprain in her waist, the doctor told her not to do hard work. So when her father was too late to help, she had to move things over the steps and into the warehouse in batches.

She told me that the electric car she is driving now is a temporary substitute and will buy a motorcycle soon. When she was a regional manager in her early years, her boss warned her not to have too much personality, but Gao often wore leather clothes and drove a motorcycle to work. She likes to drive her motorcycle so fast that she doesn't feel too cold in winter.

At this time, the small vendors on Cedar Road were bored, waiting for the urbanites to have a midnight snack. They are like "Life Show" to Shuangyang, occasionally smiling faces, but the heart is not easy.

On the road, two drivers were waiting for business, and one of them told me, "every time this happens, I always worry about two questions: will the people who eat inside drink?" will they ask someone to drive for them when they drink? Gao Siyu will also ride an electric bike across Cedar Road, cross Jianghan Bridge via Wusheng Road from Youth Road, and return to the Zhongjiacun house where she has to repay her 30-year mortgage.

I caught the last subway at Wangjiadun East Railway Station. the carriage was relatively empty and the people who returned home were also playing with their cell phones. This society is like a perpetual motion machine, and we are all one of the gears.

Source: network