Chapter 3 second quarter

Near the end of August, the hot midsummer is still exuding power.Even the lawn in the yard outside the window seemed to be dejectedly complaining that it had had enough of the weather. Here is the interior of the pure cafe "Talleyrand", which just opened after a week of summer closure.Going north from the intersection of Nijo-dori and Tomokoji-dori in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, you can see a thick electronic signboard, and there are two old houses like twins next to it. The gap and the eaves form a tunnel.When you go through the tunnel, you can see a courtyard so big that you can hardly believe that there is such a thing in the streets of Kyoto.Talleyrand is like the home of the little witch, hidden in the deepest part of the courtyard.

I visited here for the first time in June last year, and I have been visiting continuously for about a year now.At first, I just stumbled in by accident while passing by, and then tasted the dream coffee that I had been drawing in my mind for many years, and then met the barista Chirma Meixing who brewed this cup of coffee.The so-called barista (Barista) is a profession born in Italy in a restaurant operating both coffee and bars, that is, an expert in making espresso-based coffee.Although I also feel that this title is not suitable for this cafe that can be called "pure" classic style, but because it sounds cool, I call Miss Meixing a barista.It is said that the big red espresso machine on the bar is specially prepared for making espresso, which is enough to show how deeply she has deep feelings for the profession of barista... This is a joke, but at least she The love for coffee is real.

A lot of things have indeed happened between me and Miss Meixing.Just recalling it, I feel that there are thousands of feelings in my heart, but if I only look at the results, some of the situations around us are still the same as before, without any change—no, I believe that our hearts and hearts are connected. Compared with when we first met, the distance between them has been somewhat shortened.There was a time before when she would even affectionately call me by my first name instead of my last name.However, because I was always dawdling and my attitude was ambiguous, I don't know when I returned to my original address - "Mr. Aoyama".Also, my life goal of "opening my own cafe" fell by the wayside because I lost motivation.In the past six months, whether it is work or relationship, I have lived a carefree life.

I don't care about my prior.As we all know, the cafe culture in Kyoto is very prosperous, and there are many famous cafes.The reason is generally believed to be that students are used to going to cafes on weekdays, and the resident population in Kyoto is already large, etc., which are caused by these background factors.According to my personal judgment, the sake produced in the Fushimi area of ​​Kyoto can be regarded as one of the three famous brews in Japan. The water in Fushimi is famous for its delicious taste, and the prosperity of cafes is not without the fact that it is easy to use Fushimi water. relation.Because only high-quality water can make a cup of fragrant coffee.

A count in France once said such a maxim: A good cup of coffee is as dark as the devil, as hot as hell, as pure as an angel, and as sweet as love.The coffee at Talleyrand Café, which borrowed the name of the earl, is really delicious.Having visited many cafes, I can assure you that Talleyrand is not inferior to any famous shop in terms of the aroma of coffee, but it is hidden behind other famous shops in a low-key manner.When I first found out here, Talleyrand's business really wasn't very good.Probably because the land was originally owned by the shop owner, so he didn't care much about the accounting of income and expenditure, and has always been doing his own way in terms of operation.Even so, I am impressed that Talleyrand will not go out of business and continue to operate.

Just recently, I quietly taught them some secrets of running a popular cafe, and the book introducing cafes in Kyoto also recommended this place, so the number of customers in Talleyrand has steadily increased.You see, just as I was making my introductions, the door bell jingled, and a new visitor— No, this is not a simple guest. I widened my eyes and stared at the woman who opened the heavy door and appeared in front of me.She noticed my gaze, stared back and said to me: "—what are you looking at." Mizuyama Akiko cut off her long hair and turned it into neat short hair. She and Meixing barista have been good friends since the short-term college.She has a figure like a model, always reveals arrogant words and deeds, and is not attractive at all, but when dealing with friends who have gained her trust, she will also be keen to actively fight against injustices, and sometimes even be a bit nosy.Last year, she failed a grade in university, but she finally graduated this spring and is now working in a company in Kyoto.She dyed her hair black to make herself look more like a newcomer to the company, but this time she dyed her hair back to its original brown color to match her short hair.

I quickly shook my head, indicating nothing.She turned her face away in displeasure, and sat three seats away from me.The cat named Charles in the store meowed and rubbed against her ankles as if welcoming her.A year ago, this Siamese cat started to be kept in Talleyrand because of an unexpected incident.At that time, it was just a kitten, but now it has fully displayed its "mature" demeanor. It would be great if Ms. Shuishan could learn to be more enthusiastic like Charles——I was thinking about this when she bent down and caressed Charles while making a nasty sound.This is a world of difference compared to her attitude towards me. In other words, she only has this attitude towards me.Perhaps, I should learn to be more enthusiastic?

"Long time no see, Akiko. How have you been recently?" Miss Suishan heard the barista greet her, so she turned around. "Anyway, it's true that the body is not eroded by disease. Here—this is a special product brought back from Tokyo." This awkward wording was really her style.I heard that she is from Kanto, so she probably returned to her hometown during the Obon holiday. "Wow, sweet potato yokan. Thanks." Like a magician who can see through, the barista can guess what is inside just by looking at the packaging.The sell-by date printed on the label on the side of the package is today.It seems that Akiko Mizuyama went directly to Talleyrand after returning to Kyoto.

"You're welcome—by the way, how are you doing?" Mei Xing tilted her head slightly, and asked puzzledly, "How about what?" "I'm asking you, is it still the same?" In an instant, the blood circulating all over my body seemed to be mixed with cold water, and I felt a threatening chill.Because Ms. Shuishan looked at me.This look is probably accusing me of "remaining the same" as the relationship between Mei Xing and me.As if I was going to bury my face in the washbasin, I held the cup with both hands and sipped the coffee. Mei Xing followed her friend's line of sight, then replied with a wry smile:

"Yeah, well, it's still the same." Miss Shuishan sighed: "Yes, that face is still very calm." that face?In other words, they don't seem to be talking about me who hides my face.I looked back anxiously. Mogawa, the owner and chef of this restaurant, was sitting there again.Sitting in the corner seat as always, dozing off as always.This old man should be regarded as Meixing's uncle. He wears a dark gray wool cap and has a silver mustache on his mouth. He looks really simple on the outside, but what comes out of his mouth is a frivolous "pseudo-Beijing accent".During Talleyrand's business hours, apart from occasionally making the apple pie that he was proud of, he was basically dozing off, or making friends with young female customers, he was such an unreliable person.I secretly thought, if one day he fell into a trap, someone could stuff freshly roasted coffee beans into his half-closed mouth.

In short, Mizuyama Akiko's intention is not to ridicule me, so I am relieved.However, contrary to my mood, her words seemed to make my good friend, Ms. Meixing, very worried. "Akiko, what happened?" "Well...it's not what happened to me, but there's something I want to ask you, Mei Xing." "Asked me what?" "Because you like coffee, I think, maybe you can understand the thoughts of similar people." Hearing this, the barista who was preparing a white porcelain coffee cup couldn't help laughing. "Like coffee? It's my job anyway." "Look at this picture—my sister sent it to me by email." Ms. Shuishan ignored her friend's protest and showed Meixing her phone.Mei Xing poked her head out from the bar and saw that the photo was an envelope that looked ordinary at first glance. "...Why did you even come here?" What, I originally planned to quietly move to the seat next to Mizuyama-san like a descendant of a ninja, but I was discovered all at once.Her gaze was like Medusa, fixed like a stone when she stared at me.It seems that today I feel stronger than usual, probably because of my bad mood. "Jingzi, forget it, forget it...what's the matter with this letter?" "Oh, this is a letter from a man who lives in Okinawa to my sister this morning." I saw that the name of the recipient was "Shuishancui" written in very characteristic characters on the letter, which was probably her sister's name.I literally thought of the Emerald Mountain high-grade coffee beans produced in Colombia. This is an occupational disease, and I guess there is something wrong with my head. "My sister rented a house in Saitama this month and just finished moving." "So that's the case, it's really a bit strange to say that." With such a few words of communication, Mei Xing quickly understood what her friend wanted to express.Let me see, her head is also very problematic. "Excuse me—what's so strange about this?" Ms. Shuishan said impatiently like chasing flies: "It's a postmark!" "Postmark? It was postmarked when it was mailed from Nago..." "You take a good look at the date." After Mei Xing said this, I moved my face closer to look again.Ms. Shuishan was startled, and she retracted the phone by 10 centimeters, and I stretched my neck like a turtle. Finally, I noticed, "This date is weird." "So I just said it." "Well, you just said that your sister just moved to Saitama this month." However, the postmark date on the envelope in the photo shows that it was a month ago.Of course, the recipient's address is somewhere in Saitama Prefecture.That is to say—— "If the date on the postmark is true," Ms. Shuishan continued, "although this letter was posted before my sister moved, the address for the letter is written at my sister's current address—in other words, , this man sent this letter to my sister's future address."