Tang, who studied at Oxford, can make clothes and also enjoys making hand-ground coffee.
This batch of coffee beans and hand-grinding coffee equipment were sought-after export goods that Ning Yuan obtained from Uncle Fang.
She devised the coffee styles that would later become popular with Luckin Coffee and Starbucks.
They persuaded Mr. Donald, who had always believed that adding spices and chocolate to coffee was cult-like and heretical.
This led to today's coffee category list—too monotonous bitter coffee is unlikely to appeal to most people's tastes.
"Welcome!" Mr. Tang, dressed as a barista, wiped his hands with his apron and shook hands with Ning Bingyu with a smile.
The two immediately began conversing in English.
As they were talking, Director Chu brought over a dozen school and department leaders and teachers with him.
Ning Yuan knew they were all there because of Grandpa Tang.
Surprisingly, there were two foreigners with blond hair and green eyes among them; they were scholars sent by the West for exchanges after the reform and opening up.
Ning Yuan quickly went with Yan Yangyang and Chu Hongyu to greet them—"Hello, teachers!"
Besides the vice principal and Director Chu, there were many other leaders and teachers whom they didn't recognize.
But calling everyone "teacher" is definitely the right thing to do!
The 70-square-meter shop became lively—the size of a house these days is whatever you say it is.
There is no such thing as shared area.
The spacious and bright shop, spanning over 70 square meters, allows one to sit inside and enjoy the view of snow-capped mountains, forests, and lakes... a truly refreshing experience.
The aroma of coffee was warm and comforting, and there were rows of seven or eight kinds of afternoon tea-style pastries on the table.
Miniature steamed peach cakes, various exquisite glutinous rice daifuku, almond cheese tarts, coconut water chestnut layer cakes, cherry yogurt cakes...
Since there was no oven, Grandma Xia and the three students who came to work and study prepared the unbaked snacks in advance in the kitchen.
Yes, there are also many store-bought cookies with cream and canned or fresh fruit sandwiched in between.
Even if the sliced donkey rolls are filled with cream and diced fruit, as long as they are presented in an exquisite, small, and beautiful way, they can be considered a stylish new "French dessert".
Not to mention daifuku, a type of dim sum that few people eat nowadays, many other dim sum items are not commonly found in Shanghai.
Ning Yuanquan added her own improved flavor.
Even Ning Bingyu, a business tycoon who has traveled all over the world, and his subordinates considered it a very decent coffee and snack.
but……
Chu Hongyu glanced at the price list, frowned, and asked Ning Yuan, "Your coffee and pastries are a bit expensive. Most students and teachers can't afford them."
The cheapest one is 50 cents a cup! Even the cheapest snack starts at 30 cents.
Those two Evergreen biscuits sandwiched with cream and canned yellow peach pieces looked exquisite and pretty, but the cost of each biscuit was at most a few cents!
You can order a serving of spare ribs for 81 cents!
Who would spend a few cents to drink this stuff and eat these half-empty snacks?!
Ning Yuan smiled and quietly pointed in Director Chu's direction: "How about we hear what the teachers think?"
Chu Hongyu and Yan Yangyang subconsciously turned their heads and heard the vice principal and Director Chu, along with a group of teachers, eating and reminiscing—
"Professor Tang's coffee shop has a lot of style. No wonder he's a senior professor at our school!"
"In the future, foreign scholars, Hong Kong and Macao visiting scholars or guests can come here to sit and relax, without having to go all the way to a coffee shop."
"Yes, the coffee shop has a very cultural atmosphere, it's really nice. I'll discuss with Mr. Tang later whether it can be one of the locations for receiving guests..."
The teachers and leaders whispered among themselves, while the two foreigners' eyes lit up.
At the end of 1979, even in a place like Shanghai, there were only a few coffee shops, and the coffee flavors were monotonous!
They usually have to take a bus for half an hour to get coffee, or they have to ride a bike for an hour!
Chu Hongyu looked at Ning Yuan thoughtfully: "So, your coffee shop isn't for students, but for the upper class?"
Ning Yuan said with a smile, "Since the reform and opening up, Fudan University has had many visiting scholars and groups from home and abroad visiting every month."
"However, the reception areas inside the school are mostly formal meeting rooms, lacking such casual spaces."
A cup of coffee costing just a few cents and a small snack costing just a few cents are not worth buying for students, most teachers, and residents around Fudan University!
However, for foreign scholars and groups visiting the school, as well as international students...
Even a cup of coffee costing a dollar is no problem!
She invited school leaders and teachers to her opening ceremony today, one of her purposes being to find people to endorse her.
Let people know that this coffee shop has someone protecting it, so that the local thugs will think twice before making a move.
Secondly, she wanted to take this opportunity to show that her coffee shop was a suitable place for the school to receive wealthy foreigners and overseas Chinese visitors!
Third, as reform and opening up deepens, Shanghai, once a bustling metropolis, will gradually regain its fashionable and sophisticated atmosphere.
There are still many old gentlemen and tasteful aunties and grandmothers living in Shanghai.
After the reform and opening up, they gradually took off their green, gray, blue and black worker uniforms and caps.
They secretly put on the suits and skirts they had hidden in the attic and strolled around the streets, reminiscing about their youth.
She will make Heart of the Era the most stylish coffee shop in the area, where the local gentlemen and ladies would rather not eat an 80-cent serving of ribs than not come for a 50-cent cup of coffee!
It will become one of the landmarks in this area!
Chu Hongyu couldn't help but exclaim, "You really have a lot of clever ideas in your head!"
In 1886, the first coffee shop in Hongkou opened in Shanghai, and drinking coffee quickly became a symbol of modern life in the bustling metropolis.
Back in the day, Avenue Joffre, Nanjing Road, and Yuyuan Road were lined with coffee shops, but in the last few decades, only a few state-owned restaurants in Shanghai still sell coffee.
Ning Yuan's coffee shop perfectly embodies the style of Shanghai!
Yan Yangyang popped a piece of cherry yogurt cake into her mouth: "Although I don't know what's so good about coffee, that bitter, medicine-like stuff..."
She muttered to herself as she reached for the second piece: "But Ningning's pastries are so delicious and exquisite. If you ever go to the capital, I'll help you find a place to open a shop there too!"
The sweet and sour, soft milk pudding and the flavor of imported canned cherries blend together so well, it's really delicious!
Ning Yuan smiled and said, "Okay, wait until I open the store in Shanghai to Beijing and other places, and you two can eat and drink for free when you come to the store!"
In a few decades, Shanghai will be the place with the highest density of coffee shops in the world, selling 100 million cups of coffee a year—and that's not just an advertising slogan!
"But apart from Shanghai and Beijing, and maybe Guangzhou, I'm afraid your coffee business won't take off in other places."
Chu Hongyu, sipping her freshly served latte, unceremoniously poured cold water on Ning Yuan's enthusiasm.
In 1979, even the cheapest coffee in Shanghai cost eight cents a cup.
Although it doesn't taste as good as Donald's hand-ground coffee, it's cheaper!
Moreover, many people who have money would rather drink malted milk powder than drink coffee, that bitter stuff!
Ning Yuan's high-end coffee shops can only be opened in a few major open cities at most!
Ning Yuan smiled and said, "I know, but my purpose in opening the Heart of the Epoch is not just to sell coffee and snacks."
Chu Hongyu raised an eyebrow with interest: "So what else do you plan to do?"
Ning Yuan pointed to a small, independent counter to the right of the cafe entrance, where Grandma Xia was skillfully making fruit sparkling water with a student who was working part-time.
Yan Yangyang also noticed the price of sparkling water at the coffee shop entrance—still a cheap eight cents, the same price as the one sold below the teachers' dormitory.
However, there are four flavors available: pineapple, orange, lemon, and original.
On the clean counter are rows of clean bamboo cups that have been boiled in hot water.
The Epoch Heart Cafe looked so eye-catching that people around it were naturally very curious and had long gathered around to watch the spectacle.
The coffee and pastries in the cafe are expensive, but the sparkling water at the counter next to the door is cheap!
As a result, many residents lined up to try it out.
Yan Yangyang stuffed a cream daifuku into his mouth, puzzled: "Isn't it just moving sparkling water outside to sell? If you cater to the surrounding residents, your business will be much better?"
Ning Yuan's big eyes crinkled into a smile: "Good business is secondary, my main goal is to use sparkling water to 'fish' for customers!"
Chu Hongyu was taken aback: "What kind of fish are you fishing for?"
Ning Yuan gestured for Chu Hongyu and the others to look at Ning Bingyu and his group.
Chu Hongyu glanced around and saw Ning Bingyu putting down his coffee with great interest and leading people to see the sparkling water that the old woman was selling.
While eating the mille-feuille cake, Yan Yangyang became even more puzzled: "Aren't those a few capitalists from the Hong Kong government? Why are you luring them here? Are you planning to arrest them and parade them through the streets or send them to be executed?!"
Anything that Ningning is willing to fish for must be something bad!
Ning Yuan: "..."
Ah! It's as if Sister Yan is wearing an invisible red scarf on her chest, which shines even brighter now!
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