source： editor：zhang wenni
what is the ideal job? two years ago, niu yu quit his job at a fortune 500 company and returned to xi'an to start a coffee business. in just over a year, the independent coffee shop run by niu yu and his wife has reached first in various coffee rankings in qujiang area.
niu yu, born in 1985, majored in advertising at university. "after graduating, i worked in publicity for a company, and then i went to beijing, where i worked up to the managerial role." until the end of 2018, niu yu took nearly half a year of sick leave due to his health. "whether it is better to continue to work for somebody else or to do something else, i have to calm down and think about it.”
make the change"making a new change is not easy." niu yu said, "when you must make a change, just do something you really like."
"i used to work in the media industry and i was literally addicted to coffee. later, i got to know specialty coffee and then became a coffee lover." in order to make good coffee, niu yu returned to his hometown in yunnan province and studied coffee systematically for nearly a year. "i happen to be a native of yunnan, where most of china's specialty coffee comes from."
"i initially decided to work while taking coffee as a hobby and open a studio-like coffee shop." however, after a year of studying in the coffee-producing farm, niu yu couldn't help asking himself, "while we were learning and working here, the coffee farmers just focused on the land they had and the income was not much, but why did they still look so happy every day?"
after he returned to xi'an, niu yu determined to work in coffee full time.
at the beginning of selecting the shop site, niu yu ran through nearly all the streets of xi'an, especially in gaoxin district, yet he didn't think it was the right direction. his original intention is always to find some place that can bring people warmth.
"we want to get down to earth and do this job for the rest of our lives. i might be a little behind, but every step forward counts and will pave the way for the future. i hope we can move forward step by step." niu yu said.
"in the beginning, our shop was unknown to anyone, and all we could do was to take each cup of coffee seriously and treat each customer seriously."
"a coffee shop in the community has to integrate into the life of the surrounding residents. before we opened the shop, the qujiang area was mostly taken by the chain coffee stores with few small coffee shops. well, over a year, people living in the neighbourhood often came by and hung out."
keep doing the small yet beautiful things"with the experience of living and studying in the coffee bean producing areas of yunnan, i hope that in the future, the coffee shop can further connect with the producing areas and coffee farms, such as hosting some offline events."
"for more than a year, my wife and i have not hired anyone in the shop. at least at the moment, i am not considering chain stores or looking for investment. i prefer to keep my feet on the ground and do something we can control."
"although i was drained during this year, i really cherish what i have now. my income is quite lower than before, but i think we're moving in a good direction. we don't have second thoughts about all the choices, and we just work towards our goal step by step." niu yu said.
some customers would sit at the bar and ask what niu yu used to do, but only some old customers know that niu yu was once a big-company employee, having routine office wear and working from 9 to 5.