Summertime

On an asphalt road paved with camphor trees near Shikumen, there will always be travelers wearing sunglasses and parasols passing by in twos and threes, and the huge SLR cameras hanging around their necks will be hurriedly lifted from time to time. From the beginning, individual tourists are used to subconsciously brushing at the two or three-story small western-style buildings full of Shanghai's old-fashioned architectural style hidden in the ivy on the street or in the canopy of lush trees. After taking pictures, they hurried past , it seems that for them, the task of photography is the most important task in travel, and the photos may last longer than the short-lived ones that stop and watch.

And in the expensive camera on the neck of individual tourists, there will probably be an old-style red brick western-style building half-hidden among the lush green ivy, and a fake stone fountain in front of the small western-style building. Manual script—CouCi.

CouCi, perhaps in the eyes of tourists, it is just a sign carved in stone, like rockery, fountains, mansions, with a yellowing atmosphere of old Shanghai, and most of the inconspicuous still lifes in other photos Together, they will forever be piled up in thousands of old photos, waiting for the owner who took the photos to look through them on a whim one day, hoping that the owner can find bright spots in the careless nostalgia.

But no one will pay attention to the meaning behind CouCi, no one will know, except the people who work in that small red brick western-style building.

CouCi is the name of this interior design studio. Most of the people working here are college students who have just graduated, and the average age is mostly 25 to [-] years old. These young people know what CouCi means. It is the brainchild of Gu Xia and Xizao made. CouCi is a homophony of Gu and Xi, and something in the names of the two founders of CouCi has become an important part of this still developing studio.

CouCi is an interior design studio dedicated to private customization. At the same time, it also focuses on household items with CouCi design styles, ranging from small toothbrush holders, coasters, tea sets, to large beds, wardrobes, and kitchen cabinets. CouCi has them all. own brand. The biggest feature of CouCi is that its products can customize interior designs with individual styles for different customers according to the needs and requirements of customers.Customers can even participate in the process of furniture assembly and decoration design together with CouCi.Five years ago, Xi Zao accepted Gu Xia's invitation, resigned from his job in a well-known Japanese home design company, and jointly established this humble studio with Gu Xia.As the creative director, Xizao is in charge of all aspects related to design, creation, planning, and procurement, while Gu Xia is in charge of operation and management, because the scale of the studio cannot be compared with other large companies. The distribution and supervision of the studio can't be detailed, so in the early days of the studio, human resources, public relations, marketing, finance, and marketing were almost all in charge of Gu Xia.Xizao doesn't like outreach, let alone socializing. Except for drawing, thinking hard about creativity, and decoration design, Xizao hardly gets involved in other things too much, but will make some important decisions with Gu Xiaduo Talking, and occasionally she would give Gu Xia her own advice after the meeting. Of course, there are quite a lot of disagreements between the two of them in the past few years, but the five years of ups and downs along the way have gradually produced a certain relationship between them. This kind of tacit understanding, whether in work or in life, is slowly permeating, deepening, and integrating.The tacit understanding often appears when they discuss work and in private life.Sometimes they only need one eye contact to know how to choose, deal with, and decide next, and they all understand it.

Today, five years later, through the joint efforts of two people, CouCi has begun to take shape. The brand designed by Xizao has emerged in several brand design competitions in the industry because of its unique and niche style, which has also made CouCi more popular. well known.A year ago, CouCi, whose foundation was gradually stabilizing, began to open up online operations to attract more customers. The transformation of the new marketing model made CouCi face new challenges and opportunities. CouCi's work is getting busier and busier. , the busiest job is all done by Gu Xia, whether it was before or now.Xizao is very grateful to Gu Xia, because CouCi can achieve today's achievements, the greatest credit is Gu Xia, she knows what Xizao really needs, and gives Xizao the best creative environment, relaxed and comfortable.In many cases, she will respect Xizao's ideas, and even when Xizao is anxious due to lack of inspiration, she will give her own ideas, and with a little guidance, Xizao will be enlightened and enlightened.Xizao doesn't know why Gu Xia gave up her profession of designer, which she was once proud of, and handed over the heavyweight design domain to Xizao after returning to China, but she chose to engage in operations that have almost nothing to do with design. manage.Gu Xia explained that she is no longer young, and may have been out of touch with young consumer groups in many ways. Design needs inspiration, vitality, and young blood. Interest, and compared with the design sketches that require contemplation, she prefers the circle of communication. The previous personal connections gave her a good opportunity, why not take advantage of it, then it is only natural to move to a new field.But Xizao knew that her strength was not as good as Gu Xia's, because when she was in Japan, Xizao was just a small assistant who stayed beside Gu Xia, who was once the chief designer. How good it is.However, Gu Xia handed over the heavy responsibility of design innovation to a little designer who was still unknown in Japan at that time—Xi Zao. Xi Zao had too much gratitude. He took such good care of her, because Gu Xia, in the past five years after returning to China, even in the most difficult time, Xizao never felt too much pressure and burden.

So gradually, Xizao will gradually participate in the operation and management of the studio, and try her best to try some things that she would never touch before. She wants to share some weight for Gu Xia, even if she doesn't like some things do it.Now, Gu Xia has more and more entertainments, and more and more time on business trips. Xizao must take her place when Gu Xia is away, and play the role of manager once or twice, although Xizao can't do it. When it comes to things like Gu Xia's, there are many details, and there are even gaps in many cases.But for Xizao, it is not easy to dedicate part of her energy to a field she doesn't like.

On this day, check various documents in the studio, check the form information, summarize customer feedback, check the artwork submitted by other designers, sign, listen to the new advertising plan drawn up by the advertising company for CouCi, and check CouCi last month Xi Zao was overwhelmed with the complicated business affairs.

When I was about to get off work, the back office told Xizao that the copier was broken and no one could fix it, and I needed someone from outside to repair it tomorrow. Xizao waved her hand from the pile of documents in front of Gu Xia's desk and said that she would finish it by herself. If I can fix it myself, I don’t need to hire someone tomorrow.

At five o'clock in the afternoon, all the employees in the studio left work on time, and Xi Zao was still in Gu Xia's office looking at the documents she hadn't finished reading.

At [-]:[-] in the evening, Xizao leaned back her sore neck, let out a long sigh, and closed her eyes to rest.

Finally finished all the work, it seems that Gu Xia's position is not so easy to sit.

At this time, Xi Zao admired Gu Xia deeply. Gu Xia's work efficiency was much better than hers. Xi Zao couldn't even imagine how she would handle such a huge workload every day and get off work on time every day. Yes, I can't even do it myself.

However, Xizao sighed, and after a short rest, she immediately got up and went to the empty office area outside the door. The complicated mechanical casing of the copy machine that had been out of action all afternoon due to a malfunction.

At that time, Xizao was in Japan, when she stayed beside Gu Xia as a small assistant. Although she was an intern at the beginning, the job of running errands was not for nothing. Fortunately, it was a blessing, but at least she learned How to fix a copier or printer.

Self-satisfied, Xizao pried open the layers of casings of the copier, and then stuck his head into the black hole of the mechanical body, but the inner surface of the iron casing lacked sufficient light, allowing Xizao to see the complicated parts clearly. , she had to turn on the flashlight of her mobile phone, get down on her stomach, and probe deep in order to continue working.

At [-]:[-] in the evening, the copier finally returned to normal work, because the ink cartridge of the machine was filled with different types of ink by some careless employee, which made the ink in the ink cartridge clogged. Zizao, who found the cause of the failure, had to clean the ink cartridge over and over again, and then Add the correct ink.Soon, the monotonous mechanical printing sound of the copier echoed in the empty room, which also indicated that Xizao's day's work had finally come to an end.

She raised her hand and looked at the quartz movement watch on her wrist. The hour hand was approaching thirty, and it was almost nineteen thirty.

Startled, Xizao hurriedly rinsed his ink-stained hands, tidied up, and left in a hurry.

She didn't go home, she didn't drive to the neighborhood where Su Xi lived, but went to other places.

At around [-]:[-] in the evening, Xizao’s car parked in a quiet neighborhood not far from Sinan Road. From here, he crossed two or three small streets and came to Tianzifang on Taikang Road. At night, the complex Shanghai alleys in this area are the most lively. The narrow alleys are crowded with people wandering around. In the aroma of coffee, you may bow your head and whisper, or look up at the old scene of the red alley in front of you, the crowds of people, and the quaint and exquisite century-old shop in a daze.Before the real summer comes, the place is already in full swing, and the hustle and bustle is coming, which makes people caught off guard.

However, Xizao can't feel such a noisy and noisy atmosphere at all, although the bustling Tianzifang is only two or three small streets away from here.It’s like two worlds, the community is hidden in the lush green vegetation, the dust on the asphalt road outside, the pollution, street lights, the sound of motor vehicles running, rolling, and horns are all hidden by the walls of the community. Absorbed by the dense greenery, all clutter becomes hazy, flickering.

Xi Zao closed the car door, looked up at a certain floor of the twelve-story residential building in front of him, and one of the glass windows there emitted a layer of faint light.The orange light passed through the off-white tulle curtains, turning into a dim yellow, a little blurry, like the pale yellow that the crescent moon half-covered by floating clouds in the sky at this moment paves for the earth.

Xi Zao smiled, and walked towards the corner of the elevator in the residential building with a few Wal-Mart shopping bags in his hands.

The author has something to say: This morning I saw that the author of Chapter 1 had something to say and disappeared...Jinjiang smoked again, and after many revisions, he finally changed it back (⌒▽⌒), the new article will update two chapters first!

The new article needs a little patience, because there is a lot of foreshadowing, and the following plots will be more exciting!