Couple working on their own love story

In today’s China, many people believe they will lose face if they use secondhand items, not to mention picking things out of the trash. While some seniors may not mind, most young people find the practice demeaning.

However, Xiao Nan, 29, and her husband Huang Jie, 25, who run a secondhand bookstore in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, see things a little differently.

According to Xiao, Huang has collected so many discarded items that some of his friends joke that she is the only thing he didn’t find on a scrap pile.

“If we can find things in scrap piles, we don’t have to buy them,” said Huang, who was busy fixing a wooden stool that looked as though it had been drenched by rain so frequently that it had turned white in most parts.

Almost all the couple’s furniture and decorations have been rescued from trash piles, including the door to their about 20-squaremeter store and the signboard.

Even the shelves are homemade. Huang bought the wood and made the shelves outside the store, which impressed many local seniors so much that they often call him to fix things, Xiao said.

“My husband likes old things; he thinks they carry traces of those who once used them,” she said.

Located near the prestigious Wuhan University, the couple’s Youhe Bookstore looks out of place with the colorful surrounding environment. Only a few exposed red bricks over the door contrast with the overall gray tone.

“We didn’t do that on purpose. We started the store in a room that had not been used for a long time and had to do some refurbishment. When the laborers were working on it, they ran out of cement. We didn’t have the money to buy more, so we had to leave it like that,” Xiao said.

The store’s unintentional appearance has attracted a lot of attention, and people often visit to take photos of the “special atmosphere” it creates, she added.

Xiao said she was fascinated by her husband when they worked together in another book store, and she took the initiative to pursue him.

Huang loves books. When he was a student, books often covered half of his bed, leaving limited space for sleeping.

“Many men of his age are shallow, but he is not,” Xiao said.

When they held their wedding ceremony in November, they decided to avoid anything “shallow”, one of their favorite words.

“I think many people hold shallow wedding ceremonies. They spend too much money in expensive restaurants with a host making glib remarks to make people laugh. It’s not only expensive, but also lacks solemnity,” Xiao said.

The couple decided to have a simple, solemn wedding ceremony, if not one that was classically Chinese. Eventually, they married in a church, even though they are not Christians.

Though they barely make enough to pay their rent and living expenses, Xiao said they are satisfied because they are doing something they love: “We don’t make much, and we cannot afford to buy a house, but we don’t care about that. We care that we have found something we love doing.”

Xiao Nan