Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 162: Honest Person

Li Zhe cut off a piece of beef and put it in his mouth, comparing it to the steak he had at the Great Wall Hotel yesterday. The taste was still good, but the texture was somewhat inferior. The Great Wall Hotel's steak was tender and juicy, while the Qin Chuan hybrid beef was firmer and chewier.

Li Zhe put down his knife and fork: "Second sister, what do you think of the taste and texture of this beef?"

The second sister replied, "The taste is alright, but the texture is a little off. Where did you get this beef? It looks quite fresh and tender. Is it some kind of domestic beef from our country?"

"This is called Qinchuan hybrid beef, which is probably a crossbreed of Qinchuan beef and foreign beef. Although the taste is slightly inferior to foreign steaks, it is cheaper."

The second sister asked curiously, "How much does the Qin Chuan hybrid cattle you mentioned cost per kilogram?"

"Twelve foreign exchange certificates per pound".

The second sister nodded: "It's not expensive, it's worth the price." She then asked: "Are you planning to sell this kind of beef in the store?"

"I'd like to sell imported beef, but it's not easy to find a source. Second sister, do you have any channels for purchasing imported beef?"

The second sister thought for a moment and replied, "The quota for imported food is indeed fixed, and it's not easy to get. But if you want it, I can try to find a way to get you ten pounds of imported beef every day. I can't get any more than that."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Ten catties of beef will be enough. I've also asked around about the supply channels for Qin Chuan hybrid cattle, so we can sell the two kinds of beef together."

The second sister thought for a moment and said, "Little brother, imported beef isn't cheap. We can still make a profit if we cook it in our Western restaurant. If you take it and sell it directly, the profit won't be very high."

"Second sister, I understand. My purpose in selling imported beef is to attract customers, but the main product I promote is Qin Chuan crossbred beef."

The second sister understood Li Zhe's words, but she still felt it wasn't quite clear enough, like scratching an itch through a boot: "Brother, tell me about that traffic generation method, can we use it in my restaurant?"

"These so-called traffic-driving products generally refer to low-priced, highly attractive items. These products themselves may not make money or may even lose money; their purpose is to attract customers to the store and encourage them to buy other high-margin items, thus achieving overall profitability."

Worried that the other party might not understand, Li Zhe gave an example: "For instance, this Black Forest cake is 50% off, and people who like this cake will definitely come for this discount. But after they come, they won't just order the cake; just like us, they also order cocktails and beef."

Black Forest cake might not be profitable, but cocktails and steaks are. Black Forest cake can be considered a customer acquisition product.

These words weren't difficult for the second sister; in fact, she had already been practicing them while running the restaurant, though she didn't yet have a clear, systematic understanding of them. Li Zhe's explanation helped her to more accurately define the products she wanted to attract customers.

"Brother, what do you think? Should I get some Qin Chuan hybrid beef to sell?" While the quality of this beef isn't as good as imported beef, it's much better than regular local beef, and the price is only a quarter of imported beef, making the profit margin very high. My second sister was also somewhat tempted.

"Second sister, this depends on your positioning of the restaurant. If you just want to make money, and make quick money, then you can get some Qin Chuan hybrid beef. After all, there are foreigners who look for good value for money. Imported beef is not only expensive in terms of the beef itself, but also in terms of transportation costs. It may not be cheaper than what they eat abroad."

Li Zhe took a sip of his cocktail and continued, "If you position your restaurant as a high-end Western restaurant in Beijing, benchmarking against the Great Wall Hotel and the Jianguo Hotel, then you can't lower the standards of your ingredients in pursuit of short-term profits."

The second sister smiled; of course she knew what she wanted. The reason she asked that question earlier was simply because she had seen the huge profits from Qin Chuan hybrid cattle, and her greed was stirring within her.

"Second sister, do you have any extra staff at your restaurant? I'd like to hire three or four English-speaking employees."

“Go back and talk to Marty about this; she’s in charge of all the arrangements. These college students are all doing part-time jobs. If you need more people, just tell her. If you don’t have enough, you can recruit from the universities. I heard that some students from other places will stay in Beijing during the winter break.”

After finishing their meal, the two chatted for a while longer before Li Zhe left with Sun Tao.

Sun Tao had been listening to their conversation the whole time and felt he had learned a lot. He even wondered if he could apply what he had learned to running his vegetable shop in the future…

Morning of april 1

The back gate of No. 7, Suzhou Hutong.

The door opened, and Ji Hongbin peeked out, looking around. Seeing that no one was on the street, he cautiously stepped out, closed the door, and jogged towards the front gate of No. 7 courtyard, knocking on the door.

"Who is it?" Li Zhe's voice rang out from inside the house.

"Mr. Li, I'm Ji Hongbin from the back. Today is the day we agreed upon, you haven't forgotten, have you?"

A few days ago, he approached Li Zhe, wanting to exchange 5,000 yuan in foreign exchange certificates from him. Although Li Zhe's asking price was a bit high, at 12,000 yuan, he felt that spending that extra little money was worthwhile compared to the risks of exchanging on the black market.

Moreover, he had previously consulted with friends and learned that the black market price wasn't necessarily much cheaper, and if you encountered a dishonest seller who saw that you needed it urgently, they might ask for an even higher price.

Li Zhe opened the door and gestured for him to come in, saying, "Boss Ji, please come in."

Ji Hongbin entered the living room, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Seeing Wang Jianjun also in the room, he nodded slightly and asked Li Zhe, "Mr. Li, are your foreign exchange certificates ready?"

Li Zhe countered, "Boss Ji, did you bring your money?"

Ji Hongbin hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath: "I brought it with me, it's on me."

"Please wait a moment." Li Zhe said, turning and leaving the living room. When he came back in, he was holding a thick envelope, which he handed to Ji Hongbin: "Mr. Ji, this is five thousand foreign exchange certificates. Please count them." Ji Hongbin opened the envelope, moistened his fingers with saliva, and began to count the certificates one by one, carefully counting them twice: "That's right, it's five thousand foreign exchange certificates."

Then, he took out an item wrapped in newspaper from the inside pocket of his jacket and handed it to Li Zhe: "Mr. Li, this is six thousand RMB. Adding the six thousand RMB deposit I paid earlier, it's a total of twelve thousand. Count it."

Li Zhe took the money and counted it carefully. He then put most of the money into his pocket and took out another 500 yuan to hand to Ji Hongbin.

Ji Hongbin was taken aback: "The amount of money should be correct! Mr. Li, what do you mean by this?"

Although Li Zhe and Ji Hongbin didn't have much contact, the two did a considerable amount of business together.

The first time, Li Zhe spent 26,000 yuan to buy his family's two-courtyard house. Li Zhe got a great deal from this transaction alone.

The second time was this exchange of foreign exchange certificates. Although there was no fixed exchange rate, exchanging 12,000 RMB for 5,000 foreign exchange certificates was a high premium for Li Zhe, and he could make a lot of money.

Ji Hongbin is going abroad now. Although life overseas may not be as wonderful as he imagines, it is indeed an opportunity to change his destiny. Things change every ten years; what if someone else rises to prominence?

Be a man to stay on the line and meet each other in the future.

Li Zhe smiled and said, "Boss Ji, to be honest, this is also my first time exchanging foreign exchange certificates with a friend. I wasn't quite sure about the exchange rate beforehand, and I was worried that if I offered too low a price, my friend wouldn't be willing to exchange. This 500 yuan is extra money; you can take it back."

Asking for a high price is business, but returning 500 is a favor.

Hearing this, Ji Hongbin felt a warmth in his heart. He knew that Li Zhe's asking price was too high, but he didn't expect Li Zhe to take the initiative to return part of the money. Especially after experiencing the treacherous nature of people heading south, Li Zhe's honest character was all the more precious.

He took the five hundred yuan that Li Zhe handed him: "Thank you, Mr. Li!"

"Mr. Ji, I wish you a safe journey and great success in your endeavors!"

"Thank you for your kind words." Ji Hongbin said politely before taking his leave. After leaving the house, he glanced back and thought to himself: This Mr. Li... is a kind man.

Wang Jianjun was puzzled: "Zhezi, you've already made that money, why do you still want to give him back five hundred?"

Li Zhe took a sip of tea: "Brother, the martial world isn't just about fighting and killing..."

Wang Jianjun ignored him. The man was already gone, so why were you pretending with me?
The staff quarters of the Beijing Television Factory.

Wang Guangwei and his family of three carried large boxes and small bags into the building.

Aunt Feng, who lives on the first floor, was about to go out when she saw him and was a little surprised: "Oh, Director Wang? What are you doing with all those bags and packages?"

Wang Guangwei said with a smile, "My daughter is on vacation from university, so I brought her things back."

"Oh, you're right! It's Laba Festival today, time for a holiday." Aunt Feng glanced at Wang Ting: "Hey, this girl is getting prettier and prettier! Do you have a boyfriend yet? If not, I'll introduce you to one. He's my nephew. He's a handsome young man with a good job. He's a perfect match for you!"

Chen Shufang smiled and replied, "Sister Feng, thank you for your kindness, but my Tingting is dating someone!"

Aunt Feng pressed on curiously, "You have a boyfriend? Whose son is he talking about? What does he work for?"

"I'll tell you when I have time. We're going upstairs now," Chen Shufang said dismissively. She had never met Aunt Feng's nephew, but she knew something about the Feng family's situation. Seven or eight people were crammed into two rooms in a large courtyard, making it difficult to even turn around.

The family of three went upstairs to the second floor and closed the door.

Wang Ting stamped her foot, her face slightly flushed: "Mom! Why do you keep telling everyone I'm dating someone? We've only met once!"

"Oops, Mom let it slip, it's my fault." She put down her travel bag, looking at her daughter with a smile in her eyes. "But then again, meeting once is already a conversation, isn't it? You seem quite happy about it, don't you?"

"What do you mean I'm quite willing? I just think he's a decent person and I can get to know him better. It doesn't mean I have to do anything with him. Now that you've brought it up, it's like I can't refuse!" Wang Ting snorted and dragged her suitcase back into the house.

Wang Guangwei sat on the sofa in the living room, picked up the enamel mug with the red logo of "Beijing TV Factory" and took a sip of water: "My daughter is right. There is always a process of getting to know someone when you are dating. Don't put pressure on her."

"Hey! Why are you saying that too? What do you mean I put pressure on her?" Chen Shufang was displeased. She sat down on the sofa, took a sip of water from her enamel mug, and said in a low voice:
“Your daughter is just saying one thing and meaning another! Before the blind date, I told her that if she was willing, the other person would pay for lunch; if she wasn't, she would pay for lunch. After the blind date, I asked her if she was willing or not, but she neither said yes nor no. I asked her who paid the bill, and she said she couldn't afford it.”

Chen Shufang glanced into the room and whispered to her husband, "I'm not a stepmother. I gave her a hundred yuan before we went! What kind of restaurant could cost two people that much? She wouldn't tell me, and she even said I definitely hadn't been there!"

Isn't that infuriating? I'm a family member of a cadre, and you're saying "I've never been there"? Who do you think you are?

Wang Ting walked out of the bedroom and glared at Chen Shufang: "What are you saying behind my back?"

Feeling a little guilty, Chen Shufang blurted out, "Are you talking about your sister? She had another fight with your brother-in-law the other day. She's such a worry!"

(End of this chapter)