Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 163 Trial Operation

Worried that the mother and daughter would start arguing, Wang Guangwei quickly interjected, "Tingting, what did you and Li Zhe talk about when you met? Did you have anything in common to talk about?"

Wang Ting thought for a moment and replied, "He's alright, just chatting. He knows a wide variety of things. Although he didn't go to university, his educational level is quite high."

Wang Guangwei asked thoughtfully, "It's so cold, has the weather affected the vegetables in his greenhouse? How's the yield?"

"I heard that many new greenhouses have been built, and the yield and variety have increased. He rented a shop in the diplomatic apartment complex and is preparing to open a vegetable store catering to foreigners. He also asked me to come and help him."

Chen Shufang frowned: "Li Zhe is supposed to be a young man, how come he doesn't understand romance at all? Asking a college student like you to help him sell vegetables, how could he even think of that!"

Wang Ting said, "Comrade Chen Shufang, that's a vegetable store catering to foreigners. All the customers are foreigners. My job there is to communicate with them and practice my spoken English. You really think I'm going to sell vegetables?"

Chen Shufang still felt it was embarrassing for her daughter to sell vegetables: "I see you speak foreign languages ​​quite well, do you really need to go to a vegetable shop to practice your spoken English?"

Wang Ting said helplessly, "What's the use of thinking it's good? It has to be something that foreigners can understand! I majored in English. If I don't have the ability to talk to foreigners, I'll feel ashamed, and it will affect my future development."

Wang Guangwei and his wife had different opinions: "I think Tingting makes sense. It's just like being a soldier in a war. No matter how much simulated training a soldier has, if he has never fought a war, it's just theoretical. He will still be weak in the knees when he gets to the battlefield and will still be a greenhorn. Only soldiers who have experienced the baptism of real war can deal with it more calmly."

"Yes, that's exactly what I meant! All my relatives know I'm an English major at the Foreign Languages ​​Institute, and they all think I'm good at English. If I were to run into a foreigner one day and they asked me for directions, and I couldn't understand what they were saying, or I couldn't understand what they were saying, wouldn't that be ridiculous?"

Chen Shufang's eyes widened in disbelief: "Really? You foreign language majors have studied foreign languages ​​for so long, and you still can't have a conversation with foreigners? Then what's the point of going to university? What's the difference between you and those of us who didn't go to university at all?"

Wang Ting ignored her and said to Wang Guangwei, "Dad, did you see that? My mom is deliberately trying to annoy me!"

Wang Guangwei said, "Tingting hasn't graduated from university yet, just like a driver who hasn't gotten a license. It's normal that she can't drive! She can practice slowly. Isn't Tingting actively looking for opportunities to practice her spoken English? I think that's great."

Chen Shufang turned her head away and pouted.

Wang Guangwei said to his daughter, "Tingting, I'm planning to buy another batch of vegetables before the New Year to give as New Year's gifts to the leaders of the factory and the Municipal Economic Commission. Originally, I wanted to ask your uncle for help, but now that you and Li Zhe have started dating, things have become a bit complicated, so it seems a bit inappropriate for me to ask for vegetables again..."

Wang Ting carried the thermos, added some hot water to Wang Guangwei's cup, poured herself a cup, took a sip, and said, "I'll go help out at the vegetable shop and see how things go. Since we're both selling vegetables, it doesn't matter who we sell to, right? I reckon there shouldn't be any major problems."

Wang Guangwei warmed his hands by holding the water tank: "Then you should go and take a look first. If it works out, I'll order some vegetables from him in advance. If not, I'll think of another way. Don't make things difficult for yourself, just follow your heart. If it's a good fit, continue to get to know him; if not, just consider it making another friend."

I'll pay you back for the groceries later; you should give them the correct amount. We can't try to take advantage of them.

Wang Ting jokingly said with a smile, "Look at that, that's why Director Wang is so capable of being a leader. The way she speaks is truly different. Comrade Chen Shufang, you should also learn from her so that you can make progress sooner!"

Chen Shufang was displeased: "Hey, you brat, you dare to talk back to me! Wait until your dad's not home, and see how I deal with you!"

"Alright, alright, why are you always getting so worked up with the kids?" Wang Guangwei started playing peacemaker again...

……

Diplomatic Residence, 365 Vegetable Store.

The shop floor was covered with a large number of items. Sun Tao was bent over, placing the items on the shelves in the general merchandise section. Eggs, flour, olive oil, iodized salt...

Some of each type of product is placed on the shelves, while excess products are placed under the shelves and in the storage room at the back.

Although this shop is less than 100 square meters, its area is calculated based on usable floor area, unlike the building area calculation methods of later generations. Therefore, it is not small in size. Besides a storage room, there is also a toilet, and water access is relatively convenient.

Sun Tao finished arranging the items, his forehead already beaded with sweat. Although he was physically tired, he felt at ease.

Hearing a noise outside, Sun Tao went to the door and saw Li Zhe returning on his bicycle, which he parked at the entrance. He went up to him and asked, "Brother Li, have you contacted the English major college student?"

Li Zhe nodded and walked into the shop: "Yesterday, Marty talked to the waiters, and two of them are willing to work part-time in our shop."

"Hey! That's great! We have a college student in our store now!" Sun Tao said excitedly.

Li Zhe asked, "I asked you to find three experienced stock clerks, how's that going?"

“We’ve found them. They used to work as temporary workers at the Chongwenmen vegetable market. They’re very good at sorting, picking, and bundling vegetables, and they’re very efficient. They’re not the kind of people who would cheat or shirk their duties.”

Sun Tao asked, "Brother Li, isn't hiring three stock clerks a bit too many? If we add the part-time college students, there will be five or six people in the store."

Li Zhe said, "Those college students come here part-time to practice their spoken English. Do you really think they're here to work? They're responsible for communicating with customers, weighing items, and handling cashier duties. The work of preparing vegetables and cutting meat in the store still has to be done by the stock clerks."

Sun Tao thought about it and agreed: These college students are too pampered. Putting aside everything else, they might not be able to do something as simple as cutting meat.

Li Zhe placed his briefcase on the counter: "Tomorrow, we'll move some durable fruits and vegetables to the store and organize the shelves. We'll train the staff this afternoon. A small batch of vegetables will arrive the day after tomorrow, and we'll begin our trial operation."

Sun Tao asked, somewhat confused, "Brother Li, what do you mean by 'trial operation'? Isn't it the official opening?"

Li Zhe pulled up a chair and sat down: "This trial operation is like a mock exam. Its main purpose is to identify and address any shortcomings in the store. Directly communicating with customers face-to-face allows us to understand their needs for the products, and it also helps employees become familiar with their jobs in advance. At the same time, it can attract customers and prepare for the official opening."

To put it bluntly, mistakes made during the trial operation period can be remedied. However, if problems arise again once the store is officially open, it will create a bad impression on customers.

Moreover, Li Zhe's vegetable shop is essentially a small supermarket, offering a wide variety of goods. Some common items are relatively easy to source, while others require more time to find.

More importantly, the vegetables in the greenhouse are already ripe, and it's impossible to wait indefinitely. Therefore, a trial operation is the best solution.

During this period, product categories can be continuously adjusted and inventory replenished, and employees can work together to improve their skills. After a trial period, once any issues in the store have been resolved, the store can officially open for business.

Sun Tao understood and was quite excited. Although it was a trial operation, it was still doing business. He had been preparing for this moment all these days.

Then, the two people acted separately.

Sun Tao went to the Chongwenmen vegetable market to contact other suppliers. He was familiar with the area and knew the ins and outs of the market, making it easier for him to ensure product quality.

Li Zhe returned home, locked himself in his bedroom, and wrote promotional materials for the trial operation period, finalized the price list for various goods, and some internal store rules and regulations.

……

Zhou Family Residence, Chuanban Hutong.

Inside the narrow passageway, Lin Qiaomei was cooking in the makeshift kitchen. Tonight's dinner was simple, yet elaborate.

Lin Qiaomei cooked a pot of Laba porridge, which contained glutinous rice, red beans, mung beans, soybeans, peanuts, lotus seeds, red dates, and longan, a total of eight ingredients, symbolizing wealth coming from all directions.

Zhou Yongqiang returned from outside, carrying a bag: "Wife, are you starting to cook the porridge?"

Lin Qiaomei turned around and saw that her husband's cheeks were red from the cold and he looked much thinner than usual. She said with some heartache, "Go inside and warm up. You'll feel better in a little while."

Zhou Yongqiang instructed, "It's cold outside. I'll go back inside as soon as I've cooked the porridge. Don't keep waiting outside."

"Okay, I understand. You can go back now." Lin Qiaomei stirred the iron pot with a spoon, and the aroma of rice porridge wafted out...

Zhou Yongqiang entered the house without changing his clothes or washing up. He sat blankly at the table, his eyes vacant, seemingly lost in thought.

After a while, Lin Qiaomei lifted the thick curtain and came in. Seeing her husband's appearance, she felt something was wrong: "Yongqiang, what's wrong?"

Zhou Yongqiang didn't answer, or perhaps he hadn't heard her. Lin Qiaomei nudged him: "I'm talking to you!"

"Oh, I was just thinking about something." Zhou Yongqiang snapped out of his reverie and stole another glance at his wife.

"What are you thinking about so seriously?" Lin Qiaomei didn't mind and pressed on, "Did your factory give out employee benefits this year?"

“It’s been sent. I brought it back. It’s right there.” Zhou Yongqiang pointed to the bag by the door.

Lin Qiaomei walked over, opened the package, and frowned, saying, "Two bags of laundry detergent, two towels, a bag of crabapples, a piece of pork fat... Is this all you have this year? In previous years, we also had ribbonfish and pork. And the apples are too small. Your factory's welfare this year is even worse than our canteen's!"

Zhou Yongqiang snorted, "Our new factory manager is the brother-in-law of the street director, and he's not one to do anything properly! This factory will go bankrupt sooner or later under his management."

Lin Qiaomei comforted her, "It's better to have something than nothing. It's not just our family that's receiving these; everyone else is too. Maybe someone will intervene when someone starts making a fuss."

Zhou Yongqiang, seemingly oblivious to what was being said, abruptly said, "Honey, the factory is closing for the holidays tomorrow, and it's not good for me to just sit around at home. I'm thinking of going to the south to see if there are any opportunities to make money."

Lin Qiaomei walked closer and asked in surprise, "Today is Laba Festival, and there are only twenty days left until the New Year. What are you doing going to the south now?"

“Without money at home, I won’t have a comfortable New Year. I might as well go out and try my luck. You haven’t been to the South, so you don’t know how different it is from here. The economy there is more developed and more dynamic, and there are more opportunities to make money.”

Lin Qiaomei grabbed his arm: "You're not going to Shanghai again, are you?"

"I'm not going to Shanghai this time, I'm going to Guangzhou. I'll see if I can stock up on some goods before the end of the year to sell. If I make money, our whole family can have a good New Year," Zhou Yongqiang continued, seeing that his wife remained silent.

"I'm planning to leave tomorrow, and I'll definitely be back before the New Year."

Lin Qiaomei knew that her husband was doing all this for the family. Seeing that he had made up his mind, she said, "Yongqiang, I'm worried about you going alone. I'll go with you this time."

……

The next chapter is still being written and will be updated later!

(End of this chapter)