Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 165 Want it all

The Wang family's residence on the second floor of the Beijing TV Factory's staff quarters.

Wang Guangwei stood at the dining table in the living room, setting out the bowls and chopsticks. Chen Shuping came out of the kitchen carrying a plate of braised ribbonfish. "It's almost 7 o'clock, why isn't your daughter home yet?"

"I reckon it'll be soon," Wang Guangwei replied casually.

Chen Shuping asked, "Should we stir-fry the carrots and eggs or not?"

"Let's cook it and eat first. If it's late, she might eat out. After we finish eating, I'll go for a walk and then pick her up at the bus stop."

Chen Shuping turned and went into the kitchen, and Wang Guangwei followed her in, serving two bowls of corn porridge.

Just then, the door opened from the outside, and Wang Ting walked in.

Wang Guangwei greeted her, "Tingting's back. Your mom was just talking about you. Go wash your hands and eat."

Wang Ting took off her coat and went into the living room: "What delicious food did my mom make? It smells really good."

“Our company just gave out ribbonfish today, and your mom just cooked it. It’s one of her specialties. I was won over by her cooking this dish.”

As soon as Wang Guangwei finished speaking, Chen Shuping came out carrying a plate of stir-fried carrots, wood ear mushrooms, and eggs: "What do you mean I won you over? Back then, I didn't know who was coming to our house every day. Even when his work unit gave out benefits, they would bring them to our house. We couldn't refuse them. If my dad hadn't thought you were an honest person, would I have married you?"

Wang Guangwei wasn't angry. He smiled and said to Wang Ting, "Your mother was the most beautiful girl in the factory back then. She was gorgeous. Lots of people wrote her love letters."

"Alright, that was so many years ago, why bring it up again? Aren't you afraid the kids will laugh at you?" Chen Shuping took off her apron and casually placed it on a chair, then asked her daughter, "Tingting, you went to help out at the vegetable shop, why are you getting off work later than your dad? You didn't actually do manual labor for them, did you?"

Wang Ting laughed and said, "How could that be! I didn't do any work, I just chatted with the other shop assistants for a while."

Wang Guangwei asked, "Are there any other college students in the shop besides you?"

"Yes, there are. One of them is my classmate, and the other is from the Foreign Languages ​​Department of Beijing University. They are also working part-time at the vegetable store."

"My goodness, even top students from Peking University are working at a vegetable store?" Chen Shuping found it hard to believe.

Wang Guangwei said, "Regardless of which university it is, as long as they haven't graduated, they are fledglings with immature wings. It's not time for them to spread their wings and fly yet. Now is the time to learn knowledge and accumulate experience. Not only can the foreign-related vegetable store help them practice their spoken English by talking to foreigners, but the income is also quite good."

Wang Guangwei didn't say one more thing: not all college students are as well-off as his family. Some people use the guise of working to practice foreign languages, while others use the guise of learning foreign languages ​​to earn money.

The three of them ate and chatted.

Chen Shuping is a very good cook, and her braised ribbonfish is especially delicious. The three of them ate two dishes and finished everything.

After finishing their meal, Wang Ting took the initiative to wash the dishes.

Chen Shuping washed an apple and a pear, cut them into a fruit platter, and brought it out. The couple sat around the coffee table, eating the fruit while muttering to themselves. It was unclear what they were saying.

……

Early the next morning.

Chen Shuping woke up before dawn, glanced at the clock on the wall, and saw that it was already past 6 o'clock.

The room was heated, but it wasn't very warm. She lay in bed, unwilling to get up, and listened intently for a while, but couldn't hear anything.

She got up before 7:00 to cook, and by 7:20 the meal was ready. She said to her husband, who had just gotten up, "See what I told you yesterday? She definitely wouldn't be able to get up. And she's going to sell vegetables like this? By the time she gets to the vegetable shop, the morning market will be over."

Wang Guangwei smiled and said dismissively, "Let her sleep a little longer. Being late is no big deal. It's a holiday, can't she even sleep in?"

The couple then set out the food and began eating breakfast. They finished at 7:40, but Wang Ting still hadn't gotten up.

Chen Shuping couldn't take it anymore: "The food's getting cold, I'll go call her."

"Knock knock..." Chen Shuping knocked on the door: "Tingting, it's time to get up. Breakfast is ready."

"Ah, you can just keep it warm in the pot, I'll eat it when I get up."

Chen Shuping said exaggeratedly, "Aren't you going to work at the vegetable store? Don't you know what time it is? They're about to close."

"It's okay, I'll sleep a little longer. It's not too late to leave at 8:30." Wang Ting was still a little sleepy and dozed off for another ten minutes before getting up. It took her another twenty minutes to wash up, and by the time she sat down at the dining table, it was already 8:20.

Chen Shuping couldn't help but ask, "Tingting, what time does your vegetable shop open? Are you the only one who went late, or did everyone else go late?"

"They don't open until 9 o'clock, so we can make it." Wang Ting took a bite of her egg and ate it slowly.

This was the first time Chen Shuping had ever heard of a vegetable shop that opened at 9 a.m. She thought to herself, "These days, all sorts of strange things happen."

She couldn't help but feel a little curious, and thought she'd go take a look herself sometime when she had the time.

At 8:54, Wang Ting arrived at the 365 Vegetable Store. A banner reading "Trial Operation" hung at the entrance, and below it was a small blackboard listing the types of vegetables available in the store.

Wang Ting pushed open the door and entered the store. Compared to yesterday, the vegetable store had added many more varieties. The vegetable section was fully stocked with lettuce, spinach, broccoli, cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and carrots, while the fruit section now included strawberries.

Seeing that everyone else had arrived and she was the last, Wang Ting asked Chen Ju somewhat guiltily, "When did you arrive?"

“I arrived a little after eight, the second to last,” Chen Ju said in a low voice. “Lin Zhixia arrived earlier than me. She said that the aunties who are in charge of arranging the vegetables arrived at the store before seven o’clock.”

Wang Ting nodded, glanced around the store, and saw Li Zhe talking to Sun Tao.

After a while, Li Zhe walked over to her and handed her a brand new apron: "Wang Ting, put this on, so you don't get your clothes dirty."

Wang Ting took the apron and saw the English word 'sales assistant' written on it. "Thank you, what are we going to do next?"

Li Zhe said, "No rush. First, familiarize yourself with the location and prices of the goods. Review the weighing and checkout process. Feel free to ask me anything you don't understand. When the weather gets warmer, set up the vegetables at the entrance. When customers come in, you'll be in charge of greeting them."

Wang Ting walked around the store and saw that in addition to the increased variety of fruits and vegetables, the meat section was also fully stocked with chicken, pork and beef.

Upon seeing the beef section marked "55 foreign exchange certificates per pound," she said to Li Zhe beside her, "This beef is so expensive."

"This is imported beef, so it's a bit more expensive. And we only have ten kilograms available each day. If customers want cheaper beef, we can recommend the Qin Chuan hybrid beef next door, which is also one of our store's main products."

The price of Qin Chuan hybrid cattle is 30 foreign exchange certificates per kilogram, while the purchase price of beef is 10 foreign exchange certificates per kilogram. Selling one kilogram can earn 20 foreign exchange certificates, which is higher than the profit of off-season vegetables.

I don't know if it's because of the cold weather and fewer people going out, or because it's just opened for business, but there haven't been any customers in the store.

Sun Tao couldn't sit still any longer and suggested, "Brother Li, why don't we put the vegetables out by the door? The sun's out, so it shouldn't be too cold anymore."

“Okay, you can arrange it as you see fit.” Li Zhe handed the reins to Sun Tao. After all, he was the store manager and would be responsible for the store's daily operations. Li Zhe could just check for any shortcomings from the sidelines.

Sun Tao and Aunt Zhao moved a temporary shelf to the entrance and placed several kinds of out-of-season vegetables on it. Sun Tao even adjusted the positions, putting strawberries and tomatoes in the most conspicuous place.

He then made a detailed division of labor: he took Lin Zhixia to distribute flyers in the vicinity; Wang Ting and Chen Ju distributed flyers at the store entrance and were responsible for greeting customers who entered the store.

……

Diplomatic Residence Building 1.

A blonde, blue-eyed woman in her forties stepped out of the elevator. She was very tall and wore a long black wool coat.

The security guard at the gate smiled and said to her, "Good morning, Mrs. Paige!"

“Good morning, Mr. Chen,” Georgina Page replied curtly, though she wasn’t in a very good mood.

Three months ago, she and her husband came to Beijing. Before coming, she was full of anticipation, longing for the ancient Eastern civilization and wanting to experience Chinese culture. She did have a great time in the past few days: she climbed the Great Wall, visited the Forbidden City, ate Peking duck, strolled through the hutongs, and experienced Chinese culture.

But as winter set in, she found herself struggling to adjust to the climate. It was dry and cold. Even with heating in the house, the air became even drier. She hadn't been to the toilet for three days straight, and the feeling was unbearable: "God, help me!"

She walked with her head down the whole way, not wanting to talk to anyone or greet anyone. Her physical discomfort also affected her mood.

Suddenly, a petite girl spoke in somewhat broken English: "Hello, ma'am. Our 365 Vegetable Store is having its soft opening today. All items are 9% off, and you can choose from a variety of off-season vegetables."

Georgina Page took the flyer and glanced at it. She saw broccoli, lettuce, spinach, green peppers... vegetables she hadn't eaten in a long time. It wasn't just that she was craving them; more importantly, these vegetables could alleviate her physical symptoms.

"Do you really have all the vegetables on this list?" Georgina Page couldn't help but be skeptical. Could vegetables really be grown in this cold weather?

"Yes. Our vegetable shop is not far to the east. Today is the first day of our soft opening, you can come and have a look. In addition to vegetables, we also have various other products." The girl was Lin Zhixia.

Sun Tao stood to the side, unable to understand or join the conversation.

Holding the flyer, Ms. Georgina Page walked towards the 365 Vegetable Store with some skepticism. Seeing the various vegetables displayed on the stall outside, her face lit up with barely suppressed joy. "Thank God! I'm finally saved!"

Wang Ting greeted her with a smile: "Madam, welcome. What would you like to order?"

Georgina Page pointed to the potatoes and carrots: "This, and this... I want them all except these two!"

……

Chapter Two is still being written and will be released later.

(End of this chapter)