Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 166 Celebration
"Madam, how much would you like?"

Georgina Page said, "Give me four pounds of each."

“Madam, are you treating someone, or are you eating alone? If you're eating alone, I suggest you don't buy too much at once. It won't be fresh if you don't finish it. We have fresh vegetables every day, so you can come again tomorrow,” Wang Ting said in English.

Yesterday, during the training, Li Zhe mentioned that off-season vegetables are considered lead-generation products; although they are not cheap, they sell well. The main purpose is to attract customers and get them to buy other items in the store. If the off-season vegetables sell out all at once, how will the store sell its other products?
Wang Ting's English was a bit broken, so Georgina Page confirmed again, "Will it still be available tomorrow?"

“Yes, we sell them every day,” Wang Ting replied.

“Very good, very good.” Georgina Page said “Good” several times in a row, and then began to select the vegetables. She bought a head of broccoli, two tomatoes, two cucumbers… and a little of everything.

She took Wang Ting's advice and didn't buy too much.

Following Li Zhe's instructions, Wang Ting asked, "Madam, what is your name?"

“My name is Georgina Page.”

"Ms. Paige, besides vegetables, do you need any other items? We offer a 10% discount during our trial operation period."

Georgina Page bought two more pounds of eggs and one pound of pork. When she saw the beef, she pointed to the Qin Chuan hybrid beef and asked, "Why is this beef so cheap? Only thirty foreign exchange certificates a pound?"

Wang Ting explained, "This is called Qin Chuan hybrid beef, which is a cross between domestic and foreign beef breeds. It has a slightly lower fat content than foreign beef; however, this domestic beef also tastes good and is more suitable for fitness enthusiasts. The cattle are slaughtered fresh and sold only on the same day, and will be removed from the shelves within 24 hours. You can buy a piece to try; it's exceptionally fresh."

The taste of Qin Chuan hybrid beef is indeed not as good as foreign steaks, so Li Zhe can only work on other aspects, emphasizing freshness; in addition, the fat content is slightly lower, which affects the taste. He knows that foreigners like to work out, so he uses fitness as a selling point, which can also be considered a marketing strategy.

Georgina Page looked down and saw that the beef was indeed very fresh. "Cut me a pound to try. I want the tenderloin, just this one piece."

"Okay," Wang Ting replied, then said to Aunt Zhao beside her, "Aunt Zhao, cut a pound of tenderloin from Qin Chuan hybrid cattle."

Georgina Page wandered around the store again and asked, "Do you offer home delivery? I can leave a tip."

Wang Ting was a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you clearly. Could you please say it again?"

Georgina Page slowed her speech: "I'd like someone to help me get home; I can tip."

Wang Ting understood this time: "Sorry, we don't offer that service at the moment. The security measures at the Diplomatic Residences are quite strict, and it's very difficult for outsiders to enter."

Georgina Page shrugged: "I'm sorry, I wish you could add this service."

“I will report it to the boss,” Wang Ting replied, gesturing for them to come over. “Ms. Paige, please come this way to pay the bill.”

Wang Ting weighed the vegetables and beef in front of Georgina Page, and then announced a number: "Ms. Page, it's a total of eighty foreign exchange certificates."

Georgina Page paid the bill, picked up the groceries she had just bought, and left the store.

After watching Georgina Page leave, Wang Ting breathed a sigh of relief. This was her first time speaking alone with a foreigner, and she hadn't quite caught a few of the sentences, relying mostly on guesswork. Fortunately, she successfully completed her first transaction: eighty foreign exchange certificates!
She had only heard Li Zhe say that foreigners were rich, but she hadn't experienced it firsthand. Now, seeing foreigners casually spending eighty foreign exchange certificates on groceries, she truly felt the gap in consumption between foreigners and Chinese people.

You should know that when she and her mother go out to buy groceries, they only spend a few dollars at most, while foreigners spend more than ten times more on groceries!
The flyers and the vegetable stalls outside the store attracted more and more customers to come in and buy vegetables.

By noon, more than half of the off-season vegetables had already been sold.

Li Zhe felt this couldn't continue. Off-season vegetables were meant to attract customers, and they were the main product promoted in the flyers. If they sold out early, and later customers came and there were no off-season vegetables left, it would seem dishonest.

Subsequently, Li Zhe had to implement a purchase limit: each person could only buy a maximum of four kilograms of off-season vegetables. This would attract more customers and, incidentally, allow for the sale of more other products.

Even so, by 6 p.m., all the off-season vegetables were sold out. Because it was a trial operation, the quantity of short-shelf-life products such as meat was also limited, and they were basically all sold out as well.

The vegetable shop closes promptly at 7 p.m.

Li Zhe opened the cash register and counted the foreign exchange certificates: the sales amount was 2680 foreign exchange certificates. Of this, off-season vegetables accounted for over 1,200 yuan, and imported steaks accounted for 500 yuan. These two items had high purchase prices and were even discounted by 10%, serving as customer acquisition products; the vegetable store basically didn't make any money from them. The remaining 900-plus foreign exchange certificates were the profitable items, and with a higher profit margin.

……

More than 7 o'clock in the evening.

Li Zhe treated the staff of Cuihualou to a meal to celebrate the successful first day of trial operation.

Inside the private room, eight people sat around a large round table. Li Zhe ordered ten dishes and a soup, all of which were Cuihualou's signature dishes.

The three restaurant staff members responsible for preparing the dishes, who came from modest backgrounds and rarely frequented places like this, seemed a little awkward. Li Zhe greeted them with a smile, "Please don't be shy, everyone. Let's eat. There are quite a few women here today, so we won't be drinking."

After saying that, Li Zhe first picked up a piece of mandarin fish with his chopsticks and put it on Wang Ting's plate: "You've been busy with me all day, you must be tired, eat more."

Wang Ting rubbed her lower back and said, "Yes, I stood in the store all day today. It's more tiring than when I was in school." However, she also gained a lot today. She kept talking to foreigners in English and felt that her listening and speaking skills had improved a lot.

This feeling excited her; it felt more interesting than what she learned from books.

After everyone had eaten for a while, Li Zhe raised his teacup and said, "Thank you all for your hard work today. I'd like to offer you a toast with tea instead of wine."

"Cheers!" Everyone raised their teacups and took a sip.

Li Zhe put down his teacup and continued, "Today is the first day of our store's opening, and there are quite a few problems. Everyone is welcome to share their thoughts. The purpose of our trial operation is to identify problems and make timely improvements."

Sun Tao was the first to speak, saying, "Brother Li, our off-season vegetables are selling exceptionally fast. If we keep selling them at full capacity, they'll be sold out by noon. I was wondering if we could order more off-season vegetables?"

Although Li Zhe has newly expanded the vegetable greenhouses by 10, the varieties of vegetables planted are different, and their ripening times are also different. Some vegetables, like broccoli, have a very short harvest period and need to be planted in batches. Therefore, the yield can only be increased gradually.

Li Zhe said, "The supply of off-season vegetables will not change for the time being. It may be increased after the official opening. If we want to increase customer traffic, we can only limit the amount of vegetables that customers can buy, so let's set it at 4 kilograms per person for now."

Sun Tao thought for a moment and said, "Should we lower the price of Qin Chuan crossbred cattle a bit more? It's currently 30 foreign exchange certificates per kilogram. I don't see a strong buying interest from customers. If we lower the price further, will more people buy it?"

Sun Tao knew that the purchase price of Qin Chuan hybrid cattle was only ten foreign exchange certificates, while the selling price was as high as thirty foreign exchange certificates, making it the most profitable product in the entire vegetable store.

Li Zhe put down his chopsticks, hesitated for a moment, and said, "The price can't be too low. If the price is too low, it will give customers the impression that the beef is of poor quality. However, we can offer discounts in another way. For example, we can frequently hold promotions for this meat. Right now, during the trial operation period, we're offering a 10% discount, so the actual price is 27 foreign exchange certificates. During the official opening period, we can offer a 20% discount, which is equivalent to indirectly lowering the price and attracting more customers to buy."

Sun Tao understood: the price can't be lowered arbitrarily, but promotional activities can be added, which is equivalent to indirectly lowering the price.

Wang Ting thought of the first customer she had served that day and said to Li Zhe, "Today I served a Ms. Georgina Page. She asked if our store could deliver to her door and she was willing to pay a tip."

Li Zhe nodded.

Door-to-door delivery is theoretically possible. 365 Vegetable Store mainly serves the Diplomatic Residences behind the building, so even if they do deliver, customers won't ask for delivery too far.

However, there are two main problems: first, the security measures are quite strict, making it difficult to get in; second, finding a suitable candidate is also not easy.

"I've got this in mind. I'll take a closer look when I have time." Li Zhe took out his notebook and wrote it down.

With Sun Tao and Wang Ting leading the way, others also chimed in, pointing out shortcomings or areas for improvement in the store…

After dinner, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening, and everyone dispersed at the restaurant entrance.

Li Zhe took a taxi to send Wang Ting home. After dropping her off in the building, he took a box out of his briefcase and handed it to her: "This is a gift for you."

"What is it?" Wang Ting was a little surprised, not expecting to receive a gift on her first day of work.

"You'll know when you open it and take a look."

It's a white cardboard box with very nice packaging.

Wang Ting untied the ribbon, opened the box, and inside was a pair of exquisitely crafted black leather gloves. They were comfortable and warm to wear. "Thank you, the gloves are beautiful, I like them very much."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "You've been standing all day. Go home tonight, soak your feet, and get some rest. Sleep in tomorrow, and you can go whenever you want."

Wang Ting felt a warmth in her heart, but also felt a little embarrassed: "Wouldn't that be inappropriate? Won't the other staff members have something to say?"

"Haha, you're different from them. I don't pay you a salary."

"That seems... right." Wang Ting smiled. "It's getting late, you should go back too, I'm going upstairs."

"Let's go." Li Zhe waved.

"See you tomorrow."

Wang Ting went upstairs to the second floor, opened the door, and saw that the living room lights were on. Chen Shufang was sitting on the sofa, staring straight at her...

(End of this chapter)