Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 174 Choice
Lin Xiaohu looked aggrieved and retorted, "Nonsense! When did I ever pursue you? You were the one who always took the initiative to contact me!"

Tiger Girl looked up and stared at the other person: "Then why did you give me a token of our love?"

"When did I give you a token of love? You must be dreaming."

Tiger Girl took off the red scarf from her neck: "You said you didn't have one, then what is this?"

"You've misunderstood! The scarf isn't a token of love at all," Lin Xiaohu shouted, explaining.
“The fan factory’s profits are particularly low in winter. I wanted to change the factory’s situation and increase its profits, so I came up with a reform plan.”

"Let the fan factory produce electric heaters in the winter, so that the factory will have work both winter and summer, and the workers can earn money. I bought you these things because I wanted to build a relationship with your father and have him speak to the factory leaders. If I could speak to the factory leaders, would I need to give you gifts?"

Tiger Girl's eyes reddened: "You shameless person, you're using me!"

"I didn't take advantage of you, I just considered you a friend. Isn't it normal for friends to help each other?" Lin Xiaohu shrugged. "Alright, everything's clear now, you can go."

"I'm not leaving! If you only see me as a friend, then why are you sleeping with me?!" Tiger Girl shouted.

Upon hearing this, the people around exploded.

The quick-tongued wife jumped up. She usually seemed unreliable, but this was, after all, her own niece. If she had suffered such a great injustice, she, as her aunt, also bore some responsibility: "You, Lin Xiaohu! You begged me to get a job at the factory, and I sent you to work at the fan factory, and you still bully my niece! Are you even human?!"

"Hey, you can't say things like that." Lin Dingyuan hurriedly got up and closed the door, afraid that outsiders would hear.

Zhang Yuzhen held her son's arm and asked softly, "Son, what about you and this girl...?"

“It’s not what you think…” Lin Xiaohu sighed, plopped down on a stool, and covered his face with his hands: “I spent a month researching the factory, wrote a detailed factory reform plan, and then went to the workshop director, who is also her father, and showed him the plan.”

At this point, Lin Xiaohu said angrily, "Guess what? After reading it, his father said it was wishful thinking, that it didn't take into account the actual situation in the factory, and that he would never submit this reform plan to the factory so that I could work diligently in the factory."

Lin Xiaohu gritted his teeth and cursed, "I'll... I'll fuck his mother! There was no work at the factory at the time, and everyone in town had gone home. Only a few of us from the village were stuck in the workshop all day, freezing like dogs! That's when I started arguing with him."

Then that guy started yelling at me to get out and that he was going to dock my pay! Isn't that just bullying?!

The quick-tongued wife urged, "Don't change the subject! Did you sleep with my Tiger Girl or not?"

“That night, Tiger Girl knew I had argued with her dad, so she came to my dorm to comfort me… We drank a bottle of Xifeng liquor, and then… I don’t remember anything.” Lin Xiaohu lowered his head and whispered, “The next morning, she… slept next to me…”

The quick-tongued wife slapped her thigh: "My God! He really slept with my Tiger Girl! Zhang Yuzhen, what do you say about this?"

Lin Dingyuan asked his son in a low voice, "Were you wearing clothes at the time?"

The quick-tongued wife was displeased and shouted, "Lin Dingyuan! Have you no shame? How dare you ask such a question! Your son is already sleeping in the same room with that girl, what more do you want? You still won't admit it?"

The quick-tongued wife jumped up: "Tiger Girl, let's go! Come with me to Secretary Wang's house and let him settle this! If Secretary Wang can't handle it, we'll go to the police station..."

"No, no, no!" Zhang Yuzhen quickly stopped her, forcing a smile. "We're all from the same village, there's no need to make things so ugly. Besides, if word gets out, Tiger Girl will lose face too, won't she?"

“Yes, Auntie, let’s hear what Little Tiger has to say.” Tiger Girl grabbed her talkative wife.

The quick-tongued wife raised her chin and asked arrogantly, "Zhang Yuzhen, what do you suggest we do?"

Zhang Yuzhen gritted her teeth and said helplessly, "Can't my family just pay compensation...?"

"What money?! What do you take my Tiger Girl for?" The quick-tongued wife was furious and turned to leave, saying, "Let's go! We're going to the police station and we'll tell them his little Tiger Girl was being a hooligan..."

While trying to stop them, Zhang Yuzhen changed her tune, saying, "No, no, no! The two kids are dating! It's consensual, how is that indecent?"

Hearing this, Lin Dingyuan sighed helplessly.

Tiger Girl lowered her head and pursed her lips.

Lin Xiaohu was also terrified, on the verge of tears: Qinghe...

The quick-tongued wife crossed her arms and asked, "Dating? How did your Little Tiger treat me? You want to date my Tiger Girl? Have you forgotten that you two beat me up together? I'm Tiger Girl's aunt, after all. You're so disrespectful to me, and you still want to date my Tiger Girl?"

Zhang Yuzhen said in a fawning tone, "Quick-talking wife, it was just that our Xiaohu was ignorant before. You're a magnanimous person, don't take it to heart." Quick-talking wife persisted, "And what about you? Didn't you point your finger at my nose and tell me to get out of the store and never come back, and that you'd hit me every time I did?"

"I was just kidding! From now on, you can go whenever you want, you can treat the store like your home!" Zhang Yuzhen smiled, but her heart was bitter: "Damn it, what sins have I committed!"

"Haha..." The quick-tongued wife couldn't help but burst out laughing: "The consignment shop! I, Liu Cuihua, am back!"

The thought of being surrounded by a group of older women gossiping filled her with a surge of excitement; this was the life she was meant to live…

……

Early the next morning.

Li Zhe returned to Beijing by car. The restaurants he supplies vegetables to now settle accounts every seven days, and today was the day to collect.

Before collecting payment, Li Zhe went to the 365 Vegetable Store. The truck was parked on the side of the road, and Sun Tao led an older woman who was sorting goods out to help unload the goods.

Sun Tao took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Li Zhe: "Brother Li, this is the foreign exchange certificate we received yesterday, a total of 2968 yuan. Please count it."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Not bad, the turnover is about to break 3000."

Sun Tao chuckled: "It's all thanks to your abilities, Brother Li. I'm just helping you out and running errands."

Li Zhe walked into the store and saw two middle-aged women still preparing stock. He looked around the store and subconsciously asked, "Was there anything wrong with the store yesterday?"

"Sure enough, yesterday an old Russian came to the store to buy something. But he couldn't speak English. Chen Ju could say a few words of Russian, but not much. He gestured for a long time before he understood. Hey, it took him quite a bit of effort!"

Li Zhe said with a smile, "Taozi, you have to understand that these college students are all working part-time. They might quit any day, and this store will still need you. So you not only need to learn English, but you also need to know some other common foreign languages. I don't expect you to be fluent, just enough to understand everyday greetings and grocery shopping."

“Brother Li, I understand! Now when I go home, besides eating and sleeping, I study foreign languages. I can now converse with foreigners, and when college students are too busy, I also use English to greet foreigners.”

Li Zhe patted him on the shoulder: "Sure, as long as you're willing to learn. Don't rush, take your time, there's plenty of time ahead."

"By the way, Brother Li, there's something else I need to tell you." Sun Tao led Li Zhe to the meat section: "Our low-fat steaks sold out incredibly fast after yesterday's packaging! They were all gone before 5 p.m. I was thinking, should we get some more beef tomorrow? If so, I'll make a trip to the Chongwenmen Market."

Li Zhe pondered for a moment: "Things are valued for their scarcity, so let's leave it at that for now. We'll see how things go in a few days. If demand is particularly high, we can increase the supply appropriately, but we shouldn't order too much at once."

Sun Tao laughed and said, "Hey, I get it. This stuff is like food; it tastes better when everyone's fighting over it! Foreigners think our steaks are scarce, so they'll scramble to buy them!"

Li Zhe didn't think there would be a rush to buy it. However, foreigners generally perceive domestic steaks as cheap, and if the supply is too large, it will be difficult to change that perception. The supply of Qin Chuan hybrid beef is actually not large, and its taste is much better than that of yellow beef. Li Zhe was quite confident in this steak.

Li Zhe stayed in the store for half an hour, looking around inside and out. He then said to Sun Tao, "I have something to do, so I'll leave first. Keep an eye on the store."

Sun Tao saw Li Zhe out of the store, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Brother Li, there's something else I'd like to tell you."

"What's going on? Tell me."

Seeing that no one was around, Sun Tao said, "Yesterday, Boss Hong San came to my house. He hasn't seen you these past few days, and knowing that I'm working for you now, he subtly inquired whether he could still get cucumbers from you after the New Year."

Li Zhe didn't answer directly, but instead asked, "What do you think? Should I continue to cooperate with them?"

Sun Tao was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Li Zhe to ask such a question.

This question was not easy for him to answer, because like Hong San, he also got his cucumbers from Li Zhe.

Earning 15 yuan a day by 15 jin (7.5 catties) of cucumbers adds up to 450 yuan a month! This income is substantial and crucial for the whole family. If they can't buy cucumbers from Li Zhe next year, this income will be gone, and he's reluctant to give it up.

But sometimes you have to make a choice; he can still see the difference between temporary and long-term benefits.

Sun Tao hesitated for a short time before replying, "I don't think it's necessary. Since the contract is signed until the end of the year, we'll have fulfilled our obligations once the contract is completed. Next year, we can sell those cucumbers directly in the store, which will generate more revenue than selling them to them, and it will also attract customers to our vegetable store."

Li Zhe nodded, his attitude still somewhat upright: "Okay, then let's do it your way."

(End of this chapter)