Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 175 Loss of Vegetables
After talking with Sun Tao, Li Zhe left the vegetable store in a truck to collect payments from the five restaurants that supplied him with vegetables.

The two Quanjude restaurants each supply 140 jin of cucumbers per day, with a daily price of 1120 yuan, totaling 7840 yuan over seven days.

东来顺供菜量20斤黄瓜，160元；20斤菠菜，120元；一天菜价280元；七天菜价1960元。

Li Zhe received 9800 yuan from just these two restaurants, and he drove directly to the bank to deposit the money.

Afterwards, we went to the Great Wall Hotel and Mona Lisa Restaurant, both of which accepted foreign exchange certificates.

Previously, Li Zhe had exchanged 5,000 foreign exchange certificates for Ji Hongbin. The opening of the vegetable shop and the purchase of goods had cost a lot, and the foreign exchange certificates were almost gone. This payment was a way to recover some of the losses.

After returning home, Li Zhe poured himself a pot of tea and started doing his accounts while drinking it.

Compared to restaurant accounts, vegetable store accounts are more complicated, requiring the calculation of purchase prices and quantities of various goods (including losses) to arrive at the total purchase cost.

Then, subtract the cost of goods purchased from the daily revenue to get the gross profit.

The calculation of net profit is more complicated, as it involves deducting expenses such as rent, labor, utilities, and packaging.

This is a skill that comes with practice. Li Zhe was new to it and not very familiar with it yet. He was using a calculator to calculate and write at the same time...

"Knock knock..." There was a knock on the door.

Li Zhe put the notebook and calculator into his briefcase and asked, "Who is this?"

"Mr. Li, I am Tan Jingya from the backyard." A woman's voice rang out from outside.

Li Zhe opened the door and saw Tan Jingya standing outside, wearing a red woolen coat. It had been a while since he'd seen her; Tan Jingya's fair face was lightly made up, and she looked much better than before.

"Sister-in-law, come in and talk," Li Zhe said, stepping aside.

Tan Jingya forced a smile: "Mr. Li, Ji Hongbin and I are divorced. Please call me by my name."

"Then I'll call you Sister Tan." Li Zhe gestured for her to sit down.

Tan Jingya responded and sat down next to the coffee table, continuing, "Mr. Li, I've come here again to talk to you about opening a restaurant together."

"Great! I'd love to hear your new ideas too." Recently, greenhouse vegetable production has increased, but so has spoilage. Li Zhe's family simply can't finish eating it all, and much of the spoilage is due to damage during transport, meaning it can't be stored for long. He's thinking of opening a restaurant as soon as possible to turn the spoiled vegetables into something useful.

Tan Jingya thought for a moment and said, "Previously, you proposed an investment ratio of 20/80, which I agreed to. You would hold 80% of the shares, and I would hold 20%."

Li Zhe nodded. He felt it wouldn't be worthwhile if he owned too few shares; but if he didn't give Tan Jingya shares, she might not be happy either. After all, Li Zhe had no practical experience in managing a restaurant, and only if Tan Jingya had shares could she wholeheartedly take responsibility for the restaurant.

Tan Jingya took out a notebook from her backpack and said, "Regarding the location, I found two good shops. One is in Hougou Hutong next door, which is very close to Chongwenmen Vegetable Market, making it convenient for purchasing. The shop is a converted courtyard house, and the rent is 100 yuan a month. The landlord requires payment every six months. I think the price is negotiable, but the landlord is very strict about the payment method."

Tan Jingya turned the page with her slender fingers and continued, "The second shop is on Chongwenmen West Street. It's a street-front shop of about 100 square meters. It's easily accessible, has a lot of foot traffic, and isn't far from where you live. Which shop do you think is suitable? If you have time, I can take you to see it in person."

Although Li Zhe hadn't visited the shop, he roughly knew its location. "How much is the rent for a shop on Chongwenmen West Street? How do I pay?"

“This rent is a bit higher, 360 yuan a month. I think the price is negotiable, but they require a deposit of one month’s rent and three months’ rent in advance.” Having learned her lesson from the last conversation, Tan Jingya was well-prepared this time. Two shops, two price ranges, let Li Zhe choose for himself.

Li Zhe countered, "Which shop do you prefer to rent?"

Tan Jingya thought for a moment and said, "It depends on your budget. If your budget is low, I think the one in Hougou Hutong is suitable; if your budget is sufficient, then you should definitely choose the shop on Chongwenmen West Street. The location of that shop is very important. As long as the food is good, you will never lack customers, and the customers' spending power is also stronger than the former."

Tan Jingya's words were essentially meaningless, and the ball was passed back to Li Zhe.

In Li Zhe's view, the choice of which shop to choose depends on the restaurant's positioning. If the positioning is fast food, and the main customers are the surrounding residents and the stall owners of the Chongwenmen vegetable market next door, then a shop in Hougou Hutong would be a good choice, as the prices are affordable and the costs are low.

If the restaurant is upscale and expensive, then a street-front shop on Chongwenmen West Street would be more suitable, as it has high foot traffic and can attract more wealthy customers. Li Zhe's main purpose in opening the restaurant was to reuse leftover vegetables.

Don't underestimate these perishable vegetables; as long as they're used on the same day, their quality remains the same, and they might even be fresher, so the selling price won't be cheap. From a positioning perspective, a shop on Chongwenmen West Street is clearly more suitable. Even though the price is over 200 yuan higher per month, if business is good, it can be recouped in a single day.

After clearing his mind, Li Zhe said, "Sister Tan, when do you have time, take me to see the shops on Chongwenmen West Street?"

“I’m available anytime. But Mr. Li is a very busy person. Just let me know when you’ve set a time, and I’ll arrange for the landlord to view the property in advance,” Tan Jingya replied with a smile.

Li Zhe's statement indirectly acknowledged the possibility of further cooperation. She continued:
"In terms of staff, I plan to have two chefs, three kitchen helpers, four waiters, one general helper, and one cashier." In fact, Tan Jingya thought she could take on the role of cashier herself, but the problem was that she was afraid Li Zhe wouldn't trust her, so she needed to arrange someone trustworthy.

"How much is the labor cost?" Li Zhe took out a notebook from his briefcase and wrote down the previous rent.

Tan Jingya didn't even look at the notebook before saying, "Chef: 140, kitchen helper: 100, waiter/waitress: 70, general helper: 60, cashier: 70. What do you think?"

Previously, after Li Zhe had the idea of ​​opening a restaurant, he asked his cousin to help him inquire about potential clients. Wang Jianjun would proactively chat with the waiters when he went out to eat, and the salary seemed reasonable. "Okay, let's set it at this price. Are there any other expenses?"

Tan Jingya replied, "Decoration, kitchenware, tables and chairs, and the like. If you choose a shop in Hougou Hutong, I suggest you buy second-hand tables and chairs; but we are now preparing to open a shop on Chongwenmen West Street, and the positioning is relatively high-end, so I think it would be inappropriate to use second-hand items. The expenses in this area will also increase accordingly."

In fact, this was the second reason why Tan Jingya sought to collaborate with Li Zhe. Using expensive winter vegetables would inevitably raise the price of the dishes, increase the restaurant's prestige, and raise the overall investment, which she simply couldn't afford.

She divorced Ji Hongbin and received some money, but not much.

It wasn't that Ji Hongbin was deliberately causing trouble, but rather that Ji Hongbin had already squandered all his money, and now all the money and the house belonged to Old Madam Ji.

To put it bluntly, the money Ji Hongbin gave her was also given by Old Madam Ji. If Old Madam Ji really was stingy, all she could take with her would be the few hundred yuan of her personal savings.

Tan Jingya cleared her mind of distractions and continued, "To save money, I suggest keeping the renovation simple, focusing on cleanliness and simplicity, which will save a lot of money. As for kitchenware, the refrigerator, stove, sink, pots and pans, and knives can all be bought second-hand, but the tables, chairs, and counters for receiving clients should be new. This part will cost around four thousand yuan."

Tan Jingya pointed to the notebook and said, "In addition, the miscellaneous expenses such as food storage and license application will add up to several hundred yuan. I have roughly calculated that the total cost of opening a store is about six thousand yuan. I own 20% of the shares, so I need to put up 1,200 yuan; you own 80% of the shares, so you need to put up 4,800 yuan."

Li Zhe carefully reviewed the various expenses again, and overall they were roughly the same. Moreover, the four thousand yuan was not a significant amount for him. Currently, he was wasting more than fifty or sixty kilograms of vegetables every day. If he sold these fifty or sixty kilograms of wasted vegetables to the restaurant, it would be another source of income.

"Sister Tan, how much are you planning to spend on the vegetables?" Although Li Zhe is the major shareholder of the restaurant, the restaurant business and the vegetable business should still be kept separate. Otherwise, if things get unclear, it will cause more trouble in the future.

Tan Jingya pursed her red lips: "I'm not really sure about the market price of preserved vegetables right now. What price do you think would be appropriate?"

"How about this, I'll sell the spoiled vegetables to the restaurant at half the market price. Cucumbers sell for eight yuan outside, but I'll sell them to our restaurant for four yuan. What do you think?" Li Zhe roughly calculated that by selling the spoiled vegetables at this price, he could earn an extra two hundred yuan a day, which would amount to more than six thousand yuan a month.

As long as the restaurant can stay open for a month, even if it doesn't make a single penny in the end, I won't lose money.

Tan Jingya nodded: "Okay, let's do it your way." Although the price is not low, you can't buy winter vegetables even if you have money these days.

Li Zhe was also very satisfied with Tan Jingya's straightforwardness. If she were a petty and calculating partner, he would never have cooperated with her.

Tan Jingya asked with a smile, "Mr. Li, if you have no other questions, shall we sign a cooperation agreement first?"

Li Zhe stroked his chin and pondered for a moment: "Sister Tan, I think we should try the dishes first. We can sign the agreement after the trial."

Tan Jingya knew that Li Zhe probably still didn't quite trust her, so she didn't insist: "Alright, I've already found a chef, my father's apprentice. He's been working in the kitchen for over ten years, so his cooking skills are definitely not a problem. I'll take you to try the dishes in a couple of days, and then we can discuss the details."

Li Zhe smiled and said, "Okay, then I'll wait for your news."

Tan Jingya is right, but seeing is believing.

You only know if someone has real skill after you've tried their cooking.

(End of this chapter)