Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 187 Changing the Locks
"Huh?! When did he leave?!" Zhou Yongqiang's hand trembled, and his travel bag fell to the ground.

Li Zhe glanced at his watch: "He should already be on the plane."

Zhou Yongqiang wanted to say something, but the words turned into a sigh: "Sigh..."

He and Ji Hongbin had known each other since childhood. Ji Hongbin left without even saying goodbye, which left him with mixed feelings.

Ever since their trip to Shanghai to trade treasury bonds, during which Ji Hongbin's money was stolen, Ji Hongbin has harbored resentment towards him. He has repeatedly tried to visit him to ease tensions, but Ji Hongbin has always turned him away.

He felt wronged and frustrated, so he simply stopped trying to embarrass himself.

Unexpectedly, the next time I heard from them, they were already worlds apart...

Zhou Yongqiang seemed a bit down and sat silently in the lobby for a while.

Li Zhe stood at the shop entrance, watching the snowflakes fall onto the street. He loved snowy weather, the feeling of walking on snow, and eating hot pot on snowy days.

However, rainy and snowy weather is not conducive to vegetable greenhouse cultivation.

He had been listening to the weather forecast for Langfang. It was sunny there, so there was nothing to worry about. He thought to himself: I hope the snow from Langfang has also fallen in the capital!
After a while, Zhou Yongqiang also stood up and said, "Brother Li, I'm sorry you had to see this."

"I understand, after all, we've been friends for many years." Last time, Li Zhe chatted with Zhou Yongqiang and learned about his and Ji Hongbin's experiences going south. It can only be said that fate is cruel.

Zhou Yongqiang composed himself and briefly browsed the shops. He was speechless with surprise upon learning that Li Zhe had also bought the second floor.

Brother Li's business is truly booming. He couldn't help but feel more respect for Li Zhe. As for jealousy, he really didn't feel any. Because of the huge gap between them, he no longer had the desire to compare himself with Li Zhe.

After visiting the shop, Li Zhe, Tan Jingya, and Lin Qiaomei went to No. 7 Suzhou Hutong. Zhou Yongqiang, on the other hand, rode his bicycle back home to get the wine.

Wang Jianjun opened the door and saw that someone else had returned. He smiled and said, "Sister Qiaomei is here! It's been a while since we last met!"

Lin Qiaomei and Wang Jianjun have known each other since childhood. She smiled and replied, "I went to Guangzhou a few days ago and just got back yesterday. What did you cook? I'll help you."

"No need, Sister Qiaomei, please sit down and rest for a while. We'll have hot pot for dinner tonight. I've already washed the vegetables, and we can just slice the mutton and eat it in a bit."

Wang Jianjun brewed a pot of jasmine tea, poured it for everyone, and asked Li Zhe, "Wei Dong and the others have left?"

Li Zhe took a sip of tea and replied, "I saw that it was snowing and I was worried that the roads would be difficult to travel, so I sent them back. Old Li found a renovation team in the village, and today is their first day working."

"How's that group doing? Are they alright?" Wang Jianjun went to the secondhand market today, but didn't go to any of the shops.

"Not bad, they're quite diligent. Today they mainly repaired the doors and windows and polished the floor. Tomorrow they plan to repaint..." Li Zhe briefly explained the situation, and Zhou Yongqiang also arrived.

Everyone started preparing dinner.

It's actually quite simple. Wang Jianjun put the copper stove he just bought today on the table, put in coal, poured in water, cut up the mutton, arranged the vegetables, and once the water boiled, he could start cooking the meat directly.

Zhou Yongqiang laughed and said, "Eating hot pot while it's snowing, this feels amazing. Brother Li really knows how to enjoy life."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Isn't the point of living to eat and drink?"

“That’s right!” Zhou Yongqiang took two bottles of Erguotou, unscrewed one of them, and poured the liquor for everyone. “Come on, let’s have a drink.”

Tan Jingya also raised her glass, sighed softly, and said, "Cheers to the first snow of the year."

"Cheers." Everyone raised their glasses and took a sip.

Li Zhe cooked a plate of mutton and stirred it with serving chopsticks: "Everyone, if you cook the meat too long, it won't taste good. There's plenty of meat today, so you can eat as much as you want."

Lin Qiaomei picked up a piece of mutton with her chopsticks and said with a smile, "I came here today to eat like a big shot. I won't leave until I'm stuffed." She dipped the mutton in sesame sauce, took a bite, and exclaimed, "It's so delicious!"

She couldn't even remember the last time she had hot pot with mutton...

Wang Jianjun had been indulging in lavish meals with Li Zhe lately, so he wasn't as craving meat anymore. After taking a couple of bites of mutton, he asked curiously, "Sister Qiaomei, what are you and Brother Zhou doing in Guangzhou?"

These words struck a nerve with Zhou Yongqiang, who picked up the conversation: "Well, the factory's on holiday, and I figured I had nothing to do at home. I've always heard friends say how great Guangzhou is, so I thought I'd take your sister-in-law to see it for herself..."

Seeing Lin Qiaomei's pout, Zhou Yongqiang quickly skipped over what he was going to say and changed the subject, "You won't believe how different Guangzhou is from Beijing! It's full of Hong Kong goods and imported products. A pair of Hong Kong-style jeans costs 15 yuan wholesale in Guangzhou, but guess how much it would sell for in Beijing?"

Wang Jianjun hadn't shopped for clothes much and really didn't know the market price: "Can it sell for 30?"

Zhou Yongqiang laughed and said, "We can't sell it for 30, but the new code has to be doubled again?"

Wang Jianjun asked in surprise, "You bought these jeans for 15 yuan and are selling them for 60? That's a huge profit margin!" He was somewhat incredulous.

"Brother, you have to believe me, this is how much money you can make! My trip to Guangzhou really opened my eyes. Everyone says there are a lot of rich people in Beijing, but to be honest, no matter how rich they are, it doesn't really matter to us ordinary people."

But it's different in Guangzhou. Motorcycles are everywhere. Over there, no matter your status, as long as you're quick-witted and hardworking, you can make money! Zhou Yongqiang became more and more excited as he spoke: "There are so many street vendors there, and nobody feels ashamed. Many government employees also set up stalls after get off work. At night, it's brightly lit and very lively, a completely different atmosphere from here..."

Wang Jianjun pressed further, "I heard that Guangzhou is particularly warm. Is it like spring here?"

Zhou Yongqiang said, "The temperature there is indeed higher than here, but it's also cold, and damp and chilly, which I'm not really used to. Also, I'm not quite used to their food..."

Li Zhe listened attentively. Guangzhou is at the forefront of China's economic development and can reflect domestic policy changes to a certain extent, giving it a unique character. He also wanted to visit Guangzhou and experience the local customs and culture if he had the chance...

After the meal, Lin Qiaomei and Tan Jingya helped clear the dishes.

Li Zhe saw the three of them to the door, and Zhou Yongqiang and his wife rode away on their bicycles. Tan Jingya looked at Li Zhe, seemingly wanting to say something, but seeing Wang Jianjun behind them, she stopped herself and forced a smile: "Mr. Li, I'm going back too."

Li Zhe nodded: "Sister Tan, let's meet in the backyard tomorrow morning. I have something to tell you."

"Okay." Tan Jingya sighed softly, turned around and walked towards the backyard.

The two brothers closed the door, and Wang Jianjun said, "Zhezi, do you think what Brother Zhou said is true? Is it really that easy to make money in the South?"

Li Zhe asked with a smile, "What are your thoughts?"

Wang Jianjun rubbed his hands together: "A pair of jeans wholesales for fifteen yuan, but can sell for sixty yuan in Beijing. That's three times the profit! And that electronic watch he mentioned, you can buy it for five yuan and sell it for twenty, that's also three times the profit. With so much money to be made, don't you have any ideas?"

Li Zhe countered, "Brother, why do you think there are such high profits?"

"Speculation and profiteering?" Wang Jianjun was startled by his own thought.

"To achieve such high profits, either the barriers to entry are high, or it must be enshrined in the constitution." In Li Zhe's view, this couple clearly does not belong to the former category.

If all the necessary paperwork is in order and taxes are paid properly, it is legal to buy goods from the south and sell them in the north, but the profit margin will definitely not be as high.

The so-called "Hong Kong goods" that the couple claimed to be smuggled goods are most likely smuggled goods. If they can't find them, that's fine, but if they are caught, confiscating the goods will be the lightest punishment; if the problem is serious, they may even face criminal charges.

Wang Jianjun said, "Should we remind Sister Qiaomei?"

Li Zhe thought for a moment: "Logically, we should remind them, but I'm afraid they'll think we're being nosy and blocking their path to wealth."

Wang Jianjun shook his head: "Sister Qiaomei is not that kind of person."

Li Zhe didn't know Lin Qiaomei very well, so he didn't say anything more...

The next morning, after finishing breakfast, Li Zhe knocked on the back door.

Tan Jingya opened the door and forced a smile: "Mr. Li, you've arrived."

"Sister Tan, have you eaten?" Li Zhe replied with a smile.

The Ji family mother and son have left; he's here today to collect the house.

"Not yet. I ate too much last night, so I'm not very hungry this morning." Tan Jingya closed the courtyard gate and said somewhat nervously, "Mr. Li, there's something I'd like to tell you."

"You say."

"The Ji family mother and son have left. I wonder when you plan to move in?"

Li Zhe didn't answer immediately. He first opened the door to the north room and looked around. The room was empty; there wasn't even a table or chair, let alone a bed.

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Hey, it sold out pretty well."

“Only the things in the west wing haven’t been touched; almost everything else has been sold out,” Tan Jingya replied, repeating her earlier question: “Mr. Li, when do you plan to move into the backyard?”

Li Zhe originally wanted his parents to come to Beijing for the Spring Festival. He had asked his father, Lao Li, about it when he went back last time, but Lao Li was not willing and preferred to spend the Spring Festival in the village.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, Li Zhe was quite busy lately and didn't want to bother with any more moves: "Let's move after the New Year."

Tan Jingya breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Li, I haven't found a place to stay yet, so I'd like to continue renting in the backyard for a while longer. I'll move out once I find a place. Is that alright with you?"

Since the two are now doing business together, Li Zhe couldn't just kick them out: "Okay. I want to change all the locks on the gates in the yard to double-opening locks, so I don't have to knock on the door every time I come home."

“This is your house, you can arrange it however you like.” Tan Jingya’s feelings were a little complicated, but she could understand Li Zhe’s thoughts—if she had bought the house, she might have done the same.

"I'll write a lease agreement and pay you the rent later."

(End of this chapter)