Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 189 New Year Activities
Mona Lisa Restaurant.

Since there was no place to rest at the vegetable shop, Li Zhe would often bring Wang Ting to the restaurant for lunch and a short rest, sometimes staying until the afternoon.

This noon, Li Zhe ate beef and scallion dumplings, while Wang Ting ate shrimp dumplings. She has a small appetite and couldn't finish them. Li Zhe ate a few of her shrimp dumplings and then shared some beef dumplings with her.

The second sister couldn't stand it anymore: "Hey, that's enough. There's a single person here. I invited you two to try the food, not for you to show off your love."

"Second sister, your dumplings are delicious. I'm a bit of a glutton, so I wanted to try more of them." Li Zhe put down his chopsticks and commented, "The dumplings really taste great. I suggest making a double-filling version, half beef and half shrimp."

Wang Ting nodded: "The dumpling wrappers are thin and the filling is generous, just like the ones we make at home. However, the portion is a bit large, so ladies might not be able to finish them."

The second sister said, "Actually, I didn't intend for each guest to have a serving, but rather to make it a communal dish. With the New Year approaching, I wanted to let the foreigners also try our Beijing dumplings. I'll give each table a plate and a serving spoon, so guests can serve themselves as many as they like."

Li Zhe took a sip of his cocktail. "That's a good idea. If the foreigners give it a good review, I suggest we keep dumplings on the menu. Dumplings have low costs and the profit margin will be quite substantial."

The second sister had only planned to let foreigners taste Chinese specialties during the New Year, and hadn't really thought of this. She frowned and said, "This is a Western restaurant. Is it appropriate to put Chinese dishes on the regular menu?"

Li Zhe said, "The Great Wall Hotel mainly serves Western food, but it's not just Western food. After all, this is China. Foreigners eat Western food every day, but they sometimes want to change things up. I think we could add a page of Chinese dishes to the menu. We don't need many, just a few specialty dishes like dumplings, spring rolls, Kung Pao chicken, and the like."

These dishes have low costs and high profit margins, making it cost-effective to hire a dedicated Chinese chef.

The second sister took it to heart. She hadn't cared much about money before, but after starting to run the restaurant, she became particularly sensitive to the phrase "low cost, high profit": "Then I'll take advantage of this New Year promotional event to prepare some Chinese dishes for foreigners to try. If the reviews are good and the foreigners are willing to eat, I'll add a few more Chinese dishes."

“That’s right. No matter how well we think about it or how many plans we have, the final choice still lies with the customer.” Li Zhe thought that launching new dishes during the event was a good idea.

My second sister took out a few more papers from her bag and handed them over. "These are the New Year's promotional materials that Marty and I came up with. What do you think?"

Li Zhe took it and examined it carefully, saying, "It's alright, but it's a bit too Westernized. After all, it's our country's New Year. I think it would be better to add some traditional culture. Foreigners just want something new and are curious about China's thousands of years of history, so it would be best to add some traditional elements."

The second sister twirled the ballpoint pen in her hand: "For example?"

"Guessing riddles with palace lanterns, writing Spring Festival couplets by hand, traditional paper-cutting..." Li Zhe gave a few examples. "These are all unique activities that foreigners can experience firsthand and keep as souvenirs when they leave. Our main focus is on participation, and I personally think foreigners will like it."

Wang Ting stared at Li Zhe with her bright eyes. Every time he spoke, he brought her a sense of novelty, as if he knew everything and understood everything.

Previously, Wang Ting had always thought that her second sister was a very shrewd and capable businesswoman. However, after getting to know her for a while, she found that Li Zhe was more like her second sister's advisor. Whenever her second sister's restaurant encountered problems, she would ask Li Zhe for his opinion, and in most cases, she would follow Li Zhe's suggestions.

The three chatted for a while about their New Year's plans. Li Zhe glanced at his watch and said, "Second sister, Tingting and I are planning to go buy new clothes. Do you want to come?"

Li Zhe's previous clothes were too plain and not suitable for wearing in the capital. He needed to buy some new clothes.

"No, I don't want to be a third wheel." The second sister waved her hand, then smiled at Wang Ting, "Little sister, tell him to buy you a few more clothes, that guy's got money!"

Li Zhe stood up. "Is there anything you want to buy? I'll bring it back for you."

My second sister thought for a moment and said, "Bring me some film; we'll need it for the New Year. I'll give you the money when I get back."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Give me money, that's fine. Just invite me to try the dishes a few more times."

Li Zhe almost forgot that he should buy more film so he could take more photos of his family during the Chinese New Year, since his second sister didn't mention film.

After the two left the restaurant, Li Zhe said, "The Friendship Store isn't far, let's walk there."

Wang Ting linked arms with Li Zhe and said, "Friendship Store is too expensive, let's go look around somewhere else."

Li Zhe is always busy and hasn't had a proper chance to explore the capital. He really doesn't know which places are good for shopping: "Where do you want to go?"

Wang Ting, who often went shopping with her mother, said, "Let's go to Wangfujing Department Store. They have electronics there, and you can also buy camera film."

The location was easily accessible, so the two took a bus directly to the department store.

In the late 1980s, Wangfujing Department Store was a landmark of Beijing's commerce.

On the gray-white Soviet-style building facade, the large red characters of "Beijing City Department Store" are particularly eye-catching, and the steps in front of the building are always crowded with people pushing bicycles. Not far away, there are also time-honored shops such as "Shengxifu" and "Tongshenghe" on the street, and vendors push glass cabinets to sell candied hawthorns along the street, which is very lively.

Wang Ting was familiar with the area, so she first led Li Zhe up to the second-floor photography equipment section. In the glass counter were "Lucky" black-and-white film at 3.5 yuan per roll and "Kodak" color film at 15 yuan in foreign exchange coupons. Li Zhe bought ten rolls of color film, using five for himself and giving the other five to his second sister.

He smiled and said, "My second sister gave me a Canon camera. When the weather gets warmer, I'll take you to a scenic spot to take pictures."

Wang Ting, unaware that Li Zhe owned a camera, asked in confusion, "Why would my second sister give you a camera?"

"My second sister is a very generous person and has many friends. In the past, she would never ask her friends to pay for meals, and she ended up spending almost all the money the restaurant made. When she was out of options, she asked me for help."

I gave her some ideas, and we organized an event for New Year's Day, along with a membership card and prepaid top-up promotion. My second sister's restaurant started making money, and to thank me, she gave me a camera.

Li Zhe laughed and said, "I saw the same model at the Friendship Store, but it's so expensive. I really can't bear to buy it myself."

Wang Ting was somewhat surprised. When she first heard about prepaid top-ups and membership cards, she thought her second sister was very shrewd and good at business. She never expected that this idea was also Li Zhe's.

She teased, "Are there things you can't bring yourself to buy?"

"There are plenty more. I'll take you to the Friendship Store to browse the watch section another day, and then you'll know what expensive really means!" Li Zhe knew very well that although he had made a little money, his foundation was weak, and he was far behind the truly wealthy.

Wang Ting said, "I'm not going. I don't like expensive watches anyway. As long as it can tell time, that's fine."

Previously, Li Zhe had similar thoughts to Wang Ting, thinking that such an expensive thing was something only a fool would buy.

But now his thinking is a little different. Before, he didn't like it because he couldn't afford it, so he naturally gave up on the idea. Now that he has a little money, his mindset has gradually changed.

Some things have no flaws except for being expensive.

Of course, he can only dream about it now; he doesn't have enough money to buy luxury goods yet, and practicality is still his priority.

The two wandered around the floor again. There were many kinds of electrical appliances, including radios and color TVs. They also unexpectedly came across a refrigerated display case. Li Zhe went up to take a look and found that it was a "Snowflake" brand refrigerated case, about 1.5 meters long, and its design was somewhat similar to that of the Friendship Store.

Li Zhe asked the waiter, "Comrade, how much is this refrigerated display case?"

The waiter introduced, "Sir, you have excellent taste! This is the latest refrigerated display case. Foreign brands cost thirty or forty thousand yuan, but ours is only eight thousand. It frosts up after being plugged in for three hours, and its refrigeration and preservation performance is particularly good in summer!"

This price is indeed cheaper than the imported one, but it still exceeds Li Zhe's budget. The weather is still cold, so Li Zhe is not in a hurry to buy it. He plans to do some research first, or see if he can find an acquaintance to get a cheaper price.

In addition, there's the question of whether the cooling function is reliable. If it breaks down every few days after you buy it from the store, you can't afford the hassle.

Li Zhe wrote down the brand, model, and size, then asked Wang Ting, who was standing next to him, "What do you think?"

"It looks alright, but isn't it a bit small?" Wang Ting secretly compared this refrigerator to the one in Friendship Store.

"It's not very big, but we don't have that many kinds of meat, so it can be displayed properly. We can also buy a freezer to store the meat and use it in combination." This thing is too expensive, and buying a big one isn't cost-effective. Li Zhe thought that as long as it can be displayed properly, it's fine, and it just requires the staff to restock in time.

The two spoke with the shop assistant for more details before saying goodbye and leaving.

I definitely want to buy it, but there's no fixed price for such large items, and the markup is quite high, so it's best to compare prices from different vendors.

After leaving the electronics section, the two went up to the clothing section on the third floor. It was a large area with both domestic and foreign brands, and some rare foreign brands required payment in foreign exchange certificates.

Wang Ting first helped Li Zhe pick out clothes, buying everything from coats, suits, sweaters, belts to shoes. Li Zhe's previous clothes were not suitable for wearing in Beijing, so he bought two outfits, one more formal and one more casual, so they could wear them together.

After buying the clothes, Li Zhe did a quick calculation and realized that the two outfits alone cost him over a thousand yuan.

After browsing the men's clothing section, the two went to browse the women's clothing section. Wang Ting tried on a pair of dark blue jeans. She had a slim waist, long legs, and a pert bottom, and her graceful curves were very alluring, making her very suitable for wearing jeans.

Li Zhe then had her try on a khaki double-breasted long trench coat, which was just enough to cover her thighs, so that she wouldn't be targeted by other men and attract a competitor.

The two shopped around for a while longer, bought some cosmetics for Wang Ting, and then left the mall carrying their bags...

(End of this chapter)