Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 190 Vegetable Company
Zhou Family Residence, Chuanban Hutong.

In the dead of winter, it gets dark after 6 p.m. There wasn't much nightlife back then, and the Zhou family didn't even have a television. By 9 p.m., the whole family was already in bed.

Zhou Yongqiang lay in bed, too excited to sleep. This afternoon, he sold the last batch of goods, not only recovering his costs but also making a fortune, enough to make him have a prosperous New Year.

Seeing Lin Qiaomei sit on the bed after washing up, he sat up and leaned over: "Wife, do you know how much money we've made in total?"

Although Lin Qiaomei didn't know the exact amount, she could guess roughly: "Around eight or nine hundred, I guess?"

“No, let me let you guess again,” Zhou Yongqiang said with a smile.

Lin Qiaomei turned to look at him, her voice tinged with excitement: "Over 1000?"

"Hey, let me tell you, we sold a total of 2028 this time. After deducting the 1000 yuan cost, we made a profit of 1028 yuan." Zhou Yongqiang's tone was tinged with pride. "How about that? I told you, you can definitely make money in Guangzhou!"

Lin Qiaomei breathed a sigh of relief: "With this money in hand, we can have a more relaxed New Year."

"Wife, just you wait and see, our good days are yet to come." Zhou Yongqiang lay on the bed, his tone filled with anticipation for the future. "We only had a small amount of capital this time, but if we had more, we would definitely earn even more. After a few rounds of trading, we'll be millionaires!"

Zhou Yongqiang became more and more excited as he spoke, and then sat up and said, "Wife, there are still almost ten days until the New Year. Do you think we should hurry up and make another round trip?"

Lin Qiaomei said, "I think you're obsessed with money. Passenger transport gets tight at the end of the year. Forget about coming back, I doubt you can even buy a train ticket to the south. Don't think about it too much. We've earned a thousand, which is enough to have a comfortable New Year. Let's talk about going south after the New Year."

“That’s right, we haven’t even bought all the New Year’s goods yet. Tomorrow we’ll go buy them and I’ll also buy you a new outfit. We won’t go to the street stalls, we’ll go to the department store!” Zhou Yongqiang waved his hand, showing a lot of generosity.

Lin Qiaomei advised, "That's your problem; you think about spending money recklessly as soon as you have a little bit. If you spend all your money this year, where will you get the capital to start a business next year?"

She added in a low voice, "Don't forget, the money we used to do this business was borrowed. We have to pay it back before the New Year, right? Plus the money we spent on the New Year, we'll only have about 1,300 or 1,400 yuan left to start the business next year at most."

Hearing this, Zhou Yongqiang seemed a little deflated: "It's okay if it's less, at least it's all our own money, and I feel more at ease doing it. If we double our earnings after one trip, that's 2600; if we double it again after two trips, that's 5000; and after the third trip, we'll be a ten-thousand-yuan household!"

Zhou Yongqiang's words seemed to be addressed to Lin Qiaomei, but also to encourage himself.

Lin Qiaomei frowned slightly, recalling what Wang Jianjun had told her that afternoon: "Yongqiang, I think we should take it slow and not buy too much stock at once. Have you forgotten what happened when we came back? Someone was checking for smuggling on the train. Didn't the lady next door get arrested?"

“That woman and her husband were carrying six large bags, their luggage taking up half the carriage. They were afraid people wouldn’t know they were rummaging through things. If we don’t check her, who will we check?” Zhou Yongqiang said, his voice becoming a little softer.

Following this logic, even if he could smuggle goods from the south to Beijing for sale, he couldn't smuggle too much each time. His plan to double his profits and expand his business was simply unrealistic.

Suddenly, he remembered Ji Hongbin's theft in Shanghai: "From now on, we'll only deal in items worth no more than 2000 yuan each time, making two or three thousand yuan per trip. If we do three or four trips a month, we can easily make six or seven thousand yuan, which isn't bad."

Lin Qiaomei asked, "Then what about your job?"

Zhou Yongqiang had already thought of this: "I definitely can't quit my job. However, there hasn't been much work at the factory, and the factory manager would love for me to take a long leave, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

Lin Qiaomei looked at her husband, hesitating before saying, "I went to Jingya's shop again today. Business at our restaurant hasn't been good. I'm thinking of quitting my temporary job at the restaurant and going to work for Jingya. What do you think?"

Zhou Yongqiang nodded: "That works too. We can't both be out on our own. We have elderly people and young children at home, so we really need someone to stay. Brother Li is a capable man. Working at his restaurant won't be bad."

Then he thought of going south to do business: "So who do you think I should partner with next year? It's definitely not going to work alone without anyone to look after me."

"Didn't you say the factory wasn't doing well? Why don't you ask one of your coworkers?"

Zhou Yongqiang shook his head: "No, I can't take them. I have no problem taking a long leave, but if the factory finds out about me going south to trade goods, they'll definitely make an example of me."

After a moment of silence, he thought of another candidate: "What do you think of Xiaohu? Hasn't he been saying he wants to come to the capital? I'll take him to the south, so he can broaden his horizons."

Lin Qiaomei learned that her younger brother had left the fan factory and that he didn't want to stay in the countryside. She said, "Let's ask him when we go back to Daying Village for the New Year."

...The next morning.

Li Zhe first went to the restaurant that was under renovation in the morning to arrange the work for the workers before taking the bus to the 365 Vegetable Store.

When he arrived, it was already past nine in the morning. The vegetable store was already open for business. He walked around the store and found that the goods were plentiful and the store was clean. He was fairly satisfied with Sun Tao's work.

Taking advantage of a lull in the work, Sun Tao came over with the ledger: "Brother Li, this is yesterday's sales revenue and the quantity of goods sold. Take a look."

Yesterday, Li Zhe went straight home after shopping at the department store and did not come to the store.

Li Zhe glanced at the total sales: 3752 foreign exchange certificates. He then checked the sales categories and said, "Not bad. As long as we can maintain the sales volume, I'll give you a big bonus at the end of the year."

"Brother Li, I'm definitely taking your red envelope!" Sun Tao said confidently.

Then, as if remembering something, he walked behind the counter, took out a business card from the drawer, and handed it to Li Zhe: "Brother Li, a customer came in yesterday. He tried the fruit in our store and bought four catties of vegetables. After buying them, he didn't leave and tried the vegetables on the spot."

After finishing his meal, he said he'd like to invite you to dinner. Here's his business card.

Li Zhe took the business card and glanced at it. It was a white card with black lettering that read: 'Liu Jianhua, General Manager of Beijing City Vegetable Company'.

Actually, quite a few people have been contacting Li Zhe lately, mostly restaurant owners. Li Zhe wanted to supply them with vegetables, but unfortunately, he lacked the resources.

Seeing that Li Zhe remained silent, seemingly afraid that he would refuse to meet him, Sun Tao reminded him, "Brother Li, this Beijing Vegetable Company is no ordinary company. I suggest you meet with them."

Li Zhe put the business card away: "Tell me about the background of this company?"

Sun Tao whispered, "Most of the vegetables for state-run restaurants, government canteens, and restaurants catering to foreigners in the city are supplied by them. I heard that the pricing of vegetables in the market is also related to them. Although they don't set the prices, they can directly influence the price of vegetables."

"I understand." Li Zhe nodded; he had heard of the Beijing Vegetable Company before.

Although the company sounded impressive, Li Zhe wasn't too worried because the two companies were too different in size, and the company probably wouldn't even consider his current output.

After thinking for a while, Li Zhe took the initiative to contact Liu Jianhua and arranged to meet him at the Great Wall Hotel.

After finishing his call, Li Zhe went to the Great Wall Hotel and inquired about the Beijing Municipal Vegetable Company from Tang Demin, the hotel's purchasing manager. Tang Demin was very familiar with the company; the Great Wall Hotel's other vegetables were supplied by the Beijing Municipal Vegetable Company.

Around noon, Tang Demin led a middle-aged man with black-rimmed glasses and a refined appearance into the restaurant.

After Tang Demin gave a brief introduction to both parties, he made an excuse and left.

Liu Jianhua looked Li Zhe up and down, a hint of surprise on his face: "Comrade Li Zhe, I didn't expect you to be so young. Besides, your demeanor doesn't seem like that of a farmer."

“Mr. Liu, you flatter me. My family has been poor farmers for three generations. When I go back to the village, I’ll take off these clothes and still have to work in the fields.” Li Zhe responded, then asked, “Mr. Liu, what brings you here today?”

Liu Jianhua adjusted his glasses and said, "I am very interested in your off-season vegetables and would like to discuss cooperation with you."

Li Zhe tentatively asked, "How would you like to cooperate?"

Liu Jianhua didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "Comrade Li Zhe, I'd like to know first. How many acres of off-season vegetables have you planted in total? What is your daily yield?"

Li Zhe didn't hide anything: "There are more than ten acres in total. The planting time, varieties, and harvest periods of the vegetables are different, which you should know. The current daily output is only a few hundred catties."

"Too little!" Liu Jianhua gave a wry smile. With nearly ten million people in the capital, this amount of production wasn't even enough to fill a gap in their stomachs.

(End of this chapter)