Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 196 Teaching His Wife Behind the Scenes
"Ahem..." Chen Shufang coughed lightly, not daring to meet her husband's eyes: "What evidence do you have? Don't talk nonsense in front of Tingting."

“You’re such a good cook, how could you possibly make braised pork that’s so fishy and salty?” Wang Guangwei also tasted a piece of braised pork, and it was nothing like his wife’s cooking.

"Oh, Director Wang, are you praising me or scolding me?"

Wang Guangwei sighed: "I didn't praise you, nor did I scold you. I just felt it was unnecessary to do this. What good would it do besides making Xiao Li unhappy?"

Chen Shufang retorted, "How will I know what kind of temperament he is if I don't try? How can I let Tingting date him? I'm doing this for my daughter's sake."

Seeing that his wife still didn't realize the problem, Wang Guangwei frowned and asked, "Then what did you find out?"

“How come I didn’t see it? This kid seems so polite, but he’s actually unwilling to suffer any loss and is very arrogant. He tasted the braised pork and didn’t like it, so he said it right away and even taught me how to cook.” Chen Shufang felt uncomfortable thinking about this: “When I was learning to cook, he was still a nobody.”

Wang Guangwei said with disapproval: "If you make the meat too salty and fishy, ​​who can eat it? I wouldn't like it either."

"I didn't poison it, it just tastes a bit strong, why can't I eat it? I worked hard in the kitchen for half a day, even if it's just to give my future mother-in-law face, she should at least have a few bites."

Wang Guangwei waved his hand, "You can't have that kind of thinking. They're here to deliver vegetables to us today, not to eat a meal to reminisce about the past."

"If others can eat it, why can't he?" Chen Shufang snorted and continued.
“When Lily was dating, I also made braised pork for Zhigang. It was the same recipe. He ate most of the plate himself and didn’t say it was fishy or salty. He just kept praising how delicious it was.”

I figured out Zhigang's temperament before I felt comfortable leaving Lily with him. The young couple there are living such a happy life now.”

"You, you..." Wang Guangwei pointed at his wife, feeling both annoyed and amused: "Where did you learn all these ridiculous tricks? You think you can test someone's character with just a bowl of braised pork?"

"Don't point your finger at me." Chen Shufang slapped her husband's hand away: "Even if I'm worrying unnecessarily, I'm still better than you. All you do is drink in silence. Have you ever cared about our daughter? When someone drinks with you and gives you two packs of cigarettes, you grin and laugh. I don't even want to talk to you."

"You know nothing! Do you even know what it means to see a person's true character after drinking?" Wang Guangwei blurted out, using foul language.

"Some people are respectable and gentle before drinking, a model of morality; but when they get drunk, their self-control decreases, and they reveal their true colors, swearing and hitting people, behaving in a disgraceful manner, not even as good as a dog."

Chen Shufang's momentum weakened: "I don't know either, you didn't tell me."

"What's wrong? Are you feeling aggrieved? Don't do this kind of thing again. Li Zhe is such a shrewd person. Your little tricks have been seen through long ago."

"That can't be right. Even horses stumble and people make mistakes. No one can guarantee that every dish they make will be delicious. I didn't force him to eat it. That dish was taken away, wasn't it?" Chen Shufang didn't think Li Zhe could see through her little scheme.

Wang Guangwei shook his head: "Don't think you're so smart. That young man from the countryside in his twenties can buy a courtyard house. Do you think you can? Do you really think he's just lucky?"

Chen Shufang retorted, "But didn't you also make him drink? Isn't that the same principle as me?"

“I drank quite a bit too. One cup for him, one cup for me. He got drunk, and so did I. They’re guests, so I treated them well. They ate and drank to their hearts’ content. What could possibly be a problem?” Wang Guangwei took a sip of tea and continued, “Besides, I, as their future father-in-law, am testing my daughter’s boyfriend’s drinking capacity and seeing how he behaves when he’s drunk. Nobody can find fault with that.”

Seeing that his wife was about to speak again, Wang Guangwei waved his hand to interrupt her, "Don't say anything, Tingting should be back soon, I'm going to go inside and get some sleep." He stood up and went straight back to the bedroom.

Chen Shufang was left alone on the sofa, sulking.

……

January 31st, early morning. The eve of the Lunar New Year in southern China.

No. 7 Hutong, Suzhou.

Big Gold Tooth parked his bicycle in the front yard, his expression complicated. Although the end of the year was approaching, he couldn't feel happy at all. According to the contract, today was the last day to buy goods from Li Zhe.

He started buying cucumbers from Li Zhe on November 14th last year. He bought 15 jin (7.5 catties) of cucumbers every day, earning one yuan per jin, which was 15 yuan a day. Although it wasn't a lot of cucumbers, he could earn more than 400 yuan a month. In just over two months, he earned more than 1,100 yuan, which was equivalent to a year's salary for an average person in Beijing.

Hey, these winter vegetables are really profitable, they sell really well!
He still hoped to renew his contract, but he knew the chances were extremely slim.

Because the current market for preserved vegetables is still one of supply falling short of demand, and Li Zhe now has his own sales channels, there's no need for him to sell through them anymore. If it were him, he would also buy them and sell them himself.

To be honest, it's already quite considerate of Li Zhe to fulfill the contract.

When Big Gold Tooth arrived at the front yard living room, everyone else had also arrived, and he even saw Sun Tao, who hadn't been there for some time.

Big Gold Tooth asked the question that had been on his mind: "Hey, Mr. Sun, it's been a while. What have you been up to? You haven't shown up for so long."

These days, it's always been Sun Tao's younger brother who comes to pick up the goods, and Sun Tao hasn't seen him for a while: "Boss Jin, it has been a while. A while ago, Brother Li opened a vegetable shop, and I'm looking after it for him now." Hearing this, everyone present had different expressions.

Hong San, standing to the side, remained calm. He had visited Sun Tao before and knew a little about the matter.

Others had never met Sun Tao and asked his younger brother about him, but the boy just chuckled stupidly. Whether he was genuinely stupid or pretending, they couldn't get any information out of him.

Following the previous rules, Li Zhe collected the money for the vegetables and distributed the cucumbers to everyone.

Then, he took out a few envelopes from his briefcase: "Guys, the vegetable supply contract we signed earlier expires today. As agreed, I'm going to return your deposits."

All good things come to an end.

When Li Zhe first arrived in Beijing, he was unfamiliar with the city and the people, and he didn't know the prices of vegetables, so he went to the Chongwenmen vegetable market to sell vegetables to get a feel for the market.

Many stall owners wanted to buy their goods from him, and Li Zhe selected a few sincere partners from among them.

Afterwards, Li Zhe gradually gained a foothold in Beijing. Off-season vegetables were in high demand and short supply. If he wanted to maximize profits, he could find an excuse to return the deposit early, end the cooperation, and sell the cucumbers to foreign hotels, which would yield higher profits.

But Li Zhe did not do that; he kept his promise and continued to supply vegetables.

Now that the contract has expired, Li Zhe has returned the deposit as agreed and terminated the cooperation agreement.

Nothing in this world is static, and Li Zhe has no obligation to lead them to make money forever; if they can keep up with him, he is willing to guide them for a while, just like Sun Tao; if they can't keep up with him, or have other ideas, then they can go their separate ways.

Li Zhe handed out several envelopes to everyone: "Brothers, count them and see if the deposit is correct."

Li Jinxia opened the envelope and counted the money; it was exactly 550 yuan, not a penny less.

Big Gold Tooth was a shrewd man. Instead of counting the money immediately, he asked, "Mr. Li, I'd like to get more goods from you, even if the price is higher."

Hong San chimed in, "Mr. Li, me too."

“Me too,” Li Jinxia and Lu Dayou said in unison.

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Brothers, as you've probably seen, I'm busy all day and can't serve the dishes to everyone on time. If you really want some food, you can ask Sun Tao."

The vegetable shop he manages sells not only cucumbers, but also other vegetables.

Seeing everyone's eyes on him, Sun Tao gave a wry smile.

In theory, Li Zhe was right, but he didn't believe these guys were capable of getting vegetables from him. Their vegetable shop didn't charge high prices, but they accepted foreign exchange certificates; if converted to RMB, the actual selling price would be much higher.

Even if these guys bought vegetables from him, they would find it difficult to sell them at a higher price. Besides, he himself felt that the vegetable shop didn't have enough vegetables, and he was reluctant to sell them easily until Li Zhe supplied him with more.

"Hey guys, I have something to do at the shop, let's talk later." Sun Tao said, then greeted Li Zhe before turning and leaving.

Hong San was the first to chase after him: "Brother Sun, we're going the same way, let's go together."

The others also knew that Li Zhe's business had grown so much that he wouldn't have time to serve them food anymore, so they all followed him out.

"Mr. Sun! Please wait a moment..."

"Boss Sun..."

……

After seeing everyone off, Li Zhe went back to his room to settle accounts. In addition to today's accounts, there were also this month's employee salaries, bonuses, and year-end benefits.

Today is January 31st, the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month.

There are only six days left until Chinese New Year.

Li Zhe has a lot to do these days, so he needs to plan his schedule in advance.

(End of this chapter)