Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 197 Giving Gifts
2 month 1 day.

365 Vegetable Store.

"Ha..." Sun Tao yawned and rubbed his face with his hands, as if trying to wake himself up.

Chen Ju laughed and said, "Manager, you usually work like you're on steroids, why are you yawning so much today? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

"Hey, don't even mention it!" Sun Tao complained. "Yesterday I ran into some friends from the vegetable market. They knew our shop was selling off-season vegetables, so they wanted to get some from me to sell themselves. I said I didn't have time during the day, so they waited until night and dragged me out for drinks. I got so drunk that I almost couldn't get up this morning."

Sun Tao's words sounded like a complaint, but Chen Ju could vaguely detect a hint of smugness in his tone.

"Manager, our store has purchase limits on off-season vegetables. You didn't sell our vegetables to anyone else, did you?"

"No way! Drinking is drinking, catching up is catching up, and business is business. I understand the difference," Sun Tao explained.

"I told them about the situation at the store. Our store is currently experiencing a shortage of off-season vegetables, and we really can't supply them." Of course, Sun Tao didn't rule out the possibility of a complete break, telling Hong San'er and the others that there might be a chance for cooperation next year when the production of off-season vegetables increases.

As the others took turns toasting him and showering him with compliments, Sun Tao felt quite pleased. He was glad that he had seized the opportunity and followed in Li Zhe's footsteps.

Just then, Li Zhe walked into the vegetable shop. Sun Tao greeted him with a smile: "Brother Li, you're here!"

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Why were you running so fast yesterday? I hadn't finished speaking yet."

"Brother Li, you're heartless to say that. How will you get away if I don't leave?"

"Hehe." Li Zhe chuckled. "Did you order the things I asked you to order?"

"Everything's settled! Director Han said you can just go to Chongwenmen Market this afternoon to pick it up."

Li Zhe nodded: "I've already ordered the refrigerated display case, but it won't be delivered until after the New Year. Just know that."

"Alright! With the refrigerated display cases, the level of our store has been greatly improved!" Sun Tao had even gone to check it out after hearing Li Zhe mention that Wangfujing Department Store had refrigerated display cases.

Seeing that the shop wasn't busy, Li Zhe said to everyone, "Everyone come over here for a moment, I need to talk to you about something."

Chen Ju said casually, "Boss, what are you going to say? Are you going to pay our wages?"

"You're so clever!" Li Zhe said with a smile. "That's right, today we're distributing last month's wages to everyone."

We'll be starting our trial operation on January 16th. Each person will receive an envelope containing their salary and bonuses. If you find any discrepancies in the amounts, feel free to contact me. After all, everyone makes mistakes sometimes.

Li Zhe handed the first, thickest envelope to Sun Tao: "Manager Sun, this is your salary and bonus for January. You worked hard last month, so keep up the good work next month."

On January 6, when Li Zhe started looking for a shop, Sun Tao was already working for him, and Li Zhe started paying him wages from that day on.

“Okay, Brother Li.” Sun Tao opened the envelope, inside was a handwritten note: his wage was five yuan per day, and last month he worked 26 days, earning 130 yuan. In addition, Li Zhe also gave him a bonus of 100 yuan in foreign exchange certificates.

The three women who were sorting goods earned 3 yuan a day. Seeing that they worked hard, Li Zhe gave each of them an extra 20 yuan in foreign exchange certificates.

Because it's a vegetable store catering to international customers, the salaries and benefits are relatively high, and the requirements for employees are also high. If an employee doesn't meet the store's hiring standards, Li Zhe will replace them at any time.

Finally, there were the wages and bonuses for the female college students. Chen Ju and Lin Zhixia were paid by the hour, and each of them received an additional 30 yuan in foreign exchange certificates.

Li Zhe glanced at everyone: "Those who have problems with their salaries can come and find me."

Seeing that no one spoke, but everyone had happy expressions on their faces, he continued, "The New Year is just around the corner, and I've prepared some perks for everyone: ten catties of rice, ten catties of flour, a bucket of oil; five catties each of pork, beef, and ribbonfish; five catties of apples and five catties of oranges. If anyone doesn't want the perks, I can give them money at a discount."

Hearing this, Lin Zhixia looked up at Li Zhe, a warm feeling rising in her heart.

Her home isn't in the capital, and she definitely can't eat all of this by herself, so giving her a discount or cash would be the best option.

Everyone else in the shop was a local from Beijing, so it was clear that Li Zhe's decision was mainly based on her situation.

The three middle-aged women stocking the shelves were all smiles. The shop not only offered high wages and bonuses in foreign exchange certificates, but also generous benefits—even better than those of state-owned enterprises.

The three middle-aged women were full of energy. When Sun Tao told them that the store was going to hire new people, they felt a sense of crisis: they couldn't let such good jobs be taken away.

After distributing the money, Li Zhe walked to Wang Ting by the counter and handed her the last envelope, saying, "Your bonus."

Wang Ting opened the envelope and saw that it contained one hundred foreign exchange certificates. She chuckled and said, "Mr. Li, you're so generous, giving me such a large bonus?"

“When watermelons first came to market, foreigners generally didn’t accept them. It was you who proposed the tasting promotion plan, and I said at the time that I would give you a bonus. In addition, you usually perform well, so it’s only right to give you more.”

These words made Wang Ting feel embarrassed. She was usually the last to arrive and the first to leave. "Okay, everyone gets a share. I'm not stingy, Sister Wang. I'll treat you to lunch today."

Li Zhe stroked his chin, pretending to ponder, and said, "Then I'll have to think carefully about what good restaurants are nearby..."

Seeing that Li Zhe looked like he was about to rip her off, Wang Ting quickly changed her tune: "Nothing too expensive will do."

"You're so stingy! I was planning to take you shopping this afternoon. You won't even let me have a decent meal, how will I have the energy to go shopping?" Before the New Year, Li Zhe still needed to buy some gifts, and he didn't want to go alone, so he simply brought a pretty little follower with him.

...Wan'an Town, Rural Credit Cooperative.

As the year draws to a close, Sun Liguo, the director of the credit union, is extremely busy.

The credit union's employees were divided into three groups: one group was responsible for over-the-counter deposits—before the Lunar New Year, many villagers sold grain, and although the proceeds were not much, they would still deposit them in the bank; there were also migrant workers returning home to make deposits, and long queues formed in front of the counters.

The second group is responsible for collecting outstanding payments, some of which are owed by collective enterprises and others by individuals. If the payments aren't collected before the end of the year, and the debtors go out to work after the holiday, it will be delayed for another year.

The third group is responsible for year-end settlement, manual ledger reconciliation, interest calculation, etc., which involves a lot of work, and the accounting office often works overtime until late at night.

As the director of the credit union, Sun Liguo is now more like a logistics manager. Yesterday, he even used cured meat made by his wife to reward the employees who worked overtime...

In the hall, Sun Liguo poured the freshly boiled water from the kettle into the thermos on the table, then took a broom to sweep the floor that had been trampled on...

The heavy curtain at the door was lifted, and loan officer Xiao Zhang and two colleagues walked in, stamping their feet: "My god, this awful weather is freezing!"

Sun Liguo said with dissatisfaction, "Where did you step in the mud? Why did you have to stomp your feet in the house instead of outside?"

Xiao Zhang chuckled sheepishly, "I forgot, but I was in a hurry to report to you."

Sun Liguo's face lit up with joy, and he stopped what he was doing: "You met Director Liu from the fan factory?"

"No."

"Have you found Chen Jianhong in Nanguan Village?"

"No."

"Li Guoxiang from Yangma Village?"

Xiao Zhang shook his head again.

Sun Liguo's face hardened: "Then what are you reporting? Get lost!"

"Director, I've been going to the countryside every day for the past few days, but they're deliberately avoiding me. What can I do?" Xiao Zhang also felt wronged, counting on his fingers, "I've looked at my family, I've looked at the factory, I've asked around at my relatives' homes, but I just can't find them."

Sun Liguo knew he couldn't blame them; he had encountered similar situations of people 'hiding from debt' before, which was extremely troublesome. Sun Liguo patted his shoulder: "I know you guys have it tough. Go get some hot water and rest for a bit."

"Thank you, Director." Xiao Zhang felt a warmth in his heart.

But before the weather had warmed up for long, Sun Liguo said, "Let's go again tomorrow."

Xiao Zhang: "..."

Sun Liguo was also troubled. He was anxious because no one was willing to lend him money; but when the money was taken out, he couldn't get it back, which made him even more frustrated.

Suddenly, a cold wind blew in, and someone entered the credit union's lobby. Sun Liguo looked up and saw a familiar figure.

"Hey, Brother Li is here!" Seeing Li Zhe dressed in a more impressive outfit, Sun Liguo was genuinely envious.

A job at a credit union is stable, but sometimes too much stability isn't a good thing.

If Li Zhe joins the credit union, even if he has the ability, he will just be an upgraded version of Xiao Zhang.

Although Li Zhe did not have a stable job, he developed his career in the capital. He was free to do as he pleased, and in just a few months, his life had changed dramatically.

"Brother Sun, isn't it the end of the year? I came to see you and brought you some vegetables. You can decide how to divide them." As he spoke, Li Weidong and the militiamen carried the baskets into the hall.

Sun Liguo said, "Move into my office first. There are too many people in the lobby, and it's not enough space."

Afterwards, the group carried two vegetable baskets into the director's office. The others left one after another, leaving only Li Zhe and Sun Liguo in the room.

Li Zhe lifted the quilt on a vegetable basket, took out two bags from it, and placed them on the desk: "Brother Sun, these are for you. I wish you a happy new year in advance!"

"Brother, what's our relationship? No need to be so polite!"

"Brother Sun, it's precisely because we have a good relationship that we should visit each other more often! Take a look and see if you like it? If you don't, I'll bring you something else next time."

Sun Liguo opened the bag, which contained two bottles of Moutai and two cartons of Marlboro cigarettes. Sun Liguo's eyes shone with joy, but he hesitated: "Wow, brother, this gift is too valuable. I can't accept it! I'd be making a mistake if I did."

"Brother Sun, let's not stand on ceremony between us. Now that I've brought it, I'm not taking it away. If you don't accept it, you're disrespecting me!"

Seeing Li Zhe's response, Sun Liguo stopped being polite. He knew Li Zhe had made money, and besides, no one had seen the gifts being brought in from the vegetable basket.

"Okay! I'll accept it this time, but you can't bring it next time."

(End of this chapter)