Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 214 Situation
evening.

No. 14, Guangqumen Inner Street.

At the foot of a drab six-story tenement building, clotheslines stretched haphazardly across the open ground, the clothes hanging on them frozen stiff.

Li Zhe walked to the front of the building carrying a bulging net bag, and saw several teenagers squatting on the ground in the stairwell, playing with picture cards.

"Slap!" Li Huijing slapped the cardboard with Sun Wukong printed on it with his chubby, red hands, which were frozen, and flipped the cardboard over.

"We won!" He grabbed the piece of paper with Sun Wukong printed on it and jumped up excitedly.

In his excitement, he caught sight of Li Zhe beside him and exclaimed joyfully, "Second Brother!"

The chubby boy stuffed the picture card into his pocket and ran straight towards Li Zhe, accidentally slipping on an icicle by the door.

Li Zhe quickly helped him up: "Slow down."

"Second Brother, what brings you here today?"

"I need to speak with my second uncle about something." Li Zhe handed a net bag to the chubby boy. "Take this."

"Alright!" The chubby boy took the net and felt its weight. He shouted to his friend beside him, "Big Head, let's fight again tomorrow!"

Then, he led Li Zhe upstairs, sniffing, "Brother, what did you buy? It's so heavy!"

"Donkey roll, malted milk powder, White Rabbit candy, and braised beef are all your favorites."

"Hey, thanks bro, you're the best!" The chubby boy swallowed hard. Like Li Zhe and Li Na, he was a glutton.

Of the Li family's generation, only Li Weidong wasn't a big eater.

The two went up to the second floor, where the smell of stewed cabbage wafted through the hallway.

Li Zhe asked, "Who lives in your family?"

“It’s my grandma.” The chubby boy led the way and turned back to say, “My grandma mentioned you yesterday.”

Li Zhe asked with a smile, "Oh, what did you say about me?"

The chubby boy's eyes darted around: "You're really something, aren't you? You bought my second sister a bottle of perfume that cost over 100 foreign exchange certificates. That's more than most people earn in a month. Second brother, is that true?"

Li Zhe didn't answer directly: "Your ears are pretty sharp. Have you finished your winter break homework?"

The chubby boy rolled his eyes: "I'm not telling you!"

The chubby boy wiggled his fat bottom and bounced forward two steps to open the door.

The door opened. The chubby boy shouted inside, "Grandma, my second brother is here!"

Grandma Chen was sewing clothes while wearing her reading glasses. Hearing the chubby boy's shout, she put the clothes in the basket and turned to look at the door. She saw the chubby boy and Li Zhe each carrying a net bag as they entered the house.

Li Zhe greeted her with a smile: "Grandma, Happy New Year!"

"Oh, Li Zhe is here." The old lady stood up and greeted him.

Li Zhe placed the net bag on the table: "Tingting told me last time that you like pea flour cakes, ox tongue cakes, and crystal pork knuckle, so I brought you some of them. I also bought you a pack of chrysanthemum tea. Winter weather is dry and it's easy to get a sore throat, so drinking some chrysanthemum tea can help brighten your eyes and moisturize your skin."

"Alright, thank you for remembering this old woman. Please sit down, I'll get you a cup of tea."

Li Zhe chatted with the old man and the young man for a while and ate some snacks with them.

Around 6 PM, Chen Shuping and Li Zhenguo both got off work. After exchanging pleasantries, the couple went to the kitchen outside to cook.

Li Zhe handed over the braised beef, crystal pork knuckle, smoked chicken, tofu rolls, and green vegetables he had brought to them. These cold dishes could be eaten directly after being sliced, saving them the trouble of preparing them.

Soon, Li Zhenguo and his wife had prepared dinner: a plate of braised beef, a plate of crystal pork knuckle, a plate of smoked chicken, a plate of tofu rolls, a plate of smashed cucumber, a stir-fried tomato and egg dish, a dish of shredded green peppers and cured pork, and a soup of poached meatballs.

"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, stop cooking, there's enough to eat. Come sit down and eat with us." Li Zhe invited the two to sit down.

Li Zhenguo took out a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) from the bedroom: "Hey, with such good food, let's have some more, uncle and nephew."

Li Zhe took the bottle and poured a glass for his uncle first: "Uncle, I came here today to ask you about something." "Ask me about something? What is it?" Li Zhenguo picked up his glass, "Let's have a toast first."

The two clinked glasses and took a sip. Li Zhe then picked up the bottle and filled his second uncle's glass: "A friend of mine got a batch of foreign trade orders for canned goods. He wants to partner with me in business, but I don't know much about the canned goods market."

"Don't you work at the cannery? I just wanted to ask you about the market and see if this business is viable."

Li Zhenguo took a bite of braised beef: "What kind of friend is that? Can he be trusted? I've heard there are a lot of swindlers these days, so you'd better be careful."

Li Zhenguo couldn't help but worry. Although his nephew had made some money, he was still young and inexperienced. He was afraid that his nephew might be fooled.

Li Zhe gave a brief introduction: "My friend owns a restaurant catering to foreigners, and we've always had business dealings. She's always been very honest in her business dealings and has never defaulted on payments. Moreover, her elders work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so her status is quite special."

Li Zhenguo nodded: "If that's the case, then maybe I'm overthinking it."

"Second Uncle, why do you think she's a fraud? Have you encountered anything similar before?"

“I haven’t encountered any scammers. However, the foreign trade market hasn’t been doing well lately. Previously, our country’s canned goods exports to the US and Europe had a lot of orders. But in the last two years, that’s been declining year by year. The entire industry has been significantly affected, and our factory is also struggling.” Li Zhenguo put down his chopsticks and sighed softly.
"I heard from people in our factory that the US and Europe are having conflicts with us and are threatening to impose sanctions on our country. Not only are they not importing our canned goods, but other trade has also decreased significantly. It's not easy to get foreign trade orders at this time."

Chen Shuping has firsthand experience of the salary changes at Li Zhenguo's factory: "In previous years, weren't the Americans and we always had a good relationship? Why are they starting to cause trouble again?"

"Those Americans are shrewd. They used to be on good terms with us to win us over and use us against our northern neighbors. Now that they see Sino-Soviet relations are improving again, they've started sanctioning us again."

Chen Shuping said, "Why are these Americans acting like children playing house? They're nice to you today, nice to him tomorrow, and they're always trying to get one to fight the other. It's really funny."

Li Zhenguo shook his head: "The situation here is complicated. We ordinary people can only listen to the commotion and see the surface. We don't really know what's going on."

He then turned to Li Zhe and said, "Second brother, if your friend wants to export to Europe and America, I mean Western Europe, it probably won't be easy. You'd better be careful."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Second Uncle, your analysis makes sense, and I've learned a lot from it. However, my friend's products aren't exported to the US and Western Europe. The orders he gets are from the Soviet Union."

Li Zhenguo paused for a moment, then nodded: "That makes a lot more sense. If we've ruined our relationship with the Americans, we'll definitely have to work more with our northern neighbors. How many foreign trade orders does your friend have?"

"100 tons of canned goods."

"Wow, that's a lot! These kinds of export orders are the most profitable, much higher than the profit margins from domestic sales."

Li Zhe picked up his glass again, clinked it with Li Zhenguo's, and asked, "Second Uncle, how's the canned food market in our country right now?"

"Not so good." Li Zhenguo took a sip of his drink and continued, "A few years ago, the supply of fresh meat in China was limited. Back then, you needed coupons to buy meat, but canned goods didn't, so they were in high demand and a rare commodity on the dining table. Once our factory produced enough canned goods to fill a truck, we would just take it away."

In recent years, the government has implemented the "vegetable basket project," which has increased the supply of vegetables and meat. Starting last year, many places no longer required ration coupons to buy meat. However, due to supply shortages around the Lunar New Year, meat ration coupons were used again for a period of time.

Overall, however, the supply of vegetables and meat is much more abundant than in previous years. Just watch, the meat rationing system won't be around for long.

Chen Shuping said helplessly, "Then your factory's business will be even worse."

Li Zhenguo replied, "Who says otherwise? People in our country don't really like canned food. At roughly the same price, they'd definitely prefer fresh meat. I've heard that many canned goods sit on the shelves of supply and marketing cooperatives for a month or two without selling."

Our factory also has a lot of excess inventory, and we're selling it.

Chen Shuping also complained, "This year, your uncle's factory doesn't have any other New Year's goods, it's mostly canned goods: canned meat, canned fruit, canned vegetables. I'll take a few bottles with you when you leave, so you can try them."

“Okay.” Li Zhe did not refuse. Since he was planning to do this business, he naturally wanted to try it out first.

Li Zhe pulled a piece of paper from his pocket, on which were written the types of canned goods exported to the Soviet Union: "Second Uncle, does your factory have these canned goods?"

Li Zhenguo took the order and glanced at it: "We have most of the canned fruit, which Americans love; we also have a lot of canned beef, but less canned pork, as Americans don't really like canned pork and it's usually sold domestically. As for vegetables, we don't have pickles, but we have plenty of green beans and corn."

"Second Uncle, if we buy a large quantity of canned goods, can your factory offer a discount? Do you know the bottom price for canned goods?"

“I know the approximate price, but I’m not sure if it’s the bottom price.” Li Zhenguo thought for a moment, “Here’s what I’ll tell you the price I know. Tomorrow when I go to the factory, I’ll ask the sales department to see if I can find out the bottom price.”

"Okay." Li Zhe picked up his wine glass again, and the uncle and nephew drank it down.

With his second uncle's help in inquiring, Li Zhe felt more confident.

(End of this chapter)