Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 224 Door-to-Door Visit (5,000 words)

Chongwenmen Farmers Market.

Hong San rode his bicycle out of the market.

A gust of north wind blew by, making him shiver. He rode a short distance ahead and arrived at Chongwenmen West Street. At the intersection, he saw two people wearing aprons with the words "Shuxiangju" printed on them handing out flyers.

Hong San also received an invitation on the day Li Zhe's restaurant held its tasting session.

He wasn't initially optimistic about Li Zhe opening a restaurant, given that it's a completely different field. However, after personally visiting and tasting the food, he found the dishes to be quite good and the service very attentive. Most importantly, they had a wide variety of fresh vegetables, which are hard to find at this time of year, let alone buy.

He believed that quite a few people would be willing to try it. Coupled with the restaurant's good service and delicious food, he thought the business should be quite good.

Thinking about this, he couldn't help but envy Li Zhe—who already earned a high income from selling vegetables and attracted customers by selling off-season produce to open a vegetable grocery store; now, he was using the scarcity of off-season vegetables to open a restaurant. His business acumen was truly admirable.

Soon, he arrived at "Shuxiangju" by bicycle. His purpose in coming here today was to discuss cooperation with Li Zhe. He cherished this opportunity and hoped to follow in Li Zhe's footsteps, just like Sun Tao.

Hong San parked his bicycle at the entrance, put his keys in his pocket, and strode into the gate of Shuxiangju Restaurant. The restaurant wasn't officially open yet, and there weren't many people inside. Several waiters stood in a row, seemingly having a meeting.

Li Zhe was sitting at a table near the door in the lobby, chatting with a stout man. Upon seeing Hong San, Li Zhe stood up to greet him, and after a brief exchange of pleasantries, introduced Hong San to Jin Baiwan.

Afterwards, Li Zhe led the two to a private room on the second floor. He brewed a pot of jasmine tea, set out a plate of dried fruit and fruit, and said with a smile, "It's not lunchtime yet, let's have some tea first. We can have a proper drink at noon."

As he spoke, Li Zhe opened the briefcase next to him and took out several documents: "Here is our summary of canned food ex-factory prices."

This is a list of canned food purchase prices I just got from a friend. Let's study it today, determine the investment ratio, the types and quantities of canned goods to be purchased, and finalize the contract.

Hong San and Jin Baiwan checked the purchase price and ex-factory price of canned goods, respectively. Hong San pointed to the price comparison and said, "I didn't expect that the export profit of canned vegetables would be so much higher than that of canned meat."

Jin Baiwan laughed and said, "Their land is vast and sparsely populated, and the climate in many places is too cold. I estimate that cold-resistant vegetables such as potatoes and carrots will be produced in greater quantities, while other vegetables will be produced in smaller quantities and in greater demand, so the purchase price will be higher."

Brother Li, does the foreign trade company have any requirements regarding the types of canned goods they purchase?

Li Zhe said, "Not for now. What are your plans?"

Jin Baiwan analyzed: "Logically, there should be requirements on the variety and quantity of canned goods in purchase orders. The reason why there are no restrictions on the types of canned goods now is probably because we are still in the early stages of acquisition. In the middle and later stages, we may make some local adjustments based on the variety and quantity of canned goods acquired. For example, if we acquired more vegetable canned goods and less meat canned goods in the early stages, and the meat canned goods orders have not yet met the target, then the later purchase orders may tend to favor meat canned goods."

Hong San agreed, saying, "That's very likely. But we'll deal with the later stages later. Right now, we'll just resell whichever type of canned food has the highest profit margin."

He compared the purchase price list with the canned goods ex-factory price list: "Vegetables have the highest profit margin, followed by canned fruit. I think we should focus on canned vegetables and use canned fruit as a secondary product, what do you think?"

Both Li Zhe and Jin Baiwan expressed their agreement.

The three then carefully studied the categories of canned vegetables and fruits. Among them, pickled cucumbers had the highest gross profit margin, followed by green beans, but the quantity of these two types of canned vegetables was relatively small—neither Li Zhe's second uncle's cannery nor the Wan'an Town cannery had any.

Hong San did find a source of goods at a cannery in Tongzhou, but the inventory might not reach twenty tons.

Canned tomatoes and canned fruit are quite common, and their prices are similar. Li Zhe plans to have Hong San and Jin Baiwan contact the manufacturers again to see which offers the better deal.

After determining the general categories of canned goods to be purchased, Li Zhe took out two stacks of banknotes from his briefcase: "This 20,000 yuan is that friend's initial investment. How much are you two planning to invest? Let's open a joint bank account later and deposit the money into it."

Hong San and Jin Baiwan exchanged a glance.

Jin Baiwan said, "Brother, I can't compare to you. I can only offer five thousand yuan."

Hong San was somewhat surprised. From the introductions and conversation, he could vaguely guess that Jin Baiwan was probably from Li Zhe's hometown. In other words, the other party was likely also from a rural area outside the region.

Are people in rural areas so rich now?

He pondered for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Li, I can also take five thousand in principal."

Li Zhe said, "The three of you together have 30,000 yuan, and I'll add another 30,000, making a total of 60,000 yuan in principal. What do you two think of this investment ratio?"

Hong San asked, "Mr. Li, what is the quantity of the first batch of canned goods?"

Li Zhe said, "The foreign trade company requires each order to be no less than 20 tons, which is 40,000 cans of canned food weighing one kilogram each. The ex-factory price is about 2 yuan, and the total value is about 80,000 yuan."

“No problem.” Jin Baiwan nodded in agreement; a principal of 60,000 was more than enough.

“Okay,” Hong San agreed. Although his investment was smaller, the risk was also lower. Although he trusted Li Zhe, it was his first time doing foreign trade, so he wanted to play it safe.

Li Zhe continued, "There's another issue. This foreign trade order was introduced by an elder relative of my friend. Although they didn't actively ask for it, I still want to give a portion of the profits back to that elder. My idea is to give them 20% of the profits as a form of equity. What do you think?"

Jin Baiwan chimed in, "We should give it to them. These foreign trade orders are all about connections. If you don't have the right connections, even the best source of goods is useless. As long as we can maintain this network, there will be plenty of opportunities to make money in the future."

Hong San nodded: "I agree too."

Li Zhe smiled and said, "Then you two brothers should work harder and try to negotiate some better terms with the cannery. Let's meet again in a couple of days and finalize this matter."

Hong San said, "Brother Li, shouldn't we rent a warehouse? Otherwise, we won't even have a place to store the canned goods we buy."

Li Zhe countered, "Do you have a suitable place?"

Hong San thought for a moment: "Will this export order be shipped by sea or land?"

"Land route".

Hong San said, "Then let's rent a warehouse near the outskirts of Beijing. It's spacious, conveniently located, and inexpensive."

Li Zhe took a sip of tea and added, "The outskirts of Beijing are fine, but we also need to consider safety. Let's all ask around and decide together next time."

The three discussed some details. After lunch, Li Zhe saw Hong San out of the restaurant.

In the afternoon, he rode in a truck with Jin Baiwan back to Daying Village...

Near Wan'an Town.

On the dirt road outside the town.

A chubby girl was riding her bicycle, panting and struggling forward. She was wrapped in a military overcoat and a red scarf, and her cheeks and ears were red from the cold.

The chubby girl was riding her bicycle while lost in thought, seemingly somewhat absent-minded.

Suddenly, a large pothole appeared ahead of her, and it was too late when she noticed it. The car wheels bounced up and down as they went over the pothole, her bottom lurching violently to the ground, bringing tears to her eyes in pain.

She cursed, "Lin Xiaohu, you bastard! You haven't come to pick me up after all this time!"

"Beep beep..." Suddenly, a car horn sounded behind us.

Tiger Girl turned around and looked, and oh my, this car looks so familiar...

She stopped her bicycle and waved at the truck: "Stop! Stop!"

Li Zhe opened the passenger window: "Tiger Girl, where are you going?"

"Hey, Brother Li, it's great to see you again. I'm going to Daying Village to visit my aunt."

Li Zhe hadn't heard anything from his quick-tongued wife lately; he was counting on her to help promote the vegetable greenhouses: "What happened to your aunt again?"

Tiger Girl said, "Hey, my uncle didn't come home for the New Year, and my aunt is really upset. She's all alone and looks so pitiful. I came over to check on her."

Seeing the bundle strapped to the back of her car and the bag on her back, Li Zhe said, "Are you planning to stay here permanently?"

Tiger Girl laughed and said, "Hey, stay with my aunt for a few days, so she won't overthink things."

Jin Baiwan, standing to the side, gave a thumbs up: "Hey, this girl is really filial!" Tiger Girl's big eyes darted around: "Brother Li, it's so cold today, can you give me a ride?"

Li Zhe pointed behind him: "Don't be so polite, let them help you carry your bicycle upstairs."

"Thank you!" Tiger Girl thanked her again, pushing her bicycle towards the back. Seeing Li Weidong standing on the back of the bicycle, she greeted him, "Brother Li, could you help me pull my bike up?"

"I'll get out and help you lift it." Li Weidong was about to get out of the car.

"No need!" Tiger Girl stopped him. "You can catch it from up there." With that, she lifted the bicycle up with both hands.

"Wow, you're pretty good! You're quite strong!" Li Weidong took the bicycle and put it in the back of the bike.

Tiger Girl climbed onto the vehicle, patted the compartment hard, and shouted, "Drive!"

Zhao Bing looked at Hu Niu with admiration, "This girl is not bad, she can do it right at a glance."

Tiger Girl smiled smugly: "That's right. My mother said I've always been strong since I was little. Even my brother can't beat me. When we were kids, I could push him down in one go, ride on him, and beat him up. He's still afraid of me to this day."

Li Weidong gave a thumbs up, thinking to himself: This girl is really something!

Tiger Girl leaned against the carriage and asked, "Brother Li, what's Little Tiger doing there?"

“Go for it, that kid is hardworking and puts in the effort, he’s great,” Li Weidong joked. “Besides, we eat well and pay well there, he wouldn’t leave even if we tried to get rid of him.”

Tiger Girl leaned forward: "Brother Li, are you short of people?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'd like to work for you too."

Li Weidong glanced at her and shook his head: "No, you're from the town, you can't endure this hardship."

Tiger Girl put on a fawning expression: "Then you've misjudged me. I can endure hardship. I'm strong, and I can do any kind of work. Please put in a good word for me and let me work too."

Li Weidong seemed to remember something and asked in return, "Tiger Girl, didn't you work at the fan factory in town? Why did you give up such a good job to come and work in our rural area?"

"Brother Li, it's so cold now, even going outside makes me shiver. My face is almost numb from the cold. Anyone want to buy an electric fan?"

Besides, I'm not planning to work there anymore, so please help me!

Li Weidong, unable to resist her persistence, said, "Okay, I'll ask around for you later and see if they're still hiring."

"Thank you, Brother Li!" Tiger Girl smiled, her big eyes narrowed and her front teeth showing.

Tiger Girl was a lively person, and she chatted with the others about some interesting things that happened in town. Before they knew it, the car had entered Daying Village.

Li Zhe opened the car door and jumped out of the passenger seat. Just then, Lin Xiaohu came running over from a distance, shouting as he ran, "Brother Li, you're finally back! We have a distinguished guest in our greenhouse!"

Li Zhe was confused: "What important person?"

"It's Mayor Chen. He's waiting for you in greenhouse number three."

Did Mayor Chen say what he wanted to see me about?

"I don't know about that." Lin Xiaohu shook his head and lowered his voice, "But he brought someone with him, I heard it's Director Xie from the Wan'an Town Cannery."

“Okay, I understand.” Li Zhe and Jin Baiwan exchanged a glance and walked towards greenhouse number three.

Just then, a voice rang out from behind the truck: "Lin Xiaohu!"

Hearing the voice, Lin Xiaohu shuddered and looked at the familiar figure, asking, "Tiger Girl, you... why are you here again?"

Hearing this, Tiger Girl frowned and said unhappily, "What does this mean? You don't want me to come?"

"No, no, I mean it's too cold outside, and it's easy to catch a cold on the street."

Tiger Girl questioned, "If you were worried I'd be cold, why didn't you come pick me up?"

"I...I have to work, don't I? I have things to do, I can't talk to you anymore, see you later!" Lin Xiaohu said, and ran away into the distance.

"Lin Xiaohu, stop right there! Explain yourself before you go!" Seeing that Lin Xiaohu didn't even turn his head and ran even faster, Tiger Girl stomped her feet in anger.

Inside the greenhouse

Old Li was chatting with Mayor Chen when suddenly, the curtain of the greenhouse was lifted from the outside, and Li Zhe and Jin Baiwan walked in one after the other.

Li Zhe stepped forward enthusiastically: "Mayor Chen, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. If I had known you were coming today, I would have rushed back at noon."

Mayor Chen stood up and shook hands with Li Zhe: "I know you're a very busy person, which is why I deliberately chose to visit in the afternoon. Your return is just in time."

Li Zhe looked at the man next to him and said, "Factory Director Xie is here too. Welcome, welcome! Tonight it's my treat, let's have a good drink."

Factory Director Xie shook hands with Li Zhe: "Mr. Li, I'm here today to ask for your help."

Li Zhe vaguely guessed what was going on, but didn't say anything. Instead, he asked knowingly, "Director Xie, what brings you to this?"

Factory Director Xie gave a bitter smile. His emotions had been fluctuating greatly these past few days. The cannery had a large amount of capital tied up in inventory, leading to a broken cash flow. They couldn't even pay their workers' wages, and resuming production was a pipe dream.

A few days ago, Li Zhe's sudden visit gave him hope, but after several days of silence, he started to have all sorts of worries: Did Li Zhe think the goods were bad? Or were other factories stealing his business? His mood changed from happy to worried.

As the deputy factory director, he also had his own pride. But now the cannery is facing enormous difficulties, and he has lost the right to negotiate on equal footing with customers. Compared to the livelihoods of hundreds of workers at the cannery, what does his pride matter?
Driven by these complex emotions and anxieties, he finally humbled himself and asked the town mayor for help.

Factory Director Xie knew that the moment he took the initiative to approach them, he had already lost the negotiation. But the main issue now was no longer whether he had won or lost the order negotiation, but whether other canneries would snatch the order away.

If this order is snatched away by other canneries, it means their last hope is gone.

He got straight to the point: "Mr. Li, didn't you want to buy our cannery's products a while ago? I've brought you some samples again, and I wanted to ask what your decision is."

Li Zhe thought for a moment and replied, "We definitely want to buy canned goods, but we mainly want to acquire canned pickled cucumbers and canned green beans. If your factory has these two types of canned goods, we will give priority to purchasing them."

Factory Director Xie shook his head: "Our factory really doesn't have these two types of canned goods. Why don't you take a look at other canned goods? Our factory can give you some more discounts."

Li Zhe glanced at Mayor Chen and said, "Director Xie, to be honest with you, this batch of goods is an order from the Soviet Union. They love pickled cucumbers and green beans, and the purchase price is relatively high. Although they also need other canned goods, we won't make any money even if we buy them."

Li Zhe's words were clearly exaggerated; in reality, all types of canned goods are profitable, it's just a matter of how much. Of course, this doesn't count as deception; business is inherently a mix of truth and deception.

Mayor Chen cleared his throat and said, "Director Xie, Mr. Li also has his own difficulties. If you lower the ex-factory price of the canned goods a bit more, even if he wants to help, we can't let him work for nothing, don't you think?"

Mayor Chen didn't actually want to come today. But as the town's leader in charge of the economy, he had no choice but to come.

The cannery used to be a benchmark enterprise in the town, founded and grown with his support. Now it has come to this, which is not what he wanted to see—it not only concerns the town's finances, but also the livelihoods of hundreds of cannery workers.

Factory Director Xie sighed helplessly, "Mayor Chen, Boss Li, let me be honest with you both. The price I quoted last time was already the bottom line. I really didn't ask you for a higher price. I wasn't even making a profit at that price."

If we lower the price again, we'll have to sell at a loss.

Seeing that Li Zhe remained silent, Mayor Chen pressed Factory Director Xie again: "Factory Director Xie, aren't you usually quite clever? Why did you make a foolish mistake this time? Is it a matter of making or losing money now?"

Before the other party could answer, he continued, "The most important thing now is to sell the canned goods and recoup some funds so that the cannery can be revitalized. You can consider the issue of profitability after the cannery resumes production."

Listen to me, keep lowering the price!

(End of this chapter)