Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 238 Dividing the Money (Long Chapter)
The town government was located in the center of Wan'an Town, with an old locust tree standing in front of it, its bare branches casting shadows on the blue brick wall. Li Zhe led Bai Yunsheng into the town government compound, where an old man wearing a cap peeked out from the guardhouse and asked, "Young man, who are you looking for?"

“We’re looking for Mayor Chen.” Li Zhe took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and handed one to the other person.

The old gatekeeper sized up Li Zhe and his companion. One was dressed in a suit and the other was dressed smartly; they didn't look like ordinary people. He casually took the Zhonghua cigarette that Li Zhe offered and tucked it behind his ear: "Go in. Mayor Chen is on the second floor."

"Thank you, sir," Li Zhe said politely, leading Bai Yunsheng into the courtyard. The sycamore trees in the courtyard had not yet sprouted buds, their bare branches stretching towards the sky. Several bundles of rice seeds awaiting distribution were piled up in the corner, and the words "Spring Plowing and Preparation" printed on the sacks fluttered in the wind.

The two went up to the second floor, and Li Zhe noticed that the mayor's office was at the east end. He casually asked, "Director Bai, did you bring the script?"

"Don't worry about me handling things." Bai Yunsheng patted his blue backpack.

Reaching the door of the mayor's office, Li Zhe gently knocked on the faded wooden door: "Knock knock."

"Come in!" came a cheerful reply from the office.

As I pushed open the door, a faint smell of coal smoke wafted out. The coal stove by the window was burning brightly, and the tin chimney stretched out the window along the corner of the wall. Mayor Chen, who had been looking at reports on the table, looked up, stood up, and said, "It's Li Zhe. Come in and sit down."

Li Zhe shook hands with Mayor Chen and introduced, "Mayor Chen, this is Director Bai from Beijing TV."

"From Beijing TV?" Mayor Chen was initially surprised, but then became even more enthusiastic: "Director Bai, please sit down, sit by the stove and warm up." He added a honeycomb briquette to the stove, and the flames leaped up, adding a bit more warmth to the room.

Li Zhe sat on the sofa and said, "Mayor Chen, I invited Director Bai here because I want to shoot a promotional video about greenhouses."

The film wasn't shown in theaters, but rather in open-air screenings in several surrounding villages. Its main purpose was to promote vegetable greenhouses to the villagers. The goal was to let them understand what a vegetable greenhouse actually is through the film, providing entertainment while also serving an educational purpose.

What do you think of this idea?

Mayor Chen poured two jars of tea from a thermos: "You young people really know how quick-witted you are. Making this movie is more effective than holding ten meetings. When will the movie be filmed? How are the preparations going?"

"We're still in the preparation stage, and we plan to start filming in June or July." Li Zhe turned to look at Bai Yunsheng: "Director Bai, take out the script and ask Mayor Chen to review it."

Bai Yunsheng opened his blue backpack, took out a stack of documents, and handed them over: "Mayor Chen, I wrote this script. Please give me your feedback."

"Okay, okay." Mayor Chen took the documents with both hands, and could faintly smell a fragrance. He had been observing this "Director Bai" for a while. Although he was not very old, he did not doubt the other party's identity—this red down jacket, blue backpack, and the fragrance that was even stronger than a woman's, Mayor Chen would never believe that he was not an artist.

Mayor Chen opened the script, titled "A Love Story in a Greenhouse," and read it line by line, nodding slightly: "Not bad, the script is very realistic, it's all about scenes and stories from our village, the villagers will definitely love it."

When he turned to the section where the female college student and the farmer developed feelings for each other while working together in the greenhouse, Mayor Chen's fingers paused. Especially when he saw the scene where the two were talking by the greenhouse under the moonlight, he frowned and looked up at Bai Yunsheng: "Director Bai, isn't this love scene a bit too obvious? We rural people are conservative. If we act it out too much, I'm afraid the villagers will gossip."

Bai Yunsheng smiled upon hearing this, adjusted his glasses, and said, "Mayor Chen, don't worry. Love doesn't necessarily have to be about kissing and hugging. Sometimes, a glance or a casual handshake can be more touching."

He picked up his pen and circled a line on the script. “Look here, the two of them grow winter cucumbers together, and when they succeed, they smile at each other. Isn’t that more powerful than anything else?”

Mayor Chen pondered for a moment, then closed the script: "Alright! Your reasoning makes sense. I'll keep the script and arrange for someone to submit the application to the district cultural bureau this afternoon. I'll oversee the approval and filming permit process!"

Li Zhe's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked, "Mayor Chen, there's something else I'd like to trouble you with. Could we rent some photography equipment from the Cultural Bureau? Like cameras and lighting equipment; it's really too much of a burden for us to buy them ourselves."

"What's so difficult about that?" Mayor Chen leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingers on the table. "Deputy Director Liu of the District Cultural Bureau used to be the deputy mayor of Wan'an Town. He worked with me before! Leave the equipment to me. I guarantee I'll coordinate everything perfectly for you."

"Hey, thank you so much." Li Zhe hadn't expected things to go so smoothly.

At noon, Li Zhe booked a private room at a small restaurant in the east of town and hosted a banquet to thank Mayor Chen.

There were six people at the dinner: Li Zhe, Bai Yunsheng, Jin Baiwan, Mayor Chen, Director Sun, and Factory Director Xie. They chatted and laughed, clinking glasses and deepening their relationships…

After the meal, Mayor Chen and Director Sun left first. Factory Director Xie stayed behind, as if he had something to say. "Boss Li, Boss Jin, our factory isn't far from here, why don't you come and sit at our factory for a while?"

Li Zhe asked with a smile, "Director Xie, I heard your factory has already started operations?"

Factory Director Xie gave a wry smile: "Thanks to you, we were able to pay back part of the workers' wages a couple of days ago. The workers in the factory have been cleaning and maintaining the machines on their own initiative. Their enthusiasm for resuming work is even higher than mine. However, things are not as easy as we thought. Our factory still has a batch of canned goods in stock. The factory director and I discussed organizing some employees to go to other places to sell the canned goods. Only when the sales channels are opened up can the resumption of work be officially put on the agenda."

Li Zhe said, "Director Xie, have the 3 tons of canned tomatoes we ordered been packaged? I'll send a truck over to load them tomorrow afternoon."

"Everything is ready. I will personally go to the factory tomorrow afternoon to oversee the loading."

"Excuse me."

"Of course." Factory Director Xie shook Li Zhe's hand: "Mr. Li, our factory also has some other canned vegetables that we can offer you at cost price. Would you like to consider it?"

"We don't need any other canned vegetables for the time being." Li Zhe always prioritizes his own interests when doing business.

This time, they also purchased 20 tons of canned goods. Since there were no canned pickles or green beans available, canned tomatoes were the most profitable and were the priority purchase. Unfortunately, the Wan'an Town Cannery only had 3 tons of canned tomatoes left.

Although they also had canned yellow peaches, their prices were higher than those of the Yanqing Cannery, making it uneconomical. Jin Baiwan then ordered some canned tomatoes from other canneries.

After chatting for a while, Li Zhe and his companion said goodbye and left.

Factory Director Xie stood there watching the two leave. He was truly grateful to them. If it weren't for them buying the factory's canned goods, there would be no hope of resuming work, and he wouldn't even be able to pay the workers' wages. He might even have been blocked at the gate by the workers.

……

August 12th.

A dozen or so trucks drove into the foreign trade company's transit warehouse. The lead truck was the light truck Li Zhe used to haul vegetables, and it was also the smallest in tonnage among all the trucks. Only four of these trucks were loaded with canned goods; the rest were there to haul timber.

Li Zhe had already discussed with his partners that the proceeds from this shipment would be used to purchase timber, totaling over two hundred cubic meters of birch and pine. Shen Yanan wasn't present this time; Li Zhe handed over the work to Manager Wu of the foreign trade company.

The delivered canned goods still totaled 20 tons, including 4 tons of green beans, 6 tons of canned yellow peaches, and 10 tons of canned tomatoes. Of these, 3 tons were purchased from the Wan'an Town Cannery, and the remaining 7 tons were acquired by Jinbaiwan from other manufacturers.

The foreign trade company offered 98000 yuan for the canned goods. In addition, after buying the car and agricultural supplies last time, Li Zhe had a surplus of 2160 yuan, which he used to purchase timber, and then resold it to two timber companies.

Five truckloads of timber were loaded first, and Jin Baiwan and Hong San escorted them to Century Jingzhou Furniture Company. Century Jingzhou purchased pine wood, which was relatively cheaper.

After the next seven truckloads of timber were loaded, Li Zhe said goodbye to Manager Wu and transported the timber to Yijia Shangpin Furniture Company, which bought half of the pine and half of the birch.

Upon arriving at Yijia Shangpin Company, Li Zhe received a warm welcome. Deputy Factory Director Han Yuehong personally greeted him at the factory gate. "Mr. Li, we've been waiting for you!" Han Yuehong said, his eyes shining with joy as he looked at the truckloads of round, plump timber.

Li Zhe led Han Yuehong to the back of the truck: "Director Han, please check and see if this timber is suitable for use?"

Han Yuehong was experienced and could roughly understand the situation with just one glance. While she was delighted, she also secretly regretted that Li Zhe only accepted cash. If she could pay only a portion of the deposit, she would like to order another batch of goods.

Such good timber is not something you can buy all the time.

"Mr. Li, I personally inspected the furniture you ordered, and there are no flaws. It will be loaded onto the truck tomorrow morning and delivered to your home this afternoon. I have already instructed the workers to help you set up the furniture properly."

Thank you. You've gone to so much trouble.

"Of course." Han Yuehong gestured for Li Zhe to enter. "Mr. Li, it's cold outside. Please wait in my office for a while." Han Yuehong gave a few instructions to the factory workers, telling them to be responsible for inspecting and unloading the goods. Then she took Li Zhe to her office.

She brewed a pot of tea, poured some for Li Zhe, and then started calculating the bill. The total price of the birch and pine wood was 69251 yuan. After deducting the furniture cost of 3721 yuan, she had 65530 yuan left.

Forty minutes later, the timber on the truck was unloaded, and Li Zhe said goodbye and left.

Han Yuehong invited, "Mr. Li, I've asked the factory's chefs to prepare a few signature dishes. Let's have a few drinks together tonight. Several of our factory's shareholders would like to get to know you."

Li Zhe glanced at his watch; it was only a little past three in the afternoon. "Director Han, I appreciate your kindness, but I have some business to attend to later. Maybe next time." With tens of thousands of yuan in his bag, how could he possibly enjoy a proper meal? And how could he possibly drink alcohol?

"Since you have something to do today, I won't insist that you stay. But next time you come, you must have a meal before you leave."

"Definitely." After exchanging a few polite words, Li Zhe got into his car and drove away.

……

Seven o'clock in the evening.

In a private room on the second floor of Shuxiangju, Li Zhe, Hong San, and Jin Baiwan were smoking and drinking tea, with a plate of fruit and a plate of snacks on the table.

Li Zhe picked up the briefcase next to him, opened it, and took out a stack of banknotes. He said, "Yijia Shangpin received a total of 69251 yuan for seven truckloads of timber. I deducted 3721 yuan from the price of furniture, so I have 65530 yuan left."

Jin Baiwan also opened his black leather bag and took out four stacks of banknotes: "The payment for five truckloads of timber from Century Jingzhou is 36750 yuan. It's all here."

Li Zhe said, "Now that the money has been received, my second sister and I discussed it and decided to first sort out the accounts for these two canned food resales and then divide the profits."

Seeing that neither of them had any objections, Li Zhe opened his black notebook: "First, let's calculate the cost of the investment. The cost of the first batch of canned goods is 73,000 yuan."

The second batch of 4 tons of canned green beans had an ex-factory price of 16000 yuan; 10 tons of canned tomatoes had an ex-factory price of 34000 yuan; and 6 tons of canned yellow peaches had an ex-factory price of 22800 yuan; plus an additional expense of 200 yuan. The total cost of the second batch of canned goods was 72800 yuan.

There's also a 300 yuan transportation fee for the timber. After deducting these costs, we'll split the profits.

Li Zhe tapped on the calculator and said, "The 60,000 yuan we invested earlier has already been paid as a deposit. We still need to pay an additional 86100 yuan. That means our net profit is 19901 yuan."

Hong San frowned slightly. He remembered that the first time he resold canned goods, the profit was over 26,000 yuan. This time, in addition to the profit from reselling canned goods, he also made a profit from reselling timber, but the total was only 19901 yuan. The profit had shrunk too quickly. "Brother Li, how much profit did we make from selling timber?"

"After deducting transportation costs, the net profit is only a little over six thousand yuan," Li Zhe explained. "The profit margin in the timber business isn't high; our main goal is to cash out quickly."

In Li Zhe's view, money in hand is truly his own. Quickly recovering funds also allows him to purchase the next batch of canned goods and resell them to foreign trade companies.

Hong San analyzed, "The total profit is over 19,000, minus the 6,000 earned from timber, the profit from canned goods is over 13,000. The net profit of our second batch of canned goods is halved compared to the first batch."

Jin Baiwan sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. The most profitable canned pickles are out of stock, and the canned green beans are also in short supply. There's a significant shortage."

Hong San nodded: "Yes."

Li Zhe counted out 1326 yuan and handed it to Hong San: "I've thought about this problem too. The reason there's a lack of these two types of canned vegetables is because they're not commonly consumed domestically. Even if they are grown, it's only for specific purposes. So, I'm planning to grow a batch of green beans and pickled cucumbers myself."

"That's a great idea!" Hong San laughed; this was exactly Li Zhe's forte. Then he thought, "How do you plan to process the green beans and pickled cucumbers you grow into canned goods?"

Li Zhe then counted out 1326 yuan and handed it to Jin Baiwan: "I really haven't thought about this issue. What are your thoughts?"

Hong San ate a piece of apple and slowly replied, "Recently, I've visited many canneries and found that due to the sluggish cannery market, apart from some state-owned, long-established canneries with stable sales channels, many canneries are not doing well. In particular, some canneries in rural towns are experiencing inventory backlogs, and a few are even facing closure."

Hong San rubbed his hands together: "I'm thinking, if our foreign trade orders are stable, could we acquire a cannery to produce canned goods? That way, we can produce the canned goods we need and maximize our profits."

Jin Baiwan thought about it and felt that the idea was good, but something was not quite right—he just couldn't think of how to express it for a moment. He glanced at the plate on the table and suddenly realized the key point.

“I like to dip my dumplings in vinegar, but it’s a bit inappropriate to make dumplings just for a plate of vinegar.” Jin Baiwan gradually sorted out his thoughts and continued:

"Our current business of reselling canned goods has lower profit margins, but it brings in capital quickly; if we were to acquire a cannery, the costs would be too high and the risks would be too great."

Hong San chimed in, "Brother Jin, I understand your concerns."

This is exactly what I wanted to say. Some canneries are on the verge of bankruptcy and can't even pay their workers' wages. If we can revitalize the canneries and give the workers a job, the purchase price won't be too high.

We could talk to the local government; maybe we can get some policy support. I think it's worth a try.

Jin Baiwan didn't really know much about this, and stroked his chin: "Will this work?"

Hong San looked at Li Zhe and asked, "Brother Li, what do you think?"

As a person from later generations, Li Zhe knew that Hong San's method was feasible, but the hidden dangers were too great.

It's better if the cannery isn't making money; if it does, who knows what kind of trouble might arise later. But why acquire it if it's not profitable?
Li Zhe replied, "The domestic economic policies have been changing in recent years. The current loose policies may be tightened in the future, and what seems reasonable now may break the law in the future."

Let me give you a simple example. If we acquire a cannery and it becomes profitable under our management, what will the workers think? What will the former factory leaders think? Will they encourage the workers to file lawsuits and demand ownership of the cannery?

Li Zhe said with a serious expression, "What if they even demand the profits we made during the operation?"

Hong San looked terrified, his voice trembling, "No...no way."

Li Zhe smiled gently and said, "I was just using an analogy; the possibility is slim. But as long as it exists, we don't need to take the risk."

Jin Baiwan nodded; Li Zhe's words had made everything clear to him. But Hong San's suggestion was indeed quite appealing…

Suddenly, another idea came to him: "Brother Li, what do you think about us renting a cannery to do processing?"

Li Zhe found the idea quite interesting: "Brother Jin, tell me in detail, how does the rental work?"

Jin Baiwan organized his thoughts and replied, "Take the cannery in Wan'an Town for example. It also has a backlog of inventory and is having trouble with cash flow. Even if we buy its canned goods and the factory has some funds, it still can't resume operations because it can't sell its canned goods."

"This cannery is just sitting idle anyway, so let's rent it, hire some temporary workers, and produce our own canned goods. What do you think of that idea?"

After hearing Jin Baiwan's words, Li Zhe did not reply, because he also had an idea in his mind, which was contract manufacturing.

They could grow their own green beans, pickled cucumbers, and tomatoes, and outsource the processing to the Wan'an Town cannery; the costs wouldn't be too high. But Jin Baiwan's suggestion was also quite interesting. The rental fees wouldn't be too high, and there were no additional risks involved.

After careful consideration, Li Zhe concluded that if it was a short-term, single order, contract manufacturing could minimize costs; however, if the Soviet orders were long-term and stable, the leasing model would offer more stable delivery efficiency and product quality, thus ensuring the longevity of the business.

Li Zhe decided to discuss it with his second sister and sound her out, since the Soviet orders still depended on her connections...

(End of this chapter)