Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 251 A Single Hair's Blow (Long Chapter)

"I really have to thank you for telling me about this in advance, otherwise I would still be in the dark when the farm's vegetables are on the market." Li Zhe smiled and pulled out a bottle of Moutai from under the table. He unscrewed the cap, and a rich aroma of liquor immediately wafted out. He poured two glasses, and the liquor was clear with a slight yellow tint.

Tang Demin looked at the wine in his glass and quickly steadied the bottom of the glass, saying, "Brother Li, you're too kind."

Inviting guests to drink Moutai demonstrates Li Zhe's sincerity.

Li Zhe raised his glass: "Manager Tang, let me toast you. Thank you for your reminder."

The two clinked glasses and each took a sip. The Moutai was strong; as it went down their throats, it warmed their stomachs until they felt dry.

I had just put down my cup when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Li Zhe replied.

Han Chunyan pushed open the door carrying a tray with two white porcelain plates on it. She first placed a plate of bright red food on the table—it contained chunks of rabbit meat coated in a thick sauce, the aroma of numbing spiciness filling the air: "Boss, Manager Tang, this is our signature 'Spicy and Fragrant Rabbit'."

Then she placed another plate of Kung Pao Chicken on the table. Han Chunyan quietly slipped out.

"Manager Tang, please have a taste." Li Zhe picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a piece of rabbit meat on Tang Demin's plate.

Tang Demin picked up a piece of rabbit meat and put it in his mouth. First, a spicy and numbing flavor rushed up, followed by the freshness of the rabbit meat. It was not dry when chewed, and even the bones were full of flavor.

He couldn't help but nod: "Delicious! It's spicy enough, and the rabbit meat is stewed to perfection. It's even more authentic than what I had at Emei Restaurant."

He then picked up another piece of Kung Pao Chicken and praised, "The peanuts are crunchy, the chicken is tender, and the sweet and sour flavor is just right, not greasy at all."

The two drank another glass of wine. Li Zhe put down his glass and got back to business: "Brother Tang, I have another question for you—based on previous years, besides spinach and lettuce, when is the earliest other vegetables available for sale? For example, green peppers and cucumbers."

Tang Demin put down his chopsticks, thought for a moment, and took out a small notebook and a pen from his briefcase. He wrote as he spoke, “Those seedling sheds can’t compare to your winter-warm greenhouses. They depend entirely on the weather; they can only grow when the temperature is right. Spinach and lettuce are cold-resistant and have short growth cycles, so they are the first batch. Green peppers will have to wait until early May, and cucumbers and tomatoes will be even later, not until the end of May.”

He wrote a few lines, tore off a piece of the notebook, and handed it to Li Zhe. “This is a record of the market launch time of vegetables from the seedling shed in previous years, along with approximate prices. Please take a look.”

Li Zhe took the slip of paper. The handwriting on it was neat and clearly indicated the approximate time when the vegetables would be available and their prices.

He read it twice, carefully folded it, and put it in his shirt pocket—this note was too important; with it, he could adjust the pricing of greenhouse vegetables in advance and retain existing customers.

"Brother Tang, thank you so much, you've really helped me a lot." Li Zhe raised his glass again. "Let me toast you again. I'll need your guidance a lot in the future."

Tang Demin downed his glass in one gulp, and as he put it down, he reminded him, "Brother, let me tell you something else—it's not just our Great Wall Hotel that cooperates with state-owned farms; several other hotels catering to foreign guests also have similar channels."

"I know, Brother Tang, don't worry, I've got it figured out." Li Zhe nodded, already having a plan in mind—first, as mentioned earlier, lower the price of spinach and lettuce to 1.9 yuan, not only at the Great Wall Hotel, but also in other sales channels.

Once other dishes are available, the prices will be lowered in advance.

Li Zhe's off-season vegetables can fetch high prices in winter because there are no competitors.

But things are different now. As the weather gets warmer, the vegetables grown in the seedling sheds will come to market and compete with Li Zhe for market share. If Li Zhe wants to maintain his existing sales channels, he must take the initiative to adjust vegetable prices.

……

noon the next day.

Jianguomenwai Street is bustling with traffic, and pedestrians are constantly passing by.

Among the row of shops on the ground floor of the Diplomatic Apartments, the green signboard of 365 Vegetable Store stands out. The five white characters "365 Vegetable Store" are written neatly on it, and below it are the smaller characters "Exclusively for Foreigners and Also Selling Groceries".

As soon as you push open the shop door, a crisp "ding-a-ling" sound follows.

The store, which is about 80 or 90 square meters, is divided into four sections: meat, fruit, vegetables, and groceries. They are all separated by light brown wooden shelves, and prices are posted on the sides of the shelves.

The most eye-catching item was the refrigerated meat display case, which was entirely silver-white with a cool metallic sheen. The glass on the door was polished to a shine, and beef, pork, and chicken were neatly arranged.

At 12:30, after the peak shopping season, all the shop assistants went out to eat, leaving Sun Tao behind the counter.

He had a black ballpoint pen between his teeth, the tip of which would occasionally pause on the yellowed ledger, as if he were doing accounting or pondering the shop's business, his brow slightly furrowed.

Just then, Li Zhe pushed open the door and came in, his brand-new suit making his back stand even straighter. He walked to the counter and lightly tapped the wooden countertop with his knuckles, making two "tap-tap" sounds.

Hearing the noise, Sun Tao immediately came to his senses. When he saw it was Li Zhe, his face instantly lit up with a warm smile. He quickly straightened up and said, "Brother Li, you're here! Please sit down!" He then went around from behind the counter and moved a red-lacquered wooden chair from the corner to place in front of Li Zhe.

Li Zhe sat down and glanced around the empty shop before asking, "Did everyone else go to eat?"

"Yes, they just left a little while ago."

"You go eat too, I'll keep an eye on things here."

"No need, no need, Brother Li. They went across the street to eat meat pies with door nails. I'll have them come back and bring a couple, so they don't have to make a trip." Sun Tao replied as he quickly walked to the corner freezer, opened the door, and a blast of cold air rushed out. Inside, several rows of bottled cola were neatly stacked.

Sun Tao took a bottle, pried it open with a bottle opener, handed over the bubbly Coke, and said with a smile, "Brother Li, I remember you said that foreigners love to drink cold drinks. A few days ago, I used my connections to get some Coke, thinking I'd test the waters first. I didn't expect that so many people would be buying cold drinks so early in the spring."

This bottle is on me, please try it.

"Thanks, Manager Sun. I won't stand on ceremony then." Li Zhe took the Coke, brought it to his lips, and took a sip. The cool liquid slid down his throat, refreshing him instantly.

"Yes, that's the feeling."

Li Zhe placed the Coke bottle on the counter, then looked at Sun Tao, his expression becoming more serious: "How's business at the vegetable shop lately? Haven't run into any problems, have you?"

Sun Tao stopped laughing and became serious: "Brother Li, don't worry. The turnover has been very stable these past few months, without much fluctuation."

Li Zhe nodded, then asked, "What about off-season vegetables? Did any customers complain about the high prices?"

"No, we've always kept the same price." Sun Tao was initially confused by the question. He had been selling vegetables at the Chongwenmen vegetable market with his parents since he was a child. After a moment's thought, he guessed what it was: "Brother Li, have the vegetables from the seedling shed arrived yet?" After asking, he counted on his fingers: "That's right, it's about time."

Li Zhe raised an eyebrow: "When you were working at the Chongwenmen vegetable market, did you also sell vegetables grown in advance in seedling sheds?"

“How could that be!” Sun Tao waved his hand, his tone tinged with emotion. “The vegetables transplanted in the seedling shed in advance, although not as rare as overwintering off-season vegetables, are still very scarce. They are usually delivered through special supply channels directly to foreign restaurants and state-run hotels. Ordinary vegetable vendors like us can’t get our hands on them at all; you can’t even find them in the market.”

This perfectly matched what Tang Demin, the purchasing manager of the Great Wall Hotel, had said earlier. Li Zhe nodded and continued, "The Great Wall Hotel told me that a batch of vegetables transplanted in advance in the seedling shed will be on the market in late April, so there might be more vegetables available then. Do you think we should adjust the prices at our 365 Vegetable Store?"

Sun Tao lowered his head and pondered for a while, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on his trouser leg. After a while, he looked up and said, "I think we shouldn't adjust the vegetable prices in April. We can just make a slight adjustment in May."

Li Zhe had originally planned to lower prices across several vegetable sales channels once the vegetables from the seedling sheds were on the market.

Hearing Sun Tao's different opinion, she was a little surprised, but then became interested: "Tell me in detail why we don't need to lower the price in April?"

Sun Tao organized his thoughts and slowly said, "Brother Li, let me analyze this for you. First of all, according to the previous market conditions, the vegetables from the seedling sheds would definitely be supplied to foreign-related restaurants and state-owned restaurants first, and would not go directly to the vegetable market."

Even if the cost of vegetables decreases at restaurants, the prices of the dishes won't drop much—on the one hand, restaurant costs include more than just vegetables; on the other hand, adjusting prices is a hassle for many restaurants, requiring approval from multiple levels of management. Some, to save time, simply keep the finished dishes at the same price regardless of the cost of vegetables, without adjusting them at all.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Another thing is that the foreigners who come to our store to buy vegetables all come from the same few places, just a few stores that cater to foreigners and vegetable shops."

"We just need to keep an eye on those few competitors. Once they start lowering their prices because their seedling greenhouse vegetables are hitting the market, we'll adjust ours accordingly. This way, we can maintain our profits without losing customers."

After listening, Li Zhe understood. In Sun Tao's view, the vegetables from the seedling shed would not be supplied to the vegetable market first, and there would be a certain delay.

Sun Tao's parents were vegetable sellers, and he himself grew up in the Chongwenmen vegetable market. Even though he had never sold vegetables in a seedling shed, he had heard and seen more about it than Sun Tao himself, so he was more experienced in this area.

Li Zhe had an idea in mind. He looked at Sun Tao and said sincerely, "Okay, your analysis makes sense. I came here today to remind you that you are the one in charge of the store. You are here every day and have a better grasp of the market than I do. So whether or not to adjust the price is up to you."

"Brother Li, thank you for your trust!" Upon hearing this, Sun Tao's eyes immediately lit up, and he became even more motivated.

Sun Tao rubbed his hands together, as if he had suddenly remembered something important, and said, "Brother Li, there's something else I want to tell you, it's about the service in the store."

Li Zhe picked up the Coke on the table, took another sip, and nodded: "Go on."

"It's about home delivery. A lot of foreign customers have mentioned it to me these past few months," Sun Tao said with a smile. "Don't let their usual gym workouts fool you; they all look strong, but when you ask them to carry groceries or oil drums, they're all reluctant, let alone buying heavy things like rice or flour. Several regular foreign customers have complained to me that it would be great if our store could deliver to their door."

As he spoke, he secretly glanced at Li Zhe's expression. Seeing that there was no objection, he continued, "Brother Li, I've been thinking about this for a while now. I even asked a few old customers for their opinions. I think we can give it a try. Maybe we can attract more customers."

Actually, when the vegetable store first opened at the end of last year, some customers had already mentioned the need for home delivery, and Li Zhe was there at the time. However, he had two concerns and didn't agree.

Now that Sun Tao has brought it up again, Li Zhe has laid out these two issues: "Delivery to the door is a good idea, but there are two problems to solve. First, the diplomatic apartments are a residential area for foreigners, and the security is much stricter than that of ordinary residential areas, so outsiders can't just enter at will;

Secondly, most of our customers are foreigners, so the delivery person needs to speak some foreign language. Also, for safety reasons, it would be best if they were male, but those are hard to find.

Sun Tao had also considered these two questions and replied, "Brother Li, things are different now than when we first opened. I've been in the store every day these past few months and I've gotten to know the apartment security guards well. I often offer them a cigarette or chat with them, and I've gotten along quite well with a few of them."

I think we should have a good talk with the apartment management office and ask them to register me under my real name so that I can be responsible for delivering goods to customers from now on. They should be able to agree to that.

Furthermore, many foreign clients have said that if the management doesn't agree, they will proactively speak to the management, explaining that this is the service they need, and with their help, I don't think there will be any major problems.

He paused, took a sip of water, and continued, "As for the delivery people, we only serve the diplomatic apartments at the back. There are only a dozen or so buildings in total, and less than a thousand foreigners live there, so the delivery area is not large."

I think two or three people would be enough. I'm definitely one; I can deliver when the shop isn't busy. My brother has been learning English from the radio lately, and he can have simple conversations without problems. He can also come and help out when I'm too busy. What do you think?

Li Zhe didn't give a direct answer, but asked again, "If we add home delivery service, how much do you think the cost would increase?"

Sun Tao was prepared. He pulled out a blue-covered notebook from the counter drawer, opened a page, and found it filled with dense writing and some simple equations.

He pointed to the notebook and said, "Brother Li, I've actually calculated this. First, there's the labor cost. If we hire someone specifically for delivery, the monthly salary would be about 100 yuan."
Then there's the packaging cost. To prevent the vegetables and fruits from getting damaged, the packaging needs to be more secure, which will also add some cost.
"Frequency fees: In order to get the management office's approval, it may be necessary to send some gifts every month."

Seeing that Li Zhe did not object, he continued, "Also, we need to install a telephone in the store so that customers can call directly when they need delivery, without having to make a special trip. This is the biggest expense."

Li Zhe listened, calculating in his mind. Although the initial installation fee for the telephone service wasn't low, it was necessary in the long run, and the cost was acceptable. He looked up at Sun Tao: "So, how much do you think revenue will increase with the addition of delivery service? Will it be enough to cover the increased costs?"

Sun Tao flipped to another page of his notebook, which contained the average order value and average order volume for the past few months. Pointing to the data, he said, "First of all, I think the average order volume will definitely increase, especially for fresh produce with short shelf lives. Some foreigners are quite lazy; they want to eat but don't want to move, so they just buy some when they go out."

Offering home delivery could increase order volume by at least one-third to one-quarter.

Sun Tao turned to the next page and continued, "Secondly, we can set a minimum order amount before delivery. For example, we can set a minimum order amount of 50 or 100 yuan for delivery. If a customer only buys 40 yuan worth of items, they will add another 10 yuan worth of items to get the home delivery service. This way, we can increase the amount per order significantly."

Li Zhe suddenly thought of a crucial question: "What do you think about the tipping? Foreigners have a habit of tipping, they might tip when it's delivered to their door."

Actually, Li Zhe didn't mind the deliverymen having an extra source of income, as it would boost their motivation. However, he was worried about one thing—the deliverymen's attitude towards customers would differ depending on the amount of the tip. If they received a large tip, they would be enthusiastic, but if they received a small tip or none, they would be indifferent, which could easily damage the store's reputation.

Without hesitation, Sun Tao replied, "Then let's standardize the tip amount, just like the Mona Lisa restaurant, where there's a fixed tip for every delivery. It's simple, and there won't be any conflicts over the amount of the tip."

Li Zhe frowned: "Didn't you consider that some customers might not want to give a tip, or feel that a fixed tip is unreasonable? As long as there is a tipping threshold, it will inevitably keep some customers out."

Upon hearing this, Sun Tao's smile froze for a moment. He scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "Well... I really haven't thought about this in detail. I was only focused on how to increase revenue and didn't consider whether the customers would accept it."

Seeing Sun Tao's somewhat embarrassed expression, Li Zhe smiled and softened his tone: "Your idea is generally good, your thinking is clear, and your considerations are quite comprehensive. Door-to-door delivery can indeed improve service and increase revenue, so let's proceed according to your plan."

Don't rush into tipping. Next, conduct a customer survey and ask foreigners who need delivery services whether they prefer fixed tips, give them voluntarily, or don't want tips at all.

Additionally, we should consider internal solutions, such as awarding delivery drivers bonuses based on the number of orders with positive customer reviews. This would incentivize them to provide good service and prevent attitude differences due to tipping.

"Okay, Brother Li, don't worry! I'll prepare the customer investigation right away and definitely get to the bottom of the tip issue!" Sun Tao's eyes lit up with excitement when he heard Li Zhe agree, and his voice even rose a little.

He had always admired Li Zhe, who not only understood planting techniques but also had a keen business sense. Now that he had gained recognition and was being given more authority, he felt that his efforts over the past period had not been in vain.

……

Over the next two days, Li Zhe proactively contacted several restaurants that he supplied vegetables with, and adjusted the vegetable prices for the end of April and May in advance based on the types of vegetables supplied and the actual situation, in order to prevent people from choosing other vegetable supply channels.

The good news is that Li Zhe has stabilized the existing supply channels.

However, once vegetable prices drop, the profits from selling vegetables will decrease significantly, and this decline will continue for the next few months.

At this point, the importance of the ecological industrial chain that Li Zhe developed became apparent. The vegetable store, restaurant, and canned food business all had stable income, and as long as there was income, he was not worried.

(End of this chapter)