Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 252 Large Expenses
Suzhou Hutongs.

Around ten o'clock in the morning, the city still carried a bit of spring chill. A few early-fallen crabapple petals were carried by the wind and gently drifted down onto the bluestone slabs of Courtyard No. 7.

The hustle and bustle of the alley was kept at bay by the front yard, and now the backyard was where Li Zhe often stayed, exuding a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere amidst the noise. Several green bamboos stood in the corner of the backyard wall, their leaves still covered with morning dew, swaying gently in the breeze.

Li Zhe lay on a rattan recliner, which he had just bought a couple of days ago. It was very comfortable to sit in, with a curve that perfectly supported his back. He wore a thin knitted sweater and squinted at the sun, which wasn't too glaring at the moment, but rather warm and pleasant.

On the bamboo and rattan round table beside her was a set of purple clay teapots and tea sets, which Tan Jingya had given her a few days ago. Next to them was a plate of freshly washed strawberries, which looked very appetizing, and a small bag of peanuts, with the shells scattered around the edge of the plate.

Two dogs were frolicking in the yard. Jinzi was carrying a white ball in its mouth, its tail wagging fast. Flame, its body a bright red, circled around Jinzi, running like a small flame, and would occasionally jump up to try and snatch the ball.

The crabapple tree in the center of the courtyard is in full bloom, its petals layer upon layer, covering the branches. A faint fragrance of flowers drifts on the wind, mixed with the scent of earth.

Under the crabapple tree, a tabby cat lay curled up, its ears twitching occasionally, its eyelids drooping. It seemed completely oblivious to the dogs' playful antics, its lazy demeanor making it appear as if it had just woken up.

Li Zhe sat up, yawned, and stretched.

He picked up the teacup on the table; the rim was still warm. He took a small sip, and the delicate fragrance of the flower tea spread across his tongue.

He watched as the two dogs chased the ball around. Jinzi suddenly flung the ball into the corner of the wall, and Huoyan immediately pounced on it, but missed. The ball rolled to the tabby cat's feet.

The tabby cat finally raised its eyes, nudged the ball with its paw, and then slowly withdrew its paw.

Li Zhe couldn't help but laugh. He really enjoyed this leisurely and carefree life, drinking tea, basking in the sun, walking the dog and playing with the cat. He planned to raise a tank of goldfish and tend to a few potted plants later on. That would be perfect.

After finishing his tea, Li Zhe lay back in the rattan chair, half-closing his eyes.

Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the crabapple blossoms, casting a warm glow on his face, and he soon felt a little sleepy.

Just then, there was a knocking sound at the door outside the courtyard.

Li Zhe rubbed his eyes, got up and walked to the back door. He opened the door and saw a tall, fat figure standing outside: "Brother Jin."

April wasn't too hot yet, but Jin Baiwan's forehead was covered in sweat, which streamed down his round cheeks, soaking the collar of his T-shirt and clinging to his body. He was panting heavily when he saw Li Zhe and grinned, "Brother, I'm finally here!"

"Brother Jin, why are you sweating so much? Come in quickly." Li Zhe stepped aside to let him in.

Jin Baiwan took out a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe his sweat, and explained as he walked in: "I came to Beijing this morning on a vegetable truck to talk business with Dewei Cannery in the suburbs. We finished the business around nine o'clock."

Then I took the bus to the vicinity, and after getting off, I rushed over here. I was sweating so much because I was walking so fast.” As he spoke, his eyes swept over the wicker chairs and tea table in the yard, and he clicked his tongue enviously: “Brother, you’re living a really good life, basking in the sun and drinking tea. It’s much more comfortable than when I’m at home. It’s really great!”

Li Zhe moved a wooden chair from the east wing and placed it next to the tea table: "We work hard to earn money so that we can live a comfortable life."

“That’s true.” Jin Baiwan sat down, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured himself a cup of flower tea.

He picked up his teacup and took a big gulp. When he put the cup down, he smacked his lips and looked puzzled. "Brother, we're both flower teas, so why does yours taste better than the ones I brew at home? The ones I brew at home always seem to lack a certain flavor."

Li Zhe smiled, picked up the teapot and refilled Jin Baiwan's tea: "This tea was a gift from a friend before the New Year. I heard it's a special jasmine tea, and it's definitely better than what's available on the market."

I don't have much left. After we're done with this busy period, let's go to some of the time-honored tea shops in Beijing, like Zhang Yiyuan and Wu Yutai, and see which one's tea we like best and buy some more."

Upon hearing this, Jin Baiwan sighed with a bitter face: "Then I need to earn more money. The capital is nice, but things are expensive. I brought my wife to the capital before the New Year, and it cost a lot."

As he spoke, he pulled a crumpled notebook from his pocket, glanced at it, and then got down to business: "This morning I went to Dewei Cannery and ordered another ten tons of canned tomatoes. They can be picked up early the day after tomorrow. Including the seven tons I ordered before, I've ordered a total of seventeen tons."

Li Zhe nodded, picked up a strawberry from the table and ate one. The sweet and sour taste spread in his mouth: "Brother Hong ordered thirteen tons of canned fruit, which will make up thirty tons. The day after tomorrow, we will deliver the third batch of canned fruit to the foreign trade company."

Jin Baiwan drank another cup of tea, this time downing it in one gulp, and put the cup on the table: "Brother, for this shipment, are you planning to have the foreign trade company barter for the goods again, or wait until they have more cash flow before paying?"

Li Zhe tapped the table with his fingers, his brows furrowing slightly. After delivering the canned goods last time, they bartered with a foreign trade company for a batch of timber, which they then resold to two private furniture companies. However, those two furniture companies are now short of funds and unable to continue purchasing timber.

He looked up at Jin Baiwan: "Brother Jin, what are your thoughts?"

“Hey, I’ve actually come up with an idea.” Jin Baiwan leaned forward and lowered his voice. “Last time I went to the transit warehouse of the foreign trade company to deliver canned goods, I saw a few second-hand excavators in the corner of the warehouse.”

As you know, it's very difficult for individual business owners to buy these excavators. I was thinking, could we use this payment to buy two?
This year we're going to expand the scale of our vegetable greenhouses. Each greenhouse needs a foundation, and since we have our own excavator, we don't need to hire anyone else. We can also rent it out to other greenhouse farmers in the village. Excavator rental fees aren't cheap, but we should be able to break even in a year or two. After that, it's all pure profit. What do you think?

Hearing Jin Baiwan say that, Li Zhe was also a little tempted.

Under his guidance, more and more vegetable greenhouses will be built around Langfang, a development cycle that will take at least four or five years. Wherever greenhouses are built, foundations are inevitably dug, so excavators will certainly have plenty of work. He asked, "Brother Jin, how much does a used excavator cost at the foreign trade company?"

“Different models have different prices. I saw a small one that would suit our needs, around 40,000 yuan a unit,” Jin Baiwan said, holding up four fingers.

One unit costs 40,000, so two units would cost 80,000.

Li Zhe frowned slightly, his fingers lightly tracing patterns on the table as he pondered: They were in the canned food export business, where the capital turnover was fast with buying and selling, and they made their money from the price difference. If they invested all the money in excavators, they would have to raise money again for the next business.

He looked up at Jin Baiwan and said, "Brother Jin, your idea is good, but it ties up too much capital. We've used all the payment for the goods to buy an excavator, and we'll have to raise the money for the next batch of canned goods. I don't think this year is a good time. How about we talk about it next year?"

Next, Li Zhe did some calculations for Jin Baiwan. Buying two excavators would cost 80,000 yuan, which would be enough to expand more than a dozen vegetable greenhouses. These greenhouses would generate at least 200,000 yuan in output value per year, allowing Jin Baiwan to not only recoup his investment but also make a profit. The return on investment was far higher than that of buying excavators.

The profits from vegetable greenhouses will decrease significantly in the second half of next year, so it will be more appropriate to purchase excavators then.

Jin Baiwan listened, nodding occasionally: "I hadn't thought about this before, you've considered it very thoroughly. Okay, I'll listen to you, we'll talk about it next year."

The two then talked about ordering canned goods. Jin Baiwan picked up his teacup and took a sip, his tone tinged with concern: "Brother Li, I don't know if it's because of Sino-Soviet trade, but the canned goods market has improved recently. The ex-factory price of canned tomatoes has also increased by 10 cents. That's 200 yuan less per ton, and 2,000 yuan less for ten tons."

Li Zhe frowned as well. The factory price had gone up, meaning their profits from reselling canned goods were lower—not a good sign. He asked, "Brother Jin, how's the cannery leasing going? Didn't we say we'd look at a few struggling factories?"

“I’ve visited three places, but most of the machines there are very old. I don’t know anything about the machines, and I’m afraid they’ll break down after a few days, which would be even more troublesome,” Jin Baiwan said, sighing. “It would be best to find someone knowledgeable to go with me so I can feel at ease.”

“Okay, then you contact a few more factories. Once you've decided, we'll ask someone knowledgeable to help us choose. Comparing prices from multiple suppliers will surely help us find the right one.” Li Zhe already had someone in mind when he said this.

Li Zhenguo has worked in the cannery for over ten years, rising from apprentice to skilled worker. He knows everything about canning and machinery, so asking him for help is the perfect solution.

The two chatted and drank tea, and before they knew it, it was noon.

The sun was a bit stronger than in the morning, and the fragrance of the crabapple blossoms was more intense. Two dogs were asleep in the corner, and the tabby cat stretched and slowly walked to the wicker chair to seek shade.

"Let's have hot pot for lunch. There's some lamb slices in the fridge, and we'll wash some vegetables too." Li Zhe stood up and stretched his legs.

Upon hearing this, Jin Baiwan immediately nodded: "Great! I love hot pot, especially copper pot hot pot with meat, it's so delicious!"

Just as the two got up to go to the kitchen to tidy up, there was another knock at the door outside. Li Zhe went to open the door and saw Li Zhenguo standing there, carrying a bag of canned goods and snacks.

"Second Uncle, what brings you here?" Li Zhe was both surprised and delighted. He had just been thinking of asking his uncle for help, but he didn't expect him to come.

"I was off work and thought I'd come see you and chat about the cannery." Li Zhenguo walked in with a smile, and when he saw Jin Baiwan there, he greeted him warmly: "Baiwan's here too."

Jin Baiwan walked over enthusiastically and shook hands with the other party: "Yes, Uncle Zhenguo, it's been quite a while since we last met. At noon, I must offer you a few toasts."

"Alright, alright, I've been wanting to have a few drinks with you for a while now."

Li Zhenguo chuckled, washed his hands, and joined in preparing lunch.

Li Zhe took out slices of mutton and tripe from the refrigerator, Li Zhenguo was in charge of washing the vegetables, and Jin Baiwan set up a folding square table in the yard and lit a fire to burn charcoal.

Before long, a square table was set up under the crabapple tree, with a copper pot on it. Li Zhe added hot water to the pot and put in a few pieces of coal. The flames shot up with a "whoosh," and soon the water in the pot began to bubble and gurgle.

The table was laden with dishes: bright red slices of mutton, emerald green spinach and romaine lettuce, white tofu, shiny black tripe, and a bundle of mixed noodles.

Li Zhe took a bottle of Fenjiu liquor from the cabinet, opened the cap, and the aroma of the liquor immediately wafted out. He poured a glass for Li Zhenguo and Jin Baiwan each, and poured one for himself as well.

"Come on, Uncle, Brother Jin, let's have a drink!" Li Zhe raised his glass.

"Cheers!" The three clinked glasses, the spicy taste of Fenjiu sliding down their throats, yet warming them from head to toe.

Li Zhe picked up the plate of mutton and put the whole plate of mutton directly into the pot. The two dogs stopped playing and squatted not far away, watching longingly.

After a while, the copper pot boiled again. Once the mutton changed color, Li Zhenguo scooped up a piece with his chopsticks, dipped it in sesame sauce, and put it in his mouth: "Mmm, this mutton is good, delicious!"

Jin Baiwan also picked up a piece of tripe with his chopsticks, dipped it in and out of the broth a few times, and then put it in his mouth, chewing it with a "crunch": "This tripe is so crisp, so satisfying!"

After eating for a while, the three of them had a little something to eat. Li Zhe put down his chopsticks and started talking about the cannery: "Second Uncle, Jin and I want to rent a cannery to produce canned goods ourselves, but we don't know anything about machinery. We would like to ask you to help us check if the machines in the factory are usable."

"I came here today to talk to you about this." Li Zhenguo put down his chopsticks and smiled. "I've worked in the cannery for so many years. I've seen and used a lot of things. I can tell the quality of a machine at a glance. I can't guarantee that it won't have any major problems, but I can fix minor ones myself. I promise you won't get ripped off."

Just let me know when you're going.

Upon hearing this, Jin Baiwan slapped the table with joy: "That's great! With Uncle Zhenguo's help, we can rest assured!" He raised his wine glass, "Uncle Zhenguo, let me toast you."

The three men drank two bottles of baijiu and three bottles of beer. Li Zhe was quite satisfied and enjoyed the drink, and then took a comfortable nap in the afternoon…

……

Around nine o'clock in the evening, the darkness had already soaked into the blue bricks and gray tiles of Suzhou Hutong, and the dim light bulb at the entrance of No. 7 Courtyard cast long shadows of passers-by.

Occasionally, the crisp sound of bicycle bells drifted through the alley, mixed with the sound of radios leaking from the cracks in the windows of distant houses—it sounded like some kind of Pingju opera, with its pitch fluctuating—before dissipating into the quiet night sky.

Tan Jingya pushed her Phoenix brand bicycle and slowly turned into courtyard number seven.

She opened the backyard gate and the first thing she saw was two dogs lying at the door of the north house: Jinzi, with a yellow head and a white face, and Flame, who was three months old. Jinzi looked up at her, swept its tail on the ground twice, and then buried its head back in its paws, too lazy to move.

When Flame saw her, it called out twice in a childish voice and ran into the north room.

The north room was lit, with warm yellow light leaking through the window cracks, accompanied by bursts of hearty laughter.

Tan Jingya tiptoed and vaguely heard Wang Jianjun's loud voice: "Haha! This is so funny! I've never seen such a stupid ghost before, being completely fooled by a student. It's hilarious!"

Then came Li Zhe's voice, but it was hard to hear what he was saying.

Tan Jingya parked her bicycle in the corner of the yard, took her backpack out of the basket, and turned to walk towards the west wing.

The west wing has three rooms. The south room is empty. She only used the living room and the north room. The room was tidy. There were two pots of spider plants on the windowsill. The leaves were green and hung down several sections, swaying gently in the wind.

After washing up, Tan Jingya changed into a light pink nightgown with small floral embroidery on the neckline, which she bought last year at Xidan Department Store.

Just as he draped the wet towel over the rope, the laughter outside stopped, and Wang Jianjun's voice came from the courtyard as he said goodbye to Li Zhe: "Zhezi, I'm going back. Flame, come with me."

Then the footsteps faded into the distance, the soles of shoes scraping the ground with a soft rustling sound, and the yard fell silent again.

Tan Jingya walked to the wardrobe and took out the blue dress she was going to wear tomorrow. She folded the dress and placed it on the bedside table, just about to turn off the light and go to bed, when suddenly there was a soft knock on the door: "Knock knock."

She was taken aback for a moment, then raised her voice and asked, "Who is it?"

A gentle voice came from outside the door: "Sister Tan, it's me."

Tan Jingya quickly grabbed the light gray coat draped over the back of the chair and put it on. She then smoothed her hair with her hands before hurrying to the door to open it.

As soon as the door opened, Li Zhe was standing outside, wearing a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his strong wrists, and carrying a faint smell of tobacco.

Tan Jingya hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside: "Mr. Li, please come in. The room is a bit messy, please don't mind."

Li Zhe walked into the room, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over Tan Jingya, his eyes pausing for a moment.

She was wearing pajamas, the neckline slightly open, revealing her slender neck. The pajamas were made of thin material, vaguely revealing her graceful figure, and there was a faint, pleasant fragrance.

Tan Jingya invited him to sit down on the wooden chair in the living room, poured him a glass of warm water, and then asked, "Mr. Li, is there something you need from me so late?"

Li Zhe picked up his water glass, took a sip, and slowly said, "Sister Tan, do you know the 365 Vegetable Store I run in the Diplomatic Residence? Recently, the store is planning to install a telephone. Director Han from the Chongwenmen Vegetable Market helped secure two installation slots. I was thinking, should we install one at Shuxiangju as well?"

Upon hearing this, Tan Jingya's eyes lit up, and she was somewhat tempted.

She recalled that recently many people had told her they wanted to book a private room in advance, but the restaurant didn't have a phone number and they had to make the trip in person, which was very inconvenient.

But she didn't say anything immediately. She frowned and pondered for a while before asking, "Mr. Li, how much does it cost to install a telephone?"

As Li Zhe recalled, he said, "I asked the people at the telecommunications bureau. The initial installation fee is 3500 yuan, plus the cost of the telephone. A regular dial-up number costs about 200 yuan, and there's also a 50 yuan handling fee. In total, it's about 3750 yuan."

She hesitated for a moment, not answering immediately, then twisted her hands together, her tone serious: "Mr. Li, I also have something I'd like to tell you. Our restaurant may have a large expense coming up soon..."

(End of this chapter)