Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 259 Changes
Factory Director Ma was a shrewd man. He understood Li Zhenguo's expression immediately and quickly said with a smile, "You're an expert. If you decide to lease, we'll give you priority access to the two production lines in the west factory. We'll arrange for someone to fix these minor issues right away to ensure production isn't delayed."

After discussing the equipment, it's time to talk about the rent.

Li Zhe looked at Factory Director Ma: "Factory Director Ma, regarding the rent, Factory Director Xie mentioned 3500 yuan a month before. Do you think we can discuss it further?"

Factory Director Ma's smile faded slightly, but his tone remained firm: "Boss Li, 3500 yuan is really not expensive. The two production lines in the west factory cost hundreds of thousands of yuan when we bought them. If the factory hadn't been in such dire straits, we wouldn't have been willing to rent them out."

Jin Baiwan immediately chimed in, “Director Ma, you can’t say that. The canned food industry is in a slump right now, and your equipment is just sitting there doing nothing, plus you’ll have to spend money on maintenance. We can rent two production lines from the west factory building, which will not only help you revitalize your equipment but also bring in revenue for the factory. If you can lower the price a bit more, we’re truly open to cooperation.”

The two talked back and forth for a long time but couldn't reach an agreement.

At this moment, Deputy Factory Director Liu came over and tried to smooth things over with a smile: "Gentlemen, it's almost noon. Let's go eat first and chat while we eat. There's a restaurant in town called 'Wan'an Old Restaurant,' which serves local specialties. Let's go and try it!"

Factory Director Ma nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, let's eat first, and we can talk about the rent later."

The group left the cannery and headed towards "Wan'an Old Restaurant".

On the way, Li Zhe and Li Zhenguo walked behind, exchanging a few words briefly.

The restaurant is small, with eight tables outside and old photos hanging on the walls, all depicting old scenes of the area.

Li Zhe and his group entered the private room and had just sat down when the owner brought out several small dishes: smoked chicken, braised donkey meat, and mixed shredded vegetables, all local specialties.

Deputy Factory Director Liu enthusiastically poured wine for everyone: "This is our locally brewed jujube wine. It's not very strong and tastes good. Please have a taste."

After a few rounds of drinks, several deputy factory directors who hadn't said much before suddenly became more talkative.

Deputy Factory Director Wang approached Li Zhe with a wine glass in hand: "Mr. Li, let me toast you! If you rent the production line, feel free to come to me with any technical problems, and I guarantee I'll solve them for you thoroughly!"

Deputy Factory Director Liu also raised his glass, saying, "Boss Li, don't worry about the workers. As long as you're willing to use our factory's workers, I guarantee they'll work hard and never slack off!"

After a few drinks, they grew closer to each other.

Li Zhe put down his wine glass: "I appreciate the kindness of all the factory managers, but we still need to discuss the rent. 3500 yuan a month is indeed too high."

Li Zhe said sincerely, "We're all from the same village, and I know the factory is facing some difficulties right now. I didn't intend to deliberately lower the price. The rent is 3000 yuan a month. If that's acceptable, we can reach a preliminary agreement today."

Jin Baiwan had contacted several canneries beforehand, and all those days of looking around and talking weren't for nothing. He had a pre-calculated estimate of the price for leasing a cannery.

Factory Director Ma paused, holding his wine glass. After a moment's thought, he exchanged glances with the deputy factory directors beside him before nodding: "Alright! 3000 yuan it is. Boss Li is a straightforward man, so we won't haggle!"

As he spoke, he raised his glass: "Mr. Li, let me toast you again! There's something I'd like to discuss with you—you've rented the production line, so you'll definitely need workers. Could you give priority to using workers from our factory? They're all experienced and quick to learn, so there's no need for further training."

Li Zhe and Li Zhenguo exchanged a glance. They did need workers, and experienced workers would save them a lot of trouble. So they nodded and agreed: "No problem. We need thirty workers. The wages will be at market price. We will definitely treat everyone well."

But Factory Manager Ma frowned: "Thirty people is too few! Our factory has a hundred workers. If you only use thirty, what will happen to the remaining seventy? We can't just leave them idle, can we?"

"Director Ma, don't worry." Li Zhe put down his wine glass and patiently explained, "The factory has four production lines. You've kept two. If you find a sales channel later, you can use the remaining seventy people when you resume production. If I use all one hundred people, where will you find workers to resume production?"

Factory Director Ma was still unwilling: "We can't just give you thirty people! One hundred workers, four production lines, and more than twenty people on each line would be just right."

If you use thirty people, and we keep two lines, we still won't need seventy, and the remaining people will still have nothing to do. I think it would be better if you used fifty people; that way, it's convenient for both of us.”

“Fifty people are too many.” Li Zhe shook his head. “Two production lines, thirty people are enough.” Any more would just be white-collar workers earning wages, there’s no need.

Li Zhe is a businessman who values ​​careful calculation, not charity.

“But thirty people are too few. The other workers will be idle and will definitely have complaints. If a dispute breaks out, it will not be good for either of us.” Factory Director Ma’s tone was also a little anxious.

Seeing this, Jin Baiwan quickly said, "Director Ma, please don't get agitated. We pay 3000 yuan in rent every month. You can use this money to give the remaining workers some living expenses to ease the pressure. We will pay the wages of the thirty people we hire, and we will not trouble the factory at all."

But Director Ma still disagreed, and the two sides reached another stalemate.

Factory Director Xie was familiar with Li Zhe and the others, so he quickly smoothed things over: "Everyone, let's have a drink first, the food is getting cold. There's no rush with the labor issue, we can talk about it another day, we'll find a win-win solution."

Li Zhe knew that this matter couldn't be rushed, so he followed up on what Factory Director Xie had said and said, "There's something else I need to make clear to everyone—leasing the production line requires not only the management's approval, but also the approval of all the employees."

I don't want anyone to disrupt production and affect the production schedule later on.

Factory Manager Xie patted his chest and immediately assured, "Mr. Li, don't worry. As long as our management team makes the decision, we will hold an employee meeting to explain the pros and cons to the workers and ensure that no one causes trouble."

Factory Director Ma didn't speak, but simply took a sip of his wine, his face full of worry. He knew in his heart that if he couldn't solve the workers' employment problem, he wouldn't be able to hold onto his position as factory director.

After finishing their meal, Li Zhe glanced at his watch and stood up: "Director Ma, Director Xie, it's getting late, we should head back."

Regarding the rental, please make a decision as soon as possible and give me an answer within three days. It's not that I'm rushing you, but our cucumbers and green beans are almost ripe and we can't wait any longer.

If I can't make a decision within three days, I'll have to consider other canneries.

Factory Director Xie nodded quickly: "No problem! We will definitely give you an answer as soon as possible."

After Li Zhe and his group left on the tractor, Factory Director Xie leaned close to Factory Director Ma and whispered, "Factory Director, what do we do next?"

"What should we do?" Factory Director Ma sighed as he watched the tractor disappear into the distance. "3000 a month isn't much, but as long as the factory has income, there's still hope for resuming operations."

"Pass down the notice: tomorrow morning at eight o'clock... all employees must come to the factory for a meeting!"

……

August 6th.

Chongwenmen West Street, Beijing

As the weather warms up, the trees lining the streets sprout tender green buds, and occasionally early risers hurry by, leaving behind faint footsteps.

Tan Jingya yawned and slowly walked to the entrance of Shuxiangju Restaurant, her eyes still showing a trace of lingering fatigue.

She took out her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door.

With a creak, the sound of the door hinges turning was particularly clear in the lobby.

The shop was so busy yesterday, with customers coming and going from morning till night. She was so tired that she didn't even have the energy to do the accounting at night.

During the five-day event, the restaurant's business was booming beyond expectations, keeping her so busy that she was practically falling apart from exhaustion.

She had originally planned to come to the store early today to sort out the accounts, but she didn't expect to oversleep and wake up at eight o'clock.

After pushing open the door, Tan Jingya first went to the window and slowly opened each window. Fresh air instantly rushed into the restaurant, dispelling the stuffy smell left by the restaurant being closed overnight.

Then, she walked to the counter, pulled out a chair and sat down, took out a thick ledger and a stack of receipts from the drawer, and began to carefully calculate the accounts.

The first thing to calculate is the turnover and profit for April.

She carefully checked the numbers on the receipts while diligently recording them in the ledger, the pen tip making a "scratching" sound as it glided across the paper.

After careful calculation, the total revenue for April was finally calculated, amounting to 22420 yuan; the gross profit was 9380 yuan. After deducting miscellaneous expenses of 3800 yuan, the net profit for April was 5580 yuan.

Looking at the numbers, Tan Jingya's lips curled up slightly. The turnover in April was about 1,000 yuan higher than in March, and the net profit was 500 yuan higher. This was a real improvement.

Then there's the revenue during the May Day holiday. She added up the sales figures for the five days from May 1st to May 5th, totaling 5043 yuan, averaging about 1000 yuan per day.

She compared the average daily revenue in April and found that the average daily revenue during the May Day holiday was more than 4 yuan higher than the previous month. This result reassured her that the May Day holiday had indeed brought a lot of customers to the restaurant.

The final calculation involves the prepaid recharge activities for members.

To attract more customers, increase restaurant popularity and repeat purchase rate, the restaurant launched this event during the May Day holiday, and the results were surprisingly good.

Over the course of five days, a total of 84 new members were signed up, with prepaid top-ups totaling 6200 yuan. Looking at the ever-increasing numbers in the ledger, Tan Jingya felt a mix of emotions. There was joy, relief, and above all, an unprecedented sense of security.

Her thoughts drifted back to last winter, when she had just divorced Ji Hongbin and the Ji family had gone to America.

At that time, she was unemployed, had no house of her own, and only had a small amount of cash. She was filled with confusion about the future, unsure of what to do next, and even lost faith in life.

Later, she and Li Zhe opened Shuxiangju together. Although she only owned 2% of the shares, it was all her assets.

From the restaurant's preparation to its official opening on February 25th, she devoted all her energy to its operation, arriving earliest and leaving latest every day, and resolving any problems promptly, all in order to ensure the restaurant could run smoothly.

Now it seems her efforts paid off; the restaurant's business is booming, with turnover and profits steadily increasing.

All of this proves that her choice was correct. As long as she continues to work hard and improve herself, she can establish herself in this city and live the life she wants, even without relying on a man.

Thinking of this, Tan Jingya looked out the door at the street, her eyes filled with longing for the future, and a long-lost smile appeared on her face.

As noon approached, more and more pedestrians appeared on the street, and customers began to arrive at Shuxiangju.

Although it wasn't as bustling as it had been a few days ago, customers were still coming in droves. By noon, the lobby on the first floor was full of guests, filled with laughter and chatter. Only one of the five private rooms upstairs remained empty.

With a faint smile on her face, Tan Jingya moved between the lobby and the various tables, arranging the work in the store in an orderly manner.

She would instruct the waiters to pay attention to their service attitude and promptly refill the guests' tea; then she would go to the kitchen to communicate with the chefs to ensure the quality of the dishes and the speed of their preparation. Under her management, the entire restaurant appeared well-organized.

Just then, a white Volga sedan slowly pulled up in front of the restaurant, its body gleaming faintly in the sunlight.

The car door opened, and Li Zhe stepped out, wearing a well-fitting gray suit and standing tall.

He stood at the doorway, peered into the restaurant, and saw that it was packed with customers and doing brisk business. He nodded in satisfaction.

Tan Jingya quickly noticed Li Zhe at the door and hurried over to greet him warmly, "Mr. Li, you've arrived."

Before Li Zhe could speak, she continued, "There's an empty private room upstairs on the west side. It's quite quiet. Why don't you go up and sit for a while? I'll have the kitchen prepare some dishes and bring them up to you right away."

"Okay," Li Zhe replied and went up to the private room on the west side of the second floor.

After entering the private room, Li Zhe walked to the cabinet by the wall, took out a teacup and a small bag of jasmine tea, and brewed a pot of jasmine tea himself. The moment the hot water was poured into the teapot, the delicate fragrance of jasmine filled the air, refreshing and delightful.

Not long after, there was a gentle knock on the door of the private room, "knock knock knock".

Li Zhe responded with a "Come in," and Han Chunyan walked in carrying a plate of fresh fruit and a delicate snack.

Han Chunyan gently placed the items on the table, smiling as she said, "Boss, please have some fruit and snacks to tide you over. The dishes will be ready soon." With that, she turned and left, gently closing the door to the private room behind her.

Li Zhe took off his coat, draped it over the chair next to him, sat back down at the round table, and poured himself a cup of jasmine tea.

He picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and the tea, fragrant with jasmine, instantly dispelled his fatigue. Then, he picked up his fork, forked a piece of apple, and put it in his mouth; it was crisp and refreshing.

A little while later, the door to the private room was pushed open again, and Tan Jingya walked in carrying two steaming dishes: boiled beef and fish head with double peppers.

The boiled beef was a vibrant red, sprinkled with chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns, and had a rich aroma; the double-pepper fish head was covered with two different colored peppers, making it look incredibly appetizing. Following closely behind, Han Chunyan entered carrying a bowl of soup and two bowls of rice.

After placing the soup and rice on the table, Han Chunyan tactfully withdrew.

Tan Jingya stood to the side and introduced with a smile, "Mr. Li, our restaurant has recently launched a new dish, old duck soup. It uses authentic old ducks and has been simmered for several hours. Please try it and see if it suits your taste."

As she spoke, Tan Jingya reached out and picked up a spoon, first ladling out a bowl of old duck soup and placing it in front of Li Zhe.

Li Zhe picked up the bowl and took a sniff. A rich aroma of duck meat mixed with the fragrance of medicinal herbs wafted towards him.

He took a small sip. The broth was rich and flavorful, smooth on the palate, and the freshness of the duck meat was fully infused into the soup. There was no fishy smell at all, and the soup also had a faint medicinal aftertaste. After drinking it, he felt warm all over and very comfortable.

He couldn't help but praise, "This old duck soup is well-cooked, the taste is very authentic, even better than what I've had elsewhere before."

Afterwards, Li Zhe also tasted boiled beef and chopped chili fish head, both of which were above average in taste.

Li Zhe ate a few bites of food to fill his stomach, then drank a sip of old duck soup. He looked up at Tan Jingya and asked, "Sister Tan, how's business at the store these past few days with the promotional activities?"

Hearing Li Zhe's question, Tan Jingya couldn't help but smile and said, "You haven't shown up for the past few days. I thought you had forgotten about the shop."

"How could that be? With you in the shop watching over things, I feel completely at ease," Li Zhe said earnestly, putting down his chopsticks.

He has been busy in Daying Village, Langfang City, for some time now. On the one hand, he is negotiating cooperation with farmers; on the other hand, he is busy with the leasing of a cannery production line. He really can't spare the time.

Hearing Li Zhe's words, Tan Jingya felt a warmth in her heart, but she still deliberately teased him, "Mr. Li, you really have a big heart. During the event, quite a few people paid to become members, and we collected several thousand yuan in prepayments. Aren't you afraid that I'll run off with all that money?"

Li Zhe joked, "Sister Tan, in my heart, you are much more important than this restaurant."

Hearing Li Zhe's words, Tan Jingya's cheeks flushed slightly, and she glared at him, "Stop teasing me."

Then, she took out a thick ledger from her coat pocket, handed it to Li Zhe, and said, "Since there aren't many customers in the store this morning, I've taken the time to carefully compile the store's revenue from last month and the prepaid recharge fees from customers during the May Day promotion. Please take a look."

Li Zhe took the ledger and carefully examined it.

When he saw the final tally of sales, profit, and prepaid membership fees, he smiled with satisfaction and nodded repeatedly. "Not bad, this month's performance is even better than I expected. You and the store's employees have worked hard during this time, so the bonus will remain the same."

"Then I'll thank you on behalf of the employees." After saying that, she seemed to remember something and quickly added, "By the way, Mr. Li, I mentioned to you before that I wanted to install air conditioning in the restaurant, you haven't forgotten, have you?"
Our store has sufficient funds now. If you have no objections, I'll go to the appliance store as soon as possible to pay the deposit and have them arrange installation.

“Sure.” If the restaurant didn’t have air conditioning, it would be as hot as a stew pot in the summer, and even he, the owner, wouldn’t want to come, let alone the customers.

Tan Jingya poured Li Zhe another cup of tea: "I'll trouble you to take care of things over the phone. Let's try to get it installed before the end of this month."

“Okay, I’ll ask when I have time and ask them to arrange it as soon as possible,” Li Zhe readily agreed.

The two continued chatting about the restaurant while eating, including the procurement of ingredients, sales of dishes, and the work status of the employees.

Li Zhe listened attentively, occasionally offering his own thoughts and suggestions.

Before we knew it, we had almost finished our meal and had gone through several cups of tea.

Li Zhe put down his teacup and looked up at Tan Jingya.

Tan Jingya noticed Li Zhe's gaze, subconsciously touched her face, and asked in confusion, "Is there something on my face?"

Li Zhe shook his head slightly, not answering her question, but he sensed that the other person seemed somewhat different...

It's not a change in appearance, but rather in her overall demeanor... she seems more confident than before.

(End of this chapter)