Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 307 A new beginning

At nine o'clock in the evening, the lights in the tenement building were scattered, and most of them had been turned off.

Chen Shuping quietly finished tidying up the housework in the living room. Looking at her son and mother sleeping soundly on the bed in the corner of the living room, a smile appeared on her tired face. She tucked the thin sheet covering her son before turning and walking towards the bedroom.

The bedroom door was ajar. As soon as Chen Shuping pushed it open, she saw her husband sitting with his back to the door at the dressing table.

She wondered why Li Zhenguo was sitting at the dressing table today, usually either lying in bed or reading the newspaper under the lamp at this time.
She took a few steps closer, took a closer look, and was instantly startled—Li Zhenguo was holding a stack of banknotes in his hand, his fingers flying as he carefully counted them.

"My God, Zhenguo, where did you get so much money?!" Chen Shuping's voice was full of surprise. She subconsciously lowered her voice, afraid of waking the elderly and children outside.

Li Zhenguo slowly turned around, a barely suppressed smile on his face, and waved the money in his hand: "Where would I get the money? It's my salary. I worked for half a month in May, plus the salaries for June, July, and August, which totaled a little over 1,100, almost 1,200."

Chen Shuping's mouth gaped open, her eyes wide as she stared at the stack of money, unable to believe her ears: "You didn't miscount, did you? How come there's so much?"

“You’ll know once you count it yourself,” Li Zhenguo said, handing over the money with absolute certainty.

Chen Shuping quickly took the money, her fingertips touching the rough texture of the banknotes, and her heart surged with excitement. She carefully counted each bill, over and over again, afraid of miscounting even a single one.

Finally, she stopped what she was doing, her face full of surprise: "It's 1165 yuan in total! My goodness, how come your second son gave you so much money? This is more than your annual salary at the Beijing cannery!"

Li Zhenguo leaned back in his chair and sighed, "My basic salary here is 150 yuan a month, and with bonuses and various subsidies, it's about 200 yuan. So I can earn about 350 yuan a month. We're all family, would the second brother ever cheat his uncle?"

He paused, a hint of anticipation in his eyes, and continued, "My second brother also said that we're currently doing export orders, and the profit margin on canned goods isn't very high. Once we establish our own sales channels, my bonuses will be even higher, and our family will be much better off then."

Chen Shuping plopped down on the edge of the bed, clutching the wad of money tightly in her hand, her smile barely concealed: "These three or four months of hard work have finally paid off, and I can finally relax."

Ever since Li Zhenguo resigned from his job at the Beijing Canned Food Factory and went to work as the production supervisor at the Wan'an Town Canned Food Factory, her heart has been hanging in suspense.

On one hand, they were worried that business at the Wan'an Town cannery would be difficult, and on the other hand, they were afraid that they wouldn't be able to return to the Beijing cannery. In the end, they would lose everything, and their family's livelihood would be in trouble.

Seeing such a large salary, she finally felt relieved.

"September is already more than halfway over, what is your factory still producing?" Chen Shuping put down the money and asked with concern, wanting to know more about her husband's factory.

Li Zhenguo sat up straight: "We mainly produce canned yellow peaches now."

"Didn't you mainly produce canned tomatoes before? Why aren't you producing them anymore?" Chen Shuping asked in confusion. She remembered that Li Zhenguo had told her before that the factory focused on exporting canned tomatoes.

"It's not that we've stopped production. The canned tomatoes were mainly for export to the Soviet Union, but the Chinese don't like them; they're too sour. We just need a certain amount of export stock right now. If we produce too much and it just piles up in the warehouse, it's a waste," Li Zhenguo explained patiently.

"Canned yellow peaches are different. Although the profit margin is slightly lower than that of canned tomatoes, they can be exported to the Soviet Union and sold domestically."

We plan to use canned yellow peaches to increase our brand awareness in China. If we can gain a foothold in the domestic market, Good Taste Canned Food Company will be able to establish itself firmly.

Even if there are any changes in the foreign trade business in the future, Good Taste Company can survive on its domestic business.

Chen Shuping frowned slightly, her tone tinged with worry: "That's true, but when you were at the Beijing Canned Food Factory, even such a large factory was experiencing declining sales. How easy is it for a small local factory to expand its sales channels? I always feel uneasy about it."

Li Zhenguo, however, was not as worried as she was. Instead, he smiled and said, "Large factories have their resources, and small factories have their advantages. As the old saying goes, 'A small boat is easier to turn around.' With the market changing so fast these days, small factories are flexible and can adjust to the market in time, so they may still have opportunities."

Chen Shuping looked at her husband with some surprise, her eyes full of astonishment. She hadn't expected her husband to say such insightful things; he was completely different from the worker who used to just bury himself in his work.

Li Zhenguo felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and subconsciously touched his face: "Is there something on my face? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chen Shuping couldn't help but laugh: "No, it's just that you seem different from before. You don't sound like someone who would say that."

Li Zhenguo laughed, a little embarrassed: "I used to be an ordinary worker at the Beijing Cannery. Every day I was either in contact with machines or fellow workers. I never thought about these things."

Things are different now. As the production supervisor at the Wan'an Town Cannery, there are many more things to consider: production quality, production safety, and product sales channels. None of these can be taken lightly.

When I had free time, Director Xie and I would often sit together and talk about these things. Over time, I've come to understand the ins and outs of it.

Chen Shuping nodded, then remembered another question: "The yellow peach season is almost over, isn't it? What will your factory produce next after the yellow peaches are harvested?"

"My second son also planted a batch of pickled cucumbers, which will be ready for harvest soon, just in time to fill the gap. That batch of pickled cucumbers, combined with the previously stockpiled canned tomatoes, will just be enough to cover the remaining 100 tons of export orders to the Soviet Union," Li Zhenguo explained clearly.

"Once the pickled cucumbers are harvested, it will be around mid-to-late October, at which time we will produce canned rice porridge."

"Canned rice porridge?" Upon hearing this, Chen Shuping frowned even more deeply. "I remember when you were at the Beijing Canned Food Factory, the factory also produced canned rice porridge, but the sales were terrible, and in the end, it was all distributed as employee welfare."

I was so fed up with that year, drinking that bland rice porridge every day. Even now, just thinking about it makes me sick of it. Now the new factory is making canned rice porridge—isn't that just a money-loser?!

Li Zhenguo quickly waved his hand: "That's different! In the past, the rice porridge from the Beijing Canned Food Factory didn't pay attention to the taste. They used very few ingredients, just rice and water. No wonder it tasted bad."

Our newly developed rice porridge contains eight ingredients, somewhat like Laba porridge, including dates, red beans, longan, lotus seeds, lily bulbs, peanuts… It's very rich in ingredients, so the taste is definitely different.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuping suddenly clapped her hands, as if she had remembered something: "I remember now! Huijing mentioned to me a while ago that his sister-in-law cooks eight-treasure porridge at home every day. The ingredients are very plentiful. At first, he thought it tasted really good, but after his sister-in-law made it every day, he got tired of it."

He hadn't had it for almost half a month, and a couple of days ago he started clamoring for eight-treasure porridge again. His mom made it for him the other day, but he said it didn't taste good, and I even gave him a beating for it!

"That's right, the recipe for our eight-treasure porridge cans was developed by my sister-in-law," Li Zhenguo said with a smile.
"At first, she made it at home for her family to drink. Later, her family got tired of it, so she took it to the canteen of Sijiqing Company to make it. She asked the factory workers for their opinions and made several revisions based on everyone's tastes. The taste is getting better and better. It will definitely be popular if it is made into canned food in the future."

Chen Shuping changed the subject, remembering her sister's situation: "By the way, what's the second brother been up to lately? My sister came over yesterday and said he hadn't seen Tingting in a while."

Li Zhenguo said, "He has so much to do. Sijiqing Company has been expanding its scale, and the number of cooperating growers adds up to several hundred acres."

He also had to worry about things at the Good Taste Canned Food Factory, keeping an eye on the production line and product quality.

And he's recently opened a new restaurant branch, oh yeah, he's also planning to open a 500-square-meter supermarket!

"Supermarket? What's that?" Chen Shuping had never heard of that word before.

"It's a place that sells things, a bit like a supply and marketing cooperative or a shopping mall, but customers can choose what they want themselves, which is more convenient. I heard that foreigners all go to supermarkets to buy things. With so many businesses under his control, how could he not be busy?" Li Zhenguo explained.

Chen Shuping was somewhat worried: "The second son is opening a new restaurant and a supermarket. Isn't he spreading his business too thin? Isn't he afraid of losing money? If any of the businesses fails, the losses will be huge."

Li Zhenguo wasn't worried at all, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, the second son is sensible. He thinks things through carefully and won't do anything reckless."

He bought the ground-floor shops of the newly opened restaurant and supermarket himself. Even if the business doesn't go through, the shops will still be there, and he can rent them out to collect rent, which will be a stable source of income. He won't lose money.

"My God, the second son bought another commercial property? How much did he spend?" Chen Shuping's voice suddenly rose, then she quickly lowered it, afraid of waking the people outside.

Li Zhenguo held up two fingers and smiled mysteriously: "Guess?"

Chen Shuping tentatively asked, "Twenty thousand?"

Li Zhenguo shook his head.

Chen Shuping was startled, and then guessed, "Could it be... 200,000?"

Li Zhenguo nodded, and Chen Shuping was so surprised she couldn't close her mouth: "So much money! How many years would it take to earn that back!"

"What do you think? Those two ground-floor shops, one in the Asian Games Village and the other in Xidan, are in the most prosperous areas of Beijing. Do you think they'd be cheap for over 500 square meters?" Li Zhenguo's tone carried a hint of pride.

"The second son has good taste; he managed to buy it through a friend's connections. Most people wouldn't be able to buy it even if they wanted to."

Chen Shuping sighed, "You know, my sister is worrying for nothing. When her second son went to see Tingting, she was worried that the two kids would get into trouble if they spent all their time together; now that her second son is too busy to see Tingting, she's worried that their relationship will fade." "Young people have their own thoughts and their own things to do," Li Zhenguo said. "Tingting is busy with school, and her second son is busy with his career. They don't live together, so it's normal that they see each other less often."

Go back and talk to your sister, tell her not to interfere so much, let the children get along on their own, they know what's going on.

"I don't care to talk about her." Chen Shuping pouted, then remembered something, "I'll have my mom talk to her later. She listens to my mom the most. One word from my mom is more effective than ten words from me."

After saying that, she looked down at the money in her hand and smiled again. "If the cannery is really as good as you say, we can save a lot of money by the end of the year."

Seeing his wife's happy face, Li Zhenguo felt a warm glow in his heart. He held Chen Shuping's hand and said confidently, "Honey, don't worry, the best is yet to come!"

"Once we've saved enough money, we'll move out of this tenement building and buy a bigger house so you, Mom, and the kids can live more comfortably!"

As the little chubby boy grows up, it's becoming a bit inconvenient for the family of four to live in a one-bedroom apartment.

……

In the afternoon, the shops at No. 20 Beichen Road in the Asian Games Village were bustling with activity, yet orderly, as renovations were underway.

The off-white wall tiles on the ground have been mostly laid, and sunlight shines through the temporary construction scaffold outside the window, casting dappled light spots on the tile surface.

Chen Yongfa, wearing work clothes stained with a little white dust, was standing by the east wall directing the workers. He would occasionally wipe the sweat from his forehead and say in a loud voice, "Put on the protective film on the tiles over there. Yes, yes, stick it neatly, don't make it crooked."

In the southeast corner, an office and a warehouse were partitioned off with lightweight wooden boards. These two areas were not yet tiled, and the walls had only been leveled to reveal the light gray cement base. Several rolls of electrical wire and unopened paint buckets were piled up in the corner, indicating that the project was not yet completed.

The small office contained a simple wooden table with slightly chipped paint, four plastic chairs against the wall, a military green thermos standing on the corner of the table, and a yellowed newspaper pasted on the metal cabinet next to it to cover the scratches on the cabinet surface.

Li Zhe sat at the wooden table in his office, with a stack of receipts in front of him. These were reports on the materials and prices used for the renovation over the past few days, with every expense clearly recorded.

"Knock knock..." There was a knock on the door.

"Please come in." Li Zhe looked up and saw a man in a dark blue Zhongshan suit standing at the door. His hair was neatly combed, and he was carrying a black imitation leather bag. He looked somewhat reserved.

"Hello Mr. Li, I am Qin Dawei, here for an interview."

Li Zhe stood up and gestured for Qin to sit down, pointing to the chair opposite him: "Director Qin, please sit down. The supermarket has just been renovated, and there is dust everywhere. Please forgive us."

When Qin Dawei sat down, he placed his bag on his lap, his right hand resting lightly on the bag, and his back was ramrod straight: "President Li, I have already applied for a leave of absence without pay. I dare not use the title 'Director' anymore. You can call me Lao Qin or Master Qin, it's fine."

He is 35 years old this year, and there are already faint fine lines at the corners of his eyes. He speaks slowly, and every sentence is filled with caution.

Li Zhe picked up the enamel teapot on the table and poured Qin Dawei a cup of hot water. White steam rose up and swirled around the rim of the cup before dissipating: "Master Qin, have some tea."

"Thank you, Mr. Li." Qin Dawei took the teacup with both hands, took a small sip, and his gaze unconsciously swept over the office furnishings before quickly returning to Li Zhe's face.

Li Zhe poured himself a cup of tea: "Master Qin, I've read your information. You've worked at the supply and marketing cooperative for over ten years and even studied supermarket management in Hong Kong. Your resume is indeed very rich. Our supermarket is just starting out and we need experienced people like you, so I'd like to have a good chat with you today."

"It is my honor to be valued by President Li." Qin Dawei sat up straighter. "Please feel free to ask me anything you would like to know."

Li Zhe nodded and got straight to the point: "How big was the supply and marketing cooperative you worked for before? How many employees were on duty every day? What were their respective responsibilities?"

Qin Dawei spoke almost without pause, clearly very familiar with the situation: "Our supply and marketing cooperative is over 800 square meters, with more than 30 people including myself. There's one director, one deputy director, one accountant, one cashier, and 20 salespeople, divided into three areas: food, daily necessities, and agricultural supplies."
Five cashiers worked in shifts at the checkout counter; three warehouse managers were responsible for inventory counting and inbound/outbound registration; two purchasing staff were specifically responsible for liaising with the state-owned wholesale station; and the remaining four were in support staff, handling miscellaneous tasks such as cleaning and equipment maintenance.

Li Zhe then asked, "If you were to manage this 500-square-meter supermarket, how many employees do you think you would need?"

Qin Dawei had already considered this issue in his mind. He put down his teacup and said confidently, "It depends on the positioning of our supermarket."

Based on my current understanding, our supermarket is positioned in the mid-to-high-end market, so we need to retain customers through service and cannot reduce staff too much.

My suggestion is: one manager, one deputy manager, one accountant, one cashier; four to five cashiers to avoid queues during peak hours; two warehouse managers; one purchasing specialist to handle sourcing; and four support staff.

Add a few more sales assistants to help customers find products and introduce promotions. This way, we'll have enough manpower to provide adequate service.

Li Zhe nodded after listening: "What you said is exactly what I was thinking. We don't lack the labor costs, what we lack is service that can satisfy our customers."

Qin Dawei breathed a sigh of relief, his fingers unconsciously stroking the bag strap: "Mr. Li, I also have a question I'd like to ask you. Nowadays, most stores on the market are supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores. Although the supermarket model is novel and can attract many people to try it out, to retain customers, you still have to rely on the products and prices."

I'd like to know, what are the advantages of your supermarket? Is it that you have products that others don't, or that your prices are lower?

Li Zhe had thought about this question before. He smiled and said, "You asked a very practical question. In terms of supply channels, we don't have much of an advantage over the supply and marketing cooperatives. But if we're talking about unique products, we do have one—off-season vegetables."

He paused, noticing Qin Dawei's surprised look, and continued, "I've planted several hundred acres of semi-underground vegetable greenhouses in Daying Village, Langfang. Even when the temperature drops to minus ten degrees Celsius in winter, I can still grow vegetables like cucumbers, tomatoes, and green peppers. That way, supermarkets can have fresh vegetables available at any time. Wouldn't that be considered an advantage?"

Qin Dawei's eyes lit up, and he unconsciously leaned forward: "Mr. Li, are you serious? That's a huge advantage! Being able to eat fresh vegetables in winter will attract a lot of customers. This is definitely a great way to drive traffic!"

Li Zhe then changed the subject, saying, "Attracting customers is definitely a good thing, but the profit margin for off-season vegetables won't be very high, and it might not even be profitable. What supermarkets need to consider is how to retain these customers who come to buy off-season vegetables and get them to buy more goods in the supermarket in order to make a profit."

Qin Dawei understood that Li Zhe was testing his abilities.

He had worked at the supply and marketing cooperative for more than ten years and was very familiar with the sources of goods and sales channels. He then organized his thoughts and said: "General Manager Li, when I was at the supply and marketing cooperative, in addition to purchasing goods from the state-owned wholesale station according to plan, I have also tried to find other channels in recent years."

For example, we can work directly with manufacturers. For products like laundry detergent, soap, and biscuits that we often sell, sourcing directly from manufacturers can be significantly cheaper than buying from wholesalers, and it also ensures a stable supply.

He took a sip of tea to moisten his throat: "There are also provincial and municipal distributors. They represent many brands and have a wider variety of products than the manufacturers. If we don't need a large quantity of goods, it's more convenient to find a distributor."

In addition, there are wholesale markets in various places, with state-owned, collective, and individual stalls where you can buy fresh fruits, meats, and daily necessities at flexible prices.

In recent years, commodity exchange fairs have also sprung up, held every spring and autumn. These fairs allow businesses to negotiate partnerships and sign long-term contracts with suppliers across the country, thus ensuring a more secure supply of goods.

Li Zhe listened attentively. He knew that what the supermarket lacked most right now was supply channels, and Qin Dawei had experience and connections in this area, which was exactly the kind of talent he needed: "The channels you mentioned are very useful. Before our supermarket opens, we need to sort out the supply channels."

The two then chatted about the preparations for the supermarket's opening. They discussed everything from the types, brands, and prices of goods; to employee recruitment, training, and management; and even pre-opening promotions and activities…

As the sun set, the noise from the renovations outside gradually subsided, and the workers began to pack up their tools and prepare to leave work.

Li Zhe closed his notebook and looked at Qin Dawei: "Master Qin, your experience and ideas perfectly match the needs of our supermarket. I think you're the person we're looking for. When can you start working?"

Qin Dawei was so excited that his palms were sweating, not expecting things to be settled so quickly: "President Li, I can come tomorrow!"

After leaving the supply and marketing cooperative, Qin Dawei didn't dare tell his wife. He left home on time every day, knowing exactly where he was going, and wandered around aimlessly like a headless fly. Now that he has found a suitable job, he feels much more at ease.

“That’s great.” Li Zhe stood up and extended his hand. “I’m hiring you as the acting manager of the supermarket. If you do well after the opening, I will formally appoint you.”

Qin Dawei quickly stood up and grasped Li Zhe's hands tightly: "President Li! Thank you for giving me this opportunity! I will definitely work hard and live up to your trust!"

His voice was choked with emotion; the anxiety and unease he had been feeling these past few days pretending to go to work finally vanished at that moment.

After chatting for a few more minutes about their recent plans, Qin Dawei got up to say goodbye.

When he walked out of the shop, his hands were lighter as he carried his bag, and his steps were much more steady than when he came.

The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto Beichen Road, and the sound of bicycle bells drifted from afar. Qin Dawei looked up at the sky, where the sunset had painted half the sky red. He took a deep breath, his heart filled with anticipation—tomorrow would be a new beginning.

(End of this chapter)