Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 315 Difficulty
After leaving Quanjude Restaurant, Li Zhe drove Tan Jingya and Chen Yongfa towards Xidan.

It was almost noon when they arrived in Xidan, and the three of them went into a small roadside restaurant for lunch.

The restaurant wasn't big; seven or eight tables were crammed full. Luckily, they arrived early, and there was one square table left at the back. A waiter in a blue cotton jacket handed them a laminated menu with about ten dishes on it.

Li Zhe glanced at the food, then looked up and smiled, "Give me a plate of door nail meat pies, a serving of tripe, a deep-fried meatball, and three bowls of mutton offal soup, with plenty of cilantro."

Although the restaurant is small, the food is very authentic, especially the meat pie with door nails. One bite and it bursts with juice, filling your mouth with a rich, oily flavor.

After a quick lunch, the three of them immediately set off for the shop at the bottom of Xidan.

In the morning at Quanjude, they had carefully observed the layout of the roast duck room and the structure of the roast oven. Now, combined with the operating characteristics of Shuxiangju Sichuan cuisine, the first thing to determine was the plan of "separating the Sichuan cuisine kitchen from the roast duck room" - to ensure that the Sichuan cuisine cooking is not affected, and also to allow the roast duck production process to operate independently without interference.

As soon as they stepped into the empty ground floor shop, Tan Jingya spoke first, telling Chen Yongfa about the situation of the old Shuxiangju Chongwenmen store: "Manager Chen, you can refer to the layout of the old store - the first floor is all tables, which is convenient for receiving individual customers; the second floor is private rooms, which are mainly for banquet business."

The requirements for the new location need to be raised again, especially for the private rooms on the second floor. The decor needs to be more refined and upscale than the old location, and the rooms must be soundproofed so that guests can conduct their business undisturbed.

She paused, then gestured in the air to indicate the spatial divisions: "There are three types of private rooms. One is an eight-person table, suitable for family gatherings or small banquets."

One type has tables for 10 to 12 people, which can meet the needs of medium-sized gatherings of friends; another type has tables for 16 to 18 people, which are specially designed for business banquets.

By the way, the restaurant gets very greasy, so whether it's the lobby on the first floor or the private rooms on the second floor, the floors must be non-slip. It would be a real problem if a guest slipped and fell.

Chen Yongfa took out his notebook and quickly scribbled notes on the paper, nodding as he wrote: "Manager Tan has been very thoughtful. I've noted down the anti-slip flooring, the soundproofing materials, and the specifications of the private rooms."

At this point, Li Zhe took over the conversation and added: "Manager Chen, the overall style of the restaurant should lean towards 'elegance,' not too flashy, and it should make the guests feel comfortable; in addition, the kitchen's ventilation system must be done well, especially the smoke from the roast duck oven, which must not drift into the restaurant or onto the street, otherwise it will not only affect the guests' dining experience, but also easily lead to complaints."

Another point is that all designs must comply with safety regulations, especially fire prevention requirements; this is not something to be taken lightly.

Chen Yongfa immediately circled the two keywords "smoke exhaust" and "fire prevention" in his notebook. When he looked up at Li Zhe, his eyes showed more respect: "President Li, rest assured, safety and fire prevention are the bottom line. I will definitely design it according to the highest standards."

In the morning, he went with Li Zhe to visit Quanjude. He initially thought it was a bit unreliable, after all, roast duck is Quanjude's specialty, and it is difficult for ordinary people to even get close to it, let alone enter the roast duck room to see the process.

To everyone's surprise, Manager Liu actually agreed, and even personally led them into the roast duck room, explaining some details of making roast duck. This kind of connections is something that ordinary people can't compare to.

Of course, there is another possibility that Chen Yongfa did not expect: perhaps in the eyes of Manager Liu of Quanjude, Li Zhe's new restaurant mainly serves Sichuan cuisine and also roast duck, and is not a "competitor" at all. There are plenty of roast duck restaurants in Beijing, and allowing visits is just a favor.

"Buzz..." Just as the three were discussing the spatial layout, Li Zhe's pager suddenly went off.

He glanced down and saw Qian Duoduo's phone number flashing on the screen. He immediately greeted Tan Jingya and Chen Yongfa, saying, "You two keep chatting, I'm going out to make a call."

There was a public phone booth diagonally opposite the ground floor shops. Li Zhe walked over, picked up the receiver, dialed the number, and said directly after the call was connected: "Hello, could you please ask for Mr. Qian?"

"Mr. Li, this is Qian Duoduo!" Qian Duoduo's cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone. "I've made contact with a friend at the radio station. Do you have time tomorrow at noon? Let's get together and finalize the advertising details."

“I have time, of course I have time!” Li Zhe immediately agreed, then added with a smile, “However, I’m not familiar with Langfang City, so you can choose the place. This meal is on me.”

"Oh, that won't do!" Qian Duoduo said warmly. "We're on my turf now, how can I let you treat me? Mr. Li, let's meet at Langfang Restaurant on Jinguang Road in Langfang City at noon tomorrow. The food there is authentic and the environment is quiet."

"Okay, then I'll bring two bottles of good wine tomorrow at noon, let's have a good drink!" After Li Zhe finished speaking, he confirmed the time and place with Qian Duoduo again before hanging up the phone.

Although Qian Duoduo didn't say it explicitly, he guessed it—the radio station's advertising deal must have made progress, otherwise the other party wouldn't have specifically asked to meet.

When Li Zhe returned to the ground floor, he saw Chen Yongfa sitting at the wooden table that had been temporarily moved there, sketching with a pencil in his hand. The paper already had a rough sketch of the restaurant. Tan Jingya was holding a ruler and gesturing in the kitchen area, occasionally bending down to measure the distance to the wall.

Upon seeing Li Zhe enter, Tan Jingya immediately straightened up and pointed to a room inside the kitchen, saying, "I just thought about it, and this is the most suitable place for a Sichuan cuisine kitchen. It's spacious enough and close to the front of the house."

As for the roast duck room, I think it could be placed on the east side, a separate space, perhaps even with a glass wall—so guests can see the roasting process. What do you think?

Li Zhe was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and asked, "How did you suddenly come up with this idea?"

"Isn't it all thanks to the inspiration I got from visiting Quanjude this morning!" Tan Jingya said with a hint of excitement on her face. "To be honest, even though I've been in the catering industry for so long, this is the first time I've ever been inside a roast duck room. Even I find it novel and intriguing, so I'm sure ordinary customers would be even more interested."

"If we could make it into 'open-kitchen roast duck,' customers could feel confident about the ingredients, and it would also be a unique feature to attract more customers. Wouldn't that be wonderful!"

“Open-kitchen roast duck…” Li Zhe repeated, a look of approval in his eyes. “This idea is indeed novel, showing sincerity and also serving as a unique feature of the restaurant.”

At this moment, Chen Yongfa walked over with a notebook and handed it to Li Zhe: "President Li, based on what we just talked about, I drew a simple design sketch. Please take a look and see if it suits your taste."

Li Zhe took it and examined it carefully—on the sketch, the first floor was marked with “Rooftop”, “Lobby Tables”, and “Sichuan Cuisine Kitchen”, and a separate area on the east side was marked “Roast Duck Room”; the second floor was planned with “Private Room Area”, “Toilet”, “Washbasin”, and even the size and division of the private rooms were marked with dotted lines.

"Okay, let's design it according to this floor plan for now." After reviewing it, Li Zhe returned the notebook to Chen Yongfa, his tone showing some satisfaction.

Chen Yongfa took the notebook and immediately said, "Then I'll go back and refine the design drawings, and then tally up the building materials and labor costs needed. I'll give you a detailed quote in a couple of days."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work." Li Zhe patted him on the shoulder.

"Of course, Mr. Li." Chen Yongfa replied with a smile, then greeted Tan Jingya before packing up his notebook and leaving the ground floor shop.

……

After finalizing the renovation details of the shops at the bottom of Xidan, Li Zhe drove Tan Jingya to the Xidan Yayuan residential community.

As soon as they pushed open the door to the third-floor apartment, Tan Jingya pulled Li Zhe's arm and led him inside: "I've managed to steal a few moments from my busy schedule these past few days and bought a few more pieces of furniture. Do you like them?"

Li Zhe followed her gaze and looked around. The empty room did indeed have some life added: a brand-new wooden bed was placed by the window, a light brown wardrobe stood in the corner, and a square wooden table was placed in the center of the living room. Although the furniture was simple, it exuded a sense of warmth and life. However, the appliances had not yet been added, making the room seem somewhat empty.

Tan Jingya walked to the kitchen door, turned back to look at Li Zhe, and said with a hint of self-satisfaction in her eyes, "What do you think of the furniture I picked out? Once I buy some pots, pans and other kitchen utensils, we can move in."

Li Zhe walked to a chair in the living room and sat down. He tapped the table lightly with his fingertips, his gaze sweeping across the still somewhat empty room. Then, he took out a wad of banknotes from his black briefcase—containing both RMB and foreign exchange certificates—and handed it to Tan Jingya.
“Sister Tan, I know you don’t have much spare money. Take this first and then buy some home appliances.”

Tan Jingya sat down next to him, reached out and took the money, but only took a thin wad, carefully stuffing the rest back into Li Zhe's bag. Her voice was soft but firm: "This is enough. The new restaurant renovation costs money, and the supermarket setup also requires upfront funding. Money is needed everywhere, so I don't need to rush to buy big items."

"Once the Shuxiangju branch opens and starts making money, we can slowly buy new appliances and furniture. For now, these things are enough."

Looking at her sensible appearance, Li Zhe felt a surge of warmth in his heart and did not insist on refusing anymore—the greenhouse vegetables had not brought in much income in the past few months, and most of his previous savings had been invested in the vegetable greenhouses, the new restaurant, and the supermarket, so he really needed to keep some working capital on hand for emergencies.

He put his arm around Tan Jingya's waist and joked with a smile, "How about we stay here tonight? Let's get a feel for what it's like to live in our new home."

Tan Jingya blushed slightly at his words, and patted his hand playfully, "What are you thinking? We don't even have bedding or tableware. Are we going to starve here? Let's get everything we need in a few days." Though she said this, the anticipation in her eyes was undeniable—Li Zhe's courtyard house, though large, was never truly hers; while this small two-bedroom apartment, however simple, was their own cozy haven…

……

evening.

A burst of hearty laughter came from the Chen family on the second floor of the tenement building.

Chen Shufang spoke first in a loud voice: "Mom, did you watch the National Day ceremony yesterday?"

Grandma Chen replied with a smile, "Of course I have to watch it! How could I miss such a big day as the 40th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China? I turned on the TV first thing yesterday morning, and the scene was so lively and wonderful!"

"Mom, did you see any familiar faces on TV?" Chen Shufang asked again.

These words startled Old Mrs. Chen for a moment, and she replied, "Acquaintances? Those leaders are often on TV, how could I not be familiar with them?"

“Mom, I’m not talking about leaders, I’m talking about the people around us,” Chen Shufang patiently guided.

Grandma Chen suddenly realized, and laughed jokingly, "No way! If I had the ability to know people who could be at the National Day ceremony, I wouldn't still be living in a tenement building; I would have moved to a courtyard house long ago, haha!"

"Mom, you didn't look carefully! Let me tell you, Tingting also went to the Tiananmen viewing platform yesterday!" Chen Shufang said with a hint of pride.

"What? Tingting is participating in the National Day celebration too?!" Grandma Chen exclaimed with delight, her voice rising slightly.

"Of course it's true, would I lie to you?" Chen Shufang smiled, her eyes crinkling.

The chubby boy who was doing his homework nearby also stopped writing and looked curious: "Auntie, why can my second sister go to the National Day celebration?"

"Why? Because she's good at English! The National Day reception department went to their school to select a few outstanding students from hundreds of applicants to serve as translators for foreign friends." Chen Shufang couldn't hide the pride in her voice.

Grandma Chen was overjoyed as she listened, nodding repeatedly: "Oh my, our Tingting is so capable, she can even be a translator for international friends!"

The chubby boy also showed a longing expression and muttered to himself, "Second Sister is really amazing."

Seeing this, Chen Shufang turned to the chubby boy and said earnestly, "Huijing, your aunt is telling you, you must study English hard in the future. Even if you're not good at other subjects, you have to study English seriously—English is extremely important."

The chubby boy listened attentively and nodded vigorously: "Auntie, I've got it."

"Look how happy you are." Old Mrs. Chen looked at her eldest daughter, then thought of her granddaughter and asked, "Where's Tingting? Why didn't she come with you?"

"Oh, Tingting was planning to come see you today, but I sent her back to school," Chen Shufang replied.

Grandma Chen frowned immediately: "Why is that? The child finally got two days off, why can't she stay a little longer?"

“You don’t know, Tingting’s school is selecting a group of outstanding students to study in the United States, and there are very few spots available! I told her to hurry back to school and register so she doesn’t miss the opportunity.” As soon as Chen Shufang said this, both Grandma Chen and the chubby boy were stunned.

"What? Tingting is going to study abroad?" Old Mrs. Chen had lived most of her life and this was the first time she had ever heard that her child was going to study abroad. Her tone was full of surprise.

"That's right! I'm going to study abroad, haha!" Chen Shufang couldn't help but laugh again when she thought about it.

"Second Sister is amazing!" The chubby boy looked at his aunt with even more admiration on his face; it was genuine respect.

"Huijing, remember what your aunt said: study English hard! Things are different abroad than in China. If you can study abroad in the future, your Li family will also be honored!" Chen Shufang reminded the chubby boy again, as if afraid that he hadn't listened carefully.

Upon hearing this, Grandma Chen frowned slightly and said to her eldest daughter, "Why are you telling the child these things?" Then she turned to her grandson and said gently, "Huijing, no matter what subject it is, you have to study hard. Once you've learned it, it's your own ability, which is better than anything else."

"I understand, Grandma," the chubby boy nodded obediently.

Just then, the door creaked open. Chen Shuping walked in, smiling, and asked, "Sister, you're here! I was wondering why it was so lively inside. What are you all talking about?"

"Mom, my second sister is going abroad to study!" The chubby boy blurted out the news first.

"Tingting is going abroad to study?" Chen Shuping was stunned for a moment, then looked at Chen Shufang and asked for confirmation, "Sister, is this true?"

"Haha, of course it's true! We're going to America." Chen Shufang nodded with a smile.

Chen Shuping was initially happy for her niece, but quickly frowned slightly: "How long will Tingting be away studying abroad? When is she leaving?"

Chen Shufang replied, "We haven't decided when I'll leave yet; we're only in the application stage right now. If my application is approved, I'll be going to the United States as an exchange student for two years."

After hearing this, Chen Shuping asked again, "She's been gone for two years. A young woman all alone abroad, are you worried about her?"

“Hey, it would be a lie to say I’m not worried. But we can’t stop the child from having such a good opportunity, that would ruin her future.” Chen Shufang sighed, but her tone was still supportive.

Chen Shuping thought for a moment and then asked, "Has Tingting discussed this with Li Zhe? They are dating, after all. If Tingting goes away for two years, will Li Zhe be happy about it?"

Mentioning Li Zhe, Chen Shufang's face immediately darkened: "They discussed it! Tingting told Li Zhe yesterday, but he didn't want Tingting to go to America. He even said that when his business grows bigger, he will go to America to do business, and then he will take Tingting on a trip."

Chen Shufang became more and more helpless as she spoke, and sighed again: "Tingting is a very honest girl, and she actually believed what he said. She only told me about this this morning, and from what she said, she actually thought about not signing up to study abroad!"

I was furious. Your brother-in-law and I gave her a good scolding and forced her to go back to school and register immediately.

As she spoke of this, she felt a lingering fear, worried that her daughter might have truly missed the opportunity.

After hearing this, Chen Shuping felt uneasy and asked softly, "Li Zhe and Tingting are getting along well now. If Tingting really goes abroad and they don't see each other for the next two years, how will they maintain their relationship?"

"Just let them be together however they want! I let Tingting study abroad, I didn't say they couldn't date. If they miss each other, they can write letters!"

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye. As long as the two people truly love each other, this is nothing to worry about. Chen Shufang was quite open-minded and said nonchalantly.

Chen Shuping didn't say anything more, but her heart was filled with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, she was genuinely happy that her niece had the opportunity to study abroad; on the other hand, she couldn't help but worry about the two children—it was she who suggested bringing Li Zhe and Wang Ting together, and seeing the two getting along so well made her happy too.

But now Wang Ting wants to go abroad, and Li Zhe disagrees. She, as the "matchmaker," is now in a dilemma...

(End of this chapter)