Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 47 Good Guys
Zhou Yongqiang lives in a courtyard house in Chuanban Hutong, just a few hundred meters away from Chongwenmen Market, a few minutes' walk away.

The Zhou family lived at the east end of the courtyard. A pile of cabbages, half a person high, was stacked in front of their house. Lin Qiaomei carried a basin of dirty clothes to the sink, turned on the tap to wash the clothes, and her hands turned red from the cold after only a few rubs.

Zhou Yongqiang, wearing a military overcoat, walked out of the house, caught a glimpse of his wife's red hands, turned back into the house, picked up the aluminum kettle from the honeycomb briquette stove, and slammed it against the edge of the sink. "Isn't it stupid not to use hot water?"

Lin Qiaomei smiled and asked, "Where are you going? Will you be back for lunch?"

Zhou Yongqiang stubbornly refused to speak, wrapped his coat tighter around himself, and walked out. He was unhappy and hadn't paid much attention to his wife these past two days.

But as soon as he bumps into a neighbor, a smile immediately spreads across his face. "Uncle Li, playing chess outside in this cold weather?"

"It's alright, the sun is shining brightly today. Qiangzi, why didn't you go to the factory?"

"Take a couple of days off."

Zhou Yongqiang headed north, turned into Suzhou Hutong next door, and stopped in front of the vermilion gate of No. 7 Courtyard. He straightened his clothes, grabbed the door knocker, and knocked it three times.

With a creak, the door on the right opened, and a nimble old lady peeked out from the crack. Her dark blue cotton-padded jacket was perfectly smooth, and she wore flat embroidered shoes.

"May you be blessed, madam!" Zhou Yongqiang made a gesture of bowing.

"Don't bother with that!" The old lady gave him a dainty gesture, her eyes crinkling with laughter. "The old ways don't apply in this new society."

The old lady is Manchu, so she's easily swayed by this. Zhou Yongqiang replied with a smile, "No matter when, you are my elder, so it's only right that I bow to you."

“Hongbin was talking about you yesterday.” The old lady led people into the courtyard. The two-courtyard house was very grand. The screen wall behind the gate was carved with the Five Blessings Surrounding Longevity. To the left was the front courtyard, to the south were four rooms facing south, and to the west was a storage room. To the north was the hanging flower gate, and beyond the gate was the spacious inner courtyard.

The old lady called out to the north-facing room, "Hongbin, Yongqiang is here."

The cotton curtain in the north room was lifted, and a young man with a spiky hairstyle came out, wearing a brown suede jacket and black trousers. He waved his hand, revealing a silver watch strap, and said, "Come on, let's talk in the study."

Ji Hongbin walked along the covered corridor into the east wing. The outer room was the reception room, and the inner room was the study.

The two didn't go into the study, but sat in the living room. Ji Hongbin went straight to the point, "When did you get back? Did you manage to borrow the money?"

"I got back early yesterday morning." Zhou Yongqiang plopped down in a chair, looking somewhat annoyed.

"Don't even mention it, it makes me angry. My father-in-law is a country bumpkin who's never seen the world. His face turned pale when he heard I needed to borrow money. I spent ages trying to persuade him, but he didn't give me a single penny. I've finally figured it out: those two old folks only care about their son and don't treat me, their son-in-law, like family. I can't count on them."

Ji Hongbin pulled out a Marlboro from his pocket and tossed one to Zhou Yongqiang. "I'm planning to go to Shanghai next week. How can we travel together if you don't have some capital?"

"Master Ji, I want to do it too! I'm so worried, but I just can't seem to get it done."

“You’ve been working in the factory for so many years, and your wife is a good manager, so you don’t have any savings.”

Zhou Yongqiang sighed, “I thought everyone was like your family, living in a big courtyard and having a good family background. Our family’s total size is not even as big as this study. I am the eldest son in the family. I not only have to support my wife and children, but also take care of my mother and younger siblings. Six mouths depend on the money I earn. It’s good enough that we don’t go into a famine.”

Ji Hongbin flicked his cigarette ash. "Qiangzi, the profit from treasury bonds is the price difference. The more capital you have, the more you earn. If you don't have any capital, even if I wanted to help you, there's nothing I could do."

“Master Ji, although I may not have much money, I can still help you out by asking for favors or getting things done.” Zhou Yongqiang was afraid that this man wouldn’t include him, so he was eager to show his value. “Master Ji, aren’t you short of capital? I can help you make up the difference.”

That night at dinner, Zhou Yongqiang's talk of tens of thousands of yuan in principal was just a lie to fool his father-in-law; Ji Hongbin wasn't exactly flush with cash either.

Ji Hongbin let out a muffled groan, "You don't even have any money yourself, how are you going to help me raise it?"

“Your front yard is just sitting empty anyway, why not rent it out?” Zhou Yongqiang was still thinking about helping Li Zhe rent a house. Ji Hongbin’s front yard was quite large; once the hanging flower gate was closed, it could not only be used for living but also as a warehouse.

Ji Hongbin scoffed, "What good are those pittances?"

"One month's rent isn't much, but what if you rent it for a year?"

Ji Hongbin seemed somewhat intrigued. "Can you find tenants who pay annually upfront?"

“That’s easy. If you agree, I’ll bring it to you tomorrow.”

Ji Hongbin hesitated for a moment, then frowned and said, "It can't be any random stuff. Don't bring just anyone to me." "How could that be? That person is from the same village as my wife, and our families are even related. He's absolutely reliable."

“My front yard is big and the rent isn’t cheap. How could a country bumpkin like him come up with so much money?”

Zhou Yongqiang kept everyone in suspense, saying, "Please hold on tight!"

……

Lao Wei Lamb Soup Restaurant.

The mutton soup restaurant is located opposite the Chongwenmen vegetable market. In winter, after the market closes, many stall owners come here to have a bowl of hot mutton soup.

Hong San parked his donkey backwards in front of the mutton soup restaurant, got off, stomped his feet, and lifted the heavy cotton curtain. The restaurant was steaming hot, and the aroma of mutton filled the air.

A pockmarked waiter came up to greet him, "Boss Hong is here. Please come in, as usual?"

Hong San didn't reply, but glanced around the lobby. "Damn it, Boss Ma isn't here today?"

"Mr. Ma is here, waiting in the private room inside. I'll take you there."

"I can go by myself. Same old order: half a pound of flatbread, a bowl of mutton soup, and lots of scallions."

"Okay, I'll bring it in for you in a bit."

Hong San pushed open the door to the private room. There were seven or eight people sitting around a large round table. They were all vegetable vendors who had bought cucumbers from the Li family.

The man with the scarred eyebrows stood up and offered his seat, "Boss Hong, you've finally arrived! Everyone's been waiting. Please take the seat of honor."

"No need for formalities, just sit here. I'm happy to sit next to Xi Shi." Hong San pulled out a chair and sat down next to Li Jinxia. "Damn it, what brings you here today? Tell me."

“Actually, even if I don’t say it, everyone here understands.” Ma De handed Hong San a cigarette and lit one for himself. “Those bastards from the Li family are really dishonest. They sell cucumbers that cost two cents a pound for five dollars in the summer. We accepted that, but what happened? They still want to raise the price. Bah, they eat the meat themselves and don’t even give us a sip of soup.”

“We’re just here to make a living, but Mr. Ma, you’re different.” Li Jinxia raised an eyebrow and probed, “I’ve heard that you’ve found a way to supply vegetables to Taifeng Restaurant. You can’t sell vegetables that cost five yuan each for seven yuan?”

Ma De revealed a smug look, "Hey, how much I sell it for is up to me, but he arbitrarily raises prices and harms everyone's interests, so we can't let him get away with it!"

Sitting in the corner, Ma De's cousin slammed his fist on the table. "He's right! We've been working for so many years, do you think we'd let some peasant lead us by the nose? Believe me, if he dares to raise the price by one yuan today, he can raise it by two yuan tomorrow. When will this ever end?"

Li Jinxia shrugged, "The cucumbers belong to the Li family. If they want to raise the price, what can we do?"

Ma De said, "Let's not buy his cucumbers. Let's see how he sells them after he raises the price. Let him be stuck with them for once, and then he'll know how important we are."

Li Jinxia thought for a moment, "What if he sells them all himself?"

After a moment of silence, Ma De said, "Customers are shrewd. Who would want to be ripped off if he said he was raising prices?"

Li Jinxia asked, "Where's Sun Tao? He bought quite a lot."

“That kid is in cahoots with the Li family, I ignored him.” Ma De snorted and stubbed out his cigarette. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll talk to that kid again and see what he has to say.”

Hong San rubbed his stubble and didn't say anything more. There are shrewd people in this market, and there are also those who are single-minded.

Ma De is only thinking about his small market, he's too short-sighted. Why doesn't Li Zhe sell here, but find other channels?

Should we send a message to Li Zhe?
Hong San then denied this, saying that cucumber production was low and everyone was scrambling to buy them, so Li Zhe's price increase was reasonable; similarly, it was also reasonable for the stall owners who purchased the cucumbers to resist the price increase because their interests were being harmed.

Protesting the price increase doesn't mean refusing to buy goods, nor is it about going against Li Zhe. Rather, it's about expressing an attitude: my profit margin is already very low, and if prices rise further, I really won't make any money.

This attitude is very important. If we don't protest, the Li family will mistakenly believe that their profits are very high, and they may continue to raise prices.

Protesting the price increase is the right thing to do, but Hong San is unwilling to take the lead; he'd love for Ma De, this hothead, to cause trouble.

Old Ma, you're a good person!
(End of this chapter)