Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 61 Manager Liu

A man in a leather jacket walked inside, carrying a bag. The melody of Teresa Teng's "Tian Mi Mi" (Sweet Honey) drifted through the lobby on the first floor.

He looked around and walked over to a table against the wall. "Hey, the guys are all here."

A long-haired young man with a Seagull camera hanging around his neck swung his legs and said, "I got in through connections, otherwise I would have had to wait. You're late, kid."

The man in the leather jacket shoved his briefcase under the table leg. "Sorry, I just went to Zhang Yiyuan and got half a jin of 'gao cui' for my old man. He really likes this."

The girl with burgundy wavy hair reached out and ruffled his leather jacket. "Hey Su Mingyuan, wearing a single-layer leather jacket in the dead of winter? Aren't you cold?"

Su Mingyuan sat to her right and smiled, "You're used to it. Have you ordered yet?"

A woman with burgundy wavy hair greeted them, "Excuse me, could you please order something?" Before she could finish speaking, a waiter in a white uniform floated past their table with a large teapot, without stopping at all.

"Well, this is the service attitude of a state-owned time-honored brand." The long-haired man took the camera off his neck and put it on the round table. "I just saw a stall run by an individual in the Overseas Chinese Store. Their smiles are what you call welcoming customers."

A girl with burgundy wavy hair asked, "Did you see the People's Daily this morning? Zhang Yimou's 'Red Sorghum' won an award abroad."

Su Mingyuan shrugged. "I did take a look, and it's just so-so."

The long-haired man tied his hair into a small braid and scoffed, "You're a complete idiot! This is art, you know?"

A plump waitress walked over and asked, "Gentlemen, what would you like to eat today?"

The long-haired man said, "If you come to Quanjude, why not eat Peking duck? A whole one! And a plate of braised duck with four treasures!"

The waitress asked, "Would you like cabbage and tofu in the duck bone soup?"

The long-haired man interrupted, "Don't even mention cabbage, I'm almost sick of it, just eat the plain kind."

The waitress tore off the handwritten receipt, turned around and shouted to the kitchen, "One roast duck..."

Seeing the waitress about to leave, Su Mingyuan called out to her, "Comrade, does the set meal include cucumber strips?"

"No."

Su Mingyuan clicked his tongue. "There aren't even cucumber strips. This roast duck is a bit lacking."

"Don't be so picky, look around the whole hall and see which table has them. You can't buy cucumbers in the capital at this time of year..." The waitress was stunned before she could finish her sentence.

Su Mingyuan slowly opened his briefcase, took out two crisp cucumbers and slapped them on the table. "Could you please cut up the cucumbers and add them as a side dish?"

The long-haired man asked in surprise, "Wow, Yuanzi, you've got some wild connections. Where did you get the cucumber?"

"Bought them, of course." Su Mingyuan gestured. "Ten yuan each."

"Damn, that's a total rip-off! They're treating you like a sucker!" The long-haired man stood up, rolled up his sleeves, and said, "Let's go get our money back!"

"No, no, they're not selling vegetables, they're customers too. They specially gave me two, they're not short of money." Su Mingyuan stopped the other person and pressed him into a chair. "It's better for us brothers to enjoy our meal than anything else. Talking about money is just vulgar."

"What are you waiting for, waiter?" Su Mingyuan waved his hand and said quite heartily, "Cut the cucumber!"

The commotion drew the attention of everyone in the room, who craned their necks to see what was happening.

The girl with burgundy wavy hair gave a thumbs up, "Brother Yuan, you're really generous."

Su Mingyuan chuckled. Every table in the hall had roast duck, and the only one who could probably get cucumber strips was his brother Yuan.

The long-haired man spat inwardly, "Pah! He managed to show off."

……

Lobby.

Li Zhe smelled the roast duck and ate cucumber, getting hungrier and hungrier.

Old Li squatted on the ground and said weakly, "Second brother, how about we eat tomorrow and then come back to queue up?"

Li Zhe laughed in anger, "Dad, what Mom said is absolutely right. You are just cunning and wicked. You always stab people in the heart."

"Hehe, just kidding. When I was starving, I wasn't even as good as you..." Old Li was about to reminisce about the past when a lean middle-aged man in a dark blue Zhongshan suit walked over.

His sharp eyes immediately fixed on Li Zhe, who had a cucumber stem dangling from his mouth. "Comrade, you're the one who just sold two cucumbers, right?"

Li Zhe hesitated for a moment, then said, "Please don't misunderstand, I'm not here to sell vegetables. I was queuing up for roast duck, and I got really hungry while waiting, so I ate a cucumber to tide me over. That man insisted on buying it."

"Don't panic, I'm not from the business administration department." The middle-aged man handed over a Daqianmen cigarette. "I just wanted to ask where you got these cucumbers?"

"Grown at home."

"really?"

"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do." "How many acres of cucumbers do you grow?"

Li Zhe didn't answer, but scrutinized the other person, "Are you checking my household registration?"

"My surname is Liu, and I am the manager of the Quanjude Qianmen branch. Our store uses a lot of cucumbers and we are short of them. We would like to purchase some from you. I wonder how much cucumbers you produce?"

Li Zhe said in a gentle tone, "I can pick about 100 to 200 jin a day."

"There are too many people here, it's not convenient to talk. How about we find another place to chat?" Manager Liu gestured for them to join him.

Led by Manager Liu, the Li family father and son bypassed the queue and went up the stairs to the second floor. The old-fashioned brick and wood structure had private rooms with carved wooden partitions, and a sign in both Chinese and English that read "No Photography" was nailed above the carved door frame.

Upon entering the private room, one could see wooden lanterns hanging above and a traditional eight-immortal table in the center. Manager Liu invited the two men to sit down and asked, "Gentlemen, what are your names?"

"My name is Li Zhe, and this is my father."

"Comrade Li Zhe, may I see the cucumbers you grow?"

Li Zhe took out the remaining three cucumbers from the green backpack.

Manager Liu picked up a cucumber, touched the prickly skin on it, and nodded slightly. "Not bad, the cucumber is very fresh."

Old Li laughed and said, "It's not exactly fresh; we picked it yesterday."

Manager Liu put down the cucumbers and said with a smile, "Gentlemen, how about giving me these three cucumbers in exchange for roast duck?"

Unable to fathom the other person's thoughts, Li Zhe went along with it, saying, "Then you'll be at a disadvantage."

"Haha, it's not a loss, just consider it making friends. Please wait a moment while I make the arrangements."

Manager Liu left the private room without taking the three cucumbers with him.

Only the father and son remained in the private room. Old Li chuckled, "Second son, your idea is excellent."

"What idea?"

"Eat cucumbers while waiting in line."

Li Zhe: "..."

He was really hungry.

His original plan was to bring out the cucumber when ordering food to attract the attention of the restaurant staff.

However, many things cannot be realized as planned, and there will always be various unforeseen circumstances; perhaps this is the norm.

"Second brother, do you think Manager Liu will buy our cucumbers?"

"I'll definitely buy it. What kind of roast duck can be called Quanjude if it doesn't have cucumber strips?" But Li Zhe wasn't sure about the specifics. Quanjude wasn't entirely focused on making a profit these days.

If he doesn't buy it, Li Zhe will go straight to Bianyifang.

A dozen minutes later, the door to the private room was pushed open, and Manager Liu came in with a waitress. He first laid out the side dishes for the roast duck: sweet bean sauce, lotus leaf pancakes, cucumber strips, and shredded scallions.

A chef wearing a white hat pushed in a cart and took out a shiny roast duck, the aroma of meat mixed with the fragrance of fruitwood.

The chef lightly sliced ​​the duck breast with the tip of his knife, and the paper-thin slices of meat curled up and fell into a blue and white porcelain plate. Each slice was covered with a golden, crispy skin, and different parts were placed on different plates.

Old Li stared wide-eyed. This was the first time he had ever seen such a thing in his life. Good heavens, having eaten Quanjude's roast duck, his life hadn't been in vain.

After slicing the roast duck, the waitress brought out a plate of deep-fried meatballs.

"Please have your meal first, and we can talk afterward." Manager Liu gestured to the waitress to bring three cucumbers, and they left the private room together.

"Second brother, how do you eat this?" Old Li seemed a little at a loss.

Li Zhe picked up a lotus leaf pancake, placed it on a plate, added cucumber strips, duck meat dipped in sweet bean sauce, and scallion shreds, rolled it up together, and put it on his father's plate.

Li Zhe also rolled one up for himself. He had eaten a lot of roast duck in his previous life, but they were all from street stalls. He had never eaten roast duck from Quanjude.

"Yes, it's really delicious." Li Zhe used to buy roast duck and take it home to eat. It would get stuffy in the plastic box and lose its crispness.

Then look at Old Li, who devoured the lotus leaf pancake in two bites, mumbling, "So fragrant, so delicious!"

Li Zhe ate two. The roast duck was really delicious, but he felt something was missing. His eyes fell on the plate of cucumbers—the taste was off. "Dad, I remember these cucumber strips were served first, and then Manager Liu took away our three cucumbers, right?"

"I think so," Old Li mumbled, then realized, "He also sells cucumbers in his shop!"

After thinking for a moment, Li Zhe laughed and said, "Dad, we're in luck today, we're eating a special meal."

(End of this chapter)