Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 73 Thoughts

Suzhou Hutongs.

Around 9 a.m., the sound of bicycle bells rang outside the courtyard, and Sun Tao and his four colleagues arrived on time to pick up the goods.

Unlike before when a group of people would noisily grab the vegetables, now Li Zhe divides the cucumbers into five portions, and you can take your portion by paying money.

The shorter procurement time makes things easier for everyone.

As everyone was about to leave with the cucumbers, Li Zhe called out to them, "Brothers, don't rush off. I have something to discuss with you all."

Li Zhe picked up the tin thermos to make tea and invited everyone to sit down.

Previously, the Li family's living room only had three chairs, which were not enough to accommodate more people. Yesterday, Li Zhe went to a street stall and bought a few more old stools.

Hong San moved a chair over to the coffee table and accepted the tea from Li Zhe with both hands. "Hehe, thank you, Boss Li."

The others received the same treatment.

Sun Tao picked up his teacup, took a sip, and put it down because it was a little hot. "Brother Li, what's up?"

Li Zhe's gaze swept over everyone. "A batch of spinach will be on the market in a couple of days. Do any of you guys have connections?"

The group was initially surprised, but quickly came to their senses—if the Li family could even grow cucumbers, growing spinach wouldn't be difficult at all.

Li Jinxia asked happily, "You want to share the spinach with us too?"

"To be honest, I haven't decided yet. Right now, I'd like to ask everyone to help me find out the market situation for spinach. If anyone has good sales channels and wants to get their stock from me, we can talk."

Different vegetables have different market demands and customer groups, and each vegetable has its own price; spinach cannot be sold at the price of cucumber.

Li Jinxia pressed further, "Mr. Li, how much do you want to sell it for per pound? Do you have a bottom line in mind?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't have asked you to inquire; I would have just quoted a price directly." Li Zhe wasn't joking; he would never reveal his bottom line right away. Naturally, the higher the better.

Hong San asked, "If I want to buy spinach from you, do I need to pay an additional deposit?"

"Let's discuss this further. Everyone can share their thoughts." Spinach is definitely not hard to sell, but Li Zhe wants to sell it at the highest possible price to recoup the greenhouse costs as soon as possible.

They all fell silent. They all wanted to sell their spinach, but no one wanted to put up the deposit again.

"It's not something to rush. If you have any connections, you can help me find out." Li Zhe didn't expect them to give him an accurate price for spinach right away; he wouldn't believe it if they did.

After exchanging greetings, the group left, each with their own thoughts.

Li Zhe finished his tea and was about to go back to his room to settle the accounts when he saw Li Jinxia return.

Li Zhe asked instinctively, "Did Boss Li leave something behind?"

Li Jinxia leaned in halfway, "No, no, I just remembered something when I went out, so I wanted to tell you about it."

Li Zhe sensed that the other person wanted to avoid others, so he didn't expose her intentions. He made a "please" gesture and poured her more tea, saying, "Have a cup of tea and we can talk slowly."

Li Jinxia wasn't focused on drinking tea; she held the teacup in both hands as if it were a heater. "Mr. Li, if you want to quickly find out the price of spinach, the most direct way is to take it to the market and sell it, and see how the customers react."

Li Zhe didn't respond, waiting for her to continue—that's how cucumbers are sold, does she need to tell her? Li Jinxia suddenly lowered her voice, "However, most of the customers at the market are local residents, so they won't pay too high prices. The real money is made by supplying vegetables to restaurants. Many restaurants have fixed supply channels and rarely get their produce from the market."

Li Zhe tapped the edge of the table. "I understand what you're saying. Once I roughly figure out the selling price of spinach, I'm thinking of going to the restaurant to promote it."

Li Jinxia said, "Mr. Li, different people sell at the same restaurant, and the prices are different. There are many tricks involved. To be honest, someone like you who does big business might not be willing to put aside your pride."

Li Zhe responded, "As I said before, if you have good sales channels and are willing to pay a high enough price, you can get your goods from me."

"Mr. Li, this is exactly what I wanted to say! Actually, you don't necessarily have to wholesale the spinach to us. We can help you sell it and then take a commission. For example, if the spinach sells for 5 yuan a pound, we take 5 mao; if it sells for 10 yuan a pound, we take 1 yuan."

Li Zhe saw through her thoughts. "You mean you want me to prioritize supplying goods to the highest bidders?"

“That’s right. If you sell at a higher price this way, you’ll earn more, and it’s good for everyone.” Li Jinxia didn’t have much capital, and among these distributors, she had the lowest deposit and the least amount of goods.

If a deposit is required to sell spinach, Li Jinxia simply can't afford it. She hopes to change her sales model and acquire a larger share of the vegetable market. She doesn't know what others are thinking, but she's certain she won't suffer a loss.

Li Zhe poured her some tea. "Mr. Li, thank you for your suggestion. I will consider it carefully."

"Alright, you go ahead with your work, I'll be going now." Li Jinxia took a symbolic sip of tea, then got up and left.

After watching her walk away, Wang Jianjun said from the side, "Boss Li's idea is not bad. If they sell it for a high price, we can also benefit."

Li Zhe stared at the flames in the coal stove, lost in thought. "It's not easy to operate..."

Chongwenmen Farmers Market.

A middle-aged man leaned his bicycle against a cement pillar, a woven bag in the basket. He noticed an elderly woman carrying a vegetable basket and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, ma'am, do you sell cucumbers around here?"

The older woman glanced at him and asked, "Where are you from?"

“I live over at Guangqumen.” This man was Li Zhe’s uncle, Li Zhenguo.

"Wow! You came all the way here just to buy cucumbers?" The old lady pointed to the vegetable market. "See that greenhouse over there? Go in and ask which vegetable vendor is the most unscrupulous, and you'll find it."

Li Zhenguo was somewhat speechless. He pushed his cart into the greenhouse and asked the radish vendor at the entrance, "Sir, is that the cucumber stall?"

The stall owner, a withered old man in his fifties, glanced at him and said, "How would I know? You should ask someone else."

Li Zhenguo was annoyed – his nephew was too much of a troublemaker, and he had offended everyone, from the vegetable buyers to the vegetable sellers.

Li Zhenguo simply ignored the question and pushed his cart around. When he reached the fifth row, he saw a familiar figure at stall number 3, "Wei Dong."

Li Weidong was chatting with Aunt Ma behind the stall when he heard the voice, turned around, and exclaimed in surprise, "Second Uncle! What brings you here?"

When Li Zhenguo saw the fresh cucumbers on the stall, he completely believed Li Zhe's words, "You're also selling cucumbers with the second brother?"

Li Weidong smiled and said to Li Zhenguo, "Now it's not just me, our whole family is working with the second son!"

Li Zhenguo was stunned, with too many questions in his mind: How could cucumbers be grown in the dead of winter? He had never heard of his older brother having this ability!
"Auntie, we have some family members here, so I'll pack up my stall now." Li Weidong greeted Auntie Ma, then turned to Li Zhenguo and said, "Second Uncle, my second son has rented a place nearby. I'll take you back."

"No rush, business is the priority." Li Zhenguo took a woven bag from the basket. "These are the cucumbers my second son brought yesterday; I'll sell them here..."

(End of this chapter)