Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 113 Industrial Chain

North of Daying Village.

Greenhouse No. 3.

Wang Xiuying vividly described the scene of the quick-talking wife being beaten, laughing as she spoke: "Lin Xiaohu just held her like that, and Yuzhen went up and slapped her several times. The quick-talking wife was immediately stunned by the slaps, and her face was swollen like a pig's head. Haha, look at this wicked woman, how will she deceive people in the village in the future?"

Wang Xiuying had been holding her breath for so long, and today she finally felt relieved and refreshed.

Old Li's heart skipped a beat: "Damn it, why didn't you discuss this with me before letting this go?"

"What do you mean? Wasn't this your idea?" Wang Xiuying retorted. "Back then, when my talkative wife cheated us out of money, you said she wouldn't admit it without evidence, and told me to wait for an opportunity. Isn't this the opportunity? If we don't say it today, when will we?"

Old Li lowered his voice: "As the old saying goes, porcelain shouldn't be mixed with earthenware. We've built a greenhouse now, and I'm afraid my quick-tongued wife will cause trouble."

Wang Xiuying said with dissatisfaction, "Don't think you're the only one with a lot of cunning. You think I'm a complete fool. I thought of this too, which is why I didn't go too far. Otherwise, would I be standing by and watching the show? I would have beaten her up with Yuzhen long ago."

Old Li knew his wife's temper; she was really capable of doing such a thing: "I just think it's better to avoid trouble."

“When we were poor, no one bullied us. Now that we have money, we’ve become cowards? If others think we’re easy to bully, they’ll all take advantage of us. There are even more people coming to the greenhouse to cause trouble.” Wang Xiuying’s face showed her disagreement as she asked Li Zhe, “Second brother, who do you think is right?”

“You both make a good point. We shouldn’t bully others, but we also shouldn’t let others bully us. This incident has served as a reminder. When we first started the greenhouse business, the villagers were just there for the spectacle. Now that everyone knows our family is making money, it’s inevitable that some people will be envious.” In his past life, Li Zhe had heard and witnessed many malicious acts committed in the greenhouses. Conflicts like those involving his quick-tongued wife are relatively easy to detect and prevent.

There are two types of people who are most harmful to greenhouses. The first type is those with "pink eye" – they have no real conflict with you normally, but when they see you making money, they get resentful and wish hail would fall from the sky and destroy the greenhouse. They'd be happy even if hail hit them on the head and gave them a bump.

The second category is minors, who are so young that even dogs would avoid them. If no one is watching them in the greenhouse, they're guaranteed to sneak in.

"Second brother, we really need to strengthen security measures for the greenhouse. Do you have any ideas?"

"Secretary Wang has agreed to set up a patrol point near our house. We'll also run more power lines so we can turn on the lights if there's any noise. We'll also get more dogs and hire more people to keep watch at night."

Old Li thought for a moment and said, "What do you think about setting up some traps around the greenhouse?"

Wang Xiuying snorted, "Look at him, that sly and mischievous nature of his is showing again!"

Li Zhe smiled and said, "It's not impossible as long as it doesn't break the law. We can discuss it later."

For the next period of time, Li Zhe spent most of his time building greenhouses in the village, and occasionally went to Beijing to settle accounts and collect money.

The construction progress of the 10 greenhouses is also different. Some greenhouses have only had their foundations dug and rammed earth walls built; some greenhouses have already fixed cement pillars and erected bamboo pole frames; the first few greenhouses have already had their plastic sheeting and straw curtains installed, and the ground is being leveled and the stoves are being heated. Once the ground temperature reaches the required level, vegetable seedlings can be transplanted.

Beijing, Suzhou-style alleyways.

Since Zhou Yongqiang returned home, Lin Qiaomei felt at ease, but life at home became even more difficult.

When Zhou Yongqiang left, he took 1000 yuan with him. According to Zhou Yongqiang, after deducting expenses, there was still some surplus. Later, Ji Hongbin's money was stolen, and he had to pay for both of their food, lodging, and transportation expenses. Not only did he lose the little money he had earned, but he also lost more than 100 yuan.

The 1000 yuan that Zhou Yongqiang used for his business was not his own; more than 300 yuan belonged to Bai Xiaoyan and more than 100 yuan to Zhou's mother. After repaying the two of them, the couple only had more than 300 yuan left.

It seems like a lot, but expenses in the capital are high, and the end of the year is fast approaching. Besides preparing for the New Year for his own family, he also wants to buy more things for his parents... He needs to find a way to earn money.

In the past two years, with the increase in private restaurants, their restaurant's business has been getting worse and worse. The treatment and benefits of the permanent employees are still okay, but life is getting harder and harder for temporary workers like her. Lin Qiaomei is really afraid that one day the restaurant will suddenly close down. Zhou Yongqiang alone can't support this big family. Just thinking about it gives her a headache.

Lin Qiaomei rubbed her forehead. To improve the restaurant's business and attract more customers, the most direct way was to increase the variety of dishes available.

Li Zhe's family lived right across from the restaurant. Every day, seeing trucks loaded with fresh vegetables, it was impossible not to feel envious. However, Li Zhe's vegetables were too expensive for a small restaurant like theirs to afford.

After finishing his work in the afternoon—actually, the restaurant isn't very busy these days, so Lin Qiaomei has a lot of free time—he greeted the owner and then took some of the restaurant's pickled vegetables to the Li family's house across the street.

"Knock knock."

Wang Jianjun opened the door and smiled when he saw Lin Qiaomei: "Sister Qiaomei, what brings you here? Come in!"

"We made some pickled vegetables at our restaurant, so we brought them over for you to try." Lin Qiaomei entered the house, looked around, and asked, "Is Brother Li here today?"

"Thank you, Sister Qiaomei." Wang Jianjun took the jar with both hands. "He's here today, I'll go call him. Zhezi, Sister Qiaomei is here!"

Li Zhe came out of the bedroom and into the living room, greeting her with a smile, "Sister Lin, aren't you at work today?"

"I'm at work now. I've come to see you today on behalf of my manager, with a task in mind."

Li Zhe was completely confused: "What do you mean by that, Sister Lin?" Lin Qiaomei said: "It's like this, our restaurant's business is okay in the summer, but in the winter we only have the same three kinds of vegetables, and customers don't like to come here to eat anymore. Business is getting worse day by day. You have fresh vegetables, so I'd like to talk to you about a collaboration."

"Is your restaurant planning to source its food from us?" Li Zhe had been to that small restaurant before; the food was decent, but the ambiance and service were just average.

Li Zhe spoke frankly: "The greenhouse vegetables have a low yield, and they have basically all been sold. With a stable sales channel, we can't supply vegetables to your restaurant in the short term."

Lin Qiaomei gave a wry smile: "Brother Li, your vegetables are expensive. Even if you sold them to us, we couldn't afford them."

"Then what do you mean?" Li Zhe was a little confused, so he gestured for Lin Qiaomei to sit across from him at the coffee table.

Lin Qiaomei sat down and took the hot water that Wang Jianjun handed her: "I want your leftovers, the ones that aren't very good-looking and are a bit bumpy. Big restaurants don't want them, but our small restaurant doesn't mind."

Li Zhe stroked his chin. Lin Qiaomei's idea was quite interesting: Vegetables inevitably suffer damage during growth and transportation. Some damage renders the vegetables unusable and they are discarded directly; however, some damage does not affect their use. For example, vegetables that are of poor quality due to disease or that are squeezed or bumped during transportation, or even those that are improperly harvested, can be damaged.

At first, the greenhouse vegetable production was low, and the Li family ate all the vegetables that couldn't fetch a good price. But as the vegetable production increased, they couldn't keep up with the demand, and many people even felt nauseous at the sight of cucumbers—others cherished them, but they really didn't.

Selling to small restaurants at a low price is one option, but pricing is a problem. He asked, "How much is your restaurant planning to pay?"

"How much do you think is appropriate?"

Li Zhe now sells cucumbers to other restaurants for 8 yuan per jin: "5 yuan per jin, cash on delivery, no credit."

Lin Qiaomei put down the water tank: "If we accept the price, could we change the payment method?"

What payment method do you want?

"Look, our restaurant is right across from your house. You can treat our restaurant as your canteen. After you finish eating, the cost will be deducted directly from the price of the vegetables, and then we'll settle the accounts at the end of the month—we'll give you the money for the extra vegetables. This way, you'll have a market for your leftovers, and we can also earn some hard-earned money. You're so busy with work, so you can have a worry-free meal."

This idea sounds good at first glance: the problem of leftovers is solved, the problem of meals is solved, and their restaurant can also make a profit. It seems like a win-win situation.

But there's a problem here: will the other party overcharge regular customers?

In his past life, he loved eating at a restaurant in town. He went so often that he became familiar with the owner. But Li Zhe discovered that this familiarity didn't bring him any benefits; he was treated even worse at the restaurant than some unfamiliar customers.

If I agreed to Lin Qiaomei's terms and sold the leftovers to Chuanxiang Xiaochu Restaurant, it might be fine at first. But after a while, some unsuspecting waiters might think I'd gotten a good deal from the restaurant and give me attitude, making the meal unpleasant.

Li Zhe said, "Sister Lin, I can sell some of the less-than-ideal vegetables to your restaurant at a low price, but the payment method must be cash on delivery."

Lin Qiaomei sighed softly, somewhat helplessly: "Brother Li, if we pay in cash, can the price of the vegetables be reduced a bit more?"

"It's 4 yuan per jin. If you need it, you can have your manager talk to me."

"Okay, I'll head back now." Lin Qiaomei replied, got up, and left Li Zhe's house.

Walking down the street, she felt a sense of frustration. She had thought that this matter was beneficial to both parties and that there was a high chance of reaching an agreement, but she did not expect Li Zhe's attitude to be so firm.

She knew the restaurant's situation well: vegetables costing 4 yuan per pound were simply unaffordable for them, let alone cash. A sense of helplessness rose within her: why was it so difficult to do something meaningful?

……

After seeing Lin Qiaomei off, Li Zhe returned to his bedroom, opened the locked cabinet, and took out a notebook.

The notebook used to be used for bookkeeping, and it's pretty much used up. I opened it to the middle page, and it said "Off-season Vegetable Ecological Industrial Chain". The whole page was filled with it from top to bottom. The top part was about seed patents, and the bottom part was about restaurants.

The period of high profits for off-season vegetables is only a few years; after that, the competition will come down to price.

Many people think that vegetable greenhouses are too expensive, and most farmers can't afford them, so development can't be too fast. However, they overlook the farmers' enthusiasm for vegetable cultivation and the government's resources. Next year, Shouguang will also build new semi-underground, winter-warm vegetable greenhouses. In the first year, only a dozen greenhouses were built; in the second year, the area expanded to over 5,000 mu (approximately 333 hectares); and in just a few years, it has exceeded tens of thousands of mu (approximately 6,667 hectares). And this is just in Shouguang…

The best approach is to cultivate the entire industry chain, forming a closed loop from raw materials, planting, sales to the dining table. This builds a solid foundation, increases resilience against risks, and allows you to earn less at each stage, ensuring stability regardless of market conditions.

Li Zhe is planning to open a restaurant, and now is a good time. There aren't many private restaurants yet, and state-owned restaurants are generally not very competitive. Besides, this year only the Li family can supply off-season vegetables.

If Li Zhe were to open a restaurant, he would definitely prioritize supplying vegetables to his own restaurant. With the addition of some promotional and service methods from later generations, Li Zhe was confident that he could quickly establish a reputation for his restaurant.

Of course, this was just his plan; there were still difficulties in actual implementation. It's like being in a completely different industry; he had never run a restaurant before. If he couldn't guarantee the quality of the dishes, no matter how famous he was, he wouldn't be able to retain customers...

(End of this chapter)