Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 114 Calculation
A burst of hearty laughter echoed through the Chongwenmen vegetable market.

Sun Tao's mother, Aunt Ma, comes to the stall at the same time every day. Whether she makes money or not is not important. She chats and laughs with the other stall owners around her every day.

Just a few stalls away, an old man wearing a dog-skin hat found the laughter a bit grating and turned his head away from them.

The old man wearing the dog-skin hat was surnamed Wu, and those who knew him called him Old Man Wu. He had previously bought cucumbers from Li Zhe and had also participated in auctions at the mutton soup restaurant.

He didn't win the bid for the vegetables, not because he offered a low price; he didn't even offer a price.

Old Wu had been selling vegetables at the market for many years and was very experienced, having seen countless scammers. Li Zhe's actions were very typical of a scammer: after selling vegetables for a few days, he gathered his customers together and started a scheme about "whoever pays the highest bidder gets the vegetables"—wasn't that just a way to make money and run?

Furthermore, growing cucumbers in greenhouses is not uncommon. Greenhouses do have a certain warming effect and can be used to advance seedling cultivation or postpone harvesting.

In his view, the cucumbers in Li Zhe's greenhouse could only be harvested a month later at most; if the weather got any colder, the cucumbers would surely freeze to death.

He declared at the time, "Li Zhe will definitely run away by the end of November!"

However, what happened next exceeded his expectations. Li Zhe didn't run away; the people who won the bid to purchase the cucumbers received them on time every day. Don't underestimate the small amount—only a dozen kilograms, but the profit was substantial—one yuan per kilogram of cucumbers, 15 yuan for 15 kilograms, and 450 yuan a month.

If a pound of cabbage costs two cents, how many tons of cabbage would you have to sell to earn 450 yuan?

He felt that Aunt Ma's laughter was a cruel mockery of him.

He lost interest in selling vegetables, said goodbye to his wife, and strolled away.

Old Wu left the Chongwenmen vegetable market, turned into an alley to the east, and after several twists and turns, entered a narrow lane and came to a black wooden door.

He stood at the door for a long time before taking a deep breath and knocking: "Knock knock."

After a while, the door opened halfway, and a young man with a ponytail poked his head out: "Old dog Wu, do you know where you are? Dare to knock on the door like this, or I'll break your fingers!"

"Master Bian, you didn't knock on the wrong door. I'm here to see you and Master Liu."

"That's strange. He used to avoid me when he saw me, so why is he coming up to me today?"

"Look at what you're saying, how could I possibly avoid you? I was just afraid of interfering with your business before," Old Wu said solicitously, lighting a cigarette for Xiao Bian.

"Hey, aren't you afraid of interfering with my business today?" The man with the braid took a puff of his cigarette.

Old Wu said, "Uncle Braid, I'm here today to introduce you to a big business opportunity."

"What deal?"

Old Wu turned his head and looked around. "Uncle Braid, it's not appropriate to say this here."

Xiao Bian stepped aside and said, "Come in." Xiao Bian closed the door and said to Old Man Wu, "Follow me, don't run around or look around."

"Don't worry, I know the rules."

The courtyard wasn't large, only about 20 square meters in total. Coal briquettes, weapon racks, and wooden dummy stakes were piled up against the walls. The courtyard consisted of only two rooms, one to the south and one to the west, making it a small, independent space.

Xiao Bian walked to the door of the west room: "Boss, Old Dog Wu from the vegetable market is here. He says he wants to introduce us to a big deal."

"Come in," a man's voice rang out from inside the room.

Xiao Bian pushed open the door and entered the house, followed by Old Wu. A man who looked to be in his early thirties, with a scar on his right cheek, sat imposingly on a chair in the living room. Their eyes met, and Old Wu lowered his head.

This man, nicknamed "Cleaver Liu," was the local thug leader. Liu's family originally sold vegetables at the market. When he was 14, he used a cleaver to kill the bully who was harassing his mother.

After being released from the juvenile detention center, he took over the vegetable market. Six years ago, he went to prison again, and after his release, he became the local gang leader.

"Hey, isn't this Old Man Wu? It's been years since I've seen you. You're still in good health."

"Mr. Liu, thanks to you, I appreciate your concern."

With a hint of impatience in his voice, Cleaver Liu asked, "What do you want from me today?"

"I'd like to introduce you to a business opportunity."

Xiao Bian urged, "Stop dawdling. Our boss wouldn't even look at such a paltry job."

"Look at what you're saying, how could I dare trouble you, Master Liu, with such a small job? There's a guy from out of town named Li who's been bringing cucumbers into Beijing all the time, probably about 200 jin a day. He sells them for 7 yuan a jin, that's over 1000 yuan a day. Don't you think that's a big business?"

Cleaver Liu looked at Little Braid: "Little Braid, you've been keeping an eye on things at the market the whole time, what do you have to say about this?"

Xiao Bian thought for a moment and said, "I vaguely remember this person. I've seen them a few times at the market. Back then, they only had a few dozen kilograms of cucumbers, and the price wasn't as high as it is now. I even mentioned it to you then. You said it's so cold, they probably wouldn't be able to sell them for more than a few days. Sure enough, I haven't seen them bringing cucumbers to the market since."

"That's interesting." Liu, the cleaver-wielding man, smiled and asked Old Wu, "Are you sure you can get 200 jin of cucumbers? Where does he buy his vegetables?"

“I’m sure of it, and it’s probably all being delivered to restaurants. This guy is shrewd; he hasn’t been coming to the market much lately, and he’s been distributing goods in Suzhou Hutong. He might be avoiding you.”

Cleaver Liu toyed with two copper balls in his hand. "Old Wu, what good will it do you to tell me this news?"

"He's an out-of-towner selling vegetables in Beijing, and he doesn't even know where he's supposed to be, yet he wants to monopolize everything. That's unreasonable. If you ask me, he should just deliver the vegetables to you and sell them directly to you. I'm willing to run errands for you and earn a little extra for my trouble." If you let him sell these 200 jin of cucumbers, even if he only makes a dollar per jin, or even just 3 mao (0.3 yuan) a day, he'd still have 60 yuan a day—more than he could ever spend!

Cleaver Liu picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "You're right, we should all make money together. Old Wu, you should go back first. When there's news, you'll definitely get your share."

"Thank you, Uncle Liu." Old Man Wu said with a forced smile, and carefully left.

After seeing Old Man Wu off, Xiao Bian returned to the living room and poured more tea for Liu, the cleaver: "Boss, what do you want to do about this?"

Cleaver Liu squinted and thought for a moment: "They've already come to our territory, and they don't even give us a heads-up before trying to hog everything. They're not taking me seriously." "Boss, I'll gather the men right now..." Little Braid was interrupted by Cleaver Liu before he could finish:

"Don't rush into action, and don't completely trust what Wu Laogou says. Send the men out first, and you go with the car; have Guangzi lead a group to keep an eye on the houses in Suzhou Hutong, find out Li Zhe's background, and then gather the brothers to do the job."

"Yes, I'll arrange the manpower right away."

……

In the morning, at the Mona Lisa Restaurant.

Li Zhe carried the bag into the restaurant.

A waiter came over and asked, "Hello, sir, how many of you are there?"

Li Zhe's gaze swept across the restaurant: "My surname is Li, and I'm here to see your boss."

"Please sit for a moment, I'll go get our boss."

At the east end of the first floor was a small coffee shop. Li Zhe entered the coffee shop and ordered a latte. Along one wall of the coffee shop was a long row of bookshelves containing economics books, history books, philosophy books, and magazines.

Just as Li Zhe was about to pick out a book to read, Shen Yanan walked into the coffee shop and said with a smile, "Mr. Li, I'm sorry, the waiter didn't recognize you. It seems you'll have to come here often in the future."

Li Zhe said with a smile, "Sure, as long as you provide the coffee, I'd love to make more trips."

"Coffee is nothing. As long as you come here, meals are free too, and they'll all be on my tab," Shen Yanan said generously.

Li Zhe naturally didn't take the polite words seriously and changed the subject, saying, "We have new fruits coming into season in our greenhouse. I wonder if your restaurant needs any?"

"What fruit? I have plenty of apples and pears."

Li Zhe took out a small bamboo basket from the bag, which contained strawberries with red tips, white bases, and green leaves.

The moment Shen Yanan saw the strawberries, she couldn't take her eyes off them and even swallowed hard. She had never lacked anything growing up, but she had never eaten strawberries in this season before; their bright red color looked incredibly tempting.

"Mr. Li, your cooperative is really amazing. Not only can you grow vegetables, but you can also grow strawberries?"

Li Zhe explained, "Growing this stuff is indeed laborious, time-consuming, and costly, so the selling price will be higher."

"how much is it?"

"10 yuan foreign exchange certificates per kilogram."

"How many strawberries do you have in total?" Shen Yanan picked up a strawberry, wiped it with her hand, and took a bite. "Mmm, delicious! It's both sour and sweet, just the right taste!"

"The daily output is 10 jin. The Great Wall Hotel has reserved 5 jin, so there are still 5 jin left from the daily output."

"I'll take the remaining 5 jin. Bring them over tomorrow, and the price will be as you said."

Li Zhe said, "Manager Shen, strawberries are different from vegetables. You can eat vegetables every day, but I've never heard of anyone eating strawberries every day. Are you sure you want them all?"

"Don't worry, I have a lot of friends. If I can't finish it, I'll give it to them. It definitely won't go to waste."

During the conversation, a young man wearing a blue casual down jacket came over: "Second sister, my friend and I have finished eating. How much was it? I'll pay the bill for you."

"Are you insulting me? You think you can just pay for a meal at Sisters' Restaurant? Showing off, huh?" Shen Yanan got up and walked over to the waiter, saying, "Put it on my tab."

The young man in the blue down jacket gave a thumbs up: "Second sister, you're so generous!"

"Come again anytime, don't be shy." Shen Yanan saw the person to the door before returning to the coffee shop: "Mr. Li, where were we?"

"5 catties of strawberries."

"Yes, I'll take all 5 pounds of strawberries. I love them, and I can eat a pound of them by myself."

Li Zhe was confused about her relationship with the young man in the blue down jacket. He called her "Second Sister," but they didn't seem to be siblings. "Manager Shen, who was that just now?"

“A friend of mine. I’m the second oldest, and people who know me call me Second Sister. Mr. Li, we’ll be together for a long time, so you can call me that too.”

Li Zhe: "..."

Shen Yanan took out another strawberry, removed the green leaves, and popped it into her mouth. "Mmm, this stuff tastes good when it's cold, so refreshing!"

Li Zhe tentatively asked, "Manager Shen, when your friends come to eat, they always put the bill on your tab, so you don't have to pay?"

“Yes, it’s a favor to have friends come over for dinner. I own a restaurant, I can’t not even afford to treat them to a meal.” Shen Yanan waved her hand, “I can’t.”

Li Zhe pressed further, "You don't charge any of your friends when they come to eat here? You put it all on your tab?"

"Let me put it this way, not only friends, but even acquaintances don't have to pay for meals. We're all brothers who grew up in this compound, we see each other all the time, how could I possibly ask for money?" Shen Yanan took out a handkerchief to wipe her mouth. "Mr. Li, next time you come to my restaurant, don't be shy, just put it on my tab, it's free."

Li Zhe was a little confused: "Then whose money are you making? Aren't you afraid the restaurant will lose money?"

Shen Yanan lowered her voice and said, "To make money off foreigners! Foreigners have money."

Foreigners who come to China these days are different from those in later generations; they are all elites and indeed all wealthy. Li Zhe smiled. Since they hadn't known each other for long, he didn't say much. "Alright then, I wish you a prosperous business and abundant wealth."

After saying this, he got up to leave, and Shen Yanan saw him to the door.

Li Zhe took a few steps forward, then turned his head to look at the restaurant: It seems there aren't many foreigners there!
(End of this chapter)