Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 140 New Year's Benefits
Mona Lisa Restaurant.

A foreign couple sat at a table in the middle of the restaurant. The man was balding and was pointing at the menu, talking to the waiter.

The female guest, dressed in a dark green dress, shrugged and spread her hands, looking helpless.

Waiter Xiao Zhang stood there dumbfounded, as if he was frightened or didn't understand what the foreigner was saying.

Hearing the commotion, restaurant manager Marty quickly walked over and said in English, "Madam, sir, I am Marty, the restaurant manager. You can talk to me about what's wrong."

The foreign man looked at Marty: "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

"Of course, sir. It's a pleasure to serve you."

"Thank God, finally someone can understand me!" the foreigner sighed. "A friend recommended your restaurant to me. They said Mona Lisa Restaurant is great, with special offers and a lucky draw, so we came. But your service today has left me very dissatisfied, extremely dissatisfied!"

"Sir, what is your name? If there is anything you are not satisfied with, please let me know."

“My name is Edward Rhodes, and this is my wife, Lina. She prefers milder flavors. We just ordered a steak, and I clearly told the waiter: medium-rare, no pepper, and the sauce must be separate.” Edward Rhodes finished speaking and pointed to the steak on the table:

"Look at this! I could smell the overwhelming pepperiness even before I took a bite, and all the sauce was poured over the steak. My wife simply couldn't eat it! I explained it to her clearly, but she still didn't understand. I came here to eat, but I feel more tired than I am at work!"

“Mr. and Mrs. Rod, it was our mistake that we were unable to provide you with satisfactory service. On behalf of the restaurant, I apologize. I will have the kitchen prepare a new steak, medium-rare, without pepper, and with the sauce served separately. This dish will also be on the house.” Marty pointed to the waiter, Xiao Zhang, and said, “This waiter is new to the restaurant and hasn’t had much time for English training. I’m very sorry that he wasn’t able to provide you with excellent service. We will strengthen our training in this area in the future. Thank you for your timely reminder and feedback. Again, I apologize to you both.”

Edward Rhodes nodded: "I don't want it to happen again."

"Don't worry, nothing like this will ever happen again," Marty assured her, and continued, "In addition, I will present you both with a complimentary dessert on behalf of the restaurant. I hope you enjoy your meal."

Edward Rhodes said, "Although your English pronunciation is not standard, at least you can communicate with me fluently. I really wish every waiter could be like you."

"Thank you for your recognition, Mr. Rod." Marty bowed slightly and left with the waiter, Xiao Zhang.

Marty asked in a low voice, "Xiao Zhang, what's going on? Didn't I already give you English training yesterday? Didn't I tell you to memorize all the everyday English for ordering food?"

“I memorized it… but I still can’t understand what he’s saying. And when I get nervous, I forget everything…” Seeing that Marty still had a blank expression, Xiao Zhang added, “I really did memorize it! But English is too difficult for me; I’ve never studied it before…”

"Alright, I understand. Did you remember the guest's request?"

"remember."

"Tell the kitchen to make another steak. Don't make the same mistake again this time!"

"Okay! I'll go right now." Xiao Zhang felt like he had been granted a pardon and quickly walked towards the kitchen.

The second sister and Li Zhe, who were standing not far away, saw this scene. The second sister waved and gestured for Ma Di to come over: "Did the waiter bring the wrong dish again?"

The second sister overheard the whole thing; this wasn't the first time.

Marty said, "Yes. The newly hired staff have very poor English skills, making it difficult for them to communicate with customers."

The second sister explained to Li Zhe, who was standing next to her, "Business was good a couple of days ago, and the restaurant was a bit too busy, so I hired a new batch of waiters."

Li Zhe nodded. In those days, the English proficiency rate was low, so it was indeed not easy to find waiters who could speak English.

The second sister turned to Marty and said, "Marty, you're the restaurant manager, and you're responsible for greeting guests. What suggestions do you have for improvement?"

Marty said, "I have two ideas. The first is to strengthen employee training, making them come an hour earlier every morning to study English. However, some people have a very poor foundation. Even if they memorize it temporarily, they panic when they meet foreigners and can't remember anything. The only solution is to have them practice more so that they can become proficient through practice."

Another suggestion is to recruit foreign language majors from universities. They have a foundation in foreign languages, the drive to learn, and their overall quality and demeanor are superior to that of ordinary waiters.

The second sister frowned: "What college students would be willing to work as waitresses in a restaurant?"

Marty laughed and said, "Actually, many restaurants catering to international guests have university students majoring in foreign languages. This is also an opportunity for them to practice their foreign languages. When we recruit, we emphasize the opportunity to 'communicate and practice speaking with foreigners' and downplay the nature of the 'waitress' job itself. I think some students are willing to do that."

The second sister thought about it and found it quite interesting. She then asked Li Zhe, who was standing next to her, "Little brother, what do you think?" "It's pretty good." Li Zhe smiled, as if he had thought of something. "Some foreign language majors can basically have daily conversations with foreigners. It's just that their pronunciation may not be very standard. They can adapt quickly after a few days of familiarization. The restaurant will have people to use, and the college students' spoken English will also improve. It's a win-win situation and beneficial to everyone."

The second sister nodded and said to Marty, "Your idea is good, let's do it your way. You prepare a recruitment document, and I'll go with you to recruit later."

“Okay, boss.” Marty smiled. With her boss’s approval, her steps became lighter.

Li Zhe said with a smile, "Second sister, the restaurant manager you found is quite capable."

My second sister smiled and said, "She used to work in a restaurant catering to foreigners. I found her through a friend. With her around, I've saved myself a lot of trouble."

The two chatted for a few more minutes before Li Zhe took his leave. New Year's Day was just around the corner, and Li Zhe needed to make preparations in advance.

……

Daying Village.

The weather wasn't very good today; the sun didn't break through the clouds until almost noon.

Lin Xiaohu stood on the rammed earth wall, gripped the rope at the bottom of the straw mat with both hands, and forcefully rolled it up. This job required a bit of skill, and it took Lin Xiaohu several days to figure out the trick.

This job is not easy; even with white gloves on, my hands still ache from the tightness. In rainy or snowy weather, one person simply cannot roll it up.

Lin Xiaohu finished rolling up the last straw curtain and plopped down on the rammed earth wall, exhausted. This was the seventh greenhouse he had rolled up; the other seven were the responsibility of Ge Qingshan, the eldest son-in-law of the Ma family.

Lin Xiaohu, with a straw in his mouth, gazed at the dozen or so greenhouses around him, his feelings quite complicated.

He wasn't afraid of being tired or suffering; his only fear was a lack of purpose in his work and life. He'd been working here for several days and hadn't yet seen Li Zhe, the person in charge, but he'd already adapted to the job. Although it was tough and tiring, the pay was really high.

At first, he couldn't understand why Li Zhe paid such high wages, but later he learned that the workers were divided into two categories.

One type is temporary workers, such as those hired to build greenhouses and rammed earth walls. They are paid 40 cents an hour, and are paid daily. Some time ago, because the weather was too cold, the pay was raised to 50 cents an hour. If you work six hours a day, that's 3 yuan. This income is already quite good in the nearby villages.

Another type is the long-term worker like them, who is paid by the day, five yuan a day. This wage is very high. As far as he knows, not only factories in rural towns, but even workers in Langfang City don't earn such high wages.

At first, he couldn't understand why Li Zhe paid such high wages. Later, after learning about the price of vegetables, he gradually understood: a pound of cucumbers could sell for seven or eight yuan, and a worker's daily wage was less than that of a pound of cucumbers. To put it bluntly, if a cucumber was 'accidentally' damaged during the work, it could be worth more than half a day's wages for the worker.

Therefore, paying high wages makes sense. With higher wages, people are more willing to work hard, and there are also bonuses at the end of the month for good performance.

Lin Xiaohu arrived late this month and didn't work more than a few days. He wasn't expecting a bonus; he just wanted his wages paid on time.

Once he gets his salary and has some money, he plans to take a truck trip to Beijing. He hasn't seen his sister and niece in a while, and he wonders if the little girl has forgotten him.

Suddenly, he saw a green truck driving by in the distance. He knew without a doubt that it belonged to the Li family, and a hint of envy flashed in his eyes.

Having worked at the Li family's house for these past few days, he had heard more about Li Zhe's achievements. He was truly a capable man, having come up with a way to make money from the fields. He hadn't thought Li Zhe was particularly impressive before, but now he admired him greatly.

The truck was parked on the side of the road, and a young man who looked like Li Zhe got out of the passenger seat and seemed to be beckon people over.

Without a second thought, Lin Xiaohu climbed down the rammed earth wall and ran over, panting, "Brother Li, did you call me?"

"Xiao Hu, are you settling in well with the work here?" Li Zhe hadn't been back to the village for the past few days, but he had heard from Li Weidong that the young man was a good worker, hardworking, and willing to put in the effort.

Lin Xiaohu replied, "It's great. Everyone has taken good care of me, and I've learned a lot from them."

"That's good. There are New Year's gifts I bought for everyone in the carriage. Help me carry them into the shed." Li Zhe patted his shoulder and then walked towards shed number 3.

"Okay, Brother Li." Lin Xiaohu replied and quickly ran to the back of the truck. He looked into the truck bed and saw all kinds of meat, rice, flour, oil, and a whole case of liquor, which filled almost half of the truck.

Lin Xiaohu suddenly felt a little envious, thinking to himself: Could I get a share of these things?
(End of this chapter)