Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 146 Cooperation
In the morning, after finishing his own business, Li Zhe strolled over to the Chongwenmen Market. After walking for about ten minutes, he arrived at the market's gate.

Just then, Lao Wei's mutton soup restaurant opened. The pockmarked waiter, after giving Li Zhe a careful look, greeted him with a smile, "Hey, Mr. Li, you look really impressive! It's been a while since you've been to our restaurant!"

Li Zhe said with a smile, "I've been quite busy lately and haven't been around much. I'll talk to your boss about opening a breakfast stall, and I'll definitely bring some people to support it!"

The pockmarked waiter smiled and replied, "Alright, I'll definitely pass on your message."

"Once the breakfast stall opens, I'll meet with your boss and ask him to give you a raise."

"Thank you then." The pockmarked waiter bowed slightly. "Mr. Li, please take care."

Li Zhe waved his hand: "See you later."

He hasn't been to Chongwenmen Market for some time.

Walking into Chongwenmen Market again, Li Zhe was filled with emotion. This was where he first started his business, and although he didn't stay there for long, it was the starting point of his career.

Li Zhe glanced around. The market hadn't changed much; perhaps it was too cold, and it wasn't as bustling as usual. There seemed to be two people collecting parking fees by the roadside. One of the bald men shrank back when he saw him and turned his head away.

Li Zhe didn't pay any attention and went straight into the Chongwenmen vegetable market management office, where he saw a plump woman carrying a thermos and pouring hot water.

In this day and age, there aren't many people who are this well-off. Li Zhe recognized her at a glance; she was the employee who had set up the temporary stall for her. He smiled and asked, "Sister Chen, is Director Han here?"

The plump woman, known as Sister Chen, glanced at her, looking somewhat familiar but unable to recall her name: "Director Han is here, but he's entertaining guests. What can I do for you?"

Li Zhe continued, "Is Zhou Qinghe here?"

"He's in Director Han's office." The plump woman was quick-witted and immediately realized what was going on. "What's your name? What do you need Director Han for? I'll go in and ask for you."

Just then, the door to the director's office opened. Zhou Qinghe seemed to have heard the noise and came out: "Boss Li is here! My mother is waiting for you in the office, please come in." She then said to the plump woman, "Sister Chen, this is my friend."

Sister Chen laughed and said, "Oh, so you're Qinghe's friend! I was wondering why you looked so familiar. If you need anything at the market, just come and find me!"

Li Zhe smiled and responded, then followed Zhou Qinghe into the office.

Director Han also stood up from behind his desk, greeting him with a smile: "You must be Boss Li? You look about the same age as Qinghe, you're really young and promising!"

"Director Han, you flatter me. I'm just a vegetable grower, I don't deserve such praise." Li Zhe walked over and shook hands with the other party. "I've wanted to visit you for a long time, but I haven't had the right opportunity until now."

Director Han gestured for him to sit down and talk. "Mr. Li, let's sit down and talk. Qinghe, go and pour two cups of tea."

Li Zhe sat on an earth-yellow sofa. "Director Han, I asked Qinghe to bring you some vegetables yesterday. I wonder if they suit your taste? Which vegetables do you like best? I'll bring you more next time."

"Mr. Li, you know what, I was really surprised to see so many kinds of vegetables that Qinghe brought back yesterday." Zhou Qinghe had brought home some vegetables before, but yesterday she brought a wider variety, including tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, and garland chrysanthemum.

In such cold weather, Li Zhe is truly a talent for growing so many varieties of vegetables.

Director Han didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, "Mr. Li, I heard from Qinghe that you're thinking of opening a vegetable store catering to foreign customers in our market?"

“That’s right, I did have that idea. Growing vegetables in winter is more expensive. Although Beijing has a large population, not many have the purchasing power; it mainly targets foreigners.” Li Zhe took the teacup Zhou Qinghe offered, took a sip, and continued:
"Director Han, Qinghe and I are friends, so I won't hide it from you. I just want to open a vegetable store for foreign customers and register it with Chongwenmen Vegetable Market. I will pay a certain management fee on time every month."

“Mr. Li, I support your idea of ​​opening a vegetable store catering to foreign customers, and I have also communicated with other leaders of the vegetable market management office. They still hope to open the vegetable store for foreign customers in a cooperative manner.”

Li Zhe countered, "How exactly will we cooperate?"

Director Han said, "You provide the vegetables and are responsible for controlling their quality. We are responsible for the daily operation of the store, such as applying for special operating permits, managing the vegetable stalls and employees, and sales."

Li Zhe asked with a smile, "Which stall are you referring to?"

Director Han said, "You can choose any stall in the entire Chongwenmen vegetable market. You can also choose any street-facing shop in the Chongwenmen vegetable market." Li Zhe shook his head: "Director Han, I appreciate your kindness. But if I may be frank, these places are not suitable for opening a vegetable store catering to foreign customers."

Director Han frowned slightly: "Then where do you think would be suitable?"

"As I said before, the main consumers of vegetable stores catering to foreigners are foreigners and overseas Chinese, so we definitely need to find areas where these two groups are concentrated. For example, Jianguomenwai Street and Sanlitun are both embassy areas, where a large number of diplomatic officials, foreign businessmen and their families live. They have a high demand for vegetables, and the transportation is also very convenient."

Seeing Director Han's thoughtful expression, Li Zhe paused for a moment before continuing, "Also, you mentioned earlier that the vegetable market is responsible for staff arrangements. May I ask how many people in your vegetable market speak foreign languages? Since it's a vegetable store catering to international customers, the sales staff must be able to speak foreign languages."

“Mr. Li, we’ve considered this issue before. Renting a shop in either of the two locations you mentioned would likely be much more expensive…” Director Han, being not the head of the department, needed to consult with other managers in the management office regarding expenses.
"In addition, if the vegetable stores catering to foreigners open, we will also organize training for the market's employees to learn foreign languages ​​to ensure that they can communicate normally with customers."

"Director Han, I definitely disagree with this kind of cooperation." Li Zhe wasn't even interested in knowing the profit-sharing ratio. If they cooperated in this way, the two companies would definitely argue over profits and management rights, and it would end up being acrimonious.

Seeing Li Zhe's firm tone, Director Han changed his suggestion: "There's another way to cooperate. You sell the vegetables to us at a fixed price, and we'll set our own prices and sell them to foreigners. This way, you don't bear any risk, and it's relatively simple. What do you think?"

Li Zhe leaned back on the sofa and shook his head slightly: "No, because these kinds of vegetable stores that cater to foreigners don't make any money at all. If I agree, it would be like harming you."

Director Han laughed too: "Mr. Li, if you don't make money with a vegetable store catering to foreign buyers, then why did you open one?"

Zhou Qinghe whispered a reminder: "Mom, Mr. Li grows vegetables. As long as the vegetables are sold, he makes money. What does it matter to him whether the vegetable shop makes money or not?"

This statement sounds somewhat contradictory—why open a vegetable shop if you're not going to make money?

But upon closer examination, this is precisely the vegetable industry ecosystem that Li Zhe mentioned earlier. Currently, the market is still small, and Li Zhe is both a seller and a grower of vegetables. Selling vegetables to foreigners will definitely be profitable, and it doesn't matter to Li Zhe which link in the chain is profitable, since the money will ultimately end up in his pocket.

Let's put it this way: regardless of the form of cooperation, to avoid future troubles, Li Zhe will not allow this vegetable store to make a profit.

The simplest way is to increase the purchase price and reduce losses for off-season vegetables, and he'll also charge the truck and driver fees to the vegetable store. Potatoes will likely be the most profitable item for the vegetable store in the future, because the prices of cabbage, radishes, and potatoes are uniformly regulated by the price bureau, and the purchase price can't be too outrageous. And potatoes sold to foreigners will certainly be priced higher than those sold to ordinary people.

Director Han frowned: "Mr. Li, I'd like to hear about your cooperation plan?"

"Director Han, my idea is very simple. I will pay a fixed fee to the management office every month to obtain a special business license for foreign-related businesses. I will operate the vegetable store independently, choose the location myself, hire staff myself, and be responsible for my own profits and losses."

Director Han understood that Li Zhe wanted to open a vegetable store affiliated with the Chongwenmen Vegetable Market in order to obtain a foreign-related business license: "If we follow your plan, this vegetable store will not be of much significance to our Chongwenmen Vegetable Market."

Li Zhe said, “Director Han, although this foreign-related vegetable store project is not large in scale, it is indeed a win-win opportunity for you personally. First, we can settle all the monthly management fees in foreign exchange certificates; second, although the store operates independently, it is still nominally under the jurisdiction of Chongwenmen Vegetable Market, which can not only increase the market's revenue channels, but also enhance the unit's image of foreign-related services. Now foreign-related projects are key support targets, and this will definitely be a plus when evaluating performance at the end of the year.”

Director Han hesitated, "Mr. Li, I need to discuss this matter with the other leaders in the management office."

Li Zhe felt it was time to put some pressure on the other party: "Director Han, I'm willing to wait for you, but the vegetables in the greenhouse are ripe and will be on the market soon. If you can't make a decision soon, I'll have to consider cooperating with other vegetable markets." There are many vegetable markets in Beijing besides Chongwenmen Market; these days, Li Zhe is the only one selling off-season vegetables.

Director Han was also somewhat discouraged; she really didn't have much capital to offer. Just as Li Zhe had said, if she put on airs and stalled for time, the other party could simply cooperate with other vegetable markets. In fact, thinking about it the other way around, if she applied for a special operating permit, she could receive an extra management fee every month and a foreign-related vegetable shop nominally belonging to the vegetable market, which would definitely be beneficial to her; now it was just a matter of how much benefit she would receive.

She tentatively said, "Mr. Li, if there are any newspapers interviewing us, I hope you can cooperate."

Li Zhe replied, "That's no problem. We use the operating license of Chongwenmen Vegetable Market, so we will definitely accept the management of the vegetable market and naturally become a part of it."

"In addition, regarding the staffing of the vegetable store, could you give priority to the employees of our Chongwenmen Vegetable Market?" As the leader of the vegetable market, Director Han certainly wanted to fight for the benefits of his subordinates.

Li Zhe thought for a moment: "Director Han, my vegetable shop doesn't employ idlers, and the work will be quite hard. As long as they can endure hardship and meet my hiring standards, they can be given priority for employees from the vegetable market. But if they can't even pass the probation period, then I definitely won't hire them." Li Zhe was used to saying the unpleasant things upfront to avoid future disputes—he was hiring employees, not a bunch of lords.

Zhou Qinghe said at the right moment, "How about I recommend someone to you?"

Both Li Zhe and Director Han looked at her simultaneously.

Zhou Qinghe coughed lightly: "What do you guys think of Sun Tao?"

(End of this chapter)