Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 71 Relatives come to visit
Suzhou Hutongs.

A man on a bicycle stopped at the east entrance of the alley, squinting as he looked around, clearly lost. Just as he was thinking of flagging down a passerby, a handcart came from the west end. "Hey, isn't this Brother Jianjun?"

Wang Jianjun recognized him but couldn't quite place him. He only recognized him when the man grinned, revealing his gold teeth. "Boss Jiang? You're here to pick up some goods, right?"

"That's right, this is my first time in Suzhou's hutongs, and I don't know which way to go."

“I’m here to welcome you.” Wang Jianjun pointed to the west. “Go straight ahead, and when you see the vermilion gate with two stone piers, you’ve arrived.”

"Wow! This is quite impressive! You really have to be particular about doing big business like this."

Wang Jianjun said, "It's nothing, we're just earning a meager living. The others have arrived, you go in first."

As they were talking, a "clattering" sound rang out, and a tractor drove up.

Wang Jianjun waved his hand, and the tractor stopped at the entrance of the alley, not going any further in.

Li Weidong jumped off the vehicle, stamped his feet, and exclaimed, "Damn it, I'm freezing! Jianjun, your job is definitely more comfortable!"

Wang Jianjun laughed, "Brother, how about we switch? I'll come along to escort the goods, and you can help Zhezi deliver them in Beijing?"

Li Weidong quickly shook his head, "No way! I was just saying it casually. How can an older brother let his younger brother suffer?"

"Haha." Wang Jianjun laughed.

Li Zhiqiang's voice trembled from the cold, "Uncle, let's unload the goods quickly, let's go back and warm up."

"Unload! Unload!" Li Weidong called out. The three of them placed the baskets on the backward-facing donkey.

Big Gold Tooth stared at the four baskets, which were covered tightly, and he couldn't tell what was inside.

After loading the goods, Wang Jianjun rode his donkey backwards, with Li Weidong and Li Zhiqiang protecting him as they walked inside. They turned west and walked for about several dozen meters before stopping outside a storefront.

Li Weidong stepped forward and knocked on the door. "Second brother, open the door!"

Li Zhe glanced outside, opened the south door, and found several people inside, all of whom were distributors who had participated in the bidding last night.

Li Weidong and Li Zhiqiang carried the baskets into the storefront, leaving one basket on their donkey. Wang Jianjun said goodbye and rode off first.

Big Gold Tooth looked on with curiosity and remained silent until Li Zhe looked at him, at which point he took the initiative to greet him, "Mr. Li, am I not late?"

"No, Mr. Jiang, please come in."

After entering the house, Big Gold Tooth cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Good morning, brothers."

Hong San teased, "You're late! We've been drinking tea for ages."

Li Zhe picked up the teapot and poured a cup for Big Gold Tooth, "Have a sip of something hot."

Hong San turned to Li Zhe and said, "Boss Li, now that the goods have arrived, let's distribute them. My customers are waiting."

"Okay, distribute the goods."

Big Gold Tooth took a sip of tea, put down his teacup, and hurriedly said, "Mr. Li, could we talk privately for a moment?"

"Zhiqiang, help me sort the goods." Li Zhe got up and led Big Gold Tooth into the next bedroom, pointing to a chair, "Boss Jiang, please sit down."

Big Gold Tooth unbuttoned his cotton-padded coat, took out a handful of money from his inner pocket, counted out 702 yuan and put it on the dresser, "Boss Li, this is the deposit, please keep it safe." He then counted out another ninety yuan and piled it up, "Today's cucumber money."

Li Zhe produced two contracts, which were then signed by both parties.

Li Zhe accepted the money, saying, "It's a pleasure doing business with you."

Big Gold Tooth extended his right hand, "Please take care of me!"

When the two returned to the living room, the cucumbers had been divided into six piles. Sun Tao and the others paid, said goodbye to Li Zhe, and hurriedly left with the goods.

After seeing everyone off, Li Weidong laughed and said, "Your arrangement was really efficient! The market used to be noisy, but now you've collected the money quietly. You're really quick-witted!"

Li Zhe rinsed the teacups and poured tea for his family. "Brother, I'm going to Uncle's house tonight, are you coming?" "I have to go back to the village this afternoon, forget it." Li Weidong hesitated. His uncle treated them well, so he should go, but his aunt always acted like a city person, which made him feel awkward. Besides, it would be noisy with too many people, and they might not want him to go.

"If you don't want to go, I'll go by myself." Li Zhe didn't try to persuade him.

"Go ahead, I'd rather sell cucumbers at the market."

Li Zhe said with concern, "You've been freezing the whole way, warm yourself up before you go."

"I'm alright, it's just that Zhu Zi suffered. I'll have him come back and rest later." After saying that, Li Weidong carried ten pounds of cucumbers on his back and went out.

After closing the south door of the storefront, Li Zhiqiang went to prepare lunch, while Li Zhe went back inside to do the accounts.

He first took out the deposits he had just received that day: 702 yuan for Jiang Zhicheng, 700 yuan for Sun Tao, 601 yuan for Hong San, 600 yuan for Lu Dayou, and 550 yuan for Li Jinxia.

Looking at the amount of the deposit, Li Zhe couldn't help but laugh, "These people... are interesting."

Total deposit amount: 3153 yuan.

The money I earned from selling vegetables these past few days, after deducting expenses, left me with 3900 yuan.

Li Zhe now has over seven thousand in his hands.

From now on, I'll be earning over 700 yuan every day—a real cash cow! Should I put it in the bank or find an investment opportunity?
……

In the afternoon, after seeing Zhao Tiezhu and the others off, Li Zhe went to the grocery store next door and bought half a pound of pea flour cake, two packs of peach shortbread, and two pounds of cucumbers. He then rode his bicycle to his uncle's house.

Li Zhe had never been to his uncle's house in his previous life; he only knew the address: No. 14, Guangqumen Inner Street, Anhua Building.

Li Zhe rode his bicycle to the south side of Guangqumen Inner Street, asked passersby for directions, and found a drab six-story tenement building. Several windows were covered with plastic sheeting with holes, making a rattling sound when the wind blew. Clotheslines were strung haphazardly in the open space in front of the building, and faded bed sheets were hardened into ice shards in the cold wind.

Li Zhe parked his bicycle downstairs in the tenement building.

The old man wearing a red armband squinted at him, asking, "Which household are you looking for?"

Li Zhe took out a Hongmei cigarette from his pocket and handed it to him, saying, "Grandpa, I'm looking for Li Zhenguo."

"Old Chen's son-in-law?" The old man tucked his cigarette behind his ear and led the way. "His house is on the second floor. I'll take you up."

"Thank you, uncle."

As the old man walked, he asked, "What's your relationship with the Chen family's son-in-law?"

“That’s my uncle.”

"Which village are you from?" the old man asked very carefully.

“From Daying Village, Langfang City.”

"I vaguely remember hearing Chen's son-in-law mention it." The old man chuckled. "Speaking of which, your uncle is quite fortunate."

"Grandpa, what do you mean by that?" Li Zhe was a little puzzled, not remembering his uncle ever having such good luck.

"How so? He's an outsider who came to Beijing with his wife, and he's occupying his father-in-law's apartment. Isn't that a blessing? He's probably the first one like that in your village, right?"

The statement was correct, but it sounded harsh.

My aunt, Chen Shuping, was a sent-down youth who got divorced a few years ago and returned to the city. Later, my uncle also came to reunite with us, but he had nowhere to stay and could only stay at his father-in-law's house. That's why Lao Li and Li Weidong didn't come—they were worried about causing trouble for my uncle.

As they were talking, the two went up to the second floor, where a mixture of unpleasant odors and cooking fumes wafted from the public restroom next to the stairs.

The corridor was piled with honeycomb briquettes and Chinese cabbages, the walls were blackened by cooking fumes, and the exposed wires were tangled like a spider web, making it a dizzying sight.

The old man was quite agile; after only a few steps, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Old Chen's family, our relatives from the countryside are here! Come out and greet them!"

(End of this chapter)