Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 81 Planning
Where can I go if I want to eat spinach?
Donglaishun in Beijing!
Li Zhe saw through her thoughts. Donglaishun was a large and wealthy company, and they certainly didn't lack money. "Manager Chen, if you've decided, I'll deliver the spinach tomorrow. Let's make it clear first, cash payment, no credit."

"No problem." Chen Hongying didn't seem to care. The customers who came here to eat were all well-off. "Mr. Li, do you have any other dishes besides spinach? I don't want cabbage and potatoes."

Would you like some cucumber?

"You can grow cucumbers?"

"Yes, I didn't bring any today." Li Zhe came mainly to promote spinach. There are currently three Quanjude restaurants in Beijing, and he can only supply one. He has to wait for cucumber production to increase before he can sell to the other two. He doesn't lack sales channels.

Wang Jianjun tugged at Li Zhe's sleeve, "I brought cucumbers in my pocket."

Li Zhe then said, "Then let's take it out and let Manager Chen take a look."

Chen Hongying took the cucumber from Wang Jianjun, wiped it with her handkerchief, broke it open, took a bite, and a hint of joy appeared on her face before she quickly suppressed it. "Boss Li, how much are these cucumbers?"

"7 yuan per jin (500g)."

"Wow! It's more expensive than spinach!"

"There's no way around it, cucumbers are more difficult and costly to grow," Li Zhe said with a smile. "How many do you want?"

"30 pounds."

Li Zhe was somewhat surprised, not expecting that a hot pot vendor would use so many cucumbers.

Chen Hongying saw through his thoughts, "This is considered a small amount. In summer, it's usually over 50 jin (25 catties). Lamb is considered 'heaty' in traditional Chinese medicine, so which table doesn't order a side of cucumber salad?"

"Manager Chen, I'm afraid I'm sorry to disappoint you. I really can't give you 30 jin."

"Your family's cucumbers don't even yield 30 jin (15 catties)?"

"It is possible to achieve that, but it has already been sold to other customers."

Chen Hongying pressed further, "How many cucumbers did your family grow in total? What was the daily yield?"

"Forget about cucumbers, Quanjude is waiting to buy them all, you'll have to wait in line," Li Zhe said with a wave of his hand. "I can only give you 20 jin at most, 7 yuan per jin. Also, I have to remind you that if the weather gets cold, the price of vegetables will go up."

Chen Hongying pondered for a while, "When do you plan to raise the price?"

"It depends on the weather. When it gets cold, planting becomes more difficult, transportation becomes more difficult, and various costs and losses also increase."

Chen Hongying knew the market price, so she said, "Okay, that's the price then. We'll settle the bill on the spot when the vegetables are delivered tomorrow."

"Okay, you go ahead with your work, we'll head back now."

After the two left the restaurant, Wang Jianjun wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I didn't expect Manager Chen to agree. I was worried that you two would break up."

Li Zhe didn't take it seriously. "What's there to be afraid of? There are plenty of competing restaurants. If she doesn't buy it, we'll just sell it to someone else."

Hearing Li Zhe's words, Wang Jianjun seemed to have an epiphany. Before, every time he delivered food to Quanjude, he had always been cautious and apologetic towards the kitchen staff. Now, he wondered if he had been overly cautious.
Li Weidong and Zhao Tiezhu also gathered around, asking, "How's the second daughter? Is she buying our spinach?"

"Manager Chen bought out 20 jin of spinach at six yuan per jin. He also orders 20 jin of cucumbers every day."

"Oh, there's an unexpected bonus." After saying that, Li Weidong asked, "Will our cucumber production be able to keep up?"

Li Zhe did some mental calculations, "If all else fails, I'll ask Brother Jianjun to spare a few pounds."

The second batch of cucumbers in greenhouse number one will be ripe soon, and the cucumber yield will increase then.

……

The Lao She Teahouse is located on the third floor of Qianmen West Street.

Red lanterns hung from the top of the three-story hall, and directly in front of it was a large stage where an old gentleman in a long gown and holding a paper fan was performing the story of the Yang family generals. The audience seats were all made of elm wood square tables, and waiters were constantly moving among them.

Two young men were sitting at the square table in the back row; they were Ji Hongbin from Suzhou Hutong and Zhou Yongqiang from Chuanban Hutong.

Ji Hongbin picked up the covered teacup and took a sip. "Qiangzi, I plan to buy a train ticket south tomorrow. How much have you raised?" "I managed to scrape together a thousand." Zhou Yongqiang had even borrowed his mother's savings to raise that thousand.

"That's not enough. With your limited capital, you might even lose money."

"Master Ji, didn't you say that trading treasury bonds was a sure-fire way to make money?"

Ji Hongbin said, “Business is definitely profitable, but there are costs involved in doing business. The round-trip tickets, accommodation, and meals all cost money. With only a thousand yuan in capital, you can only earn a few dozen yuan per trip, which is not even enough to cover the expenses on the road.”

Zhou Yongqiang hung his head and remained silent. Ji Hongbin's heart skipped a beat, fearing that he wouldn't go. "How about this, I'll cover your travel expenses, and you can try to scrape together some more money."

These days, the roads aren't safe, and it's too dangerous for someone to go out alone with money. Having someone you know well to look after you is worth the small expense. Otherwise, Ji Hongbin would have to hire a bodyguard, which would have cost a fortune.

"Thank you, Mr. Ji." Zhou Yongqiang forced a smile. He had accepted the fare and was used to running around doing errands on the way.

Ji Hongbin grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, cracking them open as he spoke, "Qiangzi, if you really can't think of a solution, how about I give you an idea?"

"Please speak, I'm listening."

“Isn’t Mr. Li, the vegetable vendor in my front yard, rich? And since you’re relatives, why don’t you borrow some money from him?”

Zhou Yongqiang felt bitter. They were supposed to be relatives, but he only found out the truth later. His mother-in-law and Li Zhe's mother had grown up together, but later had a falling out. It was said that they had reconciled now, but even his wife couldn't explain what had happened, so he didn't dare to have too much hope.

"Alright, that's enough for today." Ji Hongbin patted the sunflower seed shells off his hands, stood up and stretched. "Hurry up a bit, or I'm really not going to take you anymore."

Ji Hongbin rode his bicycle home and knocked on the back door.

"Who is it?" A crisp voice came from the courtyard.

"I."

Hearing the familiar knocking, Tan Jingya quickly went to open the door.

The door opened, and Ji Hongbin, dressed in a woolen overcoat, stood outside. "Master, you're back?"

Tan Jingya refused to use this old-fashioned term of address when they first got married. The old lady of the Ji family threw several tantrums over it before she reluctantly changed her mind.

It was from that moment that Tan Jingya realized that the old lady was actually the one in charge of the family.

"Hmm." Ji Hongbin nodded and walked straight into the courtyard. Tan Jingya closed the courtyard gate and followed him into the inner room.

"Have you eaten, sir? If not, I'll make you something."

"No need to bother, I had some snacks at the teahouse and I'm not hungry."

Tan Jingya added some hot water to the basin. "Then please wash your face." After saying that, Tan Jingya seemed to remember something and pointed to the carved porcelain plate on the table. "These are cucumbers that Mr. Li from the front yard sent over. The old lady specially asked me to save them for you."

Ji Hongbin wiped his hands, handed a towel to Tan Jingya with his right hand, and glanced at the cucumber on the table. "Wow, it looks quite fresh and tender—how did you break the skin of this cucumber? If the old lady sees it, she'll scold you again."

"Sir, you can't blame me for this. The cucumber peel was damaged during transport. I don't have that much strength in my hand."

"You know, small business owners are really shrewd. They even give unsold, peeled cucumbers as gifts. I wouldn't be able to give that."

"It's good enough that we have something to eat. They don't ask us for favors; it's just a friendly neighborly relationship."

"Has the old lady eaten?"

"She ate it at noon, and I cut a small plate of it for dinner. I was afraid she would get an upset stomach, so I didn't let her eat more."

"Well done. This old lady may be old, but she's like a child and doesn't watch what she eats."

"Sir, you've been busy all day. I'll fetch you a basin of water to wash your feet and help you relax."

"Well, let's go."

(End of this chapter)