Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 93 Trucks
night.

Zhou Family Residence, Chuanban Hutong.

When Zhou Yongqiang returned home, his daughter was already asleep. He couldn't help but touch her little face.

"What are you standing there grinning about? Come and eat." Lin Qiaomei brought in the reheated leftovers and steamed buns.

“Our daughter is so pretty, she’ll definitely be as beautiful as you when she grows up.” Zhou Yongqiang sat at the table, looking at the bland cabbage leaves in the bowl, and suddenly lost his appetite. “Wife, the child is growing, and you can’t just make do while I’m not home.”

“I don’t want to make do either. You got eighty this month, and I only got fifty. Money is needed everywhere, so how can we manage without saving?” Lin Qiaomei lowered her voice and looked at the room next door. “Next year, your sister will also be going to high school. It costs two hundred a year, so it’ll be four hundred with your brother. If we don’t save some money in advance, we’ll be scrambling later.”

Zhou Yongqiang really didn't want to eat cabbage, so he broke off pieces of a steamed bun made from two kinds of dough and chewed them dry. "Everyone says the economy is better now, but our factory's profits are not as good as before. Just watch, it's getting worse month by month."

Lin Qiaomei picked up the knitting needles from the dresser and sat down across the table to knit. "Is it because you're always running around that they've docked your pay?"

“Do you think I want to mess around outside? There’s no work at the factory. I only come out after I’ve finished my work. Why should he deduct my pay?” Zhou Yongqiang took a sip of cabbage soup to calm himself down. “No, I still need to find a way to make a living. Tomorrow I’ll go find Li Zhe again and talk about working together.”

Lin Qiaomei put down her knitting needles. "I think even if you go, it's unlikely to work out. If it were me, I wouldn't give you the money either."

Zhou Yongqiang asked instinctively, "Why?"

Lin Qiaomei thought for a moment, "You keep talking about how profitable treasury bonds are, and I understand it all; but after hearing it so much, I've noticed a problem. You just repeat the same few sentences over and over, but you don't understand the specifics of how to operate them at all, so you can't explain it. Who would feel comfortable entrusting their money to you?"

Zhou Yongqiang "..."

……

Suzhou Hutongs.

Ten o'clock in the morning.

A yellow van stopped outside No. 7 Courtyard. A man in a navy blue suit got out of the van and looked around. His eyes met those of Sun Tao, who was walking out of the storefront.

Seeing Sun Tao carrying a basket and putting it on the bicycle rack, the man in the suit walked over with his hands behind his back and asked, "Comrade, what vegetables are you buying?"

Sun Tao had noticed him long ago—these days, people who can afford to wear suits and ride in 'vehicles' are not ordinary people: "We've brought in some cucumbers."

"How much did you pay for these cucumbers? Can I take a look?"

Sun Tao lifted the cotton cloth to let him take a look. He had bought the goods for 6 yuan, but he was determined not to tell the other party the purchase price. He said, "7 yuan per jin."

"Where are we going to sell this?" The man in the suit looked at it with interest and reached for the cucumber.

"It's a trade secret, I can't tell you that." Sun Tao used a cotton blanket to shield the man's hand, covered the vegetable basket, got on his bicycle, and rode away.

The man in the suit walked up to the storefront. The door wasn't closed yet, so he knocked symbolically: "Excuse me, do you sell cucumbers here?"

"Woof woof woof..." A yellow puppy ran over.

Li Zhe gestured for silence, and Jinzi squatted on the ground, scratching her neck with her hind leg.

Li Zhe glanced at the man in the suit and immediately recognized him as the store manager of Quanjude Heping Store.

Li Zhe stood up: "What's your name?"

"My name is Han Jianguo, and I am the manager of Quanjude Heping Store. I heard that you sell cucumbers here, and since our store is short of stock, we would like to get our cucumbers from you."

"So it's Manager Han. My apologies for not recognizing you. Please have a seat." Li Zhe greeted him warmly and poured him a cup of tea.

Han Jianguo took a symbolic sip of tea: "Comrade, what's your name? How much are these cucumbers?" "My name is Li Zhe, and I'm the head of the Langfang Vegetable Cooperative," Li Zhe replied, preemptively saying, "Our cooperative's cucumbers are all grown in greenhouses. They're very difficult to grow and have high costs. We need to sell them for 7 yuan a pound to break even."

Han Jianguo did not haggle: "I accept the price. I will order 200 jin from you every day, with only one request—priority supply of the best cucumbers."

"Oh, do you really need this much?"

"Our store is 15000 square meters, you can calculate it yourself!"

"Manager Han, I really want to cooperate with you, but cucumbers are difficult to grow and the yield is not high. I really can't supply the quantity you need."

Li Zhe has planted three batches of cucumbers: the first batch was started before the greenhouse was built, and the second batch was planted after the greenhouse was completed and will be ready for harvest soon. These two batches will yield over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg) of cucumbers, but the problem is that Li Zhe's existing supply channels have already taken 130 jin (approximately 65 catties), leaving only a maximum of 100 jin (approximately 50 kg) for external sale. (This data has been verified and is accurate.)
But he didn't want to sell these 100-plus kilograms of cucumbers easily; he still had a use for them.

Han Jianguo was getting restless: "Comrade Li Zhe, I've come here today with sincerity. As long as the cucumbers are of good quality, we can cooperate for the long term!"

Li Zhe feigned difficulty: "I really want to cooperate with you, but I have a contract with someone else and a fixed supply channel. If I supply you, I would have to cut off their supply, which is also a dilemma for me."

Han Jianguo said, "How about this, I'll give you a high price of 7.5 yuan per jin. If you sell the cucumbers to me, you can earn more and also give other buyers an explanation."

Li Zhe shook his head: "That won't do! We all have the same price. If we give you a higher price, wouldn't that be ripping you off? You wouldn't feel comfortable buying cucumbers afterward, would you?"

Han Jianguo was speechless—he genuinely didn't care about a few cents difference per pound, but at this point, he couldn't say anything more...

Li Zhe poured some tea for the other party: "If you really want it, I'll think of another way and try to get you a dozen or twenty catties."

Han Jianguo pinched his forehead, looking worried. Twenty or twenty kilograms was really not enough for him. He had been happy for a while after finding a source of goods, but now it seemed that he had been too happy.

He has his own set of business principles. In his view, if people don't do business with you, it's either because you're not qualified enough or because you're offering too low a price.

He believed that no one who wanted to buy cucumbers was of higher status than him, and who among those of higher status would bother with cucumbers?
That means you didn't ask for enough.

Money is important, but in this era, there are many resources that money cannot buy.

"Comrade Li Zhe, you can name your conditions. Winter cucumbers are a scarce resource, and I need more than I need, so I'm willing to pay more." Han Jianguo's tone was calm and his attitude was sincere.

Li Zhe smiled; he enjoyed dealing with insightful people.

That's right, in this era and at this time of year, cucumbers are a resource.

He expands his sales channels to maintain high premiums and control the market; the more you want, the more expensive it will be than others, not only won't be cheaper.

Li Zhe said, "To be honest, I have a batch of cucumbers coming to market soon, with a daily output of about 100 jin. The price of cucumbers will remain at seven yuan per jin. At the same time, I need a truck to transport the cucumbers."

Han Jianguo was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "How are you transporting cucumbers now?"

"I'm not afraid of you laughing at me, but we now use tractors to transport vegetables. We can endure the physical hardship, but the cucumbers get bruised and frostbitten, resulting in significant daily losses."

Han Jianguo considered for a moment, "How about this, supply our store with 150 catties of cucumbers every day, and I'll try to get you a Jiefang truck with a canvas cover."

"Manager Han, I'm not kidding you, this is the real deal. I can only supply 100 jin right now, but once production increases, I will definitely give you priority in increasing the supply."

"Alright, 100 jin it is, I want the best cucumbers! Also, you need to pay for the driver's wages and fuel."

"make a deal!"

(End of this chapter)