Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 149 Vigor
Guangqumen Inner Street, tenement buildings.

The Chen family's living room.

On the bed in the living room were freshly washed bedding. Old Mrs. Chen spread out the cotton sheets and stretched them out. She then took the needle and thread from her eldest daughter and began to sew the bedding.

The eldest daughter, Chen Shufang, smiled and said, "They say having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, and that's absolutely true. I have absolutely no patience for sewing quilts. Mom, why don't you come stay with us for a while during the New Year?"

"No need for that! I'm not going anywhere. I'm fine living here. Once your sister's family has a house, I'll kick them out too, and I'll have some peace and quiet by myself." The old lady didn't even look up.

Chen Shufang pouted: "Mom, you're just saying that. Everyone knows Xiaohui is your precious son, how could you bear to send him away?"

The old lady glared at her, her hands still busy with needlework: "Don't you have to go to work today?"

"Oh, my workplace isn't busy. I took a look around this morning, so it's fine if I go this afternoon or not." Seeing that the old lady was deliberately changing the subject, Chen Shufang was displeased. "Mom, do you not want to see me?"

The old lady didn't respond, and changed the subject: "Does Tingting have a boyfriend now?"

“No, she said she won’t date during college, and will find someone after graduation.” Chen Shufang casually grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the plate on the table.

As the old woman sewed the quilt, she said, "You've been through this yourself, how can you believe this?"

"If someone else said that, I would doubt it. But I believe Tingting," Chen Shufang said with a smile.

“Our Tingting has been beautiful since she was little. People started writing her love letters when she was in junior high, and one a week was considered a lot in high school. I was worried that dating would interfere with her studies, so I kept a close eye on her. But in the end, Tingting focused solely on her studies throughout high school. Otherwise, how could she have gotten into Beijing Foreign Studies University? This girl is ambitious and has a clear mind!”

"We need to hurry. If you don't care about the children and you don't care either, in two years, all the good ones will have been taken, and we'll only be able to pick the best of the worst." Old Mrs. Chen scratched her head with the end of her needle. "Don't you have anyone suitable in mind?"

While cracking sunflower seeds, Chen Shufang asked the old lady with a smile, "Are you trying to introduce a potential partner to your granddaughter?"

Grandma Chen stopped what she was doing and asked casually, "What do you think of the second son of the Li family?"

Chen Shufang's expression turned to one of reminiscence. That day, Li Zhe came to the Chen family to deliver vegetables. She wasn't there at noon, and when she came in the afternoon, Li Zhe was about to leave. The two only exchanged a brief glance: "He's quite handsome, and not short either. It's a pity his family is from out of town. Are you willing to let Tingting marry someone from elsewhere?"

"I heard from your sister that the second son of the Li family bought a house in Beijing. It's a two-courtyard siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) of over 600 square meters. The front yard alone is much bigger than our house. Will Tingting have trouble finding a place to live after she marries into the family?" The old lady snorted. "If the conditions weren't good, would I have mentioned it to Tingting?"

"My goodness, he bought such a big house?! Does he make that much money selling vegetables?" Chen Shufang was a little unsettled.

Grandma Chen pointed to the cup on the coffee table: "Pass me the water."

She took the water her eldest daughter handed her, took a sip, and continued, "Zhenguo told me that he built over ten acres of vegetable greenhouses in the field. One acre of greenhouse can easily yield several thousand kilograms of vegetables. You know the price he sells his vegetables for, do you think he wouldn't make money?"

"Wow! People in the countryside are making so much money now?" Chen Shufang was so surprised that she forgot to spit out the sunflower seed shells in her mouth and almost choked.

"How could that be! If everyone in the countryside grew winter vegetables, they wouldn't be worth much. Growing winter vegetables was something that boy figured out on his own; he's quite capable, and it won't hurt our Tingting. Anyway, I've told you, you, as her mother, can figure it out yourself. If you think it's suitable, I'll pass the word to your sister; if you don't think it's suitable, then forget it." The old lady waved her hand.

Chen Shufang spat out the sunflower seed shells, took a sip of water to clear her mind, and said, "I think the second son of the Li family is not bad either. However, his education level is a bit low, and I'm afraid Tingting won't be happy about it."

“She graduated from high school, how is that a low level of education? I think it’s just right. She has learned all the necessary knowledge and can understand Tingting’s English. Besides, reading too much isn’t necessarily a good thing—the more you read, the more lonely you become, and you, her mother-in-law, might not necessarily enjoy a life of leisure.”

"Mom, you have such outdated ideas. Nowadays, everyone advocates that going to school is good, and which child isn't aiming for college? You've made it a flaw."

Grandma Chen waved her hand: "I didn't say it was a flaw, I just said that each has its own merits. Don't give me this high-sounding advice. In my opinion, studying is just for making a living. A woman marries a man for food and clothing. As long as the young man is capable and can earn money, that's enough. No one is perfect."

“Okay, I’ll discuss it with your son-in-law later. If he thinks it’s suitable, I’ll talk to Tingting about it.”

The old lady said earnestly, "That's right. It's better for you to introduce Tingting to someone you know well than for her to find someone herself. If she finds someone she doesn't like, you'll be angry later."

Chen Shufang seemed to realize something: "Mom, is it that the second son of the Li family has taken a liking to our Tingting? So the Li family asked us to mediate?"

The old lady shook her head: "It's your sister who thinks both children are good, that's why she has this idea. The Li family doesn't know about this yet. If you're interested, then bring it up with the Li family; if not, then forget it."

Chen Shufang jokingly asked, "Mom, is my sister considered a member of the Li family or the Chen family?"

"Go ask her yourself!" Old Mrs. Chen snorted, then retorted, "So, are you a member of the Chen family or the Wang family?"

Chen Shufang said with a smile, "Mom, of course my surname is Chen!"

the next morning.

Li Zhe accompanied the delivery truck, handled the accounting and collected the money, and then deposited the money into the bank. He didn't finish until almost noon. In the afternoon, Li Zhe rode his bicycle to the Mona Lisa Restaurant and met his second sister at the bar on the second floor.

My second sister was cutting a lemon when she said with a smile, "I recently learned how to make a new cocktail, would you like to try it?"

Li Zhe sat down at the bar: "What's your name?"

"Margaret."

"Sure, I'll try your cooking."

"Alright, just you wait and see!" Second Sister started mixing the drinks.

Li Zhe watched as she put several kinds of alcohol and ice into a shaker, shook it well, poured the liquid into a glass, and made the rim of the glass look like it was coated with white sugar. She then took out a lemon, squeezed it into the glass, and stuck the lemon slice on the rim.

"All done, have a taste." The second sister gestured for them to try.

Li Zhe had heard of cocktails before, but this was his first time trying one. He picked it up and smelled it, only catching a pungent lemon and alcohol odor. He then took a small sip and frowned, saying, "Why is this salty? There's salt on the rim of the glass!"

Second Sister laughed: "Little brother, saltiness is just right, that's what makes a genuine Margarita. There's also a spicy Margarita, which has chili peppers in it!"

Li Zhe wiped the salt off the cup: "No, no, I can't stand the taste."

"Okay, next time I'll use white sugar instead. But that won't be authentic. Foreigners love it that way! Yesterday I made a cup for a foreigner, and he kept giving me a thumbs up and saying 'plump'."

Li Zhe thought to himself: There are indeed good things about foreign countries, but when it comes to food, they are nothing special.

"Second sister, how's the inquiry about the shop going?"

"All done, I've found out everything, it really is the service center's shop. I've contacted the person in charge of the shop. I'll have him come to the restaurant tomorrow, and I'll introduce you. Then, he can take you to see the shop."

What do I need to prepare?

"You'd better bring all your documents. If you think the shop is suitable, hand over the documents and paperwork to him. The service center will need to do a background check, and the contract signing process might be a bit complicated. I'll have him give you the keys in advance so you can start packing."

"Second sister, I won't stand on ceremony. If you ever need my help, just let me know." Li Zhe raised his glass, clinked it with his second sister's, and took a sip.

The second sister swirled her wine glass: "Little brother, once your vegetable shop opens, will the restaurant's vegetable supply be affected?"

“It’s alright! A new batch of vegetables will be on the market soon, and we can keep up with the demand. Besides, even if one place is short of vegetables, I can’t let you be short of them.” As he said this, Li Zhe thought of something, “Second sister, I have some funds on hand right now, and I’m not in a hurry to use the money. So I’m thinking of settling the vegetable payments weekly from now on, so that it will be easier for everyone.”

Li Zhe will have more and more things to do in the future, and he won't be able to keep accounts every day.

This is good news for the restaurant, so my second sister naturally agreed: "Little brother, it's your decision. Now that your international vegetable shop is doing well, shouldn't you also hire someone who can speak English?"

Li Zhe nodded: "That's a plan."

My second sister said, "What a coincidence! I'm going to be interviewing those English majors this afternoon. You can stay here too and see if there are any suitable candidates, so you don't have to go and recruit again later."

"That's okay."

The second sister took out a stack of materials from under the table and handed them to Li Zhe: "These are their files, take a look first."

The information recorded in these documents is very simple and is not a resume in the strict sense of later generations. College students in those days were guaranteed job placement, so there was no need for such things.

Li Zhe glanced at the information; they were all pretty much the same. But one person in particular caught his attention: "Second Sister, you actually found a Russian major?"

The second sister was both amused and exasperated: "I was just saying it casually, but Marty took it to heart. Coincidentally, a Russian major was accompanying her friend to an interview, and she hired both of them."

Li Zhe nodded, thinking to himself that this Marty was quite shrewd, hiring people first. If the boss thought they were suitable, he would use them; if not, he would simply conduct a second interview and eliminate them.

About twenty minutes later, a waiter came over and said, "Boss, the college student who was interviewed has arrived. Manager Ma would like to see you."

The two went down the stairs one after the other.

A group of young people stood in the restaurant, their demeanor quite different from others, radiating a vibrant energy...

(End of this chapter)