Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 60 Eating Peking Duck

Li Zhe parked his bicycle. "I had some errands to run nearby, and I thought I'd drop by to see you. How's it going? Are the cucumbers selling well?"

Sun Tao glanced around and whispered, "It was alright a few days ago, but sales haven't been so good these past two days."

Li Zhe pressed further, "What do you think is the reason they're not selling?"

Sun Tao led Li Zhe away from the stall to a quieter spot at the back. "Most people who come to this market are locals. They come here because the cucumbers are fresh. Once the novelty wears off, they sell slowly. And another thing..." Sun Tao hesitated, looking somewhat troubled.

Li Zhe raised his chin. "Speak your mind."

“Brother Li, your retail price at the Chongwenmen vegetable market is six yuan per jin, and my purchase price is also six yuan. I can only make a profit by selling them here for seven yuan. At first, people didn't know this, but after a while, they all know that cucumbers are cheaper at the Chongwenmen vegetable market, so they stop buying from me.” Sun Tao rubbed his hands together, trying to ingratiate himself.

"Since we're on the topic, could you raise the prices of vegetables at Chongwenmen Market? That way, we can make a profit when we buy from you, don't you think?"

Actually, Li Zhe wasn't to blame; they were the ones who hoarded the goods and drove up the prices. But since Sun Tao brought it up, he casually agreed, "Tomorrow, I'll raise the vegetable prices at Chongwenmen by one yuan." This wasn't a bad thing for Li Zhe.

He grows the cucumbers, and he makes money no matter which channel he sells them through.

"Brother Li, thank you so much. Now that you've raised your prices, I feel more at ease."

"Brother, do you know where the other vendors sell the cucumbers they get from me?"

“Li Jinxia’s family has connections in the Chaonei vegetable market. She also complained to me about this, saying that your retail price is the same as our purchase price, and it feels awkward for her to sell it there.”

Hong San has connections; he's probably sending things to work units, but I don't know which units or what the prices are.” Sun Tao hesitated slightly.

"Brother Li, let me add something. The price of vegetables is one thing, but sometimes it also depends on relationships. The prices are roughly the same, so it doesn't matter who you buy from, there are bound to be some degree of closeness or distance. As for how people build those relationships, outsiders don't know."

Li Zhe hopes to expand sales channels, but he won't steal the channels from his distributors. He believes in making money together, and the bigger the business, the more stable it will be.

However, Sun Tao's words apply to vegetable markets where supply exceeds demand, and are not suitable for the current off-season vegetables.

Sun Tao glanced around and lowered his voice, "Brother Li, there's something else I need to remind you of."

"What's the matter?"

“In the past few days, my mother has been working at a stall in the Chongwenmen market. Some stall owners have approached her privately, asking us to take back our stalls and not rent them to her anymore.”

"Who said that? Damn it?" This guy was the one who started the last time the stall owners conspired.

"It wasn't him, nor was it the vendor who bought cucumbers from you. It was other vendors, and more than one."

"I didn't bother them in any way, did I?" Li Zhe wondered.

"Then there definitely isn't one."

"Did I interfere with their ability to make money?"

"That's not the case either."

"Then why won't you let me sell vegetables?"

Sun Tao said, "They're just jealous. They're selling radishes for two or three cents a pound, while you're selling cucumbers for six yuan a pound. How do you think they feel?"

Li Zhe laughed, "That's just harming others without benefiting yourself."

Sun Tao retorted, "Aren't there plenty of people like this?"

Li Zhe patted him on the shoulder, "Thanks, brother, I understand. It's almost noon, let's have lunch together, it's on me."

Sun Tao declined, saying, "If the cucumbers don't sell out today, they won't be fresh tomorrow. I have to keep an eye on them here. I'll treat you another time when you're free."

"Okay, you go ahead with your work, I'm off." Li Zhe got on his bicycle and returned to Chongwenmen Market.

He found his stall with practiced ease. There were six cucumbers on the stall. Old Li sat in the back watching the stall, not shouting, his eyes fixed on the spot, lost in thought.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"Ah!" Old Li jumped, glancing at his son. "How's the temporary residence permit application going?"

"The application form has been submitted, just wait. It's almost noon, let's pack up and eat." Li Zhe said to Aunt Ma standing next to him, "Auntie, why don't you have something to eat with us?"

"I brought lunch, you guys go eat by yourselves, I'll watch your stuff."

Li Zhe politely said something, put the six cucumbers into a woven bag, and carried Old Li out of the market.

Watching his son panting as he rode his bike forward, Old Li couldn't help but ask, "Second son, where are we going?"

"I'll treat you to something nice today."

"A bowl of mutton soup would be nice enough, and we'll continue selling cucumbers this afternoon." "No, we're not selling anymore, we'll eat them ourselves."

"We still have some cucumbers with cracked skins at home, but these six cucumbers look pretty good. It would be a waste of money to eat them," Old Li said, feeling a little distressed.

"Dad, don't worry, when have I ever made a losing deal?"

A dozen minutes later, Li Zhe rode to the square in front. The blue bricks were filled with old-fashioned bicycles, and the handlebars were hung with travel bags printed with the words "Magic City" and "Guangzhou". An old man was pushing a tricycle with a glass display case, calling out, "Candied hawthorns - freshly dipped!"

Li Zhe rode another two hundred meters and arrived at the Quanjude Qianmen store. "Dad, how about I treat you to Peking duck today? I haven't raised you for nothing, have I?"

Old Li glanced at the vermilion pillars, the imposing entrance, and the black plaque with gold lettering that read "Quanjude," and involuntarily took a step back. "Is this something we can eat?"

"You can eat as long as you have money. I didn't see many people with accents from other places; they're all tourists."

"That must be really expensive."

"We're not asking you to pay anything, let's go in first and talk later."

As they spoke, the two walked to the entrance of Quanjude restaurant. In the glass display windows on both sides, there were yellowed photos of leaders, with the words "Welcome Foreign Guests" in Chinese and English pasted on the corners of the frames.

Upon reaching the top of the steps and peering into the shop, Li Zhe was dumbfounded. A huge crowd of people were queuing up, speaking all sorts of different accents.

A waiter wearing a red armband stood by maintaining order, saying, "Don't push, there are no seats left, everyone is queuing."

Looking at the dozens of people in front of him, Old Li couldn't help but ask, "Second brother, how long will we have to wait?"

Li Zhe secretly regretted his decision. He had been so focused on his own thoughts that he hadn't considered the possibility of queuing. Everyone said that roast duck was a luxury these days, but it seems there's never a shortage of wealthy people.

The father and son waited for half an hour but didn't move forward much. They weren't cold, but the aroma of roast duck made them hungrier and hungrier.

"Second brother, how about we come another day? Let's eat something else today."

“Dad, no matter which day you come, you’ll have to wait in line.” Li Zhe took out a cucumber from his bag, rubbed it, broke it in half, and handed one half to Old Li. “Have something to eat first.”

"Crunch..." The crisp sound of biting into the cucumber was drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

"Comrade, where did you get this cucumber?" a man in a black leather jacket asked.

Li Zhe glanced at the other person and said, "It's homegrown."

"Could you spare me two? I brought my friends here for Peking duck, and we have everything we need except some cucumber strips."

"I'm here to eat Peking duck too. If I give it to you, what will I eat?"

The man in the leather jacket pointed to the crowd ahead and said, "You're late today. By the time it's your turn, the roast duck will probably be sold out."

"Didn't you just arrive too?"

"I have a friend waiting inside. I don't need much, just two will do."

Old Li glanced at the crowd in front of him, also looking troubled. "Second brother, let's sell them."

"Five yuan a stick," Li Zhe snorted, his tone dismissive of "take it or leave it."

The man in the leather jacket raised an eyebrow. "You really dare to ask for a price."

Li Zhe said, "Why don't you sell me your seat and I'll go in and eat."

"That won't do." The man in the leather jacket took out ten yuan from his bag. "Give me two fresh ones."

Li Zhe took the money and took out two cucumbers from the woven bag.

The man in the leather jacket took the cucumber, stuffed it into his bag, and grinned, saying, "You guys take your time queuing up, I'll go in first."

"My goodness, he actually bought it!" Old Li's eyes widened, and he said excitedly, "Second brother, why don't we set up a stall here to sell cucumbers? The price here is much higher than at the market."

"Dad, what are you thinking? This isn't a place you can just set up a stall on." Li Zhe originally wanted to have some roast duck and do some business on the side. He got into the shop, but who would have thought he'd get stuck here.

Old Li finally understood. "Second brother, you want to sell the cucumbers to Quanjude?"

"Selling vegetables is just a side thing; the main thing is to take you to eat roast duck."

Old Li rubbed his hands together and said, "If you ask me, let's not bother queuing. Let's just go to the kitchen and find someone to sell cucumbers."

"Dad, they charge us one price when they come to us, but they charge us another price when we come to them."

(End of this chapter)