Chapter 213: You Are So Beautiful ⑥
In his opinion, such girls were good, which brought a smile to his face. As mentioned before, raising boys and girls is different. When a boy starts dating, some parents might say a word or two, but most parents feel their child is accomplished. However, it’s different for girls. If a girl starts dating early, not only will her reputation suffer, but parents will also worry if their daughter has been taken advantage of by the boy.
Of course, he was the parent of the boy, so he was merely curious about Nie Qiu.
“The food is delicious. It’s troublesome for you every time we come to eat.” Since they were eating for free, of course, they had to say it was delicious! Actually, Zijin Hotel is no different from other restaurants. Most of them serve the same dishes without any unique features. People who usually dine at large hotels are merely seeking a certain status. If they want to eat those dishes, what small restaurant can’t make them? But while status is important, not all large hotels are the same. Therefore, Zijin Hotel’s business, to say it’s good, isn’t really good; it’s certainly not the best business in City A. But to say it’s not good, it’s still much better than many other large hotels.
“Then next time, bring your mom and dad and come eat again,” Peng Yu Yang’s uncle said to Nie Qiu with a smile, finding her agreeable.
“Okay, thank you, Uncle.” Since this person was Peng Yu Yang’s uncle, Nie Qiu, being his classmate, naturally had to treat him as an elder and changed her address from “Big Brother” to “Uncle.” Seeing this thin, tall man with a refined appearance, Nie Qiu had always thought he was a refined person. She didn’t expect his personality to be as straightforward as Peng Yu Yang’s father. Actually, this makes sense. Isn’t there a saying that people who are not family don’t enter the same door? Although Peng Yu Yang’s mother dresses fashionably and acts decisively, she is also generous when facing friends. The first time they went to eat, they didn’t know each other well, but because they were classmates, she treated them to a meal. This can be seen from that.
“Good, good, good…” Nie Qiu’s calling him “Uncle” pleased him greatly. The man laughed and patted Nie Qiu’s shoulder. “If you call me Uncle, then Uncle is your elder. How were your final exams? If you did well, Uncle will buy you candy.”
Uncle will buy you candy… Uncle will buy you candy…
Nie Qiu looked at the person in front of her, her mouth twitching. It seemed this person thought she was a three-year-old child! “I haven’t received my grades yet, so I don’t know how I did.”
“Then if you do well, bring your mom and dad to our restaurant to eat, and ask Uncle for candy.” After saying this and laughing, the man apologized to Nie Qiu and said, “Uncle is here at the vegetable market to discuss business. You should go back to your stall first. After Uncle finishes picking out vegetables, I’ll come by your stall.”
Nie Qiu nodded. She had been called over by Zhang Qitian, and before they could discuss anything important, she was being asked to return to her family’s stall. Zhang Qitian stopped Nie Qiu and said to Peng Yu Yang’s uncle with a smile, “Mr. Liu, it’s fine for Nie Qiu to be here. She’s educated, so she can help me with the calculations.”
It turned out Peng Yu Yang’s mother’s surname was Liu. Nie Qiu had always called her Aunt Peng or Auntie, but she didn’t know Peng Yu Yang’s mother’s surname. Since Zhang Qitian didn’t mind Nie Qiu overhearing, Mr. Liu naturally didn’t mind either. He looked at Zhang Qitian and said with a smile, “Mr. Zhang, I won’t beat around the bush. We are sincere in our business. I want fifty jin of each of your vegetables every day, and one hundred jin during holidays. I’ll add one yuan to the original retail price of each of your vegetables. What do you think?”
Zhang Qitian was naturally hesitant. The previous large hotel had offered a very high price. However, because Nie Qiu had an exam, he didn’t know where the farmer lived. He had inquired all over the area but hadn’t heard of any large farm that grew so well using only fertilizer and no pesticides. Only Nie Qiu knew. He wanted to ask Nie Aifang, but when he helped Nie Qiu rent the vegetable stall, he had signed a contract with Nie Qiu privately through a law firm. To ask Nie Aifang about the farm, he needed her consent, otherwise, he would have to pay compensation. This compensation was quite specific: one hundred thousand yuan. It wasn’t a lot, nor was it a little, but he wasn’t confident that he could earn that much money just by knowing the farm’s location. So, he didn’t dare to ask Nie Aifang. At the time, he thought signing a contract was no big deal. Perhaps Nie Qiu was afraid he would let something slip and offend her relatives, or say something that would cause her family to reconcile with her relatives. If that happened, he would be a sinner.
He never expected that this contract would become a stumbling block, hurting his toes.
Although the vegetable stand was under his name, they also had a notarized contract. If it really came down to a financial dispute with Nie Qiu, it would be difficult for him to continue sourcing goods from Nie Qiu’s relatives. He had also never intended to go against Nie Qiu and her family.
This place called Zijin Hotel, Nie Qiu seemed to have eaten there before. He wasn’t clear about Nie Qiu’s preferences, as they weren’t the same age. Besides being able to talk when their families sold vegetables together, he understood Nie Aifang a little better. Like his wife, she was frugal. How could she go to a very, very, very large hotel to eat? It could only be a small restaurant, at most one shop with a dozen tables. In that case, what profit would he make?
Seeing Zhang Qitian hesitate, the man surnamed Liu was not vague. He took out a business card from his bag and said with a smile, “I understand your hesitation. If you’ve made up your mind, just give me a call. We used to have dedicated personnel from the farm delivering our produce. It’s only because of Nie Qiu’s family that we came to buy vegetables at the market. I heard before I came that your vegetables are organic. I’m offering you a high price for the vegetables, but our restaurant’s prices won’t increase. If the cost goes up, we won’t make as much profit as before.”
Nie Qiu thought to herself, even if the vegetable prices don’t increase, they’re still expensive! If they promote their organic vegetables, wouldn’t many people come, whether for health preservation, hygiene, or status? Merchants are merchants!
Zhang Qitian was actually struggling to make ends meet. His previous major clients stopped coming, and his numerous calls were useless. He went to that large hotel and saw that they had already put up an organic sign, but he didn’t know where they bought their vegetables. However, if he had to continue selling vegetables in the market without earning much, his eldest son had already been born, and the younger one was still in the womb. The money from selling vegetables and selling things at the night market was just enough for the whole family to live in this big city. His mother had recently taken some bead flowers from another factory to make them. If he didn’t earn more money, he might not even have enough for his youngest son’s milk powder.
They say people drift to Beijing or Shanghai, but in reality, making a living in a big city is the hardest. He had saved some money from his business, but he lost a lot when he first started his vegetable business. Not wanting to keep losing money, he kept spending to cover the losses. Slowly, he gained popularity, and his business began to improve. Although his younger brother would definitely rank in the top ten and wouldn’t need to pay tuition fees, people are young. They have people they like, things they like, and books they want to buy, which naturally costs money.
For outsiders trying to make a living in big cities, their business isn’t that difficult. In reality, those working on construction sites have it harder. They have to work on construction sites under the sun of thirty to forty degrees Celsius, with cement, steel bars, and concrete, and their skin becomes tanned.
He still needed to earn more money. He looked at Nie Qiu and saw her nod at him. Holding the business card, he also nodded at Peng Yu Yang’s uncle and said, “Mr. Liu, alright. Will you pick up the goods yourselves, or will I deliver them to you every morning?”
Peng Yu Yang’s uncle smiled. “I’ll send an apprentice who can drive to pick up the goods. You can help with the delivery. One trip will be enough time for you to collect the money and also tend to your stall.”
