Gourd Farm Chapter 28
Translated by Etherna (ko-fi)
Chapter 28: Reaching a Cooperation
Now, the head chef was talking about this monthly meal plan, something Yang Feng had never encountered before.
When he was in the big city, Yang Feng was just a general worker, not involved in tasks like receiving and inspecting goods as it wasn't my level.
Since returning to farming a few months ago, Yang Feng had only interacted with Fat Boss and his family from the restaurant, but they were all on a daily payment basis, and the prices were market-driven.
After thinking for a long time, he was so frustrated that he pulled out a few strands of his own hair.
Yang Feng decided to check with Baidu Search on his phone. Since Yang Feng came back, he liked browsing Tieba whenever he had free time and found that some people there were quite helpful.
(T/N: Tieba is a popular online forum community in China. It is operated by Baidu and covers a wide range of topics where users can discuss and share information, similar to a bulletin board or discussion board. Each Tieba is dedicated to a specific topic or theme, and users can join and participate in discussions related to that topic.)
Most of them were involved in greenhouse cultivation and might also supply to restaurants. The moderator of Yang Feng's Tieba, who had been doing greenhouse farming for five years, could probably provide some insights.
Yang Feng entered the Tieba on my phone and chatted for a while, asking about the issue of supplying to restaurants and supermarkets. It didn't take long for many people in the Tieba to reply.
After summarizing, Yang Feng found that there are three main ways of selling greenhouse-grown produce.
The first is selling directly to vegetable vendors at the farm, which may offer lower prices but is convenient and straightforward. This is the most common method of selling.
The second method requires more effort, where one needs to visit different markets and establish connections with customers such as restaurants and supermarkets. Although it is labor-intensive initially, it provides stable income and optimistic prices in the long run.
The third method is smaller-scale, like his current approach, selling produce individually on the street or renting a stall in the market. While prices may be higher, the volume of sales is limited.
In the Tieba forum, some users belong to the second category. They mentioned that larger restaurants usually have monthly contracts, and in special cases, there might be some price fluctuations that can be discussed. However, the monthly contracts are settled at the end of each month, not on a daily basis.
Having understood everything, Yang Feng feels that it's feasible, especially since he grows the vegetables himself. He doesn't need to worry about working capital because he doesn't have to restock every day. Monthly settlements are fine as long as it's secure. He can continue running his stall as usual and have a source of income.
With this in mind, Yang Feng picks up the phone to call the head chef and finalize the cooperation.
"Ring ring."
The sound of the phone interrupts Yang Feng as he's about to dial.
"Who could it be? What a coincidence."
"Hello."
"Hi, are you the young man who bought fruits and vegetables at the shopping mall today?"
"Yes, that's me."
"Oh, I'm the head chef at Little Chef Liang's. How's your consideration regarding the matter we discussed?"
As Yang Feng listens to the hurried voice on the other end of the phone, he senses some urgency.
"Oh, if you want to place the monthly order, there's no problem. But as for the price..."
Just as he mentions the price, he intentionally drags out the word for a moment.
"What's the matter? Do you have some concerns about the price?"
"Head Chef, as you know, vegetable prices fluctuate greatly nowadays, and for items like cucumbers, they will only go higher, not lower. So..."
"Okay, let's go with the price you mentioned."
There's a brief pause on the head chef's end, and then he agrees to Yang Feng's requested price.
"Alright, that's fine."
Now that the price has been settled, there's no more issue to worry about.
"But we have one requirement on our end, and it must be met."
As Yang Feng agrees, the tone of the conversation suddenly changes.
"Well, go ahead and tell me."
"Tomorrow morning, before 8:30 am, we need a batch of goods delivered, the same as today. And from now on, it will be at the same time."
He thought it would be some demanding request, but it turns out to be a small matter.
"Okay, no problem."
After hanging up the phone, Yang Feng takes another look inside the greenhouse. Honestly, there are too many cucumbers now. Fortunately, he stumbled upon this opportunity today; otherwise, he would have to brainstorm again if he were to sell them himself.
At 5 o'clock in the morning, the alarm that was set in advance starts ringing, and Yang Feng quickly turns it off and gets up. Today is the first time he will be delivering goods to a restaurant, so he can't afford to be late and leave a bad impression.
Yang Feng arrived at the greenhouse early and picked around 50 kilograms of cucumbers. The restaurant only wanted 30 kilograms, leaving him with 20 kilograms to sell at his own stall.
Some of the watermelons here are ready for sale, but most of them still need a few more days. Selling fruit boxes should be enough for these few days.
With the goods prepared, he headed to the restaurant. It took about 50 leisurely minutes to arrive, and he was an hour early.
Following the address given earlier, he found the entrance to the restaurant. The design of the gate had a stylish and artistic touch, giving a sense of youth, cultural taste, and elegance.
However, perhaps because he arrived early, the main entrance was still closed. After wandering around, he finally found the back door.
Unlike the tranquility of the front, the back kitchen was bustling with various deliveries being made to different restaurants. Watching these delivery workers, one could tell they wished they could fly to make the process faster.
Carrying a large bag of cucumbers, Yang Feng finally made it to the entrance.
As soon as he entered, Yang Feng saw a young man about his age wearing a chef's uniform. The young man was holding a list and seemed to be inspecting the goods.
"Let me tell you, only a portion of this fish is usable. The rest you'll have to take back."
"Boss, this seafood doesn't seem very fresh. Look at this shrimp, it's not moving."
"Mr. Wang, I've been telling you for several days now, this cauliflower needs to be organic. And there's too much stem left on this one, it needs to be trimmed."
...
In Yang Feng's previous experience working at a fly-infested restaurant in the metropolitan area, there was no such formal inspection of goods in the morning. He would simply go to the market and buy whatever he needed.
Unscrupulous bosses would sometimes go to the market when it was almost closing time. At that time, there would be a lot of leftover produce, and the prices were negotiable. It was basically a case of "pay and you can buy."
Seeing this more complicated process, with goods being rejected and having to make a second trip if the quantity was insufficient, Yang Feng found it quite troublesome.
It seems that having good ingredients is the foundation for a successful restaurant business. Only with high-quality ingredients can excellent dishes be prepared, leading to a good reputation.
After waiting for about ten minutes, the inspection of seafood and aquatic products was finished, and the inspection of vegetables was almost done as well.
"Hello, could you take a look at these cucumbers?"
Yang Feng placed half a bag of cucumbers in front of the inspector, wanting him to give them a quick look so that he could go and set up his stall.
"Well, these are fine. Our head chef specifically instructed us to wait for the cucumbers today."
Yang Feng had some experience working in kitchens before, so he understood the importance of good ingredients for creating great dishes. However, he didn't think that a cucumber would play such a significant role.
But he considered himself only an amateur cook. While he could handle cooking a few home-style dishes, he had no knowledge of professional culinary matters. After all, different professions have their own complexities.
"By the way, here's a supply contract for you to review. If everything looks good, please sign it."
The inspector handed a paper contract to Yang Feng.
After taking a look and finding no issues, Yang Feng signed it, marking the official completion of their cooperation.