Chapter 167 Is there someone standing in front of our restaurant? Hmm...
To solve the problem of getting up early every day to buy ingredients, An Fusheng tried to find a dedicated supplier for delivery, but the Little Star Canteen does not use much food now. If the supplier is charged at the usual price, they will not make much money, and An Fusheng cannot accept the price increase.
Later, An Fusheng asked the vegetable vendors at the market to deliver vegetables. The amount of vegetables needed by the restaurant was a large order for the market vendors, so they readily agreed and offered a very favorable price. However, the market vendors did not have clear selection criteria like suppliers, and the quality of the vegetables they delivered became worse and worse after a few deliveries. In the end, An Fusheng decided to continue buying vegetables himself.
Since there were quite a few groceries to buy, An Fusheng also asked Wen Yue to come along. Wen Yue didn't seem to mind, because An Fusheng told her that she would be paid extra for buying the groceries.
Early in the morning, An Fusheng and Wen Yue returned from grocery shopping and saw a person standing in front of the restaurant in the distance.
"Big brother, is there someone standing in front of our restaurant?" Wen Yue is slightly nearsighted, and the distance was a bit far, so she could only see a blurry white figure. She asked uncertainly.
An Fusheng has excellent eyesight. "Hmm."
She was a slightly chubby woman with short hair, wearing a white shirt and black pants.
Soon the tricycle arrived at the restaurant entrance, and the man stopped when he saw it approaching, seemingly waiting for them.
An Fusheng stopped the car, got out, and asked, "Hello, who are you looking for?"
The woman seemed surprised that a very young, tall, and handsome man had gotten off the small tricycle. She was momentarily stunned, but quickly recovered and gave a very polite bow before saying, "Hello, you must be Boss An. My name is Jiang Manzhi, and I am the village head of Pai Tou Village, X County, Y City, G Province. I've come to talk to you about food supply. Xu San Nian introduced me."
An Fusheng opened his phone and, sure enough, saw that Xu Sannian had sent him several messages. The gist of the messages was the same as what he had said. Judging from the time, they were sent when he had just finished buying groceries. He hadn't had time to check his phone on the way back.
An Fusheng invited the people into the restaurant.
The restaurant's opening time is 10:00 AM, and it's not even 8:00 AM yet. There isn't even a cup of hot tea in the restaurant. An Fusheng wanted to boil water to make a cup of tea for him, but Jiang Manzhi hurriedly said, "No need, no need. I feel bad for bothering you so early, but I have to take the high-speed train back in a while. Please forgive me."
"No need to be polite, I won't bother you. I usually arrive at the restaurant around this time too," An Fusheng said.
"I know you're quite busy, so I'll just say whatever comes to mind." Perhaps because she's used to speaking the local dialect in the village, Jiang Manzhi's Mandarin is a bit stiff and has a slight accent.
Jiang Manzhi: "When I was studying at Nanjing University, I received several scholarships and grants from Aunt Xu. I was fortunate enough to meet Aunt Xu. After graduating from university, I returned to my hometown and became the village head. In the countryside, we have everything except money. So I thought about selling the agricultural products and by-products of the village to help my fellow villagers earn some money. This time I came to Nanshi to sell agricultural products. I also brought some agricultural products from the village to give to Aunt Xu. I didn't expect to run into Niannian at home. When she heard that I came to sell agricultural products, she asked me to ask you."
"Yes." An Fusheng nodded, listening attentively.
Jiang Manzhi continued, “My hometown is located in a plateau region with many mountains. It has long hours of sunshine, a large temperature difference between day and night, and plenty of moisture in the mountains, which makes the crops very lush and tender. Take vegetables for example, the radishes and cabbages we grow in the mountains are fresher and sweeter than those in Nanshi. I also looked at your restaurant’s menu on the way here. Many of the ingredients can be provided by our village.”
An Fusheng agreed, saying, "The soil and water in the countryside are not polluted, and the crops grown in the fields are indeed better than those grown in greenhouses. However, each household in the countryside grows different crops, so it is difficult to guarantee uniform quality. Some people may use excessive pesticides in order to grow better crops and sell them all, so it is difficult to control the quality."
Jiang Manzhi: "Don't worry about that. Our village has established a village collective economic cooperative. Now all our crops are grown collectively. There are unified standards for spraying pesticides and fertilizing. Harvesting and quality control are also the responsibility of the village collective. There are standards for everything. We must also do the corresponding quality inspections for the agricultural products that we sell. There is everything on the market now. If we want to develop in the long term, we must firmly control the quality."
An Fusheng was also a native of the countryside, but the people of Fushan Village, whether they were growing crops or selling agricultural products, all went to the town or county to sell them piecemeal. They couldn't make much money selling their goods piecemeal, and the farmers were busy all year round just to earn a little bit of hard-earned money. But Jiang Manzhi's village could do business hundreds of kilometers away in Nanshi. An Fusheng asked with great interest, "Are all the agricultural products in the village grown and sold by the economic cooperative? But isn't the land in the village allocated to each household?"
“The land is allocated to individual households, but the cooperative can rent it. Our whole village shares the same surname and comes from the same ancestor. In many village matters, as long as the elders speak up, the younger generation will listen.” As she said this, a hint of pride appeared on Jiang Manzhi’s face. “I’ve always been good with words, and none of the village elders dislike me. I was also the first person in the village to go to a key university. They all trust me. When I say I can help everyone make money, they are all willing to work with me. So many policies and systems that cannot be implemented in other villages have been implemented in our village.”
Jiang Manzhi has short hair and dark skin, but she speaks with great enthusiasm and vitality, which makes her very likable.
An Fusheng looked at Jiang Manzhi with full approval.
Jiang Manzhi felt a little embarrassed as a handsome young man stared at her. "Getting back to the point, our cooperative rented all the farmland in the village and then hired the villagers to farm it. Those who were good at growing vegetables were assigned to grow vegetables, those who were good at growing rice were assigned to grow rice, those who were not good at growing crops but were good at crafts were assigned to make handicrafts, and those who were not good at anything were assigned to herd cattle."
"Why are there still people herding cattle?" An Fusheng asked.
Jiang Manzhi: "Raising cattle and selling beef, right? Grass-fed cattle have super delicious beef, do you want some?"
An Fusheng: "..."
This unexpected sales pitch.
Wen Yue brought tea and snacks to the two of them. Jiang Manzhi hadn't eaten breakfast, and seeing the tempting snacks, she couldn't resist grabbing one to eat. Unexpectedly, she was stunned as soon as she tasted it, "So delicious!"
Wen Yue said with a smile, "These corn pancakes were made by my older brother using fresh corn. They were frozen in the refrigerator. They taste even better when they are freshly steamed. One bite and you get fluffy, soft, and satisfyingly fresh and fragrant."
Jiang Manzhi nodded as she stuffed cornbread into her mouth. "This is so delicious! Is your older brother him?" Jiang Manzhi glanced at An Fusheng and then at Wen Yue.
Wen Yue said, "Yes, my older brother is a great cook, so he's very particular about the ingredients."
Jiang Manzhi finished a cornbread in two bites, her mouth still fragrant. If it weren't a little dry, she wouldn't have wanted to drink tea to dilute the flavor.
She just didn't expect that after taking a sip of the tea, she would find that it tasted really good!
The tea has the aroma of jasmine and orange, and it seems to have honey added. It's warm, sweet, and refreshing. After drinking a cup, all the fatigue from running around for the past few days disappeared.
After finishing her tea, Jiang Manzhi glanced longingly at the cornbread, barely resisting the urge to grab another one, and continued, "Our village also grows corn, all organically grown, using farmyard manure. You can buy some. By the way, our village also has ducks that grow happily in the reservoir, and free-range chickens that roam freely all day long, which will definitely enhance your culinary skills."
After Jiang Manzhi provided An Fusheng with a quality guarantee, An Fusheng expressed his intention to purchase the product, but he still had some concerns.
An Fusheng: "I don't know how long it takes for your fresh food to be transported? To be honest, we have high requirements for the freshness of our ingredients. Currently, all the ingredients in our restaurant are purchased or picked on the same day."
"Product preservation and transportation are also very important aspects of ensuring quality, and we will not overlook them. Last year, our village set up a fresh produce delivery service, and we can guarantee next-day delivery to Nanshi," Jiang Manzhi said. "In fact, the vegetables in the market are also transported from a long distance, and many are not picked on the same day. I guarantee that the fresh products we give you will be no less fresh than them."
"Is your village on the edge of town? How come it's so convenient?" An Fusheng asked curiously.
"No, quite the opposite. Our village is very far from the town. When I was in college in Nancheng, it was a real hassle to go back and forth. I had to walk for an hour and a half to the town, then take a bus for another hour and a half to the city, then take a bus from the city to the high-speed rail station, and then take a high-speed train for more than four hours to Nancheng Railway Station. Finally, I would take the subway to school. Every time, it would take me from dawn until eight or nine o'clock at night. It's the same now, except that I can ride a motorcycle home when I get to the town, which is a little better than before. That's why I have to catch the high-speed train soon. If I go back late, I won't be able to catch the bus to the city."
Jiang Manzhi sighed and said, "Alas, it's because of its remoteness that we're poor. The village has been poor for too long. Going to work outside is hard work for those without education. You have to spend money on food, clothing, and daily necessities, and you can't earn much money even after working all year. Plus, you have to leave your hometown. Now the country has implemented many good policies for rural revitalization, and almost everyone in the village is determined to go back and try their luck. They've invested almost all the money they earned from working outside in previous years into the village collective, which is how we established the cooperative and opened a dedicated express delivery line. We're also planning to widen the road from the village to the town when we make money. Right now, large trucks can't get in, so transportation is very inconvenient. Alas, it's all for the sake of selling the village's products and for the sake of living a better life."
An Fusheng said, "I'll make a product list. You can send me some samples first. If the samples are fine, we can sign a long-term supply contract. What do you think?"
“No problem!” Jiang Manzhi’s mood instantly brightened, and she immediately took out her phone. “How about we add each other as friends? I’ll send you a list of products sold in our village. You can choose the samples you want directly from there, and it’ll be convenient to contact each other in the future.”
An Fusheng: "Okay."
Jiang Manzhi was in a hurry to catch her train, so she left after reaching a preliminary agreement, and agreed to communicate the follow-up details online.
Of course, Jiang Manzhi also warmly invited An Fusheng to visit her hometown, see their products in person, and experience their quality more directly. She said that if An Fusheng purchased enough of their products, she could reimburse his round-trip travel expenses. An Fusheng said he would definitely go when he had time.
After seeing Jiang Manzhi off, An Fusheng looked at the product list she sent him. Eighty percent of the products on the list overlapped with the ingredients needed by the restaurant.
After seeing Jiang Manzhi's list, An Fusheng felt that he could develop a few new dishes, which was a pleasant surprise.
An Fusheng prayed in his heart that the quality of products from Jiang Manzhi's cooperative would really be as she said, so that the restaurant would have a stable and reliable supply channel in the future.
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