Chapter 148

The food was really good, with porridge, white flour, soy milk, pickles, eggs, fried dough sticks, cold cucumber shreds, and a hot dish. What family would dare to prepare this!

He was full after just a simple meal. People with bad stomachs should especially avoid overeating.

Today, rural areas have reached the stage of primary cooperatives, which are the prelude to the people's communes.

There are now as many as 1,034 cooperatives in Changping, which is not yet under the jurisdiction of the capital.

Agricultural collectivization was divided into four stages: the labor mutual aid groups when the People's Republic of China was first founded, the primary cooperatives, the advanced cooperatives, and finally the people's communes when conditions were ripe.

The original intention was to concentrate on doing big things, to catch up with the big brother, to realize agricultural collectivization, scale and mechanization, and to use the income generated by agriculture to support industrial construction.

It was also to prevent land annexation and the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and in the end it turned out pretty well, but human nature is too complicated.

"Dad, give me a hug."

Xiao Guan Xiang stretched out his hand. He stuck to his father more than his mother, because his mother was not at home during the day.

"Oh, you're still looking for your dad after all these sisters are with you."

Li Zhiguo picked up his son with a smile, and after having breakfast, he took a walk in the yard.

The leftovers on the table were quickly cleared away. It couldn’t be called leftovers, it just meant that they were not finished.

"Look at how my uncle's family lives. They spend so much on breakfast and still have so much left."

"Of course not. I just asked my aunt and her family. We never see any coarse grains in my uncle's house. Every meal is either rice or flour. We can eat meat every day."

"Don't you see who our brother-in-law is? He is a neighborhood cadre, the manager of a silk shop, and he owns this three-story compound, and he also has real estate elsewhere."

"Also, my brother-in-law has hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings. Even if he does nothing for the rest of his life, he will never go broke."

The people in the second store started to grumble and looked at the remaining food with envy.

This yard is nice, with dozens of rooms. No wonder you would get lost without turning on the lights at night.

There were too many people at today's party, and everyone wanted to come and see the yard, so we arranged to cook at home instead of going out to a restaurant.

Li Zhiguo was mainly worried that Xiao Guan Xiang had shown up too many times on Qianmen Street and would be easily guessed, so he took it slow.

Soon it was lunchtime, and three tables were set up with a rich variety of dishes.

The men were at one table, including my father-in-law, my third uncle, seven people of the Guang generation, and Li Zhiguo, making exactly ten people together.

After eating and drinking for a while, Li Zhiguo asked, "Guangjun, Jianwa, are you guys used to working in the second store?"

"I'm used to it. They deliver lunch to us every day. Manager Chen also completed the entry procedures for us, so we can exchange our food coupons at the grain station."

Several new people who moved to the city were very happy. Before, they had only heard of food coupons in the countryside but had never seen them.

"Ah That's good!"

Li Zhiguo thought that this was the benefit of public-private partnership. In the past, although merchants would recruit employees, they did not dare to recruit farmers because they could not buy food in the city.

But now the silk shop has become a street-level enterprise, and its employees have become collective households, so they can have a quota, but it is only for one person, and there is no way to solve the household registration problem for the entire family.

Even if large enterprises allocate welfare housing, it will not work. It takes a very large unit to have so many household registration quotas a year.

However, nothing is absolute. It is possible to do it with small quantities, but it is troublesome.

After dinner, when everything was cleaned up, Li Zhiguo simply held a short meeting with the folks in Erdian, and as a street cadre, he conveyed the spirit of public-private partnership.

After that we drank tea, played cards and chatted. It was just a simple family gathering.

Qin Huairu was very happy today. Although the lunch cost a lot of money, she also received a lot of gifts.

The most important thing is to let her fellow villagers see how well she lives in the city, and then spread the news back, which will make her very proud.

……

Time flies, and it is the last day of the month. Li Zhiguo goes to the silk shop to hold a small meeting and sort out the account books.

"Manager Li, the store's expenses this month are a bit high. The salaries of more than a dozen employees in the second store, as well as the decoration purchases for the big cafeteria, silk stocking, etc., are all costs that we didn't have before."

Accountant Lao Zhang was in a dilemma. How could he make the account book look better?

In addition to Lao Zhang, there are two other accountants, responsible for the second store and the canteen respectively, as well as the general ledger accountant and cashier selected by Li Zhiguo from the street.

Apart from anything else, the team just doing the accounting is huge.

Li Zhiguo smiled and said: "It's not a big problem. Put aside the second store and the big canteen. I just want the profit account book, put all the abnormal expenses beyond the limit to the back, and then use a few months to clear the account, and it will not exceed the end of the year.

For the public-private partnership, we calculate the annual profit, and Manager Chen will keep this month's profit to a minimum.

But to the outside world, our silk shop is making a lot of money, so it must serve as a pilot."

"Okay, Manager Li, we know what to do."

Everyone is good at calculating, and they thought it was feasible as soon as they heard it. As long as Chen Xueru did not distribute dividends this month, the meat would rot in the pot.

"I have no problem with that and fully support public-private partnerships."

Chen Xueru is not short of money, so she just needs to listen to men.

"Well, the Qianmen Canteen will open tomorrow. The leaders from the street and district will come to inspect. Everyone should be alert. I will punish anyone who makes a mistake."

Li Zhiguo doesn't mind increasing the welfare a bit, for example, lunch can actually be cancelled. So after providing the welfare, the punishment must also be imposed, otherwise it will be difficult to lead the team.

After the meeting, he quickly got the normal profit account book, which was very good, but there were a few minor problems. After he personally revised it, it was fine.

"Xue Ru, keep the account book. Now accompany me to the cafeteria. By the way, don't bring Xue Yi here tomorrow."

It is actually illegal to bring children into the store, but it is okay to bring them occasionally.

"Well, doesn't this mean Xueyi missed you? He knew you were coming today."

Chen Xueru smiled and went out to look for her son, but she asked He Yumei to take him with her.

Li Zhiguo followed him out and said, "Yumei, you can also go to the cafeteria to take a look."

"Okay, Manager Li!"

He Yumei held Xiaoxueyi in her arms, and the group went to the nearby Qianmen cafeteria.

When we went into the store, we saw He Daqing and his employees preparing food. Every day at noon, not only the employees of the silk store had to eat, but also the street office and neighborhood committee had to eat here, and they shared the canteen.

"Li, Manager Li, you are here."

He Daqing was a little uncomfortable. Before long, the bad boy who didn't go to work every day and was lazy and good at eating and doing things suddenly became his leader.
"Well, let's take a look at the situation. Lao He, you used to be the head chef of a large factory, so you know how to run a canteen better than I do.

However, you also need to meet the requirements I have set, which are written on the wall. "

Li Zhiguo pointed to the slogans on the wall, which read "Public-private partnership, clean and hygienic, no waste, no stir-fry."

"I promise to do it. I'll be watching over the kitchen."

He Daqing has been cooking for many years and there has never been any problem, so he is confident about this.

"Okay, everyone listen up. I will come to inspect from time to time. If there are no problems, I will give you rewards at the end of the year. But whoever has problems will be punished."

After Li Zhiguo finished speaking, he gave some instructions to the foreman here, saying that this person was poached directly from a restaurant.

I was attracted by her good attitude and service-mindedness. She was a middle-aged woman in her thirties named Cui Xiaohong. She was average-looking but had strong working ability.

"Xiaohong, tomorrow it's up to you!"

"Okay, Manager Li, I will lead the team well."

Cui Xiaohong had been doing well in the restaurant, but since Manager Li offered her such a high salary and she was a formal employee, she had no choice but to come here.

"Okay, let's do this!"

Li Zhiguo looked around again and felt that there was no problem. Finally, he went to the upstairs hall, dismissed his attendants, and let Chen Xueru and her son play nearby.

He then asked, "Yumei, the cafeteria over at the tavern will also open tomorrow, right?"

"Yes, they also sell dine-in food there, and they have stir-fried dishes. The chef is Ma Liansheng."

He Yumei often communicated with people there in private, especially the accountant Zhao Yali, who had always wanted to change jobs and come here.

Because they are all public-private partnerships, you can continue to work even if you change your position.

"You are talking about the situation over there."

Li Zhiguo could have asked Lao Cai or gone to check it out himself, but at this critical juncture, forget it. It would be enough for him to just know something about the situation over there.

"Okay, Manager Li." He Yumei then reported all the information she knew.

"Well, you did a good job."

Li Zhiguo knew that it was safe. The small-scale fighting over there was no match for the big canteen at Qianmen.

The next day, Li Zhiguo went to the street office early in the morning and had to meet with the director to avoid any accidents.

After the high-level public-private partnership transformation is completed next year and the fixed interest and shares are determined, he can let it go.

As for now, I still have to show up at the critical moment, after all, I am a public manager.

"Li Zhiguo, do you think I should take the leaders to the tavern first, or to the silk shop?"

The director rarely took out a cigarette and handed it out. He hardly smoked normally, but today he was a little nervous. "Let's go to the silk shop. After all, this is the first one.

Director, don't worry, I have prepared the account books. The profit is higher than last month. Chen Xueru did not receive any dividends this month. I will move the expenses to the later stage for settlement, but I also have a backup account book. "

He explained the operation openly. He is a street cadre and one of us.

"This is good, it will help us with publicity."

The director felt relieved. Profits increased and a large canteen was opened in front of the door. That was great.

"Well, the district leaders will come around at about 10 o'clock. I'll take them here for a while and then take them to the silk shop. After that, we'll be in the cafeteria at noon.

I'll ask the people from the street and neighborhood committee to go and have dinner, and you can ask the silk shop employees to go over. With so many people getting food and dishes, it will be a big scene."

"No problem. Do you want me to treat you in the cafeteria at noon?"

Li Zhiguo was not sure about this, because there were many leaders nowadays who were truly upright and would not take advantage of anyone for even a penny.

Just like he had never given any gifts to the director, but occasionally asked his concubine to give some fabrics, clothes or something to the director's wife, which was harmless.

"Please prepare more lunch boxes, put all the dishes in the lunch boxes, pack them separately, prepare eight dishes for one table, and eat in the private room upstairs.

The street will settle the bill according to normal reception fees, and the drinks will be fine. Drinking at noon is not a good idea."

The director didn't get this position for nothing, he knows the limits.

"I see. Then I'll give you six meat dishes and two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of soup."

Li Zhiguo was not in a hurry because he asked He Daqing to prepare the food in advance. If the leader didn't want to eat it, he could still eat it himself.

"Director, I'll go over first."

"You go ahead. No one mentioned your sick leave, and the leaders don't know about it."

The director thought that since the superiors would notify him in advance when they came to inspect, this wouldn’t have much of an impact.

"understand!"

Li Zhiguo returned to the store and conveyed the spirit of the street office. Then he pretended to look at the account books and write work plans at the counter, and passed the time well.

After eleven o'clock in the morning, as if on cue, Director Li, along with district leaders, and a large group of people arrived at the store, and the lady director of the neighborhood committee also came with them.

"Director Li, Director Auntie, and all the leaders, welcome to inspect our work."

Chen Xueru went to greet them, and Li Zhiguo followed soon after. This is a husband-and-wife shop.

Director Li introduced: "District Chief Zhou, this is Li Zhiguo, the public manager appointed by the subdistrict; this is Chen Xueru, the private manager of the silk shop."

"Hello you all!"

District Chief Zhou felt that the location was well chosen before he even entered the store; it was next to Qianmen Street and very conspicuous.

When I got to the store, I saw that it was well decorated, with mountains of various silks and satins, as well as all kinds of ready-made clothes, and it seemed that there were quite a lot of customers.

Well, most of these customers are merchants, and Chen Xueru notified them to come and watch the fun. They have purchasing power and are not considered as agents.

The group then visited the silk shop and the original tailor shop in the backyard. There were more than a dozen sewing machines and a master craftsman who was responsible for taking measurements and tailoring. The scale was quite large, and it was not easy to support so many people.

Finally, they arrived at the inner hall, and after everyone was seated, Chen Xueru took out the account book. Since it was a public-private partnership, it was normal to check the accounts.

District Chief Zhou brought an accountant with him, and after looking through the account book, he muttered something to himself.

"Director Li, the pilot project you selected is doing very well. Within less than a month of the public-private partnership, the profits have been expanded.

But as far as I know, there is also the Silk Shop No. 2 and the Canteen. What is the current situation of the two businesses?"

Seeing the district chief asking this, Director Li was not panicked at all. When it comes to accounting, the experts are here.

"District Chief, let Manager Li answer this question."

Li Zhiguo then said: "The main work of Silk Store No. 2 this month is decoration and employee training. It has just opened and the profit situation is very good. Here is the account book.

Because the initial investment was obtained from the street, the initial profit must be used to pay off debts and has not yet been included in the general ledger."

One day he held a meeting and said to put aside this part of the expenses. That was just what he said on the surface. He had another plan in mind behind the scenes and had even prepared the accounts.

After looking at it, the accountant brought by District Chief Zhou shook his head to indicate that there was no problem.

The accountant was feeling miserable. He had come here to find faults and gain merit, but this account book turned out to be much better than his usual ones. He must have met a master.

"Very good!" District Chief Zhou nodded with satisfaction.

Li Zhiguo added: "As for the Qianmen Canteen, it just opened today. Manager Chen and I have agreed to wait at least a week after it opens for business before calculating the profits and costs separately, and report to the street office at the end of this month.

As for the profit of Silk Shop No. 1 last month, after the calculation was completed yesterday, the tax was paid in advance according to the proportion of public-private partnership. "

"Yes, the silk shop has already paid the tax."

Relevant personnel gave confirmation on the spot.

“That’s great too!”

District Chief Zhou saw that there was no problem, and then asked about some difficulties that might be encountered after the public-private partnership.

Li Zhiguo's answers were all very confident. He had done thorough research on public-private partnerships, so there shouldn't be any evidence left behind.

Time passed quickly, and it was time for lunch. The director suggested, "District head, leaders, let's go to the cafeteria to take a look. Don't let the chefs over there wait too long."

"Okay, let's go take a look."

District Chief Zhou was also hungry, so he had a quick meal and went to inspect the masses.

Everyone moved again, and Li Zhiguo followed, thinking that he would show them what the new type of people's canteen is in a moment.

"what!"

Li Zhiguo let out a light exclamation and arrived at the Qianmen Canteen. It was not that there was no business, but that the business was too damn good.

He looked at his concubine in confusion, wondering if she had arranged someone else to take care of her in advance.

Because judging by the time, the people from the silk shop, the street and the neighborhood committee would not be able to get here so quickly. Could it be that they are all there to do nothing?

There was no time to worry about anything else. As soon as we entered the gate, we saw that although there were a lot of people inside, it did not affect the speed of serving food at all. It just looked weird.

"Manager Li, what is the meal ordering process?"

District Chief Zhou pointed toward the window in confusion.

Li Zhiguo introduced, "Hello, District Mayor, the canteen has prepared multiple windows, each window only sells one dish, and people who get food go through this side.

The prices of dishes range from high to low: meat dishes are 1.3 cents, semi-meat dishes are 8 cents, and vegetarian dishes are 5 cents, 3 cents, and 2 cents.

In addition, white flour and rice are each five cents, and steamed corn bread is three cents.

The canteen provides free vegetable soup and boiled water, you can get them over there.”

He originally wanted to go for the buffet model, but then he thought, now that we are not using plates, all the dishes will be mixed in the lunch boxes and cannot be distinguished.

Also, the set meal model doesn’t work because some people only eat one vegetarian dish, so how can this be implemented?
So I changed it to the corresponding window mode to increase the speed and avoid errors.

District Chief Zhou replied, "I don't quite understand. Can I try it for once?"

"of course can!"

Li Zhiguo immediately asked the foreman to bring a few lunch boxes, and then followed the team getting food, moving very quickly.

"District Head, Director Li, this is the most expensive meat counter. Today we're selling braised pork with soybeans, 1.5 cents a portion. If you want stir-fried shredded pork, it's only 1.3 cents."

Li Zhiguo said this and handed the lunch box in.

The lady inside said directly, "15 cents."

He immediately paid for one portion and could see through the window that there was a large pot with just this one dish.

The leaders who came later to experience the meal also ordered some food and paid for it themselves.

Further ahead is the semi-meat scrambled eggs, which cost only eight cents per serving.

Next came the fried tofu for five cents, vermicelli for three cents, and cabbage and potatoes for two cents.

Finally, buy staple food at the next window, which requires food coupons.

After a while, several leaders walked out of the lunch window area with lunch boxes. This felt quite novel, but also seemed a bit unnecessary?
"Manager Li, why do you have to serve each dish separately? Why not put them all together?"

District Chief Zhou asked the questions that everyone was wondering.

Li Zhiguo explained: "District Chief, this is a long story. Why don't we go upstairs and talk while we eat?"

"Okay, here's the meal."

District Chief Zhou felt that chatting while holding a lunch box had a bad influence.

Then the group went upstairs, and Li Zhiguo asked the foreman to notify the kitchen to serve the dishes.

The group arrived at a large private room with three dining tables. The waiter quickly placed lunch boxes on the tables and also brought the staple foods.

(End of this chapter)