Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 104 Inspection
December 1st, afternoon.

Daying Village, north of the village.

The excavator was still working, humming away, while Old Li stood by the dirt road, gazing towards the village entrance.

Li Zhe also came over and advised, "Dad, go wait in the shed. We'll come out when we hear the car."

"This machine is buzzing so loudly, what can a passing car hear? Let's wait here for a while." Old Li wrapped his cotton-padded coat tighter around himself, afraid of delaying things.

The roar of an engine came from afar as a green Jiefang truck slowly approached, its wheels grinding across the frosty road. Once the truck came to a stop, the passenger door opened, and a man and a woman stepped out.

The woman was in her thirties, very tall, wearing white glasses, a double-breasted camel-colored wool blend coat, and a wool scarf.

The man was Sun Liguo, the director of the Wan'an Town Credit Cooperative.

Li Zhe greeted them with a smile: "Welcome, leaders, to Daying Village for your inspection."

Sun Liguo said, "Brother Li, let me introduce you. This is Director Liu from our district credit union. He is very interested in our vegetable greenhouse project and braved the cold to come and inspect your greenhouse."

"Director Liu, thank you for your attention to us vegetable growers. It's cold outside, let's go inside the greenhouse to talk." Li Zhe gestured for them to come in.

Director Liu didn't move, but pointed in the direction of the excavator: "Comrade Li Zhe, what are they doing over there? Why are they still working in this freezing weather?"

"We're digging the foundation for the new greenhouse. The weather's getting colder and colder, so we have to work overtime." Li Zhe stamped his foot; the ground was already frozen solid.

Director Liu looked at the four gleaming white greenhouses and patted the rammed earth wall: "These walls are really thick. Was it necessary to build them so wide?" She had seen vegetable greenhouses before, but she had never seen walls this thick.

"This rammed earth wall stores heat during the day and releases heat at night, which can keep the greenhouse warm." Li Zhejian's rammed earth wall is 1.5 meters high at the top and 2.5 meters high at the bottom, which is very standard.

It is said that there is still a 3.5-meter-wide earthen wall in Shouguang.

"Interesting," Director Liu muttered. She had two main purposes for coming: first, to investigate whether vegetable greenhouses were truly profitable; and second, to assess the potential for large-scale development. Only when both conditions were met would there be a need for vigorous promotion and support, and only then would more farmers be attracted to take out loans.

Director Liu followed them into the greenhouse, and her glasses immediately fogged up. She took out a cleaning cloth to wipe the lenses, and only then could she see the situation inside the greenhouse—everywhere she looked were bright green cucumber vines, and another vegetable she couldn't recognize.

Director Liu stepped forward and touched the lush green cucumber vine: "It's really warm in here, how much is it?"

“It’s 23 degrees now.” Li Zhe handed her a vegetable basket. “Director Liu, you can pick some cucumbers and take them home for your family to try.”

Director Liu was taken aback, not expecting Li Zhe to pull this stunt, but he still took the basket and picked ripe cucumbers along the furrows: "Comrade Li Zhe, I heard you sold cucumbers to Quanjude, how much per pound?"

"Seven yuan per kilogram, with a formal contract."

Director Liu continued, "How many kilograms of cucumbers can this greenhouse produce?"

"This greenhouse mainly grows cucumbers, with some broccoli around the edges. The cucumber yield can reach over 6,000 jin."

Director Liu asked, "Can your net profit from this one mu of greenhouse vegetables reach 30,000 yuan?"

"almost."

"The broccoli you're talking about, is it that green ball? They send those to Quanjude too?"

"Oh, that's broccoli. Foreigners like to eat it. It's mainly sold to hotels and restaurants catering to foreigners. We just signed vegetable supply contracts with Maxim's Restaurant and Great Wall Hotel in the last two days."

"Great Wall Hotel!" Director Liu stopped in his tracks. "You supply vegetables to the Great Wall Hotel? Can I see the contract?"

"Please wait a moment, I'll go get it."

Director Liu handed the vegetable basket to his subordinate and said to Sun Liguo, "Old Sun, I remember there's a vegetable greenhouse grower in Daying Village. Has he arrived yet?"

Sun Liguo glanced at the crowd and waved to Zhu Yimin: "Fellow villager Zhu, come over and say a few words."

Zhu Yimin asked with a smile, "What's wrong, Director Sun? Are you going to increase my loan too?"

Director Liu said, "Fellow villager Zhu, I heard you're the second person to build a greenhouse. Did you learn how to build your greenhouse from Comrade Li Zhe? Was it difficult?"

Zhu Yimin replied, “This isn’t too difficult. My family built a seedling shed a few years ago, but its insulation was rather poor. This winter-warm vegetable greenhouse is made by building thick walls and digging deep holes, which can help keep warm. However, greenhouse cultivation is different from open-field cultivation. Without experience, it’s easy to make mistakes. It’s best to have someone teach you. That’s why I’ve shamelessly come to learn from Brother Li.”

Director Liu asked in surprise, "Li Zhe is willing to teach you?"

"Hey, don't say you didn't expect this, I didn't expect it either! Brother Li is really something else, I'm impressed." Zhu Yimin gave a thumbs up. In the past few days, Li Zhe would go back to the village to inspect the greenhouses, and Zhu Yimin would follow along to learn. He was an expert in growing vegetables, and he could grasp some things very quickly, but without someone to teach him, it would take some effort.

Director Liu's opinion of Li Zhe rose a notch. The curtain was lifted, and Li Zhe entered the greenhouse, handing over a contract: "Director Liu, this is the contract I signed with the Great Wall Hotel."

Director Liu took the contract and carefully checked the official seal, contact information, price, and types of vegetables. After reviewing it, she handed it to Li Zhe: "I'd like to ask, why are you willing to teach Comrade Zhu Yimin how to grow greenhouse vegetables?"

Li Zhe had long understood Director Liu's thoughts: "I think that one person being rich doesn't mean being truly rich. Not only Comrade Zhu Yimin, but I can also teach other people in the village who genuinely want to learn greenhouse farming."

"What a wonderful example of the wealthy helping the less fortunate! Comrade Li Zhe, your spirit is worthy of our emulation." Director Liu showed an approving expression.

Afterwards, Li Zhe took her to visit greenhouses No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4. Seeing that the fruits and vegetables in each greenhouse were growing lushly, Director Liu was completely relieved—Li Zhe's greenhouses not only made money, but he was also willing to lead the villagers to make money together, making him an excellent candidate and role model for leading the way to prosperity.

Before leaving, Li Zhe gave them the vegetables he had picked in advance and casually asked, "Director Liu, I wonder if our vegetable cooperative's loan application will be approved?"

"Comrade Li Zhe, you don't need to worry about the loan. I will hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss it and get it done as soon as possible." Director Liu said goodbye to everyone and got into the truck.

"Brother Li, you've done a good job today. I'm off." Sun Liguo patted Li Zhe on the shoulder and got into the car.

After watching the truck leave, Li Zhe went to the construction site to check on the progress. The foundations for five greenhouses had been dug, and the rammed earth walls had been built. The next step was to fix the cement pillars and add the roofs. Li Zhe had earned a lot of money selling vegetables this month, which would be enough to support him for a while until the loan came through.

……

Magic City.

Gongxing Road Hostel.

Zhou Yongqiang sat on a chair in the hostel, munching on dry rations. He choked while eating, picked up the thermos next to him to pour water, but only managed to fill half a cup. He took a sip of water to clear his throat and felt a little better.

This was his and Ji Hongbin's third trip to Shanghai. The first time they earned 53 yuan, the second time 50 yuan, and this time 55 yuan, for a total of 158 yuan. After deducting the cost of food and lodging on the way, they still had several tens of yuan left—more than he earned working in a factory.

"Knock knock..." A knocking sound came from outside the door.

"Who?"

"It's me." Ji Hongbin's voice came from outside the door.

Zhou Yongqiang opened the door and stepped aside: "Master Ji, you're back."

Ji Hongbin walked into the room and looked at the dry food on the table: "I told you to come eat with me, but you wouldn't go. You're just sitting here eating this."

Zhou Yongqiang smiled awkwardly. The first time he came to Shanghai to deal in treasury bonds, Ji Hongbin had also eaten dry rations with him indoors. But having had two experiences, Ji Hongbin was clearly bolder this time. In addition, he wasn't one to endure hardship, so he insisted on eating at a restaurant.

Zhou Yongqiang went with him once or twice, but then felt embarrassed to go again—after all, he couldn't always let Ji Hongbin pay, and he was reluctant to let him pay, so the trip would be a waste of his time if he ate two meals together.

The restaurant was right below the hotel, so there was no concern about danger.

Ji Hongbin sat down in a chair and picked up the thermos to make tea: "Sigh, there's no water in the thermos."

Zhou Yongqiang took the kettle: "I'll go get some water."

Ji Hongbin took out the green tea he had bought on the road yesterday and put it into the teacup. A moment later, there was a knock on the door: "Master Ji, it's me."

Ji Hongbin opened the door, and Zhou Yongqiang came in carrying a kettle, complaining, "Hey, you're charging me three cents for a kettle of hot water? You're really obsessed with money."

"Alright, I'll reimburse you later."

“Master Ji, that’s not what I meant.” Zhou Yongqiang opened the teapot lid to brew tea: “Are we still going to Luzhou tomorrow?”

“Yes, we’ll go to Luzhou again tomorrow. We’re familiar with this route, so we can travel it for a while longer.” Ji Hongbin picked up his teacup and blew on the tea leaves. “After this one trip, we’ll go back to the capital to rest for a couple of days.”

“I’ll listen to you.” Zhou Yongqiang also wanted to return to Beijing, but not to rest. He wanted to talk to Li Zhe about investment. With his experience in actually reselling treasury bonds, he was confident he could persuade Li Zhe to make a fortune together.

Ji Hongbin took a sip of tea and frowned: "This tea isn't very good; it tastes a bit bitter."

Zhou Yongqiang took a sip and agreed, "It's definitely not as good as our tea. It's my fault for being careless; I'll definitely bring more next time I go out."

After a long day of travel, Ji Hongbin chatted for a while over tea, then became so sleepy he could barely keep his eyes open and went to bed.

The next morning, Ji Hongbin opened his eyes and habitually reached under his pillow, then suddenly sat up abruptly and threw back the pillow: "Money! Where's my money?"

"Call the police! Call the police now!"

(End of this chapter)