Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 191 Scale
Liu Jianhua asked instinctively, "Is it very difficult to grow off-season vegetables?"

Li Zhe replied, "Indeed, there are significant hurdles; it requires funding, technology, and resources, and you can't succeed without any of them."

"I heard that your off-season vegetables are grown in greenhouses. I have also seen many warm greenhouses and open greenhouses. Can you tell me the difference between your greenhouse and ordinary greenhouses and warm greenhouses?" Liu Jianhua asked.

This is no secret; Li Zhe couldn't hide it even if he wanted to. "I dug a meter deep under my vegetable greenhouse, mainly relying on sunlight and ground temperature for warmth."

Do we need to burn coal in winter?

Li Zhe considered it for a moment and said, "Normally, we don't need to. However, we do need to burn coal to raise the temperature during extreme weather or when the temperature is low."

"Comrade Li Zhe, do you have any plans to expand the vegetable greenhouses this winter?"

"I do have that idea," Li Zhe replied readily.

At this moment, the waiter came over and began serving the two dishes.

"Comrade Li Zhe, let's eat and talk." Liu Jianhua gestured for him to continue, then asked, "About how large a scale can you expand?"

“The more the better, but there are many factors that restrict the expansion of greenhouses, so it’s hard to give you an exact number. I can only say that it’s at least a hundred acres.” After saying that, Li Zhe didn’t stand on ceremony and started cutting and eating his steak.

"Not enough."

Liu Jianhua couldn't help but shake his head. He leaned forward and suggested, "Comrade Li Zhe, our company has a farm in the suburbs of Beijing, with more than 6,000 mu of land. If I hire you as the farm's greenhouse vegetable technical consultant, how many mu of greenhouse vegetables can you grow next year?"

Li Zhe smiled, took out a box of Marlboro cigarettes and handed one to the other person. He also took one for himself, put it in his mouth, took out a Zippo lighter from his pocket, lit it, and took a puff.

Liu Jianhua looked down at the Marlboro cigarette in his hand and gave a bitter smile. He suddenly realized something: he probably couldn't afford to hire him. The salary and bonuses he could give him probably wouldn't even buy two packs of cigarettes a month.

"Mr. Liu, I understand how you feel. The reason I built the vegetable greenhouses in the first place was to respond to the 'vegetable basket' initiative so that ordinary people could have fresh vegetables to eat in winter. It's not that I don't want to expand, but the construction cost of greenhouses is very high; it costs me about six thousand yuan to build one greenhouse."

"One hundred mu would cost six hundred thousand, one thousand mu would cost six million. I simply can't afford that kind of financial burden," Li Zhe said, explaining his predicament. Then, he added, "Of course, I can't compare to you. Your family and business are so large; you certainly wouldn't care about such a small amount of money."

Liu Jianhua frowned. "If the vegetable greenhouses are built, are there many risks involved in growing off-season vegetables?"

“Absolutely. Funding is just the bare minimum. Extreme weather can damage not only the greenhouse vegetables, but even the greenhouses themselves. If it's not detected or repaired in time, the vegetables can freeze overnight in the dead of winter, definitely reducing yields or even causing a total crop failure.” Li Zhe took a drag of his cigarette and continued:

"Technology is also a key factor. There is a big difference between growing greenhouse vegetables and growing open-field vegetables. My current planting area is small, so I can still take care of it. But when the greenhouse planting area becomes larger, I definitely won't be able to take care of it myself. If the technicians under me are not experienced enough, it will also lead to a reduction in greenhouse vegetable production."

Li Zhe first laid out the unpleasant truths and presented the difficulties openly—if we succeed, it's my skill; if we fail, it's just bad luck.

Li Zhe tentatively asked, "Mr. Liu, your farm also wants to build vegetable greenhouses. I wonder how many acres you plan to build?"

Liu Jianhua was somewhat embarrassed. His confidence was completely shattered by Li Zhe's words.

He couldn't do the job of building vegetable greenhouses on the farm.

It's impossible to do it this year at least.

This is mainly related to the nature of their company. Their main task is to ensure a stable supply of vegetables in Beijing and to control the overall level of vegetable retail prices through financial subsidies and tax reduction policies.

Of course, this does not include off-season vegetables; in winter, only vegetables that ensure people's livelihoods, such as cabbage, potatoes, and radishes, are available.

Simply put, in winter, their company focuses its main efforts on cabbage, potatoes, and radishes. If the supply of these three vegetables cannot be stable, his job as general manager will be over.

The cost and risk of growing off-season vegetables are too high. If he were to mobilize resources to grow off-season vegetables on a large scale, it could very likely affect the supply of vegetables for people's livelihoods. The responsibility and risk are too great for him to bear.

Liu Jianhua frankly stated, "I did have the idea of ​​growing off-season vegetables before, but after listening to what you said, I feel the risks are quite high. Even if I applied to build vegetable greenhouses, the higher authorities might not approve. Our Beijing Vegetable Company's primary responsibility is to ensure the supply of winter vegetables. We won't grow off-season vegetables on a large scale until the technology is mature." Li Zhe also learned from Tang Demin that the Beijing Vegetable Company's superior department was the Second Commerce Bureau. They also set the menus and prices for ordinary state-run restaurants, and they hadn't changed for years. Getting them to accept something as new as off-season vegetables was indeed not easy.

Liu Jianhua adjusted his approach and said, "Comrade Li Zhe, we are both practitioners of the vegetable basket plan. If you have any difficulties in expanding the vegetable greenhouses, you can tell me, and I will definitely help if I can."

"Thank you in advance." Next year, Li Zhe plans to expand his vegetable greenhouses and will need a strong partner.

"Comrade Li Zhe, the main task of our Beijing Vegetable Company is to supply vegetables to Beijing. You should boldly expand your vegetable greenhouses. No matter how much vegetables you can produce, our company will buy them at a high price." Liu Jianhua had temporarily given up his plan to grow vegetables in greenhouses, so he could only focus on purchasing them.

Li Zhe said, "Mr. Liu, I doubt you'd be satisfied with the output of my dozen or so greenhouses. If you want to buy off-season vegetables from me, you'll probably have to wait until this winter."

“Winter is fine…” Liu Jianhua thought for a moment and said, “Comrade Li Zhe, I sincerely want to cooperate with you. You have the technology and will be responsible for growing the vegetables; I have the distribution channels and will be responsible for sales. What do you think?”

Li Zhe did not answer immediately. He was also thinking that cooperating with Beijing City Vegetable Company would definitely have benefits.

Li Zhe can obtain many policy benefits through them, such as loans, tax exemptions, transportation, and supplies. And these are just the immediate benefits.

Li Zhe learned from Tang Demin that the Beijing Municipal Vegetable Company supplies vegetables for all the major and minor sporting events held in Beijing, both domestically and internationally. He thought that perhaps he could also use his connections with the Beijing Municipal Vegetable Company to become a vegetable supplier for the Asian Games.

In addition, Li Zhe has two ways to expand his vegetable greenhouses. One is to have greenhouses for vegetables grown by his own company, which he certainly doesn't want to hand over to the Beijing Municipal Vegetable Company for sale; he wants to retain some of his own sales channels.

Another approach is to teach villagers vegetable greenhouse cultivation techniques, help them obtain loans from credit unions, and at the same time, sign vegetable purchase agreements with them, setting the purchase price in advance to provide them with a guarantee.

Most villagers should abide by the vegetable purchase agreement, but some villagers who are greedy and unscrupulous may break the agreement after the vegetables are ripe, hoping to sell them at a higher price.

Therefore, the second method would be more complicated. Li Zhe needs a powerful backer to prevent the other party from breaking the contract.

The simplest solution is for Li Zhe to sign vegetable purchase agreements with the villagers, then resell the vegetables to Beijing Vegetable Company at a higher price, allowing them to purchase the vegetables directly from the villagers' fields.

What is difficult for Li Zhe is nothing to them.

“Mr. Liu, one person’s strength is ultimately limited. I’m thinking of leading the farmers in the village to grow off-season vegetables next year, helping them build greenhouses, teaching them the techniques for growing vegetables in greenhouses, and signing vegetable purchase agreements with them. I personally think this expansion model will be faster and can also reduce risks.”

Liu Jianhua didn't care how Li Zhe planted the vegetables; he just wanted more. "Comrade Li Zhe," he said, "if we follow this model, how many acres do you think the vegetable greenhouses could be expanded to next year?"

Li Zhe began to make grand promises: "If we have enough funds, enough resources, and support from the local government and policies, I think it wouldn't be a problem to cultivate several hundred acres."

Although several hundred acres isn't a lot, it's much better than the hundreds of acres mentioned before. Liu Jianhua said with a smile, "Comrade Li Zhe, our company can buy all of your several hundred acres of vegetable greenhouses."

Li Zhe thought to himself, "There are plenty of people who want to acquire it. Why would you just give it to me with a few words? Why should I?"
Li Zhe flicked his cigarette ash and said with a smile, "I would also like to cooperate with you, but it's just a preliminary idea at the moment. We'll have to plan it out properly later, and once I've finalized things on my end, we can schedule a time to discuss the specific acquisition plan."

Having worked within the system for many years, Liu Jianhua had heard these kinds of polite words countless times, and after a moment's thought, he understood their true meaning.

He smiled and said, "Comrade Li Zhe, don't worry about the purchase price. We will definitely give you the highest price and you won't suffer any losses. In addition, if you need funds to build greenhouses, our company can help you apply for a special loan for the vegetable basket project, interest-free."

As the specific implementing unit of Beijing's "vegetable basket project," he certainly has the capability.

Seeing that Li Zhe remained silent, he continued, "We are all working to ensure the vegetable supply to the capital, so tax reductions and exemptions can be made accordingly. If you encounter any other difficulties, you can also let us know."

"Mr. Liu, with your words, I feel much more at ease." Li Zhe offered the other man another cigarette, lit it for him, and said with a smile, "After this meal, I'll go back and work on the detailed plan for expanding the vegetable greenhouses."

Before the Lunar New Year, I went back to the village to get a feel for the situation, to see what the villagers thought and whether they were willing to join us in growing vegetables in greenhouses. Once we had a clear understanding of the situation, we could then discuss the next steps of our cooperation.

"Okay, okay, then I'll wait for your news." Liu Jianhua replied with a smile, thinking to himself: That's the right attitude.

(End of this chapter)