Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 198 Hello everyone

Wan'an Town, Rural Credit Cooperative.

Sun Liguo brewed a pot of tea and handed it to Li Zhe, saying, "Brother, you're really lucky. You managed to snag the last wave of perks."

"Brother Sun, what do you mean?" Li Zhe was confused by these seemingly random words.

Sun Liguo whispered, "A document just came down from above: interest-free loans are no longer being issued. If you come to the credit union for a loan after the New Year, interest will be charged."

Li Zhe was mentally prepared for this, but he didn't know the specific timing.

This incident has indeed had some impact on his plans to expand his vegetable greenhouses.

Li Zhe has two expansion models. The first is to establish a vegetable company with his family and friends, lease collective land for large-scale planting, and sell the produce himself.

The second model involves cooperating with ordinary farmers, teaching them vegetable greenhouse cultivation techniques, helping them obtain loans from credit unions, signing vegetable purchase agreements, and then reselling the vegetables to Beijing City Vegetable Company at a higher price.

The first expansion model is up to Li Zhe. Even if taking out another loan increases interest rates, the impact will be minimal; it will simply mean earning a little less.

However, the second expansion model requires cooperation with farmers, allowing them to take out loans from the credit union. The villagers are not well-off, and interest-free loans and interest-bearing loans have a significant impact on them, which may deter many people.

However, after thinking for a short while, Li Zhe's expression relaxed again. Everything has two sides. On the other hand, loan interest is actually a kind of screening and threshold, keeping out those who are not very enthusiastic about planting off-season vegetables.

Raising the bar at the beginning can filter out some people who are just trying to take advantage of the situation, which is a good thing.

Just like when Li Zhe established the Daying Village Vegetable Cooperative, he required members to pay a monthly membership fee of 4 yuan. He deliberately raised the entry threshold, saying, "If you want to watch the show, stay outside. This place is too small to fit everyone."

"Brother Sun, have you heard of the Beijing City Vegetable Company?"

Sun Liguo laughed and said, "Brother, I've actually heard of this company before."

This time it was Li Zhe's turn to be surprised. "You've dealt with this company before?"

"No, not at all. The relationships involved are a bit complicated. The Ministry of Agriculture proposed the Vegetable Basket Project, which includes special loans from the Agricultural Bank of China for the Vegetable Basket Project. The Beijing Vegetable Company is a major borrower. The purchase, storage, and transportation of vegetables all rely on credit support from the surrounding Agricultural Banks and credit unions. We were informed by the higher-ups long ago that this is a priority 'major customer'."

After Sun Liguo finished speaking, he subconsciously asked, "This company wants to buy your off-season vegetables?"

“Yes, their general manager, Liu Jianhua, approached me with great sincerity. But as you know, I've only built a dozen or so acres of greenhouses, and the yield isn't even enough to satisfy their appetites. So, I was thinking of expanding the scale of the vegetable greenhouses.” Li Zhe took a sip of tea and continued:

“One person’s strength is ultimately limited. I’m thinking of teaching the villagers how to grow vegetables in greenhouses, so they can also grow vegetables in greenhouses like me. What do you think of this idea?”

This is also the key purpose of Li Zhe's visit today. He wants to expand the scale of his vegetable greenhouses, which requires the support of the credit union and the local government.

Putting everything else aside, the issue of funding is unavoidable.

These days, no one in the village is wealthy. If they want to build vegetable greenhouses, most people have to take out loans from the credit union. Without the support of the credit union, Li Zhe's expansion plan simply cannot be implemented.

Sun Liguo immediately guessed Li Zhe's idea. Last year, he supported Li Zhe in building vegetable greenhouses in the hope that he could encourage other farmers to apply for loans from the credit union.

“Brother, we’re such good friends, so let me be honest with you. We have loan disbursement targets every year. This year, without the interest-free loan policy, it’s even more difficult for farmers to get loans. I wholeheartedly support your plan.”

However, there are some potential problems, and we need to investigate them first. Sun Liguo picked up the thermos and refilled Li Zhe's cup with water.

"Interest-free loans started being issued in 1983, and many loans were extended, with the longest term being five years, which meant they would mature in 1988. As a result, most of the loans could not be recovered, and the policy of 'sons paying their fathers' debts' had a negative impact. Therefore, the issuance of new interest-free loans was suspended. Although it has not been completely suspended yet, I reckon... it will be soon."

At the same time, the higher authorities have demanded strict handling of non-performing debt, which will become a 'core' performance indicator for credit unions in the future. We're under a lot of pressure.

Li Zhe understood, "You're worried that farmers will lose money growing vegetables in greenhouses and won't be able to repay their loans."

“That’s right, that’s what I’m worried about. I trust your abilities, Brother Li, and I’m completely at ease letting you lend me money. But I don’t trust those villagers. They don’t have your skills. What if the greenhouses are built but don’t make money, and instead lose money? That would be another mess.” Sun Liguo glanced outside and sighed.

"As the year drew to a close, our loan officers were out collecting debts, but what happened? The head of the collective enterprise disappeared, and we couldn't find the villagers who had taken out personal loans either. I'm so worried."

“Brother Sun, your concerns are valid, and this is indeed an issue that needs to be considered.” From Li Zhe’s perspective, making it more difficult for the credit union to grant loans is not a bad thing. The loan quota is limited, and if everyone else takes all the loans, how will he expand his vegetable greenhouse?

He organized his thoughts and said, "I didn't just say I would teach the villagers how to grow vegetables in greenhouses."

I will set up a company and hire experienced technicians to train farmers who want to grow vegetables in greenhouses. Furthermore, we will send technicians to personally guide farmers through everything from purchasing building materials, constructing greenhouses, seedling cultivation, transplanting, trellising, fertilizing, and spraying pesticides. We will also help treat any diseases affecting the vegetables. I will absolutely not hold back any planting techniques.

"We will ensure that the villagers can grow vegetables, earn money, and be able to repay their loans from the credit union."

Sun Liguo stroked his chin and asked in return, "Brother, what are you after?"

Li Zhe smiled and said, "We will sign a vegetable purchase agreement with the farmers, stipulating that we will purchase the vegetables at a fixed price after they are ripe. Then, our company will resell the vegetables to Beijing Vegetable Company."

Sun Liguo, who worked in the financial system, immediately understood and laughed, "Brother, that's why I said you could make money. I've figured it out. Even if you didn't grow vegetables in greenhouses, you could still make money doing something else."

"Brother Sun, please don't praise me. I'm also figuring things out as I go," Li Zhe continued, summarizing, "Our company teaches planting techniques, the villagers are responsible for planting vegetables, the credit union provides loan services, and the Beijing Vegetable Company is responsible for purchasing and selling them."

This creates a closed loop in the industry chain, benefiting everyone. What do you think?

Sun Liguo didn't answer immediately. After thinking about it seriously, he said, "That's good. I think it's a great idea. It's better than the villagers messing around with all those random projects..."

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something else, "Oh right, there's another situation. Some farmers go to the credit union to apply for loans. In order to get the loan smoothly, they apply for projects that meet the regulations, but once they get the money, they use it for other things."

There's a family surnamed Chen in Nanguan Village who said they wanted to open a brick kiln. We went to check on their progress a few days ago, but there wasn't even a pit.

When we went to his house to ask again, his family wouldn't say anything. We finally found out by asking the neighbors that the guy had taken the money and gone south to do business...

I'm worried that some people might be using the guise of vegetable greenhouses to take the loans for other purposes.

"That's a possibility. We can take some regulatory measures at that time. For example, if farmers want to apply for loans, they must first join our vegetable cooperative. Our cooperative has always maintained contact with the credit union."

Building a greenhouse starts with digging the foundation. Before construction begins, we will inform the credit union of the approximate amount of money needed, and the credit union will first allocate a portion of the construction funds to them.

Afterwards, our cooperative went to inspect the site. Once the foundation for the greenhouse was dug, we issued loans for purchasing building materials.

All loans were disbursed in batches. Once it was discovered that the borrower had misappropriated the loan, all subsequent loans were stopped.

Sun Liguo nodded. Actually, this method wasn't particularly ingenious; the credit union could have thought of it too, but it was difficult to implement. Now that Li Zhe's vegetable cooperative was willing to help with supervision, it was a good thing for them.

“Brother, I personally support your plan to expand the greenhouse. If you continue to push it forward, I will also report it to the higher-ups and try to get their support.”

Li Zhe said, "Brother Sun, I know this isn't something you can decide on your own. If it requires pulling strings, just let me know, and we'll figure something out together."

Sun Liguo whispered a reminder: "You can also speak to the government, so you should also make some contact with them beforehand."

Li Zhe nodded: "I will visit Mayor Chen in the next couple of days."

The larger the vegetable greenhouse, the greater the profits. Li Zhe alone can't handle it all; only by everyone making money together can the business thrive in the long run...

……

Daying Village, north of the village.

As the sun set, Lin Xiaohu lowered the last roll of straw curtain from the greenhouse, his arms aching from the effort. Undeterred by the cold, he plopped down on the rammed earth wall, gazing blankly into the distance.

Tiger Girl's arrival shattered his hopes for the future.

With Hu Niu watching him, he didn't dare to approach Qing He on his own initiative. The thought of this made his heart ache.

Suddenly, he saw a green truck driving by and walked over as usual. This truck, which drove to Beijing every day, always gave him a sense of novelty. Even just chatting with the people on the truck made him feel closer to the capital.

When he saw Li Zhe get out of the car, he immediately ran over excitedly, "Brother Li, you're back!"

Li Zhe glanced at him. "Xiao Hu, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?"

"No, I didn't sleep well last night." Lin Xiaohu scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly.

Li Zhe didn't ask any further questions and instructed, "Go and tell everyone that once you're done, go to shed number three to collect your wages and New Year's benefits!"

(End of this chapter)