Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 199 The Loudspeaker (Two chapters combined)

The first thing Li Zhe did after arriving home was to distribute salaries and benefits.

Li Zhe first invited Teacher Chen Shougeng into the greenhouse. Although Teacher Chen's transplanted fruit and vegetable crops in the greenhouse had not yet made a profit, Li had seen his ability and hard work. In Li's words, apart from his refined appearance, he was no different from an old farmer like himself.

This is already extremely high praise for Lao Li.

At the same time, Zhu Yimin also praised Chen Shougeng highly, constantly referring to him as "Teacher Chen".

When Li Zhe wasn't in the village, these two were the greenhouse managers and technicians, and their words carried a lot of weight.

"Teacher Chen, you've been here for a while now, are you settling in well?"

Chen Shougeng took the chair Li Zhe handed him and sat down: "At first, I really wasn't used to it, but after living here for a while, I really don't want you to leave."

I need to ask for leave in advance. I plan to go back to Beijing tomorrow. The New Year is almost here, and I need to go back and visit people. I'm just a little worried about the experimental fields in the greenhouse.”

Li Zhe smiled and said, "You can go with peace of mind. As long as I am in Daying Village, I will go to the experimental field to take a look. When I am not around, I will ask Lao Zhu to keep an eye on things. What else do you need to worry about?"

Chen Shougeng replied, "Alright, I'll take the carriage tomorrow. After the New Year, once I've finished dealing with things in the capital, I'll come back."

Li Zhe took an envelope out of his pocket. "Teacher Chen, you've worked so hard these past few days, leaving your family and home behind to cultivate the experimental fields. It's truly admirable. This is a small token of my appreciation; please accept it."

"Mr. Li..." Chen Shougeng was, after all, an educated man, and he was a little embarrassed to refuse, so he waved his hand to decline.

Without a word, Li Zhe grasped his hand, placed the envelope in his palm, and said sincerely, "Teacher Chen, this isn't for you, it's for your wife and the children at home. You've been working so hard outside, it's more important than anything else to go back and buy some gifts for your family so they can have a happy New Year."

After a brief pause, he added, "By the way, I've arranged your holiday bonus. It's stored at the 365 Vegetable Store, and I'll have someone deliver it to your home later."

Seeing Li Zhe's response, Teacher Chen no longer declined, saying, "Alright, I'll accept it."

The two chatted for a few more minutes about the experimental field before Chen Shougeng left the greenhouse.

As a teacher at a key university, his salary is not small. His basic salary, seniority pay, teaching seniority pay, food allowance, bonus, laundry fee, and subsidies add up to more than 150 yuan, which is considered upper-middle class in Beijing.

This is why his family wasn't very supportive of his decision to grow vegetables in greenhouses in Daying Village. He even had a fight with his wife over it, and they didn't leave on good terms.

Now that I have an extra source of income, I can also give my family an explanation.

He opened the envelope Li Zhe had given him and was slightly taken aback. Inside were several foreign exchange certificates. He counted them and found there were a total of two hundred foreign exchange certificates.

His heart was burning with excitement. These foreign exchange certificates were not easy to obtain. Not to mention the Friendship Store, many sought-after items in department stores also required foreign exchange certificates. With these two hundred foreign exchange certificates, he could buy some rare gifts for his family and also alleviate his guilt towards them.

……

The second person to go into the greenhouse to collect his wages was Zhu Yimin.

Li Zhe looked the other man up and down. He seemed to be in much better spirits than usual, and he also looked heavier. "Brother Zhu, I heard you got divorced?"

Zhu Yimin revealed a bitter expression and sighed, "We're divorced, the assets are divided, and my daughter stays with me. This way, it'll be easier for her to remarry." After all, they were husband and wife, and after the initial impulse subsided, his resentment towards his ex-wife lessened. They also have a daughter together, so there's no need to make things too ugly.

“Brother Zhu, if you don’t mind, let your daughter eat in our greenhouse. You don’t need to keep watch at night anymore; take your daughter home to stay. When the vegetable greenhouse is expanded again next year, we will also build some brick houses and a canteen, and the conditions will get better and better.”

Zhu Yimin laughed and said, "What's there to complain about? The food here is great. That girl is eager to come and eat here every day, even more so than I am!"

"That's good then." With no worries, Zhu Yimin could finally focus on growing vegetables. Li Zhe then changed the subject and asked, "Brother Zhu, I heard that your quick-tongued wife helped you with the Zhou family's matter?"

Although Zhu Yimin didn't like his quick-tongued wife, he didn't deny this: "Yes, to be honest... if it weren't for her, it would be difficult for me to get this money back. When we get our welfare benefits, I'm thinking of sending her some. It's not much, just rice, noodles, pork, and apples. It's just a token of my appreciation."

Li Zhe said, "Brother Zhu, I'd like to ask you for a favor. This matter concerns Kuai Zui's wife. I'll cover the gift you gave her."

Zhu Yimin was taken aback, his tone filled with confusion: "Brother, what does this mean?"

Li Zhe didn't answer immediately, but asked instead, "Is your quick-tongued wife back at the consignment shop now?"

"Hey, this is really strange. The two families were fighting so badly before, but now they're back to normal. My gossipy wife is back to being a regular at the store, just like before, always talking about other people's business. Whatever she says can be spread throughout half the village, even more effectively than the village loudspeaker." Zhu Yimin laughed as he spoke. Actually, he wasn't the only one curious about this; half the village was talking about it.

Lin Xiaohu worked for the Li family. Some people asked him why, but the kid was very slippery and always managed to brush it off, refusing to say anything.

The more this happened, the more people felt something was amiss.

Li Zhe asked with a smile, "Is she interested in our greenhouse project?"

“I’m so interested! After she was beaten and discharged from the hospital last time, I went to visit her at home. She even subtly asked me about the greenhouse, but I brushed her off. She was a little unhappy that she didn’t get any information.”

"When you go to give her the gift this time, if she asks about it, just tell her some trivial things. For example, the benefits, salary, bonuses, and the price of off-season vegetables can all be mentioned to her."

In those days, there weren't many entertainment options in the village, so many people enjoyed chatting about everyday matters and interesting anecdotes.

The consignment shop was the center of gossip in the whole village, and the talkative wife was the best among them; it was no exaggeration to call her a human megaphone.

Whatever she knows, it's as if half the village knows. Sending just a few kilograms of rice, meat, and fruit can effectively promote the expansion of vegetable greenhouses; the quick-talking wife is extremely cost-effective.

Zhu Yimin hesitated for a moment: "Are you trying to use your talkative wife to promote the vegetable greenhouses? Is that really necessary?"

At the same time, he was also worried: "If others know that we are making money growing vegetables in greenhouses, they will definitely follow suit. Once the output of vegetables in greenhouses increases, the price of vegetables in winter will definitely be affected."

Zhu Yimin didn't believe that Li Zhe was truly so selfless as to want to lead his fellow villagers to wealth and prosperity.

Li Zhe understood the other party's thoughts: "Brother Zhu, there's a saying that if you don't advance, you fall behind. If we don't develop, others will. China is a vast country with abundant resources and many talented people. Even if we don't teach greenhouse vegetable technology, some people can become self-taught. I'm not an isolated case."

Zhu Yimin's heart skipped a beat: "Have you heard some news?"

Li Zhe replied, "As far as I know, the Northeast and Shandong provinces have been researching delayed harvesting technology for greenhouse vegetable cultivation. Although they are not yet able to grow overwintering vegetables, it is only a matter of time."

Once they figure it out, they'll do it even if we don't promote it. If they seize the vegetable market first, then there'll be nothing left for us.

Zhu Yimin said thoughtfully, "So what you said before about wanting to lead the villagers to grow vegetables in greenhouses wasn't just empty talk, but a real thing?"

"It's true. Just do as I say for now, and I'll tell you the details of next year's development plan in a few days."

Zhu Yimin received his wages and left the greenhouse with a heavy heart. He admired Li Zhe's decisiveness, but at the same time, he felt a sense of confusion deep down: What should I do next year?
……

Daying Village, a sales agency.

The former queen of verbal sparring is back!
In the center of the shop, the talkative wife was sitting by the coal stove warming herself, surrounded by a group of women chatting, and a group of men playing cards at a nearby table.

A few days ago, the quick-talking wife suddenly returned to the consignment store, which surprised everyone. They thought she was going to get a beating again.

After all, everyone knew that she had cheated them. The Lin family hated her to the core, and Zhang Yuzhen even declared that she would not allow her quick-tongued daughter-in-law to set foot in the store again, or she would beat her every time she dared to come in.

Just when everyone thought they were about to witness another spectacle, an unbelievable scene unfolded. When Zhang Yuzhen saw the talkative woman, she not only didn't drive her away or beat her, but also proactively poured her tea and offered her fruit, being even more attentive than usual.

"Damn it, did the sun rise in the west?" The women and men in the store were dumbfounded, unable to figure out what had happened to make the two families, who were originally enemies, reconcile and even get along better than before.

Driven by curiosity, Aunt Pang, Wang Dajiao, and Zhao Bing's wife, through their own observations and inquiries, finally discovered a key person—Tiger Girl.

Tiger Girl is the niece of Quick-Talker's wife. Not long after she arrived at Quick-Talker's wife's house, Quick-Talker's wife reappeared at the consignment store. Moreover, Tiger Girl did not leave and is now living at Quick-Talker's wife's house.

These old women, who spend all their time gossiping about family matters, are quite shrewd and quickly figured out the key point.

Tiger Girl's father was the workshop director of the electric fan factory in Wan'an Town, and Tiger Girl was also an employee of the factory. Lin Xiaohu had also worked at the factory, meaning that Tiger Girl and Lin Xiaohu knew each other...

This guess was quickly confirmed. Tiger Girl frequently visited the consignment shop, and Zhang Yuzhen always greeted her warmly. Aunt Pang had even spotted Tiger Girl and Lin Xiaohu together; it was said that Tiger Girl had her arm around Lin Xiaohu's, and the two seemed very close.

Although neither the talkative wife nor Zhang Yuzhen, the two parties involved, have ever explained what exactly happened, these women, who are used to gossiping about family matters, have already guessed most of the story.

And so, the quick-talking wife became the most eye-catching girl in the store again. The only change was that this girl was missing a front tooth, so her speech was a little lisp.

With her talkative wife away for a while, Aunt Pang has become the center of attention and has developed the habit of starting conversations: "Hey, have you heard? Yesterday, Old Li's family gave out benefits again. I heard there were about ten things in total."

Wang Dajiao asked with some envy, "Auntie Pang, what did the Li family get? Tell us about it!"

"I heard there are ten catties of rice, ten catties of flour, a piece of pork fat, pork, beef, chicken..."

"No!" Before Aunt Pang could finish speaking, her quick-tongued wife interrupted her, saying in a slightly erratic tone, "What you said is wrong."

The plump aunt glared at her talkative wife, knowing she was deliberately picking a fight. These past few days, every time she started a new topic, the wife would chime in and try to outdo her, acting as if she were more capable. "What did I say wrong? Tell me!" The talkative wife raised her chin slightly, her tone confident: "There's no chicken. There are ten things in total." She counted on her fingers, "Rice, noodles, oil, pork, beef—that's right. The remaining five are five catties of ribbonfish, five catties of mutton, two carp, five catties of apples, and five catties of pears!"

The plump aunt was somewhat unconvinced: "Why should it be just because you say so? Who knows if you're just making things up?"

Wang Dajiao seemed to remember something. While sewing shoe soles, she asked Zhao Bing's wife across from her, "Zhao Bing's wife, didn't the Li family give out welfare to the militia members last time? Did they give it to your husband Zhao Bing this time?"

Zhao Bing's wife pursed her lips and said, "He got it. He couldn't take it back by himself, so I pushed the cart and helped him pull it back."

The word "pull" is very vivid, evoking a lot of imagination.

A pockmarked man playing cards asked, "Which of them is right? Did they actually send chicken? How much did they send?"

“No chicken was sent,” Zhao Bing’s wife replied.

Aunt Pang's face was rather pale, and with a last glimmer of hope, she asked, "So what did they send out?"

"It's those ten things my quick-tongued wife mentioned. My father-in-law was worried yesterday that he hadn't finished the meat he received last month, and now he's getting more this month. Luckily, it's cold now. If it gets warmer, the leftovers will spoil and won't keep."

Hearing Zhao Bing's wife's words, everyone looked on with envy. Other families wouldn't even spend this much on New Year's goods, but the Li family was so well off, they had everything they needed right away.

Someone with a curious mind asked, "Zhao Bing's wife, how much money did your husband Zhao Bing earn this month?"

“Three yuan a day. This month, Zhao Bing worked for twenty-six days and earned seventy-eight yuan, plus a twenty-yuan bonus. He was just two yuan short of a hundred. You didn’t see how happy my father-in-law was.”

"Damn it, how come it's even more than last month?" Wang Dajiao was distracted and pricked his finger with the needle, letting out a "whoop" of pain and quickly putting his finger in his mouth.

However, no one was paying attention to her at that moment. The old women were whispering among themselves, gossiping about the Li family giving out money.

The old men playing cards nearby also stopped.

An old man took a cigarette off his ear, put it in his mouth, lit it, and asked, "What does your Zhao Bing do every day? Why does the Li family still give him bonuses?"

"It's still the same old militia routine, mainly responsible for night patrols, and sometimes helping to escort vegetables."

"Oh my god, he's just a vegetable seller, why is he being escorted by militiamen... Old Li's family always gets involved in all sorts of fancy stuff," a pockmarked man playing cards nearby joked.

Zhao Bing's wife laughed and said, "Wang Ermazi, you don't know this, do you? Vegetables are very expensive in winter, costing several yuan per kilogram. If it weren't for the militia escorting us, we might get robbed on the way."

Wang Ermazi's eyes widened: "A few yuan per pound? Really? Don't lie to me. When Old Li's family was digging the foundation for their greenhouse, I was one of the first workers. Back then, I never heard him say that growing crops in greenhouses was so profitable."

Zhao Bing's wife pouted: "Why should they tell you? If you knew, wouldn't you also have to grow crops in greenhouses? Wouldn't that steal their business?"

Aunt Pang was also getting restless. She knew Old Li's family was making money from winter vegetables when they distributed welfare last time, but no one knew exactly how much. When she asked Wang Xiuying directly, she was vague and wouldn't give a definite answer, so she eventually stopped coming. "Zhao Bing's wife, how much do the people who grow vegetables with Old Li's family earn in a month?"

Zhao Bing's wife shook her head: "I don't know either. The wages of employees and militiamen are different."

The quick-talking wife's voice suddenly rang out: "The daily wage is five yuan, and the bonus ranges from one hundred to three hundred yuan."

The plump aunt exclaimed, "Good heavens! One hundred and fifty yuan in wages plus three hundred yuan in bonus, that's four hundred and fifty yuan! My husband doesn't earn that much in a year!"

Wang Dajiao was also somewhat skeptical: "Quick-tongued wife, how did you know? Is this information accurate?"

The quick-tongued wife snorted, "Yesterday, Zhu Yimin came to my house to deliver a gift and told me himself, so do you think it's true? He only received four hundred and fifty yuan this month."

The conflict between the fast-talking wife, the Zhou family, and Zhu Yimin was already well-known to everyone, so no one had any doubts.

"Goodness gracious, if Zhou Yufeng knew how much Zhu Yimin was making, she'd be kicking herself!"

"No wonder Zhou Yufeng is so foolish. She gave all her money to her family. Now look what's happened, her husband has left her. She'll be suffering from now on."

"Who says otherwise? Before long, the Zhou family will have a new daughter-in-law, and this older sister-in-law will be kicked out of the house sooner or later..."

The crowd gloated for a few moments.

Wang Ermazi brought up the previous topic again: "With such high wages and benefits for workers and militiamen, how much money has the Li family actually made? Quick-tongued wife, do you know?"

The quick-talking wife replied, "A pound of cucumbers sells for seven yuan in Beijing. He can produce several thousand pounds of cucumbers in one greenhouse. After the cucumber vines are harvested, he can plant another crop of other vegetables, which will yield several thousand pounds of cucumbers again. He can sell them until the end of May next year. How much do you think he makes?"

Wang Ermazi opened his mouth wide enough to swallow a whole steamed bun: "This... a greenhouse can earn at least tens of thousands of yuan! If I had known, I would have followed him and started growing vegetables in the greenhouse too!"

Aunt Pang's husband had also worked with Old Li's family digging greenhouse foundations. She gritted her teeth and said, "My husband knows how to dig greenhouse foundations. Next year, our family will build a greenhouse too."

Wang Dajiao wasn't going to be outdone: "My family will be the same next year..."

The quick-tongued wife scoffed, "You think you can just grow vegetables in a greenhouse like that? Zhu Yimin tried it too, and he almost got into trouble. You need someone to teach you..."

Soon, the topic of vegetable greenhouses spread throughout Daying Village, and many people came to the conclusion that greenhouse farming could make money, and that the Li family was the best source of technical knowledge…

And this is exactly the effect Li Zhe wanted.

365 Vegetable Store in Beijing.

A truck slowly pulled up to the side of the road. As soon as the truck came to a stop, Sun Tao heard a noise and went out of the store. He was about to walk towards the driver's seat when he saw Li Zhe jump down from the back of the truck.

"Hey, Brother Li, why are you sitting in the back?"

Before he finished speaking, the driver's side door opened, and Li Weidong got out of the car first, then helped a young woman to the ground.

Seeing the close relationship between the two, Sun Tao asked, "Oh, is this your sister-in-law?"

"Yes, this is my sister-in-law. It's almost Chinese New Year, and she wanted to come to Beijing for a visit."

"Hey, that's great!" Sun Tao stepped forward and greeted her, "Sister-in-law, my name is Sun Tao. I've often heard Qinghe mention you. Thank you for taking care of her all this time. I'll treat you and Brother Dong to lunch today!"

Ma Lai smiled and said, "So you're Xiao Sun! Qing He often talks about you. You're busy with your business, don't be shy, we'll see each other a lot in the future."

Li Zhe approached and said, "Sister-in-law, why don't you come inside and take a look?"

The Malaysian boy looked around and asked, "Didn't you say your partner was helping out at the shop? Is he here today?"

Li Zhe replied with a smile, "She's off today, so she probably won't be coming."

"Look at me, I finally made this trip, only to find nothing here."

"What's the rush? There's plenty of time. We'll see each other sooner or later." Li Zhe led her into the shop.

Stepping into the store, the Malay girl exclaimed in surprise, "My goodness, isn't this just a consignment shop?" She looked closely at the price tags, rubbed her eyes, and thought she was seeing things—she knew that off-season vegetables were expensive, but why was this beef even more pricey?
"Second brother, why is your beef so expensive? Anyone who didn't know better would think it was dragon meat from heaven!"

Li Zhe explained, "Sister-in-law, you guessed half right. This beef really was air-freighted; it's imported!"

The Malay boy blurted out, "Did the cows arrive by plane?"

Li Zhe couldn't help but chuckle: "You can understand it that way. But it was cut up and transported frozen before it was even put on the plane."

After Li Weidong finished carrying the vegetables, he called out, "Honey, wait here in the store for a while. I'll come pick you up after I finish delivering the vegetables."

"Go on, go on." The young Malay boy was so excited about it that he didn't want to leave.

Although she wasn't highly educated, she was eager to learn. She followed Li Zhe and Sun Tao around the store, asking questions whenever she didn't understand something, and even helped the older women who were stocking the shelves. She was particularly fascinated by Lin Zhixia entertaining foreign guests, and couldn't take her eyes off her.

Suddenly, the shop door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man in his forties carrying two gift boxes rushed straight to Li Zhe: "Boss Li!"

Li Zhe felt the face looked familiar but couldn't immediately recall who it was.

The man quickly introduced himself: "I am Chang Cheng, the purchasing manager of Jianguo Hotel."

Li Zhe suddenly realized—the other person had indeed been to the store: "Manager Chang, what a distinguished guest! Please have a seat!"

Sun Tao quickly brought over a stool.

Chang Chengdui smiled and said, "I know you're busy at the end of the year, so I won't bother you any longer. Please accept this small token of my appreciation. Let's get together properly after the New Year when we have more free time." Without waiting for a reply, he put down the gift and walked out.

Li Zhe chased after him to see him off, and the two exchanged a few polite words in the cold wind. Even after Chang Cheng's figure turned the corner, Li Zhe remained standing there, stunned.

After a while, he grinned: Damn, someone actually gave me a gift!
(End of this chapter)