Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 276 Termination of Contract
The rain in Daying Village hadn't stopped, but it was a little lighter than the torrential downpour of last night, just a light drizzle on the ground.

The old locust tree at the village entrance had half a branch snapped off by the wind. The broken branch lay across the muddy water, and a few withered leaves were wrinkled from being soaked.

The utility pole at the west end of the village was leaning, with the wires dangling and touching the water's surface. Some people stood at a distance, afraid to approach.

The ridges of the field had been breached, and yellowish muddy water flowed down the slopes, causing the corn seedlings in the field to bend and fall, a heartbreaking sight.

In the lobby of the two-story Li family house, Old Li peered out the window—the yard was flooded with water half a foot deep, small bubbles were rising from the cracks in the bricks, and the flowerpots in the corner had been overturned by the water.

His face was clouded with worry. He turned to Li Zhenguo and said, "I didn't expect the rain to be so heavy last night. I'm afraid the crops in the fields are going to be ruined."

“That’s right!” Li Zhenguo frowned and tapped the windowsill with his finger. “The wind was howling last night. I could hear the trees swaying through the window. I thought the house was going to be blown away.”

The rain has lessened now, but the waterlogged roads haven't receded, so I can't even go to the cannery.

"Dad, Second Uncle, what are you two researching?" Li Zhe asked, yawning as he came out of his room, his eyes still showing signs of sleepiness.

Old Li turned to look at him: "The rain this year is strange, it rained all night without stopping, and the power went out at home." He suddenly remembered something and asked again, "By the way, did your food delivery business to the hotel get delayed?"

"Don't worry, it won't be delayed." Li Zhe rubbed his face. "Master Liang picks up vegetables from Xinfadi and delivers them directly to the hotel. It's far from here, so it won't be affected by the rain here."

Old Li breathed a sigh of relief and chuckled as he tapped him, "No wonder you slept so soundly last night. I didn't get any rest and had to get up several times to check on you."

As they were talking, Li Zhe suddenly perked up his ears: "Is someone knocking on the door?"

"I went out this morning, and the door wasn't locked, just left ajar." Old Li had barely finished speaking when a figure carrying a urea bag on his head ran in from outside the yard, his trouser legs completely wet and covered in mud.

Li Zhe walked to the door and saw his cousin Li Zhiqiang: "Qiangzi, what happened?"

Li Zhiqiang took off the urea bag, his hair dripping wet, and said urgently, "Uncle, the foundation of the greenhouse is flooded, it's half a meter deep!"

Li Zhe wasn't worried—the area around the greenhouse had already been piled high with soil, half a meter deep, indicating there was no backflow. If there had been backflow, the water would have been level with the ground by now. He reached out and pulled the person into the house: "Come in quickly to take shelter from the rain. It's normal for the water to be flooded. We can just use a pump to drain it after the rain stops."

"Uncle, I'm not going in. My feet are covered in mud. I don't want to get your floor dirty." Li Zhiqiang shrank back.

"It's alright!" Old Li waved his hand. "Walking in mud on rainy days is normal, right? We'll wipe it off later. Come on in!"

"Hey." Just as Li Zhiqiang stepped inside, another shout came from outside the courtyard. Zhao Tiezhu ran in, his trousers rolled up to his knees and his legs covered in mud: "Brother, Uncle!"

"Zhu Zi, what's wrong?" Li Zhe went up to him.

Zhao Tiezhu gasped for breath, his voice urgent: "Brother, your old house was washed away by the heavy rain!"

"What?!" Old Li jumped up, rushed to the door, and grabbed Zhao Tiezhu's arm: "Zhuzi, what did you say happened?"

“The old house collapsed, and there’s a big hole in the ground!” Zhao Tiezhu gestured. “I just passed by and saw that most of the courtyard wall had collapsed and the house had also collapsed.”

Upon hearing this, Old Li disregarded everything else and ran outside as fast as he could.

"Dad, don't rush! Put on your raincoat before you go!" Wang Xiuying rummaged through the house and handed several raincoats to Li Zhe.

Li Zhenguo hurriedly caught up with Lao Li: "Brother, so what if it collapsed? Nobody lives here anyway. It won't make a difference if you catch a cold."

"No, I have to go take a look!" Old Li didn't stop walking, his voice filled with panic—those three mud-brick houses were where he had lived for half his life, and even if he moved to a new house, he couldn't bear to leave them behind.

Li Zhe caught up with Old Li, carrying a raincoat, and put it on him: "Come on, let's go take a look together."

The group walked towards the old house. The water on the road was ankle-deep, and the water made a "squeak" sound when they stepped on it. Old Li was the oldest, but he walked the fastest. Li Zhe didn't stop him—the man was in his forties, and he was stronger and more steady than Li Zhe in an arm wrestling match.

When they arrived at the old house, they were all stunned: most of the adobe walls had collapsed, and adobe bricks mixed with mud were piled up beside the walls. A deep ditch had been cracked in the ground of the yard, and water was flowing into the collapsed house along the ditch.

The three mud-brick houses had all collapsed. The roof beams were broken in two, and the mud plaster used to plaster the walls had turned into slurry, exposing the wheat straw inside. The cabinets in the main room were buried underneath, with only a corner showing, making the place look like a complete mess.

"My goodness, what happened..." Old Li was startled, his legs went weak, and he almost sat down in the mud.

Li Zhe quickly supported him, and could feel his father's hands trembling.

Li Zhenguo also noticed something was wrong and came over to ask, "Brother, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Old Li waved his hand, his eyes wide open, his face full of lingering fear—he dared not think that if the new house hadn't been built, and his family were still living here, the consequences of last night's rain would have been unimaginable.

He used to think his son was rushing to build a new house, but now he realizes that his son has a much longer-term vision than him.

Li Zhe walked through the mud to the house, squatted down and looked at it: "There is a tunnel under our old house. I guess the rainwater backed up and softened the foundation, which is why the house collapsed."

“That’s right, there’s a tunnel down here.” Li Zhenguo also chimed in. “Every household dug one back in the day, but I remember filling it in a long time ago?”

“I guess it wasn’t properly compacted back then.” Li Zhe stood up and took two steps back. “Once the canteen is built, I’ll find someone to rebuild the old house.” Although he and his uncle had swapped land and the old house now belonged to Li Zhenguo, he couldn’t let the other person live in a collapsed house.

Li Zhenguo quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need. I live alone, there's no need to build a new house, it would be too wasteful."

"Let's not talk about whether to build it or not for now." Li Zhe took a few steps back. "First, we need to have people clear out the collapsed houses, fill in the tunnels, and make sure the ground is compacted so that there are no more problems."

The rain hadn't stopped, so construction couldn't proceed. The group chatted for a few more minutes in the rain before going their separate ways.

Li Zhe got caught in the rain and didn't go straight home; he went to the village committee first.

The fertilizers, pesticides, straw mats, and greenhouse films from Sijiqing Company are all stored here; we need to check if there's anything wrong with them.

The village committee is located on high ground, with its buildings and warehouses 50 centimeters off the ground. When you open the door, the inside is dry and clean, with supplies piled up neatly, without a speck of water on them.

Reassured, Li Zhe headed towards the Li family's greenhouse.

The dirt road north of the village was difficult to walk on, with deep and shallow water everywhere. A utility pole leaned against the roadside, its wires submerged in water, and the group took a long detour.

The foundations of more than twenty greenhouses were flooded, but the vegetables had already been harvested and the farm tools were stored in the storage room in front of the greenhouses, so they were not affected.

After that, he went to the canteen construction site—the construction site was nearly a meter higher than the surrounding area, and half of the roof had already been covered with cement slabs. The building materials were all piled up under the cement roof, so the rain couldn't get on them at all.

After checking all this, Li Zhe felt completely at ease. On his way home, he encountered many villagers carrying shovels and hoes to the fields, their faces showing worry.

Some plots of land were low-lying and completely flooded, with corn seedlings submerged in water and their leaves turning yellow.

Some people squatted on the edge of the field sighing, complaining that God was blind; others covered their mouths and cried softly, fearing that this year's harvest would be wasted.

Looking at this scene, Li Zhe couldn't help but sigh. Farmers really depend on the weather for their livelihood; it's so hard for them.

The afternoon rain gradually subsided, leaving only a few scattered raindrops, and the air was filled with the damp smell of earth and grass.

The village loudspeaker in Daying Village suddenly blared, and village secretary Wang Tietou's hoarse voice announced: "Attention everyone! All able-bodied adults, assemble at the village committee entrance. We'll repair the electricity and clear the roads first! Elderly people and women, please tidy up your homes. If your houses are damaged, don't panic; let's help each other out!"

Wang Tietou led his men to the west end of the village. A cement pole leaning to one side was soaking in muddy water, and power lines were dangling. He had his men cordon off a danger zone with ropes, and then called over a few strong villagers: "Come on, lend a hand and straighten it!"

The electrician squatted to the side, waiting for the pole to be steady before climbing up to reconnect the wiring; others brought timber from the village committee to temporarily replace the broken wooden pole, everyone was busy and working hard.

Li Zhe wasn't idle either; he led Zhao Tiezhu, Li Zhiqiang, and a few others to clean up the road.

A strong wind snapped a branch of an elm tree, as thick as a bowl, and it lay across the road, blocking even carts carrying farm tools.

Li Zhe stepped through the muddy ground and said, "Hey guys, lend a hand and move this branch to the side of the road."

The brothers Guo Yonghong and Guo Yongfu also came over. The two brothers were strong, and each of them held one end of the branch. Under Li Zhe's command, they carried the broken branch to the roadside.

As the group walked, they shouted and cheered as they worked, and the road quickly became lively.

On the other side, the village officials led people to the low-lying fields.

The corn seedlings, which had just grown to knee height, were drooping and wilted from being flooded by the rain, their leaves covered with a thick layer of mud.

Organized by village officials, some people took hoes and dug drainage ditches. As soon as the "cross-shaped" ditch was dug, muddy water flowed out of the field along the ditch.
After draining the water, they quickly washed away the mud from the seedlings, straightened the fallen corn, and pulled up any corn with broken stalks to save nutrients. Further remedial measures, such as loosening the soil and applying fertilizer, are then the farmers' responsibility.

In the evening, good news arrived: thanks to Wang Tietou's organization, the village's electricity was finally restored.

The moment the lights came back on, many villagers cheered.

But Li Zhe didn't rest. He led the Guo Yonghong and Guo Yongfu brothers, along with Wang Ermazi, Lin Xiaohu, and others, to their vegetable greenhouse. The foundation of the semi-underground greenhouse had accumulated a lot of water. If it wasn't pumped out in time, it would not only affect the soil quality but also damage the greenhouse walls.

Li Zhe had five water pumps brought out, and the brothers Guo Yonghong and Guo Yongfu, though from out of town, worked the hardest.

Five water pumps started up at the same time, and the "buzzing" sound of the pumps made people's ears ring. The turbid water was discharged out through the pipes.

Everyone took turns guarding the water pumps until the evening of the next day, when the water in the 24 greenhouses was finally pumped out.

We ate dinner in the newly built canteen. Although the canteen was not yet completed, the roof was half-erected, which provided shelter from the wind and rain.

Li Zhe was starving. He took the steamed buns and pork stew that his mother handed him and ate them in big mouthfuls.

Before they had finished their meal, a group of people walked over. They were all farmers who had previously signed cooperation agreements with Sijiqing Company. They all looked worried and seemed to have something on their minds.

Old Li was the first to notice something was wrong. He put down his bowl and looked at the leading farmer: "What's wrong? What happened?"

The crowd looked at each other for a while before a slightly hunched man, less than 1.7 meters tall, finally spoke up: "Zhenhua, we just want to ask if your greenhouses are all flooded?"

Old Li recognized the other party as Zhao Dashan, a farmer in the third batch of cooperative farmers. He pretended to be relaxed and said, "It is flooded, but my family has five water pumps, and all the water in the greenhouse has been pumped out. If you want to borrow them, come and sign up, and we can take turns using them."

"It's not about borrowing the water pump," Zhao Dashan said, rubbing his hands. "I'm worried that if we plant our vegetables and then it rains this heavily again, what will we do if the vegetables get flooded?"

"Don't worry about that!" Old Li waved his hand. "After July and August, there will be less rain. We'll cover the sheds with plastic film and dig drainage ditches then, so the rainwater won't get in."

"What about when the wind blows?" Wang Dajiao, who had big feet and a loud voice, suddenly interjected. "The other day the wind blew the trees down, didn't it? Won't the greenhouse film be torn off? Wouldn't the vegetables still suffer then?"

She spent her days chatting with a group of old women outside the Li family's greenhouse. Knowing that the Li family was making money growing crops in greenhouses, she encouraged her husband, Chen Laonian, to also sign a farmer cooperation agreement.

But the rainstorm scared her. Luckily, she hadn't planted any greenhouses yet. Otherwise, the wind and rain would have been merciless, and the greenhouses and the seedlings inside would have been destroyed. Who would have to pay the compensation?
Old Li glared at her, and seeing Chen Laonian cowering in the back without saying a word, he snorted, "Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood. If God wants to blow wind and rain, I can't stop it. What exactly do you mean? Just say it!"

“If we lose money farming, we only lose a hundred or two hundred yuan. But if the greenhouse collapses, how are we going to repay the loan of several thousand yuan?” Zhao Dashan finally put it bluntly, “We are just afraid of losing money.”

"I understand, you don't want to plant anymore?" Old Li nodded. "Your foundation hasn't been dug yet, so don't bother, or you'll lose money."

Zhao Dashan was speechless.

Old Li then looked at Chen Laonian: "Laonian, you don't want to do this job anymore either?"

"I..." Chen Laonian had just opened his mouth when Wang Dajiao blocked his way, smiling obsequiously, "Brother Li, it's not that we don't want to work, we just want to ask, if we suffer a disaster, will Sijiqing Company compensate us?"

"Compensation?" Old Li was taken aback for a moment, then asked, "You suffered a disaster, why should Sijiqing Company compensate you? The foundations of our Sijiqing Company's greenhouses were also flooded. Who should we ask for compensation from?"

Old Li got angrier and angrier, and said, "You're in the fourth batch, right? You haven't even dug the foundation for the greenhouse yet, so you might as well quit."

Wang Dajiao's face froze instantly.

Old Chen, standing nearby, quickly tried to smooth things over: "Zhenhua, it's not that we don't want to do it, it's just that we're worried. The second son is the company boss, let him say a few words!"

Li Zhe glanced at these people and could roughly guess what they were thinking: on the one hand, they wanted to make money by growing crops in greenhouses with him, but on the other hand, they were afraid that the greenhouses would suffer another disaster and they would lose money.

Therefore, we hope that Sijiqing Company will provide them with a safety net and compensation for the disaster.

However, Sijiqing Company has neither the obligation nor the capacity to bail them out. Moreover, Sijiqing Company also suffers losses in the event of natural disasters, and these losses are far greater than those of ordinary farmers. Who will bail out Sijiqing Company then?
Li Zhe said loudly, "My father is right. We signed a cooperation agreement, and we are responsible for our own profits and losses. If the greenhouses are damaged, our Sijiqing Company has no obligation to compensate or the ability to compensate each grower."

Zhao Dashan frowned and said, "Second son, if you say so too, then we all really need to reconsider whether we should continue growing crops in this greenhouse..."

Li Zhe glanced at the crowd behind Zhao Dashan and said seriously, "Everyone here has signed an agreement with Sijiqing. In principle, we should act in accordance with the contract. It's too late to break the contract now."

As soon as these words were spoken, the farmers' expressions changed, and they began to discuss among themselves:
"Although we have applied for a loan, we haven't withdrawn the money yet."

"Yes, the foundation for my greenhouse hasn't been dug yet."

"What? We don't want to do it anymore, but you're still forcing us to keep going?" A group of farmers started discussing.

Li Zhe gestured for them to stop, then continued, "I know everyone was terrified by this heavy rain. They're worried that their vegetable greenhouses will be destroyed and they'll lose everything, not only losing money but also being unable to repay their loans."

Therefore, on behalf of Sijiqing Company, I can make an exception today. Anyone who wants to terminate their contract can come to me and register; you won't have to continue fulfilling your contract obligations.

Li Zhe then pointed to Zhao Dashan and Chen Laonian and said to Zhao Tiezhu, "Zhuzi, write down their names. Sign the termination agreement tomorrow and report it to the credit union later."

“Okay, bro,” Zhao Tiezhu replied.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Danian shrank back: "Second son, that's not what I meant... I..."

Chen Laonian then looked at Wang Dajiao, who was standing to the side.

Wang Dajiao quickly said, "We haven't decided on terminating the contract yet; we need to think about it some more."

Li Zhe ignored the two men and held up three fingers: "I'll give you three days. Those who want to terminate their contracts should hurry up and register. Once the foundation is dug, it will be too late to register. After three days, we'll have to act according to the contract."

As he spoke, Li Zhe added to Zhao Tiezhu, who was standing next to him, "Zhuzi, write down the names of all these people. The company will process their contract terminations tomorrow."

Suddenly, Sun Qiang shouted from the crowd, "Brother Li, I don't want to cancel the contract! My family's foundation has already been dug, I want to build the greenhouse with you!"

Wang Ermazi, who was standing nearby, quickly chimed in, "Me too! I want to build a greenhouse, I won't break the contract!"

Lin Xiaohu, who was standing nearby, joked, "Brother Sun, Brother Wang, if you two aren't going to terminate your contracts, then what are you doing here? Did you come here to help us build a cafeteria?"

Wang Ermazi's eyes darted around, and he chimed in, "That's right! I'm here to help build the canteen! The sooner the canteen is built, the sooner we can start training people on planting techniques there. I'm here to help!"

Lin Xiaohu laughed and said, "Haha... So how much pay do you want?"

Wang Ermazi gritted his teeth, patted his chest, and said, "What money? I don't want money, just meals are fine!"

Lin Xiaohu smiled and agreed, "Brother Wang, then I thank you on behalf of the company!"

Li Zhe looked at Wang Ermazi and asked with a smile, "Brother Wang, is there water in the foundation of your greenhouse?"

Wang Ermazi answered truthfully: "It's filled with water, about thirty or forty centimeters deep."

Li Zhe then said to the Guo brothers beside him, "Brother Guo, lend Brother Wang one of our water pumps later."

"Okay!" the Guo brothers replied, then turned and went to the cafeteria to move the water pump.

Upon seeing this good opportunity, Sun Qiang quickly stepped forward and said, "Brother Li, once the water in my house foundation is drained, I'll come and help build a canteen. It'll be free!"

Li Zhe nodded in agreement: "Brother Sun, the water in the foundation of the greenhouse needs to be drained in time. If you need a water pump, just let me know."

Sun Qiang immediately chimed in, taking the opportunity to say, "Yes! Yes! Yes! I actually came here to borrow the water pump!"

Seeing this, Li Zhe shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, stop blocking the way! Anyone who wants to terminate their contract, sign up with Zhu Zi; anyone who wants to borrow a water pump, sign up with Xiao Hu..."

The moment he said that, the crowd split up.

Among the first and second batches of growers, many had already dug their foundations. They were determined to follow Li Zhe in growing crops in greenhouses, and now they all rushed to Lin Xiaohu to sign up and borrow water pumps.

Only a few farmers hesitated, looking at Zhao Dashan and Wang Dajiao; the rest of the farmers stood aside and watched.

People have a contrarian mentality: the more Li Zhe refuses to terminate the contract, the more worried the farmers will be about something fishy, ​​and more people will want to terminate the contract.
But Li Zhe readily agreed to terminate the contract, which made the onlookers back down and start to think about their own choices.

Once the crowd quieted down a bit, Li Zhe addressed the farmers who were still observing, saying, "I've already mentioned the disaster compensation to Mayor Chen, and he's helping us apply for disaster subsidies from the government."

However, whether this policy can be implemented depends on our collective efforts, and I will continue to follow up on this matter.

If anyone has anything else to say, please tell me now; otherwise, you can all leave now.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhao Bing took the lead in shouting from the crowd, "Brother Li, I want to sign up to help build the canteen! No money needed, just meals provided! The sooner the canteen is finished, the sooner training can begin!"

Inspired by Zhao Bing, other farmers also signed up, and the previously somewhat dull atmosphere suddenly became lively...

(End of this chapter)