Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 280 Negative Examples
Around 6 p.m., Chen Shuping pushed her bicycle back to the tenement building, with a vegetable basket in the bicycle basket.

After get off work, she made a special detour to the vegetable market to buy some greens. Ever since Li Zhenguo went to the Wan'an Town Cannery, she has had to take care of everything at home, and every day is like a rush.

As soon as I went up to the second floor, I ran into Aunt Zhang, who lived next door. Aunt Zhang was wearing a floral shirt and carrying an enamel basin. When she saw me, she smiled and said, "Shuping, do you have guests? It sounds quite lively inside."

“It’s Tingting who’s here to tutor Huijing,” Chen Shuping replied with a smile, not at all surprised.

Pushing open the door, a rich aroma of roasted meat wafted out, and the house was much livelier than usual. Wang Ting was sitting at the table helping her son check his homework, while Li Zhe, wearing an apron, was wiping his hands. Several dishes were already laid out on the table, and her son stood beside her, swallowing hard.

"Tingting, Second Brother, you're both here." Chen Shuping walked in with a smile and put the shopping basket in the corner.

"Auntie," Wang Ting stood up to greet her.

"Second Aunt," Li Zhe greeted her as well.

The chubby boy ran over and pulled Chen Shuping toward the dining table: "Mom! Second Brother is cooking today! I guarantee you've never eaten this before."

Chen Shuping then noticed that there were several dishes on the table: a plate of pan-fried steak cut into small pieces, golden brown and still steaming; next to it was a plate of stir-fried shrimp, bright red and tempting; there were also stir-fried eggs with chives and smashed cucumber.

"Wow, this steak looks really good, it's so appetizing." Chen Shuping leaned over to take a look. The edges of the steak were slightly charred, and the meat inside was a tender pink color, still steaming hot.

"We don't have enough knives at home, so I cut it into small pieces first. It'll be easier for everyone to eat with chopsticks," Li Zhe said, putting a piece into Grandma Chen's bowl. "Grandma, please try this. It won't taste good when it gets cold."

The chubby boy couldn't wait any longer. He picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece, and stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes lit up instantly: "This steak is so delicious! It smells amazing, and it doesn't get stuck in my teeth!"

Grandma Chen also tried a piece. She was worried that the meat would be too tough to chew, but it was very tender. She couldn't help but nod and say, "It's good. This beef is well-chosen and very tender."

Chen Shuping quickly washed her hands and sat down to eat. She picked up a piece of steak and tasted it. The texture was indeed good, and she couldn't help but ask, "Hmm, this beef is really good. Where did you buy it?"

Wang Ting explained with a smile, "This is Qin Chuan hybrid beef sold at Li Zhe's vegetable shop. It's a special-supply beef, and it sells for over twenty foreign exchange certificates per pound in the shop."

"My God, it's so expensive!" Chen Shuping was shocked. This steak used at least three or four pounds of meat, which was almost equivalent to her monthly salary.

The chubby boy was so engrossed in eating that he picked up another large shrimp and mumbled, "Second Brother, your cooking is amazing! It tastes even better than what you get in restaurants!"

"I'm glad you like it. I'll make it for you again next time." Li Zhe rubbed his head.

"Okay! I'll be home all summer, you can come anytime!" The chubby boy nodded repeatedly.

Chen Shuping glared at him: "Your second brother is so busy, how could he have time to cook for you every day? Don't make things worse."

Li Zhe put down his chopsticks and looked at Chen Shuping: "Second Aunt, I see that you are usually very busy with work, and you still have to take care of Huijing after get off work. How about next time I go back to Langfang, I take Huijing back to Daying Village to stay for a while? Now that we have built a new house, it is spacious and can accommodate him."

"I want to go! I want to see the new house!" the chubby boy replied immediately.

When Dad came home last time, he mentioned that his uncle's family had built a two-story house with a large yard and two half-grown puppies. He had been wanting to go and see them for a long time.

Chen Shuping hesitated for a moment: "This child is too noisy, I'm afraid he'll cause trouble for my elder brother and sister-in-law."

"Don't worry, there are plenty of people in the family, he won't go hungry. He'll be playing with the kids in the village during the day and staying with his second uncle at night, it won't be a hassle," Li Zhe said with a smile.

The chubby boy quickly declared his determination: "Mom, I'll definitely behave when I go! I'll do whatever Uncle and Auntie ask me to do, and I won't cause any trouble!"

Looking at her son's expectant eyes and then at Li Zhe, Chen Shuping finally nodded: "Alright, second son, I'll leave it to you."

"Great!" the chubby boy cheered.

……

The gate of the Wan'an Town Cannery was half open, and there were still some water stains on the cement ground in front of the gate, indicating that it had just been cleaned in the morning.

A white Volga sedan slowly pulled up in front of the factory. The passenger door opened, and chubby Li Huijing climbed out, his round face full of curiosity as he looked around at the cannery in front of him.

Grandpa Zhang, who was guarding the gate, was drinking tea in the guardhouse when he heard the car. He looked up and immediately recognized it as Li Zhe's car.

He quickly put down his teacup, got up and walked out of the guardhouse. Just as he was about to open the other half of the door, the car sped away, leaving the chubby boy standing alone at the door.

Grandpa Zhang stepped forward, looked the chubby boy up and down, and asked with a smile, "Kid, who are you looking for?"

"Grandpa, I'm looking for Li Zhenguo." The chubby boy tilted his head back, his voice carrying a Beijing accent.

"Oh, you're looking for Director Li. Come in quickly." Grandpa Zhang opened the door, let the chubby boy into the factory, and then asked, "Did you come in Boss Li's car?"

The chubby boy nodded: "Yes, that's my brother."

“No wonder you look a bit like Boss Li. Come on in, Director Li is in that factory building on the west side…” Grandpa Zhang paused here, “Never mind, I’ll take you in anyway, so you don’t go to the wrong place.”

"Thank you, uncle."

"Hey, don't mention it, it was just something I did." Grandpa Zhang waved his hand and led the chubby boy into the factory. As they approached the west factory building, he called out twice, "Director Li, Director Li..."

Hearing the commotion, Li Zhenguo came out of the factory. He first saw Grandpa Zhang walking ahead and asked, "Brother Zhang, is there something you need?"

He had barely finished speaking when he noticed the chubby boy beside him and exclaimed in surprise, "Huijing, what brings you here?"

The chubby boy smiled and said, "My second brother brought me here. He saw that I was on summer vacation and said he would take me back to my hometown to stay for a while."

Seeing this, Grandpa Zhang said, "Director Li, you two chat, I'll go back to the guardhouse first."

Li Zhenguo quickly said, "Brother Zhang, let's have a couple of drinks together another day."

"Alright, I've been wanting to have a few drinks with Director Li for a long time!" Grandpa Zhang replied, turning and walking towards the guardhouse.

Li Zhenguo turned to his son and asked, "Where is your second brother?"

The chubby boy replied, "He went to the credit union to take care of some business. He said he'd come pick me up when he was done."

Li Zhenguo pointed to the old-fashioned red brick building not far away and said, "Come on, I'll take you to my office to sit for a while."

The chubby boy looked on with curiosity: "Dad, I don't want to go to the office. I want to go to your cannery workshop and see how you work."

"Heh, you're quite curious, kid. Alright, I'll take you to see." With that, Li Zhenguo led the chubby boy into the west factory building, rummaged through the spare parts cabinet in the workshop, and pulled out a set of faded small blue work clothes, a dome-shaped work cap, a mask, and shoe covers, handing them to him: "Put these on."

"Dad, wearing a hat and mask in this sweltering heat, how hot must it be!" the chubby boy muttered, frowning.

Li Zhenguo put on a stern face: "Stop talking nonsense. If I tell you to wear it, then wear it. Otherwise, don't even think about watching."

"Let me see, let me see!" The chubby boy quickly took the clothes, put them on deftly, and asked, "Is this okay?"

Li Zhenguo reached out to help him adjust his hat, pulling the brim down to cover his ears and prevent hair from showing. "Our food factory is extremely hygienic. Even a single hair falling into a can can cause significant losses." He quickly put on the same work clothes, except he wore a "Production Supervisor" badge on his chest. He patted his son's shoulder and asked, "Come on, would you like to see the tomato canning production line first, or the peach canning line?"

"Look at the yellow peaches! Yellow peaches are delicious." The chubby boy answered without thinking.

The father and son first entered the raw material workshop, which was filled with a sweet aroma. Several female workers were busy around a cement pool, in which yellow peaches that had just been brought from a nearby orchard were soaking.

Li Zhenguo pointed to the pool and explained, "This first step is called 'pre-washing.' The mud and leaves on the surface of the yellow peaches need to be soaked in clean water for ten minutes to loosen the dirt."

Then, he pulled the chubby boy to the washing machine next to him—the nylon brushes inside the machine were buzzing, and the yellow peaches were tumbling back and forth in the drum, their fine hairs being brushed clean.

"This is a 'fine wash,' even more thorough than hand scrubbing. Look over there," Li Zhenguo pointed, noting that two female workers were quickly peeling and pitting yellow peaches with small knives.
"The peach skin must be peeled off completely, otherwise the skin inside the canned food will affect the taste; the peach pit must be scooped out into a round shape, without leaving any broken pieces, so as to ensure the taste of the canned food."

The chubby boy stared at the freshly peeled yellow peaches in the female worker's hand. The tender, translucent yellow flesh looked so tempting that he couldn't resist reaching out to touch them. Li Zhenguo quickly stopped him, saying, "Don't touch them! Even if you're wearing work clothes, you can't touch the raw materials directly."

The father and son walked through the raw material workshop and were greeted by a row of square pools made of tinplate. The water in the pools had a light yellow tint, and freshly cut peach pieces were soaking in them.

Li Zhenguo scooped up a spoonful of water and brought it to his son's face: "Smell this. There's a little citric acid in it. When you cut a yellow peach, it's easy for it to turn black when it comes into contact with air, just like an apple turns brown after being cut open for a while."

Soaking them in this pool keeps the peach flesh a tender yellow color, making them look more appetizing.

On the counter next to them, several male workers were using stainless steel cutters to cut peaches into four pieces. Li Zhenguo explained, "There's a trick to cutting them. If they're too big, they won't fit in the jar; if they're too small, they'll fall apart when cooked. And each piece has to have a little peach tip attached, so they look nice and customers are more willing to buy them when they open the jar."

Li Zhenguo led his son forward and entered the filling workshop. The noise level inside the workshop was significantly higher, and two filling machines were running "click-clack".

On the conveyor belt, clean glass jars are lined up one by one. Female workers, holding long-handled spoons, scoop peach pieces from the color-protecting pool and neatly stack them into the jars.

Li Zhenguo then pointed to the pipes on the filling machine: "After the peach pieces are filled, it's time to add the syrup. The syrup is prepared according to a specific ratio; too sweet and it will be cloying, too bland and it will be tasteless."

Further ahead is the sealing workshop. In front of a semi-automatic sealing machine, a female employee is placing the filled cans on the turntable. With a "click," the machine firmly attaches the metal lid to the glass jar.

The sealed canned goods were placed into iron baskets and pushed to a large pot about half a person's height. Workers were adding water to the pot, then lowering the iron baskets into the pot and sealing the lid tightly. Li Zhenguo explained, "This is 'high-pressure sterilization.' The pressure inside the pot is greater than outside, which kills all the bacteria in the yellow peaches."

He then pointed ahead and said, "The cooled canned goods need to be inspected again to check for impurities and whether the seals are tight. If there are no problems, they can be boxed."

Finally, the father and son went to the packaging area, where qualified canned goods were being packed into cardboard boxes printed with "Delicious Yellow Peach Canned Goods", 12 cans per box.

The chubby boy looked at the mountain of canned goods piled up in the corner and couldn't help but lick his lips: "Dad, it looks pretty professional, but I wonder how it tastes?"

Li Zhenguo smiled, picked up a can of food that had just passed inspection from the side, and unscrewed the lid: "If you want to eat it, just say so, but you have to give us your feedback after you finish eating it."

The chubby boy picked up a piece of canned yellow peach and put it in his mouth. His eyes lit up: "It's so sweet and delicious! The flavor is just right, even better than the ones you brought home before!"

After eating two pieces, the chubby boy stopped and looked at his father, saying, "Dad, I feel like you're different from before."

"How are they different?" Li Zhenguo retorted.

The chubby boy frowned, thought for a long time, and then shook his head: "I can't really explain it, but it's just different. When you were in the capital, I always thought you were very tired, but now when I see you talking about these things, you seem to have a lot of energy."

Li Zhenguo felt a surge of emotion upon hearing his son's words.

Since becoming the production supervisor at the Wan'an Town Cannery, he has felt an inexhaustible energy. This sense of groundedness and dedication is something he never experienced before at the Beijing Cannery.

He patted his son on the shoulder and said with a smile, "You'll understand when you grow up. If you do what you love, you won't feel tired."

……

In the director's office of the Wan'an Town Credit Cooperative, an old-fashioned electric fan was swaying from side to side, blowing a "whoosh" and lifting the edges of several sheets of paper on the table.

Sun Liguo placed an enamel mug with the words "Serve the People" printed on it in front of Li Zhe: "Brother, have some of this to cool down in the heat."

Li Zhe sat on the sofa, reached out and took the bowl. It was filled with reddish mung bean soup, with a few mung beans floating on top. He took a sip, found it sweet, and couldn't help but laugh: "Brother Sun, have you changed your taste? I used to always see you brewing strong tea, but now you've switched to mung bean soup."

“In this weather, drinking tea is nothing compared to drinking mung bean soup!” Sun Liguo sat down on the sofa and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “The more you drink tea, the hotter it gets. Once the tea cools down, it loses its potency. But this mung bean soup, once cooked and cooled, is thirst-quenching anytime you drink it.”

“That’s right, the villagers can’t do without this when they’re working.” Li Zhe nodded. He used to drink a lot of mung bean soup. Every household keeps some on hand when they go to work in the fields, but he’s not used to adding sugar.

Sun Liguo took out a stack of bound documents from the drawer and handed them to Li Zhe: "Brother, take a look at this—this is the loan approval amount for the second batch of farmers to buy greenhouse film, and this is for the third batch to dig the foundation. If there are no problems, I will sign it. By the way, the fourth batch of loans will be approved soon."

Li Zhe took the documents and carefully flipped through them page by page, his eyes slowly scanning the names and amounts.

When he flipped to the third batch of loan lists, his fingers paused, his brows furrowed slightly, and he looked up at Sun Liguo and said, "Brother Sun, the second batch is fine, just approve it normally. Approve half of the third batch first, and hold off on the rest for now."

Sun Liguo paused for a moment, leaned forward, and lowered his voice: "What's wrong? Is there a conflict between the farmers and our company?"

"It's not so much a conflict as it is a bit of insatiable greed." Li Zhe placed the documents on the coffee table, his fingertips lightly tapping the paper.

“There was a torrential rain a while ago, which scared the villagers. Now they are worried that if they encounter another natural disaster while growing greenhouses, they are thinking of having the company cover them – saying that if the greenhouses are lost due to extreme weather, Sijiqing Company should compensate them.”

"What kind of logic is this!" Sun Liguo frowned, his tone becoming more serious. "Someone helps you make money, and then expects you to shoulder the risks of natural disasters? How can that be so unreasonable!"

“Some people are like that, only thinking about their own interests and trying to push all the risks onto others.” Li Zhe smiled and said calmly, “I’m thinking of holding off half of the loan for now. If things go too smoothly, they won’t appreciate it and will start to overthink things.”

"You're right." Sun Liguo showed an expression of agreement, then asked, "What happens after the card is removed?"

"We'll still approve it; we still need to make money by cooperating with them to grow crops in greenhouses." Li Zhe took out a pen from his pocket and circled the names of several growers, including "Zhao Dashan" and "Chen Laonian," on the third batch of loan list.

"However, I am prepared to terminate the cooperation with these ringleaders who made the demands, and their loan eligibility will be revoked directly."

Sun Liguo leaned over and glanced at the list, feeling a little worried: "Zhao Dashan and Chen Laonian are both from Daying Village. What if they regret it and cause trouble when they find out their loans have been canceled?"

"Brother Sun, don't worry. Party Secretary Wang of Daying Village is firmly committed to greenhouse farming. Most of the village militia members are working with me, and hundreds of farmers from our village and neighboring villages also want to join us in making money by growing vegetables in greenhouses." Li Zhe took a sip of mung bean soup, his tone resolute.
“They really dare to cause trouble. I don’t even need to take action; the other farmers will object first.”

Li Zhe thought to himself, "The villagers are very good at reading people's expressions and bully the weak while fearing the strong. I'm already being kind by not causing them any trouble. Where do they get the guts?"

Sun Liguo thought about it and agreed. Now, hundreds of households around Daying Village rely on Sijiqing Company to make money. If anyone dares to cause trouble, without Li Zhe saying anything, others will have to stand up and stop them.

He nodded, picked up a pen and made a mark on the list: "Okay, I'll have someone cancel their loan eligibility in a bit."

Li Zhe canceled these people's loans not out of spite or pettiness.

If we let this go lightly without any real punishment, who knows how many people will follow suit and think that "making a fuss will make demands."

Sometimes, setting up one or two negative examples is more effective than spouting a hundred道理 (principles/truths).

(End of this chapter)