Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 324 Sister Ying is very busy
Daying Village.

As evening approached, the living room of the Li family's new house was warm and cozy. Everyone had just finished dinner and was sitting together chatting, with the lingering aroma of the food still in the air.

With a smug smile on her face, Wang Xiuying started talking: "You didn't see it, that machine is so tall. The ingredients for the eight-treasure porridge are put into the machine and stirred, everything is perfect, but the taste of the cooked eight-treasure porridge is just a little bit off. Everyone thinks that mine tastes better."

Upon hearing this, Old Li laughed and joked, "We're not here, so you can say whatever you want."

“Hey, what are you saying?” Wang Xiuying immediately objected, her tone serious. “If you don’t believe me, you can ask Zhenguo and Jianjun. They’re right there. Let them testify for me.”

Sitting to the side, Li Zhenguo quickly nodded in agreement: "Brother, my sister-in-law is right. The eight-treasure porridge cooked by the machine can't compare to the taste of hers."

The smile on Old Li's face gradually faded, and he frowned.

He knew his son, Li Zhe, had high hopes for the canned eight-treasure porridge, and if the taste was off, sales would definitely be affected.

He asked worriedly, "What should we do then? If the taste isn't right, these canned goods won't sell well, and all the initial investment will be wasted?"

Seeing this, Li Zhenguo quickly comforted him, "Brother, don't worry. It's not that the eight-treasure porridge cooked by the machine doesn't taste good; it's just that we haven't researched it thoroughly enough and haven't found the most suitable method yet."

My sister-in-law has been researching eight-treasure porridge for three months. She just started using this machine, so she needs to adjust it and find the most suitable cooking process.

Don't worry, it will be ready in a few days, and the taste will definitely be great then.

"That's good, that's good." Hearing Li Zhenguo say that, Old Li finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the worry on his face eased a little.

Seeing his father's expression, Li Zhe couldn't help but laugh and said, "Dad, if you're worried, come with Mom to the factory later and try it out yourself. Give my uncle some advice; you might be able to help a lot."

"Okay, that's a good idea." Old Li nodded quickly, thinking to himself that he wouldn't be able to put his mind at ease without going there in person to see for himself.

After discussing the eight-treasure porridge, Li Zhe turned to Wang Jianjun beside him and said, "Brother Jianjun, didn't you have something to say? Everyone's here, so don't keep it to yourself, just tell everyone."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jianjun first glanced at his father, Wang Rongsheng, somewhat embarrassed, before saying, "Dad, a few days ago I went to my aunt's house, and she said that Xiaoyan and I are not young anymore, and she wanted to bring both sets of parents together to discuss our engagement."

Upon hearing this, Wang Rongsheng abruptly raised his head, his eyes lighting up instantly, and exclaimed excitedly, "Great! This is fantastic news!"

Wang Rongsheng's two biggest wishes in life are to find his wife and daughter and to see his son, Wang Jianjun, get married.

Now he has learned that his wife and daughter are in Hong Kong Island, and that his wife has remarried.

When Wang Jianjun and Wang Xiuying told him about this, they were worried that he might do something rash. But Wang Rongsheng felt more guilty towards his wife and daughter. As long as they could live well, nothing else mattered.

Now, his greatest wish is for his son to get married soon, so that he can put his mind at ease.

Wang Rongsheng leaned forward and eagerly asked, "So what's the woman's opinion? Does she have any objections to the engagement?"

Wang Jianjun replied, "They didn't say anything. My aunt's idea was to let both sets of parents meet first, sit down and have a good talk, and then discuss the specific details later."

Wang Rongsheng rubbed his hands together, a look of insecurity on his face, and said with a hint of worry in his voice, "I heard that Xiaoyan's father is a policeman and her mother is a factory worker. They both have formal jobs."

I'm just an old farmer with no special skills. I'm just afraid that the other parents will look down on Jianjun and won't agree to the marriage.

Hearing this from the side, Wang Xiuying quickly advised, "Brother, don't think so much. You're just worrying unnecessarily. The two children have been together for a while now and already know about each other's family situations."

If they don't approve of us, they won't agree to let our parents meet to discuss the engagement. I'll go with you to meet them then.

No, we need to go to the capital beforehand to prepare. We should go to the mall and buy some suitable clothes so we can look our best and not be looked down upon.

Wang Rongsheng took a deep breath and nodded: "You're right, we do need to make some preparations."

Watching this scene, Old Li smiled and said, "Brother, congratulations! Jianjun got engaged this year and will get married next spring. Maybe the year after next you'll be able to hold your grandson. That will be quite a lively occasion."

A long-lost look of joy appeared on Wang Rongsheng's face as he pondered and said, "Then we should start preparing the new house. We can't let the girl have nowhere to live after she marries in. Zhenhua, I think your house is quite nice, big and bright."

Later, give me the contact information for Mr. Guo, the builder. I'll invite him over for a meal and talk to him about building the new house, hoping to get it finished as soon as possible.

Wang Jianjun quickly said, "Dad, there's no rush to build the house. Let's finalize the engagement first."

Wang Rongsheng disagreed, saying firmly, "Why aren't we in a hurry? We've already talked about getting engaged. If we don't even have a new house, the girl's family will be unhappy when they come to our house."

Don't worry about this, I have the money, I'll take care of it.

Wang Xiuying teased from the side, "Jianjun, your dad has secretly saved a lot of money to build a house for you to get married. He hasn't even told me yet, so don't stop him."

Li Zhe wasn't one to meddle in other people's business, but his uncle and cousin were family, and he felt he had to say some things.

He said, "Uncle, I don't think there's any rush to build a new house. Jianjun is currently developing his career in Beijing, and he'll most likely be living there permanently in the future."

"Once we make money from the vegetable greenhouses next year, why not just buy an apartment in Beijing? That way, it'll be convenient for Jianjun to commute to work, and our child will have access to education in Beijing. Wouldn't that be great?"

"My goodness, buying a house in Beijing, that's so expensive!" Wang Rongsheng exclaimed in surprise, his eyes wide with disbelief.

His ancestors had been farmers for generations, and in his mind, being able to build a spacious house in the village was already quite good. He never even dared to dream of buying a house in Beijing.

"Houses in Beijing are never cheap, and prices will only keep rising," Li Zhe said, picking up an orange, breaking it open, and popping a segment into his mouth. He then glanced at Li Weidong beside him.
"Brother, you too, don't spend money recklessly. You can buy those appliances later. When you make money next year, consider buying a house in Beijing to plan for the future."

“Okay, I’ll discuss it with your sister-in-law later and hear her thoughts.” Li Weidong nodded seriously, feeling that Li Zhe’s words made sense.

Just then, a young Malaysian man carrying a plate of fruit walked in from outside, placed the fruit on the coffee table, and overheard their conversation.

She chimed in, "What's there to discuss? If the second son says buying a house is a good thing, then it must be. He himself owns several properties in Beijing, so it can't be wrong."

If we have money next year, we'll buy an apartment in Beijing too. Maybe when our daughter grows up, she can go to school there.

Upon hearing what Ma Laixiao said, Li Zhe couldn't help but praise, "Hey, look at her, it has to be my sister-in-law. Her vision is second to none, not just in our family, but in the entire Daying Village. She has foresight."

"Haha..." Hearing Li Zhe praise him, Malay Xiao felt very happy and laughed with great pleasure, making the atmosphere in the living room even more relaxed and pleasant.

But just then, "Bang bang..."

A knock at the door broke the lively atmosphere in the living room. The two spotted dogs in the yard started barking as well.

Wang Xiuying called out towards the door, "Xiao Na, go open the door and see who's here."

Malay Xiao quickly said, "Xiao Na went upstairs to do her homework, I'll go instead."

As she spoke, Malay Xiao got up and walked out of the living room into the yard. She first scolded the two dogs that were barking at the door, chased them to a corner of the yard, and then quickly walked to the door to open it.

Standing outside the door were Ma Changhe and Wang Huilan, a married couple. Ma Changhe was pushing a bicycle, while Wang Huilan got off the back of the bicycle, holding a sleeping child in her arms.

The Malay boy was surprised to see them and asked in confusion, "Uncle, Aunt, why are you here so late? It's so cold, and you even brought the child out."

Wang Huilan forced a slightly strained smile and said in a calm tone, "We just came to drop by and chat with you."

"It's so cold outside, don't let the child get cold. Come in, it's warm inside." The Malay boy said as he stepped aside to let them into the yard.

Ma Changhe pushed his bicycle into the yard, glanced around the spacious yard, and couldn't help but exclaim, "My goodness, your yard is really big! It's much bigger than mine!"

Malay chuckled and said, "It's not small at all, it's over 800 square meters, which is about the size of four residential plots in the village."

Ma Changhe parked his bicycle by the wall in the corner of the yard, then turned around and looked at Ma Laixiao, saying with a hint of envy, "Laixiao, I heard from Qingshan that you are now a supervisor at Sijiqing Company, and all the workers in the company are under your management. You are really capable."

These words struck a nerve with the young man from Malaysia, who said with a hint of smugness, "Oh, Uncle, don't say that. I'm just the deputy head of the human resources department in the company. I don't handle production matters. I'm just responsible for employee attendance and rewards and punishments. I don't have any special skills."

"Hey, isn't that enough to show your ability? There aren't many women in all these villages who can be good managers," Ma Changhe quickly praised.

Malay's little eyes darted around, and he asked tentatively, "Uncle, did you come here today for something? If so, just tell me, and I'll definitely help if I can."

Ma Changhe's smile faltered slightly, then he chuckled awkwardly and said vaguely, "It's nothing serious, just dropping by. Let's go inside and talk." At this moment, Wang Xiuying, who was inside the house, heard the commotion in the yard and came out of the living room.

When she saw her younger sister Wang Huilan holding the child, she quickly went to greet her and said warmly, "Oh, Huilan, what brings you here? Come inside, it's cold outside."

"Oh dear, you brought the little rascal here too! Let me take a look."

As Wang Xiuying spoke, she carefully took the child from Wang Huilan's arms, looked down at the chubby baby in her arms, and couldn't help but praise, "This child is chubby, with big eyes, and is so good-looking. He looks just like you when you were little, Huilan."

Old Li also came out of the living room. When he saw Ma Changhe, he greeted him with a smile, "Changhe, you're here! Come in and sit down. Why didn't you come sooner? If you had come earlier, we could have had a drink and chat together."

Ma Changhe followed them into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and then took over the conversation, saying, "Something happened at the greenhouse at home, and I was busy there all afternoon, which took a while, so I'm late."

"I heard from Qingshan that you also grew vegetables in a greenhouse. How come something happened? Is it serious?" Old Li asked with concern.

Ma Changhe sighed, a worried look on his face, and said helplessly, "Hey, don't even mention it, it's all because I have no experience. I bought the greenhouse film from the plastic factory in Wan'an Town, and only two days ago did I discover that the film was of poor quality and had too low light transmittance. No matter how bright the sun is during the day, the greenhouse can't get warm."

It gets even worse at night; it's not warm at all. The temperature in my greenhouse at night is only around ten degrees Celsius. I have no choice but to burn charcoal to raise the temperature.

The money I spend on charcoal every day is breaking my heart; I simply can't go on like this anymore.

Upon hearing this, Old Li frowned and quickly asked, "Changhe, what are you planning to do next?"

It's only the end of October, and the temperature in the greenhouse is already this low. In two months, it will be December, and it will be even colder; the seedlings will definitely freeze to death. You need to come up with a plan as soon as possible, otherwise the losses will be huge.”

Ma Changhe then explained his purpose: "I came here today to ask if I can also sign a planting agreement with your Sijiqing Company to help me get through this difficult time."

As he said this, he looked at Li Zhe and pleaded, "Zhezi, you're the company boss, you're in charge of the company, can you help your uncle? I really have no other choice."

Li Zhe remained calm, without the slightest fluctuation in his expression.

Actually, he had heard Zhu Yimin mention this matter yesterday, but he hadn't taken it seriously at the time.

When he was young, Li Zhe valued family relationships highly, always believing that relatives should help each other. But after experiencing more things and witnessing too many examples of relatives turning against each other because of interests, he became much more indifferent to the so-called family relationships.

In his view, only those with whom he has a good relationship and frequent interactions are considered relatives.

Those relatives who haven't been in contact for years are, in the end, nothing more than strangers with some blood relation. In fact, some relatives are even less reliable than strangers.

Li Zhe smiled and said, "Uncle, Sijiqing Company now has more than 20 shareholders. It's not just my company. We have to do things according to the rules and regulations. Just tell me what you need. I'll definitely help if I can, but if it's beyond my capabilities, there's nothing I can do."

"I want to use our company's connections to buy qualified greenhouse film so I can replace my greenhouse with new film as soon as possible," Ma Changhe said hurriedly.

Li Zhe turned to his father and asked, "You are the supervisor specifically responsible for assisting farmers in managing greenhouses. What do you think about this?"

Old Li sighed: "There are still more than two hundred farmers waiting in line to sign up and cooperate with the company. They all want to buy greenhouse film through the company's channels. Changhe, you are not currently a cooperative grower of the company, so this is indeed a bit difficult."

"What should we do? Zhezi, you have to help your uncle, I really have no other choice." Upon hearing this, Ma Changhe's voice changed with anxiety, filled with pleading.

Seeing Ma Changhe's anxious expression, Li Zhe slowly said, "Actually, besides the Langfang City Plastics Factory, there are also several good plastics factories in the suburbs of Beijing. The quality of their plastic films is also very good, but the price is slightly higher."

Uncle, you could try looking in those plastic factories on the outskirts of Beijing; maybe you can find some suitable greenhouse film there.

"Really? There's a plastics factory like that in the outskirts of Beijing?" Ma Changhe's eyes lit up when he heard this, and a look of joy appeared on his face. He quickly asked, "Where exactly is that plastics factory? What's it called? I'll go and take a look tomorrow."

Li Zhe thought for a moment and said, "I don't really remember the exact location and name. These things are usually handled by Manager Jin."

Okay, let's have Qingshan ask Manager Jin later, he'll definitely know.

However, I haven't actually used this greenhouse film myself, so you'll have to check it out and compare it yourself when you get there to make sure you don't buy the wrong one.

"Okay, as long as I know where to buy it, that's fine. I'll have Qingshan come with me later. With him there, he can help me check the quality." The worry on Ma Changhe's face lessened considerably.

But after a short while, he seemed to remember something, and the smile on his face faded. After hesitating for a moment, he spoke again, "Zhezi, your uncle wants to ask you for another favor. Could you please help me again?"

Li Zhe quickly waved his hand and said sincerely, "Uncle, please don't say that. I can't accept the word 'begging.' Just tell me what you need, and as long as I can do it, I definitely won't refuse."

Ma Changhe gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind, and said, "I invested all the money in my family to build this greenhouse, and now I don't have any spare money at all. I don't have any money to buy new greenhouse film."

I still want to sign a cooperation agreement with Sijiqing Company and then have the company help me get a loan to purchase new greenhouse film. What do you think?

Upon hearing this, Li Zhe did not immediately respond, but instead asked, "Uncle, where did you get the money to build the greenhouse? Did you save it yourself, or did you borrow it from somewhere else?"

Ma Changhe answered truthfully: "I took out a loan from the Beisu Town Credit Cooperative. I thought that after I finished building the greenhouse, I could pay it back with the money from selling the vegetables. But I didn't expect this to happen now."

Upon hearing this, everyone present frowned; he was truly too shrewd.

Li Zhe nodded and said, "Uncle, since you've already taken out a loan from the Beisu Town Credit Cooperative, it's probably difficult to get another loan from the Wan'an Town Credit Cooperative for the same reason—the credit cooperative is now very strict about lending to farmers; each household can only get a loan once."

Ma Changhe's face darkened again. He sighed and rested his hands on his knees. "What should I do? I really don't have the money to buy new greenhouse film..."

Li Zhe also sighed: "Uncle, if it were the first half of the year, I could lend you some money to tide me over, but now I don't have much money on hand, and I really can't help you financially."

Ma Changhe was somewhat skeptical, his eyes widening: "Really? You run such a big business, with so many greenhouses at Sijiqing Company, how could you be short of money?"

Wang Jianjun, who had been sitting silently to the side, suddenly spoke up: "Uncle, Li Zhe's business is indeed very large. He recently bought two new shops in Beijing, and opened a new restaurant and supermarket, investing all the money he earned last year into them."

Moreover, since June of this year, the vegetables grown in the greenhouses have been selling for low prices, and he really doesn't have much money on hand right now.

Old Li nodded in agreement and chimed in, "Yes, this spring Li Zhe invested over 100,000 yuan in Sijiqing Company, adding equipment and expanding the greenhouses. All that money is gone, and the kid has no money left."

Wang Rongsheng, who had been sitting in the corner smoking, looked at Wang Huilan and said with a hint of helplessness, "Huilan, your family is in trouble. As your brother, I should give you some money."

But Jianjun is getting married next year, and I need to buy him a new house for his wedding. All my savings have to be saved for him; I really can't touch them.”

Old Li chimed in, "Changhe, I had saved up some money before, but it was almost all spent on building this new house and buying furniture. I don't have much left. Otherwise, I would definitely have helped you raise some money."

Hearing everyone talking at once, saying they had no money to help him, Ma Changhe's face grew increasingly grim, his lips drooping, and his hands gripping his trouser legs tightly.

After a long while, he slowly let go of her hand and sighed, "These days, nobody's money is plentiful. But now that I know there's a plastics factory selling plastic film in the suburbs of Beijing, at least there's hope. I'll figure out how to raise the money later."

Having said that, Ma Changhe clearly couldn't sit still any longer. He looked up at the wall clock, stood up, and said, "It's getting late, and the children should go to sleep. We'll head back now."

Wang Huilan quickly stood up, took the child from Wang Xiuying's arms, and carefully wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes.

Everyone stood up and saw them to the door. Ma Changhe got on his bicycle, and Wang Huilan sat on the back seat holding the child, one hand tightly gripping the hem of Ma Changhe's clothes.

Looking at her younger sister's face, red from the cold, Wang Xiuying felt a pang of pity. She took her hand and said, "Huilan, don't worry about the greenhouse. I'll help you figure something out later."

"Oh, thank you, sister." Wang Huilan's voice was a little choked up. She waved to everyone, "Then we're leaving. You guys go back quickly, don't get cold."

Ma Changhe pedaled his bicycle and slowly disappeared into the night.

The group stood at the door until the bicycle disappeared from sight before turning around and walking back.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, Old Li pulled Wang Xiuying aside and asked in a low voice, "Mother, even the second son can't do anything about this. What can you do to help?"

Wang Xiuying patted her chest confidently: "Don't worry, I won't use the family's money or trouble my second brother. I have my own ideas."

Old Li still didn't understand, and frowned as he pressed, "Then tell me, what's your idea? Don't let it fail and make us a laughingstock."

Wang Xiuying smiled and whispered in Lao Li's ear, "You just wait and see, you'll find out then."

(End of this chapter)