Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 57 Arrangement
"Dad, let's go home for dinner, and we'll set up the stall again in the afternoon."

"Alright, boss, Zhuzi, you two carry the cucumbers." Old Li then said to Aunt Ma, "Old sister, come back with us for lunch, and we'll come back together to sell vegetables this afternoon."

Aunt Ma waved her hand, "I can't leave this stall unattended. Someone will bring me lunch at noon. You should hurry back."

"Aunt Ma, we're leaving." Li Zhe called out, got on his bicycle, and rode off with his father on the back.

Only the father and son remained on the road. Li Zhe asked, "Dad, how much money did you make this morning?"

"One thousand one hundred and fifty-eight." Old Li pressed the green backpack tucked inside his cotton-padded coat.

"Not bad." Li Zhe felt much more at ease. This wave of financial recovery came at a good time. In the morning, he bought a car, groceries, and furniture, and his money was almost gone.

In the capital, money is a luxury; everything costs money. If you don't have money in your pocket, you don't even dare to speak loudly.

The father and son chatted casually for a while, and soon they arrived at Suzhou Hutong.

Old Li got out of the back seat, carrying the fish into the yard first.

"Uncle Li."

"Uncle is back." Everyone in the courtyard greeted him, and Old Li responded with a smile, "Yongqiang and Qiaomei are here too. You've worked hard today. I'll stew fish for you for lunch. Let you try my cooking."

Li Zhe pushed his bicycle through the gate and saw Li Zhiqiang squatting in the yard, washing his hands with his rear end sticking out. Zhou Yongqiang lit the coal stove, with a kettle of water sitting on it. Lin Qiaomei sat on a stool peeling potatoes. Wang Xiuying heard the noise, lifted the curtain, and came out, her apron smeared with flour.

Wang Jianjun patted the dust off his clothes with a towel. "Zhezi, the furniture is all set up. Come in and take a look."

"Okay." Li Zhe greeted everyone and went into the house carrying a military green canvas bag.

A five-drawer chest had been added to his room. Li Zhe took off his backpack and put it in the bottom drawer. A coffee table was placed in the middle of the main room, with three chairs arranged in a proper manner next to it. A wire bed was set up in the guest room.

"Hey, not bad, it's organized quite well."

Just then, there was another commotion outside, and Li Weidong and Zhao Tiezhu entered the courtyard one after the other.

This was the first time Li Weidong had ever seen this house, and he was amazed by everything about it. "My goodness, this is a courtyard house! It's so grand! What are those carvings on the walls... This door is really sturdy..."

Zhao Tiezhu, harboring a mischievous intent, pulled him toward the toilet, saying, "Brother Weidong, take a look at this room."

Li Weidong glanced at it for the first time and didn't understand. "What is this thing? The white bricks look strangely nice."

Zhao Tiezhu laughed and said, "This is an outhouse."

"Damn, I was wondering why this looks familiar. I've never seen a toilet like this before. How do you use it?"

"I'll teach you."

Li Zhe automatically blocked out their voices; he couldn't bear to watch.

With everyone working together, lunch was quickly prepared.

A newly purchased large round table was set up in the main room, with a freshly cooked braised fish in the center, and stir-fried shredded potatoes, stewed cabbage with vermicelli, braised pork, cucumber salad with pork liver, and tofu salad with scallions on the sides.

"The steamed buns are ready!" Wang Xiuying slammed the plump white steamed buns onto the table.

Li Zhe set out the bowls and chopsticks and invited everyone to sit down at the table.

Li Weidong slapped his forehead, "Oh dear, I forgot to buy firecrackers. We should have set off two."

Old Li waved his hand, "This is a rented house, not a purchased one. Why set off firecrackers? It's just making things difficult for the landlord."

Li Weidong said, "I'm just trying to have a festive atmosphere."

Wang Xiuying placed the steamed buns on the table, saying, "We steamed a pot of leavened steamed buns, hoping to get rich soon. Braised carp means abundance year after year, isn't that festive enough?"

"Here, daughter, try the steamed buns I made." Wang Xiuying handed the steamed buns to Lin Qiaomei and Zhou Yongqiang.

Lin Qiaomei took a bite and said, "Auntie, these alkaline steamed buns you made are so fluffy."

"I steamed a lot today. If you like it, take it home and let your kids try it too. I'll teach you how to make it when I have time later."

"Oh, I won't stand on ceremony with you." "Come on, come on, today is a good day, let me pour you some wine, let's have a toast." Old Li took out a bottle of Fenjiu and unscrewed the cap.

Wang Xiuying asked in surprise, "Hey, when did you take the wine? I didn't see it."

"It was all set up last night. On such a joyous occasion, we should have some good wine."

"You're only thinking about these two ounces of cat pee." In front of everyone, Wang Xiuying didn't argue with him and invited everyone to eat.

Old Li picked up a piece of cucumber from Zhou Yongqiang's plate and said, "Yongqiang, try this. It's a cucumber I grew myself."

"Oh my, this stuff is so precious, why don't you keep it and sell it?" Zhou Yongqiang was a little surprised. The Li family was really willing to spend money. This plate of cucumbers must weigh more than a pound, and it should cost at least ten yuan.

"It's not about whether it's precious or not, it's all grown by ourselves. When you go back, bring some back for your families too."

Cucumbers inevitably get bumped, squeezed, and frostbitten during transportation. Once the skin is broken or there are defects, they won't fetch a good price. They'll either be given to customers as a bonus or eaten by the family.

That's why Old Li wasn't bothered by the price. He wouldn't touch a single one of those good-looking cucumbers.

Everyone ate and drank, and had a great time.

Zhou Yongqiang and his wife became even more familiar with the Li family.

Before leaving, Wang Xiuying saw the couple to the door and gave Lin Qiaomei a basket of cucumbers, saying, "Girl, these cucumbers are either bruised or not very good. We're keeping them for our own consumption, so please don't mind them."

“Auntie, I love it. I used to farm in the village, so how could I not know? Being able to eat fresh cucumbers this season is a blessing. It’s a good opportunity to give the elderly and children in the family a change of pace.”

"That's fine then. Come back for more after you've finished eating." Wang Xiuying watched the two leave, muttering to herself, "Oh, that's great. Zhang Yuzhen isn't much, but her daughter is really something. It's a pity my eldest son doesn't have that kind of luck."

Li Ze sent Zhao Tiezhu to a guest room to rest, while the rest of the people were called to the main room.

Li Zhe opened the tea set that Zhou Yongqiang had given him: a brown purple clay teapot with six small teacups.

Old Li found it unusual and examined it closely. "I've heard of this thing before. I reckon it's not cheap."

Li Zhe had bought Yixing teapots in his previous life; these things are often unreliable, so it's hard to say for sure.

But the taste or feeling of brewing tea is indeed better than using a large teacup.

Li Zhe cleaned the Yixing teapot, scalded it with hot water, put in a handful of tea leaves, poured in hot water to brew, and the aroma of tea wafted out.

After the tea leaves were steeped, Li Zhe poured a cup of tea for everyone.

Old Li picked up his teacup, took a sip with an air of importance, and said, "Hey, you know what, tea brewed in this professional teapot is really fragrant."

Li Zhe smiled but didn't say anything. The tea brewed with different teaware did indeed have some differences, but not much. The psychological differences brought about by the senses were more significant.

Li Weidong held the teacup in both hands, feeling the warmth emanating from it, and said with emotion, "Second brother, are you considered a resident of Beijing now?"

“Not at all. If renting a place makes you a Beijing resident, rents in Beijing would have skyrocketed long ago, and we wouldn’t be here.” Li Zhe put down his teacup and continued, “However, now that we’ve set up our stall in Beijing, someone needs to look after this place. When I’m not home, the shed will be your responsibility.”

Li Weidong said, "You don't need to tell me that. Since you're not home, I'll go to the greenhouse and keep an eye on things."

Li Zhe countered, "Are you comfortable leaving your sister-in-law home alone with the child at night?"

Li Weidong smiled awkwardly. How could he possibly feel at ease?
Li Zhe continued, "I have something to do tomorrow and can't go to the market to watch the stall. Our cucumbers haven't sold out yet, so you need to leave someone to watch the stall at the market."

Li Zhiqiang said, "Uncle, I would like to stay, but my dad is fine watching over the Zhu family's greenhouse during the day, but he likes to have a couple of drinks at night, and I'm afraid he'll get in the way. I'll have to keep an eye on things at night."

Wang Jianjun said, "Zhezi, I'm also willing to stay in Beijing to help, but I'll have to go back and discuss it with your uncle."

Old Li knew their predicament and said, "Here's what we'll do, Zhiqiang, watch over the Zhu family's greenhouse tonight."

Jianjun went back to guard shed number 1, while I stayed in Beijing to look after the stall.

Old Li completely ignored his eldest son, Li Weidong, who couldn't live without his wife and daughter, so it was definitely not going to work out.

obsolete.

(End of this chapter)