Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 68 Worry
Recently, my son likes to bring his child to the greenhouse whenever he has free time. It's warm inside, and he's not afraid of bumping into things. He just has to keep a close eye on his daughter and not let her run around in the greenhouse.

She was surprised to see a young girl suddenly appear in the shed and grabbed Li Weidong, asking, "Whose daughter is this? She looks so wild, why did we let her into the shed?"

"Hey, this girl is no ordinary person. She's a top student from Beijing Agricultural University, and she came here specifically to visit and learn from us."

"You're just bragging. What would college students learn in our village?"

"Learn what? Learn how to grow vegetables in greenhouses, of course. They even want to cooperate with us to grow mushrooms."

"Tsk tsk." The young Malaysian girl clicked her tongue in amazement. "Second Uncle is really something, he even managed to recruit college students, and her wages are only five dollars a day?"

These words left Li Weidong bewildered. The other person didn't seem to have mentioned money, and he didn't know anything about it.

Seeing her husband standing there in a daze, the Malaysian girl was too lazy to ask any more questions and simply handed the child to him.

She had never met a college student before, and what was even more intriguing was a female college student. Her eyes kept glancing at the other person, intentionally or unintentionally.

Gradually, she realized that this girl wasn't a tiger; instead, she possessed an indescribable heroic spirit and adventurous drive. She thought of her own daughter, Daya, and wished she could become a college student someday.

In the evening, everyone sat around the table in greenhouse number 3 for dinner. Zhou Qinghe looked around, finding everything novel and interesting. "Can people live in this greenhouse at night?"

Old Li said, "If people want to live there, someone has to guard the shed at night."

Zhou Qinghe asked, "Uncle Li, is it alright if I stay here tonight to watch over the greenhouse?"

Wang Xiuying laughed and said, "Girl, this is a man's job. Come back with me tonight, there's room at home to sleep."

The Malay boy, who was very outgoing, said, "Qinghe, come sleep at my house tonight. It's a newly built brick house, and it's warm."

Zhou Qinghe smiled and said, "As long as my sister-in-law doesn't find me troublesome, that's fine."

"It's no trouble at all. I just like being with knowledgeable people."

Zhou Qinghe then looked at Old Li across from her and said, "Uncle Li, I not only want to grow mushrooms now, but I also want to observe and record the growth data of other vegetables. What do you think?"

Old Li put down his chopsticks. "These vegetable seeds were all bought from the supply and marketing cooperative and the market. With so many people growing them, is it really necessary?"

"It's absolutely necessary. Although the seeds are the same, those are all grown outdoors, while ours are grown in greenhouses. The growing environment and seasons are very different, and the physiological indicators and environmental parameters of these vegetables are of great scientific research value."

Old Li didn't understand any of this either, and looked at Li Zhe beside him.

"You can make a vegetable observation record, but you have to leave me a backup." This data is not only valuable for scientific research, but it will also play a key role in the future expansion of the Li family's vegetable greenhouses.

Zhou Qinghe agreed, "No problem, but you have to copy it yourself. Don't even think about using me as a conscript."

Li Zhe no longer stayed in the village often, nor was he willing to do such tedious data work. He glanced around at the people, who were all uneducated and rough. Finally, his gaze fell on his younger sister.

Just as he was about to speak, a voice rang out from the side.

"Let me do it."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was Malay Xiao who was speaking. "I'm willing to help Qinghe and record the growth data of the vegetables."

Li Weidong laughed, "Wife, come on, you haven't even graduated from elementary school, and you're going to be an assistant to a college student."

Malay Xiao glared at him. "Shut up. If you can't speak properly, then don't speak." Malay Xiao then put on a smiling face. "Qinghe, I may not be highly educated, but I can read and write. I'm sure I can help you. Whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it."

"I have no objection, Li Zhe, what do you say?"

Li Zhe hadn't expected the young woman from Malaysia to be so proactive, and he didn't object to his sister-in-law's self-recommendation.

Malay Xiao may have her flaws, but she has one advantage: she considers herself a member of the Li family and doesn't side with outsiders. The uncle and sister-in-law never argued in their past lives; at most, they'd bicker a bit about Li Weidong's affairs. Later, when the niece took over, and the elder brother couldn't really hold his own, Li Zhe stopped bothering with her. He was finished.

“Sister-in-law, I’ll make sure you work hard from now on, and I’ll also get paid a share of your wages.”

"Let's talk about the wages later. I just want to follow the God of Literature and share in the good fortune." Influenced by her husband, she didn't treat Li Zhe as an outsider, at least not before they got married.

With the deal settled, Zhou Qinghe was very happy and said, "Li Zhe, I'd like to stay here for a couple more days to record the current growth data of the vegetables."

“I agree with your idea; the earlier the vegetable growth data is recorded, the better. But this is your first time here. Will your family feel at ease?” Li Zhe joked with a smile. “What if they can’t find you and call the police?”

"Haha..." Zhou Qinghe laughed, but the smile was a little awkward, because this possibility really existed.

After dinner, everyone sat together again to discuss growing mushrooms, chatting for almost an hour before dispersing.

At night, Mr. and Mrs. Li stayed behind to guard the greenhouse.

Old Li held a notebook in his hand. "Second brother, can you take a look and see if these materials we need to buy are correct?"

The dinner was quite oily, so Li Zhe picked up a bruised cucumber from the basket, rubbed off the prickles, broke it in half, and handed it to Old Li. He then took the notebook and looked at it: cottonseed hulls, sawdust, wheat bran...

Old Li took the cucumber. "Second son, I won't go to the capital tomorrow. I'll stay home and prepare materials for growing mushrooms. Be careful and don't act impulsively."

"Okay, I'm also worried that you'll catch a cold from running around every day."

"Second brother, visit your uncle's house when you have time. Before, we didn't have a place to stay in the capital. After selling vegetables, we had to rush back. Now that you've rented a house, you can say you've settled down in the capital."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Dad, how about we go together another day?"

"I won't go. Now that the tractor runs back and forth, it's convenient for your second uncle to go home if he wants to."

“Okay, I’ll go when I have time.” Li Zhe knew that his father didn’t not want to see his second uncle, but was afraid of causing him trouble.

The greenhouse was quiet, save for the sounds of the father and son eating cucumbers.

Old Li frowned, as if he was thinking, "Second brother, I've been feeling uneasy these past two days, always worried that something might happen."

Li Zhe nodded. "I understand what you mean. Everyone was poor before, and it would be too conspicuous if our family suddenly made money."

Old Li slapped his thigh and said, "That's right, these winter vegetables are precious, so it's inevitable that some people will have bad intentions. Whether it's in a greenhouse or on the road, we have to be extra careful."

Li Zhe said, "I went home this afternoon to get some clothes and stopped by Zhu Zi's house on the way. The puppies have all been weaned, and all four puppies are doing well. I told Zhu Zi that we won't give the puppies away; we'll keep all four. We can take care of them both at the shed and at home."

In addition, the delivery route will not stop, and at least three people will escort the vehicle, all carrying equipment.

Old Li took a bite of cucumber, chewed it a few times, and felt like he had forgotten something.

After a while, he spoke up, "Second brother, if you ask me, the most eye-catching thing is at the vegetable market. The stall owners are all crowding around to buy goods, this one for tens of yuan, that one for a hundred, and they can collect more than a thousand yuan in a short time. Who wouldn't be envious?"

I was thinking, we've rented a place, and it's a shop facing the street. We can drive the tractor there or use a donkey to haul goods at the alley entrance. Then we can distribute the goods in courtyard number seven. Once the door is closed, nobody will know how much we're making. Isn't that better than collecting money at the vegetable market?
"To be honest, I had over a thousand yuan in my pocket, and everyone looked like a thief to me. I couldn't even eat in peace. It was really unpleasant." These days, Old Li, who was in charge of collecting the money, felt this most deeply.

Li Zhe thought about it carefully and realized that his father made sense. With a stable sales channel for cucumbers, the market would only sell about ten kilograms a day. He could just carry a basket to the market to sell them and save the trouble of riding a donkey backwards.

He could easily call the middleman to his home to distribute the goods. Just like Lao Li said, closing the door would not only be inconspicuous but also minimize the risk.

Before that, he had to come up with an idea to screen out the middlemen selling vegetables and keep a few reliable ones, because too many people would easily lead to chaos.

"Father, I didn't think this through properly. Let's discuss it again..."

(End of this chapter)