Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 98 Liang Weiguo

night.

After the drinking party ended, several of the older men had drunk too much. Zhao Tiezhu and Li Weidong drove Ma Changhe home in a tractor, and Wang Rongsheng went back to greenhouse number 1 to sleep.

Li Zhe called the rest of the group together for a meeting. Old Li was a good drinker and relatively sober, but he had become quite talkative. Before Li Zhe could speak, he said, "I've already talked to your uncle, and he'll come to help tomorrow. He'll bring his eldest son-in-law along too. They're all family, so it'll be easier to use them."

Old Li is usually not very talkative, but he loves to talk when he drinks, and some of his words are said without thinking. Wang Xiuying glared at him: "Second brother, I've figured it out now. Ever since you built this vegetable greenhouse, the happiest people are these old men. There's been no shortage of drinking parties every day."

“You can drink from now on, but don’t drink too much,” Li Zhe said, then got down to business. “The second batch of cucumbers in greenhouse number 1 is ripe. I have to go to Beijing tomorrow, so I’ll leave things at home to you.”

Li Zhe glanced at everyone and began assigning tasks: "Dad, keep an eye on the construction site. Recruit some people tomorrow and get the rammed earth wall built first."

He then looked at Zhu Yimin and said, "I'll leave the seedling cultivation to you."

"Don't worry, you go ahead with your work." Zhu Yimin was full of energy; he couldn't wait to try out the seedling trays.

Li Zhe said, "Is there anything else you want to tell me?"

Zhou Qinghe said, "According to my observation data today, the broccoli in greenhouse 1 and the lettuce in greenhouse 4 are almost ripe."

“I know I’ll be looking for sales channels in Beijing beforehand,” Li Zhe said casually. “You’ve been here for quite a while now, would you like to come back to Beijing with me?”

"I do need to go back, otherwise my mom will miss me." Zhou Qinghe smiled, and she really did miss home.

……

The front courtyard of No. 7 Courtyard in Suzhou Hutong.

Jinzi lay down next to the radiator, raised its head and yawned, its dog eyes occasionally scanning the people in the living room.

Sun Tao and his group arrived on time to pick up the goods and were sitting at the coffee table drinking hot water. This had become a rule—Li Zhe would make them tea when he was there, and Wang Jianjun would pour them hot water when he wasn't.

Everyone was there to make money, so no one complained and accepted the difference.

Sun Tao put down his water glass and stood up: "Brother Wang, the room feels much warmer today. Did you turn on the heating?"

Wang Jianjun replied with a smile, "Yes, I just had a fever yesterday afternoon, and it wasn't so cold and damp when I slept last night."

Big Gold Tooth rubbed his teeth and said, "Your room is big and spacious, and nowadays there's even heating. This kind of accommodation is definitely one of the best in the capital."

While the group was talking, Boss Hong's voice rang out from outside: "Brothers, come out and help unload the goods."

Sun Tao opened the door, ready to go out and help, but saw a familiar figure: "Qinghe! You're back." He happily ran over and looked Zhou Qinghe up and down. "Oh my, you've lost weight. Are you not used to living in the village? Yesterday when I went to the management office, your mother was talking about you. I almost let it slip."

"It's better to be thinner, so my mom won't always complain that I'm fat."

Li Zhe entered the house and greeted the people picking up the goods. Jinzi trotted over to his feet, and Li Zhe sat down and patted the dog's head: "Little guy, did you miss me?"

"Wang! Wang!"

"Haha, you're pretty clever. I'll get you something good to eat later."

Li Zhe exchanged a few pleasantries with Sun Tao and the others, and after distributing the goods, he watched them leave. He then left Zhao Tiezhu to watch the house while he rode his bicycle with Wang Jianjun to deliver the goods. Their first stop was Quanjude Heping Store.

The two were delivering food to the Heping branch for the first time, and they were stopped at the door. A waiter in a white uniform said, "Sirs, our restaurant is not open for business yet. If you want roast duck, you'll have to wait in line."

Li Zhe replied, "We're not here to eat roast duck, we're here to deliver dishes. Please have your Manager Han come out for a moment."

The waiter, perhaps sensing something, asked in a low voice, "What dishes are you here to deliver?"

Li Zhe lifted the quilt on the vegetable basket, revealing tender green cucumbers.

The waiter glanced at Li Zhe and then ushered him into the lobby: "Please have a seat for a moment, I'll go and fetch Manager Han."

Not long after, Manager Han hurried over and said with a smile, "Comrade Li Zhe, if I had known you were coming today, I would have been waiting at the door." "You're too kind, I wouldn't dare trouble you." Li Zhe pointed to the three vegetable baskets in front of him, "I brought 100 jin of cucumbers, please check the goods."

Manager Han lifted the cotton quilt on the vegetable basket and smiled when he saw the cucumbers with yellow flower tips. He took one out, wiped it with a handkerchief, and took a bite with a crunch: "Mmm, crisp and fresh! Just as good as cucumbers in summer."

"Of course, we just picked them this morning. They'll be delivered to you as soon as they arrive in Beijing. You're the first customer here."

"Thank you very much, Brother Li. Would you like to come to my office and sit for a while?"

“Manager Han is very busy, so I won’t bother you any longer.” Li Zhe changed the subject, “It’s about that truck…”

"The truck is easy to arrange. I'll have him drive it directly to your house this afternoon, and you can use it tomorrow."

"That's enough. You're busy, I'll take my leave now."

"I'll see you off." Manager Han escorted Li Zhe to the door and instructed his subordinate, "Add cucumbers to the menu at noon. Set meals without cucumbers will remain at the original price, while those with cucumbers will increase by five yuan."

……

In the evening, at the Li family's field in Daying Village
The work of digging the foundation for the greenhouse had just finished, and Ma Changhe was rubbing his hands in a bucket of water. Today was his first day working for the Li family, and he was doing his old job—leading people to build rammed earth walls for the vegetable greenhouse.

This job is too simple; it poses no challenge for him.

He was just about to go back to the shed to warm up when he saw a military green Liberation truck drive up, with a frame and canvas canopy on it, looking very impressive.

These days, trucks are a rare sight in rural areas. Ma Changhe wondered to himself: What is this truck used for?
The truck came to a stop, the passenger door opened, and Li Zhe got out. Ma Changhe's mouth dropped open: "Zhezi, you... why did you come back in this car?"

"Uncle, I supply vegetables to Quanjude. They saw that there was a lot of damage when using tractors to transport vegetables, so they sent a truck to help with the transportation."

This explanation surprised Ma Changhe even more—if the truck hadn't been right in front of him, he would have thought the kid was just bragging.

During the conversation, a man got out of the driver's seat: he had a buzz cut, a scar on his right eyebrow, and stood ramrod straight wearing a military overcoat.

Li Zhe said to the man, "Brother Liang, rural conditions are tough. If there's anything you're not used to, just let me know."

“Mr. Li, I used to be a soldier, I’m not that delicate.” Liang Weiguo looked at the four bright white greenhouses, surprised and curious—are cucumbers grown in these greenhouses?
Hearing the commotion, the others put down what they were doing and gathered around:
"Zhezi, where did this car come from?"

"Hey! This is a Liberation brand, it's powerful, much faster than a tractor, right?"

"The passenger seat can seat two people! We won't have to worry about getting cold when delivering groceries. That's great."

The crowd gathered around the car, marveling at its novelty and exclaiming in amazement. Old Li squeezed in; he'd heard Li Zhe mention it briefly, but he never expected it to actually happen, and his surprise was no less than anyone else's.

Li Zhe introduced, "Dad, this is our driver, Comrade Liang Weiguo. He'll be helping us transport vegetables from now on."

"Hello, Comrade Liang. I'll be troubling you a lot in the future." Old Li took the initiative to shake hands.

"You're too kind. This is a task assigned to me by the organization, and I will definitely complete it diligently," Liang Weiguo replied matter-of-factly.

Old Li warmly greeted them, "It's cold outside, let's go inside the greenhouse to talk."

A crowd of onlookers still surrounded the truck, and Zhu Yimin was also astonished—it felt like a guerrilla force with homemade guns and cannons had transformed into a regular army…

While the others watched the spectacle, Jin Baiwan knew that this car wasn't just for show; it was genuinely useful.

Tractors can enter the city by selling vegetables. If the capital city ever has enough vegetables, tractors will definitely not be able to get in.

As for speed, it takes three or four hours to get from Chongwenmen vegetable market to Daying Village by tractor, but only two hours by truck, reducing the time by nearly half and eliminating worries about the vegetables freezing.

In addition, transporting vegetables in the cold winter rain and snow is a hardship for both people and vegetables. With this light truck, the problem is solved and transportation is guaranteed.

(End of this chapter)