1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 20 Fortunately, there is a bottom
"If I hadn't stopped you that day, would you have picked the vegetables with Xiucai a few days earlier? You always said Xiucai was smart and you wouldn't suffer any loss if you followed him."

The rain kept falling, and it was hard to tell whether it was rain or sweat. Huang Juan bent down to pick out good vegetables from the rotten ones, while talking to Qi Yongfeng with sobs.

Qi Yongfeng was in another small ditch, his waist bent like a curled shrimp.

"Why don't you say something, Qi Yongfeng! You've been craving meat for a long time. On the first day of Xiucai's life, you ate twice-cooked pork and told me you wanted to eat vegetables. I scolded you for that. Are you blaming me in your heart now?"

"No."

Raindrops streamed down Qi Yongfeng's face. "On the first day that Xiucai harvested his vegetables, I went to see his young cabbages. I felt really sorry for them."

Huang Juan: "What happened after he made twice-cooked pork?"

Qi Yongfeng answered honestly: "I really wanted to eat meat at that time."

Huang Juan: "So you still resent me!"

"No, I was eating meat yesterday. Sister Jiafang also gave us a bowl of pig intestines. I've already satisfied my craving. I was thinking about something important."

Qi Yongfeng was tall, and when he stood upright in the rain, he looked to Huang Juan like a general in a story. She thought he had unique insights.

"I've already seen that the scholar is extraordinary. I should have followed him and eaten meat long ago!"

Qi Yongfeng had a resolute expression on his face, but what he said left Huang Juan speechless. A hint of contempt appeared on her face, which was wet with sweat and rain.

"Hurry up and harvest the vegetables! It's such a pity that they're rotting! How are we going to survive?"

"It's okay, Juan. I won't eat meat for the next month."

A hundred meters away, Li Mingkun and Bai Yan were also harvesting vegetables. Bai Yan moved briskly and could quickly find good vegetables even among rotten ones.

Li Mingkun, however, was somewhat distressed: "I had intended to send money home, but now it seems that has been dashed again."

Bai Yan looked up, then lowered her head to pick up the vegetables. "Don't let your imagination run wild. We have land back home, so the two kids won't starve."

"At least they're not starving. The last time I went back, both kids were dark and skinny, just bones. Junwa even told me he didn't want to study anymore and wanted to work because he could eat meat."

Li Mingkun pulled out a bunch of rotten vegetables before finally finding a vegetable heart that was not rotten.

“I have been growing vegetables for several years, but I can’t even catch up with the scholars who are growing vegetables for the first year.

Don't think that the scholar is lazy. His brain is different because he has read books. He advised me several times at that time, but I didn't listen. I looked down on the scholar in my heart. He was living off the food he had earned in the past and killing the chicken to get the eggs. How could he still live like this?
Looking back now, it's really only Xiucai who did the right thing, so Junwa should continue to read this book."

Bai Yan's hand that was picking vegetables froze for a moment. A few days ago, the women were also talking about Chen Jiazhi and his wife behind their backs, and nothing good had to be said.

After holding it in for a long time, Bai Yan finally said, "Scholars are not lazy now."

"Not lazy? Your true colors showed up this afternoon. You haven't been seen for a long time... Hey, the scholar is back, and it seems he bought something again."

From a distance, Li Mingkun saw Chen Jiazhi and a tricycle with a awning in the dam.

Not only did he see it, many people noticed it, but no one asked about it for the time being. After taking a look, they continued to concentrate on harvesting vegetables.

After harvesting the vegetables in the evening, Chen Jiazhi settled Ao Dehai's salary, but did not give him any more than the agreed overtime pay.

Giving more now will make it difficult for Brother Yi.

But this was enough to make Ao Dehai and his wife grateful. Everyone said that they went south to Flower City to make money. However, for many country people who had never been far away, the first thing they had to face was the dirty side of Flower City.

"Jiazhi, what did you buy this afternoon?"

After the vegetable farmers came back, they all came to Chen Jiazhi's house one after another to inquire about information.

Chen Jiazhi didn't hide his intention to build a small greenhouse and the benefits of doing so. "I suggest you build one too. The rainy season is coming, and rain is inevitable. A small greenhouse will ensure the yield and quality of leafy vegetables."

Several experienced vegetable farmers including Yi Dinggan, Li Mingkun and Guo Mancang came and had no doubts about the small arch shed that Chen Jiazhi mentioned.

Guo Mancang said: "The technology is good, but the cost is not low, right?"

Chen Jiazhi: "Including bamboo sheets, film and other small items, the cost per mu is more than 500 yuan, but now the price is good, the cost is recovered quickly."

When the vegetable farmers heard that it would cost 500 yuan per mu, not including fertilizer, pesticides, and seeds, they fell silent.

Qi Yongfeng touched his head awkwardly and said, "Let alone buying bamboo film, even after buying the next crop of agricultural supplies, I won't have enough money for food this month."

Although other people also ate together, their divisions were clearer than those of Chen Jiazhi and Yi Dinggan, who were vague.

Li Mingkun also said: "Yongfeng, I'm not much better than you. One third of the food today is already rotten."

Except for Chen Jiazhi who cleared out most of the leafy vegetables in advance, the leafy vegetables of the others were still in the fields, and the situation was similar.

"Let's harvest the vegetables first. Harvest as much as you can in the next two days."

Chen Jiazhi didn't have any better ideas, and no one else blamed him. It was already quite righteous of him to share his technology without keeping anything to himself.

After chatting for a few minutes, the women prepared the meal and shouted for the men to go back and eat, and the crowd dispersed.

Chen Jiazhi bought some meat this morning, so the family never lacks meat to eat. Li Xiu's complexion has improved a lot recently, and her belly is starting to show.

However, during the meal, the four of them were relatively low-key. Yi Dinggan wanted to drink, but was stopped by his second sister, who was afraid that he would lose his temper after drinking. Then she looked at Chen Jiazhi.

"Jiazhi, don't buy meat tomorrow. Save some, we still have a long way to go."

"Second sister, I know you must find a way to build one or two of these small sheds. Even two or three acres of land would be better. It will rain a lot in the next few months this year. I can take care of the living expenses and rent for the next month."

"How can this be? We agreed to split it in half!"

Before the second sister could say anything, Yi Dinggan spoke, and his voice must have been heard next door.

Chen Jiazhi couldn't remember how much he had given before, but he thought that he and Li Xiu had eaten a lot of free food. In his previous life, he relied on his second sister and brother-in-law for support until his son was born.

"Why not? We can eat yours, but you can't eat ours? That doesn't make sense!"

Chen Jiazhi simply stopped arguing with Yi Dinggan and looked at Chen Jiafang: "Second sister, the small arch shed is very important. Once we produce two good vegetables, the whole business will be revitalized this year!"

Chen Jiafang glanced at Li Xiu and saw that she nodded, so she stopped hesitating and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you, little brother."

Yi Dinggan ate his meal in a somewhat depressed mood, like a sulky child.

At this moment, a woman's angry curse suddenly came from a house on the left.

"Liu Minghua, what's the point of you being silent? Is it my fault that the food is rotten? You got upset outside and you want to take it out on me, right? Who else can you blame? It's you who's useless!"

"Am I wrong? I'm not wrong! I'm doing this for your own good!"

"Eat, I'll let you eat... snap!"

Jia Suzhen made a big fuss for a long time before she calmed down. Everyone probably knew the reason. They had finally harvested the vegetables to sell yesterday, but they harvested them too early. Even with Chen Jiazhi's reminder, some of the vegetables still rotted. Liu Minghua was upset in the market.

When they came back, the vegetables in the field were also rotting. The couple probably didn't communicate while harvesting the vegetables during the day, but Jia Suzhen exploded at night.

Qi Yongfeng felt inexplicably relieved when he heard the noise. Fortunately, there was someone to take care of him.

(End of this chapter)