Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 23 Li Jiugang

Early in the morning, Old Li drank a bowl of thick corn porridge and rode his old bicycle out the door.

Zhao Tiezhu and Li Weidong took a horse-drawn carriage to buy lime, which they would later need to build a rammed earth insulation wall.

Li Zhe went alone to the north end of the village to arrange for workers to continue digging the topsoil.

Anyone who has farmed knows how to dig soil; it's a simple, easy job that you can do by practice. You just need to keep an eye on things so no one slacks off.

The weather was cool today. I worked for three and a half hours in the morning, and continued working after lunch.

When we finished work, the topsoil layer had been dug out. Tomorrow we can dig deeper layers and build the insulating earthen walls.

They worked for a total of more than seven hours, but Li Zhe still paid them for eight hours, and everyone left happily.

In the evening, a 15-watt light bulb was lit in the main room of Old Li's house, and a group of people sat around the table doing accounts.

Old Li pulled out a crumpled ledger from his pocket. "I went to three cement factories in total. The cement factory in Jianta Town quoted 980 for eighty cement pillars, Old Zhang's in Nanguan quoted 950, and the cement factory in Beiguan Town quoted 920. I chatted with him and got him to round down the price. The quality of the three factories was about the same, so I ordered from his factory."

Zhao Tiezhu said, "We visited three factories. The lime in Yangma Village was the cheapest, and I was most familiar with it. I often went there to pick up goods. We got the lowest price from them, and it cost us 96.5 yuan."

Li Zhe was writing in his notebook. The plastic film, lime, and cement pillars alone cost 3400 yuan. He also needed to buy insulation materials such as straw mats, bamboo, and wire. He remembered every expense clearly.

……

The next day.

Li Zhe and the other three divided the work again, with Zhao Tiezhu and Li Weidong driving the horse-drawn carriage out to buy other materials.

Li Zhe led his men to excavate deep soil layers and pile the soil on the east, west, and north sides.

Old Li had construction experience, so he picked a few experienced workers to build rammed earth walls. The materials were very simple: loess, water, straw, corn stalks, and lime.

Li Zhiqiang joined the construction team when he was a teenager and had experience in bricklaying. He was called in by Lao Li to work as an assistant.

Compared to digging, building walls is less strenuous, so Li Zhiqiang is happy to do it. He mixes loess, straw, corn stalks, and lime together, adds water, and repeatedly stirs, pounds, and compacts the mixture.

The rammed earth wall is built 30 centimeters each day, left to dry overnight, and then raised further after the lower layer has initially solidified.

After working for seven days straight, three rammed earth walls rose from the ground in the east, west, and north. Each rammed earth wall was 2 meters high, 1.5 meters wide at the top, and 2.5 meters wide at the bottom. With a drop of one meter, they looked quite spectacular.

Li Zhiqiang's feelings were somewhat complicated. Judging from the progress, the work should be completed today, and he could rest tomorrow. He had been working for so many days and was quite tired, so he wanted to relax.

But it also means I won't get paid tomorrow, which is really hard to bear.

Li Zhe stood on the south side of the pit, watching the workers backfill with topsoil. Today was the ninth day of construction. The foundation and earthen walls of the greenhouse were basically completed, and the next step was to build the greenhouse itself.

Tomorrow, Li Zhe plans to take a day off. After several days of physical labor, many workers can't keep up and have been taking leave one after another. Li Zhe has also hired some new workers in the meantime, but only a few young and strong ones have been able to stick it out from beginning to end.

As the sun began to set, the construction of the rammed earth wall and the backfilling of the topsoil were completed. Li Zhe carefully inspected the work and found no problems.

Old Li called out, "Ladies and gentlemen, let's call it a day! We've worked for more than seven hours today, so I'll pay everyone three yuan and two jiao per person for a full day's work."

The crowd surged forward, with Wang Ermazi pushing his way to the front. "Uncle Li, do you need any more manpower tomorrow?"

Old Li replied, "I'm quitting. I'll take a break tomorrow. There's not much work left. I'll let you know if I need more people."

"Oh dear, it's breaking up already. I'm really a little sad."

“Who says otherwise? It’s a job right here in our neighborhood, and the pay is daily. Where else can you find such a good deal? Uncle Li, if you need anyone else, you’ll have to call me.”

"Alright, from now on, if there's work, we'll prioritize you all," Old Li replied with a smile. The workers received their wages and left in groups of three or five.

Li Zhiqiang stayed behind and wasn't called by his name until there were only four or five people left. Then Old Li called out to him, "Qiangzi."

"Eh."

Li Zhe handed his wages to Li Zhiqiang, saying, "You've worked hard these past few days, have a good rest tomorrow."

"That's what I'm thinking too. I'm not going anywhere tomorrow, I'm just going to stay home and sleep, hehe."

"I'm going to set up a greenhouse the day after tomorrow. I won't need that many people. If you're willing to do it, come here early the day after tomorrow to meet up."

“Okay, count me in.” Li Zhiqiang readily agreed. The people before him all left after receiving their money, but Li Zhe didn’t mention it. He was the first one, and since his uncle was being generous, he naturally had to accept.

Li Zhiqiang's land wasn't far from Li Zhe's. He carried a hoe and walked around his own land to check on the growth of the corn before carrying a shovel home.

Li Zhiqiang's house was similar to Li Zhe's; both were dilapidated mud-brick houses with old-fashioned wooden doors that creaked when pushed.

He walked into the courtyard and saw his father, Li Jiugang, squatting at the doorway eating corn.

Li Jiugang wasn't his real name. It was just that his father loved to drink, but couldn't afford to buy any himself, so he would go around getting free drinks. Someone gave him this nickname, and to everyone's surprise, he wasn't angry at all; in fact, he was quite happy about it. Over time, the nickname stuck.

"Dad, if you're hungry, just cook some food. Why are you eating corn again?" Li Zhiqiang felt a little sorry for the food. It's fine to pick a few ears to try occasionally, but eating it every day is a waste of grain.

"I've kept two of them warm in the pot for you, they're really fresh and tender." Li Jiugang wiped his mouth and asked with a smile, "Qiangzi, how much did you make today?"

"Three yuan and two jiao."

"Go get two jin of loose liquor, let's have a few drinks, you and me."

Li Zhiqiang casually leaned the shovel against the wall and said in a muffled voice, "Didn't we buy wine the other day?"

“You said it yourself, that was a few days ago, it’s long gone.” Li Jiugang spread his hands.

Li Zhiqiang said helplessly, "Dad, you should drink less."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

"No, if you want to drink, come work with me and earn the money yourself."

"Working for Uncle Zhenhua's family?"

"Yes."

“I’m not going, I can’t bear the embarrassment.” Li Jiugang turned his head away, his chin sticking out high.

Li Zhiqiang was stunned by what he said. "What's so embarrassing about it? The other day, Zhenhua's family was using the loudspeaker to recruit people. Wasn't it you who asked me to go and help?"

“I asked you to go and help. We’re all from the same family. It’s only right that we help him when his family is in trouble. It’s a tradition passed down from our elders that relatives help each other with food and drink. He doesn’t care about anything, so who will work for him?” Li Jiugang shook his head. “That’s not how things are done.”

"They don't provide meals, but they give cash, so you can still buy food and drinks."

Li Jiugang snorted, "We all have the same ancestor. I help him with the work, but he treats me like a farmhand. Who does he look down on? He wants to be Huang Shiren, but I don't want to be Yang Bailao."

These fallacies left Li Zhiqiang stunned, and he laughed in exasperation, "You really are my father."

He left without eating and went straight back to his room to lie down.

(End of this chapter)