Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 32 Increasing Credit Limit
The morning mist had just dissipated.

A donkey cart was parked in front of the store. Usually, goods are unloaded at the back door, but today it was unusually parked in front of the front door.

Standing beside the donkey cart was a tall man in his forties, with a square face and wearing a gray-blue Zhongshan hat. He was Zhang Yuzhen's husband, Lin Dingyuan.

"What are you two dawdling about? Hurry up, you can't be late reporting to the factory."

"Here I am, here I am!" Zhang Yuzhen emerged from the consignment shop carrying two bundles on her back.

Lin Xiaohu carried a fertilizer bag on his right shoulder and a bulging black artificial leather handbag in his left hand.

Lin Dingyuan took the bundle and put it on the car. "Is there any other luggage?"

"There's also a thermos and a basket of eggs. Go get them. I'll give Tiger a few more instructions." Zhang Yuzhen turned to her son and said, "Tiger, make sure you have this handbag. Inside are 100 yuan, 30 jin of grain coupons, and two bottles of Xifeng liquor for your director. The fertilizer bag contains bedding and cotton-padded jackets, and the bundle contains a change of clothes, pancakes, and pickled vegetables..."

"Mom, you've said it so many times. The town isn't far from here, I'll come back to see you when I have time." Lin Xiaohu waved his hand impatiently, "Go back."

Lin Dingyuan placed the warm eggs on the donkey cart, straddled the shaft, and flicked the whip, saying, "Let's go, go back to the house."

"Drive carefully." Zhang Yuzhen stood there, watching the donkey cart drive away.

Zhou Yufeng, carrying a shopping basket, walked by and asked, "Aunt Yuzhen, are you heading out with all these bags and packages?"

Zhang Yuzhen looked away. "We won't go far. We'll take Hu Zi to the fan factory in town."

Zhou Yufeng exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, Tiger has become a worker? That's quite an achievement!"

Zhang Yuzhen smiled proudly, "My son is a worker now!"
Lin Dingyuan often drives a donkey cart to buy goods, but today's situation was obviously different, and many familiar villagers asked him questions along the way.

"Old Lin, where are you two going?"

“Send my son, Tiger, to work in town.”

"My goodness, that's a golden opportunity! How did you find the connection?"

"I got it through a friend's help. Getting into a fan factory is not easy; it took a lot of effort."

"Hey, look at you two, you're really something. You run your own store, your daughter married and moved to Beijing, and your son works in a factory. You're the best in the village. We should definitely treat everyone to a meal sometime."

"When Tiger comes back from his day off, we'll definitely set up two tables. You'll have to come and have a drink then."

"That's daring."

Lin Dingyuan is usually a man of few words, but today he talked nonstop the whole way, looking even more excited than Lin Xiaohu.

Thanks to our ancestors, our Lin family has produced a worker!

As the donkey cart left the village, a horse-drawn cart came from the north side of the road. Lin Dingyuan shouted, "Zhuzi, what kind of work are you doing today?"

"I'm not doing any work, I'm going to town with my brother." Zhao Tiezhu glanced at the luggage on the donkey cart. "Uncle Zhang, where are you two going?"

"Hehe." Lin Dingyuan chuckled, seemingly waiting for these words. "Send Hu Zi to the fan factory."

Li Zhe was lying on the carriage when he heard this. He looked up and met Lin Xiaohu's eyes.

This thing is going to a fan factory!

A while ago, Li Zhe saw him loitering outside his greenhouse and felt something was wrong; it turned out he was planning this.

In his past life, Lin Xiaohu had never been to a fan factory. It was his own actions that changed things. How interesting.

Lin Xiaohu had always wondered why Li Zhe preferred to grow vegetables rather than work at the fan factory.
He hadn't asked before because he was afraid Li Zhe would compete with him for a factory job. Now that the paperwork was done, it was too late for Li Zhe to regret it.

He jumped off the donkey cart, took out two cigarettes, and said, "Brother Li, Brother Zhao, have a smoke."

Li Zhe tucked the cigarette behind his ear. "What's up?"

"I heard that Brother Li also inquired about jobs at the fan factory, but why didn't he go for it in the end?"

Li Zhe countered, "Why do you want to work in an electric fan factory?"

Lin Xiaohu said without hesitation, "The factory pays wages and food coupons every month, and provides food and lodging. It's much better than farming in the village."

"Why should you get such a good job?"

Lin Xiaohu realized that Li Zhe wouldn't answer unless he explained himself. "To be honest, I got the factory job through Kuai Zui's connections, including giving gifts and money."

"Did she say how much the factory would pay her?"

"Her niece received 62.5 yuan in wages in July."

Li Zhe laughed; this old woman doesn't even bother to change her words when she's trying to fool people.

"What are you laughing at, Brother Li? Is there something wrong?" "Tiger, I'll just ask you one question: would you buy an electric fan for winter?"

"Who would buy that on such a cold day..." Lin Xiaohu suddenly froze, swallowing the rest of his sentence.

Li Zhe didn't say anything more. Lin Xiaohu wasn't stupid. The reason he was fooled was because he was out of touch with the information and because he was greedy.

In those days, workers had a high social status, a secure job, and received monthly wages, food coupons, and various benefits. This was extremely attractive to farmers who toiled in the fields.

Back then, wasn't he also blinded by greed? People only learn quickly by experiencing setbacks.

Lin Xiaohu returned to the donkey cart, dejected and distraught.

Lin Dingyuan noticed his son's unusual behavior and asked, "Tiger, what's wrong? What did Li Zhe say?"

Lin Xiaohu hesitated. According to Li Zhe's words, the factory benefits might not be as good as he had imagined. He was unsure what the consequences would be if he told his father.

Everyone in the village knew he was going to work in the factory, and if he went back like this, he would be laughed at.

"Nothing much, just chatting for a bit."

Throughout the journey, Lin Xiaohu remained silent, pondering the matter. He realized he had been tricked and cursed the Kuai Zui family in his heart.

He was also undecided whether or not to tell his father.

It wasn't until the donkey cart entered the town's streets and Lin Xiaohu looked at the shops and vendors hawking their wares on both sides that he suddenly understood.

Regardless of the factory's treatment, he was still a worker living in the town, which was better than staying in the village.

Previously, the Wan'an Town Electric Fan Factory was very famous, and its wages and benefits were top-notch. He had finally managed to get a job there, and he couldn't give it up just because of what others said.

Since he was already here, he might as well give it a try at the factory. If the fan factory was doing well, he would be content to work as a worker; if it wasn't doing well, there would still be opportunities for advancement. If he could find a way to improve the factory's efficiency, he was sure to gain the attention of the leaders.

Li Zhe is clever, but he shrinks back when faced with difficulties. I can't be like him; I must face challenges head-on. If the factory is not doing well, I will help it improve its efficiency. That's much better than toiling in the fields as a farmer for the rest of my life.

Having figured this out, Lin Xiaohu felt at ease, and his face showed excitement.

Fan factory, here I come!
……

Wan'an Town Rural Credit Cooperative.

Office of the Director.

"Brother Li, Brother Zhao, please have a seat." Director Sun invited the two men into his office. They had drunk together before and were now more familiar with each other. "Xiao Zhang, brew the flower tea that was brought back from the city yesterday."

Li Zhe glanced around the office, then offered him a cigarette. "Your job is so comfortable. You're sheltered from the wind and rain, and you get paid monthly."

“Hey, we all have different roles in the revolution, but we’re all serving the people.” Sun Liguo lit a cigarette and took a puff. “If we don’t finish our tasks by the end of the year, we’ll be worried.”

Li Zhe took the enamel mug handed to him by Xiao Zhang, and the fragrance of jasmine wafted into his nose. "Good tea."

"This is jasmine tea specially supplied by the municipal supply and marketing cooperative. I don't drink it often."

Li Zhe slammed the enamel mug on the table. "Brother Sun, has my application for a credit limit increase been approved?"

Director Sun turned around, opened the filing cabinet, and pulled out a brown paper bag. "Approved. The six thousand yuan in cash is all ready. Including the previous payment, it's a total of twelve thousand."

Li Zhe jumped to his feet, grasping Director Sun's right hand with both of his. "Brother Sun, thank you so much, you've helped me a lot." With this money, they can expand the greenhouse and grow new varieties of vegetables.

Sun Liguo patted Li Zhe's hand with his left hand, "Brother, I also have to thank you for bringing me a client."

Li Zhe was a little puzzled, "What does this mean?"

"Is there a vegetable farmer named Zhu Yimin in your village?"

"Is he also going to take out a loan to build a vegetable greenhouse?" Li Zhe guessed that Zhu Yimin would follow suit, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon.

"Sure enough, when he saw you built a vegetable greenhouse, he got envious and applied for a loan of six thousand yuan. That guy is really something..." Director Sun jokingly recounted how the two met.

The credit union has loan targets, and Director Sun hopes Zhu Yimin can get a loan, but he also knows that it might not be a good thing for Li Zhe. "Brother, speaking of which, Zhu Yimin getting a loan is indirectly helping you."

"How to say?"

“Yesterday I went to a meeting in the county and specifically applied to the county cooperative leaders for an increase in quotas. However, the vegetable greenhouse is a new project, and the leaders are worried about the high risks involved. They are still hesitant about this matter.”

It wasn't until I mentioned Zhu Yimin's case that the leader felt reassured and finally gave in when he heard that the vegetable farmers wanted to learn from me and build greenhouses.

Li Zhe knew perfectly well that the credit union was using him as a model; once the vegetable greenhouses made money, more people would take out loans to build greenhouses.

(End of this chapter)