Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 34 The Fruits Are Born
"Xu..."

A carriage stopped in front of the Li family's house. The chestnut horse snorted, and Li Zhe jumped off the carriage, stamping his foot. "The wind just started blowing like that, it's making my head spin."

"Pah..." Zhao Tiezhu spat on the ground, his mouthful of saliva mixed with sand, and rubbed his red eyes. "It's okay when it's windy, as long as I wear a hat, but the sand blowing in is really disgusting."

"You should get some thicker leg warmers and shoes later, otherwise your body will freeze when you're traveling in winter."

"There are work gloves and dog-skin leg warmers at home, left by my father. I'll find them and air them out tomorrow." The two unloaded the items from the carriage and carried them into the yard.

"You're finally back." Wang Xiuying greeted them, and when she saw Zhao Tiezhu carrying a bag of rice and Li Zhe carrying a 20-jin bottle of soybean oil, she asked in surprise, "Mom, rice, flour, and oil, why did you buy so much stuff again?"

Li Zhe said, "The weather is cooler now, so it can be stored for a while. I plan to hire people tomorrow, so I bought some in advance from the town's supply and marketing cooperative."

"Second brother, why do we need more people again?"

"Let's move our things first, we'll talk later."

Li Zhe moved the things he bought into the main room, put them away, and then called his parents together to tell them about going to the credit union to increase their loan amount.

Wang Xiuying was stunned; her previous joy vanished. "Second brother, why did you take out another loan?"

“I want to expand the vegetable greenhouses while the weather is still warm. Our family has a total of five acres of land, which is enough to build three vegetable greenhouses. I want to build another greenhouse, number 2, and use the remaining money to dig the foundation for greenhouse number 3. After November, when the vegetables in greenhouse number 1 are sold, I will build greenhouse number 3 as well.”

"Second brother, wouldn't it be safer to build a second greenhouse after the vegetables are sold in November?"

"Mother, it gets cold in November, and the wind is so strong in the fields that people shiver just standing there. The ground must be frozen by now. How are we supposed to work?"

Wang Xiuying panicked, "What if we lose money?"

“If we really lose money, whether it’s six thousand or twelve thousand, we still can’t pay it back. What’s the difference?” Li Zhe shrugged and continued, “The government’s increase in loan amounts shows its support for greenhouse vegetable technology. What reason do we have not to do it? I asked at the supply and marketing cooperative today, and the purchase price of cucumbers is one yuan per jin, which can buy half a jin of pig hindquarters.”

Seeing that Wang Xiuying was about to speak, Li Zhe said firmly, "Mom, don't try to persuade me anymore, it's settled then." He then looked at Old Li beside him, "Dad, we're recruiting workers tomorrow, let's discuss the details of the recruitment process."

Seeing his wife's angry expression, Old Li felt both annoyed and amused. Well, his beloved daughter-in-law had another falling out. This time, he learned his lesson and simply pretended not to hear, to avoid being caught in the middle.

“Dad, I need to hire forty workers tomorrow to dig the foundations for both greenhouses at the same time. The one on the west side is greenhouse number 2; you'll be in charge of overseeing the construction, with Zhu and Zhiqiang assisting you. The one on the east side is greenhouse number 3; I'll ask my uncle to look after it, with my brother and Jianjun assisting. What do you think?”

Old Li thought for a moment, then hesitated, "Isn't it too hasty to start construction on two sites at the same time? Or should we dig them one by one?"

"It's too late. The later it gets, the colder it gets, the more difficult the construction will be, and the higher the wages will be."

Old Li thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. We'll keep the same pay as last time, and lunch won't be provided."

“We don’t provide meals for ordinary workers, and we can’t manage so many people; however, the few people I just mentioned belong to the management team, so they are provided with meals and their wages are paid in full.”

The thought of receiving a wage himself made Old Li feel uneasy. "The wine shop is so lively, let him join in. He's a kind-hearted person, if we let him take care of things, he'll be more attentive than the owner."

"Alright, then let the father and son assist you, and Zhu Zi will come with me to take care of the cucumbers." With more things to do and the business expanding, Li Zhe couldn't do everything himself, so he had to take an overall view.

……

North of Daying Village, in Zhu Yimin's field.

Zhu Yimin hired twenty workers. Yesterday, they leveled the ground and marked out the work area. Today, they officially broke ground. Zhu Yimin was short, but he had a commanding presence. Standing on a mound of earth, he shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, we're officially starting work today! The pay is four cents an hour, meals not included, and payment will be made daily. There's water at the east end of the field; drink if you're thirsty, and rest if you're tired. But anyone who tries to slack off will be fired immediately. That's all for now. It's nine o'clock now, let's get to work!"

He pulled two former laborers who had worked for the Li family to a sheltered spot, offering them three cigarettes before finally getting them to talk: the rammed earth should be placed separately in the southeast corner for easy backfilling later. A passageway needed to be left for the rammed earth wall, otherwise the mule carts transporting the earth wouldn't be able to turn around.
After making the arrangements, Zhu Yimin walked around the foundation of the greenhouse and felt that the workers were very enthusiastic, which made him feel much more at ease.

No one knows how much pressure he endured to build the greenhouse.

Zhu Yimin couldn't help but look eastward. Not far away was the Li family's land. This morning, the Li family had also hired people, presumably to build a second greenhouse. He really wanted to go and take a look, but he also felt a little guilty.

After hesitating for a while, Zhu Yimin finally couldn't suppress his curiosity and strolled eastward. A few dozen meters away from Li's greenhouse, he stopped, stood on tiptoe, and strained to see ahead.

"My goodness, what a sight..." Zhu Yimin was shocked. He glanced around and saw that the Li family's field was full of people, at least forty or fifty.

"This is... building another two acres of greenhouses! Can so many people manage it?" Zhu Yimin was shocked by the Li family's large-scale project. He instinctively walked forward a distance to get a clearer view and saw several of the Li family's relatives in charge.

Zhu Yimin was even more envious. His Zhu family was a single household, and his two older sisters had married into other villages. Originally, he had his wife's family in the neighboring village to help him, but now he had fallen out with his wife, and it was good enough that his brother-in-law hadn't come knocking on his door. Who else could he rely on?
Hey, where did Li Zhe go? I haven't seen him.
……

Inside the Li family's greenhouse.

After organizing the workers and assigning tasks, Li Zhe went into the greenhouse to tend to the cucumbers and broccoli. He left everything else to his father and a few relatives.

It wasn't that Li Zhe was being lazy. His father and uncle were both in their forties, the prime of their lives, and it was more appropriate for them to manage things than for a 'young upstart' like himself.

Digging the foundation for the greenhouse wasn't a particularly technical task; my father and uncle could handle it. However, the cucumbers inside the greenhouse were at a crucial stage of growth, and they couldn't do without Li Zhe's care.

Broccoli is planted along the edge of the greenhouse. It has already grown two to three true leaves, about ten centimeters long, and is a tender green.

The second batch of cucumbers planted were slightly shorter, but they also grew two to three true leaves.

The first cucumbers planted were growing the best; the vines had already climbed all over the trellis, and small cucumbers, as thick as a finger, were growing, topped with yellow flower buds. He picked up a leaf and held it up to the light; the veins shimmered with a healthy, glossy green.

He looked at it and grinned. It was really nice.

These small cucumbers will become his capital to establish himself in this era, and will also set the stage for off-season vegetable cultivation.

Zhao Tiezhu came in carrying a sack with the words "Ammonium Bicarbonate" printed on it. "Brother Zhe, where should we start?"

"Start from the east side, fertilize the cucumbers today. Do half of it in the morning, and finish the rest in the afternoon."

Zhao Tiezhu pointed to the broccoli next to him, having forgotten the name of the vegetable again, and asked, "Does this vegetable need fertilizer?"

"No rush, we'll talk about it tomorrow." Li Zhe walked to the east end and lifted the curtain of the greenhouse to ventilate it.

Zhao Tiezhu put the fertilizer bag on the ground. "Hey, this one acre can be finished in a few hours. Why wait until tomorrow?"

Li Zhe said with a serious expression, "Zhu Zi, greenhouse cultivation is different from open-field cultivation. Greenhouses are enclosed spaces, and excessively high concentrations of gases volatilized from fertilizers can cause certain harm. Fertilizer should be applied in small amounts and frequently, and attention should be paid to ventilation."

"Okay." Zhao Tiezhu nodded. He didn't know what the dangers were, but it was indeed choking.

Thank you for the donation after the rain.

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(End of this chapter)