Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 43 Giving Money
North of the village.

The main structure of greenhouse No. 3 has been completed, and it is just waiting to be covered with plastic film and straw mats.

After finishing breakfast, Wang Xiuying came to greenhouse No. 3 to work, mainly loosening the soil and applying fertilizer to prepare for sowing and seedling cultivation.

Ever since she started making money selling cucumbers, she's been happy to come to the greenhouse, and she's full of energy when she works there.

"Clatter, clatter..." The sound of a tractor rang out.

Wang Xiuying suddenly looked up at the dirt road at the entrance of the village, where a tractor was driving towards her.

She dropped the fertilizer bag and hurried over, muttering to herself, "Oh dear, it's only past noon, why are you back so early? Could something have happened in the capital..." Her throat tightened as she spoke.

The young woman, carrying her daughter, hurried a few steps. "Mom, don't scare yourself. Dad and Weidong went with us. What could possibly happen?" she said, but she tightened her grip on the child.

As soon as the tractor came to a stop, Li Weidong jumped off, hands behind his back, showing off, "Honey, guess what good stuff I brought back?"

Before the little Malay girl could speak, the older girl started squirming in his arms, crying, "Daddy, hug me..."

"My dear daughter, Daddy brought you a gift too. Look what this is!" Li Weidong took out a tin frog from his pocket and stuffed it into his daughter's hand, then handed a box to his wife.

The Malay boy took a look and his face lit up with joy, "Snow cream!"

Wang Xiuying looked at her eldest son with disdain, turning her head away and asking, "Why are you back so early?"

Old Li replied with a smile, "The vegetables are all sold out. Why would we stay in Beijing instead of coming back?"

Wang Xiuying asked in surprise, "Why are they sold out so early today?"

Li Weidong said excitedly, "Mom, you didn't see how popular the cucumbers were. They were sold out in less than half an hour. If the potatoes and radishes hadn't sold so slowly, we could have made it in time for lunch."

Wang Xiuying said, "I'm worried that I won't be able to sell all of the more than 100 jin (50 kg)."

Li Weidong said, "How could that be? We could sell another hundred jin."

Wang Xiuying glanced at her second son and asked, "How much did you sell today?"

"610."

Wang Xiuying rubbed her hands together, her old habit kicking in again. "Second son, you live in the greenhouse every day, it's inconvenient for you to handle this money. Let me keep it for you."

Li Zhe could easily see through Wang Xiuying's thoughts. "Mom, the roof of greenhouse number 3 isn't finished yet. We still need to use this money to buy plastic film." Li Zhe didn't give his mother a chance to speak again. "Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry."

The group entered the greenhouse, and the Malaysian girl handed her daughter to her husband to prepare food.

Soon, a caramel aroma wafted out. Li Zhe turned his head and saw that Ma Lai was making malted milk powder with a kettle.

Li Weidong was a little surprised, as his family had never bought this kind of thing before. "Mom, where did you get this malted milk powder?"

Wang Xiuying said, "Zhu Yimin's wife brought it over, saying she wanted to thank you for saving her husband. She brought not only malted milk powder, but also canned fruit and luncheon meat. She held my hand and chatted for a long time. Zhu Yimin's accident really scared her to death."

Old Li took a sip of the malted milk powder. It was so sweet and fragrant, with a faint milky taste. Old Li had heard of malted milk powder many times, but this was the first time he had ever tasted it. "How is Zhu Yimin's health?"

Wang Xiuying said, "He has woken up, but he is still lying in bed recovering. The people at the clinic said he needs to rest for at least a month or so."

Old Li pressed on, "Then what about his greenhouse?"

"I didn't ask for details, but from what his wife said, it seemed like he didn't want to go through any more trouble."

Li Weidong fed his daughter a mouthful of malted milk powder, "The greenhouses are all built, and the vegetables can be sold for money once they're grown, so why not grow them?"

“Our family made money, but the Zhu family not only didn’t make any, but the man almost lost his life. How could she, a woman, not be afraid? Zhu Yimin is lying in bed, unable to conceive even if he wanted to.” Wang Xiuying felt that her second son was more capable than others. “Second son, what do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”

Li Zhe smiled and said, "I want to eat dumplings, with pork and scallion filling."

Everyone else's mouths watered just listening to this. These days, even getting dumplings is a struggle; pork and scallion dumplings aren't always available for the New Year. "Okay, Mom will make them for you. We'll have pure meatballs." With her son's ability to earn money, Wang Xiuying felt more confident. She glanced at the sky. "It's too late tonight, the meat isn't fresh. Tomorrow, Mom will go to the convenience store to buy some fresh meat to make dumplings."

Upon hearing that Wang Xiuying was going to the consignment store, the Li family was shocked and didn't dare to say a word.

"Ahem..." Old Li coughed and asked, "Second brother, what are you planning to plant in greenhouse number 3?"

Li Zhe thought for a moment and said, "We grow cucumbers and broccoli in greenhouse No. 1, and tomatoes and spinach in greenhouse No. 2. From a profit perspective, cucumbers are more profitable. Greenhouse No. 3 will mainly grow cucumbers to make up for the insufficient cucumber production in greenhouse No. 1 before the Spring Festival. We will also grow some watermelons, broccoli, and chives."

Old Li asked in surprise, "Watermelons require high temperatures and can be grown in greenhouses."

“Yes, you can plant watermelons in the middle of the greenhouse, where the temperature is highest. If it’s cold this year, you can add another layer of film. Watermelons in winter are just as profitable as cucumbers.” Of course, the planting difficulty is also higher. Li Zhe only dared to try because he had planting experience. If someone was growing in a greenhouse for the first time, it would be almost impossible to succeed.

The young Malay boy asked, "Second Uncle, since cucumbers and watermelons are profitable, why don't you plant those instead of chives?"

Li Zhe laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, there is a temperature difference in this greenhouse. The temperature is lower at the edge, which is suitable for cold-resistant vegetables such as broccoli, chives, and spinach. If cucumbers and watermelons are planted at the edge, the yield will be reduced and the income will also decrease."

"I understand." The young man from Malaysia listened attentively and even took out a small notebook to write it down.

……

After dinner and cleaning up, everyone was too busy to chat all day and went home.

After inspecting the greenhouse, Li Zhe was about to lie down and go to sleep when he heard a dog barking outside, "Woof woof..."

Then a man's voice rang out, "Brother Li, are you there?"

"Who is it?"

"I am Jin Baiwan." The heavy door was lifted, and Jin Baiwan, wrapped in a military overcoat, crawled in with a big smile on his face. "Hey, it's still warm in this greenhouse."

Li Zhe looked at him with some surprise, "Boss Jin, what brings you here so late at night? Is something the matter?"

Jin Baiwan looked at the tender green cucumbers hanging on the vine, took out a wad of cash from his pocket, and said, "Brother Li, I've come to give you money."

Li Zhe was stunned. "Give me money?"

“How could you forget! Last time you said you were a little short of money to build shed number 3 and wanted to borrow 3000 yuan from me, but you weren’t short of money at the time and couldn’t come up with it right away. Now that you have it, I’ll send it to you.”

Li Zhe laughed. This businessman really knows how to talk. It's not that he's short of money; it's clearly that he didn't want to lend it to Zhu Yimin back then. Now that Zhu Yimin is in trouble, he wants to get on Li Zhe's good side.

“Mr. Jin, I appreciate your kind offer. But I haven’t heard from you since you left last time. I’ve been thinking about it, and since we’re not related, I’m sorry for being so abrupt. I can’t accept this money.”

Is Li Zhe short of money right now?
He was short of money, but it wasn't as urgent as before. He went to the market twice to sell vegetables, earning 500 yuan the first time and 600 yuan the second time. Now he has a total of 1100 yuan.

The greenhouse film needs 2400 pieces; I estimate I can gather enough in a few more days.

"Brother Li, we're all from the same village, there's no need for such formalities. I've already brought the money, I can't possibly take it back with me. The sooner your greenhouse number 3 is built, the sooner you can start planting vegetables, right?"

"Are you really planning to lend me money? I can't give you any guarantees right now." Li Zhe really wanted to finish building Greenhouse No. 3 as soon as possible. Jin Baiwan insisted on lending him money, so he had no reason not to, but the conditions he had promised last time were definitely no longer valid.

Jin Baiwan's eyelids twitched. After hesitating for a while, he slapped 3000 yuan into Li Zhe's hand and said, "Brother, use it wisely."

Li Zhe kept 2000 and returned the remaining 1000 to Jin Baiwan. "Brother Jin, consider this 2000 a loan." Li Zhe wrote an IOU and handed it to Jin Baiwan. "Please keep it safe."

"Hey." Jin Baiwan took the IOU and waited for a while, but Li Zhe didn't say anything. The two of them stood there staring at each other with wide eyes.

"Brother Li, well... you rest now, I'll head back first."

"It's dark and the road is difficult to travel, so I won't keep you any longer. Let's have a good drink another day, brother." Li Zhe saw Jin Baiwan off from the greenhouse and watched him ride away on his bicycle.

After riding his bicycle a long way, Jin Baiwan suddenly slapped himself, "Serves you right for being so shameless, rushing to give money to others!"

(End of this chapter)