Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 7 Seedlings
Old Li looked at his wife, then at his son, and slowly said, "Second son, your ambition to start a business is admirable, and I support you."

"cough!"

Wang Xiuying coughed lightly, and seeing that both the father and son were looking at her, she explained, "Dinner was very oily, it made my throat sore. Dad, you go on."

Old Li was interrupted from his thoughts and paused for a moment, "But... there are risks in starting a business, you can't just think about the good side. It's like fighting a war, you can't just think about winning."

What if the greenhouse isn't insulated and the seedlings freeze solid? We'll lose all our money, and then we won't be able to repay the loan on time.

“Mom, Dad, your concerns are valid, and I have seriously considered this issue. I am currently unmarried, have no house, and no money; all I own is an acre of land.”

Even if we lose money, at most we can just mortgage the greenhouse to the credit union, what else can we do?

These words struck a chord with Wang Xiuying. "Second son, I've always been thinking about your marriage, and I'll definitely build you a house for your wedding."

I was planning to separate the family property after you got married, but who knew that your sister-in-law and I didn't have a good relationship? As soon as she entered the family, she started encouraging your brother to separate the family property.

I told them then and there that the second son wasn't married yet, and we still had to arrange his wedding. Since you're dividing the family property, you'll have to pay off the debts incurred for his wedding yourselves.

At this point, Wang Xiuying became more emotional, "Your sister-in-law agreed without any hesitation. Our family has no debts right now, we're just focused on saving money for you to build a house and get married."

"Mother, that's not what I meant."

"Whether that's what you mean or not, Mother has to get this straight."

Old Li nodded. "That makes sense."

“Mom, Dad, I know you mean well. But a person only has a few key opportunities in their life. If you miss them, your life will be over.”

"If you lose money, you'll regret it for three years at most; if you don't do it, you'll regret it for thirty!"

Wang Xiuying was displeased. "You're full of yourself, but I don't agree."

“Mother, I’m not young anymore, and this time I want to make my own decision.”

"Fine, you've grown up, you've become independent, and you don't even listen to your mother anymore." Wang Xiuying said angrily. Of the three children in the family, the eldest and the youngest were obedient, but the second son dared to talk back to her when he got angry.

Seeing this, Old Li felt even more annoyed. His son seemed to be speaking kindly, but his attitude was firm.

He knew his wife's temper better than anyone else; if he argued with her for a few more minutes, they would definitely start fighting.

He sat down next to his wife and whispered, “Don’t be angry. Talk to him nicely. What if we start arguing and he drives our second son away? He has a few thousand yuan in his hands right now. It’s fine if he’s with us, but if he takes the money and runs to the city, he’ll squander it all in a few years.”

Wang Xiuying was so angry that she completely forgot about this matter. Why was the second son so confident? It was because of that 6,000 yuan loan.
"Second brother, let's not rush into planting vegetables in greenhouses. We can discuss it slowly. You already borrowed six thousand yuan, what about the rest?"

Li Zhe pointed to the large denomination bills clutched in Wang Xiuying's hand, "Aren't they all here?"

"Nonsense, this is five hundred yuan."

"Let me count." Before Wang Xiuying could react, Li Zhe took the money and counted it. "Hey, it really is five hundred. I remember now, I deposited the rest of the money in the bank, and I'll withdraw it when I need it."

Li Zhe took out fifty yuan and handed it to Wang Xiuying, saying, "Mom, keep this money for household expenses."

“No…” Wang Xiuying took the five ten-yuan bills, but when she saw Li Zhe put the rest of the money into his pocket, she suddenly felt it wasn’t so appealing anymore. “Second son, take out all the money, and I’ll keep it for you.”

“Mom, this money is for building greenhouses. Every expense needs to be recorded. It’s a delicate job, and you can’t do it.”

"Who do you think you are? I can keep accounts too. Don't worry, your mother definitely won't take your money. I'll give it to your wife to manage after you get married."

“I’m here to build a career, not play house. When the business grows bigger, the company will hire a professional accountant; my wife can’t manage that. You don’t need to worry about the money; I’ll save it myself.”

Li Zhe stood up. "I'm going back to my room to rest. I have to get up early to work tomorrow."

"This is outrageous! This kid's going against us!" Wang Xiuying patted her chest, her eyes bulging with anger. "Old Li, are you just going to stand by and watch?"

“This kid has a good heart and money in his pocket, what can I do? If I beat him up and he runs off to the city, I might as well keep an eye on him.” Old Li wasn’t angry about his son’s attitude; his son’s idea was a good thing, better than his own.

Not every father wants his child to live like him.

Westinghouse.

Li Zhe sat at the table, scribbling in his notebook with a ballpoint pen. Growing vegetables in greenhouses is not a simple matter; it requires a detailed plan.

The vegetables are tentatively scheduled to hit the market in November, when most open-field vegetables in the north have stopped being harvested. Once they hit the market, they will definitely fetch high prices.

The first greenhouse mainly grows cucumbers, along with some other vegetables.

There are specific requirements for greenhouse vegetable cultivation. Not all vegetables can be planted together. For example, cucumbers and tomatoes will inhibit growth and reduce yield if planted together.

The growth cycle of cucumbers is 50 to 70 days.

If you want the product to be available in November, you need to start cultivating seedlings now. After about 20 days, when the seedlings have grown 3 to 5 leaves, they can be transplanted into the greenhouse for planting.

Building greenhouses needs to be put on the agenda, otherwise we'll miss the opportunity to transplant the seedlings.

He'll be quite busy for the next while.

……

early morning.

At six o'clock, Li Zhe got up from the kang (a heated brick bed), took out the cucumber seeds he bought from the supply and marketing cooperative, selected the plump seeds and put them in the sun to dry. This would sterilize the seeds and improve their activity, which was also the first step in seedling cultivation.

It takes one to two days to dry, and the leaves should be turned over regularly while avoiding excessively high temperatures.

While drying the seeds, Li Zhe was not idle; he began preparing seedling trays.

In later generations, seedling trays were made of connected plastic shells, but these didn't exist in this era, so Li Zhe had to make them himself.

He rummaged through the drawer and found a medicine bottle, a pile of old newspapers, and then made a bowl of paste with boiling water.

First, cut the newspaper into long strips, roll it into a cylinder using a medicine bottle, spread glue on it, seal the bottom, and form a round paper tube, somewhat like a disposable paper cup in later times.

Fill it with seedling soil, and it becomes a simple seedling pot.

After the little girl got up, she saw Li Zhe busy in the yard and asked curiously, "Second brother, what are you doing?"

"I'm making seedling containers. Once the seedlings grow big, we can transplant them into the greenhouse. When your second brother makes money growing vegetables, he'll buy you White Rabbit candy."

"Is it the one wrapped in rice paper that tastes sweet?"

"That's right, Xiaona, do you want some?"

"Mmm, I want to eat." The little girl showed her two little tiger teeth and smiled happily. "Second brother, let me help you."

"You roll the newspaper into a cylinder, and I'll spread the paste." The brother and sister worked together, and their speed increased significantly.

Old Li had been watching his son closely, and it really seemed like he knew what he was doing. "Second son, did you learn this seedling cultivation from the agricultural research institute?"

"Yes, first prepare soil suitable for seed growth, then put the seeds in it to cultivate, which makes it easier to control humidity, temperature and sunlight, and promotes rapid germination of the seeds and growth into seedlings."

Wang Xiuying stood at the doorway and snorted, "What nonsense! Look around this village, who doesn't plant seeds directly in the ground? What's the point of messing around with this stuff? It's a waste of a bowl of flour."

“Mom, your way of growing vegetables is the extensive type. You just need enough to eat and don’t expect to make money from selling them. It’s different from mine. Raising seedlings is like laying the foundation. Once the seedlings are strong, you can transplant them, which can accelerate the growth of vegetables, increase yield, improve quality, and double your income.”

Old Li nodded. "That's interesting."

"Hmph, they're all bewitched." Wang Xiuying flung her arm and stormed out of the courtyard.

(End of this chapter)