Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 8 Impact
The midday sun was scorching, and Li Zhe was worried that the seeds would be damaged by the sun, so he quickly moved them under the eaves.

They continued drying in the afternoon.

As evening fell and the sun set, Li Zhe checked the cucumber seeds. The sun had been shining brightly today, and they were mostly dried.

Li Zhe began the second step of seedling cultivation: soaking the seeds.

He soaked the seeds in 55°C warm water for 15 minutes, and then soaked them for another 5 hours after the water cooled to room temperature.

Then he scooped the seeds out of the basin, wrapped them in a damp cloth, and hung them high up to prevent them from being stolen by mice at night.

After tidying up, it was already past midnight. Li Zhe quickly washed up and climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed) to sleep.

……

September 1st, early morning.

When Li Zhe woke up, it was already broad daylight.

He yawned as he walked out of the house and saw his father sitting in the yard pasting newspapers and making seedling containers.

Li Zhe smiled; his family's support was his greatest motivation.

Mr. Li looked up and said, "I knew you went to bed late, so I didn't wake you for breakfast. There's half a steamed bun left on the table."

"Where's my mother?"

"Today is the first day of school, and she went to take her third child to school."

Li Zhe washed his face, feeling much more refreshed. He took the seeds off the shelf to examine them, and then moistened the cloth that had been wrapping the seeds again.

"Second brother, are you planning to wait for the seeds to sprout before planting them?" Old Li squeezed the bulging cloth bag. He also grows cucumbers in his vegetable garden. He just digs holes, buries the seeds, covers them with soil, and waters them. There are no complicated procedures.

“Seeds buried in the ground may not necessarily sprout; if you wait until they sprout before sowing, the survival rate will be much higher,” Li Zhe said with a smile. “Vegetable seeds wrapped in damp cloth can sprout tomorrow, so we need to work harder today to prepare the soil for seedling cultivation.”

Old Li laughed and scolded, "You little rascal, you've gotten addicted to ordering your dad around."

"Father, I dare not order you around. My experience in farming is far inferior to yours, and I have to ask you for advice all the time."

"Stop flattering me, just go do what you're supposed to do."

"Alright, you can do the paper pasting. I'll go prepare the seedling soil."

Old Li reminded them, "Eat your food first, don't work on an empty stomach."

Li Zhe responded, took out a steamed bun from the main room, and chatted with his father while eating it.

With a creak, the courtyard gate was pushed open.

A young man wearing a blue striped vest entered the yard carrying a shovel. The man was Li Zhe's older brother, Li Weidong.

He leaned the shovel against the wall and said, "Dad, I went to check on our fields, and the corn leaves are all curled up. It's really dry."

Old Li looked up and said, "What's the rush? It's been holding back rain all day; it'll definitely rain in a few days."

Li Weidong stared wide-eyed at the pile of paper tubes in the yard, "What are you doing here?"

"Making seedling incubators."

"What?"

Old Li chuckled, "You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

“Brother.” Li Zhe looked at his young brother, and an image of a little old man with gray hair flashed through his mind.

Li Weidong got married two years ago and has a good relationship with his wife. They had a daughter last year, so he should be living a better life than Li Zhe.

But Li Weidong has a flaw: he's easily influenced, just like his father, who is only afraid of his wife. At home, Li Weidong listens to his mother; after marriage, he's controlled by his wife; and as he gets older, his daughter yells at him.

When Li Weidong was young, he didn't have many hobbies. As he got older, he liked to have a few drinks, but his family was strict. His wife wouldn't let him drink, and his daughter would snatch the glass away.

Whenever Li Weidong wanted to drink, he would hide at Li Zhe's house to have a few drinks and complain; he, who had a family, was not as happy as his old bachelor brother.

"Is there something dirty on my face?" Li Weidong touched his face when he saw his younger brother staring at him.

"No, I was just spacing out."

"Second brother, come inside with me, I have something to tell you."

"Just tell me what's wrong, there's no one else here."

"Let's go inside and talk." Li Weidong patted his younger brother on the shoulder and went into the house.

Li Zhe followed him into the west room. "What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

"Did you make Mom angry again?" Li Zhe asked back. "What did Mom say to you?"

"Is it true that you're going to the credit union to apply for an interest-free loan, and you also need to spend several thousand yuan to build a greenhouse?"

"Yes."

Li Weidong sighed, "Have you thought about how you'll repay the loan and how you'll survive if you lose money building the greenhouse?"

"I just want to give it my all while I'm young."

"What are you trying to achieve? You're just being ridiculous. Didn't your mother say she's saving money for you to get married? Wouldn't it be better to live a stable life like me?"

"Good my foot! He lives like a grandson." These weren't said by Li Zhe, but by Li Weidong in his past life.

Li Weidong was manipulated by three women, but he still had a lot of influence in front of his younger brother.

Li Zhe didn't argue with him directly, and changed the subject, "Brother, I heard from Mother that you have a lot of debt?"

"What, you want to help me pay it back?"

“I need the money to build a greenhouse, so I can’t help you right now. But I can give you an idea that will earn you at least four or five hundred yuan a year.”

"What? Five hundred!" Li Weidong couldn't earn that much money in a year. "What's the idea? Can I do it?"

“You can definitely do it, and it won’t interfere with farming. It’s just a side job.”

"Is this really a good thing? Tell me, what exactly is this idea?" Li Weidong's family owed more than a thousand yuan in debt, and his wife nagged him about it every day. How could he not be anxious?
"Brother, this can't be explained in a few words. I'll come to your house tonight and we can talk about it slowly."

"Oh my god, you're so impatient! Why wait until tonight? Just tell me now!"

"I still have work to do, you go back first." The cucumber seeds will sprout tomorrow, and Li Zhe needs to prepare the seedling soil; this matter cannot be delayed.

Li Weidong said, "You lazy bum, what kind of work can you dawdle over for a whole day? I'll do it for you."

Li Zhe didn't stand on ceremony with him. He went out of the house, pointed to the small cart in the corner, and said, "Brother, go and haul four cartloads of soil and one cartload of cooked cow dung. I need them later." He took out a yuan and handed it to his brother, saying, "I don't want the chicken dung."

Li Weidong didn't answer, saying, "I have money to buy cow dung."

"Take it. Help me with the work. I can't let you lose money." Li Zhe stuffed the money into his brother's pocket.

Li Weidong pushed the wheelbarrow out the door, while Li Zhe began preparing other base fertilizers.

The Li family cooks with firewood and has stored up a lot of wood ash, which is a high-quality natural potassium fertilizer. In addition, Li Zhe bought 500 grams of diammonium phosphate compound fertilizer and 100 grams of carbendazim to prevent soil diseases from the supply and marketing cooperative.

Li Weidong was a skilled worker, and he quickly brought four cartloads of soil and one cartload of cow dung using a wheelbarrow.

Li Zhe mixed soil, wood ash, cow dung, compound fertilizer, and carbendazim together to make seedling soil.

Li Weidong sat on the ground, wiping his sweat with the towel around his neck. "Second brother, we've almost finished this job. Tell me, how exactly do we make money?"

"I can tell you, but you have to promise me first that you won't tell your mother."

Li Weidong considered it for a while, then said, "Okay, I agree."

"That day I went to the rural credit cooperative to apply for a loan and chatted with Director Sun. He told me that the current five-year deposit interest rate is 9.36%; and that it is said that it will rise in September, with the five-year interest rate not falling below 10%."

Let me do the math for you. If you have 5,000 yuan and put it in a bank for a five-year fixed deposit, the interest will be 500 yuan per year, and 2,500 yuan in five years.

No effort required, no risk involved. What do you think of this money-making idea?

Li Weidong said irritably, "Are you kidding me? I'm drowning in debt right now, where am I going to get five thousand yuan? Just give it to me like that."

"You can get an interest-free loan from the credit union," Li Zhe said in a low voice.
"Just say you want to start a chicken farm, and borrow money from the credit union first. Learn chicken farming techniques from someone this year, and try raising a few chickens next year."

If we can make money, we'll start a chicken farm, do some real business, and make a contribution to the country.

If I can't work, I'll deposit the money in a bank in another city. After five years, I'll return the principal to the credit union, keep the interest, and pay off my family's debts as soon as possible.

Li Weidong understood, but was also bewildered.

Good heavens, you can do that?!

I farm during the busy season and do odd jobs during the off-season, and I can't even earn 500 yuan a year despite working myself to the bone.

The second brother just needs to use his brain, and five hundred yuan will come in no time!

This……

It was hard for him to accept.

(End of this chapter)