Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 88 Worry
Li Zhe opened the door, and standing outside was a pretty young woman, Tan Jingya, the mistress of the backyard.

He stepped aside and said, "Sister-in-law, come in and talk."

"Mr. Li, the cucumbers you gave us last time were so delicious that my old lady loved them. I asked you to thank me properly. I made braised pork with preserved mustard greens for lunch, and I brought some over for you to try." Tan Jingya handed the box she was carrying to Li Zhe.

Li Zhe took the box and placed it on the coffee table. He opened the lid, and a fragrant aroma of meat wafted out. Inside was a beautifully presented plate of braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens: "Wow, your cooking skills are almost on par with a master chef."

"Mr. Li, you flatter me. I didn't have all the ingredients at home, so I just made it by chance."

"Alright, I'll definitely try your cooking at noon." Li Zhe went to the kitchen, grabbed a plate, and poured the braised pork with preserved mustard greens onto it.

This was the first time Tan Jingya had come to the house since it was rented out: "Mr. Li, you've arranged this house very well."

Li Zhe laughed and said, "My cousin is a diligent person. He sweeps the floor at least twice a day and wipes the table every day. If I lived alone, it definitely wouldn't be this clean."

“Men don’t like to tidy up the house, and neither does my husband,” Tan Jingya said politely. “Yesterday I mentioned the heating to Hongbin, and he also wanted to do it, asking me to ask him about the specific procedures.”

Li Zhe said, "This is the first time I've used this thing either. Let's give it a try."

Tan Jingya said, "That's what I meant too. The three of us live in the north-facing house, which is about 100 square meters, about the same size as your front yard..."

Half an hour later, the two reached a general agreement. Li Zhe saw Tan Jingya out, and Zhao Tiezhu had also prepared lunch: a pot of rice, cabbage and vermicelli stewed with tofu, and some braised pork with preserved mustard greens.

Zhao Tiezhu picked up a slice of meat and stuffed it into his mouth. His eyes lit up: "Hmm, this meat is delicious, sweet and spicy. What's that saying again..." Zhao Tiezhu forgot his words.

Li Zhe reminded everyone: "It should be fatty but not greasy."

"Yes, yes, that's exactly what I mean." Zhao Tiezhu picked up a piece of preserved mustard greens with his chopsticks and nodded: "This dish is also delicious."

Wang Jianjun also praised the food highly: "It's really good. Sister Tan looks delicate and doesn't seem like she's capable, but I never expected her cooking skills to be so good."

Li Weidong was the most cunning; he just kept his head down and ate, not saying a word at all.

Li Zhe also thought it was delicious, but this plate of meat was not enough for the four men to share: "When I come back from home, I'll take you guys out to eat again."

Wang Jianjun asked, "Zhezi, are you leaving again this afternoon?"

"Hmm, I'll go back and check on it, see how the oyster mushrooms are growing."

Li Weidong ate another piece of meat before speaking: "I do need to go back; my father wants to discuss something with you."

"What's the matter?"

Li Weidong kept everyone in suspense, saying, "You'll find out when we get back."

Li Zhe ignored him and asked Wang Jianjun, "Brother, how many cucumbers and spinach do we have left?"

"Four pounds of cucumbers and three pounds of spinach, what's wrong?"

"I'm going to take it in a bit, and I'll also be meeting a friend on the way."

……

Wan'an Town Rural Credit Cooperative.

Office of the Director.

Sun Liguo paced back and forth in front of his desk, the hem of his military overcoat brushing against the rusty radiator, making a rustling sound.

The clivia on the windowsill drooped listlessly, much like his current mood. Ever since attending a reunion with his comrades in mid-last month, he had been filled with hesitation and anxiety.

His former company commander took a leave of absence without pay and invited him to start a business in the south together.

The old company commander's words came to mind: "Old Sun, the motorcycle parts factory in Pengcheng earns six hundred a month, and the cargo ships at the port are denser than the tanks we used in our exercises... The future development lies in the south..."

Sun Liguo admired and respected the old company commander's courage, but... he still refused.

But he wasn't comfortable with it. He'd been working in the countryside for over a decade, and the repetitive daily tasks had robbed him of his passion. More importantly, he didn't want to stay stuck in the small town forever...

Life is something you can see the end of at a glance.

“Development…development…” Sun Liguo kept repeating this word. “Knock knock—” came the sound of knocking on the door.

"Come in." Sun Liguo said, his back to the door.

A young man wearing glasses walked into the office: "Director, Li Zhe from Daying Village is here."

Sun Liguo turned around: "What's wrong with him?"

"He didn't say what he wanted to do, he just said he wanted to visit you."

"Okay, let him in." Although she didn't know why he came, he was still an acquaintance, so it wasn't good to refuse to see him.

Not long after, Li Zhe entered the office carrying a woven bag: "Brother Sun, did I disturb your work?"

"Brother Li, what are you saying? Please sit down." Sun Liguo poured a cup of tea and handed it to Li Zhe. "You must be freezing. Have some hot tea to warm up. What brings you here today?"

The tea was too hot, so Li Zhe didn't take a sip. He held the cup in both hands to warm them: "I came here today especially to bring you something."

"Send me something?" Sun Liguo was stunned. It wasn't a holiday, so he didn't know what Li Zhe was up to.
Li Zhe placed the woven bag on the table, opened the bag to reveal spinach and cucumbers.

Sun Liguo's eyes widened as he brought out the spinach and cucumbers and placed them on the table: "These are from your greenhouse?"

"Yes, it's the same batch of cucumbers you saw when you visited the greenhouse last time."

Sun Liguo rubbed the cucumber's prickles, then took a bite: "Crunch! This cucumber is so juicy, even better than summer cucumbers. Brother, I didn't expect you to actually succeed!"

Li Zhe corrected, "Brother Sun, it's us who succeeded. Without your approved loan, the greenhouse would never have been built. You deserve half the credit for this."

"I also deserve credit?" Sun Liguo paused for a moment, as if he had figured something out. "Brother Li, tell me properly, how many cucumbers can the greenhouse produce? How much will they sell for?"

"It's hard to say exactly how much yield there is right now, but it shouldn't be less than that of cucumbers grown outdoors. The selling price will be over 5 yuan."

"So expensive? Where have all these cucumbers been sold? I've never heard of them before."

"They've all been sold to Beijing, to Quanjude, Donglaishun, Cuihualou... You'll hear about it soon enough. I came to tell you the good news as soon as business stabilized."

"Great! Will we be able to recoup the cost of the greenhouse this year?"

"can."

Sun Liguo chuckled and muttered, "Development...isn't this development?"

He didn't have much confidence in the winter-warm greenhouse. Greenhouses aren't a new thing; they can help with agricultural planting to some extent, such as early seedling cultivation and delayed harvesting, but usually only for about half a month. He had never seen a greenhouse like Li Zhe's with its semi-underground thick earthen walls before.

Li Zhe's success brought him new hope. If the winter-warm greenhouses could be scaled up under his guidance, the benefits would be enormous—not only a sense of accomplishment in his career, but also new opportunities for professional development. Although it's too early to say, at least there's something to look forward to.

"Brother, congratulations! You've finally reaped the rewards of your hard work. Now you're just waiting to make a fortune."

"Sigh..." Li Zhe sighed and waved his hand, "It's tough now too, I'm worried about the same things."

"What's wrong? Did you run into some trouble?"

"Vegetables are in short supply."

Sun Liguo laughed and pointed at Li Zhe, teasingly saying, "Brother, I see now, you're here to show off to me today."

“No, that’s not true. There are three Quanjude restaurants in Beijing, and I only contacted one of them for supplies. Guess why?” Li Zhe said solemnly. “I didn’t dare to bother the other two. I’ve planted less than two acres of cucumbers in total, and the yield can’t keep up. If they come to us and we don’t have any supplies, wouldn’t that make us unpopular?”

Sun Liguo stroked his chin. "Brother, it sounds like you want to expand the greenhouse?"

"I do have this idea, but I don't know if our credit union will still be able to lend money..."

In the past, Sun Liguo might not have been so concerned, but now he also hopes that the winter-warm greenhouses can develop. "You've already borrowed 12,000 yuan. Even if I help you apply for a higher loan amount, it won't be much more. However, if you can get a loan in the name of the collective, that's a different story."

Your supply contracts with state-owned restaurants like Quanjude and Donglaishun can serve as proof of income stability and increase the likelihood of credit approval…

(End of this chapter)