Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 121 Vegetable Shop?
in the afternoon.

Ji Hongbin carried a bag of sesame seed cakes and braised beef into the yard. The old lady was getting on in years and her teeth weren't very good, but she loved this dish. She would ask her daughter-in-law to slice the meat thinly later...

Thinking of this, Ji Hongbin stopped... Never mind, I'll cut it myself.

He entered the courtyard and greeted her, "Mom, have you eaten? Look what I bought for you!"

The old lady did not respond.

Ji Hongbin entered the house and saw the old lady sitting in a chair in the living room: "Are you still angry? Don't get upset and ruin your health. I bought your favorite sesame seed cakes and braised beef. I'll cut them up for you to eat in a bit..."

Grandma Ji looked at her son with mixed feelings. She had given birth to Ji Hongbin when she was over thirty and had always treated him like a precious treasure. Now... she didn't know if it was the right thing to do or the wrong thing.

If Ji Hongbin hadn't squandered all her wealth, why would she have had to sell the house? Selling a house isn't exactly something to be proud of, and she felt just as bad about it.

When Grandma Ji went inside, she came out with a wad of cash in her hand and handed it to Ji Hongbin: "Count it, isn't it 6000 yuan?"

Ji Hongbin took the money with trembling hands: "Mom, where did this money come from?"

“Mom sold the house, this is the deposit. You can help with the paperwork these next few days. Once the house is transferred, there's still a balance of 2 yuan left.” After saying this, Grandma Ji took the money back, afraid that her son would try to make more money and use it all up.

Ji Hongbin stood there dumbfounded, the yellow paper bag he was carrying falling to the ground: "You sold the house for 26,000? You found a buyer and settled the deal in such a short time? You're not lying to me, are you?"

"You've seen the deposit, how could I lie to you?" The old lady said, looking tired, and walked into the house.

Ji Hongbin struggled to get into the house: "Mom, who did you sell the house to? Why didn't you wait for me to sell it together? Aren't you afraid of being scammed?"

The old woman slumped into a chair: "You know that person too?"

"Who is it?" Ji Hongbin couldn't think of anyone who could suddenly come up with so much money to buy his house.

The old lady pointed to the south: "Mr. Li in the front yard."

"That vegetable vendor?" Ji Hongbin looked shocked and said incredulously, "How is this possible? Where did he get so much money? This is impossible!"

……

After finishing his business in the capital, Li Zhe took a car back to Daying Village.

Li Zhe hadn't returned to the village for three days, but he had been keeping a close eye on what was happening there. According to Li Weidong, all 10 newly built greenhouses were completed. Four of them had already had the soil turned and fertilized, and with the ground temperature warming up, Old Li had already started leading people to transplant vegetable seedlings yesterday.

With Lao Li and Zhu Yimin leading the way, Li Zhe wasn't too worried. But to say he was completely at ease was impossible.

Li Zhe knew very well that any sales network based on personal connections was built on the foundation of off-season vegetables. If there were any problems with the transplanting of the vegetable seedlings in the greenhouse, Li Zhe's subsequent business expansion plans would all be in vain.

Back in Daying Village, Li Zhe didn't even rest before heading straight to the newly expanded vegetable greenhouses. To make them easier to remember and distinguish, he named these greenhouses numbers 11 through 20.

The seedlings in greenhouses 11 and 12 have already been transplanted. Greenhouse 11 is mainly planted with cucumbers, while broccoli is planted along the edge of the greenhouse.

Greenhouse number 12 is used to grow green peppers and lettuce.

At this moment, Lao Li was leading people to transplant vegetable seedlings in greenhouse number 13. The greenhouse was warm, and everyone was wearing thin clothes and working hard.

Zhu Yimin led his team to transplant vegetable seedlings in greenhouse number fourteen, where Zhou Qinghe and Ma Laixiao were also present. The three chatted and laughed as they worked, creating a lively atmosphere.

When the Malay boy saw Li Zhe, he smiled and asked, "Second Uncle is back? How did we do?"

Li Zhe squatted down to inspect the transplanted vegetable seedlings: "Not bad, they're even better than mine. If there were a competition for transplanting vegetable seedlings, you guys would sweep the top three spots."

"Hahaha." The Malaysian chuckled and asked, "If we sweep the top three spots, will we get a bonus?"

"Give! Give them all!"

Zhou Qinghe stood up and clapped her hands: "Li Zhe, are you busy? If you're not, I have something to tell you."

"The most important thing for me when I returned to the village is to communicate with you promptly and help you solve your problems. You can tell me anything; I'm always available." After saying this, Li Zhe walked with Zhou Qinghe to the east end of the greenhouse: "So, what did you need me for?"

Zhou Qinghe asked, "Have you been to greenhouse number two?"

"No, I just got back and came straight here. What's up?"

"That's great news. The oyster mushrooms will be ripe soon and ready to be harvested. Come on, let me take you to see them," Zhou Qinghe said with pride. These days, besides growing oyster mushrooms, she's also helped grow other vegetables. But the one she values ​​most is the oyster mushroom, which she chose for her graduation thesis. It's practically her masterpiece.

Before long, the two arrived at greenhouse number two. Among the first batch of greenhouses, greenhouse number two was the only one that was uninhabited. The mushroom cultivation area in greenhouse number two was noticeably more humid. Gray, fan-shaped mushrooms grew on neatly arranged mushroom logs, their caps thick and full with neat edges, making them very appealing.

"Great! These mushrooms are growing really well! Qinghe, you've worked so hard! Your bonus this month will at least double!"

Zhou Qinghe laughed: "What you said makes me a little tempted. I'd like to drop out of school and grow vegetables with you."

"Please don't, you should focus on your studies. I'm counting on you to bring us more advanced planting techniques in the future. I don't lack helpers, but I do lack knowledgeable and cultured people like you."

Zhou Qinghe was very happy to receive Li Zhe's affirmation: "Li Zhe, you have newly expanded 10 greenhouses. Have you ever thought about setting aside one greenhouse specifically for growing oyster mushrooms?"

Li Zhe had indeed considered this question, and asked in return, "Can your school supply so many strains of bacteria?"

Zhou Qinghe replied, "Mushrooms have a short harvesting period and are a type of vegetable that is harvested in a concentrated manner. They are planted in batches anyway, so there is no problem with using too many spawn at once."

Li Zhe nodded: "Let's see how the sales go this time. If the oyster mushrooms sell well, we can set aside one or two greenhouses for cultivation." Oyster mushrooms have a short cultivation cycle and can be harvested multiple times, making them a vegetable variety with a relatively quick return on investment, although they do have a certain level of technical difficulty in cultivation.

Zhou Qinghe beamed with joy: "Li Zhe, I have an idea. Have you ever thought about opening a vegetable store once vegetable production increases?"

Li Zhe countered, "Where would you open a vegetable shop? Off-season vegetables are expensive, and ordinary customers can't afford them."

"Off-season vegetables." Although it was the first time Zhou Qinghe had heard this term, he immediately understood its meaning and vividly described the characteristics of winter-warm vegetable greenhouses. It even sounded a bit high-end: "Off-season vegetables is a good name. Can I include it in my thesis? Of course, I will clearly indicate that you are the one who named this term."

“Sure, use it as you like,” Li Zhe said with a smile. The concept of off-season vegetables was only frequently mentioned in the 90s.

Zhou Qinghe then steered the conversation back on track: "I was talking about opening a dedicated vegetable store for foreigners. Ordinary people can't afford it, but foreigners and overseas Chinese can."

Li Zhe stroked his chin. He had previously considered selling vegetables through the Friendship Store. Lately, he'd been making quite a few trips to the store. He'd even inquired about it with the manager in charge of food. The manager said the application had been submitted but hadn't been approved yet, and the process still needed to continue. Li Zhe couldn't figure out if the Friendship Store wasn't taking it seriously, or if the approval process was too cumbersome. In any case, he figured the chances of selling his vegetables through the Friendship Store this year were slim.

"Qinghe, tell me what you're thinking."

"Isn't my mom the director of the Chongwenmen vegetable market? I can go back and talk to her about opening a vegetable store catering to overseas Chinese under the name of the Chongwenmen vegetable market. What do you think of this idea?"

Having another sales channel is naturally a good thing for Li Zhe. He's not particularly worried about production and supply. Having seen the example of the Friendship Store, Li Zhe figured that even if Director Han had this idea and was willing to cooperate, the approval procedures would still take time, and by the time the deal was finalized, vegetable production might have already increased.

Li Zhe is already supplying vegetables to restaurants catering to foreigners, but there's still a layer between them; opening a vegetable shop means directly facing foreign clients, and the vetting process for these kinds of shops is usually quite strict. In short, it's not a bad thing to test the waters beforehand to see if the other party is interested in cooperating.

"Okay, then you can ask Director Han what he thinks. If the Chongwenmen vegetable market is also interested in cooperation, we can talk to them further."

"Tetsuko! Is Tetsuko there?" came a shout from outside.

"Go ahead and get busy. I'm going back to the capital tomorrow. I might need to take some mushroom samples with me."

Li Zhe said nonchalantly, "These mushrooms were grown by you, so take more and give them to your relatives and friends to try."

"Hehe, then I won't be polite." Zhou Qinghe wasn't greedy; she just wanted more people to see the results of her cultivation. For her, this was also a joy of harvest. In fact, this joy was even more important than the mushrooms themselves.

As Li Zhe exited greenhouse number two, he saw Party Secretary Wang Tietou hurrying over.

"Uncle Wang, slow down. What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

“That’s great,” Wang Tietou replied with a smile. Before Li Zhe could speak, he took the initiative to say, “Come on, let’s go inside the shed and warm up. I forgot to wear a hat earlier, and my ears are almost frozen off.”

Once inside the greenhouse, Li Zhe poured him a cup of hot water: "Uncle Wang, what good news? The credit union called again to offer me an increased loan?"

"You're all you care about is money! Are you short of cash right now?" Wang Tietou snorted. "I did get a call, but it wasn't from the credit union, it was from our town government. Mayor Chen has heard about your vegetable greenhouse business and is coming to inspect it tomorrow."

Li Zhe poured himself a cup of hot water and asked, "What is the purpose of Mayor Chen's visit here?"

"Ha, you're getting cocky now. The mayor himself came to inspect, which shows how much importance he attaches to vegetable greenhouses. You should be happy!"

Li Zhe said, "You're right, of course I take it seriously. I'm just worried about not understanding the leader's thoughts and about not being able to provide adequate hospitality."

"There's no need to be overly thoughtful. They're here for the greenhouses, not for your food or drink. Just tell them the truth about the greenhouses. Treat them the same way you treated me. It's not as complicated as you think."

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Actually, Li Zhe had already guessed that his greenhouse project would attract local attention. This matter had both advantages and disadvantages for him, but since he established a connection with the Great Wall Hotel, the disadvantages had become minimal. Now, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. In the near term, his plan to expand the greenhouses on a large scale next year would require the support of the local government.

Looking further ahead, if Jizhou wants to dominate the off-season vegetable market, it must have a large number of off-season vegetable growers, which also requires the support and promotion of the local government.

Wang Tietou said, "By the way, could we use a truck to pick up Mayor Chen and the others tomorrow? It's so cold, it wouldn't be good to make them come by bicycle."

(End of this chapter)