Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 122 Jin Baiwan's Reminder
Zhang Yuzhen's home in Daying Village.

Zhang Yuzhen's family rarely cooked dinner in the past; she and her husband would usually just grab a bite at a convenience store.

Since her son Lin Xiaohu came back, the store has been closing earlier, and she comes home on time every day to cook for him.

In just a few days, Lin Xiaohu's face, which had been so thin, had become rounder, but he wasn't in good spirits and always seemed listless, as if something was on his mind.

"Little Tiger, dinner's ready. Go wash your hands." Zhang Yuzhen called out.

Her husband, Lin Dingyuan, set the table with bowls and chopsticks.

Lin Xiaohu lay sprawled on the kang (a heated brick bed), weakly calling out, "Mom, you guys eat, I'm not hungry."

Zhang Yuzhen walked to the doorway: "How can you not eat? Get up and eat right away!"

"I'm really not hungry, you guys eat." Lin Xiaohu turned over and lay on his other side.

Seeing her son like this, Zhang Yuzhen lost her appetite and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) to ask, "Xiaohu, tell your mother honestly, is something wrong?"

The son was silent for a while, then slowly said, "It's nothing, I'm just feeling restless staying at home every day, I can't muster any energy, I want to find something to do."

Upon hearing that her son wanted to find work, Zhang Yuzhen felt a pang of guilt and unease. If she hadn't been so blinded by greed and failed to ask clearly beforehand, she wouldn't have sent her son to work in the fan factory, and he wouldn't have suffered so much.

"Son, we're not short of money. You can rest at home for a while longer and look for a job next year. If you feel bored, go to the general store or hang out with your friends."

Lin Xiaohu sat up: "Mom, I'm all grown up now. What kind of talk is this, playing around all day? I want to do something."

Lin Dingyuan also entered the house and advised his wife, "It's a good thing that Xiaohu wants to do something, and we should support him. We can't let the fan factory matter hold us back all at once. A man can't handle things without experiencing some hardships. I think this experience might not be a bad thing."

Zhang Yuzhen glared at her husband, then turned to her son and said, "Xiaohu, it's not that I don't support you finding work, it's just that I'm afraid you'll work too hard."

"Mom, I'm not tired. Being idle all day can easily make you sick, so it's better to find something to do." Lin Xiaohu spoke with more energy, no longer sounding listless as before.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuzhen knew she couldn't stop him and asked, "Xiaohu, what do you want to do?"

"Mother, do the Li family's carriages travel to the capital every day?"

“Yes, they’re selling vegetables. If it’s been too long, the vegetables will get old and won’t sell well.” Zhang Yuzhen frowned, wondering what her son was up to.

"Mother, I'd like to hitch a ride with the Li family to the capital tomorrow. What do you think?"

"Going to the capital?" Zhang Yuzhen's brows furrowed involuntarily. "Tiger, why are you suddenly going to the capital?"

Lin Xiaohu replied, "I miss my sister and my niece. I want to go to Beijing to see them."

"No!" It was Lin Dingyuan who spoke.

Lin Xiaohu was a little surprised, not expecting that the first person to object would be his father: "Dad, why not? I'm going to my sister's house, not someone else's house."

"Your sister's house... can't accommodate everyone." Lin Dingyuan came up with a perfectly plausible excuse.

Actually, the main reason he didn't want his son to go to Beijing was because of his son-in-law, Zhou Yongqiang.

Previously, their son-in-law, Zhou Yongqiang, wanted to resell treasury bonds and asked to borrow money. They refused and even advised their son-in-law against it. The son-in-law just grumbled and laughed it off, but left without even eating breakfast the next morning – clearly, he was holding a grudge.

Now that the son has taken the initiative to come to their door, regardless of the son-in-law's attitude, the daughter may also be caught in the middle and put in a difficult position.

This wasn't what Lin Dingyuan feared most. What worried him more was that his son-in-law would trick his son into reselling treasury bonds. This was the only male in their Lin family; if something really happened, the couple would be devastated.

Although Zhang Yuzhen didn't fully understand her husband's meaning, she knew she couldn't let her son go to the capital. She said, "Tiger, if you really want to find a job, why don't you stay in our village?" With the end of the year approaching, she really didn't want her son to go too far.

Lin Xiaohu frowned, somewhat disgusted: "Mom, what kind of work can we do in the village in this freezing weather?"

Zhang Yuzhen replied, "Of course! The Li family is busy in the north of the village, building greenhouses with great enthusiasm. The wages are high, and everyone in the village is eager to help. Just a couple of days ago, Aunt Pang's husband wanted to go, but they didn't want him."

"Growing vegetables?" Lin Xiaohu hesitated, feeling both excited and curious, but also a little embarrassed.

Lin Dingyuan said, "I think your mother's idea is pretty good. I went to the Li family's vegetable greenhouse a few days ago, and not only the cucumbers, but all the other vegetables were growing very well. It would be hard for them not to make money this year. Tiger, if you really learn it, we can build a greenhouse next year too."

"Growing vegetables in greenhouses?" Lin Xiaohu was still a little confused. "She doesn't even want Aunt Pang's husband, would she want me?"

“What’s so great about Aunt Pang? How can she compare to me? As long as I ask your Aunt Xiuying for help, this matter will definitely be settled.”

Lin Xiaohu looked curious and asked the question that many people had on their minds: "Mom, how come your relationship with Aunt Xiuying suddenly became better? How do you know she will definitely help you?"

"She will," Zhang Yuzhen sighed, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

She and Wang Xiuying grew up together and originally had a good relationship. However, she "stole" Wang Xiuying's blind date, which led to a falling out between them.

So many years have passed since then, and the two of them have long since forgotten about it. She even felt that Wang Xiuying's anger back then wasn't because she had stolen her blind date, but more like she was sulking and felt betrayed.

As for why the two haven't spoken for so many years, their relationship has suddenly improved recently, and the main reason lies with Li Zhe.

After she and her husband got married, they lived a happy and harmonious life, had two children, and even took over a sales agency. Their life was colorful and prosperous.

Wang Xiuying's family lived a meager existence, faring worse off than her "traitor" in every way. She must have felt resentful and resentful. She had always wanted to outdo her, yet she was always inferior, a conflict that had plagued her for years.

It wasn't until Li Zhejian made money from his vegetable greenhouses and Wang Xiuying's family's life improved that her mindset changed.

As long as she asked her for help, it would prove that she had 'lost,' and she would definitely be very happy inside, thus completely resolving the grudge between the two. She believed that Wang Xiuying would help her. Perhaps Wang Xiuying would even wake up laughing at night if she saw her son working for Li Zhe.

To be honest, she didn't want to ask, who wants to be inferior to others? But when she thought of her haggard son... she was willing to lower her head once.

She was wrong back then. It's just that she was young and didn't think things through. If it were her now, she would handle it in a more tactful and diplomatic way.

……

Greenhouse No. 3.

After everyone left that evening, Li Zhe kept his parents behind.

"Dad, Mom, I have something to tell you." Li Zhe changed back into his old clothes. There wasn't much to wear in the greenhouse, as long as he wasn't cold, it was fine.

Wang Xiuying cracked sunflower seeds: "Second brother, what's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Li Zhe didn't answer, but took out a document from his newly bought black briefcase and handed it to Lao Li.

Old Li was also puzzled: "What is this?" Old Li turned around with the document, looking at it from a brighter angle: "A house purchase contract? Second brother, you bought a house?"

Old Li's hand holding the document suddenly trembled: "No. 7 Suzhou Hutong! You bought the courtyard we're living in now? 26000 yuan! Good heavens, that's too expensive!"

"Dad, I not only bought the front yard where we live, but also the back yard. Do you still think it's expensive?"

Old Li's eyes widened, still somewhat incredulous, and he muttered, "You bought the backyard too? At this price..."

Old Li wasn't sure whether it was expensive or cheap; his family had been poor farmers for generations, and he really didn't know anything about this.

Now his son has actually bought a house in Beijing, a two-courtyard siheyuan! This is simply... not to mention him, anyone would probably be shocked to hear it.

Wang Xiuying dropped the melon seeds she was holding onto the ground. She knew her son was wealthy, but she hadn't imagined he was this wealthy—enough to afford a large house in Beijing! If she weren't actually in the greenhouse, she would have thought she was dreaming.

Good heavens, if this is a dream, please don't let me wake up.

……

The next morning, Zhou Qinghe picked mushrooms and took a truck to Beijing.

As usual, Li Zhe inspected the greenhouse. Accompanying him was Malay Xiao. She was responsible for recording the vegetable growth data and Li Zhe's requirements for tending to the vegetables. For example, which seedlings needed watering, which needed fertilizing, which needed pesticides, and what needed to be done to ensure good ventilation. Li Zhe would remind her of these points, and Malay Xiao would faithfully record them.

Through a simple conversation and a few questions, Li Zhe could clearly sense that Ma Laixiao had made great progress. He even suddenly had a thought: his older brother was just so-so, maybe he should train his sister-in-law?
After inspecting the greenhouses, Li Zhe prepared to talk to Old Li about Mayor Chen's visit. Just as he entered greenhouse number three, he saw a large figure sitting on a small stool, looking quite cramped.

"Brother Jin is here."

"Hey, I've been coming here a lot lately, just dropping by whenever I feel like it. Brother Li, go ahead and do what you need to do, don't let this interfere with your work."

"Brother Jin, wait a moment." Li Zhe came out of the greenhouse, went to the adjacent greenhouse number one, carried a chair, and handed it to Jin Baiwan, "Sit here."

After spending more time with him, Li Zhe realized that Jin Baiwan wasn't bad at all. If it weren't for his help in finding an excavator, the newly expanded ten-acre vegetable greenhouse wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

"Thanks, Brother Li." Jin Baiwan sat up in the high chair, feeling more at ease speaking. "Brother Li, I heard that Mayor Chen is coming to inspect the greenhouse this afternoon?"

Li Zhe countered, "Did Secretary Wang also inform you?" Jin Baiwan is considered a capable person in the village. He may not be the first person to earn 1 yuan, but he is definitely among the top five.

Moreover, he has extensive connections and works in the vegetable industry, so inviting him is quite reasonable.

"Yes, Secretary Wang mentioned it to me, telling me to come over when I have time. That's why I came early this morning to join in the fun. Please don't think I'm a bother."

"Brother Jin, you're being too polite. I'd love for you to come more often and give me more advice."

"I wouldn't call it giving feedback, but we can discuss it together and improve together." At this point, Jin Baiwan casually asked, "Brother Li, I heard that your vegetable prices went up again after the recent snowfall?"

"Yes, cucumbers have gone up by one yuan. The market price is now eight yuan per jin (8g)."

"Tsk tsk, I don't even want to think about it." Jin Baiwan shook his fat head.

Li Zhe sensed something was off about his words and asked, "Brother Jin, is there anything wrong with raising prices?"

"It's not that it's inappropriate. It depends on what Brother Li's plans are for next year. Do you want to grow vegetables yourself, or do you want to lead everyone to grow vegetables together?"

Li Zhe thought for a moment: "Being rich alone doesn't mean being truly rich. I'd rather grow vegetables with people who genuinely want to."

"Brother Li, you've put a lot of sincerity into this. What are your specific plans?"

Although Li Zhe had his own plan, he hadn't figured out Jin Baiwan's intentions yet, so he didn't say directly, "Brother Jin, I lack experience, could you give me some advice?"

Jin Baiwan looked around and, seeing no outsiders, said, "I think we can sign a planting cooperation agreement. The contract will mainly consist of two parts. In the initial stage, you will teach the growers planting techniques and experience, and help them purchase building materials, agricultural supplies, and build greenhouses collectively. This will give them more bargaining power and will definitely be more cost-effective than individual farmers buying from each other. The second part is to sign vegetable purchase terms, agreeing on the purchase price in advance. After the vegetables are ripe, we will purchase them from the farmers, and you, Brother Li, will be responsible for the unified sales."

Li Zhe nodded secretly; Jin Baiwan's thoughts were somewhat similar to his own. The biggest difference between domestic and foreign agriculture is that domestic land is more fragmented. Large-scale planting is not easy to operate and involves many uncertainties.

The best approach is to take a two-pronged approach: on the one hand, lease as much land as possible and hire people to cultivate it, which is Li Zhe's core business;
On the other hand, as Jin Baiwan said, cooperating with farmers is a good option. Farmers have land and manpower, and they can also get loans from credit unions to build greenhouses. Li Zhe has planting experience and organizational skills, so he can purchase building materials and agricultural supplies at lower prices, reducing the planting risks for farmers, and Li Zhe doesn't have to pay too much cost.

At the same time, signing vegetable purchase agreements in advance provides farmers with basic guarantees and confidence, allowing them to make a profit in the first year after repaying their loans, which is a win-win situation.

Li Zhe looked at Jin Baiwan. Based on his understanding of Jin Baiwan, the man wasn't one to confide in strangers, and shouldn't have suddenly brought up this matter. Since the man brought it up, there must be a reason.

"Brother Jin, your suggestion is excellent, I will seriously consider it. I'm good at growing vegetables, but when it comes to doing business, I still need to learn from you. You'll have to help me out more in the future."

Upon hearing this, Jin Baiwan was overjoyed. Wasn't this the opportunity he had been waiting for?
Then, he looked serious and said, "Brother Li, if you really want to consider my advice, there's something you need to be aware of."

Sure enough, there was more to the story. "Please tell me."

"Try not to raise vegetable prices any further."

(End of this chapter)