Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 125 Chen Shougeng

Suzhou Hutong, No. 7 Courtyard, front yard.

The aroma of roasted sweet potatoes wafted through the living room.

Li Weidong walked to the coal stove to warm himself, and casually flipped the roasted sweet potato next to him over. There was also a handful of roasted peanuts next to him.

Li Weidong couldn't help but sigh, "Second brother, you're living a better and better life. I think you're not just too busy to go home now, you simply don't want to go home at all."

Li Zhe was writing in his notebook and said without looking up, "If you like Beijing, you can move here with my sister-in-law. There will be no shortage of work here in the future."

Li Weidong chuckled, "That's a good idea." He rubbed his hands together, then hesitated, "I'll go back and discuss it with your sister-in-law, and see what she thinks."

Li Zhe ignored him and continued writing with his head down.

Li Weidong grabbed a few peanuts, ate them, and asked, "When are those people in the back moving out?"

"They're planning to go abroad and are currently processing the paperwork. They didn't tell me the exact time, but it's agreed to be about a month. They'll probably move before the New Year. Then our whole family can come here for the New Year."

"Coming to the capital for the New Year?" Li Weidong's voice was filled with surprise.

"What, you're still not willing?"

“Yes, yes, I’m definitely happy to.” Li Weidong grinned foolishly. He never dreamed that he would be able to spend the New Year in Beijing one day. “Second brother, I’ll get my salary next month, and it’s almost the New Year. I’m planning to exchange some foreign exchange certificates and take your sister-in-law to the Friendship Store to buy some things.”

“Sure, isn’t that a ready-made thing?” Li Zhe replied casually. Li Weidong earned 350 yuan last month, including salary and bonus. Ma Xiao only worked for half a month, and his salary and bonus were half of Li Weidong’s. The couple’s combined income exceeded 500 yuan, which was definitely considered a high income in this era.

Although this income is a bit tight to go to the Friendship Store, it's okay to go there occasionally.

Seeing his younger brother engrossed in writing without even looking up, Li Weidong asked curiously, "Second brother, what are you writing all that about?"

Li Zhe briefly explained Shen Yanan's situation.

Li Weidong exclaimed in surprise, "Goodness, do you think this person has something wrong with her brain? She runs a restaurant, and all the money she earns is put on credit by her friends. What's she after?"

“Brother, people are different. Some people are born without a shortage of money. Of course, she may lack a lot of money, but she doesn’t have to worry about basic expenses such as food, clothing, housing and transportation, so she doesn’t have such a strong desire for money. She’s either looking for fun or she doesn’t care about the small profits of the restaurant and wants to make more money.”

Li Weidong was puzzled: "He can't even keep this much money from the restaurant, how is he going to make more money?"

Li Zhe wasn't entirely sure how exactly he would make money from it. After all, he'd never done it before. But he knew the general methods.

To give a simple example, if Li Zhe wants to do vegetable export business in the future, he will need to have connections in foreign trade companies. Only after obtaining export quotas and other relevant procedures will this be possible.

Obtaining export rights not only expands markets and enhances brand awareness, but also allows for higher profits from export business, enabling the continuous introduction of foreign production technologies and equipment, thus creating a virtuous cycle.

Among all the people Li Zhe knew, his second sister was the most likely to obtain foreign trade export rights.

It's not unreasonable for them to take some shares, right? The money will come in then, right? Of course, this is just Li Zhe's speculation. Whether it's his second sister's idea or whether she has the ability to do so remains to be seen.

Judging from the current situation, my second sister is a loyal and righteous person, and she is worth getting to know.

Li Zhe didn't elaborate on these points, but summarized: "Cats have their ways, and mice have theirs. They're not counting on the restaurant to make money; they just hope to break even and not lose money."

Li Weidong curled his lip: "Then why should we look for you? You've never run a restaurant before. Don't let someone bankrupt you."

"It's not that bad. I'm just helping someone with some promotion. At most, the effect won't be significant, but it can't be worse." To be honest, Li Zhe wasn't sure how much of the restaurant's customer acquisition experience from later years would be useful now. "I'll give it a try. Since my second sister trusts me, I have nothing to say. Even if it's just for the pager, I have to do my part."

"Oh, right, there's something else I need to tell you." Li Weidong pulled out five ten-yuan bills from his pocket. "Here. Comrade Lao Li asked me to bring this to you."

Li Zhe was taken aback for a moment, and subconsciously asked, "Are you done drinking?"

Li Weidong was also confused by this: "What kind of wine? They didn't mention any wine to me."

"Then what do you mean by taking this 50 yuan? I thought Old Li wanted me to buy him some wine." Despite his doubts, Li Zhe still put the money in his pocket.

"Don't overthink it. This money wasn't spent by our dad. Second Uncle's birthday is tomorrow, you know?" Li Weidong picked up a peanut, peeled it, and popped the kernel into his mouth.

"I know." These days, birthdays are based on the lunar calendar, but Li Zhe is used to the solar calendar, so he can remember it.

"Hahaha, you don't know anything." Li Weidong casually tossed a peanut shell onto Li Zhe's lap. "It's Uncle's birthday today, and I knew you wouldn't tell a single truth."

Li Zhe was furious. He patted his trouser leg and ignored him.

Li Weidong continued, "Comrade Li said that we never went to Uncle's birthday celebration before because we lived far away. But this year, transportation is more convenient, and you are staying in Beijing, so he wants you to go on behalf of the family."

Li Zhe countered, "Are you coming with me?"

Li Weidong thought about it seriously and shook his head: "I'm too shy to go."

Li Zhe: "..."

Shameless.

……

Beijing Agricultural University
Girls' dormitory, room 305.

The dormitory is a standard 6-person room with bunk beds and individual storage lockers in the middle. There are three girls in the dormitory, each busy with their own tasks.

Suddenly the dormitory door was pushed open, and Zhou Qinghe appeared in the doorway, raising her right hand high:

"Students, your beloved Teacher Zhou is back!"

The three girls rolled their eyes at her and ignored her.

Zhou Qinghe seemed used to this, placing the things she brought from home on her bed and looking at the three girls of varying sizes and builds. She asked the chubby girl, "Hey, have you finished your graduation thesis?"

The young woman was eating sunflower seeds and shook her round face: "Not yet, probably after the New Year."

"What did you write your paper about?"

"Cabbage, didn't I tell you that already?"

Zhou Qinghe smiled and said, "Hey, girl, you're really nostalgic."

Da Niu understood the implication perfectly. She snorted, "What's wrong with cabbage? Who doesn't eat cabbage in winter? This is a matter of vital importance to people's livelihood. Although the subject matter is a bit old, I can write something fresh!"

"Thank you for your contributions to the cabbage industry. Our Director Han definitely likes you."

Da Niu laughed heartily: "Hey, you're right! I'll go and join your Director Han's family after I graduate from university!"

She then turned to a petite girl: "Yingzi, what topic did you choose for your thesis?"

Yingzi tilted her head and glanced at her: "Guess?"

"You haven't made up your mind yet. You have decision-making difficulties, don't I know you too well?"

She then turned to the last girl with a wheatish complexion: "Wheat, what paper did you choose?"

Mai Zi replied, "I'm different from Daniu. She wrote about cabbage just to save time. Didn't our school collaborate with the Academy of Agricultural Sciences this year to research the high-yield mushroom variety Ya Guang No. 1? My graduation thesis will be about Ya Guang No. 1."

Zhou Qinghe smiled and squinted, "I also think this is a good topic. When are you planning to write it?"

Wheat replied, "It will have to wait until next spring at the earliest. In this freezing weather, let alone growing mushrooms, the mushroom logs will freeze into popsicles."

The three girls inside the room all laughed.

Zhou Qinghe said with a serious expression, "Maizi, you'd better work harder then."

After Zhou Qinghe finished speaking, she picked up the bag and rushed out of the house.

"Hey, don't go!" Mai Zi called out from behind.

The three girls then realized that Zhou Qinghe had asked everyone but hadn't mentioned their thesis topic.

Zhou Qinghe left the dormitory and headed straight for the second teaching building. It was an old-fashioned brick-and-mortar building with exposed brick walls decorated with red five-pointed stars.

She went up to the second floor and knocked on the door of the teaching and research group office.

"Come in," came the voice of a middle-aged man from inside.

Zhou Qinghe pushed open the door and saw a middle-aged man wearing glasses grading papers. This man was Chen Shougeng, a teacher at Beijing Agricultural University. He looked up and adjusted his glasses: "Zhou Qinghe." Upon seeing her, his face showed displeasure. "Where have you been these past few days? Every time I take attendance, someone else calls your name. Do you think I don't know?"

Zhou Qinghe forced a fawning smile: "Professor Chen, I didn't skip class on purpose. I went to do research on the cultivation of Yaguang No. 1. You see, I've already finished my graduation thesis."

"Yaguang No. 1." Chen Shougeng was familiar with it, because he had also participated in the research and cultivation of this strain.

Chen Shougeng's face scrutinized him: "Zhou Qinghe, I know you're an impatient person who likes to excel. But this graduation thesis can't just be based on imagination; it needs to be supported by real data. Otherwise, it's just fraud."

Zhou Qinghe took out a handwritten manuscript from the bag: "Teacher Chen, this is the complete cultivation record of Yaguang No. 1. It includes temperature and humidity control data and mycelial development atlas."

Chen Shougeng took the manuscript and subconsciously asked, "How many mushroom sticks were used in the experiment? If the scale of the experiment is too small, it will not be able to fully reflect the true characteristics of the variety, and may even lead to deviations in key indicators, masking the hidden defects of the strain."

"Teacher, there are 150 mushroom sticks in this experiment. Although the scale is not particularly large, I personally think it is enough to reflect the true characteristics of the variety."

Chen Shougeng asked in surprise, "You planted 150 mushroom logs? Where did you plant them? I told you before, you can't grow this at home!"

"Teacher, I remember everything you said. How could I possibly grow them at home? I know a friend in rural LF city who built a new type of winter-warm vegetable greenhouse in the countryside. The greenhouse is huge, and he allocated me a plot of land to grow mushrooms. We've already harvested our first batch of mushrooms. Look, I even brought you samples!"

As Zhou Qinghe spoke, he placed the bag on the table and took out a gray, fan-shaped mushroom from it.

Looking at the plump, fan-shaped mushrooms, Chen Shougeng's face lit up with joy: "Zhou Qinghe, you're amazing! Other people's thesis topics have just been decided, and you've already finished yours."

"Teacher, this is mainly because of your excellent teaching. I did exactly as you said. These mushrooms are at least half thanks to you!"

Chen Shougeng laughed when he heard this: "You're just good at talking."

"I don't agree with that. I'm not just good at talking, I'm also good at doing. Is there anyone else in our class who can finish their graduation thesis as quickly and well as I can?"

Although Zhou Qinghe did do a good job, Chen Shougeng didn't want to praise her: "You rented someone's greenhouse to do experiments, it must have cost a lot of money, right?"

Zhou Qinghe laughed again: "Teacher Chen, you've guessed wrong. Not only did I not spend any money, but someone reimbursed me for the mushroom spawn, and someone prepared the mushroom substrate. I even got a bonus after the mushrooms were grown. My bonus this month is probably higher than my mom's salary."

"Really? Is there really such a good thing? You can't be kidding me." Chen Shougeng was a little skeptical. "What's your friend after? These greenhouses are so precious in the dead of winter, why would he let you use them?"

Zhou Qinghe detected a hint of envy and jealousy in Chen Shougeng's words, and felt even more smug: "Hey, my friend is shrewd! He sold all the mushrooms I grew, and he earned much more money than my little bonus!"

Professor Chen exclaimed upon hearing this, "Wow! You can do it like that?"

Beijing Agricultural University also has a greenhouse, but it's the only one they have. As soon as autumn is over, the university's teachers start scrambling to get their hands on it.

He's not even 40 yet, how could he compete with those elderly people? Some of them even had his teachers. He wanted to use the greenhouse, but they rejected him with a single sentence. At best, he could only grab a small corner on the edge. Every time the temperature drops, the temperature fluctuations at the edge of the greenhouse are huge, and his vegetables suffer as a result, affecting the experimental data. He worries about this every year.

Zhou Qinghe's words did give him a new idea. If Zhou Qinghe could cooperate with the farmers in the greenhouses, so could he! Wouldn't that be better than arguing with those old men and women?

(End of this chapter)