Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 154 Human Heart
Early in the morning.

North of Daying Village, Greenhouse No. 4.

Zhu Yimin now has a very regular schedule: he gets up in the morning, washes up, then goes to greenhouse No. 3 for breakfast, tidies up a bit, and then goes to work in the fields.

Although it's tiring, it's very fulfilling. Yesterday, I saw the fruit tree saplings that Teacher Chen transplanted, and I was especially happy with them. Many of them were varieties he had never seen before. I always learn something new every time I chat with Teacher Chen.

After finishing breakfast this morning, he went back to shed number four to change into his work clothes. Just as he finished dressing, he heard someone calling from outside: "Yimin, is Yimin there?"

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Zhu Yimin couldn't help but frown, feeling both surprised and annoyed.

The curtain of the greenhouse was lifted, and the Zhou father and son walked in. The father had a smile on his face, while Zhou Yuhu had a stern face, arms crossed, standing behind like a door god.

"Dad, what brings you here?" Zhu Yimin was reluctant, but he maintained a polite demeanor. After all, his ultimate goal was to get his hard-earned money back, and there was no need to break off relations right away.

"Hey, it's so warm in this greenhouse. Yimin, are you sleeping here tonight?" Zhou's father didn't treat himself like an outsider and walked in on his own. "Wow, these green peppers are growing really well! They must make a lot of money in the middle of winter."

Zhu Yimin looked at the two men warily: "What brings you here so early in the morning?"

“Yimin, I heard you rented out the greenhouse. Isn’t that just letting outsiders profit? If you ask me, you should take the greenhouse back and let’s do it together as a family.” During this time, Zhou’s father had heard a lot about how much money greenhouse vegetables could make, and seeing the greenhouse with his own eyes made him very interested.

If we can get the money back and make money selling vegetables, we can cover the 3,000 yuan deficit and stop people from gossiping about us all the time.

“The greenhouse was rented to the Li family, and the lease won’t expire until June this year. I’m working for them now, and it’s not bad.” Zhu Yimin was speaking from the heart.

The Li family pays him well, and he can learn real skills. Especially now that Teacher Chen is here, he's even more reluctant to leave. Even if he were to work independently, that wouldn't be until after June. And even if he did work independently, he couldn't partner with the Zhou family, otherwise all the money he earned might end up in their pockets.

Knowing that Zhu Yimin had a grudge, Zhou's father could only put aside his thoughts of making money for the time being: "Yimin, living in a greenhouse is not a long-term solution. If you ask me, you should move back home."

Zhu Yimin said, "I'm quite comfortable living here. I get three meals a day, which is convenient. Besides, someone needs to watch over the greenhouse at night."

Seeing that Zhu Yimin was unmoved by reason, Zhou's father sighed and tried to appeal to his emotions: "Yimin, your brother is almost twenty-four or twenty-five and still can't find a wife. I wanted to build him a new house so that it would be easier to find a wife. At the time, I was a little short on money, so I borrowed some from Yufeng. If you and your husband have any disagreements about this, I apologize to you."

Having said that, Zhu Yimin made it clear: "If you want to borrow money, you can just say so. It's not that I won't lend it to you. But to let Yu Feng take the money without saying a word, without even asking me, do you consider me one of your own?"

“I didn’t mean to hide it from you. Back then, you and Yufeng had a fight when you were building the greenhouse, and she was holding a grudge, so she didn’t tell you.” Mr. Zhou said sincerely, “When I see her, I’ll definitely give her a good talking to.”

Zhu Yimin countered, "Then why didn't you tell me later?"

Zhou's father said, "That's because you're sick, and I was afraid you'd get angry if you found out, and that it would hurt your health!"

Seeing that the other party seemed to have the upper hand, Zhu Yimin laughed angrily: "If that's how you put it, then I have nothing more to say. You can leave now."

“Yimin, go home and stay here. Don’t hold a grudge.” Zhou’s father said, giving his son a wink. “Yuhu, help your brother-in-law move his things.”

Without saying a word, Zhou Yuhu went upstairs and was about to pack up his bedding.

Zhu Yimin stood in front of him and plopped down on the bed: "Stop making a fuss, I'm not going anywhere, I'll stay here, that's where I feel at ease."

Zhou Yuhu also got anxious: "Zhu Yimin! My father has already said everything he could to you, what more do you want? You just want money, right? My family will give it back to you!"

Zhu Yimin spread his hands: "Sure, return it."

"I..." Zhou Yuhu stammered, his fists clenched tightly, looking ready to fight.

Zhou's father stopped his son: "Yimin, I will definitely pay back the money, but I can't come up with that much all at once. How about this? I'll pay you back six hundred a year, and I guarantee I'll pay it all back in five years."

Zhu Yimin stared at him: "If you really want to pay me back, have Yu Hu take out a loan from the credit union and pay me back immediately. We're still relatives, and you're still my father-in-law. If you ever need money in the future, just say the word, and I'll definitely lend you some."

"Zhu Yimin! Don't push your luck!" Upon hearing that he was being asked to take out a loan, Zhou Yuhu could no longer hold back and cursed, "You heartless bastard! Do you really think we don't know what you've been up to? You must have been the one who instigated people to spread rumors about my family! Making up stories about my family 'eating the children's bloodline'!"

In rural areas, reputation is paramount; everyone knows the family for miles around. If the Zhou family gets this kind of "bad reputation," even if they build a new house, no respectable family will dare marry their daughter into the family. Zhou Yuhu is practically going crazy thinking about finding a wife; how could he not be anxious?
Zhou's father stopped hiding his true intentions and questioned, "Yimin, we're family. How can you be so ruthless? You've ruined our family's reputation. What good will it do you if your brother can't get married?"

“Dad, this is the last time I’ll call you that. I have a clear conscience and have always treated you with the respect due to my own father. And what about you? While I was sick, you quietly ran off with all my hard-earned money. Did you even consider how I felt?” Zhu Yimin’s eyes also reddened as he stared at the other man. “I’ll ask you this too: if I hadn’t done this, would you have returned the money?”

"You bastard surnamed Zhu! You finally admit that you were the one pulling the strings behind the scenes!" Zhou Yuhu rushed over and grabbed Zhu Yimin by the collar. "You'd better move back right now! Otherwise, I'll beat you up!"

Zhu Yimin was not to be outdone. Having worked the land for years, he was strong and shoved Zhou Yuhu aside, saying, "Don't think I'm afraid of you! I'm afraid you'll damage the things in the shed and won't be able to afford to pay for it! Get out of here!" The more he said this, the more aggressive Zhou Yuhu became, pointing at the shed and threatening, "I'll ask you one more time, are you moving or not? If you don't, I'll burn this shed down!"

These words struck a nerve with Zhu Yimin! He grabbed a pitchfork from the side and stabbed Zhou Yuhu, "If you dare touch the greenhouse, I'll kill you! I'll make sure your family line ends!"

Just as tensions were about to rise, Zhou Yufeng and her mother arrived.

Zhou Yufeng heard the commotion outside and quickly urged, "Zhu Yimin, put down your fork!" She knew Zhu Yimin's temperament; he could tolerate being scolded or even hit a couple of times, but if anyone dared to touch his food, he would fight to the death! He was just a stubborn man.

Zhou Yuhu was pointed at by the fork and dared not move, but his eyes darted around as if looking for something.

Just then, the curtain of the greenhouse was suddenly lifted, and Zhao Tiezhu, Li Zhiqiang, Ge Qingshan and others rushed over after hearing the commotion.

Zhao Tiezhu asked, "Brother Zhu, what happened?"

Zhu Yimin pointed at Zhou Yuhu: "This kid is being a troublemaker, saying he's going to set our greenhouse on fire!"

Before Zhao Tiezhu could utter a sound, Li Zhiqiang stepped forward and kicked Zhou Yuhu hard in the lower back, knocking him to the ground.

Li Zhiqiang was furious. He thought to himself, "Damn it, I've only been enjoying a few good days with my second uncle, and you come here to mess with my greenhouse. If you dare touch my greenhouse, I'll kill you."

Zhou Yuhu tried to get up, but Zhu Yimin straddled him and started punching him on the head. Despite his short stature, Zhu Yimin was surprisingly strong; after a few punches, Zhou Yuhu was completely stunned.

The other three members of the Zhou family were furious and wanted to help, but Zhao Tiezhu and Ge Qingshan held them back.

Zhou's father also wanted to rush forward, but Zhao Tiezhu "accidentally" slapped him, making the old man's face swell up.

These days, Zhu Yimin spends every day with them. He is an honest man who keeps his mouth shut, but after a few drinks, everyone knows about the Zhu family's affairs. They all feel sorry for Zhu Yimin and want to stand up for him.

The Zhou family came to the greenhouse to cause trouble today; they're just asking for a beating!

"What's going on?!" Li Zhe rushed over after hearing the commotion. Seeing the chaos, he shouted sternly, "Stop it! No more fighting!"

Upon hearing Li Zhe's words, the Li family members stopped, and Zhu Yimin also released Zhou Yuhu.

"You surnamed Zhu! I'll fight you to the death!" Zhou Yuhu, enraged by the beating, had just gotten up and was about to lunge at the pitchfork. Before his hand could even touch it, Li Zhe kicked him: "You've got some nerve!"

Zhou Yuhu fell hard. Zhao Tiezhu and Li Zhiqiang pounced on him and unleashed another barrage of punches and kicks!
Zhou Yufeng quickly pleaded, "Brother Li, please stop! You can't hit him anymore! My brother knows he was wrong."

"Take him out!" Li Zhe said.

Li Zhe hadn't asked about Zhu Yimin's affairs, but with Wang Xiuying around, he knew just as much as anyone else and also felt that the Zhou family's actions were unethical.

The Zhou family was kicked out of the greenhouse. Li Zhe said to Zhou Yufeng, "Sister-in-law, I'll call you sister-in-law for Zhu Ge's sake. Why can't you talk about it at home? Why do you have to come to the greenhouse and make a scene?"

Zhou's father pointed at Zhu Yimin and accused him: "This kid is up to no good behind our backs, spreading rumors that our family is 'living off the descendants of the deceased,' ruining our family's reputation!"

Even an upright official finds it hard to settle family disputes, so Li Zhe was too lazy to argue with him: "I just said, if you have something to say, go home and talk about it. Don't make a scene here! This is the first time, so I won't hold it against you. Get out of here."

Also, this is my land, and you're not welcome to come back. Do you understand?

The Zhou family members were resentful but didn't want to be beaten again, so they had no choice but to slink away.

Zhu Yimin, looking completely exhausted, plopped down on the ground and said to Li Zhe, "Brother Li, I've caused trouble for everyone today because of my actions. Everyone acted on my behalf, so if you have any complaints, blame me alone."

"Brother Zhu, we're all family, don't be so formal." Li Zhe patted him on the shoulder, then said to Zhao Tiezhu and the others, "You guys did a great job today. From now on, if anyone comes to the greenhouse to cause trouble again, just kick them out. We don't bully people, but we absolutely won't let anyone bully us!"

After listening, Zhu Yimin lowered his head, his eyes reddening, and felt a warm glow in his heart.

His family lived alone and had always been bullied and beaten; this was the first time someone had helped them like this...

Li Zhe said to Li Jiugang, "Brother Jiugang, take out the mutton I bought and let it dry. We'll stew it tonight and treat everyone to a good meal!"

Compared to the Zhou family's petty squabbles, Li Zhe cared more about the cohesion of the entire team.

(End of this chapter)