Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 26 Transplanting
The Li family's old house.

The group sat around the square table in the main room.

Li Jiugang raised his wine glass and toasted people from time to time, saying, "In our generation, we are ranked by age, and I'm the first in the circle."

Uncle Zhenhua, you are the host, so this cup should be offered to you first.

Uncle! Zhezi is my brother, and you're his uncle, so you're my uncle too! I'll drink it, you can do as you please.

Auntie, you've prepared a wonderful meal. Thank you for your hard work. I must offer you a toast…

Li Jiugang was like a fish in water, always finding a reason to drink. He never put down his wine cup from beginning to end, making him the most dazzling person at any drinking party.

Some hosts also like people like him; he makes the dinner party lively and gives the host face.

After the drinking party ended, Li Jiugang was already quite drunk and was being helped home by Li Zhiqiang, who looked at him with disgust.

Li Zhe stood at the door waving, "Slow down, it's dark on the street."

Old Li and his wife saw Wang Rongsheng to the door. Wang Xiuying instructed, "Brother, go back and boil some hot water to soak your feet and relieve your fatigue." Seeing her nephew pushing his bicycle out, Wang Xiuying grabbed the handlebars and said, "Jianjun, you've been drinking too. Leave the bike here and come back to push it tomorrow."

"Aunt, I'll listen to you." Wang Jianjun leaned the car against the wall, helped his father out, and said, "Aunt, Uncle, you can go back now, we're leaving."

Zhao Tiezhu also took his leave.

After seeing everyone off, Li Zhe picked up a flashlight and said, "Mom and Dad, I'm going to the greenhouse."

Wang Xiuying asked in bewilderment, "Why are you going to the greenhouse so late? You can go tomorrow morning."

“I had Zhu Zi move our unused wooden bed over there, so we can sleep in the greenhouse.”

Wang Xiuying felt sorry for him, "Sleeping in the fields, that's such a hardship."

"You'll get used to it. You guys go back now." Li Zhe waved and left with his flashlight.

"Why not enjoy a good life instead of suffering like this?" Wang Xiuying's eyes reddened as she watched her son's retreating figure. Of her three children, the second one was the most disobedient, but she also loved him the most.

Sigh, it's all debts from a past life.

"Let him be," Old Li said. He was also heartbroken, but this was the path Li Zhe had chosen.

With the vegetable greenhouses completed, Li Zhe was happier than anyone else and drank quite a bit of alcohol that night.

The fields north of the village were quiet at night, but Li Zhe wasn't afraid; he knew this land all too well.

Once he arrived at his own plot of land, Li Zhe took a flashlight and walked around the greenhouse. He entered the greenhouse through the ventilation door on the east wall and set aside a ten-square-meter living area with a wooden bed and some daily necessities underneath.

The newly built greenhouse had a strong plastic smell and the walls were a bit damp, but Li Zhe didn't mind. This would be his home from now on.

Li Zhe quickly washed up, laid out his bedding, lay down on the wooden bed, looked up at the greenhouse, and felt a sense of security that was hard to describe.

He wasn't particularly capable in his past life. He only made some money in the first few years of growing crops in greenhouses, which allowed him to eat meat freely and find someone to share his life with. That period was the happiest time of his life.

The vegetable greenhouse embodies his hopes for the future. With this greenhouse, he will have the ability to create wealth; it is the stage he excels at.

After a day's work and some drinking, Li Zhe felt a bit tired and drifted off to sleep. He slept soundly and woke up when the sun was already high in the sky. He didn't have a watch and didn't know the exact time.

After getting out of bed, he stretched, scooped some water from the white bucket, and went outside the greenhouse to wash up.

"Second brother." Old Li, carrying a net bag containing two aluminum lunch boxes, came down from the dirt road and walked along the furrow.

Li Zhe was brushing his teeth when he glanced at his father and hummed twice.

"How are you doing? Are you getting used to living in the greenhouse? Everything's alright?"

Li Zhe rinsed his mouth, took the lunchbox from his father, and said, "It's okay, I'm feeling fine. Why did you specially bring me food? I can eat at home by myself."

"Stop talking nonsense, I won't feel at ease until you come and take a look. You don't even have a table here, it's so inconvenient."

"It's inconvenient. We'll make a table when we have time. Dad, have you eaten?"

"What do you want to eat? Your mother has been making food and she keeps urging me to bring it over. She's so biased."

Li Zhe opened the aluminum lunchbox. On top were two boxes of steamed buns and pickled radish shreds, and below was corn porridge. "It's still pretty hot."

The Li family does not have a rule against talking while eating or sleeping.

As Old Li broke off a piece of steamed bun, he said, "Ever since you decided to build the greenhouse, our meals have been getting better and better, to say the least."

"Isn't life all about eating and drinking?" Li Zhe thought to himself. This is nothing compared to what he'll do when he's rich. He'll be eating like he's at a buffet for breakfast. "I checked on the cucumber seedlings this morning; the roots are well-established. When should I transplant them?"

Li Zhe looked up at the sky and said, "The sun is strong in the morning, and the temperature is high, which can easily cause the seedlings to run out of water. Let's wait until the afternoon."

That makes sense.

After finishing their meal, the father and son didn't rest. They mixed some cooked cow dung with compound fertilizer and spread it evenly on the soil.

In the afternoon, when the weather wasn't so hot, Li Zhe called Li Weidong, Zhao Tiezhu, Wang Jianjun, and Li Jiugang and his son to help. Today was Sunday, and his younger sister Li Na was on holiday, so she also came to work in the greenhouse.

He held up a sturdy seedling as a teaching aid, saying, "Choose one with thick leaves and a thick stem, transplant it with the original soil, sprinkle some wood ash in the hole, and leave a gap of thirty or forty centimeters..."

Li Zhe personally demonstrated the process, explaining the minor precautions. Once everything was ready, everyone tied small stools to their backsides and began transplanting cucumber seedlings.

Li Zhe cultivated 1200 cucumber seedlings. If it were just the father and son, they probably wouldn't have finished even if they worked until midnight. Fortunately, many hands make light work, and they transplanted more than half of them in just two hours.

Despite her small stature, Li Na works incredibly fast.

Li Zhe estimated that it was about time and started watering, making sure to thoroughly water each cucumber seedling to prevent the roots from dehydrating.

Li Zhe went outside the shed to get water and noticed someone squatting by the roadside looking in his direction. The two exchanged a glance, and the other person turned and left.

"What's this kid doing here?" Li Zhe recognized him as Lin Xiaohu, the son of Zhang Yuzhen, the agent.

He continued working, ignoring the attention. There were plenty of people coming to watch the spectacle these days, so one more wouldn't make a difference.

After the cucumber seedlings were transplanted and thoroughly watered, it got dark. Li Zhe's upper body was soaked with sweat, and he was so tired that he couldn't straighten his back.

Old Li rubbed his back and said, "Finally finished. Second brother, bring me my jar, I'm dying of thirst."

The others also sat on the ground without any regard for their image.

Li Weidong glanced at the single bed on the east side of the greenhouse and asked, "Second brother, did you sleep in the greenhouse last night?"

"Yes, once the vegetables are grown in the greenhouse, we won't be able to do without people."

Li Weidong suggested, "It's really worrying to leave items worth several thousand yuan in the ground. How about we get a dog?"

Zhao Tiezhu said, "My dog, Dahuang, just had puppies, otherwise I could have brought it over."

Wang Jianjun suggested, "Let's take my dog. Zhezi knows that dog, and it'll be easy to feed."

With everyone contributing their ideas, the matter was finalized. Li Zhe was deeply moved. "Since everyone is here today, I'd like to say a few words. Thank you all for your hard work these past few days. Without your help, the greenhouse simply couldn't have been built. I am truly grateful."

I've been thinking a lot these past few days. Helping out is fine for a day or two, or even ten days or so, but it's not a long-term thing. I grow vegetables in greenhouses to make money, so how can I let everyone work for free forever?

From now on, everyone working for me will be paid. You get paid for a full day's work, or half a day's work.

The people present had different expressions. Li Zhe took out a handful of change from his pocket. "Dad, you worked the longest today. Four cents an hour, 2.8 in total."

Old Li was stunned. "I get paid too?"

"All."

“Brother, Jianjun, Zhuzi, Jiugang, Qiangzi, Xiaona, you all get two yuan for five hours of work.”

"Second brother, there's one for me too?" Li Na looked incredulous.

Li Zhe patted his head. "You work so fast and well, why didn't you get anything?"

"Thank you, brother." Li Na took the two yuan with her dark little hands, her face beaming with joy.

Everyone accepted the money with varying expressions, except for Li Jiugang, who was somewhat unhappy, unsure whether to accept the money or not.

Li Zhe noticed something was off about the other man. "Brother Wine Jar, what's wrong?"

"I wanted to ask if meals will still be provided while we're working?"

"Yes, from now on, you'll not only get paid for your work, but you'll also get meals provided."

"That's fine then." Li Jiugang smiled. Money wasn't important; as long as he was provided with food, that was enough. He just liked the lively atmosphere.

Thank you to Yijiansouhuangquan for the generous donation!

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(End of this chapter)