Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 31 Inspection
Early in the morning.

On the country dirt roads of Wan'an Town.

Sun Liguo, hunched over, pedaled his old bicycle on the rural dirt road. It was October, and the weather was getting colder.

Loan officer Xiao Zhang sat on the back of the bicycle, his buttocks numb from the jolting, and a cool breeze blew down his neck and into his polyester shirt. "Director, you must be tired from riding such a long way. Why don't I take over?"

"It's alright, sit tight." Director Sun would rather be a little tired than have a sore bottom.

The road ahead was full of potholes and even bumpier. Xiao Zhang gripped the spring under the seat tightly. "Daying Village is just ahead. Director, let's pedal slowly."

Sun Liguo didn't reply. He turned the car around and headed north of the village. Outside the village, there were cornfields as tall as a person. Where could you find any greenhouses?
Young Zhang, with his sharp eyesight, spotted a thin man carrying a hoe approaching from a distance. He jumped off his bicycle, rubbed his numb backside, and asked, "Fellow villager, what's your name?"

"Just call me Old Zhu, what's up?"

"Comrade Zhu, do you know Li Zhe from Daying Village?"

"We're all from the same village, how come we don't know each other? What do you do for a living?"

“We’re from the town’s credit union. They recently built a vegetable greenhouse. Do you know where it is?”

"It's not far from my house. What do you want with him?" Zhu Yimin looked at the two men: a young man wearing glasses and a middle-aged man dressed as an official, with a briefcase in the basket of his bicycle.

Director Sun parked his bicycle by the roadside. "We're here to inspect vegetable greenhouses. Could you please give us directions?"

Zhu Yimin remained silent for a while, then thought to himself, "I knew it! The Li family doesn't seem like wealthy people. How could they build such an expensive greenhouse? They must have taken out a loan from the credit union."

That Li Lao Er is really bold.

"I'll take you there." Zhu Yimin wanted to chat a bit more, so he walked forward with the two of them.

Xiao Zhang had long since given up on riding the bicycle, so he quickly followed along.

Director Sun called out to him, "Xiao Zhang, come and push the cart. I'll go with my fellow villager."

With a pained expression, Xiao Zhang could only run over and push the cart.

Zhu Yimin looked at Director Sun, who was dressed in a cadre uniform, and asked, "Sir, was the money for Li Zhejian's vegetable greenhouse a loan from your credit union?"

Director Sun didn't answer directly, "You also know about vegetable greenhouses?"

“My family has been growing vegetables for generations, how could I not know?” Zhu Yimin pointed to a vegetable patch in front of him. “Those are the cabbages my family grows, look how well they’re growing.”

"What's so special about Chinese cabbage?" Director Sun continued, "Do you think vegetables can be grown in greenhouses in winter?"

“I think there shouldn’t be a big problem.” These days, Zhu Yimin has been going to Li’s greenhouse every day and studying it carefully.

"If Li Zhe makes money, would you learn from him and grow crops in greenhouses?" This is what Director Sun cares about most.

……

Lijiatianli.

The entire Li family was out harvesting corn in the fields.

Zhao Tiezhu, Wang Rongsheng and his son, and Li Jiugang and his son all came to help.

This time, Li Zhe won't be paying wages. My family will collect the money, then yours will collect it; it's all about helping each other out. It's also because this era values ​​family ties and human relationships more.

Relatives should visit each other frequently; if they don't visit each other for a long time, they become strangers despite being related by blood.

"Is Comrade Li Zhe here?" A shout came from the roadside.

Li Zhe shielded his eyes from the sunlight, squinted, and waved his right hand, saying, "Director Sun." He then turned to Old Li and said, "Dad, Director Sun from the credit union is here. I'll go greet him."

Upon hearing this, Li Weidong lowered his straw hat and disappeared into the cornfield.

Director Sun stared intently at the vegetable greenhouse, his eyes glued to it. He had seen Li Zhe's sketches, but the real thing was far more impressive; the greenhouse, stretching for dozens of meters, was a colossal structure.

"Director Sun, if I had known you were coming today, I would have gone to the village entrance to greet you." Li Zhe took out half a pack of Hongmei cigarettes and handed it to Director Sun and loan officer Xiao Zhang.

"No need, we've been to the countryside quite often, we know the roads well. Just the other day, Wang Tietou was praising you on the phone for going to Beijing to sell fresh corn in response to the Ministry of Agriculture's call; no one else has that kind of courage."

"Director Sun, you flatter me." Li Zhe glanced into the distance. "Weren't the county cooperative leaders supposed to be coming to visit? Why are only the two of you here?"

Director Sun said, "The credit union has been very busy lately, and the county branch leaders really don't have time, so it's the same if I come."

Li Zhe gestured for him to go, "I'll take you for a look around the greenhouse."

"Okay, that's why I came here. This thing is huge, it must be over three meters tall."

"Three meters above ground, one meter below ground, a total of four meters high."

Is the outside covered with straw mats?

"The temperature dropped a couple of days ago, so we covered the house with straw mats at night to keep it warm. In the morning when the sun is shining, we rolled up the straw mats to let the sunlight warm it up." Old Li saw the three approaching and wanted to go over to greet them, but he stopped when he saw the four-pocket cadre uniform, afraid that he might say the wrong thing and mess things up.

Li Zhe lifted the curtain and led Director Sun into the greenhouse.

Director Sun looked at the lush green vegetables in the greenhouse, which seemed to be a season different from the outside.

"It's so warm in here, how much is it?" Loan officer Xiao Zhang took off his glasses and wiped them with the corner of his shirt.

Li Zhe pointed to the thermometer hanging on the wall, "Twenty-five or six degrees."

"Tsk tsk, you can even wear a single layer of clothing in there." Xiao Zhang put his glasses back on and finally saw the scene inside the greenhouse.

"With plenty of sunshine at midday, the temperature can even rise."

Director Sun walked into the greenhouse and pointed to the lush green seedlings, "What kind of vegetables are these? They don't look like cucumber seedlings."

Broccoli.

Xiao Zhang said, "I know broccoli. Foreigners love to eat it because they say it's nutritious."

Li Zhe praised, "Comrade Zhang is truly remarkable. Many people come to my greenhouse, but you are the first to know about broccoli."

Director Sun had never heard of broccoli before, but since foreigners love it, it must be a good thing. He continued walking and pointed to the cucumber seedlings on the trellis, asking, "When were these cucumber seedlings planted?"

"We started breeding in early September once the loan came through."

Director Sun pinched a cucumber leaf with his hand. "It's growing quite fast and has already started climbing the trellis. If it were grown outdoors, it should be time to pull the vines down by now."

Xiao Zhang felt he got along well with Li Zhe, and started talking more. "Hey, yesterday my mom went to buy vegetables. Cucumbers were 1.5 yuan a pound, and she was so scared she didn't dare buy any. The vegetable vendor said it was the last batch this year. These greenhouse cucumbers will definitely make a lot of money when they hit the market."

Director Sun turned around, grasped Li Zhe's hand, and said, "Comrade Li Zhe, you've paved a new path for our agriculture. If greenhouse vegetable cultivation is successful, the people won't lack vegetables in winter."

"Director Sun, the construction of this vegetable greenhouse is entirely thanks to your support."

"Of course, our rural credit cooperative is here to serve us farmers."

After exchanging a few polite words, Li Zhe took the opportunity to bring up the topic of increasing the loan, saying, "Director Sun, I'd like to take out another loan to expand a greenhouse and try different kinds of vegetables."

Director Sun pointed to the empty space at the edge, "We can continue planting here."

Li Zhe explained, "Those empty spaces are reserved for transplanting broccoli. Moreover, different vegetables have different growing environments, and many vegetables cannot be planted together, as this will cause diseases and reduce yield."

How much more money do you want to borrow?

"Six thousand yuan."

Director Sun pondered for a moment, "Another loan of 6,000 would make it 12,000, which requires approval from the county... I can help you apply, but whether it will be approved is hard to say."

"Thank you for your trouble."

The two chatted for a while longer before Director Sun took his leave.

Li Zhe wouldn't let him leave, so he dragged him and Xiao Zhang home for dinner.

The two received a warm welcome from the Li family, and Li Weidong, showing his generosity, volunteered to stay and look after the vegetable greenhouse.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Li Zhe escorted the two to the village entrance.

Fueled by the alcohol, Director Sun pedaled the bicycle very fast, while Xiao Zhang gripped the seat tightly, his buttocks starting to ache again.

Suddenly, a figure darted out from the cornfield, which was taller than a person.

Director Sun was startled and quickly slammed on the brakes. "Get out of the way!" He recognized the man. "Fellow villager Zhu, what are you doing?"

"Director Sun, we've finally been waiting for you."

Xiao Zhang, who was in the back seat, almost fell off the bus. His glasses were knocked askew. He said irritably, "Why did you suddenly jump out of the cornfield? I thought you were a vagrant robbing me."

Zhu Yimin chuckled awkwardly, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just picking some cabbages for you to take home and eat."

Director Sun waved his hand, "No need, we have to work this afternoon, we can't bring them."

"Why can't we bring them? We can put two in the front basket and the kids in the back can carry two more. That'll be enough for several meals when we get back."

Xiao Zhang was speechless.

You're just afraid I haven't fallen hard enough, aren't you?

Director Sun stared at Zhu Yimin. "Fellow villager, what's the matter? Just say it."

"I... want to apply for a loan!"

(End of this chapter)