Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 33 Determination
Zhu Yimin's home.

The main room was a mess; the table was overturned, and bowls and chopsticks were scattered everywhere. The cabinets in the inner room were also overturned and in disarray, with clothes and miscellaneous items strewn all over the place.

Zhu Yimin looked at the cracked mirror, saw the three bloody lines on his face, and spat, "You spendthrift woman, how am I supposed to go out in public now?"

Last night, Zhu Yimin brought up the matter of building vegetable greenhouses again.

Zhou Yufeng absolutely refused to build it this year, insisting on waiting until next year. In her words, if Li Zhe makes money, they will build the greenhouse next year; if Li Zhe loses money, they will just watch the show.

Zhu Yimin knew perfectly well that not only his wife thought this way, but many people in the village also harbored this ulterior motive.

But Zhu Yimin is different. His family has been growing vegetables for three generations, and he can tell right now that the vegetable greenhouse will definitely make money.

As the old saying goes, the layman sees the spectacle, while the expert sees the details.

The villagers were all staring at the cucumbers in Li Zhe's greenhouse, betting whether the cucumbers would freeze to death at the end of the year.
Many people have asked him about this, and to be honest, he doesn't know whether greenhouse cucumbers can survive the cold winter months.

Is this question important? Yes and no.

These people were just watching the show; they didn't think about it carefully at all. It's not just cucumbers at the end of the year that are profitable; cucumbers are profitable now too.

Normally at this time of year, most cucumber plants in the north would have already been harvested because the temperature is too low for them to grow.

The temperature in the Li family's greenhouse is more than ten degrees Celsius higher than outside, and the cucumber vines are even stronger than summer weeds. Even if the cucumbers in the greenhouse cannot survive the winter, delaying the harvest by one or two months is not a problem.

As the old saying goes, scarcity drives up prices. The profits from cucumbers in the last two months have exceeded the total profits for the entire year.

There are also the first vegetables of spring. Everyone knows that vegetables can only be planted when the weather gets warmer. Cucumbers around Langfang can only be planted in April and harvested in June. Cucumbers are all on the market at this time of year, so the price won't be high.

The greenhouses maintain high temperatures, allowing vegetables to be planted in March and harvested in May. By bringing them to market a month earlier, and being the only vegetable seller, how could he not make money?
Cucumbers are sensitive to temperature. If you grow some cold-resistant vegetables, such as celery, spinach, leeks, and lettuce, the harvest time will be delayed even longer.

In Zhu Yimin's view, this vegetable greenhouse is a treasure; the sooner it is built, the sooner he will make money.

He tried to reason with his wife, but she still disagreed, stubbornly refusing to take a single penny. After a few words of argument, Zhu Yimin's wife lost her temper and resorted to violence.

She beat Zhu Yimin up, packed her bags, and took the child back to her parents' home.

Zhu Yimin was so angry that he couldn't sleep for half the night. He finally realized in the morning that getting angry was useless and that building the greenhouse was the most important thing.

Zhou Yufeng refused to pay, but he could still build the greenhouse with a loan. He was a man of action; he dressed, wrapped a scarf around his neck, and went out.

Zhu Yimin walked along the main street toward the village committee, and happened to pass by Zhang Yuzhen's consignment shop, where several old women were sitting by the stove at the door, basking in the sun.

"Oh my god, whose zongzi has come to life? It's wrapped up so tightly that only its eyeballs are visible." The quick-tongued wife spat a mouthful of sunflower seed shells on the ground. Ever since she helped Lin Xiaohu find a job in the factory, she has become a VIP customer of the consignment store and has never lacked snacks.

“Your man, Zhu Yimin,” Zhu Yimin retorted, his neck stiff. He had been annoyed by this woman for more than just a day or two.

"Pah, you shorty, you dare to take advantage of your mother? Aren't you afraid my quick-tongued wife will tear you apart?" The quick-tongued wife threw a handful of sunflower seed shells at Zhu Yimin.

"Your man is all talk; he can't beat me in a real fight." Zhu Yimin had been gossiped about by this woman many times, so he didn't give her a friendly look. He continued walking into the village committee compound without stopping.

The quick-tongued wife glared at Zhu Yimin's retreating figure and shouted, "Keep bragging! You even hit my man. You can't even beat your own wife. If you're really a man, take off the scarf on your face and let everyone see."

The plump auntie knitting stretched her neck and asked, "What happened to his face?"

"What happened? Did his wife scratch him?"

"How did you know about this?" As soon as they heard there was gossip, all the old women around gathered around.

“We’re neighbors. Last night, he and his wife first argued, then they started fighting. It was so loud it woke up my kids. I saw his wife carrying a bundle and leaving the house; it looks like she went back to her parents’ house.” “My goodness, what happened? Why did they fight so badly?”

The quick-talking wife was surrounded by women, all of whom were craning their necks to look at her expectantly. The quick-talking wife raised her chin slightly, enjoying the feeling.

"It sounds like they fought over money. The short guy wanted to build a greenhouse, but his wife wouldn't give him the money, so they started arguing."

"What greenhouse? You mean that thing that Old Li's second son built? That's just a waste of time and energy. I wouldn't agree to it either."

"Yes, I heard that the Li family spent several thousand yuan to build the greenhouse, enough to build two new houses. Anyone with a clear head wouldn't do that."

"Zhu Yimin has gone mad. Why not live a good life instead of building that wasteful thing?"

A group of women chattered away, and the consignment shop suddenly became lively.

"Buzz..." The village committee's loudspeaker blared out.
"Attention villagers, we are now broadcasting a job advertisement. Zhu Yimin's family in our village is hiring. Applicants must be between 18 and 50 years old and in good health. The construction site is in the fields north of the village."

Those looking for work can go directly to his house to report. Spots are limited, so arrive early for the first few days…

The Li family's old house.

Old Li was sweeping up the locust tree leaves on the ground when he heard the broadcast and was clearly startled, his forehead furrowing into a deep frown.

Wang Xiuying stood by the stove, preparing dinner while talking to her husband, "It's getting cold, we should move the food to the kitchen. You can tidy up the stove later." Seeing that her husband didn't respond, she called out, "Hey, Lao Li, I'm talking to you."

"Don't make a sound, what did you hear?"

Wang Xiuying, preoccupied with two things at once, said, "What's so great about it? Your son can't even finish the work in the greenhouse, why are you worrying about whether they're hiring or not?"

Old Li retorted, "What do you know?"

Wang Xiuying glared at him and said, "Well, Lao Li, now that this greenhouse is up, your temper has grown too. Is it because it's warm inside that you want to join your son in keeping him company?"

“I’m not calling you, it’s just that Zhu Yimin is acting strangely. I suspect that kid might be planning to build a greenhouse too.”

"How do you know? They're not out of their minds, why would they build this wasteful thing?"

"That's what the second brother said. Ever since the vegetable greenhouses were built, Zhu Yimin has been coming to his place every few days, asking all sorts of questions and looking at everything very carefully. He even knows the details about the seams of the plastic sheeting."

Wang Xiuying also became serious. "Impossible. Building a greenhouse can't be done without at least five thousand yuan. Even if the Zhu family is well-off, would Zhou Yufeng, that tightwad, really agree to it?"

Old Li threw the broom aside. "I don't know. Let's wait for the second son to come back and hear what he has to say."

Despite her complaints, Wang Xiuying was most concerned about her second son's affairs. "Old Li, tell me honestly, can this greenhouse really work?"

Old Li said, "At first I thought it was risky, but now I see that even if this greenhouse doesn't make money, it won't lose money either."

Wang Xiuying asked happily, "What do you mean by that?"

"The Cold Dew solar term is approaching, and the nighttime temperature has dropped, but it hasn't fallen below 20 degrees Celsius inside the greenhouse. With good midday sunshine, it's consistently above 25 degrees Celsius. Cucumbers will be on the market in November, and the price won't be cheap, so we won't lose money no matter what..."

Wang Xiuying felt relieved and smiled broadly. "My second son is really capable. He paid off the loan this year, and next year it will be pure profit. He can build a new house in two or three years. He's much better off than my eldest son and his wife."

Old Li curled his lip and said, "You're the second son again. It's not like when you two were arguing. Fine, I won't get involved in your mother-son affairs anymore. You two argue today and make up tomorrow, leaving me stuck in the middle like a fool."

Thank you, Dad, for the donation!
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(End of this chapter)