Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 66 Technical Talents

The front courtyard of No. 7 Hutong, Suzhou.

in the living room.

"Whoosh..." Steam rose from the kettle sitting on the coal stove.

Li Zhe poured a basin of water for Old Li to wash his feet. He sat across from Old Li at the coffee table and brewed a pot of flower tea, smelling the faint aroma. "Dad, what do you think of Zhou Qinghe?"

"This girl is well-educated and generous, but she's a bit of a chatterbox."

"Haha...that's quite interesting." Li Zhe laughed. "Dad, I read her mushroom cultivation plan. If it can achieve the expected yield, the profit won't be lower than that of cucumbers. What do you think?"

Old Li gasped as the hot water scalded him. "I went to the market to inquire, and Zhou Qinghe really is a student at an agricultural university. People who can go to university must be capable. However, I haven't heard of anyone in the village growing mushrooms, so I'm still a bit skeptical."

"You don't approve of growing mushrooms?"

"It's not that I don't want to grow mushrooms, it's just that cucumbers sell quite well, and there are so many people in Beijing, why not grow more cucumbers to sell? We have experience, and it's less of a hassle."

“Dad, your idea is right. We can make money no matter what we plant this year, but we can’t just look at the present. Next year we will expand the greenhouse and increase the yield. We can’t just plant cucumbers all the time.”

Old Li rubbed his feet together, saying, "Even if we expand the greenhouse cucumber production by 100 mu next year, people in Beijing can still eat it all."

Li Zhe laughed, "You're right. Let alone a hundred acres, even if we planted tens of thousands of acres of cucumbers in the summer, the capital could still consume them all. But what about the purchase price? It would be less than a penny!"

“Being able to afford it doesn’t mean a high premium; a wide variety of vegetables with low average yields are what drive up vegetable prices.” Li Zhe poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of Old Li. “Making money is one thing, but I also want to learn mushroom cultivation techniques from her. If we can sell them well, we can build a few greenhouses specifically for growing mushrooms next year.”

Old Li picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "We grow vegetables in all four of our greenhouses. Can we grow them together with the mushrooms?"

Li Zhe recalled, "We used a two-sided greenhouse, with a partition in the middle. Vegetables, which prefer sunlight, were placed on the sunny side, while the mushroom side was covered with straw mats."

Old Li roughly understood what the "yin-yang shed" meant, and frowned as he said, "What I'm worried about is that we've never grown mushrooms before, so there might be some risks."

Li Zhe disagreed, saying, "What kind of vegetables are risk-free to grow? We have to try them out." Li Zhe grows different vegetables in the greenhouse to accumulate experience.

In his past life, he had grown many varieties of vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes, eggplants, bell peppers, and broccoli. However, times have changed, and the types of vegetables are different, resulting in significant differences in yield and characteristics. Only by growing them himself this year can he have the confidence to increase production next year.

Li Zhe continued, "Developing new planting technologies inevitably involves risks. Compared to immediate profits, I value new planting technologies more. Only by continuously developing new planting technologies and vegetable varieties can the off-season vegetable industry have a place."

Old Li opened his mouth wide. "Second brother, aren't you overthinking this?"

Li Zhe wasn't thinking big, but rather far ahead: the more vegetables he planted within two or three years, the more money he would make. But sooner or later, the off-season vegetable market would become saturated.

Perhaps in Lao Li's eyes, that day is very far away.

But Li Zhe knew that in the early 1990s, a county called Shouguang built tens of thousands of acres of vegetable greenhouses, which directly drove down the price of vegetables in winter.

If Li Zhe wants to gain a foothold in the off-season vegetable market, the safest way is to focus on technology rather than manipulating prices.

Zhou Qinghe was the first highly educated agricultural talent they came into contact with, which was a good start and a way to get to know more talents in the agricultural field.

“Father, here’s what I’m thinking: we can get to know Zhou Qinghe better. If she’s really capable, we can cooperate with her. If she’s just all show and no substance, we can politely ask her to leave.”

“Alright, even if she’s a blockhead, we still have her mother as a connection, right?” Old Li was persuaded, not because Li Zhe was particularly eloquent, but because he valued Director Han’s relationship and Zhou Qinghe’s status as a college student.

If Zhou Qinghe weren't a college student, the father and son wouldn't have let her visit the greenhouse.

"Second brother, you won't be in the village often anymore, so what's the plan for the greenhouses?"

Li Zhe leaned back in his chair, shifting to a more comfortable position. "Dad, I'd like to hear your thoughts."

Old Li thought for a while, "You need to leave someone here to help with deliveries and watch the stall. I originally planned to have your brother stay, but he's a family man. Zhu Zi is the driver, so he has to run between the two places. Qiang Zi is worried about his father. After thinking it over, I decided to let Jian Jun stay."

"Okay, I'll talk to Jianjun about it later. Is my uncle alright at home alone?"

"It's alright, your mother and I are here."

Li Zhe nodded. "Dad, all the greenhouses are planted with vegetables now. Someone will need to keep watch at night to prevent people from stealing our vegetables."

“You’re right. Although greenhouse number 4 isn’t far from the other greenhouses, there’s still a distance between them, so we need to find someone to guard it. We also need to find someone to guard greenhouses number 1 and 3. Greenhouse number 2 is sandwiched in the middle, so if there’s any noise, both sides can hear it. We need at least three people to keep watch at night.” Old Li stroked his stubble and pondered. “Zhu Zi drives, so he can’t stay up all night. Then it’ll be me, your brother, your uncle, and the two of us, Jiu Gang and his brother, taking turns keeping watch at night.”

“Count me in too. I’ll be going back every other day.” Old Li and the others had never grown greenhouse vegetables before, so Li Zhe would have to go back from time to time to observe the growth of the vegetables and guide them on fertilizing, watering, and spraying pesticides.

The father and son chatted for a while longer before Old Li went to bed. Li Zhe took out his ledger to calculate today's earnings. Today, they harvested 220 jin (approximately 110 kg) of vegetables. The stall owner pre-ordered 150 jin at 6 yuan per jin, with a final payment of 450 yuan; Quanjude (a famous Peking duck restaurant) took 40 jin at 7 yuan per jin, receiving 280 yuan; Li Zhe kept 20 jin to sell at the market himself, at 7 yuan per jin, and sold 10 jin, receiving 70 yuan. Tomorrow, Quanjude will pre-order 40 jin of vegetables with a deposit of 140 yuan. The day after tomorrow, the market will pre-order 75 jin of vegetables with a deposit of 225 yuan.

Today's total revenue was 1165 yuan, plus the 1158 yuan from the day before yesterday, Li Zhe now has 2300 yuan in cash. He has ten jin of cucumbers left, which he will sell tomorrow.

From now on, cucumbers will be harvested daily, and the accounts must be kept clear.

……

Early in the morning.

After finishing her breakfast, Zhou Qinghe put on her military overcoat, slung her schoolbag over her shoulder, and went out. Hougou Hutong was not far from Suzhou Hutong, so instead of riding her bicycle, she strolled towards No. 7 Courtyard.

As they walked, a little follower appeared beside them. She glanced at Sun Tao, who was riding a tricycle, and said, "Taozi, aren't you going to sell goods today? What are you following me for?"

"We delivered today's goods along with today's yesterday."

"Then why don't you go sell cucumbers at Dongdan Market?"

“Going later is fine too.” Sun Tao said, a hesitant look on his face. “Qinghe, do you really want to go with Brother Li to visit greenhouses in other places?”

"Yes, we agreed yesterday. Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow."

"Hey girl, how can you be so carefree? Have you ever been to another city before? You've only met him once, aren't you afraid he'll kidnap you?"

"Isn't it because I still have you? If I don't come back tomorrow, go to the police station and report me." Zhou Qinghe chuckled and patted Sun Tao on the shoulder. "People make thousands of yuan a day selling cucumbers. Why would they give up such a good business and try to scam me?"

Sun Tao said, "How about I go with you?"

"Don't worry about it. Didn't you see their attitude yesterday? They didn't even want me to go, let alone bring you along. Just focus on selling your vegetables and stop worrying about other things."

"Aren't you afraid your mom will worry if you're not home all night?"

"I'm scared, so I didn't tell her. You're not allowed to tell her either, you hear me? Or I'll beat you up." Zhou Qinghe waved her fist.

"Zhou Qinghe, how can you be so bold?" Sun Tao asked anxiously.

Zhou Qinghe's expression turned serious. "Taozi, do you know why I was able to get into university?"

"Because you're smart."

"Hey, there are plenty of smart people out there, aren't you smart too?"
Because I dare to dream, I know what I want. I want to excel, I want to be number one. That was true before, and that's true now.

Sun Tao sighed. He knew Zhou Qinghe well; once she made up her mind, she wouldn't easily change it.

Sun Tao was also visiting Courtyard No. 7 for the first time. He walked up and knocked on the door, "Knock knock."

Li Zhe opened the door, saw the two of them, and stepped aside, saying, "Come in quickly, I was just thinking about you two."

Zhou Qinghe asked, "Brother Li, when are we leaving?"

Li Zhe invited the two into the living room. "Zhou, before you leave, there's something I want to ask you."

"what's up?"

“Vegetable greenhouses are for making a profit. I read your plan yesterday. Overall it’s acceptable, but the planting volume is a bit small. I hope we can increase the amount of oyster mushrooms planted.”

Zhou Qinghe said, "I can buy the strains, but the problem is that I can't take care of them by myself."

“That’s easy to arrange. When you’re not here, the workers in the greenhouse will take care of it for you. You can just give them instructions.”

Zhou Qinghe looked at Li Zhe, thought for a moment, and then smiled, "You mean you want me to teach them mushroom cultivation techniques?"

Li Zhe wasn't embarrassed when his thoughts were exposed. "I did have that idea."

Zhou Qinghe said quite generously, "No problem, I can teach them. But let me make it clear first, I don't want any stupid ones, I need to arrange two smart assistants."

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(End of this chapter)