Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 78 Spinach Goes on the Market
After getting up early in the morning, Li Zhe first glanced at the large pot outside the No. 6 shed. It had been steamed over a high flame for eight hours yesterday, and then left to simmer for six hours after the heat was turned off to use the residual heat to sterilize it. Now the outer skin of the iron bucket had cooled down.

After a quick wash, Li Zhe took a basket and went to greenhouse number one to pick cucumbers. His uncle, Wang Rongsheng, and Li Jiugang had gotten up even earlier and had already picked two baskets.

To avoid bumps and frostbite on the way, the baskets were not filled with many cucumbers. Each basket was lined with a cotton quilt, and each layer of cucumbers was covered with a towel to minimize unnecessary damage.

"Clatter, clatter..." The three of them had almost finished picking when the sound of a tractor came from outside.

Zhao Tiezhu and Li Weidong also arrived; they were the ones who delivered the cucumbers yesterday, and they did the same today. Li Zhiqiang was asked by Li Zhe to stay and help out.

Although there are quite a few people in the Li family, Li Zhe still feels that there is a shortage of manpower when things get busy. For example, in the current situation, there are only two people escorting cucumbers, and he always feels uneasy.

After the cucumbers were harvested and loaded onto the tractor, Li Zhe watched the two men leave.

Li Jiugang had prepared the meal, and just as Li Zhe and the other two were about to eat, Zhou Qinghe and Ma Laixiao arrived.

Zhou Qinghe immediately went to the iron bucket, touched it, and said, "It's cooled down, so it's ready for vaccination."

The Malay girl's face was full of curiosity. "Qinghe, should we take the quilt and plastic sheet down and take a look?"

"Wait a minute, let me check the disinfection status of shed number 2 first."

A space was cleared out inside shed number 2, and quicklime was sprinkled on the ground to prevent moisture. At this time, Li Zhe also finished eating and entered the shed.

Zhou Qinghe pointed to an open space and said, "Lay two layers of black plastic sheeting on the ground, place the mushroom sticks on the black plastic sheeting, and we'll do the inoculation right here."

Yesterday afternoon, Lao Li, Wang Rongsheng, and Li Jiugang got together and made an inoculation box according to Zhou Qinghe's requirements.

First, a rectangular frame measuring 80 cm long, 60 cm wide, and 60 cm high is made from wooden strips. The frame is then covered with transparent plastic sheeting. The seams are glued together and secured with wooden strips. A two-finger-width gap is left at the bottom for ventilation and dehumidification. Circular holes with a diameter of 15 cm are made on both sides of the front for installing canvas sleeves.

After it was made yesterday evening, it was sterilized and sealed overnight.

When everyone arrived outside shed number one, they removed the plastic sheeting and cotton blankets from the iron buckets. Li Zhiqiang, standing on a stool and wearing plastic gloves, took out the mushroom sticks one by one and transported them to shed number two.

After Zhou Qinghe took the mushroom sticks and inspected them, he said, "They meet the disinfection standards and can be inoculated. Mr. Li, please help me move the mushroom sticks into shed number 2. Sister-in-law, please help me."

"Okay." The young Malaysian was full of energy and did a great job as an assistant.

Yesterday, two large pots of mushroom spawn were steamed, totaling more than seventy mushroom sticks. Li Zhe led his men to move them into shed number 2, while Lao Li led his men to clean the iron pots and grates. They would continue steaming the remaining mushroom sticks at high temperature later.

Zhou Qinghe put on a white coat, emanating a faint smell of alcohol. With her hands gloved over plastic, she reached into the inoculation box and began inoculating the mushroom sticks.

She first disinfected the mushroom sticks, opened the mushroom stick bag, used a hole punch to vertically pierce the cottonseed hull substrate, hooked a quail egg-sized piece of spawn into the punched hole, and finally sealed the mushroom stick bag.

Zhou Qinghe performed the entire process very skillfully, clearly indicating that she had done a lot of work before.

Li Zhe stood aside and learned from Zhou Qinghe's vaccination method. He felt that Zhou Qinghe's vaccination method was somewhat "academic". However, the academic method also has its advantages. Although it is more complicated, the vaccination process is more rigorous.

Ma Lai Xiao and Li Zhiqiang assisted each other, neatly arranging the inoculated mushroom sticks on a black plastic sheet.

Li Zhe kept the whole process in mind and, seeing no need to stay any longer, began checking the vegetables' growth in the greenhouse. The earliest batch of spinach was already ready to harvest; Li Zhe would take it to the capital tomorrow morning to test its potential.

As for taking care of the mushrooms, Zhou Qinghe was at ease with Lao Li's help.

……

The next morning, Li Zhe rode a tractor into Beijing.

He huddled in the tractor's basket, covered by two layers of quilts, but even that couldn't keep out the biting wind. Once he had money, he'd definitely find a way to buy a truck with a cab. Luckily, there wasn't much rain this season, otherwise this job would be really difficult.

In the past, going to Beijing felt like going to work, but now it feels less distant and more like coming home.

The tractor drove to the entrance of Suzhou Hutong. Although the road was wide enough, Li Zhe did not intend to let the tractor into the hutong.

Sun Tao was already waiting at the alley entrance on his backward-riding donkey. He greeted him with a smile: "Brother Li, was the journey smooth?"

"It's alright, just a bit cold." Li Zhe wanted to drink mutton soup, but he guessed that Old Wei's mutton soup restaurant probably wasn't open yet.

Li Zhe felt he should advise him, since business should be good if he opened in the morning.

"Brother Li, how's Qinghe's mushroom cultivation going in the village?"

"It's going very smoothly. Some of the mushroom spawn has already been inoculated, and she should be back in a couple of days."

During the conversation, Zhao Tiezhu and Li Weidong loaded the cucumbers onto the backbike. Sun Tao didn't act like an outsider either, and rode the backbike towards No. 7 courtyard, saying to Li Zhe who was following behind, "Brother Li, get on, I'll carry you."

"No need." It's only a few steps, and he'd rather walk it in this freezing weather.

By this time, Li Zhe's house was already full of people. Wang Jianjun carried a kettle and poured hot water for them. Since Li Zhe wasn't there, the tea service was canceled, but no one complained.

When they saw Li Zhe bring the vegetables, everyone smiled and crowded around him. Big Gold Tooth greeted him, "Mr. Li, we heard you went home yesterday?"

"I had to go back home because of some family matters. Guys, don't stand outside, let's come inside and talk."

Several people helped each other carry the vegetable basket into the living room.

Li Weidong and Wang Jianjun quickly began dividing the dishes, while Sun Tao and the others conscientiously handed over their money to Li Zhe.

While the vegetables were being distributed, Li Zhe lifted the quilt on a vegetable basket and said, "Everyone, I've brought some spinach to try selling. It's not a large quantity. Does anyone have any connections?"

"I have!"

"Mr. Li, how much are you planning to sell it for?"

"Wow, this spinach is so fresh and tender." Several people gathered around to look at the dish.

Li Zhe countered, "I mentioned this a few days ago. Have you found out the price yet?"

Hong San was the first to offer, "I can buy it for 3.5 yuan per jin."

Big Gold Tooth held up four fingers: "I'll bid four dollars."

Seeing that Li Zhe did not respond, Big Gold Tooth continued, "Mr. Li, spinach is different from cucumbers. It can grow even when it gets colder. A few days ago, you could still see a small amount of spinach in the market, but it has only been in short supply for the last few days. If you want to sell it at a high price, you will have to wait a while."

Greenhouse No. 2 is mainly planted with tomatoes. The temperature is low at the edge of the greenhouse, which is not conducive to the growth of tomatoes, so some spinach was planted there. The daily yield is only about 20 kilograms.

Seeing that no one else offered a higher price, Li Zhe finally spoke up, "Then today's price will be set at four yuan per jin."

Today is the first day that spinach is on the market. Li Zhe didn't make any definitive statements. Regardless of the quantity of spinach, he had to test the market himself to avoid being misled.

(End of this chapter)