Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 97 Ma Changhe

Li Zhe pointed to the black rectangular plastic shell: "This is called a seedling tray. I ordered it from the plastic factory a few days ago. We will use this for seedling cultivation from now on. It is much more convenient than making seedling trays from newspapers."

Li Weidong walked over curiously to take a look. The seedling trays were stacked one on top of another, not taking up too much space, and each seedling tray had hundreds of seedling spaces. "This thing is good! Second brother, how did you know this thing existed?"

"Brother, you need to study more in the future and read more books about agriculture so that you can learn something."

Li Weidong questioned, "Second brother, I've never seen you reading a book."

Li Zhe coaxed, "Brother, look at those people who are always shouting about being ambitious and studying. How many of them are actually studying? They're all just shouting slogans. The people who really study are those who bury themselves in their studies. When their knowledge accumulates to a certain level, they will naturally amaze everyone."

Li Zhe said this in the hope that his brother could enrich himself: "So that he can have a broader space for development in the future."

Seedling trays can be used multiple times, allowing for early planting and seedling cultivation. Even if the greenhouse construction progresses slowly, it will not affect the time when vegetables mature and are ready for market.

As off-season vegetables become more widely available in Beijing, more people will come to buy them, putting increasing pressure on Li Zhe. The earlier these vegetables mature and hit the market, the sooner the supply pressure will be alleviated.

Li Weidong stared at the tractor: "This isn't a Tie Niu tractor, whose tractor is this? Where did you get it?"

"This is Brother Jin's tractor. Zhu Zi drives the Iron Bull to Beijing every day to transport goods. Brother Jin knew that we needed to buy building materials to expand our vegetable greenhouses, so he lent us the tractor."

Li Weidong looked on with envy: "Wow! Brother Jin bought his own tractor? How much did that cost?"

Before Li Zhe could answer, Zhu Yimin rushed over. Although it was also his first time seeing a seedling tray, he could tell at a glance what it was for: "Hey, this thing is great! One seedling per space, and there are drainage holes at the bottom, it's really professional." He then said to Li Zhe, "I reckon the seeds will germinate by tomorrow morning. If we mix the potting soil this afternoon, we can start seedling cultivation by tomorrow morning."

Li Zhe said, "Brother Zhu, please take care of the seedlings. I have a lot of things to do, so I need to hurry up and check on the foundation digging at the construction site. I need to hire people to build the rammed earth wall this afternoon."

"Don't worry about the seedlings, just leave it to me. You can go about your business." Zhu Yimin started learning to grow vegetables from his father when he was just a few years old, so he is very experienced.

These past two days, Li Zhe has been extremely busy. Take this morning for example: he first went to the credit union, then ran to the plastics factory. He took a sip of water while unloading seedling trays, and without taking a break, he rushed to the construction site...

evening.

Ma Changhe rode his bicycle to Daying Village and saw three or four bright white greenhouses from a distance: "Damn! Is this what they grow cucumbers in?"

Ma Changhe swallowed hard, a look of shock on his face: How could his brother-in-law have caused such a commotion in just three or four months?

When Ma Changhe arrived at Li's field on his bicycle, he was so shocked to see another large, deep pit dug across the field that he was speechless: "What is Daying Village up to? Why are they making such a commotion?"

Old Li and his son were discussing buying materials to build a greenhouse when they saw a familiar figure on the dirt road. They quickly came over and said, "Changhe, why are you alone? Where are Huilan and the children?"

"Uncle." Li Zhe also greeted him. Ma Changhe was a bricklayer who used to work with Lao Li on construction sites. The two sons-in-law of the Wang family liked to get together and drink.

“Huilan is at home taking care of the kids. She’ll come over another day.” Ma Changhe stopped his bicycle and handed over the things he was carrying. “I brought two cans of luncheon meat and two jin of loose beef. Let’s have a good drink tonight.”

"That's great! I've been wanting to have a drink with you for ages," Old Li said warmly. "Come on, let's go inside the greenhouse and talk. It's warm in there."

Ma Changhe followed them into the greenhouse, and a warm current mixed with the fresh scent of earth rushed towards him: "How come this is even warmer than inside the house?"

As he walked further in, he saw the tender green vegetable seedlings neatly arranged on the ridges, and he was even more incredulous: "Are all of these cucumbers?"

Old Li smiled and explained, "The innermost part is cucumber seedlings, the middle part is watermelon seedlings, the ones on the sides are broccoli, and the southernmost part is a patch of chives, which we keep for our own consumption."

Just then, voices came from the furrows in the vegetable patch; two women were talking and taking notes.

Ma Changhe took a closer look: "Isn't that Lai Xiao? The girl next to her looks unfamiliar." "Hey, that's a college student from Beijing, helping us grow vegetables." Old Li's tone was filled with pride.

"Wow! There are college students working for your family." Ma Changhe was even more surprised.

"They're not doing odd jobs; they're using my greenhouse to conduct an experiment and record data on the vegetables," Old Li explained, then called out, "Hey, boss, look who's here!"

The Malay boy had heard the commotion early and reluctantly got up: "Uncle is here? Where are my aunt and three sisters?"

"Hey, little girl, you don't even call me 'uncle'?"

Ma Changhe is not only Li Weidong's uncle-in-law, but also his Malay uncle.

“Now that I’m married to Weidong, I have to call him ‘Weidong’s wife’. Also, stop calling him ‘Little Sister’ all the time. Call him ‘Weidong’s wife’.”

Ma Changhe was also unhappy: "Your father gave you such a good name! Ma Lai Xiao, Ma Lai Xiao, Ma Lai Xiao! Such a good meaning."

Malay Xiao wasn't one to mince words either, and retorted directly: "If you like it, you can have it. But don't call it Ma Changhe anymore, change it to Malay Xiao."

Wang Xiuying lifted the curtain and walked in, saying to Ma Laixiao, "How dare you talk to your uncle like that? Da Ya is making a fuss about looking for you, go out and see." She then turned to Ma Changhe and said, "Changhe, you too, you know that the eldest daughter-in-law doesn't like being called by her name, why are you still bothering her? She is now my Li family's daughter-in-law, even if she comes to visit, it will be my Li family's visit."

"Why did you start arguing? We're all family, it's not worth it." Old Li, being the good-natured person he is, pulled his brother-in-law to sit down at the table. "The cold dishes are all cut up, let's have a couple of drinks first."

Wang Xiuying followed, asking, "Changhe, why didn't Huilan come?"

Ma Changhe was repeatedly criticized, but he didn't get angry: "I'm at home taking care of the kids."

"Bring the kids along, your sister talks about them all the time." As Old Li spoke, his hands didn't stop; he unscrewed the lid of the wine barrel and poured three glasses of wine.

"Next time, it's too late today, it's inconvenient to walk at night." Ma Changhe adjusted his wine cup.

Old Li said to his wife, "Xiuying, go and call my elder brother. Tell him Changhe has arrived."

Ma Changhe then asked, "Is your eldest brother also working with your second brother?"

"Let's go first," Old Li said after taking a sip. "It wasn't easy for the second son to run this business. Without more people, he simply couldn't manage. As his uncle, I feel sorry for my nephew. Jianjun went to Beijing with him and has been running around doing a lot of work."

Ma Changhe put down his wine cup: "How much would this cucumber cost in the capital?"

Since they were all legitimate relatives, Old Li didn't hide anything: "Six or seven yuan a pound."

"So expensive!" Although Ma Changhe was prepared, the price still exceeded his expectations.

“There are too many people in Beijing. These few acres of greenhouses are not enough to go around. My second brother wants to expand by another ten acres or so, but we can’t keep up with the manpower. If you’re free, come and lend a hand. We can have a drink together tonight.”

Ma Changhe smiled and agreed: "Sure! There's no work on the construction team or in the fields in the dead of winter. If I stay at home idle, Huilan will nag me. I might as well come out and do some work."

"You can ask your eldest son-in-law later. If he's willing to do it, bring him along too." Ma Changhe's eldest daughter, Zhao Di, got married last year. During the Spring Festival, Old Li had drinks with Ma's eldest son-in-law and thought the boy was quite honest.

"That's right. How can the father-in-law do all the work while the son-in-law stays at home doing nothing? Brother-in-law, let me toast you. Your second son has built such a great business; you'll be enjoying the good life from now on."

Old Li picked up his wine glass and complained, "Don't even mention it, that kid treats me like a workhorse."

(End of this chapter)