Chapter 103: The Bountiful Harvest of Greenhouse Vegetables

  The publicity effect of the Yudu Cup basketball game far exceeded the expectations of Xu Shaojie and Zhang Shiqiu, although the Yudu Cement Factory men's and women's teams did not win any awards. However, almost everyone in the city remembered Yudu Cement Factory and Yudu's greenhouse vegetables, mainly because of the opening ceremony's inaugural match, which left a deep impression on everyone.

  In early December, the greenhouse vegetables had entered the harvest season. The villagers of Huaguan Village were worried and didn't know how to sell so many vegetables. But something surprising happened: a steady stream of merchants came to Huaguan Village, many of whom brought small trucks with them. Not only were there the usual merchants, but also new ones who came with cash in hand to directly purchase the vegetables. The greenhouse vegetables suddenly became a hot commodity, and the villagers were overjoyed.

  When Xu Shaojie and Zhang Shikui arrived at Huaguan Village, they saw a busy scene: vehicles coming in and out, carrying vegetables, farmers busy picking vegetables around the greenhouses, and merchants waiting at farm households or in the fields. The price of vegetables in Yudu District is obviously lower than that of vegetables transported from outside, and the biggest advantage is freshness. It only takes more than two hours to get fresh vegetables from Yudu District to Huaian City, and the sales are very good. Therefore, it is a natural result that the greenhouses in Yudu District are selling well. Of course, there is also the role of publicity. Through the basketball game, merchants all knew about the greenhouses in Yudu District and came with an attitude of "just take a look". Unexpectedly, there were so many greenhouses, and one told ten, ten told a hundred, more and more merchants came, and the farmers in Huaguan Village were excited every day, just like celebrating the Chinese New Year.

  Xu Shaojie is very concerned about the situation of the 10 greenhouses invested by Zhang Shaocai. These greenhouses were handed over to Zhang Xiaoyu's father-in-law for management. Zhang Xiaoyu's father-in-law has a sufficient labor force at home and originally had 5 vegetable greenhouses, making a total of 15 vegetable greenhouses. Now, the whole family is busy, with everyone working together to pick vegetables in the greenhouses.

  "Ah, Secretary Xu, Director Zhang, you are rare guests, come on in and take a seat."

  Zhang Xiaoyu's father-in-law saw Xu Shaojie and Zhang Shiqiu, and hastily wiped his hands on his clothes, walking over from beside the greenhouse, shouting to his wife as he walked.

  "Wife, hurry back home and stew some meat, stew pig's trotters."

  Xu Shaojie hastened to speak up.

  "You're busy, don't bother cooking pig's trotters, we just came to take a look."

  "Secretary Xu, you can't say that, are you looking down on me? Last time you helped resolve the land dispute, I figured it out, I must abide by the law. Xiao Yu is a sensible child, the land is still ours to farm, and now everyone at home is busy. This greenhouse vegetable, I've calculated it, can be harvested at least 5 times a year, there's work to do all year round, and income has increased, all thanks to your help."

  "Hehe, don't say that, the greenhouse vegetables are managed by you guys yourselves, and it's only right to have income. I'm just a bit worried about sales issues, so I came specifically to take a look."

  "You wouldn't say you're eating public food, when the big greenhouse vegetables were first developed, I couldn't sleep for many days, my family's 5 greenhouses, over 1,000 yuan in loans, what if it didn't work out? Now it's so popular, several merchants have found me, asking to take over my family's 5 greenhouses and the 10 greenhouses I manage, they say my family's greenhouses are many and on a large scale, can be planted according to their requirements. Yesterday, a merchant said he would sign a contract with me, saying that before the Spring Festival, vegetables would be purchased from here."

  Looking at the smiling old man, Xu Shaojie felt a sense of emotion. Farmers are still too poor, and with such a fixed income, they are happier than anyone else. Xu Shaojie wanted to come down and understand the income situation of the greenhouse vegetables, comparing which one is more cost-effective with tobacco farming. They followed Zhang Xiaoyu's father-in-law into the house.

  Xu Shaojie did not expect that Liu Mu was waiting in the house, and when he saw Xu Shaojie and Zhang Shiwei come in, Liu Mu hurriedly stood up to greet them.

  "Secretary Xu, all the vegetables from the 10 greenhouses have been sold out. The old man's family sold theirs first, and now it's our turn to sell ours. We made a total of 3170 yuan, after deducting 400 yuan for wages, here is 2770 yuan, please count it."

  Xu Shaojie was very moved when he received the money and turned his head to thank the old man.

  "Secretary Xu, don't say that. Everyone in the village supports it. First sell the vegetables from these 10 greenhouses. If it weren't for the boss from outside coming to build the greenhouses and take the lead, we wouldn't know what to do. Now everyone is busy, mainly because after this season's vegetables are sold out, they will immediately plant vegetables again before the Spring Festival, when merchants will come to purchase in bulk."

  "Have you calculated how much a greenhouse can sell in one season?"

  "I've calculated it, my family's 5 greenhouses have already sold out two of them, in just two months, one greenhouse earned over 200 yuan. If we count the Spring Festival season as well, which is less than four months, one greenhouse can earn more than 400 yuan. It's such a great deal! Much better than growing tobacco. I'm thinking that before the new year, I'll pay off all my loans, including the ones from the country, it's not a bad feeling at all. Secretary Xu, tell me, shouldn't I build a few more greenhouses?"

  This is actually the main problem Xu Shaojie is considering. He didn't expect that the sales of greenhouse vegetables would be so good, with one greenhouse earning over 1,000 yuan per year according to his calculations, occupying less than a third of an acre. This income is astonishing, almost equivalent to that of a salaried government employee. However, whether to expand the scale or not has left Xu Shaojie hesitant. Following the current trend, Huai'an City may start promoting greenhouse vegetables on a large scale soon. With more supply, the price of vegetables will definitely fluctuate, and sales routes will also be affected. Therefore, in reality, Xu Shaojie is opposed to expanding the scale.

  "Old man, tell the villagers, Director Liu, you also help spread the word. For now, don't expand the scale of the greenhouse vegetables, keep it at its current size. With 5 greenhouses at home and managing 10 more, there's already a lot on your plate. Don't be too greedy, with this income, you'll become rich soon and live a good life."

  "Alright, I believe you, everyone in the village listens to you. This time, everyone got the money, and they're all brand new bills! Hmph, thinking about my experience selling tobacco makes me angry. To this day, I still haven't gotten paid for the tobacco sticks. I've been thinking, next year we won't plant tobacco anymore, we'll plant grain instead. We have a big greenhouse for vegetables anyway."

  "Old man, don't think that way, tobacco still needs to be planted. Think about it, in the past, planting tobacco was mainly for getting money, and daily expenses were needed. Now, planting tobacco is still profitable, with the income from the vegetable greenhouse as support, there's no rush to get the money. The more income, the better! This tobacco, even if we can't get cash temporarily, it's not a big deal, just save it for now, and when we get the money later, we'll use it for our grandson's university tuition."

  "It's a principle, isn't it? Cigarettes are also money. Now that we have money at home, there's no rush, and even if they're just stored away, haha, Secretary Xu, you're still the best, how come I didn't think of this logic?"

  Xu Shaojie couldn't help but think that the vegetable greenhouses in Huaguan Village were selling well, and the villagers' income had increased. As a result, there was gossip in the village about how they didn't want to plant tobacco anymore, which would be equivalent to taking away the lifeblood of Yu Du District. After all, it's only by planting tobacco that the district's finances have revenue. The beneficiaries of the vegetable greenhouses are the farmers, but the finances don't get any income from them for now. Of course, Xu Shaojie also knew that as their income increased, the first thing the farmers thought about was building houses. Xu Shaojie was the first to visit Zhang Xiaoyu's home because he heard that the old man was planning to build a house. The consciousness rooted in the farmers' bones would not be worn away.

  "Old man, I heard you're preparing to build a house."

  "Yes, that's the idea. To be honest with you, it's been this way for generations. For rural people, all they think about is building a house. What to eat doesn't matter, good or bad, as long as they can grow up. But the house is there, visible to everyone, and you can't fake it. The youngest son went out to work just to build a house, but in the end, he didn't get to build one and lost his life. Now that I have money, the first thing I want to do is build a house. Look at my earth-walled hut, it's been decades. If I don't get to renovate this house in my lifetime, I won't be able to die in peace."

  Xu Shaojie didn't speak for a long time, he couldn't say the words, the real thoughts of farmers, he wasn't very clear about it before, but now that he thinks about it, land is the farmer's ***, now that farmers have money, the first thing they do is build a house, you can't say that farmers love to show off, who doesn't love to show off.

  "Secretary Xu, you don't know that many families in the village are preparing to build houses. Some family members work outside and have earned some money, but they don't dare to start easily because their foundation is not solid. Now with the big shed, everyone has confidence and is ready to start building. Besides, isn't there a cement factory in the district? It's convenient, so everyone is preparing to start working on it. In just a few days, you will see some families starting to build houses."

  "Old man, this is a good thing, the district will definitely support it. The cement factory's current cement supply is a bit tight, but I'll think of a way to give the green light for Huaguan Village."

  "That's a good thing, yesterday my kid went to the cement factory and saw that there were many cars, all of them carrying cement. He came back and told me, feeling anxious, worried that he couldn't buy cement."

  Liu Mu spoke up on one side.

  "Secretary Xu, Huaguan Village completed this year's tax task the earliest."

  Liu Mu said this sentence, and the old man immediately added.

  "What's wrong with that, can't we just say it's okay? This year, we all took the initiative to pay. I've already said in the village, if anyone doesn't pay this year, they're not human. Secretary Xu has taken care of our village so much, everyone has money now, how can you not pay? I'm the one who actively found the village cadres to pay the money."

  Xu Shaojie suddenly had an idea, to establish a model village. Originally, this should be the responsibility of the municipal party committee and government, but it can also be done at the district level. Huaguan Village has a good momentum this year, with many families planning to build houses. On this basis, the district can make appropriate investments, repair roads, and require villagers to provide voluntary labor.

  "Elderly, we are preparing to repair the roads in our village and make it better. However, we lack labor force. Do you think it's possible for villagers to contribute their labor? Nowadays, everyone is very busy, most households have large greenhouses for vegetables."

  "No problem, absolutely no problem. My three kids all went to work on it. Repairing the road is our family's own business. Once the road is fixed, it will be much more convenient for us to sell vegetables and transport fertilizer and building materials. Who wouldn't want that?"

  At dinner time, Xu Shaojie was always thinking. Seeing Xu Shaojie's appearance, Zhang Shikui and Liu Mu did not disturb him. After a while, Dong Guihua also came over. During dinner, everyone slowly drank wine.

  Xu Shaojie's thoughts have gone quite far. Nowadays, being an official requires political achievements. Some of these achievements are not easy to evaluate, but real and tangible ones should be showcased. Xu Shaojie predicts that Huaguang Village will experience a period of unrest if Huaian City or Huaiyang City plans to develop large vegetable greenhouses. If many people come to visit, some on-site meetings may be held here, so the village's infrastructure construction must be taken into consideration. Repairing roads has many benefits, such as facilitating vegetable transportation and making it easier for farmers to travel and handle affairs. If a way can be found to help farmers who are preparing to build houses quickly construct them, and if the village's highways are repaired, then when people come to Huaguang Village in the future, they will see a new landscape.

  Everyone saw the excited look on Xu Shaojie's face and knew that Xu Shaojie had thought of a way.

  Returning to the district office, Xu Shaojie immediately convened a secretary's office meeting. This matter cannot be delayed, time is very tight.

  Xu Shaojie directly entered the topic, and after saying out the typical idea of building a flower crown village, everyone immediately felt that this was a brand new way of thinking. If we build a good flower crown village and set an example for the entire district, other villages will definitely not fall behind. Who doesn't want to live a good life? Nowadays, it's all about poverty alleviation. The Flower Crown Village in Yudu District has actually established a rich model, which will certainly have a huge impact and effect.

  Huang Guangming first expressed his agreement. Having worked in the municipal party committee office, he knew what this meant. Such a model would definitely receive full support and publicity from higher-level leaders. Then, Zhang Shiqiu expressed his agreement, but also raised many questions, such as how much money was needed and what kind of team should be formed.

  Xu Shaojie quickly made a decision, Huang Guangming was appointed as the team leader, Hu Deyong as the deputy team leader, and all the staff of Yulin Township Government were members. With the fastest speed, they started construction. Now is the right time, most of the greenhouse vegetables have been sold out, farmers are busy planting, taking advantage of a month's time to renovate the existing road surface, no need for major earthwork, mainly widening the road surface, at the same time, mobilizing farmers to start building houses, farmers' houses are not complicated, construction time is not long, any farmer with ideas, please report as soon as possible.

  After convening the team meeting, Xu Shaojie immediately dialed Zhang Shaocai's phone number. This matter required Zhang Shaocai's help. Since they had taken action, they should do it thoroughly and not leave anything half-done. If leaders came to Huaguan Village to inspect the situation, the neatly arranged vegetable greenhouses, newly built or under-construction houses, and clean and spacious roads would give a strong impression. This was a real achievement, without any pretence.