Chapter 14: The Greenhouse Shows Its First Results
Yang Feng carried the potatoes back home and packed up the things he planned to sell tomorrow. As for the strawberries, he would pick them fresh in the morning for a better taste.
Tonight, the village broadcast announced that there would be a movie screening under the old locust tree, so as soon as it got dark and after they finished dinner, the villagers gathered under the tree, waiting for the show to start.
It had been a while since Yang Feng had seen a movie, and since he finished his work early today, he decided to join in the fun.
A crowd had already gathered under the tree, with children playing and making noise. This was the first movie screening after the busy farming season, so most of the villagers had come.
During this busy season, they had not even been able to enjoy their meals properly, let alone watching a movie.
In fact, they were just watching the movie to have some fun, as they no longer wanted to watch TV at home. It was not like when they were children and they would rush to grab a seat at the mention of a movie. They could not recapture that feeling now.
"Xiaofeng, why did you come too? I rarely see you joining in the fun," a young man with a child greeted Yang Feng.
"Well, I was bored today, so I came out for a walk," Yang Feng replied.
"I'll take the child over there first. It's hard to see from here, and the child might make a fuss," the young man said.
"Okay."
After a while, Yang Feng found the movie uninteresting as it was the same old war movie, so he decided to leave.
"Xiaofeng, are you leaving already?" Li Qiang, who had brought a heavily made-up woman with him, greeted him.
"Yeah, I'm a bit tired," Yang Feng replied.
"You didn't take up my offer last time, turns out you wanted to farm by yourself. To be honest, what's the point of farming all day? Come with me to the county town, and I'll show you a good time," Li Qiang said.
"Forget it, I'm not interested," Yang Feng declined and went back home. He had to wake up early tomorrow, and he didn't have time to waste on these leeches.
"Qiang, your brother is so cold and aloof."
"Never mind him. Let's go for a ride and have some fun. We can't sleep now anyway," Li Qiang said.
"Okay, we'll do whatever you say," the woman agreed.
…..
At 4:30 in the morning, Yang Feng woke up and carried a basket to the vegetable garden to pick strawberries before the sun rose. He went to the old spot today and planned to sell for half the day, hoping to go back early and see if he could spend the afternoon building the greenhouse.
Early construction meant early use. Besides, there wasn't much left in the vegetable garden, and after the last batch of watermelons were sold, he planned to plant a crop of green beans.
The watermelon lady still hadn't arrived today, which was unusual because she was usually there before Yang Feng. After arranging everything, the strawberries sold well, but he didn't have to worry about selling the vegetables because the fat boss always kept them. Now, only potatoes and green peppers were left.
"Boss, how much are the potatoes?"
"Well, do you want potatoes?"
At first, Yang Feng didn't understand the accent, but it sounded like someone from Sichuan.
"Yes, how much are they?"
"Five yuan for the potatoes, ten yuan for the peppers."
"I've been a chef for so many years, and I've never seen such big potatoes. Are they injected with hormones?"
"How is that possible? This is just the variety."
"Can you lower the price a bit? I want to buy a lot."
"Uh, if you buy a lot, it depends on whether you can keep them all."
"Can you give me a discount on the price? If you can lower the price, I will take all the potatoes and the peppers, they look good."
"I can give you a discount of one yuan per catty for each item. Today I have something to do and I don't have time to sell them all."
"Alright, weigh them and put them in my car."
"Sure, no problem."
After weighing and packing, the buyer asked the seller for their phone number.
"Can you leave your phone number with me? If I need more, I will call you in advance."
"Sure."
…
There was a box of strawberries left in the car, and just then Watermelon Girl arrived. He waved to her, asking if she wanted some.
Watermelon Girl picked up a ten yuan bill and shook it, which became their way of greeting each other.
When he got home, he borrowed a cart to tow the steel frame structure to the field, ready to build the framework today.
He counted and there were a total of thirty-two frames, spaced one meter apart, which was exactly thirty meters long, leaving two frames as backup.
The overall marking had been done earlier, so now all he had to do was measure the spacing with a ruler.
While measuring, he also sprinkled flour, and twenty minutes later, he checked that all the spacing was correct.
He picked up the steel frame and started building. Because it was in a newly plowed field, it was easy to insert and did not require much effort, mainly just paying attention to the depth.
Two hours later, rows of steel frames had been neatly inserted, and the entire greenhouse was beginning to take shape.
Although the sun was still very hot, he did not feel the temperature as he admired the greenhouse he had built with his own hands, overwhelmed by his excitement.
The next step was to cover it with black cloth and plastic film. He couldn't do it alone and needed two people to cooperate, as they would have to pull ropes to fix it in place.
Although there were many idle people in the village, he did not have any connections with them and did not want to ask for help.
"Forget it, I'll call Xiao Ge to see if he's free."
"Beep beep beep ~"
"Hello, Xiao Ge, do you have time now?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Can you come and help me cover the plastic film on the greenhouse? It's a bit difficult for one person."
"Sure, I'll be right there."
In no time, Xiao Ge arrived on his motorcycle.
"Xiao Feng, I didn't realize you were so fast. Someone told me this morning that you dragged the steel frame to the field, and now it's covered after just a few hours."
"I'm in a hurry. I heard it's going to rain in a few days, so I'm taking advantage of the good weather to cover it. Otherwise, it could be delayed for another week."
"Well, that's true."
The two of them worked for an hour, sweating profusely, and finally covered the plastic film on the greenhouse. The rest was just securing it with ropes.
"Xiao Ge, do you know how to tie a rope knot?"
When Yang Feng bought the steel frame, the boss told him that tying the rope knot to secure it required a certain technique. It was not as simple as tying a shoelace.
"You need to use a cow hitch knot. I've seen it before when I helped someone in the neighboring village. This type of knot gets tighter the more you pull it."
"Oh, I've never tied a cow before. I definitely don't know how to do it."
"Then you help me pull the rope as tight as possible, and I'll tie the knot."
After a while, dozens of ropes were secured, and they both looked at their palms, which had been rubbed raw by the ropes. The entire greenhouse was now finished.
"Xiao Feng, what do you plan to grow in the first batch?"
"I'm currently planning to intercrop cucumbers and watermelons, but the watermelon is still in the experimental stage. I'll have to see its yield first."
"I didn't expect that you've learned a lot of skills during your time away, unlike me who just goes to work every day."
"I'm just trying things out, and I'm not sure how it will turn out in the end. Working has its advantages too, at least it's more stable and doesn't have risks."
