Chapter 373: The Grain Arrives at Shuangtian Village

The next day, the work on building the greenhouse continued.

With the processed timber ready, Zhou Zhiming directed a few people to start placing the processed wood in the corresponding spots. Since the preliminary work had been done very thoroughly, the construction was proceeding smoothly.

Zhou Yimin reminded, “Zhiming, first, dig two 15cm deep ditches along the edges of the greenhouse on both sides. One on the left and one on the right. Carefully cover the frame with the film, bury the edges of the film in the ditches, and compact the soil.”

“Also, be careful not to tear the film. If it gets damaged, use tape to fix it. Plant a few trees at the two ends of the greenhouse and cover them with the film, leaving a space for an active curtain, which will serve as a door and ventilation opening.”

“Okay, Yimin, I’ll be careful,” Zhou Zhiming replied.

After that, he got to work implementing Zhou Yimin’s instructions, making sure everything was done exactly as he had said.

After two days of busy work, the second layer of the greenhouse was finally completed. As long as the fire was lit inside, the temperature would reach a suitable level for planting.

When the old party secretary saw that the greenhouse was ready and the temperature needed to be adjusted, he ordered people to bring several charcoal stoves and installed a thermometer at the entrance. If the temperature became too high, they would ventilate the area to cool it down.

If the temperature was too low, they would need to light the fire to raise it.

Since there were no other openings in the greenhouse except for the door, the carbon dioxide levels inside would be relatively high. Zhou Yimin reminded the old party secretary to tell the villagers not to come inside to warm up to save on firewood. If they did, it could lead to dangerous situations as inhaling large amounts of carbon dioxide could be life-threatening.

Hearing Zhou Yimin’s serious reminder, the old party secretary understood the gravity of the situation. He had already informed the villagers, telling them not to stay inside for long periods unless they were working.

The villagers understood the importance of this and immediately agreed.

Now that the greenhouse was set up, it was time to deliver the grain to Shuangtian Village. They didn’t want Liang, the village chief, to think they had forgotten about it.

Zhou Yimin rode his bicycle toward Shuangtian Village. It was around six in the evening, and it was already dark.

When he got near the village, he made sure to create a bit of noise. After all, transporting 3,500 pounds of sweet potatoes should not be done silently.

He even intentionally left traces in the snow, as if a truck had passed by.

Seeing that it was nearly done, Zhou Yimin rode his bike to the entrance of Shuangtian Village.

As expected, there was a security team stationed at the entrance.

Without a doubt, Zhou Yimin was stopped.

“Comrade, who are you?”

Zhou Yimin responded, “I’m Zhou Yimin from Zhoujia Village, here to see Village Chief Liang. Please let him know I’ve arrived.”

When the security guard heard Zhou Yimin’s name, he suddenly remembered that the village chief had instructed them not to neglect anyone named Zhou Yimin.

“I’ll take you to find the village chief.”

Zhou Yimin hadn’t expected it to be so easy to get in. It seemed like Village Chief Liang had given specific instructions.

“Alright, thank you,” Zhou Yimin said, handing over a pack of cigarettes.

Liang Tian, the security guard, was surprised by Zhou Yimin’s generosity. He hadn’t expected to receive a whole pack of Daqianmen cigarettes. He knew only officials could afford to smoke these, and now, thanks to Zhou Yimin, he had a chance to try them.

Liang Tian, feeling more enthusiastic, led Zhou Yimin to Village Chief Liang’s house.

By now, it was dark, and most people had already eaten and gone to bed. There wasn’t much to do at night in the village.

They quickly arrived at Village Chief Liang’s house, and Liang Tian knocked on the door.

“Village Chief, Zhou Yimin is here to see you.”

When Village Chief Liang heard Zhou Yimin’s name, he hurriedly ran outside to greet him, not even bothering to put on his coat. Fortunately, it was cold, so he was still dressed; otherwise, in summer, he might have greeted him in just his underwear.

“Yimin, you’re here so late, is the food ready?”

Zhou Yimin replied, “Yes, the 3,500 pounds of sweet potatoes are outside. You can start bringing them in.”

Both Liang Tian and Village Chief Liang were so delighted by the news that they nearly jumped for joy.

“Great, I’ll arrange for people to go and get it.”

“Liang Tian, why are you still standing here? Hurry and inform the villagers to help bring in the sweet potatoes!”

Otherwise, it would take forever for just three or five people to move 3,500 pounds of sweet potatoes.

Liang Tian hadn’t expected to get scolded just for sitting around. He quickly ran off to inform the villagers.

“Wait, bring the village’s ox carts and donkey carts,” Village Chief Liang suddenly remembered and shouted again.

“Got it,” Liang Tian responded as he ran off to notify the other villagers.

Village Chief Liang invited Zhou Yimin inside. “It’s so cold outside. Yimin, come inside and sit for a while.”

As Zhou Yimin entered, he noticed Village Chief Liang’s child rubbing his eyes and coming out of a room.

Seeing this, Zhou Yimin reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of candy, and offered it to the child.

When Village Chief Liang saw this, he hurriedly stopped him, “Yimin, this is too precious.”

At that moment, there was barely enough food to eat, and there was no money to buy candy. Candy tickets were extremely valuable.

The child, seeing his father stop him, hesitated and didn’t dare take the candy, only looking at it longingly.

“Village Chief, this is for the child, not for you,” Zhou Yimin said helplessly.

Upon hearing this, Village Chief Liang stopped stopping him. “Don’t you want to thank the big brother?”

The child, hearing his father’s approval, was thrilled. He quickly accepted the candy and said, “Thank you, big brother!”

Eagerly, he opened a piece to try it. As the candy entered his mouth, he squinted his eyes in delight.

After sitting for a while, Liang Tian came in.

“Village Chief, I’ve notified all the villagers. We can leave at any time.”

Village Chief Liang immediately stood up.

He first led Zhou Yimin to pick up 100 pounds of cured meat, which they tied to the back of Zhou Yimin’s bike.

Zhou Yimin walked ahead, leading the villagers to the spot where they had just dropped off the sweet potatoes.

Soon, they saw a large pile of sweet potatoes, and everyone’s eyes widened. It was the first time they had seen so many sweet potatoes this year.

“Village Chief, you can weigh them, but if there’s nothing else, I’ll leave.”

“It’s getting late,” Zhou Yimin interrupted Village Chief Liang’s excitement.

“No need to weigh them. Yimin, I trust you,” Village Chief Liang said.

If they wanted to build a good relationship with Zhou Yimin, they had to trust him. Otherwise, cooperation would be impossible.

“Okay, then. I’ll leave now and not disturb you while you’re working,” Zhou Yimin said before leaving.

After Zhou Yimin left, one of the villagers asked, “Village Chief, aren’t we going to weigh them? What if there’s a shortage?”

It would be one thing if they were short by a little, but what if they were short by a hundred pounds or more? That would be a huge loss.

“No need to weigh them. I told you, no weighing. There’s definitely 3,500 pounds of sweet potatoes here,” Village Chief Liang said firmly.

The villagers had no choice but to listen to the village chief and not weigh them. They started moving the sweet potatoes back to the village.

(End of Chapter)