"Is everyone here?"
Su Jianjun jumped off the tractor, his voice slightly hoarse from the cold.
"Everyone's here!"
Wu Er emerged from the darkness, followed by a dozen villagers, each carrying a basket, scissors, and straw rope.
Their faces were still sleepy, but their eyes were filled with excitement for the harvest that was about to begin.
Su Jianjun glanced at his wristwatch.
"Starting at 3:00 PM sharp, all four greenhouses will begin operations simultaneously. Remember, only pick the best ones; leave the ones with wormholes or those that are small."
The workers nodded and divided into four groups, standing in front of their respective greenhouses.
Su Jianjun took a deep breath. The early morning air carried the fresh scent of earth and plants, a smell he liked.
"Open the door!"
At Su Jianjun's command, the plastic curtains of the four greenhouses were simultaneously lifted.
A warm, moist air wafted over, a stark contrast to the cold outside.
Wu Ermaitai led three people into shed number one. Under the beam of a flashlight, the emerald green cucumber vines climbed all over the trellis, and the tender yellow flowers at the top were still eye-catching in the darkness.
"My goodness, these cucumbers are absolutely gorgeous!"
He couldn't help but admire it, his rough fingers gently stroking a cucumber that was at least half a foot long.
"Don't just stand there, hurry up!"
Su Jianjun's voice came from outside.
"The loading must be finished before dawn!"
The workers immediately sprang into action.
Wu Ermaitai skillfully found the cucumber stem, cut it off with a "snip" of scissors, and then carefully placed the cucumber into a basket lined with straw.
His movements were quick and steady, as if he were afraid of knocking off the tender thorns on the cucumber.
In greenhouse number two, the Li brothers are picking tomatoes.
The bright red tomatoes hung on the branches like little lanterns. Li Dazhu held the tomatoes with both hands and gently twisted them to pick them.
"Brother, look at this, it's almost as big as my fist!"
The chives and bok choy in greenhouse number three can be harvested much faster.
Aunt Wang, along with two other women, armed themselves with sickles and neatly cut down the lush green chives as if harvesting wheat, then tied them into small bundles with straw rope.
The bok choy was uprooted, the soil was shaken off, and then it was stacked in a bamboo basket.
Su Jianjun moved between the four greenhouses, stopping from time to time to check the quality of the harvest.
"This cucumber stem is too long; it'll easily prick and damage other cucumbers."
"You can't stack the tomatoes like that; you need to put straw in between!"
His voice wasn't loud, but every worker heard it clearly and immediately made the necessary adjustments.
Time passed by, and the basket gradually filled up.
Su Jianjun glanced at his watch; it was already four o'clock.
"Speed up! Pick another fifty pounds of cucumbers and thirty pounds of tomatoes, and that'll be enough!"
Beside the tractor, Zhang Dazhu was loading the loaded vegetable baskets onto the truck bed.
Following Su Jianjun's instructions, he placed the tomatoes, which are most susceptible to being crushed, on the top layer and covered them with a damp cloth.
Place the chives and bok choy in the middle.
At the bottom is a sturdy cucumber basket.
Each layer was separated by straw to prevent them from colliding during transport.
"Captain Su, everything's installed!"
Zhang Dazhu wiped the sweat from his forehead. Although the temperature was low in the early morning, an hour of bending over and working continuously still made him sweat profusely.
Su Jianjun walked around the tractor to check that each vegetable basket was securely fixed and the tarpaulin was tied tightly.
He patted Zhang Dazhu on the shoulder.
"Good job. Go back and rest. I'll settle your wages when I get back this afternoon."
"Take care on your way!"
The workers watched as Su Jianjun climbed into the driver's seat.
The tractor sputtered to life, its headlights piercing the pre-dawn darkness as it headed towards Beijing.
Su Jianjun gripped the steering wheel tightly, and in the rearview mirror, the vegetable greenhouses gradually disappeared into the night.
He remembered his brother's instructions.
"The first batch of dishes is very important; we need to make a name for ourselves with them."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but step on the gas, and the tractor roared even louder as it accelerated forward on the bumpy dirt road.
As the outline of the city walls of Beijing gradually appeared in the morning light, Su Jianguo had already been pacing back and forth at the city gate for half an hour.
He wrapped his cotton-padded coat tightly around himself and kept glancing towards Sujiatun.
"Judging by the time, it should be time..."
Su Jianguo glanced at his watch; the hour hand pointed to 4:50.
The sentries at the city gate had changed shifts, and the new young soldier curiously sized up the middle-aged man who had been waiting there since before dawn.
A familiar "putt-putt" sound came from afar, and Su Jianguo's eyes lit up.
He stood on tiptoe and, sure enough, saw a blurry car emerging from the morning mist.
"Jianjun! This way!"
Su Jianguo waved his arms.
The tractor slowed down in front of the city gate, and Su Jianjun poked his head out of the cab, his face showing a tired but excited smile.
"Brother! Have you been waiting long?"
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