31. The hectic wee hours of the morning

In the early morning of the thirtieth day of the lunar month, Guangzhou is still very cold, although it is not yet 0 degrees, but it is 4 degrees above zero, which is also the most sensitive temperature for people. The people in the yard went to bed very early last night, and no one sat around the TV to watch, but got into the bed at seven or eight o'clock, and then went to sleep. At 2 o'clock in the morning, Dad blew the whistle, the rooms in the yard were lit up one by one, and after ten minutes, a team of seventy or eighty people had gathered in the yard, each holding a big flashlight in his hand, and a bucket in the other hand, and then followed Dad mightily, and came to the plastic greenhouse where strawberries were purchased, two greenhouses for one person, that is, two acres of land.

The strawberries that began to go on the market on New Year's Day are the first batch of strawberries with yield, in this 100 acres of greenhouses, there are 30 sheds, and the other 70 sheds are the first batch of strawberries under the Spring Festival, these 100 sheds, 10,000 kilograms to be picked every day, and it takes more than an hour to step on it.

Then it is necessary to package and grade, and the process of grading and packaging is longer than picking strawberries, because it is necessary to be careful not to let these strawberries in their hands, and if they are injured, they cannot become commodities, nor can they be included in the piecework wage, so everyone is very careful, and the packaging process takes two or three hours.

Before 6 o'clock in the morning, it must be packaged, and then loaded into the car, it must be rushed before the morning rush hour, these goods are sent to stores and restaurants, and the last batch is sent to the airport, Baiyun Airport is in the north of Guangzhou City, from Fangcao District to Baiyun Airport, it takes dozens of kilometers, and it must arrive before 7 o'clock in the morning to ensure that these strawberries arrive at the consumer city after two or three hours to ensure its freshness.

Dad manages these workers, and although the boss gives some management expenses, he mainly has to rely on himself and obtain piecework wages in labor. My little sister and I got up with my mom and dad, got dressed, and carried a flashlight and a plastic bucket in the other hand like them. Dad took me to a plastic greenhouse, taught me how to pick strawberries, and then gently put them into the bucket.

I am not unfamiliar with farm work, so I quickly picked a large greenhouse of strawberries, a full of more than 100 kilograms, when I went to the second greenhouse, my waist was already tired, I couldn't stand up. This is the hard work of doing farm work, it takes great effort, not only to sweat, but also to endure a lot of pain, Mom and Dad for more than ten years, every day is like this, I am just 18 years old, Mom and Dad are already in their 40s, they are more painful than me, after thinking of these, the pain seems to have been reduced a lot, when I came out of the greenhouse, I happened to meet my little sister.

Li Xiaojuan, "Big brother, why are you stepping on it so fast?" How much have you picked in one shed? ”

Qingfeng, "I have a lot of strawberries in this shed, so I stepped on more than 100 kilograms, how are you?" ”

Li Xiaojuan, "My shed is not as much as yours, this shed was picked by me yesterday, I picked more yesterday, stepped on 150 kilograms, yesterday's sunshine was not good, so today I put it, only stepped on 80 kilograms, let's go quickly, and then step on a shed, I thought you were so tall, stepping on it will be slower, who knows that you are faster than me, I earned more than 1,000 yuan during a winter vacation, and I stepped on it every day, let's step on it a little more, and my parents will be slightly injured." ”

Qingfeng and Xiaojuan, one person occupies another shed, this time the speed of stepping on it, Qingfeng is happier, it didn't take an hour, I stepped on nearly 140 kilograms, and the two sheds combined, have picked more than 270 kilograms. Hand in hand, the brother and sister delivered the strawberries to the packing room, and then began to pack them together. In the packaging store, the crowd is crowded, but the sound of talking can not be heard, because everyone is focused on grading and packaging, Qingfeng learns quickly, all strawberries are divided into three levels, because it is the first batch of strawberries, eighty or ninety percent are first-class products, in principle, whoever picks the strawberries should be packaged, Qingfeng faced his own more than 270 kilograms of strawberries, stood in front of the packaging table, divided these strawberries into a box, and then bought a box, sealed a box with plastic tape, more than 270 kilograms of strawberries, It took two and a half hours to pack it all.

Qingfeng looked at it, and his sister's strawberries still had a lot of them, so he walked over and helped his sister pack them.

Qingfeng started to pack the plane, his eyes and hands were synchronized, much faster than his sister, and he handled it gently, the yield was also high, and the stacking was particularly beautiful. Xiaojuan watched her brother work, quickly and quickly, and better than anyone else, with high quality, and admired this brother from the bottom of her heart. Although it was the first time they met, after all, blood was thicker than water, my brother studied so well, and he did farm work better than others, which showed that his mind was very high, and he was better than others in everything, Xiaojuan was proud to have such a brother from the bottom of her heart.

Mom gently walked to Qingfeng's side, unscrewed the lid of the thermos cup, and handed it to Qingfeng, Qingfeng took the thermos cup, gently drank a sip of boiled water, and a warm stream spread all over the body, Mom was looking at him affectionately, he took another sip, and then handed the cup to Mom. Mom took the water glass, looked at him silently, and smiled knowingly. Then my mother walked gently, returned to her job, and began to grade and pack intently.

Dad not only packs his own strawberries, but it is not worth cycling to look at the quality, Dad has a very fast hand and is very skilled in grading and packing, although he also manages these workers, checks the quality, and soon finishes packing the strawberries he picks. He saw that Qingfeng was helping his sister pack, he himself walked gently to his mother's side, and began to help his mother with grading and packaging.

Qingfeng was thinking, his father was a farmer who came out of the mountains, in addition to having a body of strength, that is, he had an upright and kind heart, in order to pursue a better life, and the generation of young people in the 80s at that time, with a fiery heart, came to the big city of Guangzhou, but lack of knowledge, no technology, it became his fatal wound. In the tide of reform and opening up, many people came out to break into the world like him, and with a lot of blood, they broke into a new world, but many of the money they earned in their hands had a dark side, and even bloody. But they succeeded, they became the leaders of the times, calling for wind and rain, as long as it was for money, those people could do anything, bloody primitive accumulation, bloody miserable life, what a cruel world this is.

Although Dad is not developed, but he kept his kind and upright heart, a farmer, under the impact of the tide of this era came to the city, at home they have land as a foundation, come to the city, they only have their own hands and a body of strength, integrity makes them abide by the law, kindness so that they will not go to the pit people to harm people, all with their own strength and a pair of hands, whether it is dirty work, tired work more money or less money, will be truly faced, those who have made a fortune are a very small minority of the minority, the vast majority of farmers, Came to the city are at a loss, after the contribution of youth and strength, most people have returned to the countryside, Dad has a persistent heart, he adheres to his ideal of pursuing a better life, and has tried his best, although he has a place in the city, but the hardship, the hardship, the poverty, is unbearable for ordinary people, I want to create a new world for my children, I want them to get the best education, get the best environment, no matter how hard they are, they insist, What a beautiful wish this is, although it makes your heart a little sour when you think about it, but that beauty is a light that illuminates everyone's hearts. Qingfeng looked at his father's delicate face, he could think of what a handsome young man his father was when he first came to the city, more than 10 years of experience, more than 10 years of wind and frost, more than 10 years of ups and downs, so that a rural youth became a middle-aged man, and the carving knife of history ruthlessly carved one annual ring after another on his face, that is, the wrinkles on his father's face. Look at his gray hair again, he misses his parents, his attachment to his wife, his concern for his children, and his debt to his son, he really owes it, he doesn't owe it at all, it's just a hurdle in his heart, it's his aggravated feelings for his son, and his back is a little hunched.

Qingfeng turned his face, and then looked at his mother, in our 100,000 mountains, my mother thought that she must be a beautiful beauty, she and her father combined, with that love, with that persistence, with that yearning for a better life, accompanied by his man, left her hometown, raised her, more than ten years like a day, in a different place, in this city, no, her own tile, not an inch of her own land, although she is just to support her family, but she puts her youth, beauty, She contributed the most beautiful years of her life to this city, to her family, and to the world. Mom has entered middle age, although she can still vaguely see her beautiful figure from the edges and corners of her face, but she is also old, crow's feet crawled up the corners of her eyes, the complexion on her face began to lose luster, in the process of wind and sun, working in the wind and rain, the wind and frost stained her sideburns white, she is someone else's daughter, but also her husband's wife, or her son's mother, she worries too much, it is these worries that make her actively work hard to do all kinds of farm work, under heavy pressure, hard work, Pursuing a better life.

Looking at the parents who have reached middle age, they seem to be older than their actual age, Qingfeng Well, looking, looking at it, the eyes are moist, there are no parents in the world who don't love their children, more than ten years of missing, how will this lovely father and mother be tormented? Today I am finally with them, I can finally see them, and I work with them, experience their hardships, the young breeze, and increase my understanding and love for my parents.

Since 2 o'clock in the morning, I have been busy for nearly 4 hours, picking strawberries, packing strawberries, and loading these packaged strawberries into the car, and the time is less than 6:00. Dad is very happy, today's harvest of strawberries, is the most harvested since this growing season, today's harvest is as high as 27,000 pounds a day, medium-sized bread has to run back and forth 4 times to be able to pull clean, so although it is not until 6:00, the traffic conditions in the city are much better than usual, but the bus set off quickly, Dad sat in the car.

A little more than 7 o'clock in the morning, the bus came back empty, all the people were in a hurry to fill the car, Dad pressed the bus and quickly used the yard to drive towards the city of Guangzhou, this time Qingfeng sat in the car and went to deliver goods with Dad. Dad sat in the co-pilot's seat, and Qingfeng sat on the lid of the machine, because all the seats were already filled with strawberry boxes. The lid of the machine is very hot, and I specially found several layers of foam board to put on the lid of the machine.

Qingfeng, "Dad, why are you delivering so fast this time?" It's been a round trip in an hour, have you stored the goods somewhere? ”

Li Chunsheng, "the first car of goods, mainly to run a few vegetable markets, to hand over the goods to a few wholesalers, because the delivery location is concentrated, unloading is very fast, so our first trip basically did not delay time, today is the thirtieth month of the lunar month, the traditional New Year is already in, so there are a lot of people who want the goods, these wholesalers are afraid of not grabbing the goods, can not make money, we pick the strawberries, big and sweet, so which wholesaler is willing to ask for our local strawberries, our local strawberries sold to them are also highly profitable. Now strawberries are planted everywhere, and the strawberries from Beijing are transported here by air, and the cost is more than 100, so our boss grows strawberries locally in Guangzhou, and the price of air freight is the same as that of air transportation at that time, and the air freight is very expensive, so our strawberry profits are also very high. On this 150 acres of strawberries, because we choose the variety is particularly good, the first batch of strawberries is catching up with the New Year's Day and Spring Festival two big festivals, the price is also sold very well, generally more than 100 yuan a pound, you look at our box is two or three taels, this box will sell for forty or fifty yuan, this season in addition to tropical fruits, strawberries are the best to sell, those tropical fruits are imported, the price is amazing, strawberries are relatively cheap in comparison, the strawberry market is very large, you look at the little girl walking on the street, We are willing to buy a box of strawberries to go home, which is fresh and delicious, so next year our boss will expand production, but there is no land around Guangzhou, and it is estimated that we will have to go farther to Zhongshan and find land in a little place. ”

Dad said that the strawberry business came in endlessly, and it could be seen that because of his arrival, how happy Dad was, especially today's strawberry sales were so good, Dad was even more overjoyed, Qingfeng could understand Dad's mood, so when Dad finished speaking, he asked again, "Where is our second car delivered?" ”

Li Chunsheng, "Our second car, is directly delivered to the shops, these shops are very large sales of shops, because there is no wholesale link, our car of strawberries is the most profitable in our transportation market, but this trip to send more places, if in normal times, it will be very delayed, today is not used, today because it is the Chinese New Year's Eve, the street cars have been much less, I estimate that we can also deliver in about an hour." When we returned to the base, it was estimated that it was more than 8 o'clock, our driver was very familiar with the road, where to go there are few traffic lights, where to go quiet? He knew that he had sent strawberries for such a long time, and it also saved us a lot of time. ”

As he was talking, the bus stopped in front of a shop, the driver master and Li Chunsheng father and son, began to unload the car, the boss is very angry, his fruit stall is also very large, and it is in the downtown area, so he asked for 2000 boxes in one breath, and unloaded 1/4 of the goods in the bus to him, Dad took the invoice and asked the boss to sign, several of them hurriedly got on the car, the driver started the car, and drove quickly to your next house. In this way, after going around the urban area of Guangzhou, a total of 14 shops were unloaded with the goods of the minibus. It seems that the master of the bus is very clear about the road conditions, after entering the urban area of Guangzhou, first to the north, then to the east, and then to the west, and then turn back to the west, after sending the last one, the car has returned to the Pearl River.

The car crossed the Pearl River Bridge and quickly returned to the base, and the time did not come to an hour, because the road conditions were so good today. Taking advantage of the time when everyone loaded the car, the driver master Li Chunsheng and Qingfeng, the three of them had breakfast, this breakfast should be said to be rushed to eat, everyone gobbled up, ten minutes later, they finished the breakfast, came to the side of the bus, the third car of goods has been full, Qingfeng followed Li Chunsheng, and got on the car again.

Li Chunsheng, "Son, we specially send this car to the hotel, a total of more than 20 hotels have ordered our goods, including Mr. Zhang's hotel, the hotel they got down, the hotel gave a very good price, so when unloading, you also need to help them move in, if you are tired, you can rest for a while, usually the driver and me, the two of us." ”

Qingfeng, "Dad, I'll go with you, so I can save some time." ”

The bus shuttled in Guangzhou, earned a total of 21 restaurants, and finally unloaded a full car of strawberries, slightly compared to the previous trip, it took a little more time, but this time it was a straight line distance, so the overall time was about the same, when the bus returned to the base, the time was exactly 9:00, Li Chunsheng greeted Qingfeng, returned to his home, washed again, changed clothes, called Dai Xiaofeng and Li Xiaojuan, and a family of four got on the bus directly. The bus was not full of goods this time, because the first three cars were too full, and the sales in Guangzhou City doubled today, so the remaining strawberries were not filled with cars, and the usual loading and unloading volume was basically balanced, this car of strawberries was to be sent to Baiyun Airport, directly exported to Hong Kong, the manifest had been filled out one day in advance, and only plant quarantine was needed there, and then it could be cleared. Li Chunsheng handed over these procedures to the driver, and the family went directly to the hotel where Mr. Zhang lived.