Chapter 92

It took a while to get a crop to the point of harvest. Since it was winter and the nights got close to the plant's dormant temperature, we relied on several clear plastic water tanks running along the edges of the green house to maintain the overnight temperature. Passive solar, the man who sold me the system said.

We also started the pot in a climate controlled area in one of the green houses. When the seeds sprouted and took hold, Hannah carefully replanted them into the beds in one of the three green houses.

The plan was to plant a house every three months, then have time to harvest and groom the product for sale. We wanted to completely turn a greenhouse every four months to maintain a constant income year round.

"If I come up with another potalot, we might do more outside in the summer and turn all the houses to a winter plants only," I said to Hannah at the start. "I really don't know enough to make a good plan."

Each acre harvested brought in about $100,000 during a fall harvest. But each acre brought in $125,000 when sold from December to June. During that period we weren't competing with local growers. We were competing with legally imported Marijuana. That means that we made at least two hundred thousand dollars more per year, because we added a winter growing season. In other words the farm was almost a million dollar grossing business.

The short term loan I had sign onto got paid off quickly. I was enjoying the new project as well. I was making plenty of money, and so was Bart. I was surprised when he asked me out to breakfast just eight months after the break up of our partnership. I had thought he would give me even more time to cool off.

"Watch him Rose, I don't trust him," Liam said while I was driving into town.

"No shit," I said. "He is hanging out with Rita so how could I trust him?

I saw him sitting at a table by the window in the Diary Queen burger joint. He had a cup of coffee in front of him but no food.

"So tell me what I can get for you?" he demanded.

"Bacon, egg, and cheese on a biscuit," I suggested. "Order me a coffee and I'll fill the cup while they make the order."

We were half way through the egg on a biscuit with trimmings when he said, "I got a call last night from Sylvia. You knew that Sylvia was one of our biggest tea customers?"

"I don't know which one but it wouldn't surprise me," I suggested. "So what did she want. If she called, she wanted something."

"Believe it or not it was a courtesy call," he said.

"I don't believe it. If Sylvia called there is something in it for her," I said.

"Of course there is. She is running an op and needs some pot to show to a mooch," Bart said.

"You fucking give it to her then," I said.

"All I have is stems and stalks," Bart replied.

"Then have her steal it from the DEA. Everybody knows they have the best dope," I suggested.

"That's who she's trying to sting," Bart replied.

"Holy shit," I suggested. "How do you sting the DEA and why would you want to?"

"Sylvia wants a cooperative agent there for an operation in South America," Bart explained.

"So why does she need pot and why can't she just buy some in a government store?" I asked.

"I don't know all the particulars, but I do know she needs fresh cut and greenhouse grown. I have a feeling she had your pot in mind when she devised the sting," he said.

"Blackmailing an asset is not all that unusual," I agreed. "I don't want to know anything about it. So how much does she want and what's she willing to pay?"

"She wants me to negotiate with you, so take it easy on me," he said. "I need a price for a kilo of fresh cut pot wrapped to keep it fresh."

"Two grand and I am going to use your license number for an end user," I suggested.

"That's fine," Bart said obviously disappointed that I was going to do paperwork on it. If this went sideways Hannah was likely to go to jail. I knew she was dealing a little pot to guys at school. Probably why she was suddenly popular with the boys.

If the DEA ran a sting on me, they might find Hannah's side line. I had been careful that I not know about it. I paid her well but I expected her to pick up a few grams to pass around to get laid. If she was selling it for cock that was her business not mine.

When I got back to the farm Hannah was weeding the plants. Our greenhouses didn't get many weeds, but there were a few. Once a week on Friday she weeded all the houses. I didn't bother to explain I just went to the greenhouse with the plants nearest to harvest, where I pulled up two. I carried them to the processing shed to pull the leaves and manicure the plant completely.

When I finished I made sure the package contain an excess amount of pot. I was compensating for a weight loss as it dried out some. "Hannah, I'm going to make a delivery. I should be back in a couple of hours as the most," I said.

Bart and a young woman of Hispanic origins waited. She sniffed the packet and nodded to Bart. He handed me 20 one-hundred dollar bills. We said less than twenty words total. The meeting consisted of them taking the pot, and me taking the money, then leaving quickly.

I stopped at the Diary Queen for a cup of coffee before I returned to the farm. I did hope that Sylvia didn't intend to try roping me back in. If she did try, she would be in for a large surprise. I absolutely did not need her money or the excitement.

I went back to the farm and I forgot all about the transaction. Hannah and I finished the harvesting house number one. It was the largest of the houses. We pulled all the plants, then put them onto a small trailer. We used it to transport twenty or more plants at a time to the processing shed.

When I bought the place the processing shed was just another three sided building with an open front and a door cut in the rear. Just as soon as I determined that we needed a processing room for grooming the plants, I had the front closed with a clear plastic wall just like a green house.

The tiny three wheel vehicle we used for moving the pot around was stored in the third shed. The front of the third shed had one large over head door and a bunch of plastic siding on either side. That shed was where the tiny four wheeler was stored. The tiny four wheeler, which had been made by a Chinese guy, was electric. It was electric because we didn't want gasoline exhaust in a closed greenhouse. That wouldn't be good for Hannah and I for sure and probably not good for the pot either.

The electric vehicle was made by Lin Woo alright, but Lin lived in Mobile Alabama. I made sure it was a three wheel scooter made with small bike wheels and on a bike frame. The wheels and hub motor were such that the little bitch could climb mountains. Hannah used it to pull a couple of small tools designed by her. They were also made by Lin Woo. They had specific purposes and were used for no other purpose.

After the second house was harvested and the product sold, we invested in a portable spritzing device. We used it for twenty minutes each day in each greenhouse. It was an experiment in how to best hydrate the plants. Some grow room had tubes everywhere that dripped water onto the plants. That seemed like way too much shit to go through especially since I didn't have to grow my plants in a five gallon bucket. The spritzer was on wheels so that it could easily be moved through the green houses hydrating the plants in all three houses in less than half a day. For that first year it was mainly my job. I did it while Hannah was in school.

Hannah, as a high school senior with a source of pot, quickly became a very popular young lady. I knew she took some of the product, but I marked it up to lost in production.

"As long as you keep it down to a sandwich bag during the harvest of the houses, I can live with it. I have to warn you though, you do not have my permission to take that pot. If the police, or I ever find out you are stealing from me, you are out of a job. I also will be sure to mention the fact to any future employer. I want you to know I can not help you with the police. That said you can come to me with any problems being in this business creates for you. If you do, I will do whatever I can. I warn you don't lie to me. I can't lie for you, if you lie to me.

Hannah was a sweet hard working girl, who just wanted to be loved. I knew that, but I couldn't have her screwing me, just so she could get screwed. The pot got her invited to the best parties. I knew that for sure.

By the end of our third harvest we had the kinks worked out. I was the one who bought technology, rather then hire more staff. I adhered to advice I got from someone back in my early years, 'machines don't eat, people eat'. It was true for whoever the person was and it was true for me.

That would explain why I had a tiny hay bailer just outside the potting and grooming shed. We threw all the stalks and stems and other cuttings into it, and out came bales of crap for the tea plant. Not only did it make square bales, it also covered them with a plastic netting so nothing fell out of them.

I could understand why most growers turned the trimmings under. They were in fifty pound mini bales and were worth $500 per bale at the time of our third harvest. Ten dollars a pound versus $700 per pound for pot. The $700 was when it was sold to the government. Black market pot was worth $1100 a pound at least.

After the first plants flowered Hannah introduced bees into the houses. I paid for the bees and all the equipment necessary for their care. Hannah took care of them and collected the honey. I was the one who suggested she sell it to her family and local friends. Those sales were totally legal. She made a few buck and it helped to germinate the crops.

After the harvest of a house, she put the seeds aside and began working on the beds inside the green houses. After she ran the machines over the soil to break it up and then flatten the loose soil she cleared the potting area of plants. It took her more or less two days to plant a greenhouse.

After the potting house was empty of the little trays with seedlings, she prepared them for the seeds. It was a cycle that we never planned to change. It was successful with only minor changes now and then.

After the sale of the pot to the government buyers, who always gave us their best prices, I gave Hannah a bonus. I gave her one percent of the sales price in addition to her salary. Add that to her salary, the sale of the honey, and the pot she found on the floor, the bonus of almost a thousand dollars was a nice bonus. Hannah without a doubt was most likely the best paid farm hand in the country.