1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 127 No. 56

Chen Jiazhi stood in front of the loofah trellis.

After a torrential rain, the vegetable farmers were left with a scene of devastation, and the loofahs and bitter melons seemed to let out even more hysterical cries.

Horrible scars were left on the vines, branches, leaves, and melons.

But even in adversity, there are still relatively intact melons.

After the storm, a star will fall, and a group of dark horses will emerge.

"Wow~"

Two dogs, one black and one white, ran toward him through the muddy ground, their legs covered in mud, while Yi Long, barefoot, chased after them.

"Slow down, don't fall."

"Uncle, when Blackie and Whitey saw you, they ran over here like crazy."

"Haha, maybe he's just used to patrolling the fields."

"No wonder, it seems that Hei Zai and Bai Zai went out for a run in the vegetable field early in the morning and got covered in mud. They were scolded badly by their aunt when they got back."

"Haha~"

Two puppies stood by the field, wagging their short tails. Their fur was covered in both dried and fresh mud. Yi Long wasn't in much better shape; his calves, arms, clothes, and pants were all covered in mud.

"What did you play that made such a mess?"

"I didn't play much."

"Isn't it boring to be alone?"

"It's not boring, there are two dogs too."

"Wang Wang~"

The sky was gray. The two people and two dogs walked along the path at the edge of the vegetable field. Occasionally, puddles could be seen in the furrows, and the vegetable leaves were covered with water droplets.

After inspecting the fields, all three workers were still busy. Chen Jiazhi went from one household to another, and Yi Long and the two dogs stayed behind, listening to him assign tasks.

What needs to be done immediately, what needs to be done later, and what requires long-term prevention?

It wasn't really an arrangement; communication or reminder would be a more appropriate term.

Some things have been said many times. The seemingly insignificant daily routines will eventually reveal the meaning of perseverance.

"Mr. Chen, the broccoli needs transplanting. There's still half a plot of land left where we planted the kale. Let's transplant the broccoli there, and plant the remaining seedlings on the half-acre plot in number 5. What do you think?"

"can."

"Then I'll start transplanting tomorrow."

Broccoli seedlings don't germinate very well. Initially, the germination rate is okay, but after the summer solstice, the seedlings die off in various ways, and the final germination rate may only be 60%. Besides climate reasons, the seeds may also be a factor.

But the loss of seedlings dying during the seedling stage is less than the loss of seedlings dying later, so he can accept it, and the broccoli can also be transplanted to a plot of land of about 70-80%.

In plots 7 and 8, there were groups of people busy thinning seedlings. Li Xiu was also there, so Chen Jiazhi didn't take a closer look.

He arrived at the field where Qi Yongfeng and his wife were harvesting vegetables, numbered 7-2. The vegetables were bok choy planted on June 6.11-6.12. The basket of vegetables was not yet full, so it must have just begun.

Chen Jiazhi also squatted down to collect the vegetables.

When Yi Long and the two paparazzi saw him start doing his boring work again, they ran away in a flash.

After picking a few vegetables, Chen Jiazhi stopped. "Yongfeng, let's harvest the vegetables a little later."

"Brother Zhi, harvesting the vegetables too late might not be on time."

"I'll help you, or I can call two more people." Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "The humidity is too high. Vegetables like this will rot by the time they get to the canteen, even if they don't rot by the time they get to the market."

"Then let's call two more people, let each of the two families send one person, Brother Zhi, you can rest a bit more."

"Okay, I'll go talk to them."

"Then I'll harvest the vegetables later."

"Yes, pack a little less in each basket, about 30 or 40 pounds should be enough."

"it is good."

Chen Jiazhi thought to himself that it might be time to pack the vegetables into baskets according to the standard. In later generations, the standard weight of a basket of bok choy and kale was 30 jin (15 catties). Customers would take the vegetables one piece at a time, and each piece of vegetables had three standard sizes: large, medium, and small.

Of course, it has always been available in bulk.

The standard packaging method of 30 catties per piece not only facilitates storage, but also makes management more convenient for large-scale bases and wholesalers.

No need for on-site weighing or repackaging, just pick up the goods directly.

The only drawback is that there are many plastic baskets needed, which are expensive and easily lost in the market.

But I'll soon have my own stall, so I can try it out slowly.

In addition, Chen Jiazhi is also reflecting on whether there are better ways to harvest and manage vegetables under the existing conditions.

He wanted to reduce his time spent on farm work and instead focus on management, coordination, and market operations, especially in the Jiangnan market. He felt ashamed if his daily transaction volume wasn't at least a few tons, so he needed to find sources of goods to fill those gaps.

After thinking for a while, he actually came up with a solution, so he called Qi Yongfeng and the other two together and made new adjustments.

Everyone harvests crops together every day and splits the commission equally.

In addition, in order to gradually reduce his own workload, Chen Jiazhi would also give the three nominal managers a commission for the dishes.

For every kilogram of vegetables produced from the plots they manage, Ao Dehai and his team receive an extra cent as commission, which adds up to tens to hundreds of yuan in extra income each month.
As capabilities improve and the scale expands, income will gradually increase, and managers' income is very high.

Just like in his previous life, he and Yi Dinggan occasionally earned tens of thousands of yuan a month in Shanghai in the early 2000s.

As the operation expands, the three of them will gradually be less involved in farm work, making their lives easier.
Ao Dehai, Qi Yongfeng, and Ao Deliang were also very excited after hearing this, as it represented a real increase in income.

The only problem is that the land is now too small, and the three of them wish the vegetable garden they manage could be expanded immediately!
But feeling that his own abilities were not yet sufficient, Boss Chen clearly preferred Yi Dinggan, Li Mingkun, and Guo Mancang.
We need to learn more!

After making the arrangements, Chen Jiazhi also looked forward to the effect of this model.

He will continue to be deeply involved in management, personally participating and providing training in July, August, and September.
But once autumn and winter arrive, any normal farmer can grow bok choy, so he can try to work part-time.

...

And so, as night fell, Chen Jiazhi 'dragged' Li Xiu home.

"Don't hold me back, I can walk by myself."

"I'm hungry. What should I eat for dinner? Noodles, simple and easy."

"Don't you dislike noodles?"

"There's sauerkraut fish soup; it's delicious with noodles."

"That's fine, I'll go back and do it. You don't need to see me off, go and get to work."

"Can't I even take a break and rest a little longer?" "Fine, go back and listen to the radio for a while, I'll call you when I've finished making the noodles."

Chen Jiazhi is used to doing heavy work or work that can be done standing up, such as digging, spraying pesticides, watering, sowing seeds, and playing with various machines. He just doesn't like work that requires bending over, squatting, or sitting.

After the rain, all that's left is harvesting vegetables, weeding, and thinning seedlings.
There are enough workers in the fields now, so his instinct is to slack off.

Back in the valley, it was still dark inside everyone's house. After he reminded them, they all started harvesting their vegetables even later and were still busy in the vegetable fields.

After entering, Li Xiu went straight to the back door to cook. Chen Jiazhi had just helped light the fire when he was ruthlessly kicked out.

Forced to listen to the news alone, I took out my notebook and pen.

Swish swish swish~
"In the daily expenses of citizens in Huacheng City, the expenditure on vegetables alone accounts for more than 60%."

"The issue of food supply affects every household and has become a prominent problem in urban work today..."

Swish swish swish~
Two voices kept ringing out in the room.

"Uncle~"

A short while later, Yi Long returned with two dogs, called out to him, and then hurried off to the kitchen.

"Aunt, is dinner ready?"

"It'll be ready soon. We'll have noodles for dinner. Go and call your parents and your aunt back."

"it is good."

Then she hurriedly ran to the front door and called out several times, "Mom and Dad, come back for dinner!"

If the vegetable farmer was calling people home for dinner, he would hold back a little, but when Yi Long shouted, he completely let loose, it was almost heart-wrenching. After shouting, he went to the stove to pick out noodles, and the two dogs followed him around, leaving plum blossom-shaped footprints in the house.

Well, Chen Jiazhi lost the will to write and draw.

He went into the kitchen to pick out noodles, mixed sauerkraut and fish soup, and then sat down at the front door. Yi Long sat down next to him, and the two dogs squatted down beside him with their tongues hanging out.

Yi Dinggan, Chen Jiafang, Chen Jiaying, and Xue Jun emerged from the darkness.

"I didn't wait for you guys."

"It's okay, eat first."

Before long, the sounds of people eating noodles could be heard both inside and outside the house.

In the summer, vegetable farmers' dinner times are chaotic, and no one can take care of anyone else. After finishing his noodles, Chen Jiazhi went to the vegetable field again.

Inside the house, Chen Jiaying and Xue Jun discussed their next move.

...

Late at night, on a quiet roadside.

Heiwa asked, "The price of vegetables has gone up again?"

Chen Jiazhi nodded. "Have you seen the news these past few days? The vegetable supply has been under great pressure, and we're about to enter the off-season again. Vegetable prices will rise further. I only raised the price by 10 cents today, just because you bought a lot of vegetables."

"Can you have more?"

"No."

"Okay, how much for today?"

"854 dollars."

Heiwa paid the money, glanced at the vegetables in his truck, and reluctantly left, heading in the opposite direction from the market.

Chen Jiazhi became increasingly certain that Heiwa'er and Hong Biao were of the same ilk.

He didn't intend to investigate further, and just focused on raising prices.

Upon arriving at the market, they completed the transaction with Chen Ze, totaling 198 yuan. After settling the bill, the two lit a cigarette.

“Chen, the quality of the Chinese cabbage has declined in the past two days, especially yesterday’s, some of the leaves have rotted.”

"Yes, the vegetables got wet in the rain yesterday, and the humidity was too high. We also packed a lot of them, so there was a problem. Things will be better today."

"Were the vegetable fields unaffected?"

"good."

"Can the supply be stable?"

"no problem."

When the average temperature exceeds 25℃, the growth of most vegetables, except for melons and a few beans, will be inhibited by the high temperature. In addition, since it coincides with the rainy season, the quality of vegetables will decline visibly.

Recently, Chen Ze has also felt the pressure, as it has become increasingly difficult to buy other green vegetables besides Chen Cai Nong's bok choy.

The problem with the bok choy yesterday gave him a jolt of worry, but he only relaxed after chatting with Chen Jiazhi for the time it takes to smoke a cigarette.

"By the way, I'll probably rent a spot in the market, and it will most likely be number 56."

"congratulations!"

"Thank you~"

After Chen Ze left, Chen Jiazhi came to the corner again. The light was dim, the space was narrow and cramped, the road was full of potholes and muddy water flowed everywhere. It could not provide shelter from the wind and rain, but in just three months, he left many deep memories in this place and also accumulated his first sum of money.

Now that I'm changing positions, I don't feel any reluctance. Perhaps I've long been accustomed to a nomadic life.

Just as they unloaded two baskets of vegetables, Yi Dinggan and his two companions arrived. Xue Jun hadn't come tonight. After parking the car, Yi Dinggan approached them.

"Jiazhi, when are you going to find that guy surnamed Wang?"

"I'll go after I sell the vegetables."

"We still have a few days left, should we stall him a bit?"

"No need."

His vegetable business is still quite good; he can't keep up with the demand for several hundred kilograms of vegetables, and he's making money hand over fist.

The wallet, which had just been emptied by the insect netting, is slowly starting to fill up again.

But before he could finish selling his vegetables, Director Wang, who looked very refined, arrived again, which could be considered as visiting a hermit's house three times.

"Chen Cai Nong, what are your thoughts? What conditions can you set?"

"I'll take stall number 56. I'll rent it for six months, okay?"

"Haha, of course!" Director Wang extended his right hand, took two steps forward, and laughed, "May your business prosper!"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and shook hands with him. Besides Chen Ze, this was yet another person to shake hands with him.

However, it sold for 1638 yuan tonight, and most of it went into the market in no time.

(End of this chapter)