1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 133 Back to the top
Under the dim light, the owner, surnamed Hu, stood by the aisle of his stall. He would glance at the vegetables on his tricycle, then at the crowd that followed him, and then fiddle with the tomatoes and bell peppers in front of him as samples, looking unusually shy.

“What’s wrong with you?” his wife muttered, giving him a disdainful look. “Look at these tomatoes and bell peppers.”

Sure enough, some people were attracted to it.

Tomatoes and bell peppers are also very scarce vegetables. Several people immediately went up to ask about the price and inspect the goods, but more people followed the tricycle to stall number 56.

The Hu couple, who own the restaurant, were greeting customers, and occasionally they would look up at the opposite side of the street and be quite surprised.

Chen Caixin's vegetable field shouldn't be far away, so how come it doesn't seem to have been affected by the typhoon? There are even more vegetables now!

"Same as always, one at a time!"

"Premium bok choy is 3.2 yuan per jin, and regular bok choy is 3 yuan!"

"In addition, there are 70 or 80 catties of mustard greens, at 3.2 yuan per catty. You can take them without worry, and there will be a long-term supply."

"Boss Chen Ze~"

"Hey~"

A loud shout came from across the street from Chen Caixin. It was the first time the Hu couple, the owners of the shop, had ever seen vegetables sold like this.

Despite the constant noise from the other side, things were quite orderly under Mr. Chen's direction.

At least there was no chaos, and no one egged them on to take the vegetables from the car.

This might upset some new customers, but it's a good thing for other stalls!

Especially his number 55!
Some of the customers who knew they couldn't get their food at the front of the line came to him.

Tomatoes and bell peppers are also in high demand, but it would be great if they could be shipped out faster.

And number 57, to the right of number 56, sells more common loofah and bitter melon, and business is better there.

However, the owner of stall number 57 is narrow-minded. If other people sell the same vegetables as stall number 57, he will often make sarcastic remarks. The owner surnamed Hu does not like to deal with him.

On the contrary, newcomers like Boss Chen, who openly flaunt their wealth, are more popular.

Well, I mainly sell bok choy, so my supply is stable, and I grow the vegetables myself. It's hard for me to win a price war with him, so generally no one tries to provoke him.

However, in this booming market, it's difficult to find someone to compete with Mr. Chen.

The owner, surnamed Hu, estimates that anyone in the market who wants to buy vegetables will prefer the stall opposite his.

Others also have difficulty finding stock, and even if they do, the price and quality are hard to compare with No. 56.

He deserves to make money!
At stall number 56, Chen Jiazhi held paper and pen, while Qi Yongfeng stood guard over the vegetables on the truck.

Some regular customers will take the vegetables with them. For example, Chen Ze didn't dare to trade at the market entrance today, so he could only go into the stall. He had weighed 80 jin of bok choy in advance at home. As soon as he parked, he agreed on the price and took it with him in the plastic basket.

Old Wu's 100 jin (50 catties) was the same; he took it all, including the plastic basket.

The rest of the dishes are packed in bamboo baskets. If you order a lot, you can take the whole basket. However, some people, like 377, request that the dishes be packed in smaller portions for delivery.

Some people don't take the items on the spot, so Chen Jiazhi has to write down each order in his notebook.

Then settle the accounts and pay off the debts in advance.

Chen Jiazhi knew exactly how much vegetables were on the truck; today there were about 1250 jin of bok choy and about 80 jin of mustard greens.

They gave Heiwa 500 jin, and also sold 750 jin of bok choy and 80 jin of mustard greens at the market.

Chen Ze and Lao Wu ordered 180 jin of premium bok choy and 30 jin of mustard greens, earning a total of 672 yuan.
377 had 9 small orders, totaling 105 jin of bok choy and 15 jin of mustard greens, earning 363 yuan;
Curly also came, and ordered quite a lot. Several orders added up to 110 jin of bok choy and 10 jin of mustard greens, bringing in 362 yuan…

There was basically no small talk; it was all about taking orders, recording data, calculating bills, settling payments, and occasionally getting the groceries.
But Chen Jiazhi and Qi Yongfeng both had cigarettes tucked behind their ears and one in their mouths.

Curly-haired man smiled and handed four hundred-yuan bills to Chen Jiazhi, saying, "Congratulations on your fortune, Mr. Chen."

"Thank you for your kind words. Here's your change: 38 yuan."

Just then, both of them heard a familiar voice.

"Mr. Chen, could you leave me some mustard greens too?"

The two followed the sound and immediately spotted a somewhat reflective head. Oh ho, the monk has arrived too.

The monk was a little embarrassed and scratched his forehead. "Um, I see you're almost out of mustard greens. Could you save me 20 jin?"

Before Chen Jiazhi could even speak, the others immediately objected.

"Where did you come from? Don't you know about first come, first served?!"

"Trying to cut in line? No way. Mr. Chen is a man of principle."

"Exactly, you definitely won't get a turn for the mustard greens."

Chen Jiazhi held a notebook in one hand and a pen in the other, and helplessly shrugged at him.

Curly paid but didn't take any food. He walked out of the stall, still holding his cigarette case, and offered the monk another cigarette.

"coming?"

The monk also took out his cigarette case, but he was too slow and could only accept it first.

"Hmm, I thought I'd come to Chen Cai's place. Boss Chen is more reliable. I couldn't find a place at first, so I'm late."

"It's been a while since I've been here."

"I expect to be coming here frequently for the next two months."

"Very good, Mr. Chen is as steady as ever."

Curly Hair left, but Monk was still waiting. Looking at the vegetables on the tricycle, he thought to himself that Boss Chen was not only steady, but also very shrewd. Although the premium bok choy was long gone, he should be able to get some regular bok choy.

Curly was walking into the passageway when, halfway there, he turned back for a moment, took a drag of his cigarette, and looked quite sentimental.

It seems like only half a month ago, the monk was Mr. Chen's regular customer, with a very high priority.

As for him, after being tormented two or three times, his belief in finding bargains was shattered by the small vegetable farmers at the time.

But things are unpredictable, and in just half a month, everything changed again.

To him, the monk tiptoeing through the crowd, waiting to get his food, looked like a lowly henchman.
Pshaw, so spruce trees are nothing special after all.

...

After a while, the monk stood in front of Chen Jiazhi. Chen Jiazhi's gaze softened, and he tried his best not to laugh, because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back his laughter. "Boss Xu, it's been a while since I've seen you."

"It's alright, it's only been 13 days."

Chen Jiazhi looked down at the notebook, flipped through a couple of pages, and became increasingly surprised.

"I remember it clearly, today is exactly the 14th day. How much food do you want?"

The monk rubbed his forehead again; he really hadn't expected that the man surnamed Chen would be able to verify the time.

"80 jin, 80 jin of bok choy."

As he spoke, the monk took out two cigarettes from the cigarette box. Chen Jiazhi and Qi Yongfeng were numb. They wanted to refuse, but all their previous attempts to refuse had failed them, so they had no choice but to accept them.

"It might not be enough."

"Take as many as you can!"

"Okay, Yongfeng, weigh Mr. Xu."

"Alright, Brother Zhi!"

Qi Yongfeng was quite excited, having not been to sell vegetables for a long time. Sure enough, when he was needed to make an appearance, the scene was bound to be quite grand.

Putting everything else aside, the cigarette in his ear could no longer be held in place.

These people buying groceries are so friendly!

"A total of 63 jin."

"Okay, Mr. Xu, that's 189 yuan in total. Yongfeng, bring Mr. Xu the remaining dishes."

"Have it."

"Boss Chen, could you prepare 80 jin of bok choy for me tomorrow, and also 30 jin of mustard greens?"

"Sure, but the price might be different tomorrow."

"Price is not a problem."

This wasn't the first time Qi Yongfeng and Xu He had dealt with each other. The market was bustling with activity during peak season, and the two occasionally exchanged a few words.

After the vegetables were loaded onto the truck, Xu He inquired, "By the way, does Boss Chen still have many vegetables in his field?"

Qi Yongfeng smiled and said, "There's quite a lot. The amount of bok choy we'll produce later will probably be about the same as today. Mustard greens might gradually increase, and there'll also be kale and cowpeas later."

Xu He asked in shock, "Wasn't your market affected by the typhoon?"

Qi Yongfeng: "Of course there was some. Yesterday morning it was also howling and howling. The doors and windows were being blown around and were making a loud banging noise. The vegetable fields also suffered heavy losses. It's just that Brother Zhi's losses were the least. Apart from cowpeas, the vegetables were only slightly affected."

"How did he do it?!"

"I'm just an employee."

Qi Yongfeng shrugged. He thought Zhi Ge looked particularly cool when he did that gesture with the notebook, so he copied him and left the monk with what he thought was a very cool back view.

But Xu He didn't even look at him.

After learning about the situation in Chen Jiazhi's vegetable field, Xu Hemeng took a few puffs of his cigarette.

He then threw it on the ground and stomped on it several times.

"Jiangxin Market is a complete bastard!"

...

Mr. Hu, the owner of stall number 55, glanced across the street. Stall number 56 was quiet again, with only one figure buried in packing vegetables. After a while, the somewhat burly vegetable worker returned and went to deliver vegetables again.

After making several trips, stall number 56 was left with only empty baskets and an empty cart, and two people resting on the vegetable baskets.

It probably only took a little over an hour, that's so fast!

Much faster than wholesale stalls that focus on volume, his tomatoes and bell peppers don't sell slowly, but compared to the stalls across the street, they immediately pale in comparison.

Sure enough, he lived up to his reputation; Boss Chen really is a quick shooter.

After finishing his cigarette, Chen Jiazhi, the quick-draw expert, also finished calculating today's accounts.

"That's it for today, Yongfeng. Ride your bike around and let Brother Yi and the others come over to sell."

Qi Yongfeng smiled and said, "No need, they're all inside."

Chen Jiazhi looked up and saw Yi Dinggan, Li Mingkun and Guo Mancang slowly riding over, their iron baskets empty.

"Are the family books sold out again?"

"You've sold out too?"

Upon meeting, both groups were quite surprised. After chatting, they learned that there were very few vegetables in the market today, and the three of them had accumulated some customers over the past few days who were waiting for them early in the morning.

Qi Yongfeng picked up the loose cigarettes from the bamboo basket and said, "Do you have any empty cigarette boxes? The guests are so hospitable that we don't have any room to put the cigarettes."

"..."

The loose cigarettes were immediately divided up. Qi Yongfeng exclaimed that they were bandits, and Yi Dinggan and the other two laughed heartily, but stopped laughing after a while.

"It's a pity I won't be able to sell vegetables for many more days."

"If I had known, I would have put them all in small arched sheds."

Where did all that money come from back then?

"Bullshit! You're just unwilling to invest! If you really wanted to, the two batches of vegetables in the greenhouse these past two days should have sold quite a bit. Li Mingkun, if you have the guts, go ahead and install more shade netting!"

"I think I'd better give up. One failure would have already wiped out everything..."

After arguing for a few moments, the three looked at Chen Jiazhi, who was fiddling with things in the driver's seat.

"How much money did Jiazhi make today?"

While the group was arguing fiercely, Chen Jiazhi kept working hard to light the fire, sweating profusely, but he still managed to stretch out his palm and show four fingers to the others.

Returning to the 4,000 yuan mark, although I haven't broken the daily record, it's not far off.

(End of this chapter)