1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 141 Discusses Agricultural Inputs

"Mom, Aunt, you have no idea how good Uncle's business is!"

"Before we even got to the market, one vendor bought 900 jin (400 kg) of vegetables. Guess how much he sold them for? More than 3,000 yuan!"

"There were so many people in the market, and the stalls were full of people buying vegetables. Everyone was so enthusiastic. My father and two uncles were busy without resting, and my uncle was also constantly calculating and collecting money. That's how he collected money so efficiently. I helped out too. My uncle even gave me my wages. After buying soda, I still had eight yuan left!"

After taking a nap in the morning, Yi Long was unusually excited while eating breakfast, and he told Chen Jiafang and Li Xiuxian about what he had seen and heard in the market.

Even after breakfast, Chen Jiafang and Li Xiu were still listening with great interest, occasionally asking questions and looking quite eager to learn.

Chen Jiazhi then realized that he had been too busy and tired lately and hadn't talked to Li Xiu about his experiences in the market for a while.

Although it's always the same information: who bought how much food today, how much it cost per pound, and who didn't come.

But Li Xiu never found it boring.

Because of the daily, monotonous labor, the sights and sounds in the market are much more interesting, and there is also a real income.

It seems that bringing Yi Long along is a good idea; the young man's eloquence is better than the rest of them.

"He's gone to inspect the fields!"

"Wait for me, Uncle, I'm coming too."

Aren't you going to sleep?

"You're still awake?"

After having breakfast, without even smoking, Chen Jiazhi gave a shout, and immediately several patrolmen followed.

The black-and-white paparazzi trotted ahead, wagging their tails, and Yi Long followed suit, occasionally stopping to look around. Chen Jiazhi, watching from behind, thought it really did look like a leader on an inspection tour.

Dewdrops glistened on the vegetable leaves, clouds drifted across the sky, and the air in the vegetable field was exceptionally fresh in the morning. The vegetable workers arrived at the field early, wielding their hoes and sweating profusely.

Chen Jiazhi looked at each vegetable patch one by one.

There is still plenty of bok choy, although the quality is getting worse and worse. The market for rotten vegetables to fetch high prices will continue for at least another decade or so.

The kale and mustard greens are quite good; they're small but also quite valuable.

The transplanted broccoli doesn't look like anything special yet, appearing perfectly normal. The most important stage for broccoli in summer and autumn is the heading stage; if it scatters its flowers, then all the work is for naught.

The continuous sunny weather has allowed the cowpeas to gradually recover. The vines are winding upwards around the bamboo frame and are gradually entering their flowering period. It's time to fertilize them.

The large-stemmed green vines that were kept for seed became increasingly beautiful, growing thick and strong in rows, like carpets.

If the large-boned gourd is a prime of life, then the loofah and bitter gourd left in the field are like elderly people frail and dying, their vines, leaves, gourds, and roots all exuding an aura of decay.

The harvest season has long passed, yet they keep delaying the removal of the seedlings, refusing to fertilize, or apply pesticides to prevent pests and diseases. The melons that have managed to hold on until now deserve to be called "Resilient Melons".

After walking the entire way, Ao Dehai, Qi Yongfeng, and Ao Deliang stood on the path beside the vegetable field and waited.

They all seemed to be darker than the last.

He walked over with Yi Long, while the two dogs had already disappeared in a flash.

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said to the three of them, "You've come out quite early today. I see you've dug quite a bit of land."

Ao Dehai laughed and said, "I came to the fields before dawn, thinking I'd turn the soil over and let it dry in the sun as soon as possible."

Qi Yongfeng said, "Brother Zhi, we can finish digging it all today."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and shook his head, "Then you won't be able to dig it all up. There were eight more acres yesterday, and you'll have to come and do that too."

The three of them didn't seem particularly happy; they already had a considerable amount of land.

Ao Dehai pondered for a moment and said, "Boss, I might be too busy and my body might not be able to handle it."

Chen Jiazhi nodded, "So we'll still be hiring. Are Dehai, Jinfeng, and Xiaoxia's husbands still looking for work? They can come over; it's also 12 yuan per day."

"Good, they've been wanting to come for a while."

"Yes, we'll hire more temporary workers if we need more. As for the mini-tiller... um... I'm planning to buy one too; it'll make tilling the land much easier."
Let me know if there's anything else we need, so we can plan together.

After thinking for a while, Qi Yongfeng and Ao Deliang successively named a bunch of small items such as a knife for cutting vegetables, a straw hat, a whetstone, rubber boots, a shovel, and a carrying pole.
Chen Jiazhi nodded slightly. These were indeed necessary, but not the most important.

"What about Dehai? Does he have anything to add?"

Ao Dehai pondered for a moment and said, "It would be best to buy another water pump. The weather is hot now, and it's not good to delay watering for too long."

"Okay, anything else?"

"We should also build small arched sheds on the new land, and bring back bamboo strips and shade nets as soon as possible."

"Hmm~"

"If you want to use fermented pig manure, you can have the pig farm send two truckloads over every day while the weather is sunny these next few days."

"Any more?"

"It's gone for now."

"And one more thing," Chen Jiazhi smiled, "If you're ready to move, there's a vacant room in the market. I've already paid the rent. Is it alright for you and Deliang's families to move in and share a room?"

"no problem."

Where is Deliang?

"That's okay with me too."

"Okay, then move as soon as possible. Let me know when you've packed your things, and I'll drive over to pick them up."

"Okay, thank you, boss."

After discussing the needs for a while, Chen Jiazhi said, "Now let's talk about the allocation of these eight acres of land."

I just checked, Zhou Shijun's land is next to No. 6, so most of it will go to Dehai, and I estimate that it can make up ten mu for you.

Old Liu's land is next to Yongfeng's No. 7, and with the addition of Zhou Shijun's "enclave", it can also reach ten mu.

"For now, Deliang will keep it the same—five mu. Wait a few days, and I'll definitely get you ten mu."

The three of them naturally had no objections.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Jiazhi began to arrange the work. Digging, thinning seedlings, and weeding were all things that had to be done every day.

After spraying pesticides yesterday, we'll start applying fertilizer this afternoon, and watering at the same time. Finally, it'll be harvesting the vegetables; we've added 300 jin (150 catties) more kale than yesterday.

The workload is still very heavy.

Ao Dehai, Qi Yongfeng, and Ao Deliang all began to show signs of fatigue.

Chen Jiazhi understood.

But apart from improving welfare benefits, there aren't many other good solutions.

This is farming.

In the sweltering summer heat, the endless sweat and the constant swarms of mosquitoes contribute to physical fatigue.

No normal person would like this kind of life; it's just that the pressure of life and human desires are what keep the tired body going.

As he was assigning tasks to Ao Dehai and the other two, Hong Zhong arrived at the market on his motorcycle. After parking, he swaggered into the vegetable field, shouting loudly:
"Mr. Chen, off to driving lessons."

"What are you doing in the field with a plastic bag on your way to driving lessons?"

"Pinch the vegetables!"

"It's rare that you don't mind that my vegetables were sprayed with pesticides."

"Boss Chen is quite vengeful. Hey, can you point out which plot of land has the best vegetables?"

Chen Jiazhi turned back and said a few words to Ao Dehai and the other two, then went to lead the way for Hong Zhong. Not content with just picking the heart of the cabbage, he also picked the kale and mustard greens.

Wow, you've got quite a lot of food here!

"It's alright. Weren't you supposed to be going to driving school to register for driving lessons? Why are you still walking into the fields?"

"Oh, I see you're really bad at this. You managed to avoid the typhoon by using shade nets and insect nets?"

"Hehe, more or less."

"There must be other tricks."

"There aren't that many tricks. Anyone can farm."

Do you think I'm a newbie who's easy to fool?

“I think you never really wanted to focus on the agricultural supplies business. You have a lot of ideas, but you just don’t use them in the right way.”

"..."

Hong Zhong suddenly felt a throbbing sensation on his scalp and panicked a little. Did Chen Cai Nong guess something?

"Come on, what are you standing there for?" Chen Jiazhi urged casually, adding, "If I were you, I would have already started promoting shade nets. It would be easy to make a fortune by expanding the market now."

Hearing this, Hong Zhong felt relieved, as long as the fire hadn't been discovered.

But upon closer reflection, I suddenly realized that Chen Jiazhi's words made a lot of sense.

As it turns out, Chen Cai Nong successfully grew several batches of excellent vegetables using shade nets. Why didn't he think of continuing to make shade nets?

"Mr. Chen, it seems you know a lot about the agricultural supplies industry!"

"Understood."

"That's it," he added. "Otherwise, I've been buying from your store for a long time, and it's impossible that I've never bought a counterfeit product."

Do I have a lot of counterfeit goods in my store?

"You don't know it yourself?"

"..."

"You really didn't know!"

"Tell me what they are."

“主要是肥料，一个是虚标含量，有一个复合肥标的氮磷钾含量是15-15-15吧，实际氮磷钾含量可能只有5-5-5。

I went to your store yesterday intending to buy some potassium dihydrogen phosphate, but you didn't have the right stock, so I only bought imported pesticides.

Fortunately, there was no direct adulteration, otherwise the farmers who bought your fertilizer would have been in serious trouble.

"so serious?"

“It’s quite serious. The production cost of potassium dihydrogen phosphate is not low. I knew there was a problem as soon as I heard your quote.”

Is it a counterfeit?

"Inferior product, not pure enough."

"Is everything alright?"

"It's quite serious for farmers."

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "For example, my cowpeas were affected by the typhoon and need to be sprayed with potassium dihydrogen phosphate to resist damage, promote healing, and resist bacterial infection. At the same time, the cowpeas have also entered the fruit setting period and urgently need to be supplemented with nutrients."

If we use your substandard products, not only will we fail to increase production, but we will also miss the optimal period for nutritional supplementation, resulting in serious losses.

I initially thought you were a shrewd businessman, but now it seems you really don't know anything!

Hong Zhong paused for a moment, suddenly feeling a pang of sadness.

Chen Jiazhi also shut his mouth and said no more. If it weren't for Hong Zhong's ability to get some special supplies, he would have gone to the supply and marketing cooperative long ago.

Riding on Hongzhong's motorcycle, the two arrived at a state-run driving school in Shiqiao Town.

I paid tuition, and then spent over four thousand yuan on networking and networking along the way. I didn't even get to touch the steering wheel once.

By the time the two walked out of the driving school gate, the sun was already high in the sky.

"Okay, all done. You can come to learn to drive by yourself tomorrow."

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Hong. You still need to take me back to the market."

Hong Zhong smiled and said, "It's alright, I'll treat you to lunch again, and we can talk about running the agricultural supplies store."

Chen Jiazhi hesitated for a moment before agreeing. In fact, he didn't know much about agricultural supplies, but he was definitely better than Hong Zhongqiang.

(End of this chapter)