1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 165 Salary
Yi Long actually went to see Yi Dinggan.

Today, Yi Dinggan, Li Mingkun, and Guo Mancang also have vegetables, water spinach that they rushed to plant after the typhoon.

In Guangdong, replanting short-growing vegetables such as water spinach after heavy rains is a very effective way to mitigate losses.

If you're lucky, you might catch the tail end of a market trend.

In April and May, Chen Jiazhi used this method flexibly on several occasions to get through the difficult initial stage.

Now, Yi Dinggan and his two companions have also learned this method of thinking, and now is the time for them to go public.

Vegetable prices are not as high as during peak season, but the wholesale price can still reach about 1 yuan per kilogram, which is definitely a good profit.

Yi Dinggan had just arrived at the market when his son ran over.

"What's wrong, Xiaolong?"

"Nothing much," Yi Long smiled. "I just said all the vegetables were sold out and came to say hello."

Immediately, Li Mingkun and Guo Mancang also turned their inquiring gazes towards them.

"So fast?!"

We've only just arrived!

Yi Dinggan swallowed hard and said, "I'm afraid Jiazhi can't shake off the reputation of being a quick-draw expert."

Yi Long smiled, ready to retreat at any moment.

“My uncle said he’s not a quick shooter. It’s the kind of business that’s consistent, with vegetables every day. You guys are quick shooters because you have no vegetables to sell every few days. You just sell for a long time. It’s like a brothel trying to attract customers, but no one comes for half a day…”

"You brat, who taught you this?!"

Before Yi Dinggan could lash out, Yi Long took a few steps back, but Yi Dinggan stopped as soon as he got up.

"Jiazhi, did you teach him? What kind of nonsense are you teaching him?"

Chen Jiazhi walked over: "What did I teach you? It's just that you guys make pornographic remarks every day, and he overheard them."

"We didn't say brothels~"

Chen Jiazhi looked the group up and down, and seeing that they didn't seem to be faking it, he spread his hands and said, "I didn't say that."

Everyone looked at Yi Long again. In just one month, he had changed a lot. His face was fuller, and he seemed to have grown taller.

Li Mingkun said quietly, "It's probably because the rooster crowed at night."

As soon as he said this, Chen Jiazhi, Yi Dinggan, and Guo Mancang understood, but Yi Long didn't react.

"What does it mean when the rooster crows?"

"Don't you know whether the rooster crowed or not?"

"I don't raise chickens either~"

"Ha ha……"

Yi Dinggan and Guo Mancang were also laughing. Chen Jiazhi felt this was inappropriate, so he shouted:

"Let's go, Xiaolong. I'll take you to investigate the market. Spending too much time with these three old scoundrels won't do you any good."

"Oh."

The two walked around the market. Chen Jiazhi looked at the vegetables at each stall, asked the price from time to time, chatted with the stall owners, and occasionally told Yi Long the reason for doing so, thus vaguely getting past the 'chicken crow'.

It's still early, only around 2 PM, and a survey of just one market isn't representative.

Chen Jiazhi then took Yi Long to Zengcuo Road again and conducted market research in the three major markets of Jiangnan, Yuexiu, and Dongwang.

He wasn't a familiar face here, so he chatted more freely with the various merchants.

They talked about one vegetable variety after another, not only about this year's varieties, but also frequently veered into last year and the year before, resulting in a jumbled mess of information.

After finishing a conversation, record the useful information.

For many years, Chen Jiazhi did not conduct market research.

Plant whatever you can, plant whatever you want.

If you were to ask a complete novice gardener which type of vegetable is the easiest to grow, you would ask them.

When given the choice between solanaceous vegetables, root vegetables, and leafy vegetables, most people would choose leafy vegetables.

Because everyone thinks that leafy vegetables have a short growing period and relatively simple planting techniques, there is actually a lot to learn about growing leafy vegetables!
For most of the following year, the market remained sluggish. It wasn't a question of how much money to sell, but whether anyone wanted to buy them. Many leafy vegetables were the hardest hit by unsold produce. Unable to sell, the vegetables could only be pulverized into the ground as fertilizer using rotary tillers.

Everyone says the overall economic environment is sluggish, everyone says there's an information asymmetry between vegetable supply and demand, and everyone says there are too many people growing vegetables.

But the fact is, even in such an environment, some people still made money.

Although Chen Jiazhi is a small retail investor, he has always made money.

It relies on analyzing vegetable price patterns and grasping the time difference in market availability, rather than planting based entirely on intuition.

Therefore, he has been paying close attention to the vegetable prices in the local major wholesale markets for many years, analyzing the daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly price trends.

It's just that future generations won't have to run around like that.

He could get vegetable price information for a city by sending WeChat messages or making phone calls to his nephew who grew vegetables or his friends.

Data analysis remains effective today.

He only remembered that there was a typhoon in August, a cold wave at the end of the year, and a period of high temperature and drought in between, but he only knew the approximate time.

Specific dates are not possible.

There's only one expensive vegetable I can clearly remember: snow peas during cold snaps.

By combining market research with this approach, we can deduce more useful information and discover more differences from the market in later generations.

For example, National Day.

He chatted with a stall owner and then remembered that the National Day holiday is now only two days long.

However, for many years afterward, the National Day Golden Week remained a very important period for market activity throughout the year.

Not only is the price high, but the sales volume is also high.

However, this concept is not present now, but it could be a good starting point in the future, Chen Jiazhi noted down.

After walking around for a long time, Yi Long was also very tired, so Chen Jiazhi started to walk back.

I ate something on the way, and when I got close to the market, it was already bright outside. A figure was walking back and forth in front of the window.

After stopping the car, Chen Jiazhi went inside, and Li Xiu took the handbag from him.

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "I went to visit other markets and came back a little late."

“Yes, you mentioned it last night,” Li Xiu said. “Today is payday, but I haven’t calculated the salary yet.”

Chen Jiazhi said, "I'll figure it out when I get back. I'll go check the field first; it's time to sow the kale seeds this morning."

A few dark clouds drifted across the sky, threatening rain, so the workers had already covered the fields with shade netting. The vegetable garden was shrouded in darkness.

There were only a few open spaces where people were still busy; you could see them all at a glance.

There weren't many open spaces to begin with.

One group has two complete open plots. There are two other plots, each half empty. One plot was previously used to store fermented pig manure, and the other half was used to store broccoli. The other plot was used to store turnips, and the other half was used to store large green berries for seed.

The rest are Chinese kale.

The second group was entirely planted with bok choy, with only one open space.

The three groups mainly grow mustard greens and cowpeas, but a batch of Chinese cabbage was also planted for the next crop.

Chen Jiazhi reviewed the situation in the field again, and combined with the information from the morning, the next planting plan became clearer.

The previous assessment was correct; there will be the last wave of leafy vegetable prices this year at the end of August and the beginning of September.

However, to maximize profits, it is necessary to grow more types of bok choy, which takes less time and has a larger sales volume.

The land where loofah seeds were saved has now become a dumping ground for vegetable scraps, emitting a rotten smell.

The morning meeting after the field inspection was moved to a different location.

Chen Jiazhi chose 2-6 today, which is also the only open space in Group 2. He just finished harvesting the bok choy yesterday.

"Yongfeng, have you kept track of how many bok choy were harvested from this plot of land?"

"It should be 74 pieces." Qi Yongfeng thought for a moment and said, "The main reason is that the losses were too great, so the output was lower than expected."

"It's already very good. 74 pieces, which is 2220 catties of vegetables, is a pretty good yield." After a pause, Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "But we need to get this land ready as soon as possible. We still need to plant bok choy in a few days, so we need to dry and disinfect it in advance."

Qi Yongfeng: "I'll try to hit a shot today and then cover the net."

"Hmm~"

If you cover the ground with netting before a heavy rain, the soil won't become compacted, allowing the seeds to be sown more quickly.

Chen Jiazhi then looked at Ao Dehai and Ao Deliang: "The sowing of Chinese kale and mustard greens in August will be reduced appropriately, leaving more for Chinese cabbage hearts, so thinning should be done as early as possible, don't delay."

"I see."

"Hmm~"

"Dehai, find some time to pull up the broccoli."

"Ann, don't you want it anymore, boss?"

"No, let's cut our losses," Chen Jiazhi said. "It's not your fault. The temperature is too high, and the seeds won't be good either. The ones that aren't dead will have a hard time forming bulbs, and even if they do, they'll easily scatter. Pull them out and clear the land for replanting."

"Ok."

"Is there anything else you'd like to say or ask?"

"Gone."

"I have something else, something very important, that concerns all of you."

Suddenly, besides the three group leaders, Huang Juan and the other two who were pulling up the vegetable heads also looked over, and the atmosphere became inexplicably tense.

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Remember to come and collect your wages after you finish work in the morning."

"what?"

"Oh my, Mr. Chen, you're quite the suspense master. You scared me."

"Haha, I love getting paid the most!"

After chatting and laughing with a few people, Chen Jiazhi went home to calculate his July salary and review his performance in July.

Having made some preparations beforehand, Chen Jiazhi sorted out all the data in just over an hour.

In July, 35011 jin of various vegetables were harvested, with a total gross income of 9.4 yuan.

The average price of vegetables is as high as 2.68 yuan per jin. Even excluding the influence of Hong'an, the average price is still above 2 yuan per jin. It can be said that the price has been soaring.

This was mainly due to betting on the typhoon season in July and the tail end of the market trend following the heavy rains in June.

At the end of June, my personal savings amounted to 26,000 yuan. By the end of July, my savings had increased to 66,000 yuan, an increase of 40,000 yuan.

The area has also been expanded to 30 mu.

As Chen Jiazhi was making his plans, Li Xiu watched from the side, her face beaming with undisguised joy.

After he put down his pen, Li Xiu said, "Jiazhi, it's about time to go look at cars, right? After selling this batch of vegetables for another seven or eight days, we should have enough money, and your driver's license should be ready soon too."

"more or less."

"Jiazhi, you don't seem particularly happy?"

"No."

"I think you're overthinking it." Li Xiu leaned against the bed frame and laughed. "Think about it, in just a few months, we've saved up so much money. Before, I wouldn't have dared to dream of such a thing!"

I know you're ambitious and have a lot of ideas, but everything takes time. Don't just focus on the vegetable garden and the market every day.

Make sure you get plenty of rest, don't ruin your health. You used to sleep a lot, but now you only sleep a few hours a day, your body won't be able to handle it!

"Why are you suddenly concerned about me?"

Seeing her glare at him, Chen Jiazhi quickly said, "I understand, I'll be more careful in the future."

After calculating, it was time to count the money and prepare to pay wages.

Since buying the fertilizer, she hasn't saved any money. The only major expense during that time was when Li Xiu went to the hospital to give birth.

My income never stopped during that time, and even at its lowest, it was still over 300 yuan.

The family has saved 1.2 yuan in cash, which is more than enough to pay salaries.

The basic wage is 12 yuan per day. Nine people worked a full 31 days, and Pan Dacheng, Huang Shan, and Zhang Weidong worked 20 days.

The commission is 2 cents per kilogram, and the three team leaders get 1 cent per kilogram.

The commission may seem low, but it's actually due to abnormally high vegetable prices.

The calculation is a bit complicated, but Chen Jiazhi wanted to keep it simple and convenient, so he made a rough calculation that would only be more, not less.

The last 12 people received 7000 yuan in wages and bonuses.

The first tier naturally consists of three group leaders, each earning a monthly salary of over 700 yuan.

Ao Dehai, who was the first to follow him, owned the most land, and produced the most vegetables, received the highest amount of 800 yuan, while his wife Zhao Yu received more than 600 yuan.

The lowest price is 360 yuan.

Once the salary is paid out, it's another happy day for everyone.

(End of this chapter)