1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 175 Preparation
Chen Jiazhi glanced at Li Xiu, who was planning what to buy, took a sip of soup to smooth things over, and then smiled and said, "It's more practical to buy a camera and a TV first."

Li Xiu looked up at him, her eyes darting around, and said in a raised voice, "You want to buy this and that? Where do we get so much money?"

Chen Jiazhi was slightly taken aback. "No money?!"

Li Xiu pointed to the houses on both sides with her fingers, making a strange expression on her face.

"You spent almost all your money on a car, and then you bought an upgraded version and added guardrails. All of that cost extra, so you've almost used up all the money you saved up."

Chen Jiazhi's eyes widened. If he had no money, then what about the 2.3 yuan in his savings account?!
I brought back more than 1400 yuan this morning.

However, he also understood Li Xiu's meaning: one should not flaunt wealth, and since there was a large expense, he wanted to conceal it slightly.
"Then wait a few more days before buying a TV."

"The workers' wages haven't been paid yet this month!"

"Don't buy clothes or anything like that yet. There will be plenty of groceries at the end of the month. Let's save up some money first before buying them."

"I can still squeeze out the money to buy you clothes."

Chen Jiazhi blinked. "You've said everything, good or bad." "Fine, I'll listen to you. I'm going to take a shower first, then I'll go to bed."

"Wait a minute~ I'll cut your hair, it's gotten a bit long, and you should shave your beard too."

Chen Jiazhi reached out and touched it; it was indeed quite long, and after sweating, it was a bit oily, and his beard had grown out.

But he was still a little hesitant.

"Xiu, how about I go to the street this afternoon to find a barber to cut your hair? You should take the baby and get some rest."

He had originally wanted to ask his second sister to help him push, but after thinking about it, he decided not to provoke Li Xiu.

He guessed that the fact that no one called him "handsome guy" during this period was also related to his hairstyle.

They usually just use manual clippers at home to give it a quick trim, and if they're not careful, they can easily end up with a haircut that looks like it's been chewed by a dog.
"You just think my skills are bad." Li Xiu glared at him and started clearing the dishes. "Fine, you can go out and cut hair when you have some free time this afternoon."

Having escaped unscathed, Chen Jiazhi hummed a song as he went to the bathroom.

While taking a shower, I inevitably started thinking about my savings again.

The money in his home still gives him a sense of security; he has no pressure to survive and can provide for his wife and children.

But upon closer examination,
If we need to reclaim land and build a new base next year, a small area is fine, but if the area is large, this amount of money won't be enough.

The money is still a bit too little.

Fortunately, there are still plenty of vegetables in the field. It's just that there's been no sign of a typhoon yet. I listened to the news for a while while eating, but there's still no related information released.

We cannot take chances.

After inspecting the fields in the morning, he made relevant arrangements to get things moving ahead of time.

After taking a shower, I felt refreshed, but my hair was still wet, so I stayed outside a little longer to dry my hair and play with the dog.

The two puppies lay down under the car again. They had grown quite a bit in the two months they had been raised, but they still looked like bears. They were adorable and their fur was as thick and soft as lamb's wool. They were very affectionate towards him and Li Xiu, but they were very wary and unfamiliar when other people tried to touch them.

It looks a bit like it's guarding the house.

The noisy chirping of cicadas in the distant woods, interspersed with the occasional calls of birds, was particularly energetic.

The conversations inside the houses grew quieter and quieter until only the whirring of fans and the sounds of snoring could be heard.

Li Xiu woke up early.

Seeing the sunlight streaming through the window, I didn't dare go out. I sat on the bed for a while, looked at him, then at the child, before getting up to take notes or look at his notebook.

Unexpectedly, two lively little birds entered the house: a patch of white feathers on the back of their heads.

White-headed old man.

These birds are very common in the market. From last summer to this summer, their clear and melodious chirping can be heard every day.

Now that mini-tillers are available, whenever the roar of their engines echoes in the vegetable fields, you're sure to see an old man with white hair following behind them.

The white-headed bulbul not only eats insects such as aphids and moths, but also pecks at newly sown seeds, making vegetable farmers both love and hate it.

But its entry into the house was undoubtedly a good omen.

...

As the sun sets,

More and more people are working in the vegetable fields.

Six strong men wearing straw hats, carrying shovels or hoes, were divided into three groups and scattered along the main drainage ditch beside the vegetable field.

Every time you look down or up, a shovelful of soil, a stone, or a bundle of dry branches and weeds will be cleared to the side of the ditch.

When Chen Jiazhi arrived, he saw two rows of miscellaneous items laid out on both sides of the ditch. The front half was dried by the sun, while the back half was still wet.

This is a main ditch outside the market, and it is also an earthen ditch.

The ditch was clogged with a lot of shrubs and several tall trees on both sides, which caused a lot of debris to accumulate in the ditch.

The debris consisted mostly of dead tree branches, likely a lingering effect of the previous typhoon.

Chen Jiazhi discovered the problem while inspecting the fields; another typhoon and torrential rain could cause waterlogging here.

However, now that the hazard has been cleared, it has been resolved.

Actually, the drainage system at Dongxiang Market is very good.

The torrential rain at the end of May flooded many people's vegetable fields, also because basic groundwork was not done properly.

No vegetable farmer is obligated to clean the main drainage ditches in some public areas, let alone clean them in advance; they're just being lazy.

But now that Chen Jiazhi's second group has a whole vegetable field next to this side, they went out to clear it up.

This was a good deal for him; if others were to benefit, so be it. In later generations, sometimes you can't even straighten out the mess.

In later years, the suburbs were filled with culverts, concrete drainage ditches, and underground drainage pipes.
Pipes and culverts are more easily blocked by dead branches, but when it doesn't rain, you don't know if they are blocked or which section of the ditch is blocked.

When it rains heavily, the vegetable fields get flooded.

Then, it was repaired every year, but it was still blocked every year, and the vegetable fields were still flooded every year.

Although Panyu is now crisscrossed by ponds and rivers, the number and area of ​​vegetable fields that have been completely submerged are actually very small.

On June 6.18, the Beijiang River breached its banks, flooding houses. Only a few hundred acres of vegetable fields in Panyu were completely submerged; most vegetables died after the rain turned into sunshine.

Because these were all open-air ditches at the time, and had been tested over many years, any problems were immediately apparent.

As long as you are willing to put in the hard work, most potential problems can be eliminated in advance.

He walked along the ditch, where there was a lot of debris, including dead branches and leaves, as well as various items that were not suitable for children.

Perhaps because it had just been cleaned, the water in the ditch was also very murky.

After walking for a while, they arrived at a large banyan tree. Its upright posture and lush canopy brought a touch of coolness to the two people working in the ditch.

"Dehai, Dacheng, come and have a smoke and take a break."

"Okay."

Chen Jiazhi reached out and pulled Ao Dehai and Pan Dacheng out of the ditch, lit cigarettes, and smoked them under the banyan tree.

Ao Dehai said, "Boss, it might take a few more days to clean the ditch. It's quite long and messy."

Chen Jiazhi pondered and said, "Yes, hurry up. There might be another typhoon and rainstorm any day. We need to eliminate any hidden dangers in the fields and apply pesticides and fertilizers to the fields that haven't been sprayed yet."

Ao Dehai thought for a moment and said, "There are two sections of the ditch that involve a lot of other people's vegetable fields. Could we ask them to contribute some people as well?"

"let me try."

After chatting for a bit, Chen Jiazhi went to find Qi Yongfeng and Ao Deliang. He had been in a rush to hand over his work in the morning because he had to go to Jiangxin Vegetable Market, so he came to talk to them again in the afternoon.

There are generally five types of damage that typhoons can cause to vegetables.

Vegetable crops lodging, mechanical damage, trellis collapse, and waterlogging in the fields can all lead to pests and diseases.
Although they had already experienced one, the three group leaders were unaware that another major typhoon was coming soon.

Only Chen Jiazhi could make the arrangements directly.

After giving his explanation, he planned to go out for a haircut.

As they passed a grove of trees, Yi Dinggan suddenly jumped out, startling Chen Jiazhi.

"Damn it, Yi-ge, what are you doing in the woods?"

"What else can we do? Take a dump. Do you want to go in and take a look? It's fresh."

"Damn, you're disgusting. I'm going to get a haircut, are you coming?"

"No, I'm going back to work. I'll have your second sister push it for me tonight."

"By the way, Brother Yi, there might be a typhoon coming. I'd like everyone to help clear the main drain outside the market; I don't have enough people."

"Didn't we hear any warnings about a typhoon?"

"If there were a real warning, it might be too late. Right now, everyone's vegetables are doing alright."

Yi Dinggan pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, it's mainly those guys from Jiangxi, right? Let's go find them and have a chat now?"

"Let me go get a haircut first."

"If you're so concerned, let's talk about cleaning the ditch. It's just a few words. Do you have to make yourself look good?"

"I have no choice but to go with you. I have to make sure I look good so as not to embarrass my hometown."

"Holy crap, you're really pushing your luck!"

Chen Jiazhi had already run far away. After walking for a while, he looked back and saw Yi Dinggan busy in the field again.

In the past, he would definitely have gone along to slack off—no, wait, to get a haircut!
In Guangdong, every village has banyan trees.

A barber, carrying his tools, a pot of hot water, and a chair, waits for customers under a banyan tree.

Chen Jiazhi went straight there. His requirements were simple: a shaved head. As long as he was good-looking and his hair wasn't shaved into a dog-chewed mess, he would look handsome no matter what.

The barber was clearly pleased with his work.

Chen Jiazhi was also in high spirits and walked with a brisk pace. He went to the convenience store, bought two packs of cigarettes, went back to call Yi Dinggan, and then went to have a heart-to-heart talk with his fellow Jiangxi native.

Among leafy vegetable farmers, those from Jiangxi are one of the groups that Chen Jiazhi has the most contact with.

From Guangdong to Shanghai, and then back to Chengdu, I always run into fellow Jiangxi people who grow leafy greens.
It felt like they were everywhere.

They are a very hardworking group with a good reputation, and they grow vegetables well.

If Chen Jiazhi is an efficiency-oriented person who pursues speed, then most people from Jiangxi are meticulous, always keeping the soil in optimal fertility and preferring to grow any vegetable by seedling and transplanting.
However, people in Jiangxi nowadays tend to grow vegetables rather haphazardly.

She is also very solitary.

Vegetable farmers tend to be quite isolated, especially since most of them still speak local dialects, and there is even less daily communication between provinces.

But it doesn't mean we can't communicate.

Yi Dinggan knew a team leader from Jiangxi who had previously worked at Dongsheng Company.

After the two men spent some time explaining the threat of the typhoon and heavy rain, the group leader called over the vegetable farmers and together they went to check on the condition of the ditch. They agreed to each clean a section of the ditch next to their vegetable fields.

During their conversation, Chen Jiazhi finished two packs of newly bought cigarettes, but they managed to reach an agreement.

(End of this chapter)