1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 184 Television and Camera

"Forget it, don't even try." Chen Jiazhi suppressed the urge to curse. "This sounds unreliable. Can't you just lower the price yourself?"

Qi Yongfeng was speechless.

Ao Dehai also said, "It is a bit of a pity, and the vegetables could have grown for two more days, which would have increased the yield considerably."

Chen Jiazhi added, "But we can also collect more and sell the vegetables as soon as possible, since vegetable prices won't last much longer."

Qi Yongfeng pouted and said, "Brother Zhi, you've said everything you could want, good or bad."

Chen Jiazhi: "That makes sense. We could have sold it for a few more days at a higher price, but now that the truck is full, aren't we just lowering the price ourselves?"

Qi Yongfeng hesitated for a moment, then said, "When you heard what Lao Wu said, didn't you feel anything at all?"

What did he say?

Qi Yongfeng refused to say anything, no matter what.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a while, what did Lao Wu say these past two days? Nothing much, just that he had never filled the car with vegetables.

Unable to come up with a solution, Chen Jiazhi didn't dwell on it and let everyone go about their own business.

There are fewer vegetables in the fields now. Sowing has slowed down since the typhoon, and land preparation has been suspended for a period of time.

I've just been taking care of it slowly these past few days.

Because the task of harvesting vegetables is too heavy, routine tasks such as spraying pesticides, weeding, fertilizing, and watering cannot be stopped, so the land preparation can only be slowed down.

This is the price of being too intense. Just like men, after seven times in one night, one needs to recover gradually.

However, there are still two batches of bok choy seedlings left, both in Qi Yongfeng's Group 2, which were sown on August 19th and August 21st respectively.

The vegetables were likely planted in the same field repeatedly and were sown too hastily, resulting in both batches not being in good condition.

The insect population was also large from the moment the buds sprouted, which was also the reason why Chen Jiazhi took a break.

The land in Dongxiang Vegetable Market is used to grow vegetables all year round. If he continues to mess with it like this, the land may be ruined before next year.

Why not take this opportunity to give the workers a break? They should enjoy and spend the money they've earned.

"Yongfeng, let's just discard the bok choy seedlings from these two plots and seal them in the greenhouse with the high temperature to kill the pests!"

"You don't want it anymore?"

"What's the point of keeping that blind fool? Will it embarrass you or me?"

"..."

"I'll get rid of it right now!"

Chen Jiazhi went to the cowpea field again. The cowpeas had been taken off the trellis, but the trellis had not been taken down yet, and some old cowpeas were still hanging on the vines.

Li Xiu was picking cowpeas in the field, and the vegetable basket on the ground was already more than half full.

"Jiazhi, you've come at the right time. We can take the cowpeas back later."

"These cowpeas are all too old."

“They’re delicious even when they’re old. For lunch, I cooked rice and stewed pork with cowpeas. My second sister said to take some more and dry them into dried cowpeas. When winter comes, we can use them to braise with pork belly. That’s delicious too.”

"It still has to be my second sister."

"My second sister knows how to manage money."

The old cowpeas have lost their former crispness, their appearance is loose and mushy, consisting of nothing but bones and skin, like an old man who has become soft and limp.

However, slightly older cowpeas actually taste sweeter after cooking.

After picking a full basket, the two stopped. There were still many old cowpeas on the trellis, but they would leave them for other vegetable workers to pick.

Chen Jiazhi carried a full basket of cowpeas home, while Li Xiu rushed off to work in the vegetable field.

When asked to go back and take care of the child, she said she had a watch to keep track of time and that going back every two hours was about right, and that Yi Long was also looking after the child.

When Chen Jiazhi returned home, both the big and small children were asleep. Yi Long was lying on the bed, his right hand still on the cradle, which was covered by a mosquito net. Xiao Dou Dou was sleeping soundly inside, wearing only her underwear.

For some reason, I thought of a camera again. If I had a camera, I could record this scene.

I need to deposit money again this morning, so why don't I make another trip and buy the camera and TV at the same time?

As soon as the idea popped into his head, Chen Jiazhi decided to go; it had been delayed long enough.

After putting the cowpeas down, Chen Jiazhi went home to get the money and then drove back to town.

Two days later,

Chen Jiazhi appeared at the same bank again, and the security guards all recognized him.

How could I not recognize you?
He came three times in five days. The first two times he deposited 30,000 yuan each time, and it was all in stacks of small bills.

This time was no exception; it was still small change, and there seemed to be quite a lot of it.

When the count was finished, the two tellers breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, there was only 20,000 left.

Huh? Why would I have such a thought?
With this deposit, Chen Jiazhi's savings account officially surpassed 10 yuan, reaching 10.3 yuan, and he walked out of the bank with much lighter steps.

After leaving the bank, Chen Jiazhi drove to the Friendship Store in Shiqiao, Panyu District.

Even within the entire city of Guangzhou, the Friendship Store is quite famous.

It opened in 1991, and its sales reached 1093 million yuan in the first three months.

Upon entering, Chen Jiazhi immediately sensed the mall's 'aloofness'. The entrance on the first floor was filled with various gold and precious stones, giving it a feel of a modern shopping mall. The coldness was genuine, with the air conditioning running at full blast, and the lobby was filled with people strolling around.

Even if we don't buy anything, it's nice to enjoy the air conditioning!

Chen Jiazhi casually asked a pretty sales assistant where to buy a TV and a camera, and then took the escalator upstairs.

Soon, he found a place that sold televisions. The televisions were displayed individually on shelves, with five or six rows of them, all old-fashioned color TVs.

The brands are also diverse, including Konka, Panasonic, Toshiba, Panda, and Changhong.
There were quite a few people watching TV, but only two tellers.

After listening for a while, Chen Jiazhi figured out the situation.

The goods here are of good quality, but the prices are a bit high.

He called out several times before a clerk in a blue uniform came to him. "Hello, I'd like to take a 25-inch Changhong color TV."

"4200 yuan." The female clerk's face was scrutinizing and indifferent. Out of so many people, very few genuinely wanted to buy it.

"purchase."

Chen Jiazhi took out the money from the bag he was carrying and simply counted out 4200 yuan. There was no room for bargaining at a state-run store.

The female clerk didn't say anything and followed the procedure. In addition to the color TV, he also spent 100 yuan to buy a fishbone antenna.

Do you need delivery service?

"No need, I've driven. Just bring it downstairs for me later," Chen Jiazhi said. The TVs were quite bulky, and each 25-inch color TV weighed fifty or sixty pounds, so it wasn't convenient for one person to carry it.

"Okay, shall we deliver it now?"

Chen Jiazhi felt that the clerk's attitude had improved a lot. "Wait a minute, I still need to buy a camera. Which way do I go?"

The clerk pointed in a direction, and Chen Jiazhi quickly bought another ordinary domestic Phoenix brand camera for 650 yuan.

Hearing the introduction that it was relatively easy to get started, Chen Jiazhi paid for it.

I also bought five rolls of color film, 36 exposures per roll, which should last me a while.

After buying the TV, I went back to the counter where I bought it, picked it up, and someone from the counter delivered it to my car.

It didn't even take half an hour.

With his goal clearly defined, Chen Jiazhi had absolutely no interest in other shops selling clothes, toys, and the like.

It's a good thing Li Xiu and her second sister didn't come. This place is perfect for strolling around. If Li Xiu and her second sister had come, they probably would have spent the whole morning there and still not bought a single thing.

He was so decisive; in less than half an hour, he had spent five thousand yuan.

The moment you make a purchase, it feels a little satisfying, but it's not as satisfying as saving money.

Spending money only brings temporary pleasure, but saving money brings lasting pleasure.

...

Dongxiang vegetable market.

As the sun rose higher and the weather warmed up, the vegetable farmers gradually returned home, and soon only a few wisps of smoke rose from their chimneys.

Wearing an apron, Li Xiu went to the door again and looked around, muttering, "It's almost lunchtime, why hasn't Jiazhi come back yet?"

Yi Dinggan was sitting on the steps smoking and listening to music when he said, "He probably went to the agricultural supply store to buy something and got delayed."

Li Xiu said, "Buying agricultural supplies shouldn't take this long!"

Yi Ding chuckled dryly: "I don't know about that. He has a car now and drives far away. I have no idea what he's up to by going out and flirting with other women."

Li Xiu glared at Yi Dinggan: "Jiazhi is not that kind of person."

Yi Dinggan: "That's hard to say. My brother is handsome. Didn't you see how the hotel's big boss was completely infatuated with Jiazhi?"

"Get out of here, you can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth." Li Xiu rarely retorted to Yi Dinggan.

Yi Dinggan smiled dismissively and said, "Anyway, you should be careful. My brother might be clean-living, but who knows what others might be... hehe~"

"He just went to the bank to deposit money, how could you make such a wild guess!"

"The bank is even more incredible. You didn't see it last time, but so many young girls were staring at him with their eyes lighting up!"

"The more you say it, the more outrageous it becomes."

"Drip~"

Suddenly, two short and urgent horn blasts sounded, and then a blue light truck entered the market.

Li Xiu did not return to the kitchen.

The car stopped, and Chen Jiazhi stuck his head out of the window and shouted, "Brother Yi, I bought a TV. Come help me move it, and we'll install it in a bit."

The courtyard fell silent for a moment, then became noisy as the vegetable farmers came out of their houses, and even Yi Long, who was sleeping, ran out when he heard the commotion.

"Oh, I've finally bought the TV! I've been looking forward to it for so long, Uncle!"

"That's right, I thought Jiazhi had forgotten, but I was too embarrassed to remind you."

"Boss lady, I'll come to your house to watch TV whenever I have time."

Li Xiu smiled and said, "Come on, everyone."

These days, television is no longer a rarity; it's practically ubiquitous in cities, and even in rural areas, its penetration rate is quite high.

But for the people at the Dongxiang vegetable market, it was still a rather rare item, especially the color TV.

Chen Jiazhi remembers that in his previous life, he replaced the color TV in his family around 2005.

When I'm working away from home, I never buy such a large item.

However, when Chen Jiazhi saw the longing eyes of the crowd, he felt it was necessary to buy one.

Cultural and recreational activities are great for improving employee well-being!

The same goes for cameras. Taking photos of employees for free and sending them back to their hometowns creates a sense of belonging, doesn't it?
A moment later, Chen Jiazhi climbed onto the roof with a bamboo ladder, and shouts came from inside the house.

"We have a signal! Move a little more to the left!"

"A little more, that's enough!"

Chen Jiazhi climbed down the bamboo ladder and asked, "How many channels can we find?"

"There are so many."

"It looks so clear! This is so much better than a black and white TV!"

"There's even a remote control!"

Seeing so many people gathered at his home, Chen Jiazhi thought that it would be even more perfect if he could set up a canteen and put the TV in the dining room.

(End of this chapter)