1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 205 Face Recognition
October 5th, evening.

In the Dongxiang vegetable market, several vegetable baskets are placed every three to five meters along the ditch between two vegetable fields.

Nearly twenty vegetable farmers were scattered across the various plots, bending over and wearing iron fingernails, harvesting the hearts of the vegetables.

Chen Shaochang walked along the path with his hands behind his back, while Peng Guozhen followed behind, carrying his grandson.

The two watched curiously as everyone harvested the vegetables.

It wasn't easy. For more than half a month, all they saw every day was money being spent, and it pained them both. Now they've finally harvested the vegetables and are going to sell them.

This also means that there is income.

When the vegetable workers saw the two of them come out, they all greeted them.

"Auntie, you're out for a walk again!"

"Isn't it tiring to hold your grandson?"

Peng Guozhen laughed and said repeatedly, "Not tired, not tired at all, you guys are the ones who are working hard~"

She observed how everyone was harvesting the vegetables; the vegetables they harvested looked beautiful, and she wanted to try it herself.

He quickly took two steps, handed his grandson to Chen Shaochang, and started pinching himself.

"Hey, auntie, are you helping us earn commission?"

"Haha~ Thank you so much!"

Peng Guozhen said, "I'll give it a try. Watching you guys pick vegetables makes my hands itch!"

"This is not easy to learn."

"Jiafang, why don't you go and teach your mother?"

“I’m not going. Jiazhi wants them to take care of his grandson and enjoy their retirement. If I let her teach him, both Jiazhi and Lixiu will complain about me!”

"Hahaha……"

"I'll teach you~"

However, after learning for a while, Peng Guozhen gave up. It was too particular. He felt comfortable with others collecting things, but it felt very awkward when he tried it himself.

Weeding is still the most practical thing to do. Since she came here, weeding has been her most frequent chore. Li Xiu often doesn't let her come out to weed. When Jia Zhi comes back today, I'll have to let him talk to Li Xiu.

Chen Jiafang looked at her mother and shook her head. She was still the same as always, never able to stay still.

On the contrary, the old man was very perceptive. He had been there for half a month and often came to the fields, but he had never actually done any work.

the other side,
Chen Shaochang was watching Ao Dehai and Li Xiu each teach two new couples how to harvest vegetables.

Qi Yongcheng and Shi Xiaochun, a married couple, were also there.

Judging from their expressions and actions, everyone was learning very seriously, but they were all struggling to learn.

The chopped vegetables are placed on the ground. If they are not arranged properly the first time, they are put down again and arranged again.

After a few tries, some people will gradually get the hang of it.

Chen Shaochang watched for a while and then laughed.

If his hearing were better, he could still hear Ao Dehai emphasizing it again and again.

"We get a commission for harvesting crops, and if we're slow, no one will want to be in our group."

"Commissions make up a large part of my income. On a slightly better month, I can earn two hundred yuan in commissions!"

"There aren't many dishes yet these two days, so you can still practice your skills. Once things get busy, I'll have to divide the work into groups!"

After teaching for a while, Ao Dehai saw Chen Shaochang standing to the side and went up to offer him a cigarette.

The two did not exchange words, but simply looked around at the harvesting scene.

Ao Dehai was also excited; after a month of painstaking effort, he finally saw the results.

The harvesting of vegetables continued until late at night.

Chen Shaochang and Peng Guozhen watched TV at home, occasionally coming to check on things in the yard. The vegetable baskets gradually increased, stacking layer upon layer.

When more people gathered in the yard, I saw my grandson get up and keep looking out at the gravel road outside the market.

"We're here, we're here, Uncle's here."

The moment the vehicle appeared, Yi Long shouted, and the workers who were about to board the vehicle also got ready.

"Boss Chen~"

"Boss Chen~"

"Thank you all for your hard work, please get on the bus."

After Chen Jiazhi got out of the car, he called out and went straight to the car body, while loudly asking, "Dehai, how many items did you receive in total?"

"139 items."

“Not bad~”

Upon hearing this assessment, Ao Dehai smiled and said, "I'm still far from being as good as the boss; I need to work harder."

"come on."

"Good~"

The management of this crop of vegetables, including sowing, fertilizing, and spraying pesticides, was all under Ao Dehai's control. Only after experiencing the entire process can one truly appreciate how difficult it was.

The workers started packing the vegetables, while Chen Jiazhi headed home. His parents were watching from under the eaves; they were still awake.

"Little one, are you tired?"

"I'm not tired. You guys should go to bed early if you don't have anything else to do. There's no need to stay up late with me."

"We've been waiting for you to come back. We've all come all the way to Huacheng, and it's so hard to see you even once in a while."

"Hmm~"

Chen Jiazhi also felt a little guilty. After comforting his parents, he chatted with Li Xiu for a while. Conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law are an unavoidable topic, and his family also had one.

My mother can't stay idle and wants to go help in the fields. She was born in 1932 and is 62 years old this year. She is still the main force in farming in her hometown.

After arriving in Huacheng and getting through the first two days of feeling unfamiliar, I started looking for work to do.

Besides taking care of her grandson, she also wanted to help with household chores such as sweeping, washing clothes, cooking, thinning seedlings, and weeding in the vegetable garden. She even carried a hoe to hoe the fields.

Li Xiu didn't want her to do too much.

This is how the conflict arose.

What else can we do?

We can only try to appease them for now.

Seeing that his mother had gone back into the house, Chen Jiazhi said to Li Xiu, "Let your mother sweep the floor. Besides the house, let her take care of the common areas as well."

"Hmm." Li Xiu asked, "Are you cooking?" "Never mind, my mother's cooking is not good. When I was a child, my second and third older sisters always cooked for me."

Li Xiu covered her mouth and chuckled, then said, "My mother said she wants to go see my eldest sister and third sister, or ask them to come."

Chen Jiazhi nodded and said, "Yes, I'll go see them when I have time in a couple of days."

Seeing that the car was almost fully loaded, Chen Jiazhi got up to prepare to set off.

Go to bed early~

"Okay, drive slower."

If it weren't for the fact that he had a baby at home to breastfeed, Chen Jiazhi would definitely have brought Li Xiu along. She had been complaining lately that the stall had paid rent but no vegetables to sell, which was such a waste.

The light truck set off fully loaded once again.
Tonight, Chen Jiazhi brought Yi Long and Ao Dehai. Apart from Ao Dehai, there were no other suitable people.

When they arrived at the market, it was still early and there weren't many vehicles. As soon as they entered the gate, Yi Long took the initiative to ask about the market conditions.

Chen Jiazhi was happy with this arrangement.

When we arrived at stall number 56, it was quiet. The arrival of the car also attracted the attention of other vendors, who looked at his vegetables.

"Boss Chen, you're finally here! The stall was overgrown with weeds!"

Under the dim light, weeds could indeed be seen growing in the cracks of the steps.

After parking the car, I started arranging the goods.

Chen Jiazhi also examined the appearance of the vegetables, which was much better than in July and August. The roots and stems were just right and very tender.

It has the effect of base fertilizer, and also the effect of weather.

Even with a wide variety of vegetables on the market, the competition is still fierce, and there's the advantage of handmade produce.

Yi Long ran back to the stall, panting, and said, "Uncle, most of the bok choy outside sells for 1.2 to 1.3 yuan per jin."

"Good~"

"How much should we sell it for?"

"35 yuan per piece."

Yi Long: "Isn't it too cheap? I see the food outside is much worse than ours."

Chen Jiazhi: "On the first day, let's play it safe and try to sell out as soon as possible."

Turns out he was right.

Seeing that the foot traffic was low, Chen Jiazhi went out for a walk and discovered many competitors.

When prices were at their lowest point recently, it was said that bok choy could only sell for four or five cents a pound.

But the market has started to recover in the last two days, so selling out shouldn't be a problem. It's just that it's a bit difficult to get a high premium right away.

To achieve a successful start, Chen Jiazhi's price was even one cent lower than the average price.

"Oh, this is Boss Chen. It's been over a month since you last came."

Chen Jiazhi bumped into Curly Hair and said with a smile, "We have bok choy today, 35 yuan a piece, want to go take a look?"

"35?"

"Hmm~ the goods are good too."

"Let's go then. If the goods are available, I can take 12 cartons of bok choy today." Curly-haired man raised his voice involuntarily.

Chen Jiazhi didn't expect things to go so smoothly.

Moreover, the fact that Curly was taking in more and more goods indicated that his business was getting better and better.

But then again, it makes sense. Curly-haired people are hardworking and diligent, so it's no surprise they become wealthy.

As the two walked down the street, Chen Jiazhi asked, "Have you not had a stable supply of bok choy for the past month?"

Curly Hair: "They're not worth it."

Chen Jiazhi almost succumbed to temptation.

To be honest, that sounds pretty cool. They're not worth it, which means Chen Jiazhi is.

This is a very high compliment for a vegetable wholesaler.

Chen Jiazhi quickly figured out the reason. It was still a seller's market, an era where whoever had vegetables was the boss, and where people never bought vegetables on credit.

It's not that buyers don't want stability, but that wholesalers aren't giving them the opportunity.

At this point, the seller usually turns their back on you without a second thought, abandoning you once they've made their move, and then ignoring you no matter who you are once the market is good.

Over the years, Chen Jiazhi has weathered countless market downturns, which has instilled in him a greater sense of humanity in his business dealings.
Many buyers not only recognize his dishes, but also his character.

Curly must have had his own story to tell this past month.

Of course, there's another possibility: the price was simply cheap, but he accepted that anyway.
Upon arriving at the stall, Chen Jiazhi shouted to Yi Long, who was weeding, "Xiao Long, De Hai, deliver 12 packs of bok choy to Boss Mao."

Yi Long looked up in surprise: "12 pieces?"

"Yes, Mr. Mao is a good patron!"

Curly Hair stepped forward, shone his flashlight on the dishes, and nodded, saying, "The dishes are good. Boss Chen never disappoints. Could you please deliver them to me later, handsome?"

"Good~"

Yi Long nodded in surprise.

He'd heard plenty of stories about Curly, but he never expected his uncle to bring back such a big order after just a short trip. That's impressive.

12 items, totaling 420 yuan. Curly paid very readily, and Chen Jiazhi felt that his back view was full of stories.

"I'm going out for a bit more, you guys watch the stall."

"Still going to solicit customers?"

"What do you mean by soliciting customers? This is called facial recognition!"

Why not use facial recognition if you can do it?
Looking at the truck full of vegetables, Chen Jiazhi suddenly felt less panicked and confidently went to find his old customers.

The sooner the better,

It's still early, and many people haven't picked up their food yet. Like Curly Hair, he needs to keep moving around, but his regular customers are already taking care of a lot of his orders.
As he walked, he started running, his eyes scanning every passerby.

At the entrance to the passageway where stall number 18 was located, Chen Jiazhi saw Lao Wu.

"Old Wu, the bok choy is 35 yuan a piece today, want to pick it up?"

Old Wu was also surprised to see him, but he quickly smiled and said, "I may not give face to other people, but I will definitely give face to you, Chen Cai Nong."

Chen Jiazhi has come to enjoy the feeling of using his face to make calls.

(End of this chapter)