1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 206 In the end, I still bore the brunt of it all.

Chen Jiazhi stepped forward, offered a cigarette, and then lit it for Lao Wu with a lighter.

"Do you want to go get it, or should I have someone bring it to you?"

"Go ahead, you hire child laborers every day, don't you feel bad about it?"

"Hehe, you just want to see the dishes beforehand, right?"

Old Wu smacked his lips, feeling that it had been a while since he had smoked Boss Chen's cigarettes, and the cigarettes had become even better. He glanced at the cigarette pack in Boss Chen's hand; it was a red and white hard pack of Marlboro, costing 10 yuan a pack.

Chen Jiazhi noticed it, waved the cigarette box, and said, "My wife bought it for me."

"One more, please."

"Come and get your groceries later, then I'll give them to you. I'm leaving now; I'll go ask the others."

In the blink of an eye, the person was gone again.

Old Wu smiled and shook his head. Chen Cai Nong was back, and he felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

This was the first time in his life that he had gotten bok choy from the same person for several consecutive months.

Chen Jiazhi won over two more old clients by using his personal connections.

Occasionally, when I encounter someone who has already taken the goods, they will be kind enough to say that they will come back tomorrow.

As a result, Chen Jiazhi became even more proactive in making connections, spending his time wandering around the market from 1 a.m. to past 2 a.m.

If you run into someone you recognize, go up and offer them a cigarette, simply and directly saying that you have bok choy, 35 yuan per piece.

Fortunately, Li Xiu bought him a carton of cigarettes and left it in the car.

In just over an hour, he handed out nearly 30 cigarettes, representing nearly 30 people who had previously bought vegetables from him.

Around 2:40, Chen Jiazhi returned to stall number 56 with three bottles of ice water.

"Come on, Xiaolong, Dehai, have some water."

"Okay." Yi Long stepped forward and took the water. Looking at his clothes, he said in surprise, "Uncle, what are you doing? Your clothes are mostly soaked."

"Use facial recognition."

"Using facial recognition is so tiring!"

"But it's worth it. I estimate that just using my face can bring in a dozen or so customers." Chen Jiazhi took a sip of ice water, slowly calming down, and asked, "How many have you sold so far?"

Ao Dehai took the notebook and said, "We sold another 18 items. Some of them were probably brought in by Boss Chen through his connections. We collected the money and put it in Yi Long's bag."

The handbag was hanging in front of Yi Long.

Chen Jiazhi glanced at his notebook: "It's true, I just ran into all of these people."

After resting for a while, another regular customer came in, took two dishes, and just as he turned around to pay, he saw Old Wu arrive.

"Here you are, Mr. Wu. How much are you taking today?"

"Take one pack."

"What package?"

"Cigarettes!" Old Wu said, hands on his hips. "I came to get the vegetables earlier, but you weren't here, so I'm here to replenish the cigarettes."

"..."

One pack was out of the question, but hoping for a double dose, Chen Jiazhi gave Lao Wu two cigarettes.

At three o'clock, the market was busier, and I needed to deliver goods.

"Xiaolong, I'll go deliver it. You stay here and watch the stall."

"What, are you looking down on me? I'm really strong now!"

"No, I just use my facial recognition to attract customers while delivering goods. You're too inexperienced; nobody likes your type."

Yi Long put down the cart and took the satchel Chen Jiazhi handed him. "When I get back, I'm going to tell my aunt that you're flirting with an old lady, no, you're flirting with an old man too."

Chen Jiazhi arrived at the entrance of the passage, pulling a cart, and said, "You're so young and already learning bad habits. I'll go back and tell your dad."

"Tch, my dad never comes back, he can't possibly control me." Yi Long's eyes darted around: "Unless you take me to the Jiangxin vegetable market."

Uh ~
It seems not impossible.

If you sell your vegetables, you can go straight back to Jiangxin Market to sleep, and then go to Dongxiang Market to pick up more vegetables at night. That will save you a lot of trouble!
"Okay, I'll think about it."

As he pulled the cart toward the parking lot, Chen Jiazhi kept an eye on the flow of people. When he encountered someone he recognized, he would greet them, offer them a cigarette, and then point to the vegetables in the basket and give them a brief introduction.

Because it was peak season, I was able to meet two or three customers at the same time.

During one delivery trip, he gave out seven or eight cigarettes.

When I got back to the stall, I saw people picking up vegetables. When I asked, they said they had already sold seventy or eighty items.

The facial recognition technology is really effective.

So he went to deliver goods again, but instead of borrowing a rickshaw, he walked.

Ding~ Young woman card, ding~ Auntie card... Well, actually, it's mostly middle-aged men.

As dawn approached, Chen Jiazhi finished delivering the last batch of goods and plopped down on the plastic basket.

"Oh my, it's finally sold out. All that hard work has finally paid off."

Ao Dehai tidied up the last plastic crates, "Boss Chen is really something, he can sell so much just by using his face!"

He also accompanied him on several deliveries and witnessed firsthand how Boss Chen communicated skillfully with those people, explaining things clearly in just a few words before moving on to the next one.

If it were him, he wouldn't be able to speak clearly.

“That’s really impressive.” Yi Long smiled and quietly took two steps back. “But, Uncle, you’ve been using your face all night, your skin is really thick.”

"Why are you backing away? I can't catch up with you." Chen Jiazhi rubbed his thigh and said, "It's not your face that's being used for facial recognition, it's your legs. My legs are sore after walking all night."

Seeing that he kept rubbing his legs, Yi Long relaxed his guard and took two steps forward. But just as he reached for his bag, Chen Jiazhi jumped up and caught him.

"You little rascal, you're getting bigger and bigger if you're not disciplined for three days. Your mouth is starting to sound like your dad's."

"Smack!" A slap landed on her buttocks.

"No, even your dad treats me with respect now. You're the one who deserves a beating," Chen Jiazhi cursed, slapping him again before letting go.

The blow wasn't too light or too heavy. Yi Long cried out twice and then said, "Just kidding, you're my uncle, my only uncle!" "But I have many nephews!"

"So that's not fair. I gave you all the love I had for my uncle, but you divided it into many parts."

"..."

Looking at Yi Long, who was still full of energy after a night's sleep, Chen Jiazhi thought that he should let the kid do more physical work.

I used to be so quiet after delivering groceries all night, I didn't even want to say a word.

Let's just not let Dehai come tomorrow.

After selling their vegetables, the two went straight back to Jiangxin Market to buff Yi Long; this money wasn't so easy to earn.

After packing their things, they didn't linger any longer and headed home.

If I haven't made a mistake in collecting the money, today's income should be 4865 yuan.

Along the way, Ao Dehai closed his eyes to rest early, while Yi Long sang several extremely clumsy Cantonese songs loudly before finally stopping.

When we arrived at the Dongxiang vegetable market, the sun was already shining brightly.

The vegetable farmers have already started work, and it really shouldn't have been done by bringing Ao Dehai along. The value of inspecting the fields and arranging work lies in the accumulation of experience over time.

After returning home, Chen Jiazhi hurriedly ate breakfast and then drove to Jiangxin Market.

Li Xiu, Peng Guozhen, and Chen Shaochang were all at the door watching him turn the car around.

"My little one, you've only rested for a short while, why are you running off again!"

Yi Long witnessed the whole thing and said, "Grandma, you don't know, Uncle is very busy, so he divides his love into many parts."

Peng Guozhen asked, "Why do you say that?"

Yi Long: "You think you can count it? It took you more than ten minutes to come back for breakfast, a few words to you, your grandpa, and your aunt, a minute to hold your little brother, and 30 seconds to play with the two dogs..."

Li Xiu and Peng Guozhen remained silent.

Sitting on the steps smoking, Chen Shaochang was puzzled. Staring in the direction the car had gone, he said, "Making money isn't easy."

...

As Chen Jiazhi sang his way to Jiangxin Market, the weather turned hot again.

"Luckily I didn't take a shower, otherwise I would have been covered in sweat again."

Driving a truck in the summer without air conditioning is even more unpleasant than being in a sauna, thankfully he mainly drives at night.

The vegetable fields were already bustling with activity.

Chen Jiazhi drove the car into the yard, but instead of going back to take a shower, he pushed a bicycle out of the shed and planned to go patrol the fields.

"Manager Chen~"

Xu Yao called out from the second floor of the office, and after he turned around, she said, "The salary has been calculated, I need to go get the money later."

"Okay, I'll be back."

He definitely needs to approve the accounts at the market.

I rode my bike around the vegetable fields, barely able to see anything clearly, but I could get a general idea.

The vegetables were in much worse condition than those at the Dongxiang vegetable market, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

The area is large, but the level of mechanization is seriously insufficient, the vegetable workers are not professional enough, and it is difficult to unify management standards.

Under a large banyan tree by the river, Chen Jiazhi met Li Mingkun, who was resting in the shade.

"Jiazhi, you're back."

"Hmm, taking a break to cool off. How's the situation in the fields?"

"very good."

"Two thousand catties per mu?"

"You wish!" Li Mingkun took out a cigarette, but Chen Jiazhi didn't take it. Instead, he took out his own Marlboro cigarettes. "Smoke these. Li Xiucai bought me a carton. Take a pack and smoke it later."

Li Mingkun examined the cigarettes carefully. "High-end stuff, huh? Okay, I'll remember that. You can just wander around for a bit and then go back to rest. We'll be watching the fields; nothing will go wrong."

He didn't even ask how much money was made last night; that would only make things difficult for himself.

"Okay, I'm going now. Remember to write in your work log."

He went around and met all six group leaders. Some were resting under the trees, while others were talking to workers in the fields.

Chen Jiazhi said a few words, inquired about the situation, and then left.

Yi Dinggan wasn't there; he went to the ice factory.

Although there are refrigerated trucks, their cooling capacity is limited, and it takes time to pass through customs, so ice packs must be added as an aid.

For the next twenty days or so, the daily demand for ice will be at least tens of thousands of kilograms, requiring us to negotiate an agreement with an ice factory.

The total cost was around 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.

He entrusted this matter to Yi Dinggan.

This time, I bought standard atomized dry crushed ice, which is about twice as expensive as whole ice that hasn't been broken.

After taking a shower, I went to withdraw money with Xu Yao. After returning, I ate a little less and then went to sleep.

The task of distributing salaries was left to Xu Yao, Tong Gang, and the group leaders.

While he was sleeping, Yi Dinggan also returned to the market.

After looking into his room, I shook my head and went back to thinking about how to allocate and arrange the harvesting of vegetables in the afternoon.

In the end, I bore the brunt of it all.

When Chen Jiazhi woke up and opened his eyes, he saw a rice bowl covered with a lid on the small table.

When I opened it, the food was still warm, but the cooking was a bit rough, and I could tell that it was prepared in a hurry.

However, it still tastes very good.

(End of this chapter)