1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 207 Departure
There is no air conditioning in the dormitory, only a Midea electric fan blowing loudly.

After finishing my meal, I turned off the fan and opened the door. The glaring sunlight shone on my face, and sweat poured out.

The Cold Dew solar term is just two days away, but the autumn season, which should be cool, is still being ravaged by the "autumn tiger," with temperatures remaining above 35°C for an extended period.

Some people say that Guangdong doesn't experience the "autumn tiger" (a period of late summer heat in autumn), as it's still summer there, and autumn doesn't arrive until November.
Chen Jiazhi felt that there was some truth to it.

After washing up, the autumn fatigue subsided a little, but I still felt drowsy.

I actually slept for six or seven hours straight.

It's past 5 p.m. now. In the vegetable field, bamboo baskets are scattered, and vegetable farmers wearing straw hats are bent over. Every now and then, a shout will startle a flock of birds.

Harvesting the vegetables.

Chen Jiazhi didn't rush to the vegetable field, but went back to his office on the second floor, which didn't have air conditioning.

At that time, an air conditioner cost at least five or six thousand yuan, and a better one cost eight or nine thousand yuan. The electricity cost was about 3 mao per kilowatt-hour. If the air conditioner was run for 10 hours a day, the electricity bill would be more than 100 yuan a month. In many rural areas, electricity was still very difficult to obtain.

There's no air conditioning, but thankfully there are several tall camphor trees behind the office, so the sun doesn't shine directly on it, and the fans keep it cool.

After watching the busy figures in the vegetable fields from the wall for a while, Chen Jiazhi went back to his office to take a nap.

In a daze, he heard footsteps coming upstairs, and then Yi Dinggan appeared at the office door.

"Sure, you got up but didn't even come out to check?"

Yi Dinggan sat down in a chair against the wall, turned the fan to blow on himself, and shook the shirt on his chest with his right hand.

Chen Jiazhi poured him a glass of cooled boiled water and said with a smile, "I believe in you, and you've done a pretty good job, haven't you?"

Yi Dinggan was actually quite pleased, but he still pretended to be angry and said, "You should at least come and take a look. You are no match for the people in your market."

Chen Jiazhi adjusted the fan to oscillate and said, "You've chosen the wrong comparison. In terms of vegetable quality, yield, craftsmanship, and spoilage, Dongxiang Vegetable Market is far superior to Jiangxin Vegetable Market."

Yi Dinggan pondered for a moment and said, "But the biggest difference is efficiency. I initially arranged for 120 experienced vegetable workers to collect vegetables, thinking that each person could collect 50 to 60 catties of vegetables per hour, which would take about 5 hours."

However, the pace is too slow. I've currently assigned 160 vegetable harvesters, but only about 40 are left to do other tasks. We're a bit overwhelmed and need to hire more people!

Besides the vegetables being harvested, there are also those still in the seedling stage, requiring thinning, watering, and spraying—every step is essential.
"Also, we might not have enough pesticides; you bought too few before!"

"The cost of ice packs is also much higher than you expected. A bag of atomized dry crushed ice costs 4 cents, and a basket of vegetables costs two dollars!"

"The refrigerated transport truck has also changed. It was supposed to be an Isuzu, but Tong just called to confirm today that it's a Mitsubishi, and it will be carrying 180 crates per truck!"

"..."

After he asked several questions, Chen Jiazhi finally asked, "Is everything settled?"

Yi Dinggan snorted twice, "Luckily you found me to be the deputy director."

"I feel like you could be the field manager right now."

Chen Jiazhi laughed and joked, then dragged the chair back against the wall, sat down, rested his head against the wall, and put his legs on the desk.

"Wake me up when it's time to load the truck, I'm going to take a nap."

"What happened to the cigarettes you promised Li Mingkun and the others?"

"The keys are on the table in the driver's seat of my car. Could you take them and send them to me?"

Seeing that he had already crossed his arms and squinted his eyes, Yi Dinggan said angrily, "You seem to be enjoying yourself!"

"Close the door too."

There was no one else in the office building. Today was the first day of harvesting vegetables, and even Xu Yao had gone to wander around in the fields.

After taking a comfortable nap, Chen Jiazhi waited until the sun was out before heading out to take a look.

It's not that he's irresponsible; this is the normal management model.

A factory manager should be in an air-conditioned office, approving documents, making plans, and cuddling with his secretary... well, he doesn't even have air conditioning yet!
After walking through the vegetable field for a while, I ran into Xu Yao, Tong Gang, and Cheng Tiantian.

"Tong Gang, how's the recruitment going?"

Tong Gang immediately put on a bitter face: "It's not so easy to find experienced vegetable harvesters lately."

Chen Jiazhi asked thoughtfully, "Isn't Dongsheng Farm not far from us?"

"Hmm~" Tong Gang's pupils shrank: "Director Chen, you want me to poach their people?"

Chen Jiazhi chuckled twice: "That's your problem. Anyway, I only need to collect the vegetables."

Tong Gang asked, "What about the salary?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "We'll make adjustments in a couple of days. The vegetable pickers will get a commission. We have a lot of vegetables, so for experienced farmers, this is a chance to make money."

In other words, it's easier to poach talent.

After Tong Gang understood his meaning, Chen Jiazhi walked past the three of them. Only after he had gone far away did Cheng Tiantian dare to shake her head and sigh.

...

As it was getting dark, the first Mitsubishi Canter refrigerated transport truck arrived, its body entirely white.

A burly man stepped out of the car.

Chen Jiazhi stepped forward with a cigarette in hand, "Hello, Master!"

The man took the cigarette and said in broken Mandarin, "Director Chen, is it ready to be loaded onto the truck?"

Chen Jiazhi: "Okay, we'll just wait for the car to arrive."

Actually, the truck arrived late; the first truckload of food had already been prepared.

Several male workers were called over, and they started boarding the bus. The driver stayed by the side of the bus, directing the passengers, and Chen Jiazhi watched for a while as well.

How to stack them, how to bury the ice packs.

Before departure, the driver sprayed water on the roof of the truck bed; the evaporating water would absorb heat and cool the truck. Xu Yao came along to handle some documents, and then the first truck departed.

There wasn't much communication throughout the process; five truckloads were dispatched in one night.

Along the provincial highway,

Chen Jiazhi, Yi Dinggan, and Ao Deliang squatted by the roadside feeding mosquitoes.

Yi Dinggan, smoking a cigarette, turned his head and said, "Jiazhi, people are wary of you. They've already seen through your little schemes."

On the way to the border and even later at the wholesale market, transport drivers are a very important part of the journey.

But the drivers who came today didn't say a single unnecessary word to them.

Chen Jiazhi said, "There's still plenty of time. It's only the first day, so it's not like we've gained nothing."

Yi Dinggan asked, "Tell me, what have you gained?"

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "At least you know the general transportation costs now, and you also know the procedures before departure. As for what happens after departure, we'll have to deal with that gradually."

Yi Dinggan asked in surprise, "You've even calculated the transportation costs? How much does it cost for one trip?"

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "The fuel cost is estimated to be 30 yuan, the toll fee should be 33 yuan, the checkpoint fee is also 30 yuan, the ice pack supplies are about 300 yuan, and with the driver's salary, the cost is at least more than 1000 yuan."

Yi Dinggan paused for a moment, then counted on his fingers and said, "So, those drivers can earn seven or eight hundred yuan per trip?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "It's probably much more than that. Cross-border drivers in Hong Kong are in a high-paying industry. It's normal to earn 30,000 to 40,000 yuan a month. After working for two or three months, they can buy an apartment in Shenzhen and support a mistress."

Yi Dinggan and Ao Deliang were both stunned. A monthly salary of 30,000 to 40,000 yuan was completely unimaginable.

"Jiazhi, why don't you become a driver?"

"You think you can just become a cross-border driver whenever you want? The wages for cross-border drivers in mainland China are not comparable to those in Hong Kong. They are much lower."

"How can the differences between people be so great!"

Only then did they realize why the drivers who had just arrived were so arrogant—they had the right to be arrogant!

Several more figures appeared in the darkness.

"What are you three doing? Taking a dump in the street?!"

"Get lost! You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth!" Yi Dinggan cursed angrily upon hearing Li Mingkun's words.

Li Mingkun, Guo Mancang, Qi Yongfeng, and even Zheng Zhong and Huang Rixin also came over and sat down by the roadside.

"What's wrong, Lao Yi? Why are you so angry? Can't you even crack a joke?"

Chen Jiazhi turned his head to look at the group. Their shoes were muddy and their clothes were wet, so they must have just finished watering the plants.

"Maybe it was something that triggered it."

Qi Yongfeng asked casually, "What could possibly provoke someone as arrogant as Brother Yi?"

Yi Dinggan exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "A monthly salary of 3 yuan!"

"Who?!"

The group was startled.

Just then, a beam of high beam shone from the road, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the last refrigerated truck that had arrived.

Yi Dinggan pointed behind him and said, "Drivers of this kind of car."

"You're kidding me?!" Qi Yongfeng stood up, looking at it again and again: "This car might not even be as big as Brother Zhi's car!"

As the last truckload of vegetables was being loaded, several pairs of large eyes stared intently at the cross-border driver from Hong Kong.

Damn it!
There's nothing special about it!
He just stood there muttering something in some foreign language, then drove around once, and he could earn 3 yuan a month?!

Speaking of driving, Director Chen can drive too, and he's even more handsome!
The others were also provoked.

I can work myself to the bone for a year and still not earn as much as someone else in a month!
Even after the car drove away, the group of people kept staring at it.

Chen Jiazhi waved his hand: "Hey, it's time to get off work. Go home and rest early. I'm going back to Dongxiang too."

Qi Yongfeng asked, "Brother Zhi, do they really earn 30,000 yuan a month?"

Chen Jiazhi: "There should be some, but it might only be a few hundred or a thousand dollars. It depends on whether they are from Hong Kong or the mainland."

"what does it mean?"

Several people were puzzled.

Actually, Chen Jiazhi was afraid of upsetting them, so he didn't want to explain, but the others were all looking at him with pleading eyes.

If he doesn't say anything, these people will probably make wild guesses themselves.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "Some Hong Kong drivers will spend a thousand dollars or so to hire a mainland driver to help them drive, and they will only drive the Hong Kong section of the road, which is about 20 minutes away."

Chen Jiazhi patted Qi Yongfeng and the others on the shoulder and walked towards his car.

"Don't think too much, get some rest."

After walking a few steps, they heard Yi Dinggan mutter behind them, "No wonder they buy houses in Shenzhen to keep mistresses. They've outsourced all the work to others."

"What concubine?"

The group started whispering amongst themselves, their faces bearing indescribable smiles, and the impact of the 3 yuan a month vanished instantly.

Chen Jiazhi stumbled and almost fell. He had worried too much; it was impossible for any public intellectuals to be among this group.

After climbing his own Leap Forward 131, Chen Jiazhi embarked on a new day's journey.

Jiangxin vegetable market made more than 5 yuan today, but he still felt more satisfied with earning his own four or five thousand yuan.

(End of this chapter)