1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 223 Arrangements for the Dongxiang Vegetable Market
The Dongxiang vegetable market was bustling with activity early in the morning.

The others were making fun of Qi Yongfeng and Guo Mancang, who had been pulled into the house.

Li Xiu leaned against Chen Jiazhi and asked, "How long can you rest this time?"

Chen Jiazhi lowered his head slightly, scrutinizing Li Xiu with intense eyes. She seemed even more beautiful and charming now. So he whispered in her ear, "Can't wait any longer?"

Li Xiu glared at him and gave Chen Jiazhi a light pinch, "Never serious!"

Although it didn't hurt, Chen Jiazhi still pretended to gasp in pain, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!"

"Oh, what's wrong? Did you really pinch me? I'm sorry." Li Xiu was also a little anxious and grabbed his hand to check it.

Chen Jiazhi pulled her close, saying, "Just kidding~"

"Huh~"

"Shh~"

People gradually noticed the movements of the two people blocked by the light truck. Hearing the noise, the old lady Peng Guozhen also took a few steps, walked around to the front of the truck to take a look, and then walked away with some jealousy.

Li Xiu felt a little embarrassed, but she didn't leave.

"Jiazhi, you're free this afternoon, why don't you take Dad to the hospital to get his ear checked? I said I'd take him, but he wouldn't go."

"Yes, I'll talk to him this afternoon and have him get a medical check-up while I'm at it. I don't know when I'll have time next."

"Okay, I'll go take care of things now. You should also say hello to Mom and Dad and your second sister. They've been thinking about you every day. Then go check if my salary calculation is correct, and I'll pay you your salary later."

"Good~"

Today, Dongxiang Market is also celebrating by treating everyone to a meal. There are more than 20 people, so we'll only have three tables of food. We'll cook at home so that the food will be more to our liking.

After Li Xiu finished her work, Chen Jiazhi offered cigarettes to the other cooks, and everyone continued to joke about Huang Juan and Qi Yongfeng, who had just entered the house.

Just as Chen Jiazhi was about to enter, the two came out. Huang Juan's excitement hadn't faded yet, and Qi Yongfeng was also looking up like a triumphant bull.

Someone joked, "Yongfeng, are you done so quickly?"

Huang Juan cursed, "Pah! You lecherous scoundrel!"

Chen Jiazhi laughed heartily upon hearing this, thinking, "These people are really rude."

"Mom, Second Sister!"

"You're back, Jiazhi."

When they arrived at the kitchen, Chen Jiazhi's second sister, Chen Jiafang, his mother, Peng Guozhen, Li Xiu, and several other women were busy preparing ingredients. Chen Jiazhi greeted them, his second sister responded, and his mother just glanced at him before continuing with her work.

Really! You're such a grown-up, and you're still jealous. But I still have to coax you!
I don't know how they've managed to get along all this time.

Suddenly, Chen Jiazhi wondered if this was also the reason why his father didn't want to go to the hospital.

Three women make a drama; when the second sister, Li Xiu, and the old mother are together, it's inevitable that they'll have some minor squabbles.

He's deaf, so he doesn't have to worry about anything!

He probably understands this himself, so he's trying to drag it out; after all, he's been doing this for over a decade already.
After helping his mother wash vegetables in the kitchen for a while and making her happy, Chen Jiazhi went to find his father who was taking care of his grandson.

My father doesn't like crowds, so he pushes the stroller alone along the wide gravel path beside the vegetable field.

Looking at his retreating figure, Chen Jiazhi suddenly felt that he was a somewhat incompetent son.

They brought the person to Guangzhou, but it wasn't as comfortable as their hometown.

Back in his hometown, he could still go to the teahouse and play cards with some acquaintances. He liked to play Sichuan long cards, which had three variations: Dou Shisi, Lan Chu, and Ding Er Hong.

My dad likes to play "Luan Cuo," which they pronounce in their local dialect as "luan cuo," a game supposedly invented by Zhuge Liang.

Not many people meet here, and it seems that the few I know well were all taken to the Jiangxin vegetable market by Chen Jiazhi.
Others might play too, but they don't have that much time, and they don't know that Dad likes to play 'bad hands'.

Even if I knew that, I probably still wouldn't be able to buy long-strength brand products here.
My mother can't stay idle; she can still go to the fields to work and chat with the vegetable farmers to relieve her boredom.

Dad seems genuinely bored; he can't watch TV all day long.

Intending to fulfill filial piety, they ended up becoming tools for helping take care of the children.

Chen Jiazhi stepped forward and offered him a cigarette. This time, he didn't complain that it wasn't strong enough and took it. Chen Jiazhi then lit it for him.

Perhaps sensing that no one was pushing the stroller, Chen Zhengyun woke up. Just as he was about to cry, Chen Jiazhi took the stroller and met a pair of big eyes that were curiously looking at him.

Chen Jiazhi smiled, picked up Chen Zhengyun, and they looked at each other. There was no crying or fussing, but a sense of familiarity mixed with unfamiliarity.

But Chen Zhengyun tilted his head and, after seeing Chen Shaochang, wanted his grandfather to hold him again.

Chen Jiazhi turned around to block his view, so Chen Zhengyun continued to look around, but Chen Jiazhi turned in another direction.

After a few rounds, Chen Zhengyun was amused and started laughing, which helped Chen Jiazhi regain some of his sense of accomplishment as a father.

But it's a bit difficult to put Chen Zhengyun back in the stroller; it looks like he'll start crying as soon as you put him in.

Chen Jiazhi had no choice but to continue carrying the child, walking back and forth in the vegetable field with another elderly father.

Occasionally, his father would ask some questions, but Chen Jiazhi could only communicate with him by gesturing or shouting short words in his ear.

After talking for a while, Chen Jiazhi pointed to his ear, indicating that he would take him to the hospital.

The old man kept waving his hand, saying, "No, no, I won't go. I won't spend that money."

Chen Jiazhi kept pestering him and took him back with him. The people in the courtyard had already dispersed and gone to the canteen to watch TV.

After entering the house, they took out paper and pen, and Chen Jiazhi and his father began communicating in writing again.

"I'm free these next couple of days. I'll take you to the hospital this afternoon to see a doctor about your ear. We don't need the money right now."

"Don't go."

The old man still shook his head with a smile, but Chen Jiazhi felt that his attitude wasn't so firm.

So he continued writing, making a shushing gesture with his left hand. Chen Shaochang glanced at the words on the paper: "I earned 70 this month."

She immediately looked up at him in surprise, her eyes filled with disbelief, but Chen Jiazhi nodded firmly.

"Great!"

Chen Jiazhi wrote again: I'll take you to the city for a stroll and buy two decks of mahjong. I'll play with you for the next couple of days.

Chen Shaochang smiled and didn't bring up the matter of not going to the hospital again.

My father was frugal his whole life. After retiring due to injury, he only received a small subsidy and farmed one or two acres of land, so the family income was meager.

That's why Chen Jiazhi dropped out of high school because the school was far away and he couldn't get enough to eat.

In his memory, his father had always been very stingy, valuing money more than his own life.
When Chen Jiazhi wrote down the figure of 70 yuan, he was instantly stunned.

He had no doubts that it was true, at least he could see the situation at the Dongxiang vegetable market with his own eyes, and the two vehicles that were frequently changed couldn't be faked.

After settling his father in, Chen Jiazhi went to the kitchen and looked at the busy women: "Is there anything I can help you with?"

Chen Jiafang glanced at him: "No need. If you're bored, just watch TV or play cards."

Li Xiu also took a moment to look up and asked, "Jiazhi, have you seen the salary I calculated?"

Chen Jiazhi: "Uh... I forgot."

Zhou Yuqiong exclaimed, "Hey~ Boss Chen, this is the important thing, but you said you wanted to pay in advance."

Chen Jiazhi: "I originally came here to kill a chicken."

Bai Yan: "Every time I come back, I see you killing chickens. This time, your mother has enough chickens and ducks for you to kill until the New Year."

Peng Guozhen smiled and said, "My little one, I picked up some vegetable leaves from the ground, mixed them with some rice bran, and fed them to the chickens. They love it!"

"This chicken must be delicious!"

Chen Jiazhi had already seen the chicken coop, which was set up in an open space in the vegetable field, but he hadn't yet checked how big the chickens were.

After talking for a while, Chen Jiazhi hurried off to attend to his business.

Chen Jiazhi took out Li Xiu's calculated salary and looked at it, feeling that Li Xiu had made great progress.

Although the numbers are still written as 'electric poles', they are arranged very neatly, showing that care was taken.

Upon calculation, the salary and commission were completely correct.

Then Chen Jiazhi called over Ao Dehai, who was playing cards, and asked him to evaluate the vegetable worker's bonus.

"Boss, why don't you decide on the bonuses?"

"You are the actual production manager, and you know best about Cai's specific performance."

Inside the room, Chen Jiazhi lowered his voice slightly and said to Ao Dehai, "The bonus is 1 yuan in total. You decide how to distribute it, and you will also be in charge of paying the wages."

After a pause, Chen Jiazhi took out an envelope from his bag and handed it to Ao Dehai.

"I've prepared your portion separately, so don't think it's too little."

Feeling the thickness of the envelope, Ao Dehai smiled, and at the same time felt a great deal of trust in his heart.

Chen Jiazhi gave Ao Dehai a total of 6000 yuan this time.

Compared to the group that went to Jiangxin vegetable market, he was only lower than Yi Dinggan and higher than the other four.

Moreover, Ao Dehai was given even more power.

Chen Jiazhi did this for a very simple reason: he would temporarily shift his focus to Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

Jiangxin Market is larger, so if done well, you can make money faster.

I also want to bring my family with me. As for accommodation, we can rent a house near Jiangxin Market first.

He plans to hand over full management of the Dongxiang vegetable market to Ao Dehai.

He was only in charge of bulk commodity procurement and vegetable sales.

They may also adjust the income structure, increase the commission rate, reduce subjective bonuses, and ensure fairness through the amount of vegetables collected.

Coincidentally, the lease for the Dongxiang vegetable market is also about to expire.

If things go well in the next few months, we'll choose another location to build a base and continue to be a hands-off manager.

If things don't go well, just move all the staff to Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

In short, the family can no longer live apart.

Ao Dehai returned home, took out his daily record notes, and distributed the bonuses in front of Chen Jiazhi.

Chen Jiazhi glanced at it briefly and then nodded.

Trust people you employ. Since we've chosen Ao Dehai, let's give him a try.

After settling his wages, Chen Jiazhi still had some time, so he joined in the fun and played a few rounds of Texas Hold'em.

Although they made a lot of money, the group still played for a pittance, only the base bet was larger than before, becoming 2 cents.

They played until lunchtime, and Chen Jiazhi, who was criticized by everyone for disrupting the game, only contributed a little over 3 yuan.

Lunch was another lively affair with three tables full of people.

The meal was very plentiful, with chicken, duck, fish, beef, seafood... large portions of meat and fish were laid out on the table.

Since he was determined to go to the hospital that afternoon, Chen Jiazhi didn't drink alcohol. He just clinked his drink with everyone and said some polite words.

But that couldn't stop the enthusiastic crowd; they drank so much that they got bloated.

(End of this chapter)