1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 235 Leisure

The business model of wholesale markets is very simple: buy low and sell high.

They buy vegetables from primary wholesale markets and sell them from secondary wholesale markets, but the same principle applies: to make money, you need to find vegetable categories with larger price differences.

Chen Jiazhi looked up at Li Cai, signaling him to continue.

Li Cai: "Comparing the two markets, the biggest price difference is for cabbage, which is 5 cents. Moreover, cabbage sells quickly; you can probably sell a whole truckload in a day. After deducting costs, Brother Chen, you might still make a profit."

The main costs are fuel consumption, labor, stall rental, and spoilage.
Li Cai's calculations were correct; he did indeed make a profit by reselling cabbages.

"Zhengxu, what about you?"

"Uncle, I also think cabbage is good; it can make money!"

"Then let's sell cabbages."

Chen Jiazhi actually wanted to resell choy sum, but the price of choy sum was inverted. In the Haizhu market, the price of choy sum was cheaper than in Jiangnan, so he lost money on every truckload he sold.

All three of them were trying business for the first time, and Chen Jiazhi didn't want to discourage them; he wanted to give them hope.

After finishing their rice noodles, Xue Jun rode his bicycle back to Dongxiang, while Chen Jiazhi and the other two went back to Jiangxin Market.

There was another reason why they were in such a hurry to start the agricultural wholesale market: Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai were acting somewhat differently at the Jiangxin vegetable market, as they would occasionally disappear to learn to drive.

Xu Wenxiang called once to inquire about the situation. Although she didn't say anything, Chen Jiazhi thought about it and figured that since she had asked, she must care, so he moved the plan forward.

Chen Zhengxu also drives a tricycle and goes to the market with Li Cai every night to resell vegetables, which provides a temporary solution.

It also makes it easier to get started.

However, Li Cai, Chen Zhengxu, and Xue Jun still worked for Chen Jiazhi.

It just offers a high degree of freedom, with Chen Jiazhi covering the initial capital, stall, and vehicles.

"Uncle, aren't you afraid we'll cause you to lose money?"

When they got home, it was already dawn. Chen Jiazhi stood by the fence in the yard, looking at the few chickens he kept. Chen Zhengxu asked the question that had been bothering him.

Chen Jiazhi turned around and saw Li Cai smoking a cigarette to the side.

"What if you make money for me?"

The two men smoked in silence.

Chen Jiazhi wasn't in a hurry and teased the chickens.

Li Cai asked, "Aren't you afraid that once we've become proficient, we'll go and work on our own?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "If you want to go out on your own in the future, I won't object."

Li Cai asked in surprise, "Why?"

“If you’re willing to take risks, endure hardship, and do well, then of course you can make money faster by working alone.” After taking a drag of his cigarette, Chen Jiazhi added, “But if you don’t want to take risks and prefer a more stable and relaxed life, then it might be better for you to stay with me.”

After a pause, Chen Jiazhi added, "Of course, I still want you to come with me. After all, I've put a lot of effort into bringing you out here."

First, I arranged driving lessons, then accommodation and jobs, and now I'm helping them start a business!
Everyone has their own moral compass, Chen Zhengxu thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, don't worry, I'm not ungrateful."

Li Cai exhaled a puff of smoke and laughed, "Brother Chen, since you're willing to bring me out, you must know me well. I won't say any more; just watch how I perform in the future."

"Haha, I'll be waiting."

Chen Jiazhi naturally knew the two men's character, otherwise he wouldn't have chosen them.

Even if the relationship falls apart later, the person you chose might be heartbroken, but you can only grit your teeth and swallow it. However, you still have confidence in yourself.

People are gradually arriving, but his own base is still nowhere to be seen.

The timeline for the land acquisition for the Dongxiang vegetable market has been set. The village has notified that the site must be cleared by the end of June at the latest, which is six months away.

But preparations for the new base need to begin, and a site selection should be done as soon as possible.

"Stop chatting, come and have breakfast."

Peng Guozhen stood at the door and called out. Now she gets up every day to make breakfast, and Chen Shaochang also gets up to help. They are happy to have something to do and help their son.

In addition, Peng Guozhen and Chen Shaochang raised many chickens and ducks, as well as rabbits, and they liked to go to the market from time to time to cut grass to feed the rabbits.

Even before it was time to thin out the bok choy seedlings, she was already thinking about it, asking every day when the thinning would be done, always ready to collect bok choy seedlings to feed the rabbits.

Breakfast was also noodles with minced meat, but this time with lean meat and green vegetables mixed in, giving off an enticing aroma.

"Pick extra noodles, they're growing too fast, and if that's not enough I'll make more."

"Okay, Grandma, thank you for your hard work."

"It's not hard work, it's not hard work. Eat more, Xiaolong, you should also pick some noodles, you need to grow taller."

Peng Guozhen stood in front of the stove, greeting everyone with a smile. When Chen Jiazhi arrived, she immediately served him a large bowl of noodles, added a few pieces of green vegetables, and then scooped out a large spoonful of minced meat sauce.

"That's enough, that's enough, Mom."

No matter how much Chen Jiazhi shouted, it was no use. He could only mix it well and take a big bowl of noodles to the main room to eat.

Li Xiu, Chen Jiafang, and Yi Dinggan were also there, each with a large bowl; the workers were all big eaters.

But Chen Jiazhi looked around and found that his bowl was the biggest and fullest. He buried his head in his food and ate it all. He wondered if he could grow a little taller. Maybe he could grow a little taller at 21?

Yi Long finished his noodles and called out, "Grandma, when are you going to kill the rabbit? I want to eat rabbit noodles." Peng Guozhen laughed and said, "You'll have to wait until the New Year. We've only had it for a short time. I'm still waiting for it to have babies."

Yi Long said, "I can't wait to eat rabbit meat. I think Grandma's rabbit noodles are the best, and Grandpa's cold rabbit is the best too. After school, I'll go with you to cut grass."

"Alright, alright, you're the one who knows how to talk. I'll make everything for you for the New Year."

Peng Guozhen stood outside the kitchen. Next to it was a small shed containing rabbit cages. Currently, he was only raising a few rabbits that had just reached adulthood, but rabbits reproduce quickly. They could have two or three litters in half a year. And since it was close to the market, there was no shortage of food.

Thinking of this, Peng Guozhen couldn't help but ask, "Jiazhi, when will we have any unwanted vegetable seedlings and leaves to feed the rabbits?"

Everyone sighed silently. Here we go again.

Chen Jiazhi shook his head: "The bok choy will have to wait a few more days. If you really can't wait, you can thin out the lettuce and Shanghai bok choy now. Mom, you can go and get some for yourself to eat, or you can use it to feed the rabbits. You can also let me thin out the seedlings while you're at it. It's a win-win-win situation."

"Good~"

"it is good!"

Peng Guozhen and Chen Shaochang agreed in unison. Hearing the conversation, Chen Jiafang couldn't help but recall the days when she was a child, cutting grass all over the mountains. Her family raised pigs and rabbits, and sometimes the three sisters had to walk several kilometers to cut enough grass. Jiazhi, however, never cut grass.

Back then, who would have thought that we could feed rabbits with bok choy seedlings and leaves? Even if there were no vegetables, the market would never lack grass to feed rabbits.

"I'm off to school!"

"Ride your bike slowly!"

Yi Long, carrying his schoolbag, rode his bike and yelled as he left. The school was actually very close, only a few hundred meters away, but he insisted on riding his bike to school every day.

After eating noodles, Chen Jiazhi drove Li Xiu and Yi Dinggan drove Chen Jiafang to work, while Li Cai and Chen Zhengxu went to practice driving.

Before they learned to drive, Chen Jiazhi would take the two of them to practice on roads with few people and cars.

In less than a month, the two made rapid progress in their studies. If necessary, Chen Jiazhi would consider spending more money to smooth things over.

But it remains to be seen whether the two of them can make this business a success.

Upon arriving at the market, Li Xiu and Chen Jiafang went straight to work, their main task recently still being to set up sheds.

There are still some greenhouses left for snow peas. We also need to prepare bamboo strips for the small arched greenhouses for Chinese cabbage, but since we don't need rain protection, we can wait until after thinning the seedlings to insert the bamboo strips.

There was plenty of time, and overall it was quite leisurely. The number of vegetable market workers had also decreased to less than 150, as most of them had left voluntarily.

Labor costs are rising every day. Growing vegetables is hard work, and you can't work full-time. Many people who have other options have left.

Autumn and winter are like this: the climate is suitable, there are few pests and diseases, and production management is very simple. Except for key periods, Chen Jiazhi basically doesn't need to worry about anything.

After finishing the arrangements, I went back to my office to catch up on sleep and read. I had lunch, strolled around with Li Xiu for a while, and then went back to my office to sleep again.
The farm manager's life was simple and unpretentious.

Around 3 p.m., Chen Jiazhi felt he had slept enough and went out again, looking refreshed. On the second-floor corridor, he saw Xu Yao, Tong Gang, and others sitting on chairs in the courtyard, basking in the sun.

Xu Yao also saw Chen Jiazhi and called out, "Director Chen, you're awake? Come down and sunbathe with us to get some calcium!"

Chen Jiazhi joked, "With this time, you might as well take a walk in the vegetable field. It's healthier than sunbathing, and you can even lose weight at the same time."

"Walking is tiring!"

“Then I think you lack nothing. If you are lacking something, then we are even less healthy.”

"You can't do this! You're always beating around the bush and saying I'm fat!" Xu Yao's face immediately fell.

Chen Jiazhi pretended not to hear and slowly went down the stairs, preparing to take another walk around the market.

Seeing him come down, Xu Yao teased him, "Director Chen, your brother-in-law hasn't come yesterday or today. You should at least be a little more careful and not go too far!"

Chen Jiazhi then remembered and said, "Oh, he won't be coming anymore. Just keep his salary calculated up to the day before yesterday."

Xu Yao was taken aback, seemingly puzzled: "Why did you suddenly stop coming?"

"I found him something else to do, so I'm going out now." Chen Jiazhi waved his hand. How could he not see that Xu Yao had feelings for Li Cai?

Unfortunately, Li is all about looks. Xu Yao might look good if she lost weight, but the key is that she's not thin either.

After riding his bike, Chen Jiazhi wandered around the market, but he couldn't find a single group leader. They had all disappeared, hiding somewhere to slack off.

There's really not much work to do.

When Chen Jiazhi saw that some of the bok choy seedlings were only one finger joint tall, he started thinning them out.

If you gave these seedlings to rabbits, they probably wouldn't even eat them.
In this situation, they can only work two days and rest one day; it would be strange if the workers didn't leave.

After searching for a while, Chen Jiazhi finally spotted Yi Dinggan and Chen Shaochang by the river.

"Brother Yi, you actually came fishing!"

"There's nothing to do."

"You can't catch anything anyway. You might as well learn from Yi Long, read a book, and learn Mandarin. That's better than being an air force pilot."

Chen Jiazhi stepped forward and offered the two of them a cigarette. Chen Shaochang didn't have a hearing aid, so he probably didn't hear their conversation.

Yi Dinggan scoffed, “When I take out my fishing rod, tonight will be another big meal.”

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "I understand, just go to the market to buy it."

(End of this chapter)