1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 239: All Businesses Are Made for a Penny.

After leaving Curly's stall, Chen Jiazhi was not in a hurry to return to No. 56.

After Curly Hair established a successful wholesale business, Chen Jiazhi was even more eager to expand into delivery, and the key to successful delivery was a complete range of product categories.

Plan No. 56 focuses on leafy vegetables, so adding other categories seems to create some conflict.

But it won't have a big impact. They can rent a stall or storefront to sort, package, and deliver vegetables later.

Meanwhile, delivery also requires vans, as some busy areas in the city restrict the passage of trucks.

Buying a car is not a problem; we can consider it once Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai get their driver's licenses.

Another aspect is developing sources of goods, which also requires a few people to go out and explore large wholesale markets, suburbs and outskirts of cities, and even more distant places. Finally, there is the expansion of the production base.

There are quite a few things to do.

Xue Jun, Li Cai, and Chen Zhengxu are all new to this industry and probably don't recognize many vegetables, let alone know how to distinguish them.

But this is the current situation: there is a lack of relevant talent, and you can't recruit anyone you want; you have to start from scratch.

Even Chen Jiazhi needed to familiarize himself with each product category again.

In his previous life, he focused only on a few leafy vegetables, and he was not familiar with many root vegetables, spices, fruits and vegetables.

This is his first time doing wholesale business that involves buying and selling, and he has a lot to learn.

His greatest advantage is his extra lifetime of memories and rich experience in growing vegetables, which allows him to avoid many detours and even seize major opportunities to achieve faster development.

Before he knew it, Chen Jiazhi had finished walking around the market and had a general understanding of its situation.

It's no wonder it's a big city; although vegetable prices are low, the volume of vegetable transactions is huge, especially leafy greens.

It is also the season when leafy greens are of the best quality and cheap. Perhaps to make up for the fear of being dominated by expensive vegetables in the summer, citizens' demand for green vegetables has rebounded sharply.

The market was bustling with activity; people were buying vegetables, selling vegetables, and delivering goods—a constant flow of people.

Suddenly, Chen Jiazhi ran into Lao Wu at the entrance of stall number 56 and greeted him, "Buying vegetables, Mr. Wu?"

When Old Wu noticed it was him, he was stunned for a moment and subconsciously said, "I won't buy your vegetables."

Seemingly feeling that his words weren't harsh enough or satisfying enough, Old Wu added in a cold tone, "I told you long ago, if I ever buy vegetables from you again, I'm a fucking dog!"

His shout was quite loud, attracting the attention of two or three onlookers.

Chen Jiazhi said in surprise, "It's been more than a month, isn't it a bit too harsh?"

"I'm ruthless?" Old Wu snorted. "Because of you, I got yelled at by the client!"

"..." Chen Jiazhi said, "I can't be wrong if I cook the food too well."

"You've set the standards too high!"

"I hope you'll still be this stubborn a month from now."

Chen Jiazhi didn't say anything more and left. The last time the vegetables ran out was a bit sudden.

But business is business, and everyone in the vegetable business should be aware of that.

He prefers to believe that Lao Wu's hatred stems from his deep love for him, since there are very few people in the market who value integrity and quality as much as he does.

At the very least, all the vegetables that Lao Wu bought from him were safely delivered to downstream customers, which also helped him make a considerable profit.

Many people prey on long-term customers.

Chen Jiazhi has a clear conscience.

Moreover, he felt that Lao Wu had spoken too harshly, and he reminded him twice, but Lao Wu remained stubborn.

It's unclear whether Lao Wu will continue to be stubborn or how he will compromise when the cold wave arrives.

How much is left?

"There's only a little cauliflower and bok choy left. We should be able to sell them all before dawn."

"Then I'll wait for you to go back together."

When they arrived at their own stall, the vegetables were selling out quickly. Chen Jiazhi asked around and then chatted with the three people who had nothing to do for the time being.

"Based on the situation on the first day, we'll make some adjustments. From now on, Li Cai will be in charge of guarding the stall and selling vegetables, while Zheng Xu and Xue Jun will handle the purchasing. Hmm, they might also help with delivery first. Once things are going smoothly, we'll hire someone specifically for delivery."

"Any ideas you have are welcome to share."

Li Cai spoke first: "I feel quite suitable to sell vegetables, but how to manage the accounts and money might not be appropriate for me."

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "I will also come along during this period. I will collect the money from the daily sales first, and everyone will receive an advance for the purchase funds. We will adjust the amount later depending on the situation. It would be best to secure the supply of goods as soon as possible."

Chen Jiazhi hadn't actually practiced many of these things, so he could only figure them out gradually.

But he knew that the source of goods was fixed, which was the source of the evil credit. They would take goods first, settle accounts at the end of the month, and then drag it out for longer and longer, or even run away.

The best and most memorable solution is to have everyone have a mobile phone, and purchasing and sales staff will operate through a mobile app, minimizing management loopholes.

But that's clearly impossible now.

Many people don't even keep traditional accounts. Whether they can make money, and how much money they can make, still depends on memory and intuition.

"In addition, Xue Jun and Zheng Xu should go out more often when they have time. You two should divide the work and each take charge of a region. You should go and check out the busiest time of each vegetable wholesale market."

First we'll go to the markets in the city, then to the vegetable markets in the suburbs. When I have time, I'll drive with you.

Xue Jun and Chen Zhengxu both agreed.

Finding suppliers requires a lot of searching and effort. Chen Jiazhi guessed that Curly Hair got his supply through hard work and perseverance.

A city that big is bound to have some talented people.

In later generations, some delivery companies would target first-tier agricultural wholesale markets within a radius of 200 kilometers in order to find sources of goods.

After chatting for a while, Chen Jiazhi went back to his car and dozed off for a bit, only getting up to do the accounting and summarizing after all the vegetables were sold.

"We lost 240 yuan on cauliflower, 15 yuan on cabbage, 120 yuan on bok choy, and 10 yuan on choy sum. In total, we lost 95 yuan. Fortunately, it wasn't a big loss." Chen Jiazhi was quite optimistic, but Li Cai felt guilty and reminded him.

“Um, Brother Chen, you haven’t even factored in the gas costs, our three salaries, and the fact that you drove the car, paid the stall rent, and ran around all night. If you really think about it, you lost two or three hundred yuan that night.”

"so much?!"

Chen Zhengxu was also surprised. He used to earn just over a hundred yuan a month back in his hometown. He lost two months' salary in one night!

"The actual losses are likely to be even greater."

Li Cai was also a little upset, as he was largely responsible for the huge losses he had suffered that night.

Xue Jun also sighed, "Doing business is really not easy. We can't afford to lose money even in a single day!"

Chen Jiazhi, however, didn't care as much as the other three. He clapped his hands and encouraged them, "Hey, this is only the first day! Don't get discouraged! I'm counting on you guys to make money!"

"Making money is a bit difficult, Uncle." After understanding the costs, Chen Zhengxu said somewhat dejectedly, "I don't even know what vegetables to buy tomorrow."

The price difference between the two markets doesn't seem significant. The basic daily cost is already 200 yuan, so a 5-cent price difference would require selling at least 4,000 jin (2,000 kg) of vegetables. For many vegetables, the price difference is only 2-3 cents, or even less.

Li Cai added, "It's possible to sell at a loss; making this money isn't easy."

The more the three analyzed the situation, the more disheartened they became, feeling as if the business was about to fall apart. Chen Jiazhi interrupted, saying, "It seems it's time for me to make my move."

Tomorrow I'm going grocery shopping, and I'll show you what kind of purchasing work is profitable.

This statement sounded a bit pretentious, but it was perfect for boosting morale, and the three of them were filled with more anticipation.

After tallying up the day's losses, they went home. It was getting late, so they found a quiet stretch of road with little traffic and Chen Jiazhi let the two of them test drive the car.

From learning to drive, he could tell that Chen Zhengxu was more composed, driving very slowly and without any rush.

This kind of personality makes it less likely for someone to suffer losses in procurement; the rest depends on whether they are decisive enough.

Upon arriving in Panyu city, Chen Jiazhi dropped the two of them off along with their bicycles, as they were going to learn to drive.

And so he began another day of slacking off and sleeping.

It was evening again when the car was parked in the same spot.

"You two come with me, or you can rest in the car for a while first."

"Together."

Neither of them hesitated.

The wind was a bit noisy at night, and it had rained earlier, so the wind felt damp and cold on my skin.

Chen Jiazhi, carrying a flashlight, strode ahead, ignoring all the vegetables such as water spinach, taro, radish, cabbage, cauliflower, and chili peppers.

For some leafy vegetables, you can just shine a flashlight on them, and the vegetable vendor might have barely stood up before he was gone.

Before they knew it, Li Cai and Chen Zhengxu, who were walking and looking around, had fallen far behind.

After jogging a few more steps, he caught up with Chen Jiazhi, who was asking about prices and inspecting goods, in front of a car.

How much are the bok choy?

"5 cents 2."

Chen Jiazhi tucked the flashlight under his arm and then picked up the cabbage on the surface with both hands.

"Hey, handsome, don't mess up the food."

"Don't worry, sis, I'm a professional, I won't mess it up for you."

Not satisfied with just picking up the top layer of cabbage hearts, Chen Jiazhi went straight to the bottom to look at the vegetables underneath.

"The goods inside are all the same."

"the same."

"Let me see." Without waiting for her consent, Chen Jiazhi took it to the car and started reading.

"Sis, could you give me a discount?"

"Can you give me a lot?"

"How about 45 cents?"

"I wouldn't dare sell it for 45 cents."

"Then, sister, name your price."

"Eight cents."

"It doesn't sound very appealing. Tell me a price that will make you interested, sis. Tell me another price, and maybe I'll be interested."

"Then name one more."

"How about 48 cents? It's a lucky number, like 'May you prosper in all four seasons,' which sounds good. If you can sell it, I'll come and sell it every day."

"Take it, take it."

After some friendly haggling, Chen Jiazhi secured the first 300 jin of bok choy and then had the owner deliver it without paying.

He then immediately walked forward, asking Li Cai and Chen Zhengxu what they had understood as he went.

The two felt they understood something, but they didn't know how to describe it for a while.

"First of all, when inspecting goods, you have to be thick-skinned. You have to turn over a basket of vegetables to the bottom and check a whole truckload of vegetables. You have to look carefully. Even experienced buyers make mistakes sometimes, let alone you."

Secondly, although every penny saved is pure profit, everyone is doing business for a penny, so you should learn to bargain gently, without getting yelled at, and to close the deal amicably.

Finally, if you're concerned about the price, focus on the quality. The dishes I just bought were 8 cents more expensive than yesterday, but they were all good quality. If you see something you like, just grab it.

(End of this chapter)