1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 240 Making Money and Cooling Down

Walking on the street in the early morning, the fine moisture carrying a chill seeped into your bones, making you instinctively wrap your clothes tighter.

Li Cai was still reflecting on what had just been said.

"You have to be thick-skinned to inspect goods," and he stumbled on that yesterday.

Thinking back to Chen Jiazhi's skillful inspection and bargaining, he actually reaped considerable rewards.

Having been in Huacheng for some time, the two were aware of his achievements and personally guided him. They felt deep respect and gratitude for Chen Jiazhi.

I am also aware of the gap between us, and he is generous with his money, so working for him is the best choice.

Chen Jiazhi then bought three kinds of leafy greens: bok choy, kale, and mustard greens, plus the heart of the cabbage, bringing the total to 6,000 jin (3,000 kg).

Bok choy was still the most abundant, even more than yesterday, with a total of 3000 jin (1,500 catties).

If it sells well, you can make money, and naturally you can earn more.

They took the least amount of bok choy, only 300 jin (150 catties) in total.

Throughout this process, he also constantly gave Li Cai and Chen Zhengxu pointers and encouraged them to try it out on their own.

However, even so, the whole process still took more than forty minutes less today than yesterday.

When they arrived at stall number 56, Chen Jiazhi was also teaching Li Cai how to sell vegetables.

This is also what he excels at.

The process went smoothly, with no obstacles in communication with customers. In just three or four hours, before dawn, all 6,000 kilograms of vegetables were sold out.

The key is speed, accuracy, and stability!

"Guess if you made money today?"

After selling the vegetables, Chen Jiazhi, Li Cai, Chen Zhengxu, and Xue Jun sat on the steps smoking. Chen Jiazhi held the account book and prepared to do the accounting.

Li Cai exhaled a puff of smoke, pondering the situation of selling vegetables that evening. The price difference varied, making it difficult to calculate.

"I don't earn much."

"Okay, then I'll calculate it."

The benefits of keeping accounts become apparent: you can clearly see which transactions made money and which resulted in losses, and you can get the results simply by summarizing them.

"3000 catties of cabbage, gross profit of 142 yuan;
1800 jin of Chinese kale, gross profit of 72 yuan;
1500 jin of mustard greens, gross profit of 105 yuan;
300 jin of bok choy, gross profit of 66 yuan.

After a pause, Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "So, tonight's gross profit is 385 yuan. After deducting operating costs, I'll definitely make a profit."

"You really made a profit?"

Chen Jiazhi immediately passed the ledger to the three of them to look at. Although they were only doing business worth a few cents, they had indeed made a profit.

And this is still the peak season for vegetable production; vegetables are plentiful both inside and outside the city, and the price difference is not significant.

If you do it yourself without hiring anyone, you can make a profit of more than 300 yuan a night.

After a few months of stable performance, the cost of the car was recouped.

If the market is good and you're willing to take the risk of sourcing goods from the production areas, the price difference can be much higher. You can easily make a net profit of two or three thousand yuan by making a trip and bringing back a truckload of vegetables.

On average, you can make one trip every two or three days, and ten trips a month. Earning 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a month is not a dream, but every trip also carries risks.

"Is making money not so difficult after all?"

“It seems so~”

With a concrete example to follow, Li Cai and Chen Zhengxu regained their confidence, feeling that they could do it too.

Because they witnessed the entire process.

The principle is simple, and you seem to understand some of the tricks. If you still can't do it, it just means you're too stupid.
"Let's come back tomorrow. Don't set the target too high. Let's break even first."

"Uncle, I feel like I can make money this time."

"I think that's okay too."

"So you guys have gotten good again?"

"Hahaha……"

The next night,

Li Cai, Xue Jun, and Chen Zhengxu waited expectantly for Chen Jiazhi to settle the accounts. Although there were losses tonight, and the remaining goods were still sold at a loss, they felt that at least they hadn't lost money.

Chen Jiazhi also gave an affirmative answer, "Great progress, and a small profit."

"So, Uncle, you're still losing money?"

"We'll lose your wages, but we should be able to earn some money tomorrow."

Life went on like that.

Chen Zhengxu, Li Cai, and Xue Jun gradually figured out the knack of buying and selling vegetables, and their leafy vegetable business quickly improved.

From losses to break-even, and then to profits, it only takes a few days.

Once you break through this barrier, you've entered the door; it's simply a matter of practice makes perfect.

Chen Jiazhi also gained a lot in the process.

Aside from making some small money, his biggest achievement was his progress and new insights into managing market sales.

However, if you want to retain employees in the future, you still have to be willing to share profits. From the perspective of subordinates, a boss who is willing to share profits is a good boss.

If someone among his current group of followers becomes capable, or if suitable talent emerges in the future, he wouldn't mind giving them dividends or shares.

There isn't any for now; his stall is just too small.

Winters in Guangzhou are mostly warm as long as it doesn't rain, making them suitable for outdoor activities and, for vegetable farmers, suitable for work.

Over time, both Dongxiang Market and Jiangxin Market have undergone significant changes.

The bok choy covered the vegetable patch, lush and green.

The snow peas are also growing vigorously, the only incongruous thing is the arched frame, which affects the farmers' work and often causes complaints.

“This arched shed frame is useless; it’s better to tear it down sooner rather than later!” “I don’t know what the manager was thinking. A while ago, I worked at the nearby vegetable market for a few days, and everyone was waiting to see me make a fool of myself.”

Someone asked, "What kind of joke are you looking at?"

Another person said, "Everyone says that snow peas don't need trellises. The cost of trellises is too high, so there's no money to be made!"

Someone else said, "If things continue like this, won't the market go out of business again?"

"I think it's possible."

"I was just lucky in the first two months, I just happened to be at the market."

During dinner that evening, Li Xiu and Chen Jiafang recounted the vegetable cooks' discussion to Chen Jiazhi and Yi Dinggan.

I'm quite worried about that too.

The two were puzzled by the fact that the scaffolding was erected but then left unused.

However, Yi Dinggan understood immediately and patiently explained it to the two of them.

"Jiazhi is betting on the market during New Year's Day. If we cover the greenhouse now, the snow peas might grow too vigorously, which would not only reduce the yield but also cause them to hit the market earlier, missing out on potential market opportunities. Am I right, Manager Chen?"

Chen Jiazhi gave a thumbs up, "Deputy Director Yi has made progress again."

Yi Dinggan said, "However, if there is no cold wave, we will really be in trouble this time. The temperature has been stable above 10℃ recently, only occasionally dropping below 10℃ when it rains, which has no effect on the snow peas."

For a cold wave to cause disaster, the temperature would need to be at least below 5°C, ideally dropping to 0°C, which is highly unlikely.

"If you want to make high returns, how can you not take risks? The shareholders aren't worried, so I don't know why you're in such a hurry."

When it comes to betting on market trends, the risks are inevitably mentioned.

Especially with the unpredictable weather, there have been many rumors circulating in Jiangxin vegetable market lately.

But the top management remains very stable.

Shareholders Xu Wenxiang and Huang Jianyuan also visited twice, even bringing some meteorological data for reference, and also pointed out that the risks were considerable.

However, no one interfered with his management, which puzzled Yi Dinggan.

"Jiazhi, can you teach me again how to gain the trust of the shareholders?"

"It's also possible that it's not about trust, but rather that things have come to this point and it's too late to change anything, so all we can do is wait and see what happens."

It's only mid-December, and the first batch of snow peas planted should be flowering in a few days.

The bok choy is slowly starting to bolt.

Both are in line with expectations of being listed after New Year's Day.

However, vegetable prices have not improved much yet, and bok choy is still struggling in the drizzle.

Snow peas are better, priced at around 1.2 yuan per jin (0.5 catties), which is not a low price, and the profit from open-field cultivation is still acceptable.

However, Jiangxin Market had already erected sheds, which significantly increased costs, but there was no way to change it now.

Can only wait.

It won't be long.

If this gamble fails, Xu Wenxiang and the others might turn against them.

...

"How about we buy some snow peas and try it tonight?"

In the early hours of the morning, the light truck once again stopped in the parking lot of the Jiangnan Market, and Chen Zhengxu put forward a new idea.

Li Cai said, "I think it's a good idea. There are also snow peas at the Dongxiang vegetable market behind here. Let's test the waters first."

"What do you think, Uncle?"

"I'm fine with anything, you can discuss it yourselves, but if you want to make more money, leafy greens are a safer bet."

After turning off the engine, Chen Jiazhi took a blanket and covered himself with it, as it was still a bit cold at night.

He hasn't been involved in purchasing or sales these days; he just drives at night and goes to sleep once he arrives.

I don't earn much each day, mostly just a few dozen yuan, but I don't have to worry about it, so it's not bad.

Li Cai said, "The leafy vegetable market is stable, but the competition is fierce, especially at stall number 33 in this market, which sells at least one truckload of leafy vegetables every day, taking away many high-quality customers, making it difficult to increase gross profit."

"Okay, then you guys can try the snow peas."

Curly Hair became the biggest competitor, which made Chen Jiazhi both amused and exasperated.

But it's not too bad. Although Curly has a source of goods, it's not his own base. A cold wave can bring him back to reality.

The night passed peacefully, with a gross profit of 245 yuan. This adds up to six or seven thousand yuan a month, which is enough to easily support three workers.

...

Even in winter, the trees in Guangzhou remain lush and green, with broad and thick leaves. Although they don't provide much warmth, they at least make people feel that this place is still full of life.

For example, one morning, you wake up to find that the sun is shining brightly outside and the temperature is rising. You can put on short sleeves and go out to enjoy this rare "winter sunshine".

Xu Wenxiang was like that today. She had a rare day off and slept in late, only to find the sun was out when she woke up.

He originally wanted to visit Jiangxin Market, but then he remembered that he had already been there twice. Although he hadn't put any pressure on Director Chen on either occasion, Xu Yao had told him that there had been some doubts about the market recently.

The shed was erected but not used, and there was a lot of gossip and idle talk.

In fact, some shareholders had concerns and gossiped, but she suppressed them all. She never doubted Chen Jiazhi's ability to grow vegetables.

Even if we don't make a profit this time, or even lose money, my support for him will not change.

If he wants to play it safe, then play it safe. If he wants to concentrate his efforts on betting on the market, then go for it. Opportunities are earned through gambling.

Sometimes a sudden cold front can catch an entire city off guard.

Xu Wenxiang had only been walking in the park for a short while when she suddenly felt cold again.

(End of this chapter)