1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 241 Shopping Spree!

Winters in Guangzhou are rarely particularly cold; even when they are, they only last for a week or two, a period so short it's almost unbearable.

However, Xu Wenxiang has been particularly sensitive to temperature changes lately, especially when the temperature drops.

So she caught the chill in just a moment, and then the clouds blocked the sun and cold rain began to fall.

She had a premonition that Chen Jiazhi would seize the opportunity during this short period of cold weather, which would last only a week or two.

For two more days, it rained continuously, and the damp and cold weather enveloped the entire city, with nighttime temperatures remaining below 10°C.

However, the colder and damper it was, the hotter Xu Wenxiang's heart felt.

She could tolerate Chen Jiazhi slacking off and sleeping, tolerate him running his own base, and tolerate his many arrogances, all for the sake of this moment of passion.

She really wanted to call the market to remind them that the temperature was dropping and that they should prepare accordingly.

But it's obvious that saying that over the phone would seem foolish and would also reveal your anxiety.

With Director Chen's capabilities, he must have prepared for this small matter well in advance.

I'm genuinely curious about the market: how big are the vegetables? How long does it take for them to be available? Is the yield high?
She could only endure it, and she asked the other shareholders to endure it as well, to keep things calm, to keep things calm...

Thankfully, tomorrow is the winter solstice.

For the people of Guangdong, the proverbs "winter is more important than the New Year" and "a fat winter and a lean New Year" are ones they've heard since childhood.

Every household will celebrate, and the restaurant's business will be even better. She can't leave, but she can use this opportunity to send her blessings to the market.

On the winter solstice, the banquet business at the Spruce Hotel indeed picked up again.

Xu Wenxiang returned to her office after a busy morning, but it wasn't until almost 4 p.m. that she was able to make the call.

At this time, Director Chen should be sleeping.

But after the call went through, it wasn't answered for a long time, disturbing his sleep, which made him unhappy.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard a voice on the phone again.

Hello~

"Yaoyao, it's you? Where's Director Chen?"

"Director Chen is in the kitchen. He's hosting a dinner party today and is overseeing the preparation of hot pot and mutton."

It's time to eat mutton on the Winter Solstice!
No, that's what she was concerned about. Xu Wenxiang asked again, "Why was he the one paying? There should still be money in the vegetable market account, right?"

"Also, he has plenty of funds." Xu Yao hesitated for a moment, and after confirming that no one was outside the door, she said, "He will probably bring his employees and family with him."

Xu Wenxiang understood what was going on. She felt a pang of sadness when she heard about his employees, but then asked Xu Yao to pass on her blessings before finally asking a few questions about the market.

Everything is in order.

That's true. If people can still enjoy lamb hot pot, then things must be pretty good at the market.

Xu Wenxiang felt much more at ease. Looking at the light rain falling outside the window, she cursed the awful weather, but then laughed. She was starting to like this kind of awful weather.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Yao went downstairs and into the kitchen.

The kitchen is a newly built brick house that cost over two thousand yuan, and it is fully equipped.

Xu Yao saw Li Cai through the kitchen window. He was wearing a black down jacket that looked very warm, and she heard that he had recently made some money and bought it.

In the kitchen, three men wearing aprons were preparing ingredients.

"Director Chen, General Manager Xu just called and said that today is the Winter Solstice, and asked me to send you my greetings."

Chen Jiazhi, still slicing potatoes, looked up and asked, "Why didn't you call me?"

Xu Yao was taken aback for a moment, then said, "President Xu didn't ask me to inform you either~"

Chen Jiazhi sighed, "You should have called me. I'll treat you to this meal today, and Mr. Xu can pay for the next one. In this cold weather, we need hot pot to keep warm."

"Um, Director Chen, why don't you call General Manager Xu again? She should still be on the phone."

"Never mind, never mind." Chen Jiazhi looked at the falling rain and laughed, "Let's wait a while longer, and then let President Xu treat us to a nice meal at Spruce Forest."

"Director Chen, you really have a knack for this!"

"That depends on whether God cooperates."

Xu Yao didn't leave either; she stood outside the kitchen, chatting with Chen Jiazhi, Li Cai, and others from time to time.

But after a short while, Li Cai made an excuse to go home to pick up Chen Jiazhi's parents and son and left, and Xu Yao returned to her office.

Chen Zhengxu sighed and said, "Uncle, I'm not bad-looking either, am I?"

"It's pretty good," Chen Jiazhi said. "It's just a little worse than Li Cai, and much worse than me."

"..."

When it was time to leave work, the management team of Jiangxin Market and Chen Jiazhi's family arrived.

A group of people gathered around, enjoying a lively meal of mutton hotpot and mutton soup, which helped to dispel some of the winter chill.

Chen Jiazhi, Li Cai, and Chen Zhengxu, in particular, had been looking forward to a big nourishing meal for a long time because it was too cold in the early morning and at night.

When it's not raining, it's dry and cold; when it rains, it's damp and cold. Although the temperature is still around eight or nine degrees Celsius, the cold seems to penetrate right to your bones.

Moreover, it's not even the coldest time yet.

After dinner, it was only seven o'clock, but it was already dark.

However, starting from the winter solstice, the daytime hours in Guangzhou will gradually begin to lengthen.

Back home, Chen Jiazhi and the other two washed up and went to bed early, while Li Xiu and the others were still in the living room warming themselves by the fire and watching TV.

When Chen Jiazhi and his two companions got up and went to buy groceries, the television was still on. "Such a distortion of truth, such a misinterpretation of right and wrong..."

Li Xiu, Chen Jiafang, Yi Dinggan, and Chen Shaochang are all still here, watching "Judge Bao" with rapt attention.

Even when Chen Jiazhi said goodbye and left, he was still reluctant to leave the screen.
Even Li Cai and Chen Zhengxu only reluctantly got into the car and left after he urged them.

After getting into the car, Chen Jiazhi offered cigarettes to both of them before asking, "Is it really that good-looking?"

"Beautiful!" they both replied in unison.

Li Cai laughed and said, "I love watching Judge Bao kill corrupt officials, stand up for the people, and eliminate evil. Every time he beheads someone, it's so satisfying!"

"Everyone likes watching this now. I heard from Xue Jun that people at the Dongxiang vegetable market are watching 'Justice Bao' every day lately."

"Hiss~ It's a bit cold. Hurry up and smoke so we can close the window."

As the car picked up speed, a cold draft rushed in through the window, causing Chen Jiazhi, who had just gotten out of bed, to gasp.

Then we continued talking about "Judge Bao". Throughout history, there has never been a shortage of corrupt officials who oppressed the people. The same is true in this day and age. Ordinary people can relate to this, which may be why this drama is so popular.

They didn't start buying anything until they arrived at the market, and Chen Jiazhi also went to the market to check on the market conditions.

As temperatures drop, vegetable growth slows down, leading to higher prices. At the same time, middlemen are finding it easier to make a living.

In the past two days, Chen Jiazhi's gross profit has stabilized at over 300 yuan per night.

The upward trend continued today, with gross profit reaching 350 yuan!
After finishing the accounts, Chen Zhengxu shrank back and said, "Hard work pays off! Things are finally getting better!"

"The market is just getting started, and we're about to enter the fast lane to making money." Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Li Cai should feel it more clearly these past two days. Sometimes it's actually easier to sell at the end."

Li Cai recalled for a moment and said, "It seems so."

Chen Jiazhi cautioned, "So if you realize something is wrong, you should raise the price decisively. Gradually, it will no longer be a business that makes a few cents, but a business that makes a few dimes."

Li Cai seemed to understand something: "Okay."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jiazhi said, "After New Year's Day, the Dongxiang vegetable market will also start selling vegetables, so we can get more bok choy and snow peas recently to warm up customers' purchasing habits."

Chen Zhengxu nodded in agreement.

This year's winter solstice is on December 22. After the winter solstice, the temperature in Guangdong gradually stabilized below 10℃.

After Christmas in the West, the feeling of winter will become more pronounced, with temperatures dropping day by day, but the critical temperature of 5°C has not yet been reached.

Generally, when the temperature is below 5℃, various winter-grown open-field vegetables such as snow peas, tomatoes, and leafy greens will be affected by frost damage.

However, many vegetable farmers and markets lack awareness of preventative measures, or are simply waiting for temperatures to rise.

But Chen Jiazhi continued to lead the workers in making final preparations.

During this period, Li Cai and Chen Zhengxu suddenly experienced what it felt like to be in an upward trend, just like riding a bicycle up the bridge in Huacheng, the upward trend was very stable.

This market situation makes it difficult for Chen Zhengxu to buy groceries. Prices are rising every day, and he's always afraid of overpaying.

But with Chen Jiazhi around, he didn't slack off these past two days, taking Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai to experience how to handle this kind of market.

He knew that the temperature wouldn't rise again in a short time, and that vegetables wouldn't spoil easily when the temperature was low. Vegetables like snow peas could be stored for three or four more days without any problem.

Therefore, he dared to take the dishes boldly, and he succeeded every time.

For a whole week, the gross profit from buying and selling exceeded 1000 yuan, and at its peak even reached 2300 yuan!
If Chen Jiazhi had a cold storage facility, or if the wholesale market had cold storage rooms available for rent, he would definitely stock up on all kinds of vegetables at this time, especially high-volume vegetables like leafy greens, or high-value vegetables like snow peas, hoarding as much as he could. Unfortunately, he didn't.

Even the two large markets, Yuexiu and Jiangnan, do not have any cold storage facilities available for rent.

Chen Jiazhi could only take more goods, filling his truck to the brim every day, and if he couldn't sell them all, he would sell them the next day.

It just so happens that the market is on an upward trend, so the gross profit margin can keep increasing.

After deducting costs, he made 1 yuan from this buying and selling business!
On the last day of the month, early in the morning, Chen Jiazhi, who had been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast, finally received the information he was looking for: a sharp drop in temperature!

The lowest temperature is approaching 0℃!
"It's finally here~"

Chen Jiazhi slapped the table and immediately called the shops near the Dongxiang vegetable market.

They then went out and came to the provincial highway.

At this time, the vegetable field is covered in white. Both the snow peas and the bok choy are covered in the plastic film of the small arched greenhouse. Under the film are the bok choy and snow peas that are close to harvest time, and they are protected very well.

But this is not enough.

He shouted a few times, summoning Yi Dinggan and the group leaders.

"There was a sharp drop in temperature at night, so all the ventilation openings of the plastic film were sealed off, the corners were covered with soil, and the prepared straw and velvet were also used to cover it up."

“Everyone should get involved and personally oversee the process, checking every inch.”

Whether we eat meat or gnaw on bones during the Lunar New Year depends on these next two days!

Within a day, both Jiangxin Vegetable Market and Dongxiang Vegetable Market had made complete preparations for keeping warm.

It proved to be necessary.

In the early hours of the morning, Chen Jiazhi, who had once again arrived at the wholesale market, was still shivering from the cold despite wearing thicker clothes.

After getting out of the car, Chen Zhengxu hopped and skipped.

I shone a flashlight around and quickly discovered signs of ice.

Chen Jiazhi, his heart burning with excitement, rushed into the wholesale market. "Zhengxu, hurry up and buy everything! Buy as many snow peas as you can!"

……

P.S.: No update today. I'll resume two updates a day from now on so I'll have time to brainstorm. Thanks for your support!

(End of this chapter)