1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 245 Harvest
For thousands of years, people have often said, "Frost can wither ten thousand acres of land."

But frost is just one manifestation of low temperature. What really damages crops is the low temperature that forms frost. Low temperature is the culprit that directly kills vegetables.

At the same time, vegetables will accumulate more sugar to provide energy in order to resist the cold, which makes vegetables that have been touched by frost especially sweet.

On January 3rd, the sun shone brightly, its rays warming the skin.

At 2 p.m., Chen Jiazhi was organizing the harvesting of vegetables on the provincial highway outside the Jiangxin Vegetable Market office building, with Yi Dinggan and several group leaders in front of him.

"After more than two months of hard work, we're about to see the results today," Chen Jiazhi said with a smile. "We've harvested all the tender pods of the snow peas that meet the standards, and we've also harvested 50000 jin of bok choy."

The straw and plastic film covering the vegetable market have been removed, revealing a lush green vegetable field.

"Manager, how many kilograms of snow peas can you estimate we can harvest today?" Yi Dinggan looked at the vines laden with pods. "Everyone, give your estimates. Whoever's estimate is the most off will get a pack of cigarettes. How about that?"

Everyone present had put in a lot of effort for this batch of snow peas, spending every day in the field and becoming very familiar with the growth of the pods. They agreed with great confidence.

Qi Yongfeng urged, "Manager, we're just waiting for you. Are you scared yet?!"

“Afraid? The word ‘fear’ doesn’t exist in my dictionary.” Chen Jiazhi agreed and then headed towards the vegetable field.

“Hey, hey~” Yi Dinggan stopped him. “You can’t cram at the last minute. You have to report your numbers first before you can go.”

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow slightly: "Shall I guess first?"

Yi Dinggan said, "Of course, you are the farm manager, this opportunity should be reserved for you."

The others shared the same opinion, seemingly convinced that he hadn't been spending much time in the vegetable garden lately.

After a moment's thought, Chen Jiazhi said, "I guess we can pick 10,000 catties of tender bean pods today."

"Hiss~ Director Chen, are you planning to treat us to dinner?" Li Mingkun said exaggeratedly, thinking that the figure was a bit too high.

"Ten thousand catties, as expected of the farm manager!" Yi Dinggan felt confident of victory. "I guess eight thousand catties."

"Eight thousand five hundred!"

"Eight thousand two..."

Everyone was focusing on the 8,000 figure, indicating that they had already discussed it and made production estimates.

Chen Jiazhi didn't care. As a manager and shareholder, he naturally hoped for the highest possible output.

After assigning the harvesting tasks, the team leaders went to organize the workers.

A moment later, Jiangxin Market was bustling with activity.

Chen Jiazhi rode his bicycle around the market. The sunshine, the river, the vegetable fields, the farmers—the Jiangxin vegetable market in winter had a unique beauty.

Rows of snow peas, their vines twining around the branches, climb ever higher. Bathed in the warm sun, the leaves of the snow peas are lush and tender, densely packed together. The red or purple flowers, shaped like colorful butterflies, flutter in the breeze like butterflies flitting among the vines, or hide beneath the leaves, as shy as a lady. They droop, raise their heads, or gaze at the warm sun, displaying countless forms and charms. The purple ones exude noble elegance, while the white ones are pure and fresh, making them irresistible.

The tender pods of snow peas are especially crisp and fragrant this season, and when stir-fried with lean meat, the aroma is mouthwatering.

The other patch of bok choy was equally impressive, lush and green with thick leaves and strong seedlings. In winter, the bok choy had thicker stems, more succulent leaves, and a sweeter taste. After being frozen, it was even more crisp and tender, leaving a lasting impression.

Workers moved among the vines and vegetable plots, selecting mature tender bean pods and vegetable hearts, filling bamboo baskets.

In addition, the lettuce and Shanghai bok choy planted in the northern section for trial planting have been successively eaten by the managers and vegetable workers in the past few days.

Chen Jiazhi was still savoring the memory as he passed by, reminding himself to bring some bok choy and snow peas home when he went home that night.

After touring the fields, I still felt like I hadn't had enough.

There was no one in the office; everyone had gone to the vegetable field, as no one wanted to miss its most beautiful scenery.

Chen Jiazhi watched the vegetable workers work for a while from the second-floor corridor; he especially enjoyed these moments of harvest.

But one must always look forward.

After spending about half an hour in the corridor, Chen Jiazhi returned to his office and began to think about his next step.

The harvest season for snow peas is quite long, lasting at least until April. There's still time to consider whether to plant leafy greens or fruit vegetables for another six months.

The planting of 300 mu of Chinese cabbage was completed within 5 days. The three varieties have different growth periods, but they can be harvested within half a month.

Half a month later, winter in Huacheng was over. How should the next crop be planted?
He was considering whether there was a chance to take a gamble.

By this time, the advantage of his reborn memories was temporarily gone, and he was also unfamiliar with the market conditions of 1995 and 1996.

But sometimes you can glean clues from market changes, and market analysis is also one of his strengths.

However, judging from the current situation, the probability of success is very small.

The frost damage to open-field winter vegetable cultivation has forced many farmers to start over with tears in their eyes.

Trying to gamble on the market at this time would likely result in running into these same people, which would be a losing proposition.

With this batch of snow peas and bok choy as a foundation, we've already made a good start to the new year.

After some thought, Chen Jiazhi decided to be more conservative with the next crop, diversifying the types of vegetables and planting times.

He still has time to study the specific types of vegetables and timing.

Then he took out a map and began to consider the location of the new base.

After considering all the options, I still think Baiyun is the most suitable, as its proximity to the core vegetable distribution market is a huge advantage. And since this base will be quite large.

In terms of funds, he already has more than 70 yuan in cash on hand, and after this batch of vegetables is finished, having 100 million yuan will not be a problem.

In addition, in terms of personnel, Dongxiang Market has a staff, and the few people at Jiangxin Market can be transferred at any time.

The only problem is that the market in Haizhu is too small, so a larger market channel is needed. Yuexiu and Jiangnan markets are new options.

Thinking of the market, he couldn't help but think of Hong Kong. Xu Wenxiang controlled the distribution channels very tightly, and Xu Yao also kept a close watch on him.

In the Jiangxin vegetable market, Chen Jiazhi was just someone who organized the delivery; he had to come up with a solution…

"Uncle~" Chen Zhengxu knocked on the door and came in. "I've come to get the car keys. Li Cai and I will practice getting out of the car together."

"Oh, here you go." Chen Jiazhi snapped out of his daze and handed over the keys. "Where's Li Cai?"

Chen Zhengxu said, "He didn't really want to come to the office, so he waited for me on the highway."

"That kid." Chen Jiazhi smiled and couldn't help but think of Xu Yao. "Drive slowly when you're practicing, and be careful."

"Don't worry, we're all skilled now, we'll get our licenses soon." Chen Zhengxu grabbed the keys and ran off.

After thinking for a while, Chen Jiazhi realized there was another way: go to Shenzhen, to the Buji Agricultural Wholesale Market.

As the current industry leader, most of Hong Kong's vegetables come from Phuket. I'd like to explore that route sometime.

If all else fails, focus on the domestic market; Shenzhen will also be an important location in the future.

...

There are fewer concerns when harvesting vegetables in winter, as the warm sun disappears early.

At six o'clock, baskets of neatly stacked vegetables were brought back, and transport vehicles arrived shortly afterward.

But Chen Jiazhi was too lazy to go downstairs. He just stood on the second-floor corridor watching Xu Yao count the quantities while Yi Dinggan directed the loading.

He already knew the prices today: snow peas were an outrageous 4 yuan per jin, and bok choy was 2 yuan per jin.

This is the price supplied to Hong Kong.

But the domestic market will definitely not be low either, Chen Jiazhi wondered to himself, how many snow peas will Dongxiang vegetable market be able to buy today?
After gazing into the vegetable field for a while, he saw Li Xiu bending over to harvest the vegetables and sighed inwardly.

Working hard all day to earn just over ten yuan, what's the point?

A moment later, the blue light truck drove back.

Chen Jiazhi noticed that Xu Yao stared at the car for a while, but quickly looked away when she saw that it was Chen Zhengxu who got out of the car.

When Chen Jiazhi got the key, he said, "Zhengxu, from now on, let Li Cai come over to get the key. You can't always be the one running around."

"It's okay if I run a little more..." But seeing his uncle's meaningful smile, Chen Zhengxu was stunned for a moment and agreed with a bitter expression.

Chen Jiazhi just wanted to give it a try, in case Li Cai could win over Xu Yao?
"Manager, the vegetable weight is out. Please sign here."

A little while later, Xu Yao shouted in the yard that the last truck was almost loaded.

Chen Jiazhi went downstairs, asked about the total amount, and then casually took the order.

Xu Yao had already calculated the quantities and was in a good mood: "The bok choy is exactly 50000 jin, and the snow peas are 10260 jin."

"It's not bad, the output is very high, another 14 yuan."

Chen Jiazhi quickly came up with a rough estimate of the amount, but then he realized, why did Yi Dinggan disappear so quickly?
"It seems like he just left." Xu Yao said, puzzled. "He said he wanted to go back early to cook."

They run really fast!
It seems he still has some sense of shame. So many people spend every day in the vegetable fields, yet their yield estimates are not as accurate as his.

Chen Jiazhi looked up and glanced at the snow bean trellis in the distance; its yield was truly high.

Actually, he didn't just make a random estimate at the time; he calculated it based on a maximum yield of 4000 jin per mu and a harvest period of 120 days.

Although the first batch was delayed for a few days, the optimal flowering and pod-setting period for snow peas is 15-25℃.

As temperatures rise, the peak production period will begin, and the yield of 4000 jin (2,000 catties) depends on luck, but a high yield is quite likely.

After signing the papers and instructing Xu Yao to keep an eye on the payment, Chen Jiazhi asked no questions and walked towards Li Xiu, who was waiting for him on the highway, to leave work.

Oh, and I also need to pick a bunch of bok choy hearts.

Xu Yao watched the farm manager and his wife leave side by side, feeling somewhat envious of their life.

As soon as he got home, Chen Jiazhi saw a clump of bok choy leaves spread out in the yard, and Peng Guozhen had just fulfilled his wish by feeding the chickens and rabbits with the bok choy.

Once inside the kitchen, Yi Dinggan pulled out a pack of cigarettes and gave it to him.

Chen Jiazhi accepted it with a smile: "You're quite particular."

"It's just a matter of accepting the consequences of a bet." Yi Dinggan asked, somewhat frustrated, "You're rarely in the vegetable garden, how could you have guessed so accurately?"

“Because from every angle, we did our best,” Chen Jiazhi said with a smile. “I just estimated the limit, while you lack confidence.”

(End of this chapter)