1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 251 Epilogue
"You guys!" Yi Dinggan looked at the four people who came in one after another with some surprise.

“What did we do?” Li Mingkun said accusingly. “You’re allowed to sneak over here, but we’re not allowed to come, and you didn’t even call out.”

Yi Dinggan snorted: "Who knows what you guys are thinking? Last night you were all having a great time chatting."

Qi Yongfeng: "Hey, Lao Yi, if we're talking about the one we chatted with the most yesterday, it has to be you. Tell me, were you tempted yesterday?"

“I was just playing along,” Yi Dinggan said, clearly annoyed by the “Old Yi” title. “But I feel you guys are genuinely interested.”

Qi Yongfeng pursed his lips: "I admit I was a little tempted, but after we got back last night, the four of us chatted until midnight and felt that Xu Wenxiang was unreliable. As soon as Brother Zhi left, she couldn't wait to sow discord."

And the benefits she promised are something we could never get!
Besides, without Brother Zhi, I probably still wouldn't know how to grow vegetables properly, let alone have caught the market trends these past two times!

Li Mingkun, Guo Mancang, and Ao Deliang also echoed Qi Yongfeng's sentiments.

After drinking last night, none of the four of them could sleep, their minds preoccupied with worries, the numbers 40 yuan and 5 yuan constantly floating in their minds.

Li Mingkun didn't drink, but as an observer, he was fully aware of everyone's behavior at the drinking party.

They were really tempted.

He was tempted too.

However, is it appropriate for them to do this?

Li Mingkun couldn't sleep, so he didn't go to sleep. He got up alone and smoked a cigarette in silence. Then Ao Deliang got up, and Qi Yongfeng and Guo Mancang also got up.

Perhaps because they were used to group training, they also got used to discussing things together when they encountered problems.

The same was true that night.

In the cold wind and under the cover of night, the four men, with cigarettes in their mouths, analyzed why they couldn't sleep.

Perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps because someone was too sincere towards them.

In the past six months, so many changes have taken place, and they have personally witnessed Chen Jiazhi's gradual rise to prominence.

It was precisely because of his leadership and his technical sharing and training that many people were able to make rapid progress and escape poverty.

Even his ability to come to Jiangxin Market was thanks to Chen Jiazhi's help again, and he still conducts technical training and sharing sessions in the evenings.

Everyone could sense that he was open-minded and sincere in his dealings with others.

In addition, their two consecutive great successes certainly boosted their confidence.

However, without Chen Jiazhi's production planning, it seems difficult to catch up with these two major market booms.

Without his resource preparation and command and coordination, the production management process would certainly have been bumpy.

Before he brought it up, no one realized the importance of drought and cold protection...

So, what role did they actually play in these two market movements?
Looking back at their performance when facing God's erratic behavior a year or two ago, the four of them felt a chill run down their spines.

If they were allowed to manage the land independently, they would likely be struggling on the poverty line, just like many ordinary vegetable farmers—not starving, but also unable to get rich.

Now, freed from manual labor, they enjoy a life of luxury, and even when faced with unsolvable problems, there are tall people to help them.

Everything that had happened in the past few months was dug up and analyzed by the group.

The more I analyzed it, the clearer I became about why I couldn't sleep: because I felt guilty and uneasy.

Whether out of moral obligation or self-interest, it's truly wrong to be so easily swayed by a few words.
The lesson learned from the night is to abandon illusions and be down-to-earth. Xu Wenxiang's attempt to win them over is futile!
The appearance of the four at this time already explained everything; after the clouds clear, the moon will shine; and the flowers will eventually bloom.

All the watering efforts of the past have not been in vain.

He has a good eye for people.

Chen Jiazhi chuckled and said, "Alright, alright, let's not talk about these things in the office, it's not a good idea."

Qi Yongfeng chuckled and said, "Brother Zhi, don't worry. Accountant Xu isn't here, and everyone else is out. We can talk freely and without worry. In short, if you want to leave, we'll definitely go with you, right?"

"nature."

"The farm manager has been so sincere to us, we cannot forget his kindness."

"Boss Chen is worth following!"

"I don't plan to leave for now. Right now, I want to focus on running the Jiangxin vegetable market well. When the time is right, we can work together to build something bigger!"

Having briefly stated his position, Chen Jiazhi waved his hand again, "Since you're here, let's discuss the production arrangements together. Yongfeng, go and call Zheng Zhong and Huang Rixin."

Qi Yongfeng asked in confusion, "Why call them?"

Chen Jiazhi said irritably, "At least for now we still belong to the same group, hurry up and go!"

He didn't want to be ungrateful; Xu Wenxiang had given him this opportunity, and as long as he was still alive, he would do his best at his job.

As for slacking off and sleeping, he didn't think it would have much of an impact on his work performance.

If production planning and market research are done well, many things will be much more efficient.

There are about twenty days left until the Spring Festival. The bok choy will probably be harvested in four days, and the plant stalks will be cleaned up after the harvest.

Chen Jiazhi plans to complete the land preparation and drying of the 300 mu of land that has been harvested before the Lunar New Year.

The workload is not high.

The slightly more challenging question was what vegetables to plant. At the meeting, Chen Jiazhi encouraged everyone to share their opinions on this issue.

Then, based on his understanding of the market, he ultimately overturned his previous idea of ​​planting Chinese cabbage for stability.

With the availability of snow peas as a safety net, the daily harvest of snow peas at Jiangxin Market should remain above 8000 jin (4,000 catties) for the next two to three months. Even if prices drop, daily sales should still exceed 10,000 yuan.

This is already a very substantial income.

Based on this, taking a bold risk is the wisest choice, and he happens to feel that a certain variety has a great potential.

chili!

Generally speaking, chili production in Guangdong is mainly divided into three categories.

The first method is autumn sowing, which generally involves sowing and raising seedlings after the early rice harvest, transplanting in August or September, and harvesting in October or December.

Secondly, spring planting generally involves sowing and raising seedlings after the late rice harvest, transplanting from December to January of the following year, and harvesting from March to May.
These two methods also represent the mainstream planting times for peppers transported from southern Guangdong to northern regions, such as Zhanjiang, Maoming, and Shaoguan.

The transportation of peppers from southern Guangdong to northern China has grown increasingly large since the late 80s.

Meanwhile, Fujian, Hainan, and Guangxi are also establishing bases for transporting chili peppers from the south to the north, leading to increasingly fierce competition for chili peppers from December to May of the following year.

But there is a third type, which is not only rare now, but also unlikely to be seen in the future.

即夏季栽培播种期，一般1月下旬~2月上旬播种育苗，3月中~4月上定植，5~7月采收。

The harvest seasons were completely staggered, and at the same time, the number of people working in Guangdong who eat spicy food was increasing day by day, resulting in a long-term shortage of chili peppers during this period.

Market demand is stable.

The only challenge is that the hot and rainy summer season is the least suitable season for chili pepper cultivation in Guangdong.

However, it is only more difficult to cultivate, not impossible to grow at all.

As long as there is no total crop failure, low yields are not a problem, as prices can make up for some of the losses.

Moreover, Jiangxin Vegetable Market has small arched greenhouses, so that sowing and seedling cultivation can begin now.

The land is dried during the Lunar New Year, then plowed and planted afterward, and the crops are ready to be sold before May. If the rainy season comes a little later, there is actually a lot of potential.

It's also convenient for work arrangements.

Chen Jiazhi thought it was worth taking a risk, and the production management team was used to his gambler's style.

Give it a try and turn your bicycle into a motorcycle.

The planting plan was arranged, which means the work will take place during the Spring Festival. There are still snow peas in the field, so someone definitely needs to stay and watch over them; we can't all leave.

In the end, Chen Jiazhi, Qi Yongfeng, and Zheng Zhong stayed behind, working the shifts together with the vegetable workers who didn't go home for the holiday.

Snow peas need to be fertilized with organic fertilizer in furrows before the festival to ensure sufficient nutrition and prolong the pod-setting period.

The other task is the cultivation of chili seedlings.

"Everyone works together to do a good job in production before the New Year. The market will pay wages before the holiday. If all goes well, everyone will receive a generous New Year's red envelope."

After arranging the work, Chen Jiazhi also felt tired. Whenever it was time to sell vegetables, he had to run back and forth between the two places, and he would always be a little sleep-deprived.

Fortunately, all this hard work paid off.

Over the next few days, Jiangxin Vegetable Market and Dongxiang Vegetable Market continued to produce vegetables steadily, with about 50,000 catties of bok choy and nearly 10,000 catties of snow peas being shipped out every day.

Prices are also very stable, consistently high.

The price of Chinese cabbage supplied to Hong Kong has reached 2.8 yuan per jin, and snow peas are 5 yuan per jin. Such prices have kept the daily sales of Jiangxin Vegetable Market stable at around 18.9 yuan.

Every afternoon, the harvesting team at Jiangxin Vegetable Market is a beautiful sight to behold.

No one can ignore such achievements.

Even shareholders like Xu Wenxiang couldn't resist; the stable, high returns led Xu Wenxiang to visit the market for several days in a row.

Chen Jiazhi also took this opportunity to talk about his new planting plan.

Xu Wenxiang was very interested in his adventurous planting plan.

In just four months, Chen Jiazhi successfully predicted two major market trends, proving his ability to analyze the market with foresight.

She has already tasted the high returns behind this high risk, which is somewhat irresistible.

At the same time, people's opinion of Chen Jiazhi's work attitude has also changed.

"Director Chen, if we're going to take the risk of growing chili peppers, just let me know what kind of support we need!"

“I will make a financial plan for the future. This time the risk is a bit higher, so I don’t need to invest as much money.” Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, “I hope that the money not planned can be distributed as dividends again before the end of the year, as a New Year’s bonus.”

Xu Wenxiang wasn't very surprised, and said with a hint of helplessness, "You really don't trust me at all!"

Chen Jiazhi did not respond.

Xu Wenxiang was amused and annoyed. This person was good in every way, except that he was too straightforward in his dealings with others.

"Yes, you will receive all the dividends, and the employees' salaries and bonuses will not be reduced either. But can you please have some affection for Jiangxin Vegetable Market?"

"Don't worry, I'll make proper arrangements when I leave and won't leave a mess for Jiangxin Vegetable Market." Chen Jiazhi also promised, "Even after I leave, I'll come back to visit often."

"I hope you remember what I said today," Xu Wenxiang said. "Your salary, bonuses, and dividends will all be paid in full."

On January 14, the last batch of bok choy at Jiangxin Vegetable Market was harvested, and the cumulative sales over 12 days reached 206 million yuan.

(End of this chapter)