1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 269 Self-Sublimation
"Not a single vegetable from Jiangxin Market is allowed to enter Xiangjiang Market!"

"Don't worry, Dad!"

Not only was Xia Youche angry, but Xia Yang was even more furious. When did these country bumpkins from the mainland become so arrogant?

"Boss Xia, I'll also tell my brothers that at least none of them will help him haul the goods!"

Yu Zhaokun also gave a guarantee that these container drivers make a living from the vegetable market, and if they haul away goods they shouldn't, they can forget about getting any more orders.

Moreover, he also disliked the mainland guy. Having traveled between the two places for so long, the huge income gap made him look down on mainlanders from the bottom of his heart.

Xia Youche then looked at Cao Hong, "President Cao, you don't still want to cooperate with that kid, do you?"

Cao Hong smiled and said, "President Xia, you underestimate me. With Hengyang and Tongxingtai joining forces to block us, as long as Jiangxin Vegetable Market still wants to do business supplying Hong Kong, that kid will have to come begging to us sooner or later."

Xia Youche laughed and said, "That's what I think too. If we block the export qualifications and transportation, Jiangxin Vegetable Market will be like a grasshopper in autumn!"

Cao Hong pondered for a moment and said, "I'm afraid he'll give up supplying Hong Kong and only do business on the mainland. If that happens, there's not much we can do about it."

"Hahaha~" Xia Youche laughed loudly: "President Cao, you're an amateur."

Cao Hong raised an eyebrow.

Xia Youche added, "President Cao, Tongxingtai also has several large vegetable markets in mainland China. Running a large vegetable market is not easy; the costs of land rent, agricultural materials, labor, and other expenses are all very high."

Only with a price advantage for supplies to Hong Kong can large vegetable markets operate relatively well.

Those vegetable markets that only do business with the mainland are mostly struggling, having to be very careful with everything. If a natural disaster strikes, they can lose a year or two of their hard work!
Once that mainland guy suffers a loss, he'll definitely come begging to us again.

"President Cao, won't he be completely at our mercy then?"

Cao Hong understood and smiled, "I hope that day comes soon. This vegetable business is actually quite profitable."

Xia Youche was taken aback and didn't reply. He had no intention of leaving much profit for Hengyang, which was in the middle.

Xia Yang said, "President Cao, that day is not far off. We'll see the real deal in three months at most!"
That man surnamed Chen actually planted 300 mu (approximately 20 hectares) of sweet peppers this season; once the rainy season arrives, his entire crop will be ruined.

Cao Hong laughed and said, "That would be best!"

He can't escape my grasp!

Xia Youche reached out and grabbed hard, furious at missing out on the subsequent orders for Dutch beans—that was all money.

I'm determined now to exploit everyone and drive prices down to the lowest possible level!
...

After returning to the city, Xu Wenxiang called Huang Jianyuan.

"Mr. Huang, the negotiations have broken down."

“I already know, Huang Chuan called me first.”

Huang Jianyuan remained calm, knowing that Chen Jiazhi was already actively responding.

Xu Wenxiang asked, "What do you think? Do you want to withdraw?"

Huang Jianyuan chuckled and asked in return, "Does President Xu intend to withdraw?"

"I asked you first."

“I won’t back down,” Huang Jianyuan said thoughtfully. “On the contrary, I will help you find other channels.”

Xu Wenxiang was surprised: "Didn't you not think highly of him? Last time you told Chen Jiazhi to his face that the luck last time was the prelude to an even greater risk this time. Didn't you not think highly of this batch of sweet peppers?"

"..." Huang Jianyuan silently complained to himself, "You remember it so clearly."

"I was just conveying Mr. Peng's point of view. In fact, we all agree on his ability. He is a person who can create miracles."

Xu Wenxiang remained silent.

He actually shared Huang Jianyuan's feelings; the worse Jiangxin vegetable market used to be, the more its success in the past six months would stand out.

So despite numerous contradictions and doubts, they have persisted until now.

Are there any other channels?

“Tong Hing Tai is not the only vegetable market in Hong Kong,” Huang Jianyuan said. “I will call Director Chen to discuss this.”

After hanging up the phone, Huang Jianyuan contacted a few more friends before calling Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

However, it's been busy the whole time.

After Chen Jiazhi finished talking to Ao Dehai to learn about the vegetable purchasing plan for Dongxiang Market, he received another call from Xu Wenxiang.

They barely exchanged a few words when they met in the morning.

Chen Jiazhi also noticed that Xu Wenxiang was unhappy with Xia Youche, Cao Hong and others, but he didn't know if she was faking it.

After all, the price has been kept down since the change of ownership.

He found it hard not to suspect that Xu Wenxiang might be involved, but after a phone call, he chose to believe her.

No sooner had I hung up than I received another call from Huang Jianyuan, who also expressed his continued support for me.

"Director Chen, I heard from Huang Chuan that you plan to try your luck in Buji, which is the right thing to do."

Chen Jiazhi asked, "Does Mr. Huang know anything about this?"

“Hmm.” Huang Jianyuan said, “There are dozens of merchants in Buji who also supply Hong Kong, but none of them have export qualifications. However, they are handled by Buji Agricultural Wholesale Market for customs declaration. You can go and find out more about their situation.”

"Okay, Mr. Huang, the information you provided is very useful." Chen Jiazhi appreciated the favor.

Xu and Huang's behavior was quite remarkable; they still believed him even at this point.

Offending Tongxingtai could be a big or small matter. Xiangjiang vegetable market has its own circle, and perhaps if they raise their voices, they can collectively boycott Jiangxin vegetable market.

This is not impossible. Because Chen Jiazhi wants to break the rules that have long exploited mainland vegetable farmers.

In the Pearl River Delta, vegetable markets are either invested in by large vegetable markets, cooperated with large vegetable markets, or acquired by supply and marketing cooperatives and foreign trade companies.

All three parties have a need to suppress the acquisition price and make more profit. The pricing power is always firmly controlled, and the price is slightly higher than that in the mainland, but not by much, keeping people's appetite whetted.

The higher the price of vegetables in Hong Kong, the better life will be for vegetable farmers in mainland China, but these farmers will earn even more.

Therefore, Hong Kong's large vegetable markets often artificially inflate vegetable prices by taking advantage of weather conditions.

Another tactic is to first suppress the purchase price in mainland China, and then, after stockpiling enough goods, raise the price of vegetables to sell them off.
Chen Jiazhi is familiar with some of the manipulation tactics used by Hong Kong vegetable markets, and he has very few countermeasures at hand.

One of them is betting on market trends.

Every time he sells vegetables, it's during peak season, and in order to make money, the alliance between the Xiangjiang Vegetable Market members will naturally crack.

However, it can be a little difficult to cook when the market is sluggish.

However, he doesn't necessarily have to supply Hong Kong, as the Hong Kong market is also limited.

The longer-term direction is to steadily build a procurement, wholesale, and distribution system to create a competitive advantage through service.

That is, he has returned to the stability he initially insisted on last year.

Vegetable wholesale has low barriers to entry, and competition will become fierce in just a few years. How can one stand out from the crowd and thrive in the long run?
Relying on price wars?
Blood will eventually flow like a river.

Relying on connections and personal networks?
There will always be someone with stronger connections than you.

Only stability and reliability can build the deepest moat.

Then, by adding his memory of key market trends and pivotal years, he can grow his business even faster.
In the afternoon, Chen Jiazhi didn't go anywhere. He stayed in his office recalling information from his previous life and sorting out his understanding of the vegetable business system.

In contrast to the tranquility of the office, the vegetable garden was anything but peaceful.

"Jiafang, Manager Chen has fallen out with the Hong Kong buyers. Will we be able to sell all the bean pods today?"

Chen Jiafang was picking bean pods. "Why not? It's not like we can't sell them in Huacheng!"

Her coworker in the vegetable patch next to her said, "But Guangzhou can't compare to Hong Kong; the prices are much lower!"

On the other side, someone else said loudly, "Yeah, Sister Fang, if we can't sell them for a good price, our income might have to drop too."

"You should think positively."

"Of course you're different. The farm manager is your brother, and the deputy farm manager is your man. Of course you're not worried!"

"Hey, the manager shouldn't have gotten into a conflict with the people from Hong Kong. It would be more prestigious for the market to sell vegetables in Hong Kong and then go back to his hometown to talk about it."

"Yes, the mainland can't compare. I've heard that some people who come to the factory are willing to be kept by Hong Kongers rather than work in the factory."

"Hey, Jiafang, do you remember Jia Sufeng?" someone suddenly said mysteriously. "I heard she went to Shenzhen and was kept by someone. She even moved into a Western-style house."

The topic suddenly veered off course.

But it doesn't affect the overall situation in the market.

Wherever Yi Dinggan went, vegetable vendors would say he shouldn't have clashed with Hong Kong buyers, as if supplying Hong Kong meant he was superior.

He admitted that it was indeed much better.

However, through constant exposure, he came to understand Jiazhi's thoughts. The current situation was like having one's lifeline held in someone's grasp, which could be crushed at any moment.

Life and death are entirely in the hands of Hong Kong businessmen.

Therefore, even with difficulties and risks, he firmly supports self-reliance.

Unfortunately, many ordinary vegetable workers don't understand this point. But that's okay; some upheaval is necessary to filter out the gold.

Yi Dinggan walked back and forth in the vegetable field, talking with the vegetable workers and the group leaders, analyzing the character of each person.

Few people can think long-term.

How short-sighted!
Without the packaging and specification requirements for Hong Kong, the harvesting speed is much faster today.

It was just past five o'clock, and baskets of snow peas were already placed in the cement embankment below the office building.

Chen Jiazhi shouted a couple of times from upstairs, taking the opportunity to give the core team some more market training.

Regarding the stability and reliability of vegetable wholesale.

"If you want to grow and succeed in the vegetable wholesale industry, the real trump card is just two words: reliability."

"The characteristics of this industry—fast turnover, long chain, many links, and high losses—mean that every step from the fields to the city's dining table is like walking on thin ice."

This characteristic of 'freshness' and 'speed' also determines that trust is the hard currency that sustains the entire industry chain.

Vegetables are what we eat, but trust is what we feel in our hearts.

If the weight is tilted, the business will sink.

Shortchanging customers, selling inferior goods, raising prices arbitrarily, and breaking contracts at the last minute... these seemingly clever tricks that might gain a temporary advantage will ultimately turn into stones that crash down on them...

The training process was also a self-cleansing experience for Chen Jiazhi. He thought of Lao Wu and, even after many days, still felt a little guilty.

Old Wu is a real stubborn guy; once he said he wouldn't come, he really never came back.

Customers aren't fools. Once they've been scammed, their trust is like a shattered glass bowl, impossible to repair.

Through the gradual training and exchanges, Chen Jiazhi also felt that he had been elevated.

Betting on market trends doesn't mean abandoning everything else. Now that things have expanded, we need to focus on both aspects and make sure both are strong.

(End of this chapter)