1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

How did Chapter 275 become so popular?

The data from the trial planting of Zhongjiao No. 5 in Zhanjiang by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences two years ago were very good.

The average yield is 4500 kilograms per mu, or 4.5 tons, with the highest yield approaching 5 tons.

Based on the current situation, if the harvest at Jiangxin Vegetable Market can proceed smoothly until early June, the estimated yield per mu (unit of land area) should be 3.5 to 4 tons.

Total output: 1050-1200 tons.

With such a large volume, sacrificing a little profit in the early stages can help build brand awareness, attract customers, and deplete inventory.

A win-win-win situation, this is definitely worth it.

Meanwhile, today alone, the first day, we produced 10.9 tons of green peppers, and tomorrow we have a similar amount to go, so the pressure is indeed immense.

For his first day of business, Chen Jiazhi wanted to make a strong start and achieve a great success.

In just a few words, the car was straightened and parked.

A group of people suddenly rushed into the passage and tried to get on the truck to unload the goods without saying a word. Chen Jiazhi saw an acquaintance.

"He Qiang!"

"Luo Xiaoyu!"

"He Peng, Sun Jianjun!"

The group of people were all acquaintances who had grown vegetables together at the Dongxiang vegetable market. The few people who were climbing onto the vehicle were also stunned and turned to look at Chen Jiazhi standing next to the table.

"Scholar, what are you doing here?"

“Li Xiu is here too.” Luo Xiaoyu was also stunned. She noticed the camera that Li Xiu was holding.

The group of people were stunned, somewhat at a loss, wondering why the two of them were here, and it seemed they were doing quite well.

Just then, another group of people walked towards another vehicle at stall 63; they looked like they were also porters.

He Qiang immediately came to his senses, pulled the towel off his shoulder, and led He Peng and the others to stop the people who came.

"What are you doing! What are you doing! This is our cargo, get out of here and cool off!"

The other group was not to be outdone, arguing in their respective dialects.

"How dare you hog two cars!"

"That's right, that car is yours, and this car is ours!"

"Get lost!" He Qiang said fiercely. "You son of a bitch, you're asking for death!"

"You're the one who's asking for death!" one of the men, a leader, shouted. "You're not happy, are you? Then come and fight!"

"Come on, I'll fucking kill you!"

"You try doing one yourself!"

The two groups were on the verge of fighting when Chen Jiazhi, who had been watching the scene unfold for a while, shouted, "What's all the noise about?!"

When both groups looked at him, Chen Jiazhi said again, "The goods are mine. Don't you even ask the owner before unloading them?"

He Qiang and the others stared in astonishment, no one uttering a sound, but they were clearly more surprised than when they first met.

The leader of the other group immediately stepped forward and said, "Boss, have a cigarette, have a cigarette. We can give you a discount on the unloading price. Let us unload these vegetables."

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow: "There are no market regulations on this?"

The man said, "Not yet."

Chen Jiazhi pointed at He Qiang and the others and said, "I already promised to give them these two truckloads of vegetables. You can find others. Besides, they did come first."

The newcomer's eyes immediately turned cold.

Chen Jiazhi wasn't going to tolerate him. Just as he was about to shoo them away, he saw another Jiefang truck approaching from a distance. The group immediately rushed over, with the man who had just been negotiating with Chen Jiazhi leading the charge.

Chen Jiazhi muttered, "They really just rely on robbery!"

"Now that there are more people, there's a rush to get them. When we first arrived, we didn't even have enough porters."

He Qiang then walked up and took out a slightly wrinkled pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

"Have one of mine," Chen Jiazhi said, handing out cigarettes to the group. "I've been here several times, but I haven't run into you guys."

“We travel to various markets around us, it’s not fixed, we go wherever there’s more work.”

After a few puffs of a cigarette, everyone relaxed. He Peng, Sun Jianjun, Luo Xiaoyu and the others went to move more goods, but their eyes and ears were always on the lookout.

He Qiang exhaled a puff of smoke, still somewhat unsure, "Are all these truckloads of vegetables really yours?"

Chen Jiazhi nodded. "We just rented this place a few days ago, and today is the day with the most goods."

How much are the snow peas?

More people arrived outside the stall, interrupting their conversation. He Qiang also joined the unloading team, whispering among themselves.

Several families and Chen Jiazhi were from the same county or town, but not the same township, and they were not aware of his recent situation over the past six months.

Upon meeting him, I was overwhelmed with shock.

They had only been away from Dongxiang Vegetable Market for about half a year. What happened during that time?
The group kept turning back to look at Chen Jiazhi and his two companions who were receiving the guests.

"Snow peas are 1.5 yuan per jin, green peppers are 0.55 yuan per jin. There are discounts for large quantities of green peppers. They are all fresh and high-quality, picked in the late afternoon."

The person who came didn't look very old, and he kept checking the goods while shining a flashlight.

The green peppers were all plump and round, and the snow peas were also flawless.

What's the maximum discount I can get on green peppers?

"It depends on how much you want. The more you buy, the bigger the discount. If you can take more than a ton at once," Chen Jiazhi held up four fingers, "I'll give you 4 mao per jin. You'll definitely make a profit at this price."

"Give me a ton of green peppers!"

The customer didn't hesitate and placed an order immediately. As a qualified wholesaler, he knew the current market price of bell peppers.

Buy it at this price and you're guaranteed to make a profit!

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Okay, boss, come over here and fill out the order."

Writing the order, recording the information, collecting the money, finding someone to deliver the goods... the whole process brought in 800 yuan!
Chen Jiazhi said to Li Xiu, "A huge profit!"

Li Xiu chuckled and said, "How can you make a killing selling like that?"

"Just wait and see in the next few days!" Chen Jiazhi said, looking up. "Guaranteed to make money." "You're just pretending to be weird," Li Xiu laughed, "I'll go take a couple of pictures of He Qiang and the others."

There were two trucks carrying a total of 10 tons of goods. He Qiang and the others were working up a sweat, and it would take some effort to unload them all.

Just as Li Xiugang went to take photos, another customer came in to ask about prices, and Li was busy receiving them.

Chen Jiazhi then pulled out the price tag stuck next to the table and added a note after "55 cents/jin for green peppers": "Price discount for bulk orders, 800 yuan/ton".

Nine o'clock is also the time when secondary wholesalers are purchasing goods.

There was a good flow of people in the market.

Although stall number 63 is currently the last stall, he is not the only merchant in the last row, and people continue to pass by.

Any vendor familiar with the green pepper market would immediately stop to ask the price upon seeing the new price tag at stall number 63.

This price is incredibly tempting.

"Hey buddy, are green peppers really 800 yuan per ton?"

How much is one metric dan (unit of weight)?

How much is 1,000 jin?

"Handsome guy, write down the order!"

"Hey handsome, give me a whole dan (a unit of weight) of snow peas!"

One dan (or 100 catties) is a unit of measurement commonly used in large agricultural wholesale markets.

From that moment on, Li Cai remained seated in his chair, constantly writing orders, writing orders...

Chen Jiazhi then led his men to inspect and examine the goods.

Both the deep green bell peppers and the green snow peas were freshly picked just a few hours ago.

This alone gives it a great advantage; it feels extremely crisp and smooth when you squeeze it.

Moreover, the quality of the product itself is excellent. Anyone who inspects it will be confused. Even if the face seems expressionless and calm, there was little hesitation when placing the order.

Hesitation will lead to defeat; if you act too late, you may not be able to get the goods.

People have a herd mentality. As stall number 63 began to attract attention, even though it was located towards the back, more and more vendors came to check it out...

Gradually, it gained popularity.

Chen Zhengxu, who was in charge of delivery, also came to the stall to help arrange the delivery.

Bags of snow peas and green peppers were being shipped out one after another, and the momentum was very good. He Qiang and others could no longer keep up with the speed of sales when unloading the goods.

As the men were moving the goods, they couldn't help but think to themselves, "This business is just too good!"
"Brother Qiang, the scholar's book will be worth at least several thousand yuan by now, right?"

"Of course we have them. That whole truckload of green peppers is all sold out. That's four or five thousand yuan worth. And there are still snow peas too."

"How on earth did he do that?"

None of them were calm; the more they looked, the more uneasy they became. He Qiang and Luo Xiaoyu had left Dongxiang in early May of last year.

The Sun Jianjun and He Peng families transferred the land to Chen Jiazhi at the end of May.

When he left the Dongxiang vegetable market, the scholar was still selling vegetables on his bicycle.

Selling three or four hundred yuan a day is enviable, but selling six or seven hundred yuan in four or five days is even more astonishing.

But none of them were as shocking as today.

From their conversation, they already knew that he had grown all those vegetables.
How big must that area be?
When the land was transferred to him, he only had 17 mu of land. Could it be that he has taken over the entire Dongxiang vegetable market?

Measuring the weight of the goods with their own hands sparked a variety of thoughts in them.

He Qiang wiped away the sweat that kept pouring down his face with a towel and said in a muffled voice, "Stop guessing, let's get to work first. We'll have plenty of time to ask after we're done."

"Only half a truckload of goods left, it'll be ready soon."

Just then, another truck stopped in the passageway of the stall.

He Qiang, He Peng, and Sun Jianjun looked up, somewhat puzzled. Why was another car coming?
"Manager, the vegetables have arrived. Shall we unload them now?"

A man shouted from inside the car. He Qiang couldn't see the face clearly, but the voice sounded familiar.

Chen Jiazhi drew a semi-circle with his hand, directing, "There's an empty space here, drive right in!"

As the truck pulled into the stall, He Qiang could see the vegetables on it: bok choy, kale, mustard greens, and several burlap sacks...

Another car full.

"He Qiang, there's another truckload here, let's unload it together."

“Okay,” He Qiang replied, then asked the person next to him, “Who spoke too fast just now?”

"Uh……"

As everyone fell silent, Xue Jun got off the light truck and looked at He Qiang, who was unloading goods, and said with surprise, "It really is you, He Qiang."

"Huh?!" He Qiang exclaimed in surprise, "Xue Jun, it's you! You drove this car?"

"My brother-in-law's car."

Xue Jun stepped forward to offer cigarettes, and after chatting for a couple of minutes, he was called away to help again. But this was enough to completely dumbfound He Qiang and the others—both cars belonged to him.
Chen Jiazhi didn't care what the others thought; he realized he was too late.

The first-level and second-level agricultural wholesale markets are a bit different, and the market from 7 pm to 12 am seems to be very lively.

Before the goods were even unloaded, people started coming in droves to buy vegetables, making things a bit chaotic.

Li Cai was like he was nailed to his chair, writing orders and collecting money non-stop, while Li Xiu sat beside him to assist.

Chen Jiazhi and Chen Zhengxu directed the loading and delivery of goods onto the tricycles.

The arrival of this truckload of vegetables from Dongxiang Market was like adding fuel to the fire.

This made the already popular stalls even more lively!

They suffered from a lack of experience, but this was exactly the scenario Chen Jiazhi wanted.

He could often sense the inquisitive looks from his colleagues: What kind of vegetables is that stall selling today? Why is it suddenly so popular?

(End of this chapter)