1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 277 Startup
"Liang Ping, it's not easy! Finally, your green peppers are starting to sell."

"Hey, don't even mention it. I ran into a hothead. Selling green peppers like this at stall number 63, he's probably just losing money to make a name for himself."

"It's unlikely to be a loss. I've been seeing you selling green peppers every day lately, so you must be making a good profit to be buying them. What's your purchase price?"

"4 mao per jin"

"I'm not telling the truth, but I will tell you the truth: your green peppers don't look nearly as fresh and pretty as other people's. It's not just the price that makes you unable to compete."

"Don't gloat here. I think the vegetables at stall number 63 are of better quality than yours."

"you!"

The two hit each other hard, and almost fell out on the spot.

Liang Ping is the owner of stall number 50, which is diagonally opposite stall number 63.

He has been selling green peppers for a long time recently and has accumulated a group of customers. His business is considered quite good among the shops in this row.

However, today they suffered a crushing defeat.

Trading volume was halved.

This all stemmed from the fact that the new stall number 63 was also selling green peppers, and at a much lower price, making it impossible for him to compete.

Although No. 63 is currently the last one, this row of lanes also has two intersections on the left and right.

There are more businesses operating on his side.

However, this doesn't stop some people from going to the other side of the passage where there are fewer merchants to find goods.

Some people like to wander around irrationally, while others like to ride their bikes recklessly in search of opportunities.

These all diverted his traffic.

It's foreseeable that if stall number 63 continues to serve green peppers, he won't be able to continue his business.

However, it's not so easy to find sources of green peppers lately, and prices at the production sites are rising. He doesn't believe that stall number 63 can still sell green peppers like this every day!
Like Liangping, many nearby businesses have noticed the changes at No. 63 today.

From the quiet start a few days ago, with only a few thousand kilograms of snow peas, to now, 20 tons of goods a day!

This may not be considered top-tier in the market, but among the newly opened shops in the last row, it is already far ahead of the competition!
Besides the scarcity of snow peas attracting customers, the low-price sales strategy for premium green peppers is also a topic of much discussion.

Many people are curious about how long the price war in the green pepper section of stall number 63 can last.

Is it just a flash in the pan, or can it last for 3 days? 5 days? Or even 10 days?
...

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu returned home at sunrise, where they were greeted with a steaming bowl of noodles.

After running around the market all night, I was starving.

They ate heartily, taking bites of noodles, meat, and vegetables.

"Mom, this noodle smells delicious!"

"If it smells good, eat more." Peng Guozhen smiled, stepped forward, and said, "I'll get you some more."

Chen Jiazhi burped. "No need, I'm full. You guys eat too. I'm going to the market."

Peng Guozhen said, "Yi Dinggan has already gone. Go to sleep first, then go and scatter the beans."

"It's nothing, I'll just go take a look."

After putting down his bowl, Chen Jiazhi rode his bicycle out the door.

It's almost mid-April, and temperatures in Guangzhou are already rising, with more rain expected. It's a critical window for rain and heat.

Whether it's green peppers that have just been harvested or snow peas that have been harvested for over 90 days, the management difficulty has increased significantly.

A few minutes later, Chen Jiazhi arrived at the market.

Because of the obstruction caused by the snow pea vines, he could not see the whole picture, but he soon spotted several managers patrolling the fields.

It seems everyone knows that the recent period is crucial.

At times like these, you need to be even more meticulous. Sometimes, just an hour or two of negligence can ruin an entire batch of dishes.

The first person they encountered was Ao Deliang.

"Manager, you're back. How did the vegetables sell last night?"

"Perfect start!"

Chen Jiazhi gave an affirmative answer, and he said the same thing to everyone he met along the way.

In his view, last night's sales performance was indeed perfect.

When they heard that 10.9 tons of green peppers had been sold out before dawn, Ao Deliang and others were greatly encouraged.

Because judging from the current situation, the production of green peppers will not be low. Even if they are only four or five cents a pound right now, there is still a profit to be made!
This was also the purpose of his early field inspection: to convey the good news to everyone as soon as possible, and it seems to have worked well.

He finally found Yi Dinggan among the rows of snow peas.

Chen Jiazhi called out, "Deputy Director Yi, have you discovered any problems?"

Suddenly, Yi Dinggan, who was checking the condition of the vines, looked up at him with eyes like lightning. What, you can't get rid of the word 'deputy'?
Yi Dinggan came out and said irritably, "They're in great shape. I reckon they can keep picking for a while longer. I'm getting tired of taking care of these things. It's like they'll never finish picking them."

"High yield is good too." Chen Jiazhi laughed, "I have more good news for you. The green peppers sold out last night, and we made a fortune! All your hard work these past few days has paid off."

"I don't believe you for a second. How much are you selling them for per pound?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "Four or five cents, I guess."

Yi Dinggan curled his lip. "Do you think I'm like everyone else? That I'm so easily fooled?"

"Preparations for this batch of green peppers began in mid-to-late January, with an initial investment of 300,000 yuan in supplies."

Including labor costs, land rent, and sales costs over the past few months, the total cost is estimated to be 60 yuan.

"Based on the current price, I'll give you 45 cents..."

Yi Dinggan pondered for a moment, then said, "You need to achieve a yield of 4500 jin per mu to make a profit!"
4500 jin (2250 catties)! It looks good now, but if God doesn't feed you, you'll lose a fortune!

Chen Jiazhi took out a cigarette and lit it for him, still smiling, "As expected of the deputy director, you've got a good grasp of the accounts."

Yi Dinggan exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "I'm on tenterhooks every day now, afraid of both continuous rain and torrential downpours. I don't dare to dream of a yield of 8000 jin per mu. My immediate goal is to help you break even as soon as possible." "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing," Chen Jiazhi laughed. "However, there's one factor you haven't considered yet."

Yi Dinggan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What factors?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "Why do you think vegetable prices will stay at 45 cents? Since there are factors like reduced production, isn't it possible that vegetable prices could also skyrocket?"

"If the price of green peppers rises to one yuan, would I be able to recoup my costs if I produce 2000 jin per mu?"

Yi Dinggan's movement of picking up the cigarette paused involuntarily; this possibility cannot be ruled out.

I remember it was the same last year; the bigger the storm, the higher the vegetable prices!
“So, you can only be the deputy director.” Chen Jiazhi patted him on the shoulder and laughed. “Rain will definitely come, but our planting density is not high and the foundation is solid. As long as we don’t get infected with large-scale pests and diseases and don’t suffer a complete wipeout, it’s just a matter of how much we make.”

Yi Dinggan pondered for a moment, “It seems I’ll have to keep an eye on the weather forecast for the next few days. If there’s a heavy rain, I’ll disinfect and prevent it in advance, and clear the ditches and drain the water.”

"As expected of Deputy Director Yi, he grasped the key points so quickly."

"Damn, you just never stop talking!"

"Hahaha, serves you right for not knowing how to write technical notification forms." Chen Jiazhi laughed twice, then turned around and got back on his bicycle. "I'm off, I'm going back to sleep."

"Is there anything else you want to explain?"

"Gone."

Looking at the snow pea vines that had been harvested for three months and were still strong and green, Chen Jiazhi turned his back and called out, "I trust you to handle things."

Yi Dinggan's lips curled up slightly. After inspecting the fields, he went to instruct the team leader to take precautions against rain and pests.

Of course, the harvesting continues without fail.

Chen Jiazhi didn't actually go back to sleep; instead, he went to his office to do some work.

Last night's sales seemed lively, but in reality, only a little over 29300 yuan were sold.

The total amount spent at Dongxiang Market was 4332 yuan, and at Jiangxin Market it was 25028 yuan.

Vegetable prices have been sluggish lately. Apart from snow peas, other vegetables, despite appearing in large quantities, are actually not selling for much money.

The Dongxiang vegetable market sold approximately 92,000 jin of vegetables in March, generating sales revenue of about 97,000 yuan.

The average price seems okay, but it's actually all thanks to the snow peas that have driven up the average price. The price of leafy greens has been hovering around 4 to 7 cents per kilogram.

However, thanks to its high yield per unit area, Dongxiang vegetable market still maintains a profit margin of about 40%.

It can't compare to the exorbitant profits of the past, but it's better than most vegetable markets.

In comparison, Jiangxin Vegetable Market, with its 300 mu of snow peas, still performed more strongly.

Jiangxin Vegetable Market only had snow peas in March, producing a total of about 3 jin (31 tons) with sales of 53 yuan.

The cessation of supplies to Hong Kong did have an impact, but he believed that this was the way things had to be done and that they couldn't be manipulated by others.

After losing the Tongxingtai and Hengyang Trading route, Li Cai went to Buji once, but with little effect.

To supply Hong Kong via Phuket, one must rent a stall in Phuket and export through the market's unified customs declaration.

However, the current output of Jiangxin vegetable market is not enough to support the two stalls.

This option must be temporarily abandoned.

Fortunately, Jiangxin Market still has the snow peas as a selling point; the high profits always attract buyers.

Huang Jianyuan was actively making contacts, and the reason he was so proactive was related to stall number 63 and the distribution center.

Both of these are located independently outside of Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

Jiangxin Market and stall number 63 only have a cooperative relationship. They don't profit from the price difference because of Chen Jiazhi.

However, this does not mean that they will never make a profit from the price difference, which gave Huang Jianyuan and Xu Wenxiang a sense of crisis.

When it comes to their own interests, it's hard for either of them not to be proactive.

Xu Wenxiang began introducing industry resources to Chen Zhengxu, while Huang Jianyuan contacted new buyers and trading agents.

Chen Jiazhi separated the stall and distribution center because he realized that Xu and Huang had exaggerated from the beginning.

When he first came to Jiangxin Market, the two of them promoted their own channels in glowing terms, but in reality, they were just relying on external forces.

Just like the housing bubble, it was all inflated.

After the equity transfer, Chen Jiazhi burst the bubble, revealing the even more greedy fangs of Tongxingtai and Hengyang Trading behind the scenes.

Stalls and distribution centers are his solutions.

After settling the accounts, Chen Jiazhi went back to wash up and go to sleep. When he woke up, it was already evening, and three cars set off from Jiangxin vegetable market, fully loaded.

When a truckload of snow peas and two truckloads of green peppers were neatly unloaded, countless people secretly stared wide-eyed.

With yesterday's promotion, the number of repeat customers increased significantly today, and the delivery speed of green peppers accelerated once again.

Clearly, many people have benefited from this.

At the same time, more and more regular customers are coming from Haizhu Market.

The same four truckloads of goods ended up fighting by 2 a.m., leaving everyone astonished.

This caused unrest among many people, and at this time, many merchants also learned the source of the green peppers from stall number 63.

It's located at its own base in the nearby suburbs.

This makes them even more hesitant to purchase goods from the production area at high prices.

即使4月9日63号档没采摘青椒，但4月10日时，市场上的青椒反而更少了。

Following that, Chen Jiazhi raised prices for several consecutive days.

However, green peppers remain in high demand.

If you have a quick hand, you will have it, but if you have a slow hand, you will not have it.

The market has started to move.

(End of this chapter)