1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 278 In full swing
April 17th, it was a rainy night.

The raindrops were dense and rapid, pattering loudly on the top of the stalls, but this did not stop the merchants from scrambling to buy goods at stall number 63.

Bags of green peppers were loaded onto the truck.

The green peppers at stall number 63 were quickly sold out again, the snow peas whose production was starting to decline were also sold out, and even the green vegetables were almost gone.

Chen Jiazhi stood in his stall, smoking, his gaze sweeping over the vendors who were waiting for the rain to stop and leave.

Without a doubt, with the rains coming, vegetable prices will soon rise as well.

But among all the vegetables, green peppers have undoubtedly taken the lead; their price started earlier and may be even higher.

Today marks the third batch of green peppers harvested at Jiangxin Vegetable Market, totaling 60 tons, which will be shipped over six days.

For the first three days, Chen Jiazhi maintained a low-price strategy and proactively revealed information about his own base.

This has made many competitors hesitant to ship green peppers from the production area to the market.

Even though green peppers aren't spicy, the consumer base for Huacheng green peppers is far smaller than that for leafy greens. Ten tons of green peppers a day is enough to influence the market landscape.

What's more, this is its own base, and what's even more outrageous is that it's located in the suburbs, only forty kilometers away from the market.

When it initiates a price war, it's best not to provoke it; there are plenty of other vegetables that can make money these days.

As a result, the price of green peppers in the market dropped rapidly when Chen Jiazhi shipped out his second batch.

But no matter how small the demand, it's still there, which makes stall number 63 increasingly prosperous.

It really proves the saying, "First come, first served."

Goods that arrive on the same day are never delayed until the next day to sell out.

There's no need to lower the price any further.

在最近一批货里，陈家志更是连续提价，青椒价格4~5毛5上涨到了6~7毛/斤。

However, seeing that the goods were sold out before 2 p.m., he knew that the market was out of control.

The rain stopped.

The cargo owner quickly disappeared into the stall that provided shelter from the wind and rain.

The popularity of stall number 63 quickly dissipated.

It's unlikely that we can gather together again today.

Because there was no more food.

Li Cai tidied up the clutter in the stall and said, "Brother Chen, when is the next batch of green peppers coming? A lot of people have been asking."

Chen Jiazhi said, "This time we'll have to wait four or five more days, as we just sprayed pesticides to prevent pests and diseases."

Yi Dinggan watches the weather forecast every day.

At the same time, they were also trying to figure out what fate had in store for them.

Whenever Chen Jiazhi went to the vegetable field in the evening, he could be seen looking up at the sky, trying to catch some clues.

However, the simplest and most direct method is to gradually increase the frequency of pesticide application and strengthen prevention.

Li Cai asked with concern, "Now that green peppers are selling so well, will other merchants also send green peppers to sell?"

"Do you think they don't want to ship?" Chen Jiazhi chuckled. "Prices have gone up; if they wanted to ship, they would have done so long ago."

Li Cai asked in surprise, "You mean there are no green peppers around here?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "Yes, there are definitely some. There are quite a few farmers in the surrounding cities who like to grow green peppers, but the quantity is small, so they simply don't have the opportunity to enter this market."

Just wait, try lowering the price to 1 yuan next time you ship!

"1 dollars?!"

"Scared?"

"Isn't it a bit too high?"

"I think it's too low."

"How could it be low? After these rounds of price increases, wouldn't the average person have to pay more than 1.5 yuan per jin for green peppers?"

"People in Huacheng can afford cowpeas for two or three yuan and bok choy for four or five yuan, so why would they be afraid of your 1.5 yuan? Oh right, you didn't experience last summer, so you don't understand."

Was the price of bok choy really that high last year?

"You can just ask anyone and you'll find out?"

Will bok choy have a chance to bloom this year?

"Yes, but it will be difficult to surpass last year's performance."

In fact, Chen Jiazhi knew exactly when the wholesale price of bok choy in Huacheng broke records again, but that was 11 years later.

That is 2006 years.

That was also a summer when the wholesale price of Chinese cabbage in Huacheng soared to 6-7 yuan per jin (0.5 catties).

It was his first time shipping goods from Chengdu to Guangzhou, and he got ripped off. He only found out the real price afterward, and it left a deep impression on him.
It was also after that year that the planting area of ​​Chinese cabbage began to expand in Yunnan, Ningxia, Gansu and other places.

However, that's still a long way off.

Chen Jiazhi pondered and said, "To sell vegetables, you have to dare to think. Only if you can think of it can you do it. If you don't even dare to think about it, when the opportunity really comes, you may be able to sell it for five or six yuan a pound, but you end up selling it for two or three yuan. Then you will regret it later."

"Ah."

"So if you're going to raise vegetable prices, you have to be decisive and ruthless. You have to show the attitude that if I sell it for one yuan today, I'll sell it for two yuan tomorrow. Take it or leave it!"

Li Cai was so excited by what he heard that he was already fantasizing about his green peppers selling like hotcakes.

Chen Jiazhi added, "Similarly, men must dare to dream. If you don't even dare to dream, you're definitely not going to achieve anything."

"Right now, I just want to marry a beautiful wife as soon as possible!"

"shallow!"

"You already have everything, so of course there's no rush."

"I recently heard that Xu Yao is on a diet."

“That’s going too far,” Li Cai said. “Now that I don’t need to fight for supply channels to Hong Kong, I don’t need to sacrifice myself. I want to pursue my own happiness and find a beautiful wife.”

"Be careful not to get scammed." Chen Jiazhi grimaced, "You can't be a sucker for good looks."

After tidying up the stall, Chen Jiazhi and Li Cai went to help out at the distribution center for a while before going home.

Dawn.

The merchants selling goods at the Jiangnan Market were mostly finishing up, and some of them liked to gather together to chat about the market and boast, inevitably leading to a discussion about green peppers.

As some of the first major wholesalers in China, these individuals each have their own characteristics, and some are particularly adept at identifying opportunities.

They also noticed the unusual behavior of the green peppers and started talking about it.

"Liangping, the price of green peppers has gone up again. Why aren't you selling them? Don't you want to sell them anymore?"

"Yes, the green peppers at stall number 63 are in high demand again these past two days."

"I heard he's going to stop shipping green peppers for a few days. Get two truckloads of green peppers, Liangping! You're guaranteed to make money if you have any stock right now!"

Liang Ping was furious and said, "If you can make money, why don't you sell? Is it because you don't want to sell?"

Someone said, "We don't have any in stock. Don't you have a source of green peppers?"

"Yes, I saw you selling green peppers just 10 days ago."

"If you don't want to sell green peppers, you can tell us where they're from, and we'll get them and sell them." Liang Ping glanced at the man, thinking to himself, "This is probably your real purpose."

He said irritably, "The bell peppers are all nearing the end of their harvest season, the seedlings are too old, they haven't flowered or fruited in a long time, where are we going to get any now!"

"You think I really don't want to sell? I can't buy any right now!"

“Go look at those stalls up ahead. They used to sell green peppers, but they don’t anymore. Don’t they want to sell them either?”

"They're out of stock, damn it!"

"How can we sell if we don't have the goods?!"

Everyone was speechless for a moment.

Although I had sensed the unusual activity long ago, it wasn't until this moment that I was even more certain that another explosive item was about to appear.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of people didn't get one.

"This newcomer is pretty impressive!"

"If he can maintain his green pepper production, he'll make a fortune."

"Who would have thought of growing green peppers on the outskirts of Guangzhou?"

The days passed in the blink of an eye. The rain in Huacheng was intermittent, sometimes as fine as silk, gently sprinkling on the ground and moistening every inch of the land.

But more often than not, it's a sudden rain, with raindrops like beads from a broken string, pattering and splashing on the ground.

The water in the field ditches rose rapidly and flowed quickly.

April 22nd.

The sky cleared up.

The green peppers looked even greener after being washed by the rain, and the flowers were even more beautiful.

Each vegetable harvester wore iron fingernails on their fingers. They bent down and gently cut the green peppers with a blade, and the peppers fell off the stems. Bags of green peppers were constantly being collected.

A scene of bustling activity, filled with laughter and joy.

Yi Dinggan's mouth was practically splitting open with laughter.

Chen Jiazhi joked, "Deputy Director Yi, tuck your lips in, they're practically pointing to the sky!"

"Hahaha, am I not happy?" Yi Dinggan's hearty laughter rang out. "The rain these past two days has been so scary that I haven't been able to sleep well at night. Damn it, God, we've finally made it through."

Chen Jiazhi looked up at the sky, "Don't curse too harshly, God is a stingy devil, or he'll pee all over you again!"

Yi Dinggan also looked up and said, "Whether we curse or not, it will definitely keep raining, so we might as well enjoy it first."

"reasonable."

"Right, the snow peas probably won't last much longer. What should we plant next?"

"What do you think?"

"Use small arched sheds to grow all kinds of vegetables."

“I think so too.” Chen Jiazhi pondered, “The rainy season should be short and quick. Even if it’s destroyed by disaster, don’t hesitate to plant another crop immediately.”

After a pause, Chen Jiazhi added, "By the way, I also want to try the water spinach, loofah, and bitter melon seeds I saved last year."

"Leave it to me." Yi Dinggan then asked, "Aren't you going to save seeds this year?"

"I'll leave it for now and work on it when I have time."

"Let me do it. By the time you have time, summer will be over again."

"Uh……"

Chen Jiazhi was speechless for a moment, then chose to go down to the field and pick green peppers with Li Xiu. With a light swipe of the blade on his fingernail, the leaf stalk fell off.

A bucketful in no time.

Looking down at the ground and up at the sky, they work at sunrise and rest at sunset, sweating when busy and harvesting vegetables when happy. There is the hardship of labor and the joy of a bountiful harvest.

As the saying goes, you reap what you sow.

In his previous life, as a small vegetable farmer, Chen Jiazhi had no experience of the hustle and bustle of everyday life, nor could he appreciate the leisurely life of picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence and gazing at the southern mountains.

He is good at growing vegetables, but he only wants to get rid of the land. No one wants to spend their whole life facing the loess soil and turning their back to the sky.

Now, after picking a bucket of green peppers, he feels as if he is experiencing rural life.

It seems that this kind of life is not bad.

Gone.

Chen Jiazhi felt like he was getting carried away.

He hasn't earned enough money yet.

After the burlap sacks filled the two truck beds, Chen Jiazhi couldn't wait to get in and head to the market.

There were two Dongfeng 153 trucks, covered with tarpaulins, with cargo boxes 8.2 meters long. They looked very imposing parked on the road, and would cost more than 200,000 yuan to drive on the road at that time.

This is the truck that Chen Jiazhi found at the freight station; it was a truck that came from Tonghai, Yunnan, to pick up tobacco leaves.

It was only with great difficulty that he managed to drag me here.

When the trucks were weighed, they were carrying a total of 19.2 tons of goods. As soon as they arrived at the stall, a large number of merchants came to buy the goods.

"Boss, is it green peppers?"

"You mean there are green peppers coming today, right?"

Are there any snow peas left?

"Get the goods, quickly write me the order, boss."

Li Cai stood in front of the small table, surrounded by people. He took a deep breath, held up the price tag, and shouted, "Green peppers are 1 yuan per jin, snow peas are 2 yuan per jin!"

"Damn! I'm getting the goods!"

"I already saw the price, you don't need to bid."

"Those who need to move the goods, just load them onto the truck!"

"Put mine first, handsome!"

Soon, there were quite a few people standing both on and off the bus.

Li Cai kept shouting loudly to report the order to Chen Zhengxu, who came to help, and then directed He Qiang and others to unload the goods.

It can be said that as soon as the goods arrived, things got bustling with activity, and the amount of cargo on the truck visibly began to decrease.

Chen Jiazhi offered cigarettes to the two somewhat dumbfounded truck drivers, saying, "I wasn't lying to you, was I? Help me haul vegetables, no need to hold the truck, you can unload the goods as soon as you arrive."

Driver Duan Sheng chuckled, "You're not unloading, you're selling it all outright!"

"They all mean the same thing." Chen Jiazhi shrugged and went to help.

Duan Sheng stared blankly.

He has helped transport vegetables for many people, but many cargo owners like to hold onto their trucks, meaning they can only settle their accounts and pick up the next shipment after they have sold all the vegetables.

In the past, it would take many vendors at least two or three days, or even longer, to sell such a large truckload of vegetables.

Sometimes, if you can't get a good price, you also have to worry about the seller running away early, so you have to keep up with the seller to settle the payment.

But what we saw before us was a bustling scene: two large truckloads of vegetables arrived at once, and as soon as the buyers got off, they came in droves. The entrance was packed with cars and people, the staff were overwhelmed, and the atmosphere was lively and bustling.
This is no slower than unloading the cargo directly.

(End of this chapter)