1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 279 The Soaring Prices Aren't for Grocery Stores, But for Top Students

"Brother Sheng, should we still go to a hotel?"

At the noisy stall, Duan Sheng's companion said somewhat uncertainly, "Judging from his appearance, he might sell out in less than a night!"

In the past, they would not only have time to rest in hotels, but also to participate in some exciting activities.

But now, what if we go and come back and can't find them?
Duan Sheng also knew what his companions were thinking; this possibility was not small.

"I'll stay here and keep watch. You go and rest. Come back and relieve me when you're rested. Be careful when you go out to play."

"Don't worry, I'm an experienced driver."

His companions disappeared into the night, and the unshaven Duan Sheng kept watch nearby, occasionally wandering around the area.

You can see the difference in the market at a glance; the stall where his car is located is the most popular area around.

It even ranks among the top in the entire market.

It seems that these nearly 20 tons of goods won't sell for long, which is good news for him.

Write the order, collect the payment!
Write the order, collect the payment!
Write the order, collect the money...

Li Cai repeated this process over and over again, feeling extremely fortunate that today's calculations were easy: green peppers were 1 yuan per jin, and snow peas were 2 yuan per jin—even a primary school student could do that.

But he dared not relax for a moment, his expression focused as he counted the crumpled banknotes and listened carefully to each customer's question.

He often couldn't understand what they were saying.

Most of the owners of the secondary wholesale markets and vegetable markets are locals who generally speak Cantonese. Most of them do not speak Mandarin, making communication difficult.

Especially after business picked up, everyone started talking at once. He could only keep pointing at the price tags and repeating the same phrases in Mandarin until his throat was dry.
Chen Jiazhi was also busy, constantly directing the order fulfillment with Chen Zhengxu. He couldn't just watch; his hands were also busy moving goods, sweat pouring down his face, and he would occasionally shout out like he was on steroids.

"Dry!"

"Come again!"

"Green bell pepper! Green bell pepper!"

"Give me another bag of snow peas!"

Someone shouted, "Boss Chen, are you out of your mind? Why are you yelling so loudly?"

Chen Jiazhi immediately replied, "Working is only fun when you shout it out! Only by shouting it out can you ignite your passion!"

Someone else said, "Can't you see? Boss Chen is about to make money, and he's getting really excited!"

"I'd be excited too! That's fifty or sixty thousand in sales tonight!"

"Mr. Chen, how many green peppers do you have left? How many more days can you sell them?"

"There are 300 mu of green peppers in total, and this is just the beginning of the harvest. There will be plenty of supply later." Chen Jiazhi said loudly and cheerfully, "Green peppers will be delivered every day. If you want to get some, come early and be decisive."

"It's available every day?"

"Sigh~"

At that moment, Chen Jiazhi felt as if all the cool air in the entire stall had been sucked away.

busy!
busy!
busy!
Without stopping for a moment, sweat is being poured out, and passion is burning!

Chen Jiazhi also replaced Li Cai, who was sitting and writing orders, and personally took over to experience the joy of receiving money and the pain of counting it.

Cantonese listening comprehension is also improving rapidly.

Meanwhile, people from several nearby stalls would occasionally peek out from their stalls to watch the spectacle.

"The price of green peppers has gone up!"

"Looks like it's about to take off!"

Look how excited they are!

Every now and then someone would come out and shout a few words.

Vegetable prices have gone up, but there aren't any vegetables available – this is one of the most frustrating things about wholesale markets.

Another scenario is that you have a large amount of stock, but vegetable prices are plummeting.

It's not that they don't have vegetables to sell, it's just that vegetable prices haven't generally risen sharply, only slightly. However, a few top students have quickly stood out.

Two were released in file number 63.

One is Dutch Bean, the top student in the first quarter of this year, and the other is Green Pepper, who rose from a group of underachievers.

They could very well be two blockbuster products!

Moreover, it has its own base, eliminating middlemen and their markups.

The potential of green peppers is only just beginning to emerge.

These large wholesalers know very well that the peak season for vegetable prices in Huacheng is from May to September each year.

Sometimes, just sending a truckload of vegetables from the north can net you several thousand yuan a day.

But today is only April 23rd, and the green peppers have already started.

A strong sour smell permeated the last row of the market, and various murmurs rose and fell.

"Are you all not doing business anymore? What are you yelling about? You could have found a source of goods up north with this much energy!"

"Damn it, don't you dare say that out loud!"

"What's wrong with telling everyone? Do you think just anyone can find goods by going up north?"

At this moment, more people are determined to head north to find goods. It's clear that green peppers are about to take off, and whoever can safely deliver the goods to the market is guaranteed to make money.

Chen Jiazhi didn't have to worry about it as much.

He has a base, and people who can help him manage it. He can also accurately diagnose the market like an experienced traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

Catching the wave of market trends is not all accidental; it is the result of accurate judgment and painstaking efforts that have led to the outstanding student he is today.

The seeds sown more than a hundred days ago are now ready for harvest.

The joy of reaping rewards needs no reason.

Duan Sheng returned to his car and dozed off in the noisy environment. He glanced over and noticed that the vegetable truck next to him was even emptier.

He got out of the car, still sleepy-eyed. The stall was as busy as ever, and the young owner was moving goods again, still full of passion, occasionally squawking wildly.

Although the noise kept him awake, it kept him alert. Driving a big truck requires concentration; otherwise, an accident will happen sooner or later if you're always sluggish.

He climbed onto the train, looked around the carriage, then looked down at his watch and was immediately incredulous—it was only just past midnight.
There's not much food left? It's only been a little over 5 hours, and those of you staying at hotels probably aren't finished yet.

"Boss, why are your vegetables selling so well?"

"Because they're good!" Chen Jiazhi wiped his sweat and made up a story: "My green peppers are plump and round, with a bright color. People who eat them all grow up to be handsome. Look at me and my brothers, we all grew up to be so good-looking after eating these green peppers!"

"Hey, boss, you even speak Yunnan dialect?"

"Eating potatoes helps the children grow up."

"So you knew all that, and you still told me eating green peppers makes you handsome?" Duan Sheng joked. "Besides, these peppers aren't spicy at all, I don't like them~"

"Uh……"

Chen Jiazhi didn't know how to answer. Was that the point? Wasn't the point that he was handsome?

Look at those muscles, that sweat—that's what a real man should look like.

After midnight, things weren't so busy anymore, and Chen Jiazhi found a corner to sit and smoke with Duan Sheng.

"Master Duan, are the potatoes in Yunnan being dug up recently? Do you know how much they're selling for these days?"

"How would I know? I don't buy groceries. Eating out every day is so much more comfortable."

"How long does it take to drive from Tonghai to Huacheng?"

"About 55 hours," Ding Sheng said. "Our transport team runs this route for a long time, bringing tobacco leaves here and then transporting goods back. It's very dangerous. If you want to transport potatoes, you might not even earn enough to cover the transportation costs."

Haha, I was just asking~

Just then, another light truck arrived. Xue Jun was driving a Yuejin 131. There weren't many vegetables available. Kale and mustard greens were out of stock again. There were only two thousand kilograms of bok choy and three hundred kilograms of snow peas.

But it also gave stall number 63 a boost.

However, there still wasn't enough fuel.

More than 2,000 kilograms of bok choy sold out in the Jiangnan Market in just over half an hour, driven by his popularity.

Around 2 a.m., the raging fire finally went out.

Sweat soaked through Chen Jiazhi's clothes, so much so that it could be wrung out, but he only felt refreshed and invigorated.

Ignoring the mud and vegetable leaves on the ground, stall number 63 was packed with people, including vendors, porters, and drivers who had come from afar.

Chen Jiazhi readily paid the bill for everyone, and then led the group to a small shop outside the market that specialized in night market business for a late-night snack.

Before Duan Sheng left, Chen Jiazhi exchanged contact information with him. Although they might not be able to get in touch, what if they needed it?

Even at 2 a.m., the Jiangnan Market was still bustling with activity, brightly lit, and vendors were busy buying and selling goods.

"Is this what the warmth and life of ordinary people are like?"

Chen Jiazhi always felt that these words had a condescending tone that made him feel awkward and uncomfortable.

He still prefers the passion to burn.

That night, he burned.

But this is not the end, but a new beginning. It is the point at which the price of green peppers is rising, and also the last dance after hundreds of days of harvesting snow peas!
Chen Jiazhi took a deep breath, said goodbye to He Qiang and the others, and went with Li Cai to the somewhat deserted distribution center.

Several workers are sorting goods.

Chen Jiazhi entered a small office in a separate room, which contained only simple wooden tables and chairs.

He and Li Cai tallied up the results of the night's battle, and soon the table was covered with banknotes.

Chen Jiazhi counted them one by one, and sorted them stack by stack.
Li Cai then used a notebook and calculator to do the accounting.

The banknotes had large denominations, so they were easy to count, but they were still a step slower than Li Cai, who was doing the accounting.

"How many?"

"50055 dollars."

"I charged 25 yuan less," Li Cai said.

Is the 25 yuan the key point?

After a brief silence, both of them laughed, focusing on the 5 yuan mentioned earlier.

The two truckloads of vegetables totaled 19.2 tons, including 14.3 tons of green peppers and 4.9 tons of snow peas.

Including the bok choy brought by Xue Jun, the total amount of vegetables was just over 20 tons.

This was the highest sales day since the cold wave in January, and also the highest sales day since the supply channels to Hong Kong were cut off.

It was a victory for stall number 63, though it might not even reach half the output of the larger stalls, but it was still a small milestone.

"You'll know how to sell it tomorrow, right?"

"Green bell peppers are 2 yuan per jin (500g)."

"Uh..." Chen Jiazhi thought to himself, "Good heavens, I've never been so bold as to think this far."

"Let's say 1.3 yuan. Although there will be less stock tomorrow, we need to give the market some breathing room. If we sell it for 2 yuan, no one will dare to take the risk of buying it."

"OK then."

After resting in the office for a while, Chen Zhengxu, who had gone to buy vegetables, returned, accompanied by the deliveryman who brought over a dazzling array of produce.

After selling vegetables for several hours, the three of them were quite tired, so they just sat there watching the workers sort the vegetables and chatting idly.

"We need to get a bed here."

"We also need to get a safe."

"Let's get another radio and some cassette tapes so we can listen to music occasionally."

Have you two found partners yet?

"..."

"Uncle, why don't you go back first?"

"I also feel that Brother Chen is too excited today. Green peppers are only selling for 1 yuan, what's there to be excited about? Wait until I sell them for 2 yuan someday and I'll show you."

The fire in Chen Jiazhi's heart was extinguished, truly extinguished, leaving only a pile of ashes.

However, after only a dozen hours, it caught fire again, and the fire grew even stronger, becoming more intense each day.

The underachiever's journey to success hasn't stopped; the green pepper is now challenging the snow pea, aiming not only to be a top student but also a genius. But this is more like a long-distance relay race.
(End of this chapter)