1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 293 A Reliable Delivery Service That Suddenly Emerged

"General Manager Chen, Site Manager Yi, the weather forecast says it will rain tonight!"

While everyone was still worried about the rain, Huang Chuan rode off on his old bicycle, shouting excitedly.

"Holy crap, it's raining?" Yi Dinggan exclaimed in surprise. "Could it be that God heard my prayers?"

The vegetable workers nearby, along with the two group leaders, Zheng Zhong and Guo Mancang, also heard Huang Chuan's shouts.

Soon after, Huang Chuan arrived.

"I just heard the weather forecast on the evening news; it says there will be moderate to heavy rain tonight!"

Chen Jiazhi and Yi Dinggan both looked up at the sky at the same time. Apart from the sweltering heat, there seemed to be no sign of rain.

But we can't be careless either.

Yi Dinggan shouted, "Zheng Zhong, Lao Guo, cover the plastic film before you finish work!"

"Good~"

"Received~"

The echo, loud and long, came from hundreds of meters away, and the entire market instantly erupted into chaos, like a weasel entering a chicken coop.

The vegetable workers complained that covering it with plastic film was another huge project.

Yi Dinggan rode his bike to notify everyone one by one. He was very busy and had to work overtime, but his voice was filled with excitement.

Two hours later, night fell, the vegetable field was quiet and mysterious, but the cold storage was brightly lit, and white foam boxes gradually filled the truck bed.

How many green peppers are left in the warehouse?

"Mr. Chen, there are still 1230 items left."

The warehouse manager was a newly hired woman in her thirties named Wang Hong, who remembered the accounts very clearly.

1200 pieces is 18 tons. Even if it rains tomorrow, there will be enough stock and we won't run out of vegetables.

The weather has been good these past two days, and the daily shipment of green peppers has recovered to 18 tons. In order to prepare for rain tomorrow, we worked overtime this evening to pick the green peppers that were supposed to be picked tomorrow.

This is also one of the advantages of cold storage: it can regulate supply and ensure a long-term supply of goods.

The advantages are even more pronounced in leafy vegetables.

...

The rain didn't start falling until four in the morning.

The wholesale market was a mess, with mud and scattered vegetable scraps on the ground. Buyers were hurrying around, quickly purchasing goods.

Chen Zhengxu, still holding an umbrella, stopped at a stall and picked up a sample that the stall owner had placed on the table to look at.

How much are the radishes?

"5 mao per jin"

"The price is too high. I'll take 300 jin, maybe less?"

"No less." The stall owner sat in his chair without moving an inch, let alone offering a cigarette.

"Alright, take 300 jin of goods."

"No delivery, come and pick it up yourself."

"I'll call a tricycle to load it right away."

After selecting, weighing, paying, and loading the goods, Chen Zhengxu asked He Peng to first transport the radishes sealed in plastic bags back to the distribution center, while he hurried off to find the next vegetable.

Only after buying a lot of groceries did Chen Zhengxu fully understand why the original No. 56 and the current No. 63 businesses could both grow so quickly!
Not only is the food excellent, but the service and attitude are also a breath of fresh air.

When he goes out to buy groceries, he encounters all sorts of eccentric vendors. If he orders a small amount of food, many vendors don't even bother to talk to him.

As for other misconduct such as false claims, sourcing goods independently, inconsistent standards, delivering goods that do not match the description, arbitrarily breaching contracts, and selling inferior goods as superior ones, there are even more such practices.

Even if Sun Wukong had fiery eyes, he would still have to pay the cost of two extra peaches when buying vegetables at the wholesale market.

The rain was getting heavier, and there were almost no shop owners willing to deliver to the door.

Many of the vegetables were packed in bamboo baskets, which couldn't keep out the rain, so Chen Zhengxu had to drive his van, with his workers, and haul them back to the distribution center, one truckload at a time.

Another truckload of groceries was delivered. Chen Zhengxu closed the side door of the van and called out, "Little Bear, look at the order form. What other groceries do you need?"

Zhou Xiaoxiong was a worker that Chen Zhengxu had brought from the Dongxiang vegetable market. He had only arrived in Huacheng at the beginning of the year. He took out a handwritten list from his pocket and began to read it aloud.

"We need 300 jin of cucumbers, 245 jin of sweet potato leaves, 500 jin of romaine lettuce, and 120 jin of wolfberry leaves. We're just missing these four vegetables."

"Let's go buy some more."

Just as Chen Zhengxu was about to get into the car, he vaguely heard someone calling him from the small office, followed by a young and beautiful woman running out.

"Mr. Xu, someone is looking for you. It's the owner of Mong Kok Restaurant!"

Chen Zhengxu racked his brain for a few seconds before remembering that it was a restaurant he had visited before.

He immediately went into the office, picked up the still-connected phone, and said in fluent Mandarin, "Hello, this is Chen Zhengxu from Reliable Delivery."

"Hey handsome, I need 400 jin of vegetables before 9 a.m., can you deliver them?"

The owner's voice was anxious: "I have 50 tables of customers at lunch and dinner, and now the whole kitchen is waiting for the food to be cooked!"

Chen Zhengxu calmed himself down and asked steadily, "Boss, what dishes would you like?"

"50 jin of bok choy, 50 jin of tomatoes, 60 jin of green beans, 50 jin of bell peppers, lettuce..."

As Chen Zhengxu took notes, he also tried to recall where he could buy these vegetables and whether they were in stock today.
The client needs it urgently and must arrive before 9 o'clock. It's already past 6 o'clock, and he doesn't have much time left.

"Boss, we don't have tomatoes. Can we use black winter melon instead?"

He guessed there was soup on the menu, and there was a pause on the other end of the phone before the voice came through again.

"Winter melon is fine, you can handle it, right? You have to be there before nine o'clock, the earlier the better, handsome. This is an emergency, whether you're reliable or not depends on this. From now on, we'll deliver all our vegetables to you!"

“It’s definitely reliable.” Chen Zhengxu smiled. “I can’t ruin my reputation, right? Just wait and see.” After confirming the product category, quantity, price, and location again, Chen Zhengxu hurriedly went out again.

"Jiang Xiaoyan, help keep an eye on the phone and take any orders you can!"

"I'm afraid I'm not sure."

Chen Zhengxu pointed to the vegetables being sorted and said, "You can buy anything here. If you don't have something, just ask if you can use other vegetables as a substitute. It's that simple!"

Whether she understood or not, Chen Zhengxu got into the car without looking back, closed the door, and drove away.

The rain lessened for a moment, but soon became heavy again, and Chen Zhengxu seemed very excited.

All the previous accumulation proved valuable at this time. In the past month or two, he and Zhou Xiaoxiong and others left their phone numbers with at least several hundred restaurants, hotels, factories, construction sites and so on.

This morning, even if only 1% of people have a need, we can increase several customer orders.

With that in mind, Chen Zhengxu drove to stall number 63.

"Old Xue, please reserve another 200 jin each of bok choy, bell peppers, and water spinach, and another 100 jin each of mustard greens and Chinese kale."

"You want this much?"

"Just keep it." Chen Zhengxu didn't even stop the car before continuing to walk forward.

"The bell peppers are gone!" Xue Jun exclaimed, watching the Changhe bread disappear in a flash. "Did they take the wrong medicine?!"

After leaving the stall, Chen Zhengxu went to buy vegetables without stopping. Having been in the market for so long, he knew roughly where to buy which vegetables and where. Since he was in a hurry, he could just go and pick up the goods.

Moreover, the rain affected customer traffic, making it easier to negotiate prices.

Not long after Chen Zhengxu left, Jiang Xiaoyan received another call from a factory, requesting vegetables for a canteen serving 200 people.

But she was still unsure about the price.
She was a newly hired accountant who also held administrative and human resources positions.

Because of the high salary, she came to work early in the morning to familiarize herself with the job as soon as possible. Now it seems she will have to work as a switchboard operator.

"Wait a minute, let me check the price~"

"Oh, my dear, stop worrying about the price. Just give me a straight answer: is it possible?"

"Uh……"

"Give me the call."

Chen Jiazhi, who arrived late, entered the small office, took the phone, and began communicating with the other party.

After chatting for a bit and learning that it was a factory, I immediately agreed, as the factory didn't have such high requirements for the types of vegetables.

If one dish is unavailable, it can be substituted with another.

As for the price?

At this point, don't worry about the price; it's an emergency anyway, so just raise the price.

It was all done in just a few words.

however,
He had just hung up the phone and hadn't even walked away when it rang again, which Chen Jiazhi answered.

After connecting the two phones, Chen Jiazhi handed over the task of answering the calls to Li Xiu and Jiang Xiaoyan.

People kept calling to order food, just like the rain outside, stopping for a moment and then ringing again.

Delivery orders piled up one after another.

When Chen Zhengxu returned, Chen Jiazhi had him drive an Isuzu truck with two people wearing raincoats to deliver a batch of goods. The Isuzu was also covered with a tarpaulin so it wouldn't get wet in the rain.

Chen Jiazhi, on the other hand, drove his minivan to buy groceries.

As the dense curtain of rain rolled in from afar, pattering against the car window in waves, Chen Zhengxu realized that this was the opportunity!

He recalled what the people at the market always said: "The bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish!"

Vegetable prices fluctuate with the weather!
They are not relying on the heavens for their livelihood, but racing against the heavens!
Every storm prevents farmers from going to the city to sell vegetables and also prevents shoppers from going out, but this is their stage to perform!
Despite the rain, Zhou Xiaoxiong opened the car door, climbed in, and handed out the pre-sorted and marked vegetable bags one by one, all the while trying to make a joke amidst the hardship.

"Boss Xu, if we don't make 5 cents per pound of vegetables tonight, it would be a disservice to the brothers' hard work!"

Chen Zhengxu laughed and scolded, "You're dreaming! Let's follow the rules, be polite first, then use force, and see if there's any further action~"

After taking the food, Chen Zhengxu led the way into Mong Kok Restaurant, letting out a loud shout.

"Boss, the food's here. Is it in time?"

"It's not too late, it's not too late, it's only 8 o'clock!" The restaurant owner, beaming with joy, inspected the vegetables and exclaimed, "Your delivery service is truly reliable!" "Xiao Zhang, pour three cups of hot water!"

"No need, boss, we're in a hurry to deliver the rest of the goods."

"How much is it in total? I'll settle the bill first."

Chen Zhengxu took out a receipt. "Boss, it's 612 yuan in total. The details are on the receipt. If you need anything in the future, you can contact us in advance. There's no need to rush like this."

"Okay." The shop owner readily paid the bill and then asked, "Should I still use the same phone number to pick up the goods?"

"Yes, call ahead if you need anything."

"Great, we'll definitely continue to cooperate with you!"

The moment the problem was solved, the boss's impression of the reliable delivery service improved dramatically. He was truly reliable in handling his work for money!
The rain gradually subsided, but Chen Zhengxu continued to work tirelessly on the road. After resolving the troubles of countless new customers, he also experienced the charm of delivery, and his business growth was also extremely impressive.

When he returned to the distribution center, his raincoat was already soaked through, but Chen Jiazhi gave him some very impressive data.

"We gained 16 more customers in one night, and the delivery volume increased by nearly 4,000 kilograms, doubling our business volume!"

"Brilliant!"

"Burn!"

Instantly, cheers erupted.

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu hurriedly returned home. The rain wasn't particularly heavy, but it still had a significant impact.

(End of this chapter)