1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 294 Popular
The rain has stopped, but the roadside is still scarred by the elements.

The fallen leaves and branches on the road, the rushing water in the river, and the crops in the fields shrouded in moisture all tell the story of last night's turmoil.

Li Xiu observed the scene outside the window, recalling the moment when Chen Zhengxu, Zhou Xiaoxiong, and others returned in the rain that morning, and felt inexplicably moved.

"Jiazhi, Zhengxu and the others are really working hard lately. They don't even change their clothes when they're soaked. Aren't they afraid of catching a cold?"

"What people are afraid of isn't hard work, but not making money," Chen Jiazhi smiled. "We've all come together to make money. As long as we can make money, what's there to be afraid of in terms of hard work?"

After a pause, Chen Jiazhi added, "It's better than being destitute and homeless, isn't it?"

He was telling the truth. Many people only remember that this was an era that produced many heroes, but it was also the most tragic era for the working class.

Poor farmers, with limited experience and little money, face numerous pitfalls, fierce competition for jobs, and poor social order. Many have experienced going hungry and homeless.

"I said I was worried they'd catch a cold, and you said they weren't afraid of hardship, but afraid of not earning money. What kind of logic is that!"

"It's pretty much the same idea."

"How much did the distribution center earn yesterday?"

"The gross profit is about two thousand yuan, which isn't much."

"Isn't that enough?"

“Xiu, broaden your horizons!” Chen Jiazhi gripped the steering wheel with his left hand and loosened it with his right. “Once we scale up and procurement costs come down, that’s when we’ll start making money. Right now, the main focus is on building our team.”

"Drive carefully, your life is more important than money."

"Oh~"

The sky was still somewhat overcast and unpredictable, but it didn't rain when I got home; in fact, it became a bit brighter.

After having breakfast at home, Chen Jiazhi rode his bicycle to the market.

It had just rained, and no workers were at work. Only the team leaders and Yi Dinggan were still inspecting the vegetable fields one by one.

The bok choy was covered with a thin film, and there were no signs of water from the ditch overflowing and receding around the vegetable patch, so it seemed that everything was fine. Chen Jiazhi didn't bother to check on it further.

He arrived at the green pepper field and walked through it step by step in his rain boots.

After enduring a night of wind and rain, the once-refined green pepper has become more carefree, its style shifting from a suit and trench coat to a t-shirt and shorts, better reflecting the local atmosphere...

渍！
Thinking about it this way, Chen Jiazhi could actually accept it. Which old Cantonese man hasn't experienced hardships and saunas?
At this point, output is no longer important; what matters is this spirit, this attitude!
So when everyone gathered under the big banyan tree by the river, facing the somewhat dejected Ao Deliang, Qi Yongfeng, and Huang Rixin, Chen Jiazhi encouraged them with high spirits.

"You have to look on the bright side; every extra batch you harvest now is a profit!"

"Judging from this, we can harvest at least another batch; the yield is fantastic!"

Chen Jiazhi touched his conscience; it didn't hurt. He had forgotten that he had just told Li Xiu yesterday that the yield of green peppers could be even better.

Li Mingkun said, as if watching a spectacle, "With this rain, vegetable prices should improve. It's just the time to harvest the bok choy, so you can relax and enjoy our show."

Guo Mancang chuckled, "Hey, all I've seen you guys sell vegetables lately, now it's your turn to watch us sell vegetables."

The few people in the southern area who had bok choy were acting a bit hypocritically, which made Qi Yongfeng a little defensive.

"Mr. Chen, why don't we clear out some space as soon as possible to transplant a batch of bok choy?"

Chen Jiazhi looked at Yi Dinggan, "What are you thinking?"

“We can consider it.” Yi Dinggan pondered, “Dongxiang doesn’t have many vegetable plots and not enough manpower. Dongxiang alone can’t handle our seedling trays. We can gradually clear out some of the old sweet pepper seedlings, since land preparation will take a few days.”

It will probably be about a week before the seedlings can be transplanted, and they will be on the market at the end of the month, so the price should be good.

Moreover, after last night's rain, most of the green bell peppers have lost their stamina.

After thinking it over, Chen Jiazhi agreed and let Ao, Qi, Huang, and Yi Dinggan discuss the timing of harvesting the green bell peppers themselves.

"I'll be last."

Ao Deliang spoke first, "My green bell peppers can still be saved. I plan to apply some more fertilizer, and maybe I can harvest two more batches. Boss, the market should be alright later, right?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "Recently, there are even fewer sweet peppers on the market, and there are not many from other places either. There is still a chance for the price of green sweet peppers to rise."

Ao Deliang nodded and said, "Then I'll take care of it for a while longer. Yongfeng and Rixin, you two can start pulling the seedlings."

After discussion, the order in which the green peppers were pulled from the trellis was also determined.

Qi Yongfeng and Huang Rixin both wanted to switch to growing bok choy as soon as possible to catch the market trend, which is not wrong, and they have a good chance of catching up.

However, vegetable markets also need team leaders like Ao Deliang who can provide a safety net and reduce risks.

However, after this batch of green peppers is finished, it will temporarily become a thing of the past. For the foreseeable future, the market will still focus on the production of leafy vegetables such as bok choy.

By the afternoon, the rain had completely stopped.

The vegetable growers also started working, and the plastic film that had been covering the plants for more than ten hours was the first to be removed, revealing the lush green leaves.

The harvest time has also been set. The harvest will be stored and pre-cooled tomorrow morning, May 30th, and then packed and shipped in the afternoon. It will arrive at the market in the evening. Even if it is shipped to Hong Kong or Macau, it can arrive within 24 hours.

After that, as long as the weather was suitable, there was a harvesting task every day.

With cold storage, there's no need to panic about having too much produce, and there's less worry about rain affecting supply, further enhancing stability. For example, the 1230 boxes of green peppers that were stored early yesterday perfectly compensated for today's unsuitable harvesting conditions, ensuring stable supply and preserving top-notch quality.

That evening, since only one vehicle had been hired, and Isuzu had to help transport the goods, Chen Jiazhi had no choice but to go to the market early with them.

After a rain, there were fewer trucks on the roads around the market.

There were also few cars queuing to enter.

The two vehicles at stall number 63 successfully passed the weighing and entered the market. The market was rather empty, with far fewer vegetables available. Some stalls were completely deserted today, let alone having any vegetables.

Stall 63 received a total of 763 boxes of green bell peppers today, approximately 11.45 tons.

However, there weren't many vegetables in the market. When the two trucks carrying green peppers from stall number 63 entered, people stood by the roadside and loudly inquired about them.

"What kind of food is in the truck?"

"Green bell peppers, not rained on, pre-cooled in cold storage, each box weighs 30 jin (15 catties) net, 75 yuan/box."

Gradually, it attracted more and more people.

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu kept repeating their quotes through the car window until their throats were dry. When they arrived at the stall, a group of customers followed them.

Li Cai also returned to the stall today, but there wasn't much time for small talk. As soon as the two cars stopped, they entered a busy battle.

The small table was crowded with people placing orders, and trucks and tricycles were also approaching.

He Qiang and the others climbed onto the carriages, and after confirming the orders, they began unloading. Everyone worked together seamlessly and quickly, and soon one carriage after another was filled and left.

Sales were booming, and people were exhausted.

After a while, Chen Zhengxu arrived and hurriedly left the order. When Chen Jiazhi saw it, he was shocked to find that there were 1300 jin of bell peppers alone, and several hundred jin of bok choy, kale, and mustard greens.

Clearly, after yesterday's hard work, and with the Dragon Boat Festival just around the corner, Kaopu Fresh is experiencing a surge in orders!
"Li Cai, go help Zhengxu. I'll take care of things here. Li Xiu, go too, and answer the phone for a bit. Xue Jun and I can handle things here."

"it is good."

Without further ado, the siblings went straight to the distribution center.

Chen Jiazhi sat down in the chair, writing orders and collecting money while chatting with customers. According to the rules of the underworld, he would offer each customer a good cigarette and stuff handfuls of banknotes into his bag.

"Boss Chen, do you have bok choy today?"

"Yes!" Chen Jiazhi looked up and saw it was Old Wu. "You're here quite early today. The bok choy from that base doesn't have cold storage, so the harvest time is later and you'll be arriving a little later."

The Dongxiang vegetable market has always been covered by small arched sheds, so the vegetables haven't been rained on. The rain stopped in the afternoon, so they can continue to harvest vegetables.

In the past three or four months, although the Dongxiang vegetable market hasn't seen any significant market activity, it has remained quite stable.

The supply of bok choy is almost continuous, and kale and mustard greens are available every two weeks, making it the best in terms of sustainability.

Since its opening, stall number 63 has mainly relied on the scarcity of snow peas and green peppers to attract customers.

The quantity of green vegetables is not large, but there is always some available, which continuously attracts a group of customers who want to buy them.

Old Wu was just one of his regular customers.

After accepting the cigarette from Chen Jiazhi, Old Wu didn't leave. He stood on the outside, surveying the spacious stall, the crowded people, the neatly stacked styrofoam boxes, and the figures busy collecting money at the tables.
Along the way, he was not only overtaken by the small vegetable farmer he once was, but also left far behind.

Fortunately, the two are still working together.

After the first wave of customers left, more people kept coming. Just when the crowd thinned out, another long-nose truck stopped in front of the stall.

"Boss, the vegetables have arrived. Get someone to unload them!"

"Okay, right away."

Like sharks drawn by the smell of blood, more buyers flocked to the scene. Many were still waiting to open the car door and inspect the goods, while smart people, like Lao Wu, had already placed their orders and paid in advance, just waiting to pick up their orders.

When he received the goods, the bok choy did not disappoint him. The roots were even and the leaves were tender. The kale and mustard greens were also top-quality, and there was not a drop of moisture in them.

If you buy vegetables from small farmers in the first two months, they are generally "fake" or "improperly sold." Even if it hasn't rained, they will deliberately pour water into the vegetables to increase their weight.

As for the No. 63 section, it only contains solid content from beginning to end. How can anyone not love such a product?

There are many loyal customers like Lao Wu at No. 63. Most of them supply restaurants, factories, and government agencies. The volume is not large, but the stability and the large number of customers make up for it. Over time, the amount is quite considerable.

The total amount of bok choy, Chinese kale, and mustard greens was still only about 5 tons, and the price rose all the way to 1.1 yuan per kilogram, but it was still sold out in less than two hours.

The green peppers, which were twice the quantity, were only a step too late; even the box intended as a sample was snatched away by someone else.

They were busy from beginning to end, and He Qiang, He Peng, Sun Jianjun and others who were in charge of moving things were already covered in sweat.

Chen Jiazhi had already bought the soda when the peddler on his bicycle passed by. While the group rested, he distributed soda and cigarettes, and before he could even calculate the sales, he rushed off to the distribution center.

He Qiang stood by the stall with his hands on his hips, holding water in his left hand and a cigarette in his right. Watching the departing figure, he said, "This business is really too exciting."

Sun Jianjun sighed, "Sigh, I should have stayed in Dongxiang and grown vegetables with him."

(End of this chapter)