1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 307 Sudden Attack
"Mr. Chen, yesterday's car was delayed for seven or eight hours in the queue at Wenjindu customs. By the time we got to the market, it was already noon and the market was closed with no business."

As if things weren't going to go wrong, just as inventory pressure was mounting, Xia Youche brought some bad news.

Chen Jiazhi asked, "In the future, I can organize earlier departures and allow more time."

Xia Youche hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Mr. Chen, let me be frank, our car has been blocked."

It must have been done by Hexing Vegetable Market. They bribed the customs broker to prioritize the clearance of their own trucks, delaying other vehicles transporting vegetables.

If Yu Zhaokun hadn't been working with me for so long, he probably would have been forced to take sides long ago.

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow and said, "You guys can't do anything about Hexing?"

"There's no other way," Xia Youche said frankly. "Hexing has been in business for three generations, and their main product is bok choy. At its peak, they could account for 40% of the bok choy trading volume in the Chang SW market!"

Not only do they maintain close ties with local supply and marketing cooperatives, but the annual payments they make to customs brokers are also substantial.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "So, does that mean we have no choice but to wait in line?"

"Drivers don't want to queue either. They can usually make two or three trips a day, but with queues, they can only make one trip a day at most. Nobody wants to haul goods for you unless you pay extra. Are you willing to pay extra?"

"How much?"

"2000 Hong Kong dollars per day for staying."

"Is a 50/50 split okay?"

“OK~” Xia Youche pondered for a moment, then said, “Since you’re willing to take half the cost, then send two cars over. I happen to have two drivers I work with regularly.”

"Won't this attract Hexing's attention?"

"It's alright, I'll set the price higher and not compete with him for business." Xia Youche chuckled coldly. "Besides, I'm not someone to be trifled with."

If they're looking for you, give them my name and then call me.

"it is good."

Those who can start their businesses in the wholesale vegetable market in Hong Kong are all ruthless characters; you really can't do it without some tricks up your sleeve.

Sending a truckload of goods simply increased costs by HK$1000; Hop Hing's strategy was quite simple and unpretentious.

It will delay your crossing time; the bok choy in vehicles without refrigeration facilities will rot directly on the road.

Even if choy sum with refrigeration facilities passes inspection, the cost will still increase.

At the same time, drivers dare not rashly transport goods for others.

This ensures that Hop Hing's competitiveness and guarantees that the price of choy sum in Hong Kong will never be low.

He didn't know why he didn't use this tactic last year, but now that the competitive pressure has increased, He Xing has started to intensify the attack on his opponents.

The effect is indeed very powerful.

Only because the vegetables at Jiangxin Market are good, of high quality, and fetch a good price, and have complete refrigeration and preservation facilities, can Xia continue to take delivery despite the pressure.

It's okay if queuing takes a little longer.

Yu Zhaokun's car arrived at 2 p.m. that day, but he himself did not come; he was probably enjoying himself somewhere in Shenzhen.

The two trucks that arrived were both Isuzu trucks with a load capacity of 6 tons each, and the two trucks could carry a total of 12 tons.

Sales at the market actually increased, so it could be considered a blessing in disguise.

"Phew~ the pressure is finally a little less."

After seeing the car off, Yi Dinggan gave Chen Jiazhi a cigarette, and the two walked home together.

Chen Jiazhi was also smoking, but he seemed much more relaxed.

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. We still have a card to play. If the stall is full, we'll lower the price. We can also get the volume going at stall number 63."

"How much more can we harvest? Today we harvested 70 tons, and the daily warehouse output is 12+15, with a maximum of 27 tons. We bring in 43 tons of new goods every day."

At this rate, the cold storage will be full in three or four days at most.

Yi Dinggan took a deep drag on his cigarette and said, "Besides, if the price drops any further, we won't be able to cover the costs. We'll lose money on every batch we harvest. Is there any point in harvesting at all?"

Chen Jiazhi said calmly, "We have to harvest it even if it's a loss. If we just smash it in the ground, it will affect the workers' income and cause a lot of chain reactions."

Because of the high cost of planting, selling cheaply is equivalent to cutting your own price before you've even sold the produce.

If we don't harvest, we save on harvesting costs, but we also disrupt the current high-wage system.

Workers may become less enthusiastic about covering the film and planting seedlings, and the efficiency of many management processes that do not involve commissions will be greatly reduced.

Public trust is something that takes a long time to rebuild every time it's depleted.

Moreover, it's still a long way off.

The market also has ample financial reserves.

...

Two days later, Jiangxin Market welcomed several special guests who came for random inspections at the port.

In fact, the market conducts inspections, issues certificates, and collects fees every 15 days.

The base also conducts self-inspection, then reports the results to higher authorities, and then conducts port quarantine.

不过也会不定期到基地抽检，多是病虫害高发期的6~9月，以及‘毒菜’多发期4、5、10、11月。

But the irregularity itself is spiritual.

The general idea is to conduct targeted special inspections at relevant vegetable bases based on new situations and problems learned through information feedback.

This had the feel of a surprise attack; the woman in charge had a fierce look on her face and didn't look like someone to be trifled with.

"Someone reported a problem with your bok choy; I need to see your medication records!"

"And what about your plant protection officers?"

"No plant protection officers? Then who provides you with pest and disease information? Or is it just made up!"

Even when faced with a domineering woman, Yi Dinggan was not intimidated and casually picked up a bunch of bok choy.

"Boss, our bok choy is all top-quality. Look how well it's growing, so tender and crisp, without any disease spots or insect blemishes."

"That's exactly why your pesticide usage might have exceeded the limit!" The woman showed no mercy, saying, "There's no record of pesticide use, right? Then this time the rating will be 'poor,' and you'll only be allowed to pass after rectification."

"Yes, we have records of pesticide application."

Yi Dinggan immediately found Chen Jiazhi, who was practicing computer operation when he learned about the matter.

Without delay, he rummaged through the cabinet and found all sorts of detailed records.

He was very familiar with the port's random inspection procedures and had been prepared for it for a long time.

Generally speaking, quarantine at bases supplying goods to Hong Kong includes four aspects.

First, investigate and understand the types of pests and diseases and their occurrence and damage.
Second, supervise and guide the prevention and control of diseases and pests and the use of pesticides;

Third, it helps solve problems that arise in production;

Fourth, we should summarize the successful experiences of some vegetable bases in pest and disease control and production and management, and then promote them to other bases.

A more responsible company will even give you a "Vegetable Disease and Pest Control Briefing" and provide on-site guidance on disease and pest control, teaching you prevention and control techniques...

Since arriving at Jiangxin Vegetable Market last year, Chen Jiazhi has been keeping records of plant protection.

Moreover, it was rated as excellent from the very beginning.

Those rated as excellent are generally no longer subject to base quarantine; they can conduct self-inspection directly and then declare to the port.

So in the past it was very simple; self-inspection was just about following the procedures, and the key was in reporting the inspection and paying the fees.

But in fact, Chen Jiazhi has always been quite strict in this regard.

As he was searching, Yi Dinggan leaned closer and whispered, "Jiazhi, I have a feeling this person is up to no good, like they're deliberately looking for trouble."

"Hmm~"

Chen Jiazhi nodded calmly.

He also saw several uniformed men standing at the door, looking menacing; it seemed like a random inspection with predetermined results.

But he also handed over the documents.

Yi Dinggan took it first and handed it over.

"Boss, this is the production record of the vegetable market. It contains detailed records of pest and disease occurrences, pesticide usage, dosage, timing, and frequency, and even fertilizer use."

Our vegetables absolutely cannot have excessive pesticide residues.

The woman took it and started flipping through it. She initially wanted to find fault, but after flipping through two pages, she stopped.

"Whether it exceeds the standard or not cannot be determined by words alone; it depends on the test results. Until the results of today's spot check are available, your 'release certificate' is invalid."

After leaving a cold remark, the woman in the lead picked up the documents and prepared to leave.

Yi Dinggan retorted, "Our dishes have never had any problems. There's no evidence whatsoever. You think you can just invalidate them like that?"

The woman turned around and smiled dismissively, "This is about being responsible to Hong Kong's consumers."

Chen Jiazhi pulled the angry Yi Dinggan aside and said, "We'll wait for the result, and we'll cooperate with the next quarantine, but the production records must be kept."

“Yes, you can take the food with you, but you have to leave the documents behind.” Yi Dinggan stepped forward and snatched the documents back.

Broke up unhappily.

After a while, Yi Dinggan returned to his office dejectedly and stopped calling for General Manager Chen.

"Jiazhi, we're being targeted!"

"I'm not an idiot."

"Should we call Xia Youche?"

“He had already called when you came downstairs. He told us to wait while he contacted someone, but he demanded that we sign an exclusive agreement with him.”

"This... was done by him?"

"Probably not."

“Then someone else might contact you soon and ask us to supply them,” Yi Dinggan speculated, stroking his chin.

Chen Jiazhi handed him a cigarette. "They might not come for a while. We're not short of vegetables right now, but one thing is certain: more people know about us."

Yi Dinggan thought for a moment, "In other words, when the supply of vegetables decreases, new Hong Kong businessmen may come to us."

"more or less."

"Should we sign an exclusive supply agreement with Tung Hsing Tai for Hong Kong?"

Based on the information and reactions provided by Xia Youche, it is highly likely that Hexing was the one who rigged the quarantine process.

Xia Youche was also worried that Hexing would steal the supply of goods from Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

That's why he demanded an exclusive supply agreement to Hong Kong. After signing it, he would then try to cultivate relationships.

Chen Jiazhi, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, analyzed the pros and cons.

He Hing is very strong, holding an absolute advantage in the trading volume of cauliflower in Hong Kong, but it has invested in many vegetable markets and offers very harsh conditions.

Tongxingtai has a small transaction volume but no own vegetable market, so it offers greater discounts.

Therefore, making a decision is not difficult.

However, he doesn't plan to sign an exclusive agreement with Tongxingtai right now. He'll let things develop for a while and try to secure more favorable terms.

Due to quarantine disruptions, the daily shipment volume of Jiangxin vegetable market has further decreased.

Chen Jiazhi didn't insist any further and allowed stall number 63 to lower prices and sell off its stock, which led to a further recovery in sales.

But the cold storage was still full of vegetables.

Chen Jiazhi first tried to postpone the harvest as much as possible, and at the same time, he did not hesitate to have the workers dump out the same amount of inventory that was put into storage each day.

Of the 300 acres of newly rented land, two plots were wasteland, where workers had already cut grass and collected stones.

Soon, high mountains of vegetables were piled up on these two barren plots of land, emitting the smell of rotting produce.
(End of this chapter)