1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 309 How could there be such a ruthless person!

In its earliest days, Man Kam To, which is adjacent to Hong Kong, was the only land route for goods to enter and exit Shenzhen.

It was like a bottleneck, with a muddy road connecting Hong Kong on one end and the Man Kam To Bridge on the other. A wooden bridge and a few dilapidated tin houses next to it were the Man Kam To Customs House, surrounded by farmland and fishponds.

Back then, cars could only drive up to the edge of the bridge.

Nowadays, the number of vehicles entering and leaving the country is increasing rapidly. Although customs procedures are being simplified and improved, and the Huanggang Port has been added, the number of vehicles waiting to clear customs is still often too high. The vehicles waiting in front of the port form long queues, causing a chain reaction of traffic congestion and disorder at the port.

The sudden downpour made the border crossing even more chaotic, with a large number of vehicles being forced to remain there.

The Jiangnan market was calm and peaceful.

Li Cai sat at his stall like a quail, and his eyes only lit up when customers came.

"Hey handsome, what's the price today?"

"Chicken heart is 12 yuan per piece."

"Not less or not?"

Li Cai glared at the newcomer, thinking that any less and he'd be left with nothing but his underwear. "I can't give you any less."

"Then I'll go for another round, and then come back."

At this price, why go and look around again? Are you worried that the market will drop further?

Li Cai was filled with resentment, but he started attending to the next customer.

Because of its low price and good quality, stall number 63 actually has a decent sales volume. Its only disadvantage is that it only offers a limited variety of vegetables, namely bok choy.

Fortunately, other dishes will be available soon, which should give us a much-needed respite.

After a while, Jiang Lin from stall number 62 next door came over.

Business has been so-so lately, so Zhang Qiren often takes naps at his stall at night, which is when Jiang Lin likes to come over for a stroll.

At first, Li didn't want to pay attention to her. He fantasized about finding a beautiful wife and looked down on married women.

But Chen Jiazhi wants him to be more high-profile recently.

"Hey handsome, there are plenty of vegetables today too. As long as you lower the price, you'll be able to sell them quickly."

"What's so fast about it? We can only sell about 20 tons a day at most."

"Twenty tons is not a small amount."

“We have our own base, so the costs are high. This bubble alone costs more than two yuan. A basket of vegetables only sells for 12 yuan. We’ve been losing money like crazy lately.”

Li Cai spoke loudly, deliberately, as if afraid others wouldn't know that stall number 63 was losing money.

Because I made too much money recently, I need to have both profits and losses to reduce my presence at the stall.

"You have no idea, our cold storage facilities are already full. We're dumping more than 30 tons of vegetables every day, piling up like a 'vegetable mountain' every day. We're dumping more than we're selling."

"Everyone knows our vegetables are good, but that's all thanks to the high cost. With the current market conditions, we're losing a lot of money. We lose several dollars on every unit sold. If this continues, the market won't even be able to pay wages."

Li Cai spoke with such sincerity, shaking his head and sighing from time to time, leaving the nearby merchants completely bewildered.

Goodness, we've lost so much.

Jiang Lin is also at a loss. I just wanted to come and see some handsome guys to feast my eyes, but you're pouring out your grievances to me?
She doesn't care whether stall number 63 lives or dies; she'd rather its business get worse and worse.

She went back.

However, Li Cai achieved his goal.

Many people heard what he just said and know that slot number 63 has been losing money very badly recently.

Several customers found out about the situation; some offered words of comfort, while others directly purchased goods to support the company.

Old Wu, who was also familiar with the Jiangnan market, said, "Young man, there are some people you don't need to lower the price for. Even if you still charge 15 yuan per piece or 18 yuan per piece, they will still buy the goods."

When the market is bad, you can raise the price; when the market is good and vegetables are in high demand, you can lower the price.

This is how Chen the vegetable farmer always sold his vegetables; it's an unspoken agreement, you know?

Li Cai smiled and said, "I understand, so I should charge you 18 yuan per item today."

"Forehead……"

"Haha, I was just kidding, it's still 12 yuan per piece today."

Li Cai was certainly aware of this sales method; Chen Jiazhi had told him about it, but also mentioned that such a tacit sales method was only suitable for solo efforts.

Because it's difficult to keep accounts, there are also loopholes in management.

Some people will buy even if the price doesn't drop, but most people will only buy when the price drops, and they'll buy even more.

If standards are not uniform, salespeople will have room to exploit loopholes.

He didn't think Chen Jiazhi didn't trust him; rather, he believed that the goal of Kaopu Fresh was to grow bigger and stronger, and to do that, there couldn't be just one stall.

Li Cai vividly remembers a saying: Never challenge human nature; use management methods to minimize the chances of sales staff making mistakes.

Therefore, while personal relationships are important in the food stall business, these relationships can also be based on a unified standard.

"Handsome guy, 8 items!"

"Take 5 items~"

"Handsome guy, 15 items..."

Time passed slowly, and as dawn approached, Li felt that business had improved considerably, and the delivery speed had increased.

In the past, there was usually plenty of stock at this time, but today it felt like there wasn't enough to sell in the morning.

Around eight o'clock, Xue Jun came to the stall to relieve the shift.

"Sales were good yesterday."

"Well, business is a bit better. I'll go to the distribution center later and call them to ask the base to send a truckload of goods over as soon as possible."

"Okay, you go back and rest first, I'll take care of things here."

As soon as Li Cai stepped out of the stall, he saw three or four shop owners standing together in the passageway, discussing something.

He hadn't paid any attention at first, nor did he intend to join in the fun, but after hearing the words "heavy rain," "border crossing," and "stuck" in succession, he stopped and listened carefully.

Someone noticed him and shouted, "Hey, handsome, where's your base?"

Panyu~

"Oh, Panyu. I wonder if it rained in Panyu last night. Your base still has a lot of vegetables, right? This time you might be able to turn a profit. There was a heavy rain in Shenzhen last night, and I guess many vegetable markets were affected."

"Others have lost money for half a month, it's time for them to make some money back."

"The hard times are over, and the good times are finally here!"

Li Cai didn't believe these people weren't jealous, but the jealousy was noticeably faint.

Because they were losing money in the first half of the month.

Li Cai hurried back to the distribution center, to the same old spot in the market, which was a bit crowded.

After checking yesterday's accounts with Jiang Xiaoyan, he locked the money in the safe before making the phone call.

They should be inspecting the fields at this time.

The call connected quickly. He first asked for a truckload of goods to be sent out as soon as possible, then briefly explained the situation of the heavy rain in Shenzhen, and then inquired about the vegetable market.

"everything is fine."

"That's good, the market should improve."

"Okay, you should go back and get some rest."

Chen Jiazhi looked up at the azure sky, which seemed to be a sunny day.

The heavens are really on our side; the torrential rain has reached Shenzhen. Hopefully, it will flood more vegetable markets.

A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist.

He rode his bicycle to deliver the message to Yi Dinggan, Ao Deliang, Qi Yongfeng, Li Mingkun, and others one by one, and everyone was invigorated upon hearing it.

After persevering for so long, we finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"I just don't know the specific extent of the disaster in Shenzhen. Is the rain heavy enough? If it's not heavy enough, it's hard to say."

"The news has reached Huacheng so quickly. The rain must be quite heavy. We'll find out on the news later. Let's organize a truckload of goods to be sent to the market now."

Chen Jiazhi returned to his office, turned on the radio, and listened to the news and weather forecast.

However, Xia Youche called first.

"Did it rain heavily in Shenzhen last night?"

"Um...you're really well-informed."

"After all, it's so close. Seeing that you called so early, you must have suffered quite a bit."

Chen Jiazhi probed Xia Youche's reaction, and the latter no longer concealed anything, recounting the events of the previous night in detail.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared, the wind howled and the rain poured down. In some areas, it was as if the sky had been punched through, and the rain was pouring down like a waterfall.

Just from his description, Chen Jiazhi could picture the scene: if the vegetables weren't flooded, that intensity alone would be enough to crush them.

"Just laugh if you want to, don't hold it in, it'll make you feel uncomfortable~"

"Hey, I also sympathize with the plight of vegetable farmers in Shenzhen."

"Heh, I know you too well. You're definitely secretly gloating. You must have plenty of vegetables at the market!"

"It's alright, I think it should be enough for me to sell at the Jiangnan Market."

"Tch!" Xia Youche was utterly speechless. Was this guy fishing for information? "Let's talk."

"What to talk about?"

"Don't play dumb. I'll be in Guangzhou tomorrow for the exclusive supply agreement to Hong Kong."

As soon as he hung up the phone, Chen Jiazhi couldn't help but burst into laughter. If the market didn't pick up, he could eat hundreds of tons of vegetables from his fields!
At noon, Chen Jiazhi returned home and saw the latest news on TV.

Shenzhen experienced torrential rain overnight, and some areas of Dongguan also experienced extremely heavy rain.

He knew immediately that it was a sure thing.

Moreover, the weather forecast indicates that there will be plenty of heavy rain in the coming days, including in Huacheng.

The market is definitely going to reverse.
But there are risks too; the Jiangxin vegetable market can't be flooded!

Chen Jiazhi then went downstairs and convened a meeting with each group by the roadside, emphasizing that all ditches should be kept clear and that the plastic sheeting should be covered before leaving get off work in the evening, and covered again during the day.
The various groups also sprang into action.

Shouts immediately filled the market, and the various arrangements were gradually finalized.

Chen Jiazhi's only wish now is not to be flooded, secondly, to be flooded less, and lastly, to be flooded a few days later.
This commotion also caught the attention of Dongsheng Farm.

Qu Jingtai hasn't gone back yet, but he has also learned about the situation in Shenzhen. Last night, his vegetables were stranded at the border and missed the morning market.

But what upset him even more was that Au Tai Kee's bases in Shenzhen and Dongguan had suffered devastating blows.

At that moment, noticing the commotion next door, he immediately gathered his men to prepare as well.

There are no small arched sheds~
There wasn't even enough time to clear the ditches.

The rain in Shenzhen was like opening Pandora's box; in the evening, Jiangxin Market was baptized by the wind and rain.

When I went to inspect the fields in the morning, the ditches were still gushing with rainwater, but the vegetable plots were unaffected.

When the plastic film was lifted, the soil and vegetable leaves were dry.

But others were upset, at least he knew that part of Dong Sheng's vegetable fields had been flooded.

Panyu was not the only area experiencing heavy rainfall.

When Xia arrived at the market, he already knew from the news that many parts of the Pearl River Delta had experienced heavy rainfall.
He took Xia Youche to the vegetable field to see the well-protected vegetables.

Finally, they arrived at the cold storage, where a whole cold storage of bok choy made Xia Youche gasp in shock.

How could anyone be so ruthless!

(End of this chapter)