1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 310 Volume and Price Soar Together
Seeing that the market had plenty of supplies, especially that the cold storage was full, Xia Youche really wanted to negotiate a lower price.

But Chen Jiazhi didn't give him a chance. Besides supplying Hong Kong, he could also sell vegetables at the Jiangnan Market.

Xia Youche then compromised again.

Ultimately, the two parties reached an exclusive supply agreement. In Hong Kong, Jiangxin Market will only supply Tongxingtai. Tongxingtai's gross profit margin will be maintained at 50-80%. If it exceeds this margin, Jiangxin Market can automatically terminate the agreement. The agreement is for a term of 5 years.

"Mr. Chen, send me 20 tons of bok choy today."

"Is there no problem with customs clearance at the port?"

"give it to me."

Xia Youche took the offer, and Chen Jiazhi then asked Hexing if he would interfere.

"Hexing cannot control everything. Hong Kong needs to maintain stability, and the supply of materials cannot be disrupted, especially when the supply is insufficient. Anyone who makes underhanded moves is likely to be held accountable later."

"Okay, I'll follow the organizers to ship the goods."

Chen Jiazhi recalled a case from his previous life: local thugs caused trouble at the base and destroyed a vegetable market overnight.

After finalizing the shipping arrangements, Xia Youche left, as he needed to first make some arrangements at the port.

Chen Jiazhi went to Youyi Agricultural Supplies, and Hong Zhong's work focus also shifted there.

However, the person was not in the store.

After waiting for a while, I saw him return on his motorcycle. He had gone to Dongsheng Farm.

"Oh dear, you didn't see the vegetables in Dongsheng. The hearts of the vegetables have been bent by the wind and rain, looking like ugly monsters. The vegetable patch has also been hardened."

"Did they buy the small greenhouse?"

"I feel like this time it will work."

"It just hasn't happened yet."

Chen Jiazhi stabbed Hong Zhong in the chest again; the latter had always wanted to develop Dong Sheng into a client as well.

After exchanging a few casual words, Chen Jiazhi brought up the topic of Hong Kong's triads.

"The Hong Kong triads are just like that. They are essentially small-time gangsters. Especially in recent years, they have started to focus on making money. There are some violent elements, but the real ruthless criminals are all from the mainland."

As for causing trouble on the mainland, even if they had ten times the courage, no one would dare to come, unless they hired someone from the mainland.

The two stood outside the Friendship Agricultural Supplies store, where they could see the vast expanse of white vegetables in the fields.

It rained, so there was no harvesting task and no work in the fields, but many vegetable workers were wandering around the market.

"However, given the unity of Jiangxin Market and its influence in the local area, there shouldn't be many who would dare to directly cause trouble."

"Hmm~"

Jiangxin Market has a strong sense of community, and a significant proportion of its workers are local. Generally, no one dares to cause trouble, except for a few hotheads.

Chen Jiazhi did not dare to be careless and instructed Yi Dinggan and the various groups to strengthen their defenses in this regard.

When we returned to the cold storage, the trucks for supplying Hong Kong had already arrived, and two container trucks, each capable of carrying 10 tons, were parked in front of the cold storage at the same time.

Meanwhile, vehicles destined for stall number 63 were also queuing up on the roadside waiting to be loaded.

The vegetables in the cold storage were taken out one by one, and just one day later, the shipment volume changed dramatically.

But the vegetable market is just that unpredictable; prices can change in the blink of an eye.

"Dingling bell~"

The office phone rang, and Xia Youche gave them today's price.

"Mr. Chen, today's price for choy sum is HK$1.8 per catty."

"Okay, the car is leaving soon. Has the border been opened yet?"

"Work with me, and all you have to do is send the trucks here," Xia Youche said with a hearty laugh.

Chen Jiazhi chuckled politely. He had long understood the nature of Hong Kong people; as long as it brought them benefits, their bottom line was very flexible.

The price of HK$1.8 per catty is also quite considerable, directly reversing the downward trend.

During the evening debriefing meeting, Chen Jiazhi told the group leaders about the price.

A large rock fell to the ground, and the crowd was first relieved to have survived the ordeal, then became excited.

A lot of vegetables were thrown away, but we never stopped planting seedlings!
Nowadays, the vegetable market offers a wide variety of vegetables, and at least two-thirds of them have been transplanted for more than a week.

Previously, both volume and price fell; now, both volume and price are soaring!
"It's not time to completely relax yet. The weather might still change. Once the rain stops, hurry up and bring in the supplies!"

Every day, vegetables can be harvested from the fields. They are protected by small greenhouses, and once the rain stops, they can be harvested and stored.

This kind of practical information is very popular in the market.

Yi Ding chuckled dryly, "There are still two or three hundred tons of goods in the cold storage, so the pressure of receiving vegetables isn't that great, and we can guarantee that there will be goods every day."

Chen Jiazhi said, "I'm worried about torrential rain; even one flood could cause huge losses."

Yi Dinggan pondered for a moment and said, "Even if there's a heavy downpour, the cold storage won't be able to hold that many vegetables!"

Chen Jiazhi said, "We'll take in as much as we can. Besides bok choy, we can also move other vegetables. We need to make sure the cold storage is always full. We'll also be shipping more to the market in the next couple of days. We have to be very close to getting the vegetables in!"

The market is just getting started, so we need to capture as much of this upward trend as possible!

"it is good!"

"Daily management shouldn't be neglected either."

After discussing production management in detail with everyone, the summary meeting came to a close, leaving everyone feeling energized.

The daily dumping of food over the past few days has also brought invisible pressure to everyone.

After the meeting, Chen Jiazhi drove his Isuzu and Yi Dinggan home, picked up Li Xiu, and then went to the market.

The Isuzu truck was also loaded with vegetables, and the ride was very smooth.

Not long after they set off, Li Xiu asked how many truckloads of vegetables had been sent out that day.

"20 tons went to Hong Kong, and another 40 tons were sent to stall number 63. We'll see how sales go tonight; if it's good, we'll send out more trucks tomorrow."

"That makes a total of 60 tons!"

"its not bad, right?"

"Wow, Jiazhi, you're amazing!" Li Xiu said. "You threw away so many vegetables the other day, it was so worrying! Mom kept nagging about it, even the rabbits were tired of eating the vegetable hearts!"

Thankfully, we've made it through.

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "If you want to make extra profits, how can you not take some risks? Life is all about taking risks, and so is growing vegetables. Only those who dare to take risks can possibly make extra profits."

If there isn't a large-scale planting this time, there won't be a vegetable shortage, but there also won't be a large supply of vegetables at high prices.

"Hmm, now let's see who dares to say you're acting recklessly~"

"Haha, it was definitely a bit reckless, but the rewards were surprisingly good!"

Chen Jiazhi is very confident about the market; given the rainfall in the past two days, a price increase is inevitable.

Soon, they arrived at the market. After queuing to enter, Isuzu also arrived at the passage where stall number 63 was located.

After just one glance, Chen Jiazhi gave up on driving the car in.

"Jiazhi, which way should we drive?"

"There are too many people at the stall, we can't drive in, let's go to the parking lot first~"

Li Xiu also turned her head to look, and was instantly taken aback by the crowded stalls.

"Why are there so many cars?"

"There are a lot of people coming to pick up goods."

After parking the car, the two walked towards the stall. The aisle was already full of all kinds of vehicles, including tricycles, handcarts, and vans. Those in front were unloading goods from the trucks, with styrofoam boxes several heads taller than the tricycles before leaving.

Chen Jiazhi could only squeeze through the gaps and finally reached the stall, where Li Cai and Xue Jun were both.

After understanding the situation, Li Xiu was asked to help Li Cai take the order, while Chen Jiazhi joined the team organizing the unloading. Two trucks were unloading at the same time, and there were also many vegetables originally laid out on the ground at the stall.

Shipments are being made from several locations simultaneously.

Each person is responsible for directing one order, and Chen Jiazhi also has to lend a hand in order to speed things up.

Although there were many cars and people, the scene was actually quite orderly.

Because it's standard packaging, the weight and price are fixed. A basket of bok choy has already risen to 40 yuan per piece. After placing the order, it was loaded directly onto the truck.

Chen Jiazhi quickly adapted to this rhythm and also took the time to chat with the others.

"Are you this busy all night?"

"Yes, we've been busy since the first truck arrived in the evening. Many people are waiting to pick up our vegetables, and we sold out as soon as the first truck was unloaded."

He Qiang handed a basket of vegetables to Chen Jiazhi and explained the situation, "This evening was the best business we've had recently, and all of us brothers have been looking forward to this day."

Chen Jiazhi asked, "You don't have to stay here with me all the time; you can go and take other orders."

"It's going to be difficult to answer."

He Qiang said, "Recently, there have been frequent fights in the market over who can unload more goods. It's not easy to make a living outside anymore. Only when your goods are regularly unloaded by us can no one compete with us for them."

Is the competition that fierce?

"It's very intense. Recently, a lot of strangers have come to the market, and they start fighting at the drop of a hat."

He Qiang pondered for a moment and said, "I suggest that you have someone with you when you travel in the future."

"Okay, I'll be careful."

He Qiang's suggestion is worth adopting. Standing on the truck to unload the goods, he can see further. Among all the stalls in the passage, stall number 63 is the most eye-catching.

There was no traffic jam anywhere else, only the 63rd lane was congested.

And this is just the beginning; he has many more dishes to come.

All night, Chen Jiazhi did nothing but unload and load goods on the truck. By the time he finished dealing with a large influx of customers, his clothes were soaked through.

Then I found a random spot to rest for a while.

"Boss Chen, you don't need to work for a while, leave everything to us, there's still time."

"Fine, I won't fight you for it."

A moment later, He Qiang and the others unloaded the remaining cargo from the truck.

Chen Jiazhi also gave the key to Xue Jun, asking him to drive the Isuzu in.

Overall, the stalls had plenty of stock, with tall stacks of white foam boxes that stood out among the other stalls.

Soon, wave after wave of customers arrived.

Chen Jiazhi was also always busy, constantly communicating with customers, taking orders, writing orders, offering cigarettes and water, moving goods, and doing whatever was needed.

The stalls were either bustling with activity or filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.

After an unknown amount of time, a series of crackling sounds suddenly erupted overhead, completely silencing all other sounds in the market within just a few seconds.

The only sound in the entire world was the sound of rain.

But it comes quickly and goes quickly.

A dozen minutes later, the rain subsided, and shoppers started moving around again. There was less hesitation and more decisiveness when placing orders, and stall number 63 welcomed a new wave of customers.

Customers have been buying everything from one or two items to a dozen or even dozens of items of bok choy.
The shipping speed seems to have increased again.

However, there is also plenty of stock in stall number 63.

In addition, the market situation reversed too quickly, which caught Li Cai and Xue Jun, who had been selling vegetables for more than half a year, completely off guard.

After receiving two large orders, Chen Jiazhi shouted, "Price increase! Price increase! Cabbage hearts are 45 yuan per piece!"

This immediately aroused dissatisfaction among those who came after.

"How can you sell vegetables like this? You just lowered the price by 40 yuan per piece, you should at least wait until we buy them before raising the price!"

"That's right, you have quite a lot of food!"

"I won't buy it if the price goes up!"

Chen Jiazhi ignored the clamor of those who came later, feeling that this wave of customers wouldn't stop anytime soon.

If prices are expected to rise later, they might not rise by dawn.

Even delaying the price increase by half an hour could mean losing hundreds or thousands of dollars in profits.

If you can't accept the price increase, then go find cheaper goods elsewhere. Of course, we will also give some preferential treatment to some regular customers who buy goods every day.

Old Wu arrived a little later, around 3 a.m., just as the price had gone up.

However, he didn't mention the price when he picked up the goods, he only reported the order, and Chen Jiazhi tacitly wrote down the price before the price increase.

After looking at the bill, Old Wu didn't say anything, just smiled, paid the money, and left.

Under Chen Jiazhi's instruction, Xue Jun and Li Cai would occasionally do the same. When the market was rising, they could also make some special exceptions to satisfy the psychological needs of their old customers.

The price is indeed very good now.

Compared to two or three days ago, the price of a carton of bok choy has increased by 23 yuan, three to four times.

It's like heaven and earth; a single dish went from a slight loss to a huge profit.

Although stall number 63 had a wide variety of dishes, the number of white styrofoam boxes inside was rapidly decreasing amidst the constant flow of customers.

By daybreak, two-thirds of the stall had been emptied, but the market was still quite crowded.

Many shoppers dislike staying up late and prefer to go out in the morning.

After just one night of consumption, the supply of vegetables in the market is rapidly decreasing. Many stalls are short of stock and cannot replenish their supplies in time. The rain has also affected transportation.

This has resulted in stall number 63, which has a better supply of goods, consistently doing good business.

Chen Jiazhi put his hands on his hips and shouted, "Xue Jun, call Yi Dinggan and tell him to ship the goods as soon as possible."

Li Cai, please tally up the sales figures and see how many we sold last night, so we can schedule the number of trips today!

He had barely finished speaking when he heard the dull patter of raindrops above his head again.

It rang countless times throughout the night.

However, it was still hot, and Chen Jiazhi's body was constantly wet with sweat, which dried and then became wet again.

Selling vegetables in this kind of weather must be quite an experience.

Once the rain subsided again, Li Cai calculated the sales figures.

"Brother Chen, from eight o'clock yesterday morning until now, we've sold a total of 2374 pieces of bok choy!"

"Damn, that's pretty intense!"

The group was astonished by the number: 2374 pieces of bok choy, with daily sales exceeding 35 tons.

Not only have vegetable prices doubled or tripled, but sales have also doubled!
And this is only a single variety!

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment, and the mobile phone on the cashier's table returned a call.

"Jiazhi, you've shipped the goods so early? Did they sell very well last night?!"

"Yes, that's great! We sold 35 tons in 24 hours, and we'll send another 40 tons of bok choy today. In addition, we've also shipped out baby bok choy, Shanghai bok choy, and romaine lettuce—we'll ship as much as we can!"

"Holy crap, that's impressive!" Yi Dinggan exclaimed immediately. "I'll get the loading started right away. It rained again last night, but the market is still perfectly fine..."

The communication between the two sides was brief, but highly efficient. Just as the vegetables at the stall were about to sell out in the morning, more vegetables kept arriving to replenish them.

The group worked all night and had to take turns resting.

(PS: 5 chapters missing~)

(End of this chapter)