1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 312 Hot 2
Chen Jiazhi actually loves singing and is used to listening to and singing songs while driving.

He sang with great enthusiasm, but when he finished the song and looked to the side, he saw that Li Xiu had already fallen asleep peacefully.

"So you came along to sell vegetables, huh?"

After muttering something to himself, Chen Jiazhi continued humming a song as he drove.

It started raining again along the way, with raindrops hitting the car densely and rapidly, but it stopped soon after.

This is the weather forecast for the past two days. It could rain at any time, so managing the vegetable garden must be quite a challenge.
When they arrived home, it was past one o'clock in the afternoon. Peng Guozhen was holding Dou Dou and waiting at the door.

"Why are you back so late today? Have you eaten? I left some food for you!"

"I haven't eaten yet; I was really looking forward to your cooking."

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu got out of the car, and Dou Dou immediately started fussing for his parents to hold him, but Peng Guozhen gave him to Chen Shaochang instead.

"Play with Grandpa, and let Mom and Dad wash their hands before eating. Jiazhi, Lixiu, wait a moment, I'll bring you the dishes."

Peng Guozhen busied himself with serving the dishes, and soon brought them up.

“Your second sister just went to the market. You guys are both so busy these past few days that you barely have time to eat.”

Chen Jiazhi shoveled rice into his mouth and smiled, "So inviting you two here was the right thing to do, you've been such a big help!"

Peng Guozhen and Chen Shaochang were also sitting in the main room, secretly pleased.

"We just cook, do laundry, clean, and help take care of the kids. We don't really do much. My cooking isn't great either; sometimes your dad has to cook for us."

"It's delicious~" Li Xiu said with a smile, "Thanks to you guys for taking care of Dou Dou, she slept well last night, right~"

Chen Shaochang helped Dou Dou learn to walk slowly, and said, "Dou Dou is very well-behaved, doesn't cry or fuss, and is very easy to take care of. You don't need to worry so much about things at home."

"Ah."

The quality of the food at home is always inconsistent; sometimes it's delicious, and sometimes it's just so-so. But no matter when they come home, there's always hot food waiting for them.

"Xiu, you go wash up and go to bed first. I'm going to the market, I'll be right back~"

"Can't we go later?"

"I'll just go take a look and I'll be right back."

After the rain, the cement road was full of potholes and water, and the fields were filled with the fresh scent of the rain.

A moment later, the market came into view.

It was still a white expanse formed by small arched sheds, with only a few small plots where people could be seen moving around.

Chen Jiazhi rode his bicycle toward a place where people were active, but when he passed the office area, he was stopped by Yi Dinggan.

"Jiazhi, you're here so early?"

"Look, they've already started harvesting the crops!"

"There has been a lot of rain these past few days. Now we harvest the vegetables as soon as the rain stops, without completely removing the plastic film. We only peel it off a little bit when we're ready to harvest."

Chen Jiazhi also saw the scene of harvesting vegetables not far away. A vegetable worker occupied a small arched shed covered with plastic film, harvesting a little bit of vegetables and then uncovering a little bit of the film.

On the empty side of the container, there were several huge umbrellas, with vegetables placed under them and covered with cotton cloth, all for waterproofing.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jiazhi said, "We can buy more umbrellas and put one in the basket when we're harvesting vegetables. It will protect us from the sun and rain."

"Hmm~ It seems to work, this way we can harvest even when the rain is light."

Yi Dinggan exclaimed in surprise. He took out a cigarette from his bag and lit it for Chen Jiazhi. He then noticed the bloodshot in Chen's eyes, and his face instantly darkened.

"just came back?"

Chen Jiazhi, a cigarette dangling from his lips, was still gazing into the vegetable field. "Yeah, I just got back a little while ago."

"Then why are you out so early? Wouldn't it be better to rest at home? Or do you think the market can't function without you?"

"That's not what I meant."

"That's what you mean." Yi Dinggan pondered for a moment and said, "Don't push yourself too hard, your body can't handle it. Since you've entrusted the management of the market to me, I will definitely do my best to manage it well."

"Yes, I'm at ease leaving it in your hands."

Since he had already said that, Chen Jiazhi couldn't go to the vegetable field to check anymore, and indeed, it was done quite well.

After discussing production and sales and confirming the frequency of future supplies, the two parted ways with great enthusiasm.

After returning to his office, Chen Jiazhi first asked Xu Yao about Tongxingtai's procurement and sales situation.

The results were optimistic; Tongxingtai also sold out quickly, sending over the next day's orders early.

We expect to ship 40 tons of goods today!

Chen Jiazhi has no immediate plans to limit shipments; he'll ship as much as he can and focus on finishing off the stock in the cold storage first!
The quota for supplying Hong Kong is several hundred tons.

In addition, Jiangxin vegetable market, including Dongxiang, is still continuously supplying bullets.

This end of June was much more intense than the end of May.

After inquiring about the orders, Chen Jiazhi went to the rooftop. Yi Dinggan wanted him to go back and rest early, so he waited for him on the road outside the office building.

But that didn't stop him from checking from the rooftop.

Inside the small, white, arched shed, male and female workers dressed in various colors moved about.

The ground was muddy and slippery, but these people moved with remarkable fluidity.
"Jiazhi, what are you doing on the roof? Go back and rest as soon as you're done. Your eyes are bloodshot, what are you still looking at!"

"Oh~"

Chen Jiazhi went downstairs and rode his bike to the road. Yi Dinggan was still standing by the roadside with his hands behind his back and a cigarette in his mouth.

"Director Yi is really putting on airs now!"

"I'm speaking to you as your brother-in-law," Yi Dinggan said, turning around. "Go back to sleep. I've already told you, leave the fields to me, there won't be any problems."

"Sowing and transplanting need to keep up, we need to be aggressive..." "Stop nagging, just like Tang Sanzang, this time I'll be terrifyingly aggressive."

"I'll be waiting..."

"Stop dawdling, go back now, come out later~"

Yi Dinggan stayed by the roadside until he was far away, then he stood with his hands behind his back by the vegetable field, pondering.

Actually, it's really hard to manage on rainy days.

Each task is very challenging, but we gained experience last year.
Yi Dinggan kept recalling the details in his mind, and occasionally went to talk to Ao Dehai, Li Mingkun, Guo Mancang and others, to remember the details of Jia Zhi managing this batch of vegetables last year.

The small arched shed is key, and the timing of opening and closing the shed is crucial;
Secondly, there are pests and diseases. As soon as the weather clears up, we have to seize the opportunity to spray the pesticides.

It needs to be vigorous, which requires constant transplanting, which in turn requires seedling cultivation and available open space. But if it rains continuously and there's little opportunity to prepare the land, then the only option is not to prepare the land at all.

After harvesting the vegetables and pulling out the tops, transplant them directly, covering and uncovering the plants throughout the process.

These procedures are all memorized, but they still need to be executed well, as each step is related to the efficiency of the operation.

Seedling raising, transplanting, plant protection, greenhouse construction, and now, most importantly, harvesting... each step is interconnected.

So busy!
Fortunately, the team leader was in charge, and the team leaders and food workers under him were also very responsible.

In the afternoon, it rained unexpectedly two or three times.

When it rains, the workers take shelter, but when the rain lessens, they all come out again.

Yi Dinggan realized the benefits of paying high wages and commissions to vegetable workers.

Starting half a month ago, even if the vegetables collected by the market were to be thrown away soon, even if the piles of discarded vegetables were piled up into several mountains, even if the workers couldn't bear to lose money, they still had to collect the vegetables!
This is the moment we've been waiting for!
With such a group of capable vegetable workers and team leaders, there's no reason why Yi Dinggan couldn't manage them well!
...

"Team Leader Ao, how many vegetables did I harvest today?"

"Hmm~ Not bad, I've already got 15 items, that's 13.5 yuan."

"Only 15 pieces!"

"Okay, there aren't many people in my group taller than you. You think you can finish harvesting all the vegetables by yourself?"

"That's right, Sister Lai, how come you harvest vegetables so quickly?"

Ao Deliang put the notebook he was taking notes into his pocket again and said, "We can't just rush things. We also need to ensure the quality of the dishes and clean up as much as possible."

"I know. After harvesting the medium-sized bok choy, if we harvest the small ones, the land will basically be bare."

Ao Deliang added, "Hmm~ another requirement has been added: when harvesting vegetables, try to stand in the furrow and don't step on the surface of the ridge."

The weather's not good for tilling the land right now, so the market plans to harvest the vegetables and transplant them directly after pulling up the tops.

"I know~"

"Just shout if anything is wrong."

Ao Deliang thought someone would offer suggestions, but most people simply did as he was told.

This feeling is very different. Upon closer reflection, it's not only because he holds power, but also because the vegetable worker's income is closely related to the amount of vegetables produced.

As long as it benefits the output of vegetables, the vegetable workers are very united, and management is easy.

The intense work kept the vegetable farmers from getting into fights; they poured all their energy into the vegetable fields.
After trodden the furrows, harvest the medium-sized bok choy hearts first, then the small ones, and finally pull up the tops. Once the entire ridge is intact, cover it with plastic film to prevent rainwater erosion, and it's ready for transplanting at any time.
As night fell, Yi Dinggan organized the day's debriefing meeting, where, in addition to technical exchanges, a consensus was reached on management.

The current strategy is to fight speed with speed, as fast as possible.

Let's focus on the market trend first, and deal with other issues later.

After the meeting, the crowd did not disperse. Some people, like Li Mingkun and Qi Yongfeng, had already moved into the dormitory at the vegetable market.

The group headed towards the cold storage. Li Mingkun's group had been planting seedlings all day, and he peeked into the cold storage.

"Damn, how many truckloads of vegetables have been shipped out today? There are already empty seats?"

"Damn it, I remember harvesting vegetables from morning till night today, and I didn't lose a single one. This is pretty bad!"

"At least seventy tons of vegetables have been shipped out!"

Li Mingkun's hair stood on end. There were no vegetables left in the southern group of fields; these past two days had been the main focus of transplanting.

"Director Yi, how many truckloads of vegetables were distributed?"

Yi Ding chuckled dryly and said, "It's not certain yet. We might have to send out several more truckloads of vegetables tonight. I estimate we'll end up sending out over a hundred tons."

"Sigh~"

Yi Dinggan added, "That's why we need to act quickly and aggressively to catch up with the market. Catching up with more batches will mean making a lot more money. There shouldn't be any problem, right?"

Li Mingkun asked curiously, "How much are vegetables now?"

“Vegetable prices are still rising.” Yi Dinggan pointed to the trucks still being loaded with vegetables and laughed: “I asked before loading this truckload of goods, and the price of bok choy has risen to 60 yuan per piece, Shanghai bok choy and baby bok choy are 50 yuan per piece, and romaine lettuce is 55 yuan per piece.”

But prices keep rising, and the market doesn't reach its peak trading period until the evening; nobody knows how high it will go tonight.

This price, this production volume...

"There's a real problem: whenever my men mention harvesting vegetables, they all howl like wolf cubs!"

"Give him a good beating!"

"I feel fired up again!"

The group of people were incredibly excited, like gamblers who were about to win.

However, the conversation was instantly swallowed up by the roar of the downpour, each raindrop carrying an unpredictable rhythm.

To the ears of others, it sounded like heavenly music.

(End of this chapter)