1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 316 This plan is brilliant
"Boss Xia, business is booming!"

Xia had just dropped off one customer when another arrived. He recognized them at a glance as two colleagues, one of whom was Wang Hao, the owner of Hexing.

"It's alright, enough to make a living."

"If you're just trying to make a living, then what are we? Do you think we don't know whether you're earning money or not!"

"Um... Mr. Wang, what brings you here? Have you delivered today's dishes?"

"Where did you get your bok choy?" Wang Hao's henchman lit a cigarette, his tone subtly threatening.

Xia Youche frowned. "Heh, this is asking the impossible. Do I have to report to you where my vegetables come from?"

Besides, I've already signed an exclusive supply agreement; it's too late for you to inquire now.

"Hey, you surnamed Xia, don't push your luck!" the henchman shouted.

"Heh, you want to make a move? Fine, Hexing wants to play around, but Tongxingtai isn't just for show!"

Wang Hao waved his hand, took out two more cigarettes, gave one to Xia Youche, lit one for himself, but didn't give any to his follower.

"Boss Xia, actually I just want to know how these vegetables are grown. They're so beautiful and fresh. It's hard to find this kind of produce lately. Are they from the Pearl River Delta or from somewhere else?"

Xia Youche's expression softened, and he said, "I can tell you that this batch of vegetables comes from the Pearl River Delta."

Wang Hao was surprised. Hexing also had a vegetable market, and in the recent rains, regardless of whether the market was flooded or not, the vegetables produced there were greatly affected.

Lacking both quality and output, the losses were devastating.

This is also the current general situation for leafy vegetables.

However, Tongxingtai's dishes are still so delicious!
Wang Hao said, "Could we arrange a meeting with the technical manager of the market?"

Xia Youche sneered, thinking that the other party was still eyeing the source of goods, and he was not so easily fooled.

"I've been too busy lately, I haven't had time, I'll do it later~"

"Okay, I'll come see you again in a couple of days."

Not getting an answer, Wang Hao wasn't annoyed. He led his men back, and his follower said, "Brother Hao, why be so polite to him? He stole our Hexing business. We're already being lenient by not directly taking him down!"

"Are you teaching me what to do?"

The lackey immediately cowered.

Wang Hao said, "Use your brain before you act. Do you think Tongxingtai would disclose information about the source of goods to outsiders?"

"Then what are we going there for?"

"Look at how good Tongxingtai's business really is. Now it seems they've indeed taken away a lot of our orders." Wang Hao's voice turned low, with a hint of anger.

In order to maintain some long-term restaurant orders, Hop Hing also sources its goods from Tong Hing Tai.

However, many customers bypass Hexing and get their goods directly from Tongxingtai.

This has been the situation in recent years, with the trading volume of Hop Hing Choy Sum declining rapidly from its peak of 40% of the total in Hong Kong.

The biggest reason is the relaxation of supply restrictions.

Hong Kong's agricultural products have always been heavily reliant on the mainland, supplied by state-owned enterprises. Meanwhile, the mainland was in great need of foreign exchange. In the early to mid-80s, Hong Kong's financial and entertainment industries were booming, leading to a surge in demand for fresh produce.

During this period, Hexing lived a very comfortable life.

However, in the mid-to-late 80s, with the opening up of vegetable markets to investment in the mainland, more and more people started to do business in choy sum.

With its capital and first-mover advantage, Tong Hing Tai has also invested heavily in vegetable markets in mainland China and still holds an absolute dominant position. Many restaurants have signed long-term order contracts with Hing Tai.

However, there are also customer losses every year, especially when the supply of goods is unstable.

The source of goods is a problem that every vegetable wholesaler has to solve, and Wang Hao realized this early on.

"Hello, who is it?"

"Mr. Wang, this is He Li. I heard you were looking for me. Is there something you need?"

"Director He, hello. More than half a month ago, the bok choy from Tongxingtai failed the quarantine inspection. I would like to ask which market his bok choy came from at that time?"

"Tongxingtai?"

He Li, the director of the quarantine bureau, frowned and pondered. She quickly remembered that she had received money twice for this matter: once from Hexing asking her to cause trouble, and once from Tongxingtai asking her to release the goods.

She thought the other party was there to find fault, but she didn't take it seriously at all.

"It seems to be Jiangxin Vegetable Market in Lingshan Town, Panyu District. There is also Dongsheng Farm next door, which is invested by Qu Taiji."

Wang Hao smiled and said, "Okay, Director He, I'll treat you to tea another day."

"Sure, I'm free to have tea anytime. Is there some problem with the market again?" He Li couldn't help but wonder if they could charge for the tea.

"Oh, no problem."

Wang Hao understood what the other party meant, and he also realized that Tongxingtai had probably given He Li tea money as well. He cursed inwardly as a bunch of ungrateful wretches.

They took the money but did nothing.

He couldn't even do his job properly. In his opinion, the fact that Jiangxin Market could still produce vegetables at this time must mean that it had some unique technical expertise.

The port quarantine bureau may also have the function of promoting and publicizing new technologies.

"Qu Tai Ji~" Wang Hao muttered twice, then went out again.

It was already eight or nine o'clock, and many vegetable stalls were quiet, including Qu Taiji.

However, the owner, Qu Jingtai, was not at the market, so he had to contact him by phone and learned that Jiangxin Market was indeed a bit strange.

...

In the evening, Chen Jiazhi also learned from Xia Youche that Hexing was looking for him.

Chen Jiazhi wasn't very flustered.

He didn't have much contact with Hexing in his previous life and didn't know much about it. His deepest impression was that Hexing was one of the earliest companies to invest in vegetable markets in Ningxia.

At the same time, in a few years, Hop Hing will also focus on developing the mainland market.

One reason is the high potential of the mainland market, and the other is the increasingly fierce competition in the Hong Kong and Macao markets.

As for the vicious fighting, Chen Jiazhi decided to take more people with him when he went out; they still needed to go to the market, as it was a matter of money. "Boss, if Dongxiang can hold out until the last day, they can still collect five or six tons of vegetables every day!"

"Dehai, you really don't waste a single bit," Chen Jiazhi chuckled. "Let's finish this up quickly; there are still 300 acres of land waiting to be reclaimed here!"

"Okay, boss."

The Dongxiang vegetable market is also coming to an end, and some vegetables have caught up with the market conditions at the end of June, contributing nearly 200,000 yuan in sales revenue.

After deducting various costs, 15 yuan went into Chen Jiazhi's personal account.

But the majority of the money still comes from Jiangxin vegetable market.

In the five days since the market rally began, Jiangxin Vegetable Market's sales reached 341 million yuan.

Except for the first day when it was only a few hundred thousand, it skyrocketed for the next four days, with each day's figure higher than the last.

They fired all the accumulated ammunition.

But there are also some regrets.

The cold storage facility wasn't big enough; it could only hold a maximum of 300 tons of vegetables, resulting in hundreds of tons of vegetables being wasted, which are still piled up in those few wastelands.

If those 100 tons of bok choy had been stored and sold now, it would have been enough to build another cold storage facility of the same size.

"The cold storage still needs repairs!"

"Growing vegetables relies on facilities, and fresh produce relies on refrigeration. Just go for it!"

Chen Jiazhi's forward-thinking vision gave him the courage to invest, and vegetable growing facilities and cold storage facilities are both good investment directions.

I made a lot of money this time, now I need to think about how to spend it.

Cold storage facilities will definitely continue to be built, but they don't necessarily have to be built in vegetable markets; they can also be built in markets.

In addition, the establishment of branch facilities can also be put on the agenda.

Then, thinking about the possibility of Hexing coming to his door, Chen Jiazhi had another idea.

This battle has made Jiangxin Market famous, and it's likely that it will attract many more visitors in the future.

The technology and facilities used in farmers' markets may be rapidly adopted.
Thinking of this, Chen Jiazhi took out his mobile phone and dialed Hong Zhong's number.

"Old Hong, where are you?"

"It's all about friendship."

"Come to my office."

"You're really putting on airs these days, huh?"

"Making money."

"I'll be there in three minutes."

Soon, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed in the stairwell. Hong Zhong arrived at his office, panting, rubbing his hands together, eager and excited.

"Mr. Chen, are you going to buy insect netting? The vegetable market has been making money lately, so investing a few hundred thousand or a million in insect netting shouldn't be too much of a burden for you."

What kind of sweet dream are you having!

Chen Jiazhi rolled his eyes. Insect nets can indeed be effective, but they also have shortcomings. They are troublesome and expensive, and it is not cost-effective to use them on a large scale.

How is the promotion of small arched greenhouses going?

"Generally, it's mostly small individual farmers trying to buy, but recently, with the disaster, many vegetable farmers have even less money to buy."

"What about Dongsheng Farm?" Chen Jiazhi asked. "Shouldn't they realize the importance of the small greenhouses now?"

"I haven't been to Dongsheng these past two days."

"What a great opportunity, why not take it?"

"I thought I shouldn't rub salt into someone's wound, so I'll go in a few days."

Chen Jiazhi blinked, feeling that he instantly understood Hong Zhong's meaning, "That seems to make sense."

"Hahaha……"

They both burst into laughter.

Two weeks ago, Qu Jingtai and Li Jiyong frequently visited Jiangxin Vegetable Market, and they often pointed at the collapsed "vegetable mountain" in front of the people in the market, making a lot of sarcastic remarks.

Chen Jiazhi had also heard about it often.

It's just been less frequent lately.

Although he didn't pay special attention to Dongsheng Farm, he knew that Dongsheng had suffered heavy losses, the reasons for which I won't list.

However, in comparison, the advantages of small arched sheds are obvious.

“Besides Dongsheng, people from other vegetable markets may come to inspect the market recently. I think this is an opportunity to expand our orders.”

Chen Jiazhi explained the cause and effect in detail.

"It's too far away to reach them. Where can't you buy agricultural supplies at the big market?"

"Can't you have some ambition?" Chen Jiazhi pondered. "We mainly provide differentiated products."

For example, fiberglass poles can be used instead of bamboo strips. You should know the potential of small arched greenhouses; they will definitely be widely promoted, and fiberglass poles are much more convenient than bamboo strips.

The domestic fiberglass industry is developing rapidly, with expanded production capacity and reduced costs, but its actual application in agriculture is still limited.

Hong Zhong took Chen Jiazhi's words to heart.

In addition, there are seeds; good seeds, once proven, will never lack buyers.

Chen Jiazhi remembered many useful seeds, both domestically and internationally, and Hongzhong has now introduced some of them as well.

There are also supplies such as pesticides.
Although they are subject to high tariffs like imported seeds, price is not the biggest obstacle for some excellent products.
By taking advantage of the opportunity to appear at Jiangxin Vegetable Market, Chen Jiazhi was able to advertise for Youyi Agricultural Supplies and attract customers, including high-quality, large clients.

The promotion should be quite effective.

At least Hong Zhongzhi exclaimed that this plan was brilliant.

(End of this chapter)