1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 325 Li Cai, heartbroken in love

On the plane to Shanghai, Chen Jiazhi was engrossed in reading a book called "Seed World".

After taking a nap, Xue Jun, who was next to him, saw that Jiazhi was still reading and said, "Jiazhi, is this book really that good?"

Chen Jiazhi stared at the pages and said, "It's not as interesting as martial arts novels, but you can still gain something from flipping through it occasionally. Besides, we plan to develop in this direction in the future."

Xue Jun sighed, "I still don't understand. What's so great about Yunnan? Why would anyone come here to grow vegetables?"

Chen Jiazhi tilted his head and said, "I told you before, because of the climate here, growing vegetables here is like God feeding us."

"Hehe~ God is chasing after you to feed you, that sounds interesting." Suddenly someone in front of the two said, "It's just that Yunnan is too poor, and many remote areas are still struggling on the poverty line."

Chen Jiazhi put down the book in his hand and nodded slightly to the person in front of him.

"From a climate perspective alone, Yunnan is indeed blessed with abundant natural resources, but its development is limited by factors such as agricultural technology and transportation."

The person in front nodded slightly, but did not continue the conversation.

Chen Jiazhi continued reading professional magazines until the plane began to descend and experience turbulence.

The two of them were seated by the window, and they could slowly overlook the entire city.

After leaving Hongqiao Airport, Chen Jiazhi checked into a hotel first, and then took Xue Jun to visit the Oriental Pearl Tower.

Yunnan and Shanghai are like two different worlds, as distant as mountains and sea.

After the meal, the two strolled back to the hotel, with Xue Jun constantly complaining about how much money they had spent.

"Spending this little money is fine if it achieves our goal. Go back and rest early. We need to go to the market tonight."

"Okay." Xue Jun turned around but stopped again. "Hey, Jiazhi, do you know where the market is?"

"I know, I won't lose you." Chen Jiazhi smiled, went back to his room to wash up and go to sleep.

Xue Jun scratched his head. He hadn't seen him ask anyone about the situation along the way. Did he find out from a book again?
Upon arriving in Shanghai, Chen Jiazhi felt as if he had returned to his hometown.

The bridges here aren't as towering as those in Guangzhou, but the pace of development over the next decade or so is no slower than in any other city.

In the early hours of the morning, Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun managed to hail a taxi outside the hotel.

"Driver, to Cao'an Agricultural Products Wholesale Market."

The taxi driver glanced at the hotel and asked, "You're here for business, right? Which entrance do you want to go to?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "It's near the entrance of the vegetable section. We're just here to investigate the market first, and we don't know yet whether we can do this business."

The driver said, "Vegetable prices are so high in the city now. You can definitely make money in the vegetable business. There are migrant farmers all over the outskirts of the city who come to grow vegetables."

Chen Jiazhi took out a pack of Yuxi cigarettes, opened it, handed one to the driver, and asked, "It seems you're very familiar with Shanghai. What's your surname?"

"My surname is He, He Guang." He Guang took the cigarette. "Hey, can I borrow a light? There's no place in or outside this city that I can't find."

Chen Jiazhi then gave the remaining cigarettes to He Guang, who asked in confusion, "What does this mean?"

"I'd also like to trouble you to tell me which areas have a lot of vegetable growers. It would be best if you could take me there during the day."

"This money..."

"Charter a car."

"There are quite a few places where vegetables are grown, and it's not possible to visit them all in one day."

"Just driving around Baoshan, is that alright?"

"Row."

Caoan Agricultural Products Wholesale Market is located in the PT area, very close to the city center. It is currently the largest market in Shanghai in terms of trading volume and is divided into several trading areas for vegetables, meat, and aquatic products.

After browsing for more than an hour and exchanging contact information with two vendors who ran leafy vegetable stalls, Chen Jiazhi told Xue Jun to head back home.

"Oh, you're going back so soon? We haven't even finished sightseeing yet!"

"There's nothing more to see. Just knowing what happened is enough. You might as well rest a bit more."

Xue Jun was a little surprised. In Yunnan, he wanted to visit each and every house, but now that he was in a big city, he was being so casual.
Chen Jiazhi is so familiar with this place that he knows how much it has developed to this point.

The next day, the taxi headed north.

Chen Jiazhi was unfamiliar with the city of Shanghai, but he knew that in the future, any house he owned would be enough for an ordinary person to struggle for a lifetime.

“Brother Jun, if you really want to come to Shanghai, I think you can buy an apartment here.”

Xue Jun didn't immediately deny it, but instead asked, "How much are the houses here?"

Both men looked at He Guang, who thought they were exaggerating. "It's not cheap, it costs three or four thousand yuan per square meter."

"It's alright, similar to Huacheng. You have to buy a house as soon as possible. With the current rate of economic development, house prices will definitely skyrocket in the future!"

Chen Jiazhi never misses an opportunity to preach about buying a house, and during the conversation, farmland appeared outside the window.

In just one day, Chen Jiazhi learned about the current situation of vegetable cultivation in Baoshan.

In general, there are still very few large vegetable markets; most farmers cultivate only one or two acres or three acres of land.

In the southern part of Baoshan, closer to the city center, leafy vegetables are the main produce, while in the central and northern parts, root vegetables are the main produce, and Baoyang cucumbers have also grown to a considerable scale.

In addition, there are very few export bases, and He Guang is not clear about which vegetable markets are exporting, but Chen Jiazhi can judge based on the number of cold storage facilities.

The total number of cold storage facilities in the entire Baoshan District may not even be as large as the cold storage facility at Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

Vegetable exports may only be in their infancy.

He also went to the vegetable market where he lived in his previous life, located in Yangxing Town, but it is still mainly used by migrant workers and local farmers to grow vegetables and grains.

Baosteel Group hasn't been integrated yet either.
Pudong is still largely farmland.
In short, Chen Jiazhi saw plenty of opportunities, and the next day he took a flight back to Huacheng.

"You're really going to build a vegetable market in Shanghai? I thought you were only staying for a day and then coming back because you didn't like it."

"We will not only invest in Shanghai, but also in Yunnan."

Chen Zhengxu picked up Chen Jiazhi at Baiyun Airport and was somewhat taken aback when he learned that bases were to be built in both locations. He had studied geography and had recently looked at maps, so he knew how far apart the three locations were.

"Who should go?"

“We don’t lack people to farm,” Chen Jiazhi said, leaning back in his chair. “But we do lack marketing talent. Things are mostly sorted out here in Huacheng. Later on, you and Li Cai will probably need to travel to other places more often.”

"No problem."

"I really like your 'no problem' answer; it's given me a lot more courage."

"Hehe, after running around for so long, I've finally gotten the hang of it, and everything seems to have become clear."

"Hmm~ You have to be a little bolder."

The vegetable industry has a very low barrier to entry; anyone can do it.

In Chen Jiazhi's memory, there were no particularly large vegetable companies in the future; their reputations were limited to small circles. On the contrary, there were a few fruit companies.

It is easy to imagine how difficult it is to grow and become stronger.

The airport is less than 30 kilometers from the Jiangnan Market, and it didn't take long to get to Kaopu Fresh. Chen Zhengxu even specially reserved an office for him.

After being away for about ten days, Chen Jiazhi also checked on the recent business situation.

"That's great! Daily delivery volume has exceeded 20,000 jin (10,000 kg), that's a very good growth rate!"

Chen Zhengxu poured him a cup of tea and said with a smile, "The market supply has been very tight since the rainstorm, and many vegetables are hard to buy. But we've been reliable for so long. In addition to having leafy greens in the market all the time, we've also established long-term cooperative relationships with many wholesalers."

In addition, General Manager Xu and General Manager Huang introduced several more hotel clients, and the daily volume is quite large. Chen Jiazhi also saw the newly added hotel clients on the list.

"Xu Wenxiang has become much more proactive."

Chen Zhengxu said, "She also visited Kaopu Fresh and personally took me to visit several hotel colleagues."

Chen Jiazhi nodded. "Yes, let's work harder and try to squeeze every last drop of resources out of her and Huang Jianyuan."

It's no wonder the market made so much money; sooner or later, they'll have to share the profits with the two of them.

Chen Jiazhi suddenly remembered something, "You know that the vegetable market is applying for a pilot program for pollution-free vegetables?"

Chen Zhengxu nodded: "I've heard about it. It's also mentioned in the news that Huacheng is going to build a pollution-free vegetable city."

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "There is one thing to note: in addition to production, pollution-free vegetables also include sales. The breakthrough point in sales should be pre-cleaned vegetables. In the future, Kaopu Fresh may face many more competitors."

Chen Zhengxu smiled and said, "Let them come. Our most important task is to do our job well and ensure the quality of our dishes."

Chen Jiazhi gave it a thumbs up: "Reliable!"

The two then discussed pre-prepared vegetables in detail, as Kaopu Fresh's delivery service is somewhat similar to pre-prepared vegetables.

They will all perform preliminary processing on the vegetables, such as cutting off the roots and stems, peeling off yellow leaves and rotten vegetables, etc.

Some are also washed, disinfected, and then vacuum-packed.

Later generations even developed the practice of pre-cutting ingredients according to recipes so that you could cook them directly after buying them home. In Chen Jiazhi's understanding, this was roughly equivalent to making takeout at home.

Because it's expensive.

The advantage might be that it's slightly better than pre-cooked meals.

But it hasn't developed to that level yet; it's still in its initial stage.

However, the market is also vast, and Kaopu Fresh will also pay attention to this business.

"Dong Dong~"

"Please come in."

Li Cai walked into the office and greeted the three of them. Just then, Chen Zhengxu finished his conversation and went back to his work.

"Brother Chen, Brother Jun, how was the trip? Did you get anything?"

Xue Jun laughed and said, "Hehe, I've learned a lot from this trip."

Li Cai found a chair and sat down. "Is there any supply? There are fewer vegetables these days. We only give about ten tons to the stalls a day."

"So little!" Xue Jun exclaimed in surprise. "There were more than thirty tons before we left."

Li Cai said dejectedly, "The market's output surged too much at the beginning of the month, and production has decreased recently. A large portion of the output has to be allocated to Hong Kong, leaving less for the stalls. In addition, the market has raised its management fees."

"Brother Chen, Brother Jun is back just in time. I'd like to go out and look for more suppliers!"

Chen Jiazhi tapped his fingers on the table as he pondered, "We could also try looking for vegetable brokers in the market."

"There are no leafy greens, it's all kinds of eggplant, tomatoes, or gourds and beans!"

Chen Jiazhi thought for a while, and realized that this matter was still a bit difficult to handle. "Forget it, Li Cai, take advantage of the small amount of food to rest more, or find a girlfriend."

“…” Li Cai said, “Right now, I’d rather make money.”

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "But you should start thinking about these things. Remember you wanted to find someone pretty? Huacheng is so big, there must be someone who meets your standards. Oh right, we can't just look at looks, we also need to consider character."

"Brother Chen~" Li Cai scratched his head and said, "Making money is addictive. I feel like I'm addicted to selling vegetables."

"..."

Chen Jiazhi remained silent. Xue Jun produced three peaches from somewhere and gave one to each of them.

The peaches are large and very juicy.

"At such a young age, don't you want women at all?" Chen Jiazhi tossed a peach in his hand and said, "Some things are like this peach, very sweet."

"Uh~" Li Cai blushed.

Xue Jun, munching on a peach, walked over and patted Li Cai on the shoulder. "I understand how you feel. Following Jia Zhi, making money is indeed addictive."

However, Jiazhi is right, you're not young anymore, you should start thinking about this.

“Actually…actually…” Li Cai hesitated, but Chen Jiazhi urged him directly.

“Actually, we were talking before,” Li Cai scratched his head, “but her family didn’t approve, maybe they didn’t think much of me.”

Xue Jun asked in surprise, "Who is it? Are you blind? You're so handsome and you make a lot of money, who wouldn't want you?"

Chen Jiazhi was also surprised. Although Li Cai met the criteria for a handsome guy, there was no sign of him dating at all. He was obsessed with selling vegetables all day long. Not only did he have a boyfriend without anyone noticing, but he hadn't even been noticed by anyone.

"There were two days at the beginning of the month when vegetables were scarce, and that's when we started talking about it."

"I've come to understand it now. In this Flower City, not only is intermarriage between urban and rural areas rare, but even marriages among city dwellers are full of calculations."

Children of cadres, workers, businessmen, ordinary citizens, unemployed youth, migrant workers… layer upon layer, clearly defined hierarchical.

Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun looked at each other, and the peaches didn't smell so good anymore.

"What kind of family did you end up with?"

"The insights are so profound!"

“You’re hurt too, I can feel the pain all over your body.” Chen Jiazhi stroked his chin: “Actually, I think Xu Yao is quite suitable for you, and she seems to have been dieting.”

“Absolutely impossible!” Li Cai said in a deep voice.

Chen Jiazhi suddenly remembered something, "Wait a minute, it's only been less than half a month, and you've already met my parents?"

Li Cai rubbed one foot back and forth on the ground. "I happened to run into her when I went to find her, and then her mother forbade us to see each other again."

Chen Jiazhi rubbed his fingers together. "Didn't they give you a card and then say something like, 'Here's 500,000, get away from my daughter immediately'?"

"..."

Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun, their gossip burning brightly, finally uncovered the truth of the matter.

Li Cai awkwardly recounted his relationship, which was broken up by his parents. The girl liked him very much, but her parents were government officials, and her mother looked down on Li Cai as an outsider, so their short-lived love ended.

"Right now, all I want is to earn money and work. Brother Chen, can you arrange some more work for me?"

"Are you trying to turn your grief and anger into strength?"

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "Well then, I was originally planning to open another stall after a while, but since that's the case, let's get it done sooner rather than later."

Li Cai asked in surprise, "But one stall isn't enough to sell, where are we going to find so many vegetables to open another one?"

"This stall mainly sells eggplant and root vegetables. The source of goods is easy to find. I happen to be going to invest in Yunnan, so I can ship the goods from there by rail."

After finishing the last bite of the peach, Chen Jiazhi said, "If you want to go, you can go for a walk."

"Okay, I want to go."

This incident caused the business to expand significantly, but it also gave them confidence.

When he left, he only had a little over 500 million in the account. When he returned, it had become 800 million, which was enough to do a lot of things.

(End of this chapter)