1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 330 Technological Power

After entering August, the rain became more frequent, and the temperature often dropped briefly, but quickly rose back to above 35°C after the rain stopped, making it a true "steamer" mode.

Such weather is a test for both people and vegetables.

However, Jiangxin Market performed very steadily. Occasionally, a heavy rain would flood the fields, but it still wouldn't affect the supply of vegetables.

Transplanting seedlings into plug trays shortens the growing time in the field, and its advantages are quite obvious.

For transplanting, the market has also developed a piece-rate system. It calculates the amount based on the number of seedlings transplanted. If the survival rate of each seedling reaches the target, a specific commission will be given.

Chen Jiazhi was quite pleased with the commission calculation method that Yi Dinggan had given him.

"Director Yi's overall perspective is truly impressive!"

"Two cents per seedling, and a worker can transplant 1000 to 1400 seedlings a day. Including the basic salary, the monthly income can be controlled at around 1000 yuan under full attendance. Bonuses are given based on sales. Hmm, that's very comprehensive."

“Of course, this is the experience I’ve accumulated over the past few months,” Yi Dinggan said. “If there are no problems, I’ll follow this from now on.”

"Let's do it this way."

"Okay, you go ahead and get busy. I'll go check on how the harvest is going. When vegetable prices are good, the work definitely feels different..."

Chen Jiazhi smiled, picked up the cooled tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp, then went outside into the corridor to look around the market.

He didn't sell vegetables during this period and was less involved in the management of the market, but everything was running as usual. Prices fluctuated, but he was still making money.

There are no plans to apply organic fertilizer this month. Given the current situation, the market's profit in August should easily exceed one million.

This rapid pace of profit made Chen Jiazhi think he should accelerate the expansion and head to Yunnan and Shanghai as soon as possible.

Hong Zhong was on his way back; he wanted to meet him first before going out.

Just then, the office phone rang.

When Chen Jiazhi answered the call, he was a little surprised to find that it was Ma Ming from Yuanmou, Yunnan. After a few words, Ma Ming explained his purpose.

"Mr. Chen, I apologize for bothering you, but the bureau will be organizing a team to visit Huacheng in a couple of days. I'll be leading the team. Would it be convenient for us to visit your stall and vegetable market then?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Welcome, Director Ma. You're very efficient. You're leading the team out so quickly."

"I'm ashamed to say that during our brief meeting last time, Mr. Chen told me that there is a significant difference between waiting for the market to come to you and actively going out to find the market, but that really enlightened me."

"You flatter me, Director Ma." Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "Here's what I'll do, Director Ma, tell me your train number, and I'll drive over to pick you up."

Ma Ming smiled and said, "No need to trouble yourself, President Chen. We have comrades who have made the necessary arrangements."

Chen Jiazhi said with a hint of regret, "Then when you get here, we'll have to find a place to have a couple of drinks together."

"Haha, I was just thinking of inviting Mr. Chen for a drink too." Ma Ming paused for a moment. "To be honest, I also came here with an investment promotion mission, Mr. Chen. I'll explain the policies to you in person later."

"Alright, Director Ma, then I'll listen."

Chen Jiazhi thought to himself that his arrival was just in time, but he calmly agreed without showing any emotion.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Jiazhi tried to find relevant information about Yunnan during this period, but to no avail.

Fortunately, I had visited Yunnan before, and based on my initial impressions, the technological content of Yunnan vegetables is very low.

The same applies to vegetable seedling cultivation. Whether it's solanaceous or leafy vegetables, farmers basically cultivate their own seedlings.

Not to mention that leafy vegetables haven't even been developed yet.

According to what he learned in his later years, the demand for leafy vegetable seedlings in Yunnan accounted for nearly 70%, and Kunming cabbage was poised to become a price killer in the Chengdu market.

Currently, eggplant and tomatoes make up the majority of exported vegetables, but in the future, they will only account for 10% to 20%.

However, the situation is now reversed, with more durable and transportable solanaceous vegetables dominating, and leafy vegetables becoming rare.

Regarding the grafting technique for eggplant and solanaceous fruits, until 2025, the grafting work at the Yunnan nursery was all done by grafters flying in from Shandong.
In addition, the hot and dry valley climate of Yuanmou is very suitable for the seed propagation of cruciferous vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, and also very suitable for seedling cultivation.

This is indeed a treasure trove, and with Ma Ming here, we can take advantage of the situation and accept it.

After making up his mind, Chen Jiazhi returned to the seedling shed for loofah and bitter gourd.

Several young women are enduring the high temperatures inside the greenhouse, learning how to graft.

The skills are extremely lacking, and the survival rate is estimated to be very low. Every day, people choose to quit because they can't endure the hardship.

Many of those who persevered were incited by Chen Jiazhi.

"This is a skill. If you master the grafting technique, you won't have to worry about finding a job for the next twenty or thirty years, and your salary will never be low. The vegetable market will also pay you well."

Many people believed him.

Chen Jiazhi wasn't lying. Although this skill was arduous, it was definitely a worthwhile skill for rural women who had only graduated from primary school or not at all. With it, they could travel all over the country, even abroad, to do grafting. "Mr. Chen is here?"

"Mr. Chen~"

"Okay, you guys go about your business, don't worry about me."

Chen Jiazhi also found grafting tools and successfully grafted a seedling. This thing really tests patience and skill, just like performing surgery on vegetables, which requires merging two different lives together.

This is also a skill commonly mastered by vegetable breeders, and Chen Jiazhi also requires himself to master it.

...

Haizhu District, Municipal Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Chen Jiazhi came here again and met with researcher Zhang Hua, whom he had made an appointment with in advance.

"Mr. Chen, please come in and have a seat. It's been a while since I've seen you, but I saw a report about Jiangxin Market in the newspaper. You were the first large-scale market to achieve excellent results by using small arched sheds."

Zhang Hua poured him a glass of water and said with a smile, "To be honest, our research institute has also published two articles on bok choy cultivation techniques, referencing the practices of Jiangxin Vegetable Market."

Chen Jiazhi took the water and joked, "I was wondering why. All along the way today, there were small arched sheds and shade nets everywhere. It turns out you guys did a great job with your promotion."

Zhang Hua said, "Haha, the promotion of agricultural facilities has indeed been quite vigorous in the past two years."

Perhaps because Jiangxin Market had made the news and gained the attention of leaders, Chen Jiazhi felt that Zhang Hua's attitude had become much friendlier.

After chatting for a while, Chen Jiazhi explained his purpose: he wanted the Academy of Agricultural Sciences to recommend a professional plant protection technician, preferably with experience in seedling cultivation and seed production, and also mentioned that the work location was in Yunnan.

Zhang Hua was surprised, "Is President Chen going to Yunnan to develop his business?"

Chen Jiazhi did not hide anything, saying, "From a geographical and climatic perspective, Yunnan has the potential to become a major leafy vegetable production area in China."

“Yunnan’s climate is indeed uniquely favorable.” Zhang Hua had many doubts, “but transportation is too difficult. If Yunnan leafy vegetables are to be sold to various places, transportation and preservation are major problems.”

Chen Jiazhi analyzed: "The domestic economy is developing very fast, and the country will turn its attention to the west sooner or later. I think that time is not far off. The national highways leading out of Yunnan Province are also being upgraded and renovated."

After taking a sip of tea, he added, "Furthermore, Director Zhang, I plan to first invest in a seedling nursery in Yunnan, starting with seedling cultivation and breeding, while gradually participating in the sales of solanaceous vegetables."

“Breeding…” Zhang Hua muttered, “President Chen, do you have any ideas about breeding cruciferous crops?”

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "We're just showing off our limited skills. When it comes to breeding, we're definitely no match for you. We're more interested in developing our seedlings and seed production."

Chen Jiazhi and Zhang Hua had a lot of discussions about their optimism about the potential of Yunnan leafy vegetables.

The two did have a lot in common in this regard. Chen Jiazhi was not very knowledgeable about breeding, but he had grown a wide variety of vegetables such as bok choy, lettuce, romaine lettuce, and mustard greens!
He could talk about each of them in detail.

Moreover, Zhang Hua's previous research project on "high-quality and high-yield pointed leaf Chinese cabbage" was inspired by Chen Jiazhi.

"Mr. Chen, I see now. You're not here for the plant protection job; you're here for the breeding research job!"

"I would like to ask Director Zhang for a favor."

"Alright, stop calling me Director Zhang. I'm just an ordinary researcher, only a few years older than you. Just call me Brother Hua."

"Then don't call me Boss Chen, just call me Little Chen or Jiazhi."

“Then let’s call you Jiazhi. I’ve seen a lot of people at the market call you that.” Zhang Hua took a sip of tea and pondered for a moment. “Actually, there’s a lot of layoffs now, and many research institutions are not doing well either. If you want to hire someone, it’s quite easy as long as you offer enough compensation. It just depends on what kind of person you’re looking for.”

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jiazhi said, "I want to find someone with rich experience who can build up the technology and management system of the seedling farm, and someone who is young and has strong theoretical knowledge, so that they can serve as a reserve force."

"You've got quite the ambition!" Zhang Hua said after a moment's thought. "I actually have a suitable recommendation. What do you think, Professor Peng Qian?"

Peng Qian is a previous generation of Chinese cabbage breeding experts who bred the 'Sijiu-19 Chinese cabbage' variety, which has been a bestseller for 30 to 40 years. Zhang Hua is a new generation of Chinese cabbage breeding experts.

"Didn't you rehire Professor Peng after he retired?" Chen Jiazhi was surprised at first, then immediately said, "If Professor Peng is willing to come, I would be more than willing!"

Zhang Hua smiled and said, "If you're willing to pay him a salary of 1,000 yuan a month, he should be willing to come."

Chen Jiazhi replied, "It will only be higher, not lower!"

"Hey, Mr. Chen, your decisive manner makes me want to come too," Zhang Hua said, genuinely envious of the salary.

Chen Jiazhi also extended an invitation, but Zhang Hua declined, suggesting that he was now the only core member left at the Leafy Vegetable Research Institute.

Zhang Hua then agreed to take the high salary offered by him and recruit a young person for him at the school.

At that time, agricultural school graduates who went to their corresponding grassroots positions received very low salaries, generally only two or three hundred or four hundred yuan.

When Zhang Hua went to universities to recruit students with the promise of a monthly salary of over 1,000 yuan from Chen Jiazhi, the attraction for many students from poor families was self-evident.

In just two days, Peng Qian and Ji Song, a graduate of South China Agricultural University, joined the seedling nursery team at Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

(End of this chapter)