1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 337 Back to the Market

The Jiangnan Market was bustling with traffic.

When Chen Jiazhi left the market, he saw trucks being blocked in the passageway while unloading goods.

His professional instincts led him to go up and inquire about the situation. The vegetable was scallions, and it was quite expensive and in high demand. Half of the truckload had been sold before it even reached the stall.

Seeing the scallions reminded Chen Jiazhi of Yunnan.

After Yunnan scallions became very popular, they even evolved into futures trading, making some people rich overnight, while others went bankrupt.

After leaving the stall, Chen Jiazhi returned to the office of Kaopu Fresh, where he encountered Xue Jun smoking at the door.

"Jiazhi, I'll drive you home later."

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "No need to trouble yourself. It would take several hours to go back and forth. I can drive back by myself."

Xue Jun said thoughtfully, "Let me take you; it's not very safe lately."

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow, recalling the motorcycles he had seen in the market. "Motorcycle gangs? They can't rob me even if I drive."

"It's not just biker gangs." Xue Jun stomped out his cigarette. "Zhengxu asked me to deliver this to you."

Chen Jiazhi frowned even more deeply and looked inside. "Where's Zhengxu? Is there anything else he hasn't told me?"

"He and Xiao Xiong and a few others went out in a van," Xue Jun said helplessly. "He recently had some conflicts with some people at the market, so he asked me to take you back."

Chen Jiazhi had just talked to Chen Zhengxu an hour ago, but he didn't mention the conflict at all. No, he did mention the state-owned enterprise that does delivery.

"Wasn't it said that it would be given to a state-owned enterprise?"

“We’ve made concessions to government agencies and some factories,” Xue Jun said thoughtfully. “But we can’t make concessions to restaurants and eateries anymore, which inevitably led to some disputes and even a couple of fights.”

Chen Jiazhi remained silent; Chen Zhengxu hadn't mentioned the fight to him at all.

Moreover, he finds it hard to imagine fighting over delivery customers. Delivery is essentially about helping restaurant owners purchase vegetables, and if two companies are competing, the simplest way is through price.

The initiative also lies with the boss.

However, it did happen.

On the way back, Chen Jiazhi also learned the whole story.

It's like this: some people want to give the restaurant a discount, but they don't want to lower the price. Some restaurant owners don't want to cause trouble and want the matter to be resolved among themselves, and that's how the fight started.

Some bosses are quite assertive, giving the lowest price to whoever offers it. If threatened, they will call the police or go to the market to buy the goods themselves, but they may also face retaliation.

It's quite chaotic.

This is Chen Jiazhi's feeling; the main reason is that there is too much influx of outsiders.

The reliable distribution center is now quite busy, and Chen Zhengxu has made some adjustments to the staff.

They sent some honest-natured people back to the market, and then selected some strong, brave people to come up.

They gained the upper hand in several conflicts, and their delivery business is also progressing well.

However, Chen Jiazhi is also thinking about this way of seizing the market. It is not very intense, but it is very close to a crackdown.

At this time, one should not act excessively or be overly sensitive.

Leaning back in his chair, Chen Jiazhi rubbed his temples. "Tell Zhengxu to prioritize hotels and restaurants with guaranteed quality, and give up on small restaurants with fierce competition for now."

"Huh?" Xue Jun asked in surprise.

“Forget it, I’ll call him when I get home,” Chen Jiazhi said. “Safety first, quality customers are more profitable, and when we chose the name ‘Reliable Fresh,’ we were thinking about a long-term, steady business, not about fighting for short-term gains.”

In the delivery business, service ultimately comes down to quality.

There are plenty of vegetables available right now, so delivery is easy and the competition is fierce. But when the off-season comes, some people will have trouble buying vegetables.

When we arrived home, it was just evening, and the whole family was waiting for us in the yard.

Chen Jiazhi exchanged pleasantries with everyone for a while, then took his son from Li Xiu's arms. He was slightly unfamiliar with him, but he still remembered him.

Peng Guozhen called out, "Don't just stand there, let's eat! We can talk after we've eaten."

Chen Jiazhi asked, "Aren't Xiaolong and Xiaohu out of school yet? Can't you see them?"

“He plays computer games upstairs,” Chen Jiafang said. “Ever since we bought the computer, he doesn’t watch TV anymore. He plays computer games every day after school, and he even says that you made them learn to use computers.”

Chen Jiazhi: “…”

After waiting for a while, Yi Long and Yi Hu came downstairs. Chen Jiazhi asked, "What have you two brothers learned on the computer? Do you play games all day?"

Yi Hu said, "No, Uncle, you'll see when you come up here and I'll demonstrate it for you."

Chen Jiazhi asked again, "You really didn't play games?"

"I had fun, but I also learned a lot. You said it's about balancing work and rest." After saying that, Yi Hu buried his head in his rice again.

Chen Jiazhi didn't pursue the matter further. He chatted and drank with the rest of his family, talking about his experiences in Yunnan and learning about the family's situation.

In the latter half of the competition, it was mainly Yi Dinggan's voice that took center stage.

"The vegetable sales have been okay lately, and the vegetables are good, but the prices are not good. We can only sell 40,000 to 50,000 yuan a day. This can't go on for a long time."

"I've also asked Fang Xuelin to work on the large-stemmed water spinach seeds that you wanted to keep."

"The grafted loofah and bitter gourd seedlings, as well as tomatoes, eggplants and winter melons, have all found a place to be planted in the market. Now the vegetables in the market are all kinds of different."

"By the way, the nursery also sold a batch of seedlings. You know what, there's a profit of one or two cents per seedling, and a tray of 72-cell seedlings can earn 7 to 8 cents. One mu of greenhouse can produce at least 3 to 4 trays at a time. As long as they can be sold, the output value is quite considerable!"

"There are also many drawbacks, especially grafted seedlings. They are too labor-intensive, and the survival rate of grafting is low, less than 5%."

"Ao Dehai and Hong Zhong's people studied the design of the trenching machine together, and unexpectedly they actually succeeded. Although the trenching is a bit off-center, it can still be used after manual adjustment."

"Oh, and the hand-held seeder you designed, I heard that Friendship Agricultural Supplies has sold quite a few of them."

After finishing their drinks, the four of them played cards together. During the conversation, Chen Jiazhi also got a general idea of ​​the situation at the market.

After washing up, Chen Jiazhi noticed that the lights were still on in Yi Long and Yi Hu's room. He knocked on the door and then pushed it open.

"Still playing on the computer?"

"Uncle, play a little longer and then go to sleep."

Chen Jiazhi noticed that the two brothers were playing a game. He didn't know what kind of game it was, but he saw a book called "Windows 95x Learning Shortcuts" on the computer.

He flipped through it and noticed that there were many notes in the book, so he didn't ask any more questions.

"Go to bed early."

"Ah."

The two brothers breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Jiazhi rubbed his hands as he returned to the bedroom and hugged Li Xiu, who was also reading at the desk, from behind.

"So diligent? But why does your book look so new?"

Li Xiu blushed instantly. "I was just looking around. Dou Dou brought some to Mom today."

Chen Jiazhi's hands began to wander, and he smiled, "So you weren't reading a book, you were waiting to pay your taxes!"

The next day, after delivering the grain tax, Chen Jiazhi, feeling refreshed, went to the market early in the morning with Yi Dinggan to hold a morning meeting for the group leaders.

On the way, they encountered many vegetable workers who were also on their way to work.

"Oh, Mr. Chen is back."

"Boss Chen smokes."

"Mr. Chen, is Yunnan fun?"

They greeted each other as they arrived at the market. It was still barely dawn, but quite a few workers had already arrived and were waiting at their respective work stations. Chen Jiazhi also met several group leaders who were already waiting. After Yi Dinggan explained the work arrangements to them, he also said a few words.

"The base in Yuanmou, Yunnan has also started construction and the work is progressing smoothly. However, the company has new expansion plans and may build a new base in Shanghai. We will need a new site manager."

"Of course, everyone else has a chance too, but first of all, you have to do your job as the team leader well, and at the same time, you have to strengthen your learning and master new things, new theories and new technologies."

"Technologies such as seeders, furrow openers, and grafting are all very good."

"Alright, that's all. Go to work now. Dehai, come find me after you've finished arranging your work."

At first glance, apart from the increased variety of vegetables, the market hasn't really changed much.

At current vegetable prices, the sales revenue after a month of operation would only be around one million.

Given the current daily expenses, the pressure is immense, with only meager profits, and any mishap could result in losses.

Therefore, Yi Dinggan reiterated the need to control labor wages, keeping basic wages and commissions unchanged, but strictly controlling bonuses.

Chen Jiazhi also agreed to temporarily control the bonuses, given that he himself had no profit.

Even so, ordinary vegetable workers still earn 600 to 800 yuan, while top performers can earn up to 1,000 yuan.

Yi Dinggan sighed, "Actually, this batch of vegetables is growing very well, with high yield and good quality, but it just can't fetch a good price."

Chen Jiazhi also saw the vegetables in the market, which looked like a green carpet, and patted Yi Dinggan on the shoulder.

"We need to get used to it. Good dishes not fetching high prices may become the norm for the next few years."

"It can't possibly keep falling, can it?"

Leafy greens are currently priced below 5 cents, with some cheaper varieties costing only 3 cents, and this is only mid-September.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment, "It shouldn't fall anymore, but you shouldn't worry too much about market prices. The more depressed the market is, the more you should maintain a stable planting trend. When the market picks up, you won't miss out."

Yi Dinggan asked expectantly, "Will there be a market rally in the second half of the year?"

Chen Jiazhi did not directly reject the idea, but pondered for a moment and said, "I will have people in the market conduct more market research and give me their suggestions. You can plant the seeds based on those suggestions."

Yi Dinggan: "You can read it, right?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Of course, I will not only read it, but I will also write suggestions if I feel I have the opportunity."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Compared to others, Yi Dinggan trusted Chen Jiazhi's judgment more, saying, "No one understands the market better than you."

Chen Jiazhi smiled.

In fact, he has neglected this aspect recently, and the research he had previously planned on regarding market and production area information has not been implemented.

The main problem is a lack of talent, which is also related to the current lack of close connections between transportation and information. It is not easy to do market analysis well.

But if we stabilize, there will definitely be opportunities.

While chatting with Yi Dinggan, we strolled around the market and then arrived at the seedling shed.

Fang Xuelin explained the situation to him.

September is the peak season for vegetable planting in Huacheng, and seedlings of vegetables such as winter melon, cucumber, tomato, and eggplant are still in high demand.

However, farmers are more interested in the slightly cheaper seedlings grown from seed and less interested in grafted seedlings.

This resulted in the grafted seedlings ultimately being consumed within the vegetable market.

As Chen Jiazhi listened and looked, there were dozens of combinations, and he labeled each one.

Some have already been grafted, while others have only just been sown and sprouted.

Ultimately, each type will be planted in a designated planting area within the market.

"Can you see the difference between grafted seedlings and seedlings grown from seed now?"

"Some of them are quite obvious." Although the grafting time was not long and not much, Fang Xuelin confidently led Chen Jiazhi to a plate of seedlings.

"cucumber?"

"Hmm." Fang Xuelin pulled out a seedling. "The rootstock is the Yunnan black-seeded pumpkin that the boss mentioned. It has a very developed root system, and the seedling recovers very quickly after grafting."

Chen Jiazhi was amused; things that had been verified were indeed somewhat different.

At least he felt that developing the seedling nursery was the right direction.

The domestic vegetable planting area is increasing significantly, and competition in the vegetable market is intensifying, but seedlings are still a blue ocean market.

Now we not only need to screen more combinations as soon as possible, but also accelerate market development.

After leaving the seedling shed, Chen Jiazhi saw Ao Dehai walking this way, so he turned back to Yi Dinggan and Fang Xuelin and said:

"We need to increase recruitment efforts, especially for research and marketing talent, to improve the technical content of the vegetable market and expand the sales market for seedlings. You two should both keep an eye on this."

After giving his instructions, he took Ao Dehai back to his office, made some tea, and talked about building a base in Shanghai.

Ao Dehai was quite confident, as he had just finished clearing the newly acquired 300 mu of land and had accumulated a lot of experience.

I'm just unfamiliar with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

“Farming is farming no matter where you are. After arriving in Shanghai, you will mainly grow leafy vegetables. The management is pretty much the same, except for the climate. Also, you won’t be allowed to bring many people with you.”

Ao Dehai was stunned.

Should we bring fewer people?
Chen Jiazhi explained the reasons regarding the salary.

Shanghai lacks supply channels to Hong Kong, and even wholesale market channels are not yet established, resulting in lower vegetable prices and making it difficult to support high wages for ordinary vegetable workers.

We can only offer normal wages and try to recruit locally.

At this point, Ao Dehai hesitated. Facing unfamiliar vegetable cooks, the difficulty suddenly increased significantly.

However, the Shanghai Stock Exchange also has its advantages.

The land rent is low, the labor cost is low, there are fewer extreme weather events than in Huacheng, and the potential is high.

Chen Jiazhi and Ao Dehai talked for a while before finally deciding that Ao Dehai would take a few people to Shanghai to set up a factory.

After dealing with Ao Dehai, Chen Jiazhi talked to various departments about work, and then made phone calls to the two shareholders and Xia Youche from Hong Kong.

We discussed our current work, our plans to expand into the Shanghai market, and how to provide any available resources as soon as possible.

This conversation was truly fruitful.

Xu Wenxiang recently met two overseas Chinese who were quite interested in importing vegetables from China.

"One is from Malaysia, and the other is from Singapore."

"No matter where they are from, as long as they can buy vegetables, they have the potential to become customers of the market. I'll leave this matter to Mr. Xu."

"You're not coming?"

"Come on over," Chen Jiazhi said, puzzled. "Wouldn't it be a hassle for President Xu to introduce us?"

Xu Wenxiang said "Oh," and added, "I thought you were just going to push the matter onto me and not care about anything anymore."

Am I that kind of person?

"Yes."

"..."

Chen Jiazhi believes his reputation shouldn't be that bad; it's clearly prejudice.

(End of this chapter)