1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 339 Vegetable Seed Wholesale Department

“Not sincere at all.” Xu Wenxiang glanced at it and walked forward.

Not long after, Xue Chenglin and Yu Hong also came out. The group went upstairs and sat for a while before saying goodbye and leaving.

"Mr. Xue, thank you for the durians. They're great. I think you could set up a durian plantation and sell them domestically. That should be very profitable."

Chen Jiazhi was unaware of the current market price of durians, but he knew that the price would be high in the future, with each one costing over a hundred yuan.

"Haha, Mr. Chen, not many people like durian. Many people find it hard to swallow." Xue Chenglin waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm serious." Chen Jiazhi saw the group off to their car.

Xue Chenglin laughed and said, "Mr. Chen, if you really think it's a good idea, you can go to Malaysia and buy land to grow durians yourself."

"Uh…"

He didn't know how to grow durians, nor did he have the energy. He waved his hand, and the people in the car left.

The sun was shining brightly, and the vegetable workers were still taking their afternoon nap at home; the market was quiet.

Chen Jiazhi returned to his office, picked up an English book and started reading, but soon fell asleep.

I was startled awake when I heard a knock on the door.

"Please come in."

Tong Gang walked in and said, "President Chen, the research department has scheduled two interviews with people recommended by Manager Fang. They need you to meet them."

"Have they arrived yet?" Chen Jiazhi stood up and stretched. "If they have, let them in."

The research department, also known as the technology department, is responsible for research on plant protection management, seedling substrates, and machinery, in addition to seedling cultivation and grafting.

They're all grouped together now.

However, they will eventually separate; scientific research will remain scientific research, while the application of technology will need to be combined with the market.

The prerequisite is to recruit enough staff, especially plant protection technicians for the vegetable market.

Currently, vegetable markets rely mainly on experience in planting and management, lacking a theoretical foundation.

Chen Jiazhi subsequently interviewed Qian Hua and Wei Liangcai, who were staff members from township plant protection stations and agricultural technology stations, respectively.

It was Fang Xuelin who introduced them, so they seem quite reliable in terms of plant protection and agricultural technology.

Chen Jiazhi stayed behind to bolster the market's technical team.

It's quite difficult to recruit college and vocational school graduates these days, but it's relatively easy to recruit grassroots staff in townships.

After passing the interview, Chen Jiazhi called Yi Dinggan and Fang Xuelin to discuss the collaborative management of production and technology.

Ultimately, the application of technology was also placed under Yi Dinggan's management, while Fang Xuelin remained in charge of the seedling nursery.

After the discussion, Chen Jiazhi kept Yi Dinggan behind, asking, "Director Yi, do you know how to manage the technology?"

"All I need to know is which technical solutions are beneficial for vegetable production," Yi Dinggan said, crossing his legs. "After growing vegetables for so many years, I can tell whether a technique is good or not just by trying it."

“What you’ve said is as good as nothing,” Chen Jiazhi said thoughtfully. “But it makes sense. Things that are unclear do need to be verified first.”

Yi Dinggan stroked his chin, and Chen Jiazhi thought he was thinking, but then he pointed to the corner and said, "So you have to eat the durian to know what it tastes like?"

"..."

Chen Jiazhi was speechless for a moment, then changed the subject to harvesting vegetables.

Although the price is not high, the output is quite large, and there is still a profit after each step is done well.

With cold storage, the vegetable harvesting time is more reasonable, reducing the chances of working overtime to harvest vegetables late at night.

The transportation, weight determination, packaging, pre-cooling, loading and other aspects have all been organized into processes.

Chen Jiazhi only conducted a routine inspection in the afternoon without interfering much. After a short meeting after get off work, he took the durian home and opened it.

A moment later, the whole family gathered around.

After giving the knife to Chen Jiazhi, Peng Guozhen didn't leave. He watched Chen peel the durian open, and the smell was almost unbearable.

"Jiazhi, can this thing be eaten? Ugh~ it smells like sweaty socks!"

Hearing the commotion, the Yi brothers, Yi Long and Yi Hu, had already gathered around.

"Uncle, at first I thought you were going to pull a lump of shit out of the toilet and give it to us to eat."

"The more I talk about it, the more disgusting it becomes."

"I won't eat it, I won't eat it, I won't eat it." Yi Long said firmly, and then shouted, "Auntie, come and see, Uncle brought back some really smelly fruit."

At the table, Chen Jiazhi handed the divided durian to Chen Jiafang, who frowned.

"I won't eat either."

Yi Dinggan also wondered, "Why does this thing smell so bad?"

When Chen Jiazhi looked back, he saw that everyone was hiding as far away as possible.

Li Xiu stood at the door, hesitating whether to come in or not. Chen Jiazhi called out with a smile, "Xiu, come and try it, you'll definitely like it."

Li Xiu had already smelled it, but shook her head and said, "No, it smells a bit like **, I'm not eating it anyway."

Chen Jiazhi glanced at Yi Dinggan, who also waved his hand in refusal.

The reactions of the crowd amused him.

The main reason is that durians are quite rare these days, and this is probably the first time most people have seen this fruit.

He had no choice but to eat a piece himself first. He couldn't say he liked it, but he didn't dislike it either.

The main problem is that it's expensive.

In his previous life, he would rarely buy food on his own initiative.

Everyone else watched him eat with relish, and Li Xiu asked, "Jiazhi, what does it taste like?"

"You'll see once you try it." Chen Jiazhi handed her a piece. "Really, I'm not kidding, you'll definitely like it."

Li Xiu hesitated before stepping forward to take it, but trusting Chen Jiazhi, she ultimately frowned and took a few bites.

It tasted alright, and I quickly finished a small piece.

When Chen Jiazhi handed her a second piece, she didn't refuse again.

The family members who were still watching asked one after another, "Li Xiu, what does durian taste like?"

Li Xiu savored the taste, "Hmm~ It tastes a bit like steamed egg custard, it's quite delicious, you should all try it."

Some people were skeptical.

Chen Jiazhi handed each of the two elders a piece, saying, "Since you've already brought them back, try a bite each. If you don't like it, just spit it out."

Chen Shaochang and Peng Guozhen both accepted it. They couldn't possibly spit it out, but they could certainly take a bite.

"Grandpa and Grandma, is it delicious?"

"It's alright, not bad."

"It's not that disgusting."

With someone taking the lead and no one in the family being particularly picky, as long as it's edible, they at least have the courage to try it.

After trying it, they weren't so resistant anymore. People like Li Xiu, Chen Jiafang, Peng Guozhen, and their two nephews all quite liked it.

In no time, the two durians were gone, and they were even a little unsatisfied. Yi Long said, "Uncle, next time you see durians for sale, buy one and eat it."

"You guys were complaining about it just now," Chen Jiazhi chuckled. "When you hadn't eaten it, you said it tasted like poop, but when you liked it, you said it tasted like steamed egg custard."

Yi Long pouted and said, "That's what my aunt said. Aunt, do you still want to eat durian?"

Li Xiu smiled and said, "I can definitely buy it again in the future, it's quite delicious."

“See? See?” Yi Long said, “Uncle, you’ll have to buy more in the future.”

“Okay.” Chen Jiazhi pondered, “But it might be hard to buy. This stuff has to be imported from abroad. We’ll have to ask at the fruit wholesale market.”

Chen Jiazhi wasn't very familiar with fruit wholesale, but he knew that the Jiangnan Market would also have a dedicated fruit import and export trading area in the future.

There aren't any yet, but he plans to have Chen Zhengxu look for other fruit wholesale markets in the city.

...

After staying at home for two days, Chen Jiazhi went to the city again, firstly to look at houses, and secondly to make an appointment with Peng Qian and the people from the seed company.

Housing prices in Huacheng are still falling, especially in the eastern areas such as Tianhe and Huangpu, where prices have not improved.

Besides economic development, Chen Jiazhi felt that it was also related to severe industrial pollution.

In the eastern part of Huacheng, a large number of industrial enterprises, such as nitrogen fertilizer plants, are concentrated, and the city is filled with chimneys, making the living environment not very good.

Chen Jiazhi also decided to postpone his plan to buy a house as an investment.

Driving west from the eastern suburbs of the city, we finally stopped in front of a four-story building.

"Is the vegetable seed wholesale department inside?" Xue Jun, who was driving, saw the vegetable company's sign.

“Yes, I saw Old Peng.” Chen Jiazhi waved to Peng Qian, who was waiting downstairs.

Led by Peng Qian, Chen Jiazhi met Ding Jianhui, the manager in charge of vegetable seed purchasing, whose hair was slightly gray.

"Hello, Manager Ding."

"Sit down." Ding Jianhui's attitude was indifferent. "I heard from Lao Peng that you're interested in seed propagation?"

"Yes, I contracted a piece of land in Yuanmou. The climate there is very suitable for seed production."

After Chen Jiazhi explained for a few minutes, Ding Jianhui nodded and said, "Old Peng has told me about the situation, and the wholesale department has also discussed it internally. They have tentatively agreed that you should give it a try."

After a pause, Ding Jianhui pondered and said, "But we can't sign a contract yet. We will only provide you with some mother seeds. You will have to find the rest yourself. We can't guarantee that we will buy the harvested seeds, but we will conduct trial plantings."

This condition isn't good.

According to Peng Qian's previous introduction, in order to ensure the completion of the seed preservation plan, the municipal seed management department will usually sign a contract with the seed preservation base, which stipulates the variety, quantity, specifications, harvest time and reference price.

In other words, all seeds produced by the seed-saving bases will be directly purchased within the planned scope.

Unplanned acquisitions will also be made as appropriate.

The conditions given to Yunling Agriculture were completely laissez-faire, with no acquisition commitments made.

But Chen Jiazhi was able to accept this result, and he did not dare to keep the seeds on a large scale in the first year.

“Okay, Manager Ding, I can accept the terms, but I would like to try a few more types of vegetables.”

Ding Jianhui cautioned, "There's no guarantee we'll be able to acquire it."

"Understood." Chen Jiazhi smiled slightly. "If there are no problems with the seed saving process, I will also use the seeds produced in my vegetable market."

Ding Jianhui frowned, finding it difficult to comment on this behavior of 'compiling and using for one's own purposes'.

Because it is legal and compliant for farmers to use their own saved seeds, but this kind of self-use by large vegetable markets will affect the business of vegetable seed wholesalers.

"Mr. Chen, where do you buy the vegetables you're currently using at your market?"

This is so awkward.

I've never bought seeds from a seed wholesaler before.

Chen Jiazhi glanced at Peng Qian, who pretended not to know and drank his tea. Chen Jiazhi could only say that he bought them from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the vegetable seed street in the city.

As for the Friendship Agricultural Supplies in the countryside, he didn't mention it at all.

Ding Jianhui's expression was not good.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment. Knowing that the seed company had a business of importing seeds, he mentioned buying imported seeds.

"Who do you think you are, having to use foreign exchange to buy imported seeds!" Ding Jianhui said with some dissatisfaction.

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow. Damn, it's not like he can't get Hong Kong dollars.

The atmosphere suddenly became a little stiff. Peng Qian noticed this and said, "Manager Ding, Mr. Chen will entrust me with the seed production in Yuanmou. You don't need to worry about the seed quality. It will definitely be better than most of the seeds that are propagated in other places. It might even be suitable for export."

"Exporting seeds isn't that easy," Ding Jianhui scoffed. Although he thought Peng Qian was bragging, he didn't press the matter further.

Chen Jiazhi's heart skipped a beat, and he pondered for a moment before saying, "Manager Ding, we hope you can provide an export standard for seeds such as bok choy, and we will produce according to that."

"Fine, here you go." Ding Jianhui smiled contemptuously. "If you can meet the export standards, I'll give you a plan for next year."

"A word is settled!"

"Kid, don't be too confident. Getting a seed out of the ground isn't that easy."

Ding Jianhui made no secret of his skepticism. In the early days of reform and opening up, seeds were produced locally, and the city's vegetable seed wholesale department could export seeds worth $7 to $8 annually.

However, after the seeds were handed over to other places for propagation, the seeds became more mixed and the quality could not be guaranteed, and the export value dropped to $2.

Chen Jiazhi didn't argue with him too much, even though he didn't have professional experience in producing bok choy.

But I have had many experiences saving Chinese cabbage seeds.

The current Chinese cabbage is not a hybrid, and the production is not that complicated. Considering the climate conditions in Yuanmou, as long as the purity of the seeds can be guaranteed, the quality will not be low.

After less-than-friendly negotiations, the two sides reached a verbal agreement.

Yunling Agriculture will fund the purchase of a batch of mother seeds for leafy vegetables such as Chinese cabbage, kale, bok choy, romaine lettuce, and lettuce from a vegetable seed wholesaler for propagation in Yuanmou. Depending on the quality, the vegetable seed wholesaler will subsequently purchase the remaining seeds.

Afterwards, Chen Jiazhi hosted a dinner at Donghu Restaurant that evening, paid for tea, and after drinking, Ding Jianhui's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn.

After Chen Zhengxu drove the car to drop people off, Chen Jiazhi also swayed as he got into the van driven by Li Cai.

"How much have you drunk this year, Brother Zhi? It's been a long time since I've seen you drink this much."

"Not bad, not drunk, hahaha. From east to west, north to south, make your fortune in Guangdong. If you want to do business, you have to drink."

Chen Jiazhi had actually sobered up quite a bit; his drunken appearance when he got into the car was somewhat of an act.

This time, dealing with the vegetable seed wholesaler was really unpleasant.

It's too bureaucratic.

But the thought that even Wang, the richest man in China, had to suffer grievances when developing real estate in Guangdong turned his dissatisfaction into a sarcastic remark.

Chen Jiazhi was not very skilled at communicating with relevant departments, or even in interpersonal communication outside the wholesale market.

To put it bluntly, his greatest skill is still growing and selling vegetables; he's just a small-time vegetable farmer, but he has the unique advantage of being given a second chance at life.

Rolling down the car window, the night wind brushed against his face, and Chen Jiazhi thought of the seedling nursery in Yunnan.

He hopes that the production of leafy vegetable seeds in winter will go smoothly, partly to meet his own needs, but also to see the day when his own seeds can be exported.

We'll see Ding Jianhui's true colors then.

(End of this chapter)