1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 345 A Flower with Thorns
"Are you planning to rent a stall in Chengdu?"

Li Mingkun was quite looking forward to it. Traveling from Guangzhou to Yuanmou was already close to home. If the business could expand to Chengdu, it would be even more convenient to return to his hometown.

Chen Jiazhi: “…”

“Selling to Chengdu is just an example. There are many buyers in Yuanmou recently. We will sell to whichever offers the right price.”

"That's true, it depends on the price."

The winter and early spring vegetables in Yuanmou have yielded a bumper harvest, and buyers from the north are flocking to the area. If price isn't a factor, there's no worry about selling the vegetables.

But if you want to sell high-quality products at a good price, you have to put in some effort.

Li Mingkun is an experienced cucumber grower with no problems in terms of technique and management, and he also has high-quality seedlings. So far, this batch of vegetables is growing quite well overall.

Moreover, after a few days, Chen Jiazhi also figured out that cucumbers are currently the most widely planted crop in Yunling Farm, accounting for nearly half of the total area.

Next are eggplant and bell peppers.

Eggplant is also a crop that Li Mingkun is good at growing. He also has a successful experience growing the Zhongjiao No. 5 sweet pepper at the Jiangxin vegetable market at the beginning of the year.

The smallest area was occupied by tomatoes, a vegetable that Li Mingkun had never grown before.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Jiazhi had even more reason to suspect that Li Mingkun had planned from the very beginning that the seedlings would not sell.

Having a contingency plan in mind, it's no wonder that he hasn't panicked at all for so long.

It seems that choosing to send Li Mingkun to Yuanmou was the right decision; it's good to be cautious.

"The first crop to be harvested is cucumber, right? Is there any assisted pollination? How much longer until we can harvest again?"

"Hmm~ We can pick them in half a month." Li Mingkun smiled and said, "It's quite cold in Yuanmou at night, and the greenhouse is also helpful. The cucumbers are growing faster, so the yield should be quite good."

"Go and see."

After walking a few steps, we arrived at another greenhouse, where the cucumber vines had already climbed a distance onto the guide lines.

Chen Jiazhi habitually squatted down, touched a section of stem lying flat, and looked ahead, seeing that the whole row looked like that.

Li Mingkun explained, "Lying flat allows it to bear more weight. Although fruiting is slower in the early stages, it protects the stem from damage later on."

"I know."

"..."

Li Mingkun had no intention of complaining; you could tell from his expression that he didn't understand—that was all from experience.

However, Chen Jiazhi actually knew this experience. He was engrossed in watching it, but he didn't expect that Li Mingkun also knew it.

The cucumbers on the vines were flowering and fruiting very well, with the fruit set evenly. A thin film was also laid on the ground to prevent weeds, so Chen Jiazhi couldn't find any fault with it.

However, looking at the small cucumbers still with their flowers on them, he recalled a famous cucumber-related controversy that would become famous in the future: the 'flower cucumber' or the 'flower-topped, thorny cucumber'.

Because of their freshness and good appearance, they are generally priced much higher than ordinary cucumbers.

However, in the 2010s, television news reports claimed that the 'flower-and-thorn-top' cucumbers were a rumor that they had been coated with birth control pills.

Subsequently, the contraceptive cucumber caused a strong reaction among the public, and every few years the news about it would be brought up and hyped, each time causing public panic.

Of course, it also harmed the cucumber industry.

It's not actually a contraceptive pill; it's a plant growth regulator, also known as a flower-dyeing agent.

Generally speaking, after cucumber flowers have completed pollination, they sometimes do not fall off immediately, but wait until the fruit has grown for a period of time before falling off. Therefore, to some extent, the presence or absence of "top flowers" can be used as a sign of whether a cucumber is young or old.

Cucumbers that can bear fruit without pollination will have their small yellow flowers at the top stay on for a longer period of time.

However, due to factors such as temperature and sunlight, cucumber plants sometimes grow weakly and slowly, resulting in a low fruit set rate and affecting yield.

Therefore, during the planting process, in order to prevent young fruits from falling off, anti-drop agents are sometimes applied to the stem of cucumbers, but the purpose is more to promote fruit set.

However, if the anti-drop agent is accidentally applied to the flowers, it will cause the flowers to adhere more tightly to the top of the cucumber, or simply prevent them from falling off.

Later, growers discovered that such cucumbers were more popular with consumers, so treating cucumber flowers with anti-drop agents became a standard procedure in some cucumber cultivation.

In addition, this type of fresh-flowered cucumber is characterized by its vibrant flowers, dense spines, rich color, and straight shape.

The market price is higher, sometimes more than a dollar more per kilogram, but it is also more troublesome to grow.

Li Mingkun returned after taking a short walk. "Boss Chen, what are you thinking about so intently?"

Chen Jiazhi was still touching a small yellow flower when he said, "I'm wondering if we should incorporate some technology."

"An?" Li Mingkun was dumbfounded. No way, no way, Boss Chen has fallen so low?
Chen Jiazhi couldn't stand the way people looked at him, so he also told Li Mingkun about cucumbers with flowers and thorns on top.

Li Mingkun is no stranger to cucumbers that can have flowers and thorns in their natural state, but to make every single cucumber have flowers and thorns, that would probably require technology.

"Won't this be harmful to the human body?"

"No." Chen Jiazhi glanced at Li Mingkun. The reason he was so familiar with cucumbers with blossoms and thorns was because Li Mingkun taught him.

The flower-dyeing agent itself is just a plant regulator, which only works on the target plant. Only a small amount is needed to achieve the desired effect. Using too much will cause cucumbers to grow into deformed and cracked fruits.

Therefore, cucumbers sold in the market that don't look good are more likely to be harmful.

Li Mingkun also knew that better-looking cucumbers would sell better, so after a little thought, he decided to give it a try.

Because he was organizing workers to assist with pollination in order to increase yield, applying an extra anti-drop agent was just a side effect.

"In that case, we need to buy the medicine as soon as possible." "..." Chen Jiazhi: "I don't know where to buy it. Have you ever heard of flower-repelling medicine?"

"No."

“I’ve also forgotten its scientific name.” Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, “Keep an eye out for it. If we don’t need it this year, we can use it next year. Oh, right, this kind of flower-adhesive can also be used on tobacco leaves, grapes, and watermelons.”

Li Mingkun pondered for a moment and said, "Why don't you go back to Guangzhou? They should be able to sell them there, right?"

"Forget it, there's no rush. It's not worth making a special trip," Chen Jiazhi said with a smile. "I'm staying in Yuanmou mainly for research."

Li Mingkun knew he was interested in breeding, and joked, "Then you should go to university, um, study at an agricultural university."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and waved his hand, "I'm currently studying at an agricultural university."

Li Mingkun was taken aback, but then he laughed after realizing what he meant. It made sense; agricultural universities also teach farming, so they had saved themselves a few years of detours.

...

The offices of Yunling Farm have been completed, but the farm is not yet occupied. The facilities, including offices, dormitories, and a canteen, are quite complete.

Meanwhile, the site selection for the expert building funded by Xinghuo Village Party Secretary Zhong Jiakai is only a few hundred meters away, which is much slower than the previous site.

Nowadays, the experts who come to Yuanmou for breeding and propagation still live in dilapidated houses on the county farm.

The supporting facilities are indeed lacking, which explains why it can't attract many large companies.

Chen Jiazhi believes that the most famous enterprise in the breeding industry should be Beidahuang.

However, it mainly focuses on the breeding and propagation of corn and wheat, and rarely deals with vegetables.

In addition, there are various research institutions and related research groups. Chen Jiazhi originally wanted to learn something from the expert group, but unfortunately he failed to do so.

In the end, he could only return to his own seedling farm and learn some theoretical knowledge and key points of seed production from Peng Qian.

Time passes day by day.

In addition to melons and fruits, the open-air vegetable fields also grow bok choy, lettuce, romaine lettuce, mustard greens, and Chinese kale.

Many local farmers are seeing Cantonese cuisine for the first time, often mistaking bok choy for rapeseed, and are also curious about mustard greens and Chinese kale.

But most people are more concerned about the cucumbers and eggplants grown in greenhouses.

This is the first time that vegetables have been grown in greenhouses in Yuanmou. Not only ordinary farmers, but also research institutes and agricultural departments in the county are paying close attention to it.

As the harvest season approached, a large group of people, led by county leaders, came to visit.

She went on and on for a while.

When asked by his superiors, Chen Jiazhi earnestly explained the advantages of greenhouses in Yuanmou, as well as the benefits of plug seedlings and grafted seedlings.

The team leader, surnamed Pang, listened attentively.

When I heard about the gap in vegetable production in Yuanmou County from December 20th to March 20th, I specifically asked a vegetable industry expert in the county and received a positive answer.

"Mr. Chen, what are the costs of building a greenhouse? How many years will it take to break even?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "It depends on the type of greenhouse. For example, a steel-framed greenhouse like this costs at least 2.5 yuan per mu, but a bamboo greenhouse would cost much less."

As for how long it will take to break even, I don't know right now; I'll have to wait until this season's crops are harvested to find out.

The county leader pondered for a moment and said, "This is also very helpful for our county's vegetable industry. I heard that Yunling has set up a seedling nursery, and grafted seedlings are sold for 15 cents each. How many seedlings were sold this year?"

"Uh..." Chen Jiazhi shook his head, speechless. "We didn't sell a single one, but we gave away tens of thousands of seedlings for free."

The county leaders were also astonished, because they had anticipated that the plants would not sell well due to their high price, but they did not expect that not a single one would be sold.

"Can you sell it for a lower price?"

At this moment, a man wearing a striped shirt in the crowd said, "Boss, others have put in so much effort. If we sell it cheaply, we won't be able to recoup our costs."

Businesses need profits to thrive in the long run; if they keep losing money, they'll have to go out of business.

There was a hint of schadenfreude in his tone.

The leader remained silent for a moment, offered a few words of encouragement, and then left.

Chen Jiazhi glanced at the striped man and sensed a strong sense of malice. He asked someone nearby, and Wang Yongxiang happened to know him.

"His name is Zhou Jinhui, and he works in the seed business department of the county vegetable company."

"Old Wang, is it possible that he's the one who started the rumor?"

"Hiss~" Wang Yongxiang was startled. "Damn it, it really could be him."

If seedling nurseries become successful, who will suffer the most losses? Those selling vegetable seeds will definitely be among them.

The others also realized what was happening, and Gao Wei and the others who were affected by this were quite angry.

However, Chen Jiazhi noticed that Li Mingkun seemed calm and not particularly concerned.

Chen Jiazhi remained calm, saying, "It doesn't matter if it's him or not. The vegetables have already been harvested. The priority right now is to find a buyer."

The off-season won't arrive until the end of December, and it's only November now, so the competition is relatively fierce.

(End of this chapter)