1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 346 Now I really regret it

The cucumbers, eggplants, and green peppers in the greenhouses are all about to be harvested, which is at least half a month later than the normal market time for Yuanmou's early winter vegetables.

The vegetables grown outdoors will be harvested later.

This has a significant impact on production.

But after being busy for so long and constantly rushing to meet deadlines, the upcoming harvest is also a source of joy.

This is a positive feedback loop.

The Yuanmou Nengyu Vegetable Wholesale Market is not far from the base.

Due to the lack of preservation measures in the area, Nengyu's vegetable wholesale business has developed another trading method in order to extend the storage time.

This means that farmers or large-scale growers pick samples and take them to the wholesale market. If buyers from other places are interested, they will then go to the fields to inspect the goods and buy the vegetables.

Because some farmers have limited land or inconvenient transportation, agents and wholesalers also act as intermediaries in this process.

However, Yunling Farm decided to contact buyers on its own.

After seeing off the visiting leaders, Chen Jiazhi held a meeting with the management team, emphasizing the product's appeal and packaging.

He personally participated in the sample picking, wearing an iron nail on his thumb. He drilled into the cucumber rows in the greenhouse, and with his right iron nail, he gently cut the cucumbers at the vine joints, holding each cucumber in his left hand before neatly arranging them in the vegetable basket.

A standard basket of cucumbers was then ready.

This is actually quite simple. The key is to establish a unified standard. Any cucumbers that are misshapen or cracked should be classified as defective and not allowed to be harvested or enter the market.

In Yuanmou, where the market has long been a seller's market, farmers' awareness of optimizing product packaging is still relatively weak.

Many vegetable pickers subconsciously include substandard produce in their baskets, which requires repeated emphasis and correction.

Fortunately, Li Mingkun was not afraid of the trouble and carried out assisted pollination on the cucumbers, resulting in a high yield of good products.

...

Meanwhile, the county's inspection team was also on its way to the next destination.

The county leader surnamed Pang is listening to people discuss Yunling agriculture, from greenhouses to seedling farms, and there are still significant differences of opinion.

Ma Ming from the Agriculture Bureau has always believed that it has its merits: greenhouses make up for the short harvest period, and specialized seedling cultivation can enhance overall competitiveness.

Zhou Jinhui, from the county's vegetable seed business department, insisted that the costs were too high and not practical enough.

Ma Ming teased, "Manager Zhou, are you afraid that Yunling's seedlings are too good and will steal your business?"

"What a joke." Zhou Jinhui said coldly, "Director Ma, which farmer can afford to invest five or six hundred yuan in seedlings per mu? Do you think I'm worried that he'll steal my business?"
Besides, who can say for sure whether grafted seedlings are even effective?

Ma Ming chuckled and said, "Grafted seedlings are useless. And you're in this line of work, for goodness' sake!"

Listening to the barbed conversation between the two, the county leader waved his hand, interrupting their argument, as letting them continue would only escalate the conflict.

"Will arguing get us anywhere? We'll have all the results in a few months."

Ma Ming and Zhou Jinhui finally stopped, but neither was willing to back down, and their argument quickly spread to a certain area.

When asked by others, Zhou Jinhui did not shy away from the topic at all, and even boasted that the seedlings cost 1.5 cents per plant, and the cost of seedlings per mu was as high as five or six hundred yuan.

Such a price is astonishing.

Then they asked how many plants they had sold.

Not a single plant was sold; instead, tens of thousands were given away. Farmers were even refused when the plants were almost given away for free, which is quite amusing.

Can such seedlings find a market? More and more people are siding with Zhou Jinhui.

Ma Ming also sensed the changes around him and began to waver. How could he dare to sell it for such a high price?

Chen Jiazhi didn't pay any more attention to the matter. The high price was just an accident, and he had seen seeds sell for a dollar before. 15 cents per plant was really not worth mentioning.

...

Yuanmou is much colder in the early morning than during the day.

However, for Jiang Hui, who came from Xi'an, the temperature was still 12 or 13 degrees Celsius at dawn, and the weather was quite warm.

Jiang Hui is from Xi'an and runs a vegetable business there. He has come to Yuanmou to buy vegetables every winter for many years and is very familiar with the area.

He was wrapped in thick clothes as he walked through the passageway of the Nengyu Vegetable Wholesale Market, casually looking at the various fruits and vegetables.

Yuanmou is most famous for its onions, followed by cucumbers and tomatoes, which he continues to ship back every year.

The vegetables here haven't changed much over the years. They're always in high demand after being shipped to northwestern cities in winter, and even if customers occasionally complain, they still make a steady profit.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly saw several people gathered together ahead, probably negotiating a price, and arguing quite fiercely.

He stopped to watch the commotion, secretly encouraging himself: "Let's fight! Let's fight!"
But he was ultimately disappointed. The two sides seemed to be arguing over the price, sometimes seven cents, sometimes six cents, speaking very quickly and aggressively, which he couldn't fully understand.
With a casual glance, Jiang Hui also saw the basket of vegetables that had been obstructed from his view; it was a basket of thorny cucumbers.

Hmm~ they look pretty good. Wait, aren't cucumbers only five or six cents a pound this year?
Where did these seven or eight cents come from?

Jiang Hui sensed a different aura. Recalling that glimpse just now, he felt as rare as seeing an unparalleled beauty in a crowd.

He walked over, pushed through the crowd, and then saw the cucumber in its true form.

The small basket of vegetables seemed to possess a magical quality, captivating the eye with its vibrant colors, dense thorns, abundant hues, and straight stems...

This looks like a good melon!

No wonder they're arguing over prices.

He recalled the complaints from customers over the past two years, saying that everything, regardless of size, shape, or type, was mixed together.

A few years ago, it didn't matter that vegetables were hard to buy, but in the last two years, vegetables have become easier to buy, and competition has intensified. As a result, he has become less and less confident when facing customer complaints.

Jiang Hui was still squatting down looking at the cucumbers when he asked, "How many cucumbers are left? I'll take them at seven cents a pound."

Chen Jiazhi was still arguing with a few other troublesome locals when he suddenly heard a different accent. He was slightly taken aback before he saw a burly man squatting in front of the vegetable basket. "There are still cucumbers in the field. If the boss is interested, we can take you to the field to see the goods during the day."

Because there were several other people present, Chen Jiazhi spoke vaguely and did not agree on a price.

Jiang Hui then asked, "How many acres of land did you plant in total? I need quite a lot, and it would be best if we could harvest for several days. I'm too lazy to come here if it's less, as the roads here are not easy to travel."

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "There's plenty, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

The two chatted happily, while the other men who had arrived earlier were dissatisfied.

"Hey, I offered you 80 cents earlier and you wouldn't sell, but now you're selling for 70 cents? What do you mean by that? You look down on Brother Long, don't you?"

"You son of a bitch, you've offended Brother Long, you can forget about working here anymore."

Someone else yelled at Jiang Hui, "Get lost! Don't you know about first come, first served?"

Jiang Hui stood up, and his tall, imposing figure gave the group a strong sense of pressure.

Just then, Chen Jiazhi saw Xue Jun and the others arriving on their bicycles, and immediately felt safe. He stopped arguing with the so-called Brother Long and his group.

Are you genuinely interested in buying groceries?

Brother Long is a thug active near the Nengyu Wholesale Market. He uses violence to forcibly buy vegetables from farmers and then resell them, essentially acting as a middleman.

Chen Jiazhi was a new face, and his dishes looked very appealing, so he was targeted. People agreed to his high price almost without thinking.

This alerted Chen Jiazhi, who then realized what was happening after being reminded by Wang Yongxiang.

Vegetables should not be sold to this kind of person.

Don't be fooled by the high price these people promised; it's very difficult to get the money afterward. Ordinary farmers may also be continuously threatened once their vegetable plots are discovered.

So Chen Jiazhi has been pulling in a tug-of-war with him, and at the same time, Brother Long is unsure where his vegetable garden is, so the stalemate continues.

"What do you mean? You don't want to do business anymore, do you?!"

"I think you just deserve a beating!"

"Brother Long, give him a beating and he'll behave!"

Just as they were about to start pushing and pulling each other, and Jiang Hui was hesitating whether to help, another group of people quickly ran over.

"You bastard, you want to fight? Come on, have a go at your grandpa."

Xue Jun took the lead, slapping away the man who was shoving Chen Jiazhi, then punching him straight in the face, knocking him to the ground, and then kicking another thug away.

Suddenly, silence fell.

Li Mingkun also approached with several vegetable workers, carrying carrying poles and other tools.

Buyer Jiang Hui nodded repeatedly as he watched Xue Jun charge forward and wreak havoc, now he understood.

The thugs all stared at Brother Long. After Brother Long realized what was happening, he was so angry that his face was contorted. He pulled out a watermelon knife from somewhere and shouted, "You son of a bitch, you're asking for it! I'll kill you!"

Without a word, Xue Jun pulled out his weapon from his waist, the dark muzzle of the gun aimed directly at Brother Long's head.

The world has fallen silent again.

Two thugs were so scared their legs were trembling, and Brother Long was also feeling uneasy when he met Xue Jun's gaze.

Judging from the ruthlessness with which they attacked, he had no doubt that the other party would dare to fire.

"Brother, brother, I was wrong. We're all just trying to make a living, it's not that serious, it's not that serious..."

"roll!"

Brother Long led the way and they scrambled away.

The commotion had already attracted the attention of those nearby. Chen Jiazhi told Xue Jun to put away his gun before looking at the out-of-towners who had come to buy vegetables.

This person is tall and bold, and has no intention of leaving.

"Boss, I have a total of 150 mu of land, which are planted with cucumbers, eggplants, green peppers and tomatoes. I also have 50 mu of greenhouses. I can sell vegetables until March or April. The quantity should be enough to meet your requirements."

Jiang Hui's eyes lit up. If there was any regret about Yuanmou's early winter vegetables, it was that they were hard to buy in January and February.

If there were greenhouses, it would seem like that problem could really be solved; he doesn't care about costs or other issues.

"Okay, let's go to the field during the day and see how the price is set. Is it still 70 cents per pound?"

“I didn’t agree to sell it to you for seven cents just now.” Chen Jiazhi held up his thumb and forefinger. “It’ll be at least eight cents.”

Jiang Hui said, "This year, the market price is generally around 60 cents per jin, and it's rare to find any selling for 70 cents. Yours at 80 cents is too expensive."

"Boss, the goods are different. Look at my cucumbers, they're beautiful and straight, and they're all about the same size. And these fresh flowers, they're so bright. Where can you find such good quality goods?"

"You're just praising your own wares!"

"Hey, no rush. It'll be dawn soon. We can go see the site first and then decide on the price."

Chen Jiazhi noticed that other buyers had also come over, so he started calling out to the others.

These days, anyone who dares to carry money and do business abroad is a bold person.

A small conflict actually drew attention to the cucumbers on his side.

Just like handsome people are confident when they're out in public, he's also very confident in promoting his cucumbers right now.

He's handsome and good-looking; anyone who sees him would be tempted by his offer.

In just a short while, several more buyers arranged to go to the site to inspect the goods.

Jiang Hui, who was waiting on the side, felt a little melancholy. He should have placed the order decisively; now he regretted it.

(End of this chapter)