1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 347 A false alarm

Just after seven o'clock in the morning, as dawn broke through the darkness, Chen Jiazhi brought the merchants who came to inspect the goods to the base.

"Wow, Yuanmou really does have greenhouses!"

"That's rare."

This is the first reaction many people have when they see greenhouses in Yuanmou, but soon visitors turn their attention to the vegetables.

Besides the white greenhouses in the distance, there are also open-air fruits and vegetables nearby.

After Chen Jiazhi mentioned that he hadn't been spraying pesticides recently, some buyers picked cucumbers or tomatoes to try.

Because of the large temperature difference between day and night in Yuanmou, many fruits and vegetables naturally taste very good.

The same goes for vegetables from Yunling Agriculture; compared to those from local farmers, they don't taste any different.

The reason they can sell for a high price is due to more refined grading and packaging, with inferior fruit being removed during the packing process.

From open-air to greenhouse, the buyers were generally very satisfied.

The group stopped on the road between the two rows of greenhouses to negotiate the final price.

Chen Jiazhi still insists on 80 cents for cucumbers and promises to maintain the same grading system in the future.

The buyers, however, are not backing down.

“Mr. Chen, you also need to consider our costs. We’ve come all this way with great difficulty, so we should at least get some compensation for our hard work.”

Most of the buyers come from cities in Sichuan and Northwest China, which are not far away, but vegetable prices in many cities are still not cheap in winter.

Chen Jiazhi said, "You're not just making a little money for your hard work. I'm also in the vegetable business. Vegetables are scarce in the north during winter, and many vegetables aren't cheap. You can't fool me."

One of the buyers said coldly, "There are plenty of vegetables in Yuanmou lately, and many people are selling their vegetables for less than you. We can just go buy them from other places!"

"Sure." Chen Jiazhi smiled faintly, "I've seen the goods and explained the harvesting standards and specifications to you. I'm sorry to those bosses who can't accept the price, but we'll have to cooperate again in the future."

The man cupped his hands in greeting and left, followed by two or three other buyers.

Chen Jiazhi didn't care much. He managed to keep two buyers, one of whom was Jiang Hui from Xi'an, and the other was Xiang Bin, who ran a vegetable business in Chengdu.

"President Jiang, President Xiang, if you can accept this, then we can continue our discussions?"

Jiang Hui pondered for a moment and said, "Mr. Chen, we can certainly talk, but the cooperation period needs to be longer, and the vegetables from the greenhouses must be sold to me first during the harvest season."

“I’m in the same boat,” Xiang Bin added. “If it weren’t for the expectation of greenhouses, I definitely wouldn’t be able to accept a price of 8 cents per kilogram.”

There are plenty of vegetables in Yuanmou now, but in two months there will be fewer, at which point the advantages of greenhouse vegetables will become apparent.

Chen Jiazhi was aware of this as well.

"I am a man of integrity. As long as the price is in line with the market, I will definitely sell to you first."

"Okay, let's sign the contract then."

The price of 8 cents per kilogram is not low, but it eliminates the middlemen in the wholesale market who make a profit, and the base organizes the delivery directly.

For the buyers, they also get vegetables of more consistent quality, and will still have a stable source of supply when open-field vegetables decrease, so they won't lose money in the long run.

The premise is that Chen Jiazhi keeps his promise.

Jiang Hui and Xiang Bin chose to believe him; even if Chen Jiazhi broke the contract, they would only earn less money.

The buyers who left were probably those who held the view that earning less was equivalent to losing money.

The contract was signed and a deposit was paid; both parties were straightforward, and the process was quick.

That evening, Chen Jiazhi bought a sheep, slaughtered it at the base, and treated Jiang Hui and Xiang Bin to a meal.

During their conversation about the fight in the market in the early hours of the morning, Jiang Hui spoke highly of Xue Jun, and the two hit it off immediately, drinking quite a bit of alcohol together.

Chen Jiazhi also remembered Brother Long, who was actually a local bully who did evil by being fierce and ruthless.

They also have the characteristic of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

Yunling Farm has a large workforce and has also brought in staff from Guangzhou. They are not afraid of troublemakers, but we still need to be on guard.

...

The greenhouse, covering 50 mu (approximately 3.3 hectares), yielded 30 mu (approximately 2 hectares) of cucumbers. On the first day alone, they harvested about 5000 jin (approximately 2,500 catties), generating 4000 yuan in daily income.

After a busy day, Li Mingkun arrived at the designated breeding farm in high spirits and reported the news to Chen Jiazhi.

"Great, Lao Li, you've got a great start. We'll slaughter a sheep tonight to celebrate."

Yuanmou has abundant forestry resources, and farmers in more remote areas have a habit of raising sheep under the trees.

Li Mingkun waved his hand and said, "There's no need to kill a sheep. We just ate mutton not long ago, and I'm afraid that if we eat it again, the young people's bodies will be too hot to handle it."

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow and said, "Keep showing off. One day I'll transfer Bai Yan back to Guangzhou and leave you here all alone."

Peng Qian, who was working nearby, had also become familiar with Li Mingkun and joked, "President Chen, you shouldn't have transferred the factory manager's wife here. The factory manager's condition lately is, well, it's hard to describe."

"Then stop talking. I'll pay for the sheep tonight and let you have another mutton meal. Let's see if you can handle it!" Li Mingkun chuckled. Since his wife came to Yuanmou, his life has become much more comfortable.

"I'll have someone go get the sheep first. I'll save the sheep whip for you guys, okay? Oh well, it's no use for you anyway, I'll keep it for myself."

After Chen Jiazhi got up, Li Mingkun decisively retreated and ran away.

"He runs pretty fast." Looking at Li Mingkun's running figure, Chen Jiazhi inexplicably felt that he looked a bit like a male dog in heat in the village.

The workload is still not enough.

Like Ji Song, although he is young, he conducts experiments in the field every day and is also responsible for the seed production of Chinese cabbage.

Chen Jiazhi was also preoccupied with various matters and had no time to think about those things. "We need to give Lao Li more responsibilities." Chen Jiazhi said to Ji Song and Peng Qian, "Old Peng, I've been hanging out with you guys lately, so if you need anything, just let me know. I'll go to the market less often."

"Sure, we just happen to need some help."

Chen Jiazhi felt that he had some talent and learned traditional breeding theories very quickly.

Meanwhile, several seed production orders received from the Beijing Seed Trade Fair have been sown, and he also learned about the seed production process during this period.

Most of them are easy to understand and master, but the ones involving hybridization are a little more difficult.

The Chinese cabbage with the highest seed production is not a hybrid, but a variety bred through traditional methods.

Overall, it's not difficult, but it's beyond one's capabilities to develop to a higher level.

Peng Qian uses the traditional method, which is slightly outdated and slow in breeding efficiency.

Ji Song's skill level doesn't seem to be particularly high.

But Chen Jiazhi is quite content, enjoying the process and making progress little by little.

...

As greenhouse cucumbers hit the market, tomatoes, eggplants, and green peppers from Yunling Farm are also gradually coming to market.

In just over ten days, the daily vegetable shipment increased from 5,000 jin to 12,000 jin.

The market is bustling with activity every day, with people picking, transporting, sorting, packaging, loading, and shipping...

Li Mingkun never showed off in front of Chen Jiazhi again.

My mood didn't get worse, though. Besides sex, my career also releases dopamine.

Vegetable prices remained firm: cucumbers were 8 cents, tomatoes were 5 cents, eggplants were 7 cents, and green peppers were 5 cents.

The high price of cucumbers is not only due to Li Mingkun's excellent cucumber cultivation, but also to market feedback that open-field cucumbers and eggplants are nearing the end of their shelf life.

This was the information Chen Jiazhi had just learned, and it was only late November, more than half a month earlier than their expected end of December.

As a result, Chen Jiazhi couldn't sit still in the seed production field and, after many days, he once again approached Li Mingkun in the open vegetable field.

Li Mingkun, wearing a straw hat, had just walked out of the vegetable field, his face covered in sweat. "Our yield has changed very little, and the plants and fruits are growing normally."

Chen Jiazhi was surprised, "Is there a problem with the information feedback from the market?"

Li Mingkun shook his head, also unaware of the matter.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "Let's call Wang Yongxiang and go out for a bike ride together, and also visit the farmers who planted our seedlings."

Farmers who chose to transplant seedlings free of charge from the nursery were those who missed the planting season for various reasons and transplanted very late.

If the shelf life is extended for an extended period, farmers' income will be very low, which will not be beneficial for future promotion.

Wang Yongxiang and Gao Wei soon followed, so Chen Jiazhi left Li Mingkun behind and took Xue Jun with him to Nengyu Town.

This area has the largest and most contiguous area of ​​vegetable cultivation.

Chen Jiazhi rode his bicycle through the field road, glancing at the eggplants on both sides from time to time.

The tomatoes are doing alright; they are more resistant to low temperatures.

However, the cucumbers and eggplants do show signs of being old plants, especially the eggplants, which have fewer flowers and naturally produce even fewer fruits.

He felt it was related to the recent drop in temperature at night in Yuanmou. The nighttime temperature used to be 12-15℃, but in the past two days it has dropped below 12℃, and occasionally it has approached 10℃.

Both cucumbers and eggplants are warm-season crops.

The ideal temperature for eggplants during their flowering and fruiting period is above 25℃ during the day and 15-20℃ at night. Growth slows down when the temperature is below 15℃ at night, and metabolic disorders occur when the temperature is below 10℃.

Cucumbers are slightly better off; a suitable temperature difference between day and night is also beneficial for improving taste and yield, but nighttime temperatures below 12℃ will also have an impact on growth and root system.

Chen Jiazhi's mind raced. According to Wang Yongxiang and others, this was normal weather in Yuanmou.

However, farmers generally don't keep accurate records.

This is certainly good news for greenhouse vegetables, but Yunling Farm has a considerable area of ​​open-field vegetables, not to mention that there are also farmers who have planted grafted seedlings.

"Uncle Gui, Uncle Gui!"

"Hey, here I am~"

A middle-aged couple emerged from the lush melon field, carrying vegetable baskets, their bronze skin etched with smiles.

Seeing this smile, Chen Jiazhi slowed down, which also calmed Wang Yongxiang, who had been shouting impatiently.

Chen Jiazhi prepared cigarettes first, then lit them for both of them as he approached. "Uncle Gui, how's the cucumber harvest this year?"

Uncle Gui paused in his smoking, turned his head to look around, and looked like spies exchanging intelligence.

"I only told the truth when you guys came: this year's production is pretty good."

"We have more than two acres of cucumbers at home. We can pick more than 200 jin (100 kg) every day and sell them for more than 100 yuan. We've been picking them for several days now."

Okay.

Chen Jiazhi made his own assessment in his mind.

They inquired about the plant's growth and checked its flowering and fruiting, and found no significant changes, just like at Yunling Farm.

This relieved him; it seemed that grafted seedlings were indeed more resistant to adverse conditions, specifically by reducing the risk of low-temperature damage and extending the growing season.

Only then did he vaguely recall reading in a book that black-seeded pumpkin rootstock could allow cucumbers to grow normally even at a soil temperature of 8°C.

(End of this chapter)