1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 360 Good News
The Pengcun mustard greens base is only about 6 kilometers from the sea, a superb location.

When visibility is good, find the right angle, and you can see the sea from the vegetable fields at the base.

But to grow the best water mustard, simply meeting the soil conditions is not enough.

High-quality organic fertilizers and seeds, a pollution-free growing environment, and scientific planting concepts all determine the quality of vegetables.

However, the farm manager is Ao Deliang.

This man's meticulous management skills were enough for Chen Jiazhi to entrust him with the complete responsibility of production and planting at the Pengcun base.

Ao Deliang was also very hardworking and gave up going home for the Chinese New Year.

We decided to buy seedlings from nearby areas before the Lunar New Year and transplant them in order to restore the supply of water mustard as soon as possible.

In this way, two crops of water mustard can be produced in the first half of the year, with fallow during the hottest days of summer and sowing again in the fall, forming a four-crop planting pattern per year.

In this way, the quality can always be guaranteed, and the best quality can be achieved by using water mustard from winter.

After exchanging technical solutions with Ao Deliang, Chen Jiazhi had completed most of his work in Shuidong.

Before leaving, he and Ao Deliang went to the vegetable field of vegetable farmer Liu Haitao.

At this moment, Liu Haitao and his wife Yang Huan are watering the mustard seedlings.

Chen Jiazhi pre-ordered these seedlings for transplanting at his own base.

Squatting down, Chen Jiazhi grabbed a handful of yellow mud and sand. "Old Liu, are you really not going to grow vegetables anymore?"

Liu Haitao and his wife were taken aback. Yang Huan asked, "Boss Chen, do you not want my Haitao anymore?"

“No, I’m more than happy that Haitao is willing to work at the base.” Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment, “I’m just afraid you’ll regret it later.”

"will not."

"We have absolutely no regrets."

Yang Huan became very happy when she heard about being able to work at the vegetable market.

The Pengcun base needed local assistance, so Chen Jiazhi casually invited Liu Haitao a while ago and offered him a salary of 800 yuan per month.

His wife, Yang Huan, readily agreed.

Chen Jiazhi thought Liu Haitao had other ideas, after all, he had promised that if Liu Haitao could grow the same quality water mustard, he would still buy it.

However, it now appears that the other party also prefers to receive a salary.

"If you can be a manager, why would you still grow vegetables?" That's probably the mentality.

"Okay, it's good that you're willing to come. The vegetable market needs people to plant seedlings, and we'll need your help in that regard, Manager Ao!"

Liu Haitao: "No problem."

Yang Huan asked, "Director Ao, may I come to plant seedlings? There's no need to avoid suspicion, is there?"

Ao Deliang laughed and said, "Seeing how well these seedlings are growing, I know you are all good at working. I wish you could come along too."

Yang Huan smiled and said, "That's right. I deserve half the credit for how beautiful our mustard greens are. Director Ao, I can't guarantee anything else, but I'll definitely make sure the mustard green seedlings grow well for you."

Seeing the three people communicating amicably with their broken accents, Chen Jiazhi gained even more confidence in Ao Deliang.

Your communication skills have also improved!
At this moment, several more villagers came over, and the man in the lead offered them two cigarettes.

"Boss, do you still need to rent land?"

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "I won't rent the land for now, but you can still grow mustard greens according to my requirements, and I can buy them after the harvest."

"I'm not renting it anymore."

The visitors were all somewhat disappointed and began to discuss the matter.

“You’ve already planted 300 mu of mustard greens, so you’ll definitely prioritize selling your own vegetables. Even if you buy from us, you won’t be able to offer a high price.”

"We still have to do it according to your requirements. The investment is so high. We work hard for several months, but when we do the math, we don't make much money."

"Growing mustard greens is not as good as growing other vegetables!"

Listening to the discussion, Chen Jiazhi gave Ao Deliang a wink, and the latter said, "The vegetable market is also recruiting workers to plant seedlings. They pay 10 yuan a day. Those who want to come can sign up first."

"Really?"

"The boss is right here."

Ao Deliang handled the situation calmly; the daily wage of 10 yuan was attractive to many farmers.

A number of people immediately signed up.

Chen Jiazhi was speechless with frustration. He had been trying to persuade the locals to grow more mustard greens, but to no avail.

It can even have negative effects.

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case, as Pengcun mustard greens are currently highly regarded in Dianbai.

He could only attribute this to the fact that the locals had not yet developed a brand awareness for their agricultural products.

But it's not necessarily a bad thing for him.

...

Compared to the smooth sailing at the mustard green base, things have been more bumpy at the seedling nursery in western Guangdong.

Considering market acceptance, Chen Jiazhi didn't want to go too big at the beginning.

I just want to do a pilot program.

In addition, they were unfamiliar with Maoming, so they were unable to finalize the location.

Ultimately, he decided to proceed with the plan and place the seedling nursery near Pengcun, where it could also cover part of the vegetable base transported to the north.

It's also not particularly far from MM city center.

After settling these matters, Chen Jiazhi, along with Huang Jianyuan and Xia Youche, who were getting bored while waiting, returned home together.

"Thank you both for making this special trip."

Huang Jianyuan laughed, "When we get to Guangzhou, Mr. Chen, remember to set up a table and have a couple of drinks, then this matter will be settled. Mr. Xia, what do you think?" "That won't do," Xia Youche said in a deep voice, "At least three drinks!"

"Haha, Mr. Chen, Ms. Xia is still angry. You'll have to resolve that yourself!"

"Okay, three cups it is."

Chen Jiazhi was quite surprised that Xia Youche came, but the result was good.

He wondered if he could bring Xia Youche to Yuanmou and Shanghai next time, just to make a good impression.

The journey was long and the road conditions weren't particularly good, so aside from sleeping, we just chatted.

As we chatted, the conversation drifted to the major case that occurred more than a month ago on the winter solstice, where 1500 million yuan in cash was stolen, causing a national sensation.

Chen Jiazhi remembered this incident, but at the time he was in Yuanmou and only made sure that his family members were not running around, so he didn't pay attention to it.

However, because two of the main culprits shared his surname, and he had watched the adapted TV series, he remembered that the two main culprits with the same surname had fled to Ruili on the Yunnan border and were not caught until twenty years later.

Now, hearing the two talking, he joined in the conversation.

Huang Jianyuan said mysteriously, "I heard that five main culprits have been caught and will be executed soon!"

Chen Jiazhi said in surprise, "President Huang, you're very well-informed."

Huang Jianyuan smiled and said, "Actually, this is not a secret. After all, the nature of the crime is serious and it must be dealt with severely. It's just a pity that there are still two main culprits who have not been caught."

Chen Jiazhi pretended to be unaware, "The police have laid a tight net, and yet two people still managed to escape?"

Huang Jianyuan said, "The leader is quite formidable. He graduated from university, his father is an official, and he owns a company. There is another college student and four veterans in the gang. It's not surprising that they can cause such a commotion."

Chen Jiazhi: "Damn, Lao Huang, how do you know so much? Stop talking, I'm afraid I'll get invited for tea."

Huang Jianyuan laughed and said, "What's there to be afraid of? This isn't a secret anymore; many people know about it."

Xia Youche suddenly asked, "President Huang, do you have connections in the hat department?"

Chen Jiazhi thought to himself, "You really hit the nail on the head," as he was trying to figure out how to bring it up.

Huang Jianyuan said, "A friend of mine is inside. I had a drink with him before I came, and he bragged all night long."

"Wow, I didn't know you had this connection." Chen Jiazhi said at the right time, "Are you from Panyu? Let's meet up for tea sometime. Sometimes the market needs Uncle Hat's help too."

Huang Jianyuan: "We'll have to wait until this period is over. They're all extremely busy right now, so it's not easy to schedule a meeting."

Chen Jiazhi: "No rush, I just want to get to know him so I can find him if I need anything in the future."

He didn't know when the two had fled to Ruili, but it should be safe to reveal it in two years, which would also be an opportunity to make connections with the hat department.

...

Donghu Restaurant.

The waiter approached Ding Hong and said, "Boss, another customer has reported that the mustard greens taste worse."

I suddenly feel like swearing!
Isn't this just a joke?

Ding Hong suppressed his resentment and said, "Explain to the customers that the raw materials were scarce a few days ago and the supply was limited, so they would have to wait a while."

After calming the waiter down, Ding Hong called Kaopu Fresh and launched into a tirade of abuse.

After a while, it seemed that the person answering the phone had changed.

"Mr. Ding, getting so angry isn't good for your health. The stock shortage is unavoidable; you should know that good things are rare..."

Ding Hong's emotions gradually stabilized. "President Xu, if you do this, I won't dare to refuse any good things that come my way next time."

Chen Zhengxu said, "Boss Ding, because of your positive feedback, the company has now invested in building a high-quality mustard green base, and mustard greens from the same production area will be available on the market in just over two months."

Ding Hong: "Then let's talk about it in two months."

The phone rang and hung up.

Chen Jiazhi, Huang Jianyuan, and Xia Youche listened to the phone call from the distribution center.

Before the three could even exchange words, the phone rang again, with the same question.

Xia Youche was surprised, "Is this mustard green really that good?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and called out, "Zhengxu, is there any water mustard left in the cold storage?"

"Gone, not a single one left."

Ugh, I don't even have a chance to show off.

Xia Youche was quite impressed with the water mustard and secretly thought that he must try it in two months.

That evening, Chen Jiazhi hosted a dinner at the Spruce Hotel to thank Huang Jianyuan and Xia Youche.

Xu Wenxiang also arrived during this time.

The first thing they asked him was, "Mr. Chen, have you bought the water mustard yet?", and then they said things like, "You can't fool spruce with ordinary stuff."

This further increased the three shareholders' expectations for Shui Dongjie, and also made Xia Youche very eager to try it.

...

The festive atmosphere of the New Year is getting stronger.

Jiangxin Market, however, seemed detached from the scene. From an aerial view, the farmers looked like ants, busily working in an orderly fashion.

The first batch of Chinese kale seedlings has begun to be transplanted.

The division of labor is clear, including applying organic fertilizer, tilling the land, transporting seedlings in trays, planting seedlings, watering, and covering with mulch.

In addition to the 500 mu of land needed to maintain the basic supply of bok choy, mustard greens, etc., about 400 mu of land will be planted with Chinese kale within half a month.

This is a small gamble for the New Year.

At that moment, Chen Jiazhi, who was keeping watch on the rooftop, heard the office phone ring.

He went downstairs, answered the phone, and Peng Qian's slightly excited voice came through, "Boss Chen, the bok choy seeds are all harvested!"

(End of this chapter)