1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 365 Arrival in Shanghai
The elderly couple carried their grandson and escorted Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu to the highway, with many onlookers following along the way.

"Mom, that's enough for now. You can go back now and come out again later."

"It's alright, it's just a short walk. We'll take you to your car and then head back."

Peng Guozhen insisted on seeing the person to the car before reluctantly handing Dou Dou back to Chen Jiazhi.

Chen Jiazhi also wanted to take his parents with him, but the two elders wanted to stay at home a little longer and go to Guangzhou later.

He couldn't refuse, so he had to agree and changed his itinerary, planning to go to Shanghai first.

The broccoli is almost ready for transplanting, and he has to go and check on it.

After arriving at the car, I gave them another round of instructions before we set off.

Chen Zhengxu was the one who accompanied them this time, and he was also taken to see the wholesale markets in Chengdu.

"Zhengxu, have you thought about taking your dad and the others out with you?"

"I asked," Chen Zhengxu said, driving with a helpless expression. "They said everyone's gone, so who's going to farm the land and look after the houses?"

"Try to persuade them more."

"You know how stubborn he is."

Farming in his hometown yields meager income, but many others share Chen Jiashun's view.

Even if they could earn a year's worth of income from farming by working away from home for one or two months, they still couldn't bear to give up their small plot of land back home.

After rounding a bend and reaching a flat area, Chen Zhengxu said, "It's a pity we couldn't clear the pond this year. It's been several years, and there are still plenty of big fish in that pond."

Chen Jiazhi also sighed, "It's a bit of a pity. We came and went in a hurry and didn't get to have a proper time to play. I would be content if we could come back sooner and drain the pond."

Chen Zhengxu smiled. "Quite a few people in the village must be looking for you, right?"

Chen Jiazhi snorted, "In your aunt's words, I almost wore down the threshold. I've been talking to people about growing vegetables wherever I go for the past three days, and it wasn't all for nothing. I've gotten quite a few people to learn grafting."

It was another steep downhill stretch, below which lay the Mengxi River, a tributary of the Tuojiang River, before it turned uphill again.

The road was difficult to travel, and the Isuzu kept swaying from side to side. Chen Jiazhi was holding the baby, and Li Xiu, who was a little carsick, was sleeping on his shoulder.

Once they reached level ground, Chen Zhengxu, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke again.

“There are no industries in my hometown, so I can’t make money. Now there’s a stable and safe way to go out and work. The younger ones still want to go out and try their luck.”

Chen Jiazhi said softly, "You've been out there for a year, and your knowledge has certainly grown a lot."

Chen Zhengxu smiled and said, "I have personally felt the gap between myself and others. There is really no future in staying in my hometown."

As if to confirm his words, the car body suddenly shook again.

Actually, Chen Jiazhi remembered that some agricultural products from the county were quite famous, such as Tarocco blood oranges, catfish, silkworms, and winter bamboo shoots.
Dongjian, also known as pickled mustard tuber, is one of the four famous pickled vegetables in Sichuan, along with Fuling pickled mustard tuber.

Jiang Lihua is very good at making winter brittle.

It seems that the development of Tarocco blood oranges has only started in recent years, and many more will be planted in the future.

However, their village has a large population but limited land, so growing these crops doesn't increase income much, which is why few people grow them.

Chen Jiazhi considered the conditions in their village and realized that it would be difficult to do anything; the best option was to go out and work.

But just as he was thinking about it, he also thought of something his older cousin could do.

"Zhengxu, what do you think about having your dad contract out the Xiadatian farmland to raise fish?"

Xia Datian is the large field in front of Chen Jiazhi's house, a field jointly owned by many households.

Chen Zhengxu raised an eyebrow. "How can you raise fish if you're going to grow rice?"

"We raise fish for half a year, then we'll clear the pond when it's time to harvest the rice." Chen Jiazhi smiled. "I was just saying that. The main thing is that I want to catch fish. It's basically impossible to make money from this."

Catching fish has always been a great pleasure in the village.

Even when no one contracts fish farming, every year people in the village will spontaneously organize themselves to take chicken coops to several large fields to cover the fish.

A few years later, when some people started contracting large fields to raise fish, they would deliberately leave some fish for the villagers to catch every time the ponds were cleaned.

People of all ages and genders participated, and it was incredibly fun.

Secondly, there's lobster fishing, which is also a lot of fun.

Chen Zhengxu's eyes lit up. "I'll talk to my dad and ask him to ask around in the village if it's okay to raise them."

He added, "I feel the village will agree."

Chen Jiazhi was surprised, "I already said it won't make money, so it's very likely that all our efforts will be in vain."

"Does it matter whether this makes money or not?" Chen Zhengxu smiled. "I guarantee that if I told my dad it was your suggestion, he would definitely agree."

Chen Jiazhi fell silent.

Knowing Shun's personality, he would definitely agree and take both of his sons out. He was just wondering how to thank him.

Hmm~ Actually, he also had some entertainment in mind.

After passing Ziyang, Chen Jiazhi took over driving, and it was quite late when they arrived in Chengdu.

They first went to Jinjiang District, picked up two bottles of Wuliangye liquor, and met Xiang Bin, who was working with them, downstairs in a residential building.

"Mr. Chen, you're too kind. Please come upstairs and have dinner with us tonight."

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "We won't go up. My family is flying to Shanghai tomorrow, and we'll stop by to wish Boss Xiang a Happy New Year."

He then introduced Chen Zhengxu, saying, "This is our General Manager Xu at the Guangzhou distribution center. We can keep in touch and ship goods from whichever side is short of vegetables but profitable."

Xiang Bin was stunned for a moment, but after thinking about it, he felt it was very clever and quickly shook hands with Chen Zhengxu.

Chen Zhengxu said, "Boss Xiang, let's strengthen our cooperation in the future, grow bigger and stronger, and create new glories."

"Haha, growing bigger and stronger, great!" Xiang Bin was in a good mood and felt very proud in front of his neighbors.

"Okay, let's not go upstairs. Let's go straight to the restaurant for dinner. Anyway, your flight is tomorrow, so you have to eat dinner tonight!"

Then Xiang Bin looked at Li Xiu, who was holding the child, and said, "I'll take the liberty of calling you sister-in-law. It's rare for you to come all this way, so please do me the honor."

Li Xiu smiled and said, "I'll listen to Jiazhi."

Xiang Bin: "Boss Chen, look, there's no problem now. Don't worry, I'll bring my wife and kids along later too."

Chen Jiazhi: "Then I shall respectfully accept your offer."

An hour later, the food and drinks were served, and after exchanging toasts, the three men started talking about business.

"Bottle cabbage sells well in Chengdu. Every time I send a truckload of vegetables back, it sells out incredibly fast."

"Boss Xiang, that's Shanghai bok choy, it's a bit different from 'Piao'er Bai' (a type of bok choy)."

"They're pretty much the same, just as delicious. Anyway, the CD market recognizes them. Next is lettuce tips, which also sell quickly."

Chen Jiazhi really wanted to say that it was romaine lettuce.

However, this phenomenon is very common nowadays, and many vegetable vendors don't even know the names of the vegetables.

Therefore, fraud and deception are quite serious problems in the industry.

When Chen Jiazhi encounters a normal customer, he naturally needs to maintain communication and gradually build a community of shared interests so that the business can last.

This was also the purpose of Chen Jiazhi's visit to Xiang Bin.

By giving the other party ample face and engaging in back-and-forth exchanges, there is even a slight possibility that the cooperation may develop into a business partnership.

...

After spending the night at the hotel, Chen Jiazhi headed to the airport before dawn to fly to Shanghai.

Upon arriving at the base, he didn't even have time to look at the vegetable garden; he took Ao Dehai to deal with interpersonal relationships.

They visited Zhou Jingen of Luonan Town Agricultural Company and Zhou Baolong, the secretary of Fanrong Village.

Two bottles of wine and a small token of appreciation, nothing more. Just want to stay in touch, and have Ao Dehai go and reinforce the impression so we can communicate promptly if there are any problems.

After delivering the gifts, he and Ao Dehai went to check on the broccoli seedlings.

The Shanghai base does not have greenhouses, only small arched sheds, and seedlings are usually raised in seedbeds.

However, in order to cultivate robust seedlings and shorten the seedling time, Chen Jiazhi still had Ao Dehai use tray seedling cultivation.

Ao Dehai said, "The most troublesome part of seedling cultivation is the preparation of the substrate, which takes the longest time."

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "Yes, I will resolve this issue as soon as possible."

This is a common problem faced by several seedling bases: substrate preparation is too troublesome.

Once several optimal ratios are determined, it would be best to produce them in-house for both internal use and external sales.

Chen Jiazhi randomly inspected several small arched greenhouses, checking their height, neatness, root system, and other conditions.

“They look alright, much better than the seedlings I grew at the Dongxiang vegetable market.” Chen Jiazhi asked, “Why were you so insecure before?”

Ao Dehai said, "Everything is in vain until it's sold."

Chen Jiazhi nodded, "It's right to have this awareness. If broccoli is to be exported to foreign markets and sold at a high price, there are strict requirements on the color and size of the florets."

Based on my understanding of the Japanese, their pass rate when directly purchasing products from the production site is generally only 20%.

Ao Dehai was surprised, "Won't this... this result in a loss?"

If the yield is around 2000 jin per mu, and the pass rate is 20%, the maximum yield will be only 400-500 jin.
Chen Jiazhi said, "Even if the Japanese offer a high price, they might not necessarily lose money."

If he remembers correctly, China is not currently a major source of broccoli imports for the Japanese.

The cultivation technology and planting area of ​​broccoli in China have not yet seen a significant boom.

In other words, exports have not yet fallen into low-price competition, and export prices are still very attractive.

After a pause, Chen Jiazhi added, "But for every percentage point increase in the pass rate, our profits will be even more substantial."

As far as I know, in terms of appearance, broccoli florets should be compact and neat, with plump buds, and no obvious damage, yellowing, or rot.

There are also requirements regarding the length and thickness of the flower stems; specific details can only be obtained when contacting the buyers.

After thinking for a moment, Ao Dehai concluded, "Anyway, the goal is to plant them beautifully."

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "That's the idea. Foreigners buy groceries the same way; appearance is everything."

At that time, China had not yet joined the WTO, and the environment for vegetable exports was relatively good, with no excessively stringent requirements regarding pesticide residues.

Normal management is sufficient.

More importantly, it's about keeping the flower balls beautiful.

After returning to his office, Chen Jiazhi asked Ao Dehai to get him a notebook.

Then I started writing furiously.

Memories of past mistakes erupted like a volcanic eruption.

Soil and fertilizer, water, light and temperature, pests and diseases, applying fertilizer after removing old and yellow leaves and side branches after the bulbs emerge, and the protection of the flower bulbs that he remembers vividly.

When the flower head begins to show color, break off the leaves next to it to cover the flower head, avoid direct sunlight, and prevent the flower head from turning yellow.

When Ao Dehai heard this, he was taken aback. "If we had also covered the flower ball at the Dongxiang vegetable market the summer before last, would it have been possible to successfully grow it?"

"Don't mention it," Chen Jiazhi sighed. It was a sad story.

(End of this chapter)