1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 370: No Hardship
It's good to make a fortune quietly!

It will be safer in terms of funds and personnel.

After all, even when the market is bad, tens of thousands of yuan in cash still pass through every day.

Today, from the afternoon until this morning, the stall has generated at least 100,000 yuan in sales.

Becoming the focus of the entire market may bring temporary pleasure, but it also leaves behind significant hidden dangers.

That's fine now.

Some customers were transferred to the distribution center, while stalls extended their trading hours and expedited transactions for individual customers.

The stalls always seem busy, but since they don't cluster together frequently, they don't attract as much attention.

Only an expert can see through the styrofoam box that the kale inside is not kale at all; it's all money.

Stall number 63 closed early today, shutting down at 5 a.m.

Some of the late buyers were disappointed, but they still had to respectfully light cigarettes for Li Cai and Chen Jiazhi.

"Remember to come early tomorrow. The newly harvested kale is beautiful, and it's all medium and large sizes."

"I don't think 5 o'clock is too late."

"Don't you know what the market is like now? If you come at 5 o'clock tomorrow, you might not even be able to see me."

The man thought to himself, "So you were the one offering me cigarettes, now it's my turn to light one for you."

However, even if you have ulterior motives, you have to keep them to yourself; it's a seller's market now.

Moreover, thanks to the contrast with its competitors, stall number 63 has always had a very good service attitude, not to mention that the quality of its vegetables has always been well-regarded.

After Li Cai finished talking with several customers who had arrived late, they returned to the office together. The sorting center was deserted, and there were very few packaged vegetables left.

After reviewing the account books and getting a clear picture of the situation, Chen Jiazhi took Yi Long and Yi Hu to have breakfast.

"Uncle, how much money did you make at the stall today?"

For several days now, my parents have been discussing this batch of kale. They've been saying how many people are urging them to buy it every day, and how the price has skyrocketed. Yi Long is also curious about today's sales results.

Chen Jiazhi smiled slightly, "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's talk about you guys. You've been watching for an hour or two now. So, have you come up with any good ideas to get me to spend money?"

"No."

The two brothers eating noodles both shook their heads.

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "It seems I won't have the opportunity to pay for your knowledge. What does that mean?"

Nowadays, the trading model at the stalls is very simple. Moreover, Yi Long has been selling vegetables in the old market for a long time, and he has experienced a lot of hardships and setbacks.

Yi Long occasionally fantasizes that he can do better than adults, and customers will flock to him.

However, confidence has been shaken today.

When Yi Long thinks about how simple and quick it is to sell vegetables nowadays, he feels completely lost. How can this be optimized?

Isn't this making things difficult for the students?

Yi Long said, "That shows how amazing Boss Chen is."

Chen Jiazhi shook his head and said, "This shows that your level of knowledge is not high enough."

At this moment, the two brothers finished their noodles, and Yi Long said, "I feel like there's nothing more that can be changed."

Chen Jiazhi: "This shows that you can't even see the problem."

Yi Long and Yi Hu both frowned as they tried to recall, but they were completely clueless. The process of selling vegetables at the stall was too simple and efficient.

"Uncle, tell us, what other ways can we improve our stall?"

Chen Jiazhi asked, "What are the problems with the stalls now?"

Yi Long: "No problem?"

Chen Jiazhi: "You think there's no problem, but in my eyes there are problems everywhere."

He paid the bill first, and only after getting into his car parked by the roadside did he say:
"The biggest problem is the safety of funds. For example, today we received nearly 100,000 yuan in cash. What if something goes wrong with this money along the way?"

Yi Long and Yi Hu looked at each other, their eyes filled with surprise.

Yi Hu asked, "There aren't many people buying vegetables, so why did you charge so much?"

Yi Long: "We arrived late. In the morning, most of the people who came to buy vegetables were vendors and restaurants, but they were still moving their goods. We waited for more than an hour and the stall collected 10,000 yuan."

It's daybreak.

Chen Jiazhi wanted to light a cigarette but didn't.

"So, how can we ensure the safety of so much cash we've received?"

He started the vehicle, preparing to head back to the market, but the people at the distribution center were nowhere to be seen.

My two nephews gave several answers, but they were all rejected, which made them somewhat frustrated.

“This question is too difficult.”

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and then said, "Then let's change the question."

How can we make the accounts more detailed, faster, and easier to review, analyze, and compare?

"Use the computer!"

The two brothers blurted out in unison, "These functions can be achieved with a computer!"

Chen Jiazhi smiled. "Do you know how? How much do you know?"

"I know a little."

Both Yi Long and Yi Hu were somewhat embarrassed. They had bought the computer a while ago, but they had learned to play games first.

Chen Jiazhi added, "Then there's nothing we can do, and simply making a form won't be of much help to the stalls."

What I need is a complete system that can connect the farmers' market with the stalls and distribution centers, thereby optimizing management.

Yi Hu was stunned. "Can a computer really do this?"

Yi Hu was also surprised, "But even if I wanted to learn these things, I wouldn't know where to start."

Chen Jiazhi didn't understand either. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Let's focus on our studies first."

"Mathematics and English are both very important. You need to use mathematics and English to write any system or program."

"You can't neglect other subjects either. Only by getting into a better school will you have the opportunity to study computer science in greater depth."

"I don't have that chance anymore, but I can wait for you to create a system tailored to the market and stalls in the future." "You'll pay me, okay?"

After going around in circles, the topic of studying came up again, but Yi Long and Yi Hu didn't find it offensive; on the contrary, they thought it was pretty cool.

Using computers to help farmers' markets?

It sounds so cool, and I can't wait to go home and try it out on my computer.

Just as Chen Jiazhi was about to set off, a familiar-looking minivan stopped in front of him.

"Good morning, boss. Are you heading back to the market?"

The person who came was Zhou Xiaoxiong. Chen Jiazhi took the cigarette and put it to his ear, and said with a smile, "You brought two students with you. Go back early."

Zhou Xiaoxiong made a couple of jokes about Yi Long and Yi Hu, and then hurriedly left again.

Looking at his skillful driving, Chen Jiazhi remarked that delivery work can also be a good training ground. Xiao Xiong has only been learning to drive for a few months, right?

Yi Long could also sense the busy atmosphere emanating from Zhou Xiaoxiong, and asked again, "Uncle, how much money did you make at the market and stalls today?"

"The stalls have already sold over 100,000, and with the sales to Hong Kong, has the market made at least 200,000 today?"

Chen Jiazhi, driving, glanced at the car out of the corner of his eye and said, "Now you guys are asking for 100,000 or 200,000 yuan right off the bat. Do you think this money is so easy to earn?"

"Is it not easy?"

"Pretty easy, right?"

"You just stood at the stall for a while, said a few words to people, and you made the money."

"It's still Uncle who wants us to cooperate with you in this act for my old man, to show him how hard it is to sell vegetables at the market, how difficult it is to earn money, blah blah blah, and then he turns over a new leaf~"

"..."

Chen Jiazhi had long anticipated that this would backfire, but luckily he was quick-witted and understood the value of paid knowledge.

"You can't just call him 'Old Deng' like that. Show some respect to your dad. He's very capable too."

The word "Lao Deng" is a Northeastern dialect term. Chen Jiazhi used it once or twice by chance, and people remembered it.

"Are you as good as me?"

"He might be a bit better at fighting than his uncle."

Chen Jiazhi wanted to laugh when he heard this.

Kids, you're way too far from trying to stir things up!
Whether I can win or not is another matter, just don't say he's more handsome than me and see if I'll even bother with you.

Seeing that their attempts to provoke a conflict were ineffective, Yi Long and Yi Hu steered the conversation back to the main topic, seriously analyzing the market's revenue.

Hearing those numbers ending in ten thousand, I initially thought they were two big bosses chatting.
As a result, the hair didn't even grow in.

"Alright, stop talking. There are more cars now. Let me concentrate on driving."

"Boss Chen, please give us a number that will shut us up."

"..." Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "Adding everything up, the market should have earned 280,000 to 290,000 yuan today."

The two brothers gasped in unison at the cool morning air. Yi Long then asked, "How much of the kale did you sell?"

"A little over 23."

The car fell silent.

Chen Jiazhi ignored the two and focused on driving. After a while, he heard a leisurely sigh.

"Old Deng is right. Take a gamble, and you might turn a bicycle into a motorcycle. That's enough to buy two cars."

What exactly did they teach?

When they arrived home, the front door was locked, indicating that everyone had gone to the market.

Chen Jiazhi originally wanted his two nephews to go back and rest, but the two of them ended up going to the market with him.

The market was already bustling with activity, but everything was in perfect order. It looked incredibly vibrant and energetic, and the farmers wearing straw hats would occasionally shout out a few words in a loud voice.

It's much more exciting than the food stalls.

Yi Dinggan met Yi Long and Yi Hu at the edge of the vegetable field, assuming the two were about to go to work in the fields.

"Now you know how hard it is to make money, huh? Alright, go back now. I don't need you guys to make money."

uh~
Old Deng, are you misunderstanding something?
Yi Long and Yi Hu silently bypassed Yi Dinggan and ran quickly towards one end of the vegetable field.

Yi Dinggan looked in the direction the two went, and Chen Jiafang was also there, so he assumed that the two were going to help.

He walked to Chen Jiazhi's side, his face full of satisfaction.

"They still have to go sell vegetables and suffer a bit. These two boys have matured a lot overnight and know to help out."

"Hmm~ Is it possible that they went to slack off?"

Yi Dinggan was taken aback, and looked up again, but could no longer see his two sons.

“They went out and set off the traps when it was getting dark yesterday.”

slap~
Yi Dinggan lit a cigarette with Chen Jiazhi's lighter. "Aren't they tired?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "I got up at two o'clock, slept for one or two hours on the way, and had nothing to do when I got to the stall, so I let them observe me for an hour, then ate breakfast and came back and slept all the way."

"..." Yi Dinggan: "How could you have nothing to do?"

"They were already sold out when we got there." The two sat on the edge of the field, and Chen Jiazhi said, "Besides, things are different now. Do you think we're still pedaling bicycles with all our might?"

"At the very least, you'd have to move it up and down, right?"

"No need, we can hire someone."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "These past two days, we haven't even had to hire anyone. People who come to buy groceries are carrying them themselves."

Yi Dinggan laughed too. That's how a market should be. But then he thought of his two rebellious sons and got a headache.

"Stop thinking about making them suffer. We've suffered enough, so it's time to let them taste some sweetness."

"I heard that sons should be raised frugally so they won't squander the family fortune."

"What a mess. Mencius' original words were 'Raise sons with hardship to cultivate their ambition, raise daughters with wealth to cultivate their virtue.' It means you should cultivate their sense of responsibility and commitment, not force them to endure hardship."

Chen Jiazhi paused, and after he had processed the information, he said, "You just want them to suffer without any real hardship."

(End of this chapter)