1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 374 Water Mustard Seeds Re-released
The March sun is warm and bright.

In the Pengcun mustard green base, nestled between mountains and the sea, the neatly arranged field ridges divide the mustard green fields into orderly areas.

Large swathes of mustard greens are neatly arranged, resembling a green ocean, with lush green leaves and thick, upright stems.

Countless vegetable farmers were also busy at the base, some fertilizing, some watering, and some weeding.

At the edge of the base, a gravel road runs through the area.

Next to the gravel road is a cluster of houses built with corrugated steel sheets, which serve as the living and working areas for the Pengcun mustard greens base.

Village Party Secretary Du Jianfeng arrived in a hurry.

"Director Ao, what are you writing?"

Ao Deliang, who was sitting on the ground, replied, "I'm thinking about how to arrange the harvesting tomorrow."

Du Jianfeng came for this very reason. "Liu Haitao has been looking for people all over the village these past two days. I heard he needs to find dozens or even hundreds of people. Is this also arranged by Director Ao?"

“Yes,” Ao Deliang said. “I sent him, Secretary Du. Is there a problem?”

Du Jianfeng asked in surprise, "How many vegetables are you planning to buy to sell?"

Without hesitation, Ao Deliang said, "Tomorrow's plan is to sell 2.3 jin of mustard greens, so there are quite a few people who want them."

Du Jianfeng gasped, "Collecting 2.3 jin in one day, isn't that too much? Can we sell it all?"

Even with his good temper, Ao Deliang was starting to get impatient.

“Secretary Du, the villagers have been discussing every day recently that too much mustard greens have been planted and they can’t be sold. You didn’t stop them. The secretary also advised me not to plant too much at once.”

Why is it that now when I harvest more vegetables to sell, the Party Secretary is advising me not to harvest too many?
Or are the villagers trying to get daily wages again?

Ao Deliang had heard rumors circulating in the village, and even among the migrant workers, there were similar discussions.

If you plant the same vegetable on 300 acres of land, will you be able to sell it all?

Although there are batches of sowing and transplanting, many people still believe that the market may be in trouble and may be poorly managed.

Because of the sluggish vegetable market at the time, there was even a farce where some workers demanded daily wages.

The village committee also intervened, but it was practically as if they didn't. Fortunately, the funds from above were disbursed in time, and the base had sufficient funds in its accounts, so it weathered the storm without serious incident.

Du Jianfeng remained calm and said, "No, I was just worried that you bought too much and wouldn't be able to sell it all at once. The weather is getting warmer now, and vegetables can't be kept for long."

Ao Deliang gave a slight nod, "You don't need to worry about that. The company must be confident that they can send so many vegetables over."

That's 2.3 jin!

Du Jianfeng was somewhat surprised and asked, "How much does mustard greens cost per pound in Huacheng?"

"I don't know about that. I'm only in charge of production; selling vegetables is someone else's job."

Ao Deliang lowered his head again, occasionally grunting, and Du Jianfeng, feeling awkward, left.

He sat for a while longer before Liu Haitao returned to inform him that the personnel organization was complete.

At this point, the personnel, ice packs, vehicles, and small tools were all ready, and all that was left was for the boss's plastic baskets.

As the sun set, Ao Deliang came to the vegetable field again to check on the day's work.

I ran into a worker carrying a water pipe and asked, "Have you watered the mustard greens that I'm going to harvest tomorrow?"

"Yes, I did. You specifically told me to, Manager, how could I forget?" the worker replied loudly with a laugh, then asked curiously, "Manager, do we have to harvest all five or six acres tomorrow? I watered them all."

Ao Deliang calmly agreed, but the workers who heard him kept asking.

"Manager, how much does mustard greens cost per pound?"

"Do you have one piece?"

"If we can sell these vegetables for 1 yuan per kilogram, we can make 20,000 to 30,000 yuan a day!"

"Now some people don't have to worry about not getting their wages!"

"You're dreaming. With so many vegetables harvested, how could the price be so high? At most, it'll be a few cents."

"Tch~ Even if it's just a few cents, there's no need to worry about the market not paying wages. Some people are shameless too."

Ignoring the workers' chatter, Ao Deliang went to the plot of land where the harvest would take place the next day.

As the setting sun shines through the gaps in the mustard leaves, it gives the local red and yellow soil a unique color, which complements the mustard fields.

The scenery here is exceptionally beautiful.

Then he saw a truck loaded with white plastic vegetable baskets parked on the gravel road.

With that, the final preparations were complete.

Chen Jiazhi, inside the car, waved to Ao Deliang and sighed, "The rural scenery without industrial pollution is so beautiful!"

His gaze remained fixed on the vegetable field. As expected of Ao Deliang, Chen Jiazhi knew he had it all figured out as soon as he saw the pleasing layout of the vegetable field.

"That's why I came with you. The environment in the city is just awful. Even drinking water makes you tremble with fear. No wonder you'd rather drive a few extra hours to come and go on the same day."

"The countryside is so much better; even the air feels sweet."

Xue Jun, who has been working as both driver and bodyguard in the city recently, has a deeper understanding of the situation.

Seeing Ao Deliang wave in response, Xue Juncai drove the car into the residential and office area.

A row of simple houses built with corrugated steel sheets serves as a canteen, warehouse, and residence.

There is also a tall camphor tree in front of the house providing shade.

After getting off the bus, Chen Jiazhi stood by the camphor tree and said to Ao Deliang, who had rushed back, "This camphor tree is nice."

Ao Deliang laughed and said, "When the house was originally being built, the owner of the tree wanted to cut it down, but I thought it would be a pity, so I paid to buy it."

“That’s good,” Chen Jiazhi said. “With this tree, it will be cooler in the summer. I see there’s still room next to it, so we can plant a few more trees. This will provide shade for all the houses in this row.”

“Okay, now is a good time to plant trees.”

Ao Deliang smiled and said, "Planting trees is a good thing. It means that we are likely to develop in the long term. There are quite a few trees in Jiangxin Market, but the owner has never mentioned planting any more."

After exchanging only a few words, workers came to unload the plastic crates. Chen Jiazhi also inquired about other preparations, and everything was in order.

Then we visited the vegetable garden, which was so well-maintained that it looked like a work of art.

Chen Jiazhi definitely couldn't do it.

He doesn't want to spend a lot of time on trivial matters, but he's not averse to them either.

Just like when he first came to Jiangxin Vegetable Market, his room was a mess, but he liked how Li Xiu kept the house clean and tidy.

"Deliang, how did you do that?"

Ao Deliang, who was leading the way, didn't understand and looked at Chen Jiazhi with a puzzled expression.

"How did you manage to build a house, grow vegetables, and make them so beautiful in such a short time?"

Being praised.

Ao Deliang smiled, then stopped and surveyed the vegetable patch. "Probably because of the 200 million."

The 200 million yuan is an investment in the Pengcun base.

Chen Jiazhi was quite surprised by the answer, but also very satisfied.

Dinner was also eaten in the cafeteria, where they specially made stir-fried mustard greens. As soon as Chen Jiazhi took a bite, he knew it was just right.

After all, it's professionally cultivated, and they're more willing to invest. Even if the climate isn't as good as the previous crop, the taste hasn't suffered.

After finishing his meal, Chen Jiazhi called Chen Zhengxu back.

"The taste of the water mustard is just right."

"I'll have someone call the customer right away."

"The first shipment will be dispatched at the earliest tomorrow morning and will definitely arrive before 10 p.m. tonight."

“Okay, everything is arranged, including Shenzhen. Uncle, you can drive directly to Buji in Shenzhen. Little Bear will be waiting for you there.”

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow. It was slightly different from the plan; three truckloads of goods would be shipped tomorrow.

The two trucks, carrying a total of 10 tons, were to go to Huacheng, while the Isuzu truck, carrying 1.5 tons, was to go to Shenzhen. Originally, Chen Zhengxu was supposed to meet them in Shenzhen.

Aren't you going to Shenzhen?

Chen Zhengxu said, "The arrangements in Shenzhen are all set. I have arranged to meet someone at the wholesale market in Zhongshan tomorrow night, and I'll try to get into the Zhongshan and ZH markets as soon as possible."

Chen Jiazhi mentally reviewed the map and said, "Wait until the water mustard arrives tomorrow before setting off. Take two boxes of water mustard back to the market."

Chen Zhengxu asked in surprise, "What? Is it for your aunt?"

Chen Jiazhi quickly said, "Bring one more box. Give the other two boxes to Director Yi and have him pack them for Tongxingtai tomorrow. They're free. Also, write out a recipe and put it on the noodles."

Since Xia Youche doesn't want to pick up the goods, then Chen Jiazhi can just deliver them, right?
"..." Chen Zhengxu: "It has to be you, you're absolutely amazing!"

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "Don't have too high hopes. Maybe President Xia will refuse this dish."

It's no secret that Tong Hsing Tai has reduced its purchases as the supply from the market to the stalls has increased.

Not taking water mustard greens further suggests something is amiss.

Chen Zhengxu understood the situation, "After I finish dealing with things in Zhongshan, I'll head to Shenzhen. There are also merchants in Buji supplying Hong Kong every day. I'll try to give President Xia a surprise as soon as possible."

"Hahaha, I'm afraid it'll be a shock!"

It would be quite interesting if the water mustard seed entered the Hong Kong market through another route.

...

As dawn broke, the entire base was still shrouded in a thin mist.

At this time, the Pengcun mustard green base came alive, and Ao Deliang, along with Liu Haitao and other managers, began preparations in advance.

As the morning mist dissipated and the dew evaporated, hundreds of workers moved through the fields and began harvesting vegetables.

One cut and it's a plant.

One plant weighs about 100 grams.

Slightly smaller.

But they are also so fragile that they break easily during harvesting and transportation.

Harvesting vegetables, moving them, loading them onto trucks—everything proceeded smoothly, so much so that the first truck departed much earlier than expected.

While the workers were harvesting vegetables, Chen Jiazhi hurriedly went to another seedling nursery.

It was also very rudimentary.

The main task at present is to cultivate mustard seedlings for the mustard base.

But there were also pleasant surprises, as they surprisingly managed to conduct business with external partners.

It should be noted that the winter vegetable planting season is nearing its end, and the summer grain planting season is just around the corner, so very few people are planting vegetables.

It is truly remarkable that they can still conduct external business at this time.

However, there is little chance of significant improvement in the near future, and survival still depends on the water mustard base.

After visiting the seedling nursery, when we returned to the base, the Isuzu truck was loaded with about 1.5 tons of water mustard.

Without further delay, Chen Jiazhi left the base under the watchful eyes of Ao Deliang and many workers.

He never expected that even now, some people would still doubt that the market could pay wages.

With so many such good dishes, you could sell them at any price and still make enough to cover your wages.

Moreover, besides wages, Chen Jiazhi also had his eye on earning money from water mustard to build a seedling factory, a seedling substrate factory, or a new base.

Even if things don't go perfectly, we could at least double the size of the Pengcun water mustard base.
(End of this chapter)