1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 378 Italian Lettuce
Feeling the soft touch on his forehead disappear, Chen Jiazhi said with his eyes closed, "Xiu, massage for a little longer~"

"It's getting dark, time to go home."

Chen Jiazhi opened his eyes and, looking through the back window of the office, could only see darkness.

Just then, another mocking voice rang out from the side, "Do you need me to massage you for a while?"

Chen Jiazhi turned his head and saw that, in addition to Li Xiu, Yi Dinggan had also arrived at the door at some point.

"You've come at just the right time."

"What, did I ruin your plans?"

Yi Dinggan walked into the office with a suspicious look in his eyes. Chen Jiazhi, sensing something was wrong, quickly grabbed the cigarettes and lighter.

Yi Dinggan said with dissatisfaction, "Li Xiu, look at his agility, it's obviously an act, there's nothing wrong with his body at all."

Li Xiu said, "He's rested for a while and recovered."

Yi Dinggan was taken aback, feeling a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection), and sighed sourly, "If I had known you were up there, I shouldn't have come up. Let's go, let's go back for dinner."

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu tidied up the office and then walked home with them.

The evening breeze was a little cool. Chen Jiazhi held Li Xiu's hand and asked, "How did the grafting of the seedlings go today?"

Li Xiu's parents have returned, full of energy. As soon as they arrived in Huacheng, they felt ready to take care of the child, freeing Li Xiu up from her duties.

Li Xiu chose to lead the grafting team.

"It's alright, the workers are becoming more and more skilled."

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you come and help me manage personnel? I'm too busy."

With the establishment of branches in Shenzhen, Zhongshan, and Zhuhai, as well as the expansion of the base, the company's human resources work has become increasingly crucial.

Li Xiu nodded slightly, "Then you have to teach me."

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "Alright, I'll have time tonight to teach you."

The grip on his hand suddenly tightened, and Chen Jiazhi pretended to be serious, "What are you thinking? I really intend to teach you."

"..."

Yi Dinggan, who was walking ahead, suddenly quickened his pace.

The journey home was short, but Chen Jiazhi felt relaxed as he walked home; after all, it was time to get off work.

When he got home, two dogs, one black and one white, were wagging their tails and circling around Yi Dinggan.

Chen Jiazhi shouted, "Black paparazzi, come here."

As soon as the black puppy raised its head, Yi Dinggan stroked its fur, and the black puppy lay down on the ground enjoying the stroke.

Chen Jiazhi called for the white dog again, and Yi Dinggan used the same trick again, with both dogs lying comfortably at his feet.

"Hey, I don't believe it! Black paparazzi, white paparazzi, have you forgotten who your master is!"

Faced with Yi Dinggan's tyranny, the black-and-white paparazzi seemed innocent-looking.

Yi Ding chuckled dryly and said, "Things have changed. Now I take them out to patrol the fields every day, so naturally they listen to me."

"Tch, you only managed to win over these two idiots because I'm away from home every few days."

I haven't seen you walk the dog these past two days.

"Alright, alright, you're all grown up, and you're still fighting over two dogs. Go wash your hands and come eat." Peng Guozhen scolded the two of them, then called upstairs, "Xiaolong, Xiaohu, come down and eat first before doing your homework. I made your favorite ginger rabbit for dinner tonight!"

"You guys are something else, keeping so many rabbits at home. After we leave, you won't kill any more rabbits to eat?"

"Now all the rabbits are big and fat."

Only Yi Dinggan's family stayed here for the New Year. Chen Jiazhi said, "We're busy planting seedlings during the New Year. We're busy from morning till night. How can my second sister have time to cook? You'd be better off relying on me than my brother-in-law."

Yi Dinggan raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with me?"

Yi Ding chuckled dryly and poured him a drink. "I told you you were busy during the New Year, you're a great contributor, and you didn't even have time to cook."

"That's more like it." Yi Dinggan accepted the wine with satisfaction.

At this moment, Yi Long also came down and said, "Grandma, during the New Year, Xiao Hu and I were also chased by my old man to the fields to plant seedlings."

Chen Shaochang, who was with his grandson, chimed in, "Are you that busy?"

Yi Long nodded and said, "Yes, there were fewer people working on New Year's Day. My parents spent most of the day watering the seedlings."

The whole family took their seats.

Yi Hu also said, "The kale we planted was sold out a few days ago, and it sold very well."

Yi Long: "We sold over 300 million worth of kale alone..."

Wow, it's selling so well!

"Then your hard work during the Spring Festival was quite worthwhile."

"That's why I didn't get to eat rabbit meat during the Chinese New Year. I wish my grandparents were here."

"Hey, here I am! If you want to eat anything in the future, just let me know. I'm good at raising and killing rabbits."

"Grandma, I want to eat spicy rabbit head."

“I’ll make it for you,” Peng Guozhen said with a smile. “I remember Li Xiu also likes spicy rabbit heads. I’ll kill a few more rabbits tomorrow.”

Li Xiu smiled, her eyes crinkling. Chen Jiazhi chimed in, "Mom, you can't forget about me!"

"Both, both~"

After eating and smoking a cigarette, Chen Jiazhi went to wash up first.

When he returned, he saw his father sitting on the sofa watching the news on TV. After noticing the news content, Chen Jiazhi also stopped watching.

"During the Two Sessions, opinions were raised regarding the current chaotic social security situation, and calls were made to take action to rectify social security and order."

A moment later, Chen Shaochang also noticed him, "They might be about to crack down again."

Chen Jiazhi was no stranger to this, and had even anticipated it. He was now reviewing the potential impact.

Chen Shaochang asked him to sit down, saying, "You need to be careful when you do business."

It's not safe to do business outside, and he also knows that Chen Jiazhi bought guns, and now the country has strengthened its control over this area.

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "Yes, I know."

After watching the news with him for a while, Chen Jiazhi returned to his room and sat down at his desk. "What are you writing now?"

Li Xiu walked in and said, "Your head hurts all night, so don't think about anything anymore and get some rest."

Chen Jiazhi pulled out a piece of paper from the bottom, placed it on top, and handed it to Li Xiu to look at.

"What are you thinking? I'm preparing to teach you how to manage personnel~"

The paper contained recruitment requirements provided by Chen Zhengxu and others, which Chen Jiazhi then compiled.

"You actually teach this?"

"What do you think?"

"I……"

The door was closed. Today, I didn't need to bring my son; it was just the two of us in our own little world.

...

The next day was a beautiful, sunny day.

Chen Jiazhi got up even earlier than Yi Dinggan. After a quick breakfast downstairs, he rode his bicycle, leading his two dogs, to the market.

Yi Dinggan, who was still squatting at his doorstep eating, stared at this for a good seven or eight seconds before angrily rebuking, "You're really inhuman! You even steal this!"

Chen Jiafang came out and took a look. "What's the big deal? Jiazhi hasn't inspected the fields for a few days, it's normal to go and check on him."

"Then why is he walking the dog?"

Yi Dinggan was unconvinced, so he ate a quick meal, got on his motorcycle, and headed to the market.

Chen Jiafang looked at Li Xiu, who had also come out to watch the commotion, and said with a hint of helplessness, "These two have to compare everything. It's so boring."

Li Xiu smiled and said, "Second Sister buys clothes, shoes, and schoolbags for Xiaolong and Xiaohu, and she always buys them in pairs."

...

The black and white paparazzi excitedly followed behind the bicycle.

Upon arriving at the market, Chen Jiazhi released the dogs from their leashes, and the two dogs leaped ahead to lead the way, occasionally turning back to bark as if to say: "Come on, keep up!"

Chen Jiazhi remarked with a sigh, "These patrol dogs have really been trained."

But before he could gloat for long, Yi Dinggan caught up on his motorcycle and shouted:

"Alright, leave the rest to me, you can go back now."

Chen Jiazhi replied, "I'm also inspecting the fields today to see how well you're managing them."

Yi Dinggan glanced at it and said, "You ride this thing?"

After its expansion last year, the market has grown to over 900 mu (approximately 67 hectares), and even a simple walk around the market is more than 3 kilometers long.

Moreover, the fields are divided into many plots by roads and ridges, making a complete patrol of the fields even more distant.

So although Chen Jiazhi often inspected the fields, he hadn't done a complete inspection in a long time.

"Let's ride it!"

Chen Jiazhi was determined to ride his bike around the area. "You don't need to worry about me, just do your thing and tell me where the lettuce is."

"In the southeast corner of the fourth group of the south section."

After saying that, Yi Dinggan sped up his motorcycle slightly and barked a few more times when he got to the two dogs.

The black and white paparazzi wagged their tails happily and ran after them.

Chen Jiazhi couldn't catch up even if he wanted to.

"Depend on!"

"This is so damn boring!"

...

Patrolling the fields can help a person relax and improve their mood.

Chen Jiazhi slowed down his cycling speed and occasionally got off to walk around.

Yes, it's definitely not from being tired.

The market is now divided into nine groups. By the time he saw lettuce in the fourth group in the south section, the sun had already risen.

The transplanted lettuce grows neatly on the vegetable bed, its leaves curled like petals with elegant wavy edges.

The leaves slowly unfurl, like a natural work of art.

Chen Jiazhi parked his bicycle to the side, got off, and squatted down. The outer layer of its leaves was emerald green, and the inner layer was pale yellow, with a natural color gradient.

It looks very comfortable.

He opened his palm, gestured, and muttered, "The plant is over 25cm tall, spreads out to 30cm, and has a beautiful row of plants."

Chen Jiazhi grabbed another handful of soil; it was very loose and mixed with incompletely decomposed feces and plant residue.

Then, he plucked another leaf, took a bite, and the crisp texture and abundant moisture instantly spread in his mouth.

At this point, Chen Jiazhi was certain of his decision.

The Italian lettuce is ready.

The lettuce seeds from the Nanjing Vegetable Research Institute have been successfully domesticated.

The question now is how to maximize our share of the first wave of benefits.
As one of the four major leafy vegetables of Yunnan, Yunnan is undoubtedly one of the most suitable places to grow lettuce in China.

Although it is possible to grow Italian lettuce in Guangdong during the summer and it is heat-resistant, its advantage is only relative to that of locally grown lettuce.

If supplied to Hong Kong, there will be no quality advantage.

Hong Kong and Macau rarely buy lettuce from the mainland in the summer, so where does it come from?

Chen Jiazhi vaguely remembered that they came from Taiwan and the United States. He planned to talk to Xia Youche again later, as he thought Xia Youche was very interested in lettuce.

In China, Yunnan is undoubtedly the only region that can compete with the United States and Taiwan in lettuce production.

It's just limited by transportation~
However, at this time, the cost of growing vegetables in Yunnan is also low. If the market price is good enough and there is sufficient demand, air freight may be an option.

Furthermore, is it possible that a crackdown would improve the road transport environment?
(End of this chapter)