1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 392 Summary
"The dishes were fantastic, Mr. Chen. I hope we can have a deeper collaboration."

Saito Yo pointed to the three green dishes on the table behind him, "If this goes well, I'll ask for more next time."

"For example, your lettuce tastes very good and is fresher than American lettuce."

Chen Jiazhi knew the word "lettuce" very well and understood its meaning immediately.

Another Japanese man, Naoto Murata, didn't give Mi Ziqi a chance to translate either, and asked first:

"Mr. Chen, do you have lettuce at your Shanghai base?"

"I'd like to add some more lettuce!"

After Mi Ziqi translated, Chen Jiazhi shook his head and said, "Shanghai doesn't grow lettuce. Even in Guangzhou, the current production of lettuce is very small, only enough to meet the local demand."

“I think you can order more lettuce, just like broccoli. I need quite a lot of it.” Naoto Murata picked up a lettuce leaf. “As long as you can achieve this quality, I can offer you a price that will satisfy you.”

Saito Yo echoed, "I think so too. Japan has a huge demand for lettuce, even more than for bok choy or romaine lettuce. Since you can grow such good lettuce, one of the most important things to do now is to expand the planting area."

Having understood what the two meant, Chen Jiazhi nodded slightly in agreement.

Without the two of them saying anything, he also intended to expand the lettuce planting area, but he was worried about the price of air-freighting it from Kunming.

"Air freight? Why air freight?"

Saito Ye was puzzled; growing lettuce in Shanghai was very convenient by sea.

Chen Jiazhi said, "I know there is a place in the inland that is particularly suitable for growing lettuce. Even in the hottest and rainiest months of July and August, it can produce lettuce of excellent quality. However, transportation is too difficult. Air freight would be much more convenient."

Saito Yo and Murata became increasingly interested, as there weren't many places where fresh vegetables could be grown in July and August.

Chen Jiazhi did not reveal the specific location, but repeatedly assured that vegetables could be grown there.

At this time, the Japanese were relatively unfamiliar with the domestic vegetable production areas, especially vegetables such as broccoli and lettuce, which were previously mainly imported from the United States and Taiwan.

Now is a crucial time to shift to imports from China.

Saito Yo and Murata discussed for a while before he said, "If there are high-quality lettuce available in July and August, we can try air freight."

It sounds nice, but Chen Jiazhi still believes that relying on air freight to build a leafy vegetable base in Yunnan is very risky.

Air freight can only be used as a supplement; road transport is the ultimate solution.

"It's too early to talk about that now. What I need to consider right now is expanding our base in Shanghai."

"Haha, that's how it should be."

From a purely business perspective, the communication between the two parties was quite pleasant. You needed to buy groceries, and I happened to have some. It was a win-win situation, making business very easy.

The challenge lies in whether they will have the opportunity to communicate with each other.

The Canton Fair is such a platform.

After having a meal and tea, Chen Jiazhi took Saito Yo and Murata to the clubhouse. They arrived late and hadn't finished exploring yet.

Chen Jiazhi spent the whole afternoon handing out flyers, but he probably ran out of luck and didn't get any.

It started raining again on my drive back to the office.

Once the rainy season begins, the heavens seem to have no end to their torrential rain; it rains every single day.

The sky was overcast, but this did not affect Chen Jiazhi's mood at all. He had signed two deals worth $4.4 in one day. Even if it were pouring rain, he would still be smiling.

As soon as the square-headed Jetta stopped at the door, Li Xiu came out of the house holding an umbrella.

"Jiazhi, how did things go this afternoon?"

"It was alright, I spent the whole afternoon handing out business cards."

Li Xiu was stunned for a moment before she reacted, "Just say you didn't get anything~"

"Haha, just kidding."

Mi Ziqi was still in the office. Perhaps because she had closed two deals today, she was in a good mood and got up to greet Chen Jiazhi.

Chen Jiazhi said, "Mi, you should be free today. You can go back to school early."

Mi Ziqi smiled. "It's alright, it's still early. I'll sit a little longer, just in case someone calls again later, like yesterday."

“That’s fine too. I need to go out for a bit later. I’ll have Mr. Xu drive you. If any guests are looking for you, you can go with Tan Wangji to talk.”

"Good~"

It was raining quite heavily, and it wasn't safe for Mi Ziqi to go home alone. She played a very good role as the translator today, and her professional skills are quite impressive.

This money was well spent.

It would be great if we could recruit people to work for the company long-term, but unfortunately, that's not our goal.

Li Xiu had already tested her, and it turned out that Mi Ziqi was determined to go abroad to seek development, which was why she was doing part-time work to earn money. There was no chance of recruiting her.

"By the way, Xiu, let's go out for dinner tonight. I'm meeting Xue Chenglin from Malaysia."

"it is good."

Chen Jiazhi stood at the door smoking, while Li Xiu stood beside him watching the continuous rain.

"If this rain keeps falling, how many more vegetables will rot in the fields? Jiazhi, the market shouldn't drop any further, right?"

"It's hard to say," Chen Jiazhi pondered. "It depends on the rainfall in different areas. Many farmers are using small greenhouses this year."

However, the planting in the vegetable market has been very balanced recently, so even if the market is good, we can still afford to eat some meat.

"I'm worried that if the rain lasts too long, it will affect the quality. We still have at least one container of goods to ship to Indonesia. A drop in quality that damages our reputation would be a real problem."

Leafy vegetables in Guangdong generally look unappealing in summer, and the high moisture content during the plum rain season makes them prone to problems during long-distance transportation.

The only option is to wait until the rain stops and the leafy greens have less moisture before harvesting them, which causes great trouble for the management of the vegetable market.

When the conversation turned to the market, Li Xiu said softly, "Jiazhi, I miss Doudou."

"We'll head back tomorrow afternoon. We've gotten enough from this trip." Chen Jiazhi stubbed out his cigarette, glanced at the dense rain, and said, "Let's go. It's about time to go now."

The dinner was held at Spruce Garden, and the atmosphere was just as harmonious.

Upon learning that the two Japanese men had placed orders and were very interested in broccoli, Xue Chenglin couldn't sit still any longer.

They also requested that broccoli samples be sent to Kuala Lumpur.

Chen Jiazhi has no problem with it. The total output of broccoli is expected to be over 200 tons, so the supply is sufficient. Finding more customers would be safer.

After drinking that night, Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu spent the night at Yunshan.

The next morning, he drove back to the office, where Ding Qiao and Chen Zhengxu were having a lively conversation.

Upon seeing Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu return, Ding Qiao immediately gave them a vivid report.

Due to yesterday's rain, vegetable prices have become polarized.

Vegetables with high water content are not selling well, while the stalls sell dried goods, which are in high demand.

Chen Jiazhi asked, "Does the market's cold storage still have any dried goods today?"

"There's still one day's worth of goods left." Ding Qiao pondered, "As long as the rain stops today or tomorrow morning, the market can organize the collection and storage of vegetables again."

"I'm afraid the rain will keep going."

"This weather is unpredictable; it doesn't look like it's going to be sunny today."

"It just depends on luck."

Chen Jiazhi then asked Chen Zhengxu, "How's the situation at the Pengcun base? Is this batch of chicken heart mustard almost finished being harvested?"

"If we can finish harvesting today, the next batch of seedlings will be transplanted tomorrow, and they will be a little smaller in size."

"But the quality difference is not significant, and the supply of mustard greens has been very stable in recent days."

"I don't plan to develop any new customers before the expanded base goes into production."

Chen Jiazhi nodded and said, "Yes, let's stop for a while and make it clear to people that high-quality chicken heart mustard can only be supplied seasonally at present."

"In addition, let's analyze the sales data of this batch of chicken heart mustard and its potential for next year to provide a reference for expanding the new base. We can only continue to increase the area if it's not big enough." "Okay."

"You guys go ahead with your work. I'm going to hand out business cards for another morning, and I'll be heading back this afternoon too."

"Um... Li Cai said he'd be back today, but he might leave in the evening. Should we wait for him?"

"Row."

Chen Jiazhi just wanted to learn about the situation in Lianzhou. He hadn't been to the 1,000-mu cooperative base yet, which would be a great supplement to his future supply channels.

The sky was overcast at this time of day, but that couldn't dampen the enthusiasm for the Canton Fair.

Chen Jiazhi spent the whole morning at the exhibition hall and actually made a purchase.

The Thai guy who came to inquire yesterday is here again. Today, Chen Jiazhi also brought a few small boxes of samples in his car. The Thai guy was very satisfied after seeing them and immediately ordered a whole container of goods.

Others have also consulted, but apart from helping him practice English, they haven't seen any other value in it.

In the afternoon, Chen Jiazhi did not go to the guild hall again.

This Canton Fair was quite fruitful. Indonesian Huang Junming, Japanese Saito Yo and Murata Naohito, and a Thai man reached a total of 4 cooperation agreements, 4 containers of vegetables, and a transaction amount of US$8.8.

In addition, potential partners for broccoli have also been identified.

As long as the samples sent out after a period of time meet the requirements, the sales of the 200 mu of broccoli at the Shanghai base will not be a problem.

However, once the order is secured, the subsequent execution is also crucial.

In the afternoon, Chen Jiazhi and Tan Wangji coordinated and connected with various parties in their office.

"Old Tan, send these containers of goods out. Go to Shanghai and complete the paperwork there. I'm afraid there might be some mistakes."

After spending the whole afternoon coordinating, the biggest problem was with the Shanghai market, where they were basically clueless about foreign trade procedures.

Tan Wangji sighed and said, "I'll go there as soon as possible. There's still a lot to do there. I'm afraid I won't make it in time if I go too late. I'm familiar with the procedures here in Huacheng, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"Okay." Chen Jiazhi patted him on the shoulder. "Thank you for your hard work this time. There will be a mid-year bonus in two months, and I'll give you a big red envelope then."

"That's daring."

The company's export business is expanding, but the relevant talent pool is not keeping up.

This made Chen Jiazhi a little anxious, and when Chen Zhengxu came downstairs, he called out to him.

"Zhengxu, you need to keep urging Mi Ziqi. When you settle her wages at noon, she promised to ask her classmates if anyone would be willing to work at the company."

Chen Zhengxu said with a bitter face, "Uncle, college students are all the pride of heaven. I feel there's no chance. We're just a company that sells vegetables. How many people would be interested in us?"

Chen Jiazhi raised an eyebrow: "How do you know it won't work if you don't even try?"

"Moreover, the country is gradually implementing a policy of not guaranteeing job placement after graduation, but offering higher salaries. I don't believe we can't recruit people."

"This is also an opportunity for you to find a partner; whether you can seize it is up to you."

"Don't underestimate yourself. So what if you sell vegetables? It's still a way to earn foreign exchange through exports!"

"If you meet a girl you like, you should boldly pursue her."

Chen Zhengxu blushed and silently sat down to work. After a while, he asked Jiang Xiaoyan to give Chen Jiazhi the information about mustard.

The previous crop of 300 mu of chicken heart mustard yielded a total of 107.3 million jin, which was slightly higher than expected.

Sales revenue would be even more substantial.

Apart from the initial price of 2.5 yuan/jin at the stall, the price of chicken heart mustard has generally been above 2.8 yuan/jin, while the delivery price is 3 yuan/jin.

This brought the total sales revenue of mustard to nearly 320 million yuan.

Not only does a single crop of vegetables recoup all costs, but it also generates a decent profit, making it a veritable money-printing machine.

Chen Zhengxu predicts that the sales target for mustard greens in the coming year will be 1500 million catties!

"Zhengxu, are you sure we can sell 1500 million catties of chicken heart mustard next year?"

"That's almost 15 times more than this year!"

Chen Zhengxu: "I am certain that, based on this year's promotional methods, achieving 1500 million jin in sales across all channels next year will be a breeze."

"It sounds like a lot, but it's actually only the yield of a thousand acres of land per year."

Chen Jiazhi laughed, "But it also means that next year, the sales of chicken heart mustard alone could reach tens of millions of yuan."

"Uh..." Chen Zhengxu choked, thinking that the number was indeed quite frightening.

Chen Jiazhi joked, "With such a large volume of business, why do you think that vegetable sellers are inferior?"
"I won't be short of your share of the profits either, so why don't you dare to marry a college student?"

Just then, Li Cai and Xue Jun walked in from outside. Xue Jun asked loudly, "Who wants to marry a college student?"

Chen Jiazhi: "Do you dare to marry me?"

"..." Xue Jun's eyes widened. "If you want to cause me trouble, just say so. Your third sister is listening in from outside."

"I asked Li Cai, 'Why are you interrupting me? Li Cai, do you dare to say that?'"

"If I like how he looks, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Mr. Xu wouldn't dare."

"Who said I wouldn't dare?"

"Then find one and bring him back!"

"..."

Chen Zhengxu felt he couldn't avoid this topic, and at the same time, Mi Ziqi's image kept lingering in his mind lately.

He knew that a relationship between them was impossible, but he always harbored fantasies.

At this moment, he made up his mind. If Mi Ziqi was no good, then he couldn't look for anyone else either.

"Okay, let's look for it!"

"Everyone heard it, right? It was President Xu who said it himself. I didn't force him."

The commotion in the office was a bit loud, and with Li Cai back, Li Xiu, who was chatting with Chen Jiaying in the sorting workshop, came in and stopped Chen Jiazhi from causing trouble.

It's not good to talk about this in public.

Chen Jiazhi was slow to realize this, and in front of Li Xiu, he repeatedly reminded himself to be mindful of his manners, manners, manners!

He's no longer that small-time vegetable farmer; he's a boss now, so how can he keep swearing like that?

After commotion for a while, Chen Jiazhi, Li Cai, and Xue Jun began to learn about the situation at the Lianzhou base.

The vegetable cooperative base, covering more than 6 mu, has already planted seedlings and is expected to be on the market in June.

The harvest season coincides with the hot and humid season in the Lingnan region.

Lianzhou has a high altitude and a relatively advantageous climate, and also has a small portion of grafted seedlings.

If the final feedback is good, it can make up for some of the disadvantages in supply during the summer.

Chen Jiazhi was quite confident.

...

Early morning is generally the time when goods arrive at the Hong Kong Cheung SW Market in large quantities.

As business continued to decline, Xia Youche did not stay at his stall to receive goods today. Instead, he walked through the wet market with an umbrella, observing the actions of his fellow vendors.

"There are more and more foam boxes."

"Hexing has also completely switched to refrigerated transportation using foam boxes, and bamboo baskets are becoming increasingly outdated."

Xia Youche was a little scared and regretful at this moment, even though he had seized the opportunity.

(End of this chapter)