1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 395 Lapu Village

Yi Dinggan paused, his wine glass momentarily frozen. "I'll headbutt you!"

"Forty tons were exported to Thailand and Indonesia. The stall needs to guarantee twenty to thirty tons of goods every day. Xue Chenglin and Yu Hong occasionally take goods starting at 20 tons. Xia has a truck and you agreed to add 5 tons per day..."

"One or two times is fine, but we can't rely on me entirely, as that would affect the subsequent plans."

Jiangxin Vegetable Market currently covers a total area of ​​900 mu (approximately 66.7 hectares). In April, the time from sowing to harvesting of leafy vegetables was shortened to less than 30 days.

If transplanted seedlings in plug trays are used in addition, this cycle can be shortened even further.

The variety of Chinese cabbage was changed to Sijiuxin, and the yield per mu can barely be maintained at around 2,000 jin.

Shanghai bok choy and romaine lettuce have similar growth periods to Chinese cabbage, but their yield per mu (a Chinese unit of area, approximately 0.067 hectares) can reach 4000 jin (a Chinese unit of weight, approximately 0.5 catties).

However, in order to maintain high output, the crop rotation has been very close recently.

It can hold up for a short time, but in the long run it will not only fail to hold up, but will also disrupt the planting plan.

Based on past experience, Yi Dinggan believes that Thais and Indonesian Chinese may still purchase goods in the future.

"Thankfully, we applied enough organic fertilizer in the early stages, otherwise the quality and yield of the vegetables would only get worse and worse."

"But it has been a long time since the last application of organic fertilizer, and some plots have not been fertilized with organic fertilizer for almost a year."

"I've always wanted to fertilize, but I need to allow myself time to do so."

"We also plan to try our luck with typhoon-related market trends. But how can we try if we don't lay a solid foundation?"

Yi Dinggan launched into a long speech, which Chen Jiazhi listened to attentively throughout.

As the number and scope of customers increase, the supply chain becomes more fragile.

Not having food on hand not only makes me uneasy, but it also makes my customers uneasy.

The market channels have been able to develop so well because of more stable supply and quality.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jiazhi said, "The new market will be built soon."

"In addition to the late-season cabbage base in Xiaolou Town, Zengcheng, another vegetable market will be built near Shenzhen. The new vegetable market will be responsible for the customers in Shenzhen."

“The Pengcun and Shanghai bases will also be expanded, and the Shanghai base can also ship goods to the south. But now we are adjusting the planting structure, and the vegetables need time to grow. If we hold on a little longer, these problems can be solved.”

Chen Jiazhi raised his glass, clinked it with Yi Dinggan and Xue Jun, and the three of them drank the wine.

Yi Dinggan added, "There are also follow-up typhoon market plans. I need a month to adjust them and carry out a comprehensive disinfection, fertilization, and deep tilling of the vegetable market."

Otherwise, with such intensive planting, I'm afraid we won't be able to withstand it. If the pests break out in the summer, dozens of acres could be completely destroyed overnight.

Chen Jiazhi nodded, "I will coordinate with Ao Dehai to have him adjust the planting structure, grow more Chinese cabbage and kale, and ship more to the south in May."

"That's pretty much it."

With the small arched canopy, typhoons are not actually that scary; what's most frightening is the torrential rain that typhoons bring.

In addition to focusing on varieties and soil quality, the market also has a cold storage facility with a capacity of 300 tons.

The distribution center has also successively established three small cold storage facilities in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai.

Cold storage services have also been introduced to the Jiangnan Market.

Therefore, Chen Jiazhi's idea in dealing with the typhoon situation was to make full use of cold storage facilities.

We maintain a certain level of storage capacity under normal circumstances, and then harvest another batch before a typhoon and put it into storage.

This way, you won't miss any market trends.

The prerequisite is that the vegetables are grown.

Yi Dinggan has been working on the front lines of planting for a long time, so there's nothing wrong with his thinking.

No matter how strong your market channels are, it's all for naught if there's no vegetable supply.

They chatted until late at night, and Chen Jiafang and Li Xiu had already finished eating and washing up.

"Stop talking about work, finish your drink quickly, wash up and get some rest, it's almost one o'clock."

"okay."

I go to bed late and get up early.

The next day, before dawn, the family hurriedly went to the market again.

There's dew in the morning, so we can't harvest the vegetables too early, but there's still a lot of work we can do.

Planting seedlings in the vegetable field, packing and loading vegetables after pre-cooling, etc.

Has the refrigerated truck arrived yet?

"On its way, it will arrive in half an hour."

"Okay, the packing and boxing are almost done. We can load the truck as soon as it arrives. Tell the workers to get ready."

"OK."

The busy yet orderly work began as soon as the workers took their posts and the vehicles arrived.

While planting seedlings and harvesting vegetables, they also packed and loaded them onto trucks. The two containers of vegetables bound for Thailand and Indonesia set off in the morning.

However, there are still a series of procedures to follow. To complete the entire process, we need to wait for the importer to receive the goods and for the local market to react. The whole process is a bit lengthy.

Chen Jiazhi stood by the roadside, oblivious to the scorching sun shining on him.

In the market, newly cleared plots are being weeded, followed by a series of disinfection procedures in preparation for the typhoon season.

The development of vegetable production in China seems to be a process of fighting against the weather.

In the north, there are greenhouses that provide warmth in winter to combat the cold, while in the south, there are small arched sheds to protect against wind and rain. This leads to a complementary relationship between production areas. Chen Jiazhi is well aware that the market in the south is booming during the summer.

Many preparations have been made for this, and in addition to Jiangxin Vegetable Market, the Lianzhou cooperative base and the Shanghai base are also likely to bring harvests.

In the afternoon, after sorting out all the tasks, Chen Jiazhi finally paid attention to the research department of the vegetable market.

Seedling cultivation, grafting, plant protection, soil and fertilizer management, and equipment are all within the scope of the research department's work.

After expanding recruitment, the company now has 5 technical personnel.

We have gradually achieved some results, and recently we completed the formulation and proportioning of the seedling substrate.

Seed preservation, purification and rejuvenation, plant protection and soil and fertilizer programs, and equipment improvements have also been ongoing.

Recently, an adaptability screening of more than 200 varieties of solanaceous and cucurbit vegetables was carried out at once.

The workload is quite heavy.

Chen Jiazhi only mentioned improvements to the micro-sprinkler irrigation system and did not interfere further. The ultimate goal of the research department was still to serve the production of vegetables in the market.

After spending two or three days dealing with the affairs of the vegetable market, Chen Jiazhi took Xue Jun and Guo Mancang to Zengcheng again.

The construction of the base can no longer be delayed.

In the two days since Xue Jun returned, he has shared all the information he knows with Chen Jiazhi and Guo Mancang.

Zengcheng was originally a poverty-stricken county belonging to Huacheng. Five years ago, the county still had 144 impoverished villages, but with the city's targeted poverty alleviation efforts, all of them were lifted out of poverty three years ago.

Cement roads have been laid in all towns within the county.

Xiaolou Town is considered an average student among these towns, and it is located near the Zengjiang River, with relatively good transportation and economic conditions.

The place Xue Jun chose is called Lapu Village, an ancient village with a history of over 800 years. A few years ago, it was the location of the town government.

It was larger than the county's current town government, had a larger population, and was one of the most important distribution centers for agricultural products in the area.

To the east of Lapu Village lies a vast expanse of fertile farmland, encompassing over a thousand mu (approximately 67 hectares) across several villages.

Furthermore, the Erlong River flows through it.

Chen Jiazhi and Guo Mancang followed Xue Jun to this place, where they were greeted by lush green rice seedlings and shallow water where they could see the bottom at a glance.

In autumn and winter, peanuts, sugarcane, or various vegetables will be planted.

Among them is late-maturing cabbage, which locals usually call tall-legged cabbage. The leaves are used as fodder, and the heart is used as a vegetable. It has been cultivated continuously for a long time.

Last year, when Xue Jun and Li Cai came looking for Zengcheng late-season cabbage, they may have fallen into a misconception and couldn't find it. Finally, Chen Jiazhi came and found a few plants in someone else's orchard.

Although late-season Chinese cabbage is not widely grown in places like Xiaolou Town, it is not difficult to find.

This may be Chen Jiazhi's disadvantage. He knows that a certain dish is good and has high market potential, but he also relies on hearsay for many things, which is not as good as what the locals say.

The three of them walked around the land, which was surrounded by green hills and clear waters, and was often shrouded in morning mist. Such an environment could indeed produce good vegetables.

In terms of water resources, soil, transportation, and labor, this land is impeccable, even eliminating the need for the anticipated tree felling.

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said to Xue Jun, "Not bad, you have a good eye. It seems we'll have to rely on you more for site selection in the future."

Xue Jun laughed heartily, "It's good that I can be of help."

Because he served as Chen Jiazhi's driver and 'bodyguard' for a long time, Xue Jun had been to many places and met many people, so his knowledge in this area was indeed stronger than that of others.

Chen Jiazhi then asked, "How's the contact with the locals going?"

Xue Jun shook his head. "It's not very optimistic. Many farmers here still rely on farming for a living. If you want to rent more than 300 mu of contiguous land, you have to sign contracts with at least 200 households."

"Should we talk to the village?"

“The village also has its concerns.” Xue Jun pointed to a citrus grove on a slope not far away.

"Just like planting citrus, we vigorously promoted it, and the trees were planted and reached their peak fruiting period, but they couldn't be sold at a good price, which was a big blow to the local people."

"So, when they heard that we wanted to rent land to grow vegetables, and even encouraged the planting of tall cabbages, the farmers were hesitant, and the village officials were also skeptical, but at the same time they wanted to give it a try, since farmers don't have many ways to make money."

Currently, the average rural income in Zengcheng County is over 2000 yuan, and the economic conditions in Lapu Village are not bad either.

However, the income from farming is still far behind that from working in the city. For example, the per capita income in Zengcheng city has reached more than 5000 yuan during the same period, which is more than twice that of rural areas, and there is even a trend of further expansion.

During his communication with relevant officials, Xue Jun also presented tangible incentives such as income from working and land rental.

These factors can attract local village officials, but they are not enough to convince them to support the work.

Chen Jiazhi did indeed have his eye on this land, but he didn't need a thousand acres; two or three hundred acres would be enough.

However, he felt that he still needed to demonstrate certain strength in order to successfully lease the land.

Otherwise, negotiating with each villager individually would result in excessively high land rental costs.

With that thought in mind, an idea came to me.

"In this way, we invited township and relevant village officials and local dignitaries to visit Jiangxin Vegetable Market and Kaopu Fresh Food."

“Aren’t they worried about not being able to sell their products? Introducing them to water mustard should be quite persuasive.”

Chen Jiazhi did not know how Zengcheng late-season cabbage became popular in later generations.

But it will definitely require a lot of promotion from people.

Kaopu Fresh is now fully capable of taking on this role, enabling Zengcheng late-season cabbage to enter thousands of households in the Greater Bay Area sooner.

This would likely be more convincing.

At the same time, having market channels at hand means that they are not at a complete disadvantage in their dealings with local communities.

(End of this chapter)