1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 396 Buy It
Chen Jiazhi received a positive response to the invitation extended by the local authorities.

Xiaolou Town and Lapu Village both agreed to organize a team to visit Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

Tall-stemmed cabbage is one of the more common vegetables in the central and northern parts of Zengcheng, but compared with famous and special products such as lychee and silk rice, tall-stemmed cabbage has never been valued.

The leaves are used to feed poultry, and the heart of the cabbage is used as a vegetable. People usually just plant some around their houses, and few people plant it in their food fields, let alone cultivate it on a large scale.

Therefore, Lai Xiaoshan, the village secretary of Lapu Village, was very surprised and suspicious when he learned that someone wanted to rent two or three hundred acres of land to grow tall cabbage.

Lai Xiaoshan hesitated because the investment offered to him was impossible to refuse, but the other party's requirement that the village organize the land rental made him hesitate.

Firstly, land is the lifeblood of farmers, and it is very difficult to get them to rent out their farmland for food production.

Secondly, although the stems and leaves of the tall-stemmed Chinese cabbage are thick and the leaves are sweet and crisp, is it worthwhile to cultivate it on a large scale? Can it really become popular in the Pearl River Delta as the other party claims?

If we fail and leave behind a mess, how will we face the villagers?

But these doubts were resolved after the other party extended the invitation: it's always good to go and take a look.

If the other party has the capability, it wouldn't hurt to try acquiring two or three hundred acres of land.

If it really becomes popular in the Pearl River Delta one day, the future potential of tall cabbage is unimaginable.

Besides Lapu Village, this model can be extended to other villages to encourage more people to develop.

Therefore, both the village committee and the town committee accepted the invitation to conduct an inspection.

That day, Lai Xiaoshan arrived at the village group in the east of the village, and the team leader, Tian Chengze, also organized the heads of households in the group to their own courtyards.

Lai Xiaoshan publicly announced that a boss had come to invest in renting land to grow vegetables, which immediately caused an uproar.

"Secretary Lai, if we rent out the land, what will we eat?"

"I won't rent it. Let whoever wants to rent it can rent it. What future is there in growing tall cabbages? Are you going to sell them to feed pigs?"

In an instant, all sorts of sounds came out. Lai Xiaoshan waved his hand and shouted for a while before the team members quieted down.

"Once you rent out the land, others will pay rent. With that money, will you still be worried about not being able to buy rice and oil?"

"Moreover, growing vegetables also requires people to do the work. The vegetable vendor promised to hire local people, and they can earn three or four hundred yuan a month right at their doorstep, which is much better than farming."

When money and wages were mentioned, the scene became noisy and full of different opinions.

"Quiet down, quiet down!"

After things quieted down again, Lai Xiaoshan said, "It is said that this company has a very big business. The vegetables they grow can be sold to Hong Kong and Macau, and they also have an export business. But the village and town are worried that they might be scammers."

"Therefore, the town and villages will organize visits to the vegetable vendors' markets and companies. I'm here today to ask if anyone is interested in renting out their land. You can also come along for the visit."

"Secretary Lai, is it okay if I go?"

"The vegetable vendor has his eye on your group's land and asked me to try my best to invite everyone from each household to come, with each household sending a representative, and the others providing transportation and meals."

"Hey, this company has a really good eye for talent."

“Our land is indeed good.”

Like other villages, the majority of people remaining in Lapu Village are middle-aged and elderly, with fewer young people, most of whom have gone out to work.

It is a common perception that farming is hard work and doesn't make much money.

With chartered transportation and meals included, many people were tempted to check it out, thinking, "What if it doesn't work out? I'll just treat it as a freebie!"
With this mindset, Lai Xiaoshan felt that his work was relatively easy, except for a few individuals.

...

Under the slanting sunlight, the car drove along the cement road beside the Zengjiang River. On the other side was the Hexiangu Scenic Area, with its beautiful natural scenery.

However, Chen Jiazhi only glanced at it from the car and didn't have time to climb up the mountain to see it.

Two buses carrying dozens of villagers followed behind his car.

A few hours later.

The villagers then appeared in the vegetable fields of Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

In addition to the large vegetable fields, the cold storage facilities, foam box factories, and seedling sheds were also introduced.

It was very simple, but enough to learn a lot. Meanwhile, a truck was loading goods in front of the cold storage.

All of this allows people to have a direct understanding and recognize the strength of the market.

At least the rent and wages can be guaranteed, and there will be no major damage to the local land.

Two buses came and went in a hurry. Chen Jiazhi followed and took some representatives to the distribution center, where he introduced the whole process of promoting Shuidong chicken heart mustard and how popular it is now.

In less than six months, the daily sales of vegetables in one locality reached more than 3 jin, and the market demand could not meet the supply.

Zengcheng tall cabbage has too many similarities, and it is entirely possible that it will replicate the development process of chicken heart mustard.

At this point, the local authorities no longer had any doubts and agreed to assist Kaopu Fresh in promoting the construction of the late-season cabbage base.

Next comes the signing of the contract, and then the land will be handed over and measured after this batch of rice is harvested.

After signing the contract, Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun prepared to leave that same day.

"Old Guo, Xue Jun and I have basically finished our work. The rest depends on your efforts."

After they left, Guo Mancang will remain in Xiaolou Town to do some preliminary work and then wait for the land to be handed over.

This made Guo Mancang somewhat uneasy.

"Boss, you need to transfer some people to me!"

"Find your former boss and ask him to send someone to you."

His old boss is Yi Dinggan, and he's been getting increasingly angry lately. "Boss, we need you to step in."

Chen Jiazhi scratched his head. "Skilled workers are unlikely, and I also think you need grassroots managers who can speak Cantonese to help you communicate with the local villagers. I can get two people from the market for you, but you should also use this time before the land handover to recruit one or two people locally, preferably through recommendations from the town or village committee..."

People recruited through connections may have skill deficiencies, but they are more familiar with the local situation and are more suitable than those who can only grow vegetables.

When running a vegetable market in a different location, learning how to interact with locals is a crucial aspect.

Otherwise, there's a possibility of investing millions, only to find that after two or three years, not a single vegetable has been transported out of the village.

"Okay, I'll do my best."

Guo Mancang nodded. He had finally become the farm manager, so naturally he wouldn't back down.

Moreover, the preliminary communication work has been almost completed, and after acquiring the land, he will enter the field he is most familiar with.

"Please call us immediately if you have any questions."

After leaving Zengcheng County, Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun went to Shenzhen.

In Shenzhen, many vegetable markets and lands have been nationalized and belong to Shenzhen Fruit and Vegetable Trading Company, which in turn entrusts them to Vegetable Base Company for management.

Vegetable base companies often lease out entire areas of vegetable fields and land to businesses and private owners.

Some private business owners operate their own vegetable markets, but most subcontract three to five acres to numerous small vegetable farmers.

In addition, there are some vegetable gardens scattered in remote corners of the city.

The above describes the main vegetable gardens in the suburbs of Shenzhen.

Similar situations exist in the suburbs and remote areas.

From the suburbs to the far suburbs and back to the suburbs, Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun traveled back and forth in Shenzhen several times, meeting all sorts of people, but they still couldn't find a satisfactory location.

at the same time.

Shanghai Stock Exchange.

The slightly chubby Tan Wangji stood at the port, looking at the container of vegetables that had been successfully loaded onto the ship, feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

"Finally, they're gone. It wasn't easy."

Ao Dehai, who came along, silently took out three cigarettes and gave one to Tan Wangji and one to Qi Yongfeng.

"Practice makes perfect. With this experience, we won't have so many problems next time."

Tan Wangji pursed his lips. "There's also broccoli down there, and I have no experience with that either."

Ao Dehai smiled and said, "We've come this far despite all the difficulties. With the support of foreign trade orders, the vegetable market has truly come back to life."

Thinking about the tasks that headquarters had recently assigned to the vegetable market, Ao Dehai felt incredibly relaxed.

The price difference between local sales and exports is like night and day.

Qi Yongfeng felt much the same way as Ao Dehai. "Let's go back to the market, take a walk in the fields, pick out some good broccoli to cut, and send out the samples as soon as possible."

"Let's go, let's try to ship the next container of goods as soon as possible!"

The three of them rushed back to the market, where two hundred acres of broccoli fields stretched out neatly, like a line of troops.

Ao Dehai and Qi Yongfeng each took a knife and stared intently at the broccoli in the flower bushes, selecting those that met the required specifications.

Their energetic and dedicated demeanor impressed Tan Wangji, who thought to himself that his boss's loyal followers truly lived up to their reputation.

...

Three days later, a cargo ship that had departed from Shanghai docked at the port of Hakata.

After a series of procedures and transfers, Taihang Co., Ltd. received a container of green vegetables imported under the guidance of Saito Yo, and quickly put them into the company's channels for sale.

Just one day later, Yoshikawa Masaru, the deputy head of the marketing department, arrived at Saito Yo's office, his voice preceding his arrival.

"Saito-kun, I think you can start preparing to import another batch of vegetables from China."

Saito Yo was squatting on the ground examining the newly received broccoli samples when she heard this. She looked up and asked, "Is the market feedback very good?"

Yoshikawa Masaru stared at the broccoli in his hand for a moment, "It's cheap and of good quality. This kind of vegetable is very popular with the citizens."

Where did this broccoli come from?

Saito Yo stood up and handed him a flower, saying, "It looks like it's of pretty good quality."

"It looks beautiful, is it an American product?" Yoshikawa asked uncertainly.

Taihang Co., Ltd. also has a broccoli business, which is mostly imported from the United States; however, it seems unnecessary to send separate samples.

Saito Yo shook his head and said, "The vegetables you mentioned earlier come from the same Chinese company. You've come at the right time. Besides the vegetables, I also plan to purchase broccoli from this company later."

Yoshikawa was somewhat surprised. It wasn't hard to understand why Japan imported vegetables from China; Japan had been importing spinach from Shandong for a long time.

However, this was the first time he had ever encountered broccoli from China.

But this box of samples in front of him couldn't be faked, and Saito Yo wouldn't joke about something like this.

Moreover, the broccoli at this time of year...

Yoshikawa asked impatiently, "When is the earliest you can arrive at the port?"

“There might be more than two hundred tons of goods in a week.” Saito Yo understood what Yoshikawa Masaru was thinking and smiled, “It perfectly avoids the seasonal import tariffs.”

"Buy it!"

"We'll take all two hundred tons!"

(End of this chapter)