1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 410 100 tons

The weather has cleared up, but many vegetable farmers are feeling disheartened.

Continuous rainfall has damaged many vegetable fields in areas such as Huacheng and Dongguan, causing melons, fruits, and leafy vegetables to die directly from flooding. The reduced supply has led to a surge in vegetable prices.

Chen Jiazhi checked the amount of vegetables arriving at each base and then took a plum to eat.

Jiangxin vegetable market was affected by the disaster, but early harvesting reduced losses, and they have already started planting new crops; Pengcun base also has no vegetables left.

But for the bustling vegetable markets in Shanghai and the cooperative base in Lianzhou, it is a good opportunity to make money.

A short while later, Li came downstairs to his office.

Chen Jiazhi pointed to the plums and bayberries on the plate, "Eat some fruit, it's a gift from farmers in Lianzhou, it's very delicious."

Upon hearing this, Li Cai also took a plum and said, "The vegetables from Lianzhou arrived this morning. Some were sent to Hong Kong, some were distributed, and the rest went to the stalls. Tonight, the bok choy and kale from the Fanrong Market will also arrive at the stalls."

Chen Jiazhi asked, "Will selling eggplants at the stall affect the sales of leafy vegetables?"

"Aside from taking up space, there's basically no impact. Vegetables are in short supply right now, and as soon as a truck enters the market, people start asking what kind of vegetables it's carrying, so sales are very fast."

Li Cai took another bayberry and ate it, frowning slightly.

Chen Jiazhi belatedly said, "We just ate plums, so it's best not to eat bayberries, they're very sour."

Li Cai picked out the last few plums from the plate and went to the stall to take over from Ding Qiao.

Tonight's task is quite demanding, involving approximately 100 tons of vegetables.

Besides supplying Hong Kong and distributing goods, the stall also has fifty or sixty tons of goods.

The 300 tons of vegetables at Jiangxin Market were sold out through various channels in just three days.

Walking down the street, Li Cai took another plum to eat. The sweetness outweighed the sourness, and he felt quite satisfied.

The Lianzhou cooperation base was initiated by Li Cai.

The current situation of both bumper harvest and good yield is enough to make him happy, as it means that his stall has a stable source of goods again.

In his office, Chen Jiazhi looked at the documents and pondered. There were still many opportunities in the market. Vegetable prices would rise immediately after the rainstorm.

Jiangxin vegetable market sold over 300 tons of inventory for more than 160 million yuan, not only recovering the market's losses but also making a profit.

As he was thinking, Chen Jiazhi subconsciously picked up a bayberry from the fruit plate and put it in his mouth. It was juicy enough, but too sour for him. The sourness made him shiver, but it was also very refreshing.

Chen Jiazhi abandoned his work, left the office, and put the plums and bayberries into the small cold storage. He figured they would taste even better after being chilled.

As night fell, a lot of vegetables arrived at the sorting center; at this time, the vegetables that arrived were usually from their own farms.

The bok choy and kale from the prosperous base, as well as various eggplants and tomatoes from Lianzhou.

Workers were busy moving and sorting things, and Li Xiu was helping out, chatting enthusiastically with the women. She still preferred working.

Chen Jiazhi couldn't force Li Xiu not to work, just as he himself enjoyed walking around the countryside of Zengcheng, as constantly using his brain could indeed be quite tiring at times.

Looking at the busy scene, he felt a bit crowded.

It has a total area of ​​600 square meters, with the second floor mainly used for accommodation and living quarters.

The first floor houses sorting, small cold storage, and office areas. With the increasing volume of deliveries, the sorting workshop is becoming insufficient.

After noting this down, Chen Jiazhi greeted Li Xiu and headed back to the stall.

There weren't as many trucks queuing to be weighed at the market entrance as usual, and traffic jams weren't severe either; there was a noticeable decrease in the amount of vegetables available.

The food stalls were packed with people.

Chen Jiazhi muttered, "The situation in the other two markets is probably similar."

He hadn't been to Yuexiu and Dongwang markets for a while, but he knew that the area around Zengcuo Road was becoming increasingly lively, and there were occasional traffic jams near the office building.

However, the development of the Jiangnan Market has been quite good, and it has been fully operational this year.

The market was bustling with activity; Chen Jiazhi even considered describing the market environment as having more people than vegetables.

As Chen Jiazhi got closer to gate number 63, he encountered a slowly moving tricycle. Looking up, he saw that the surrounding area was congested.

It was one of the few congested sections of the market today, and he also saw He Qiang directing traffic.

He Qiang also saw him. "Boss Chen is here."

"Hmm~" Chen Jiazhi nodded, then asked, "Why is the traffic so bad today? Did something happen?"

"No," He Qiang said. "There are too many people coming to the stall to buy vegetables, and the stall has a lot of vegetables too."

He couldn't recall the stall having been this busy in a long time.

However, today there are so many dishes at the stall, and the variety is so great, that we have attracted quite a few new customers.

Traffic jams mean people can only squeeze through narrow gaps.

Chen Jiazhi did not go any further, but instead worked with He Qiang to direct traffic with difficulty.

Parking is not allowed here.

"Let that car go first."

After directing traffic for half an hour, the flow of traffic only improved slightly, which was better than nothing.

Chen Jiazhi took out a cigarette, offered one to He Qiang, and asked, "How have you been lately?"

"It's alright. Besides moving and delivering goods, I also helped He Peng and Sun Jianjun get their driver's licenses and pooled some money to buy a truck with a loan."

He Qiang took the cigarette, lit it, and took a comfortable puff. "Recently, the two of them have been running around Lianzhou to pick up vegetables. I estimate they can make two trips every three days."

I've actually had the truck for a while now, and I've been using it to haul goods to Jiangxin vegetable market and Pengcun base. I've only started using it to run to Lianzhou these past two days. My freight orders have been consistently plentiful, and I'm making money quickly. "I'm planning to take out a loan to buy another one."

“It’s worth buying,” Chen Jiazhi affirmed, noting that this was the golden age of freight transport.

He Qiang added, "Besides running freight transport, I also occasionally introduce business to people in the market, like the vegetable broker you mentioned. I can sometimes earn some easy money."

"pretty good."

Chen Jiazhi's brief question sparked He Qiang's enthusiasm, and he talked about his recent situation in great detail.

It's a huge step forward to get to this point from being an ordinary porter.

However, He Qiang was also aware of the gap between the two, and could only try to showcase his own value and abilities.

Chen Jiazhi also believes that He Qiang is a very capable person.

After leaving the Dongxiang vegetable market, He Peng, Sun Jianjun, and several others followed He Qiang for more than two years, and now they have even bought a car together.

Chen Jiazhi didn't know the details, but he felt that getting to this point was already remarkable.

Moreover, he now needs a stable freight fleet to cooperate with.

The cooperative bases in Pengcun and Lianzhou are too far apart. Whether it's transporting seedlings, substrates, or other supplies there, or bringing the vegetables back, it all depends on road transport.

Therefore, he was generous in giving He Qiang advice and also offered some management suggestions. Even close brothers should keep clear accounts, as He Qiang's small team still faced a significant risk of falling apart.

The traffic congestion eased slightly, and Chen Jiazhi walked through the gaps between the vehicles to his stall. The stall was filled with trucks and tricycles, with people on and off the vehicles.

It's so chaotic, I haven't felt this chaotic in a long time.

Fortunately, there were many family members involved. In addition to Li Cai and Ding Qiao, Chen Zhengxu, Xue Jun, and Qi Yongcheng from the distribution center were also helping to keep an eye on the stall.

In addition, there were porters organized by He Qiang, who managed to maintain order.

Li Cai made a note of the accounts, then looked up and saw Chen Jiazhi. He smiled bitterly and said, "I miscalculated. The truck was surrounded as soon as it came in, and there was no room to maneuver."

Chen Jiazhi also realized the situation: the fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers, loofahs, and bitter melons were not separated from the leafy vegetables such as bok choy and kale. The space was already small, which made it look very messy.

"It's not your fault, you should have rented another stall."

Chen Jiazhi had previously considered renting a stall to sell other types of vegetables, but he was always hampered by a lack of supply, so he rejected the idea.

I feel a little regretful now.

A stall selling more than 50 tons a day is a bit crowded, not to mention the wide variety of goods; it would be strange if it didn't become chaotic.

This may be what painful troubles are.

After Li finished meeting with one client, Chen Jiazhi asked again, "Are there any more dishes coming?"

Li Cai took a bite of a plum when he had a spare moment and said, "Yes, there are still three truckloads of bok choy that haven't arrived yet. There's stock in the cold storage in Lianzhou. They'll continue loading and shipping today. The last truck might not arrive until early this morning, and the next shipment won't arrive until tomorrow afternoon."

In addition, several dozen tons of goods will arrive at the port of Fanrong Market tomorrow, half of which will go to the stalls.

"Whoo~"

Chen Jiazhi felt outdated; the scene of selling vegetables was something he had never experienced before.

More than 100 tons of vegetables were sold in a single day through various channels; that's crazy.

"The dishes for the rest of the day can be brought to the stall a little later to allow traffic to slow down."

Li Cai also looked up at the passageway and thought to himself, "Isn't this traffic flow normal? Why are you making such a fuss?"

But he still called someone over and asked them to notify the cars parked outside the market.

Because of the ample supply, the number of people coming to the stall to buy vegetables remained high, and three cars were quickly emptied, easing the traffic congestion somewhat again.

But as new vehicles arrived, the speed quickly became as slow as a snail's pace.

He continued selling like this until late at night. When he had almost sold out of vegetables, the number of customers gradually decreased, and Chen Jiazhi's clothes were already soaked with sweat.

Chen Zhengxu and Xue Jun also squatted on the ground, "Finally, we can take a breather."

Chen Jiazhi took out a few plums from his pocket and gave them to Chen Zhengxu, Xue Jun, and the others.

"Here, have some plums. They were given to us by farmers at the Lianzhou cooperative base. They're delicious."

"Hey, that's strange. We made money selling vegetables, and people still have to thank us."

"This is called win-win cooperation."

Everyone ate two plums at a time, and Chen Jiazhi's plums were completely devoured.

Chen Zhengxu shouted to Li Cai, "God of Wealth, if we sell vegetables like this, how many days can the supply last? Don't let the vegetables I'm delivering run out in the end."

Li Cai said, "The Lianzhou cold storage also has more than 200 tons of vegetables. We need to take advantage of the high vegetable prices now and ship them out quickly."

Chen Zhengxu: "How long can the bok choy and Chinese kale from the Prosperity Base last?"

Almost all the seedlings at Jiangxin Vegetable Market have died. Even if they are transplanted, the supply of vegetables will be cut off, and the delivery service relies on the produce from the prosperous vegetable market.

Looking at the few people who came to help, panting heavily, Li Cai pondered, "With more vegetables available, there will be more to plant later. We can take advantage of the high vegetable prices these days to sell more and make more money. The boss is also waiting to use this money to give us bonuses."

The group immediately stopped panting.

Chen Jiazhi blinked and said, "Let's sell first. 50 tons a day can keep the Fanrong Vegetable Market going for three or four days. After that, there will just be less stock, but it won't run out. We can also get more money when we pay out at the end of the month."

He also wants a bigger office, but this time he needs to deliver on his promises first.

(End of this chapter)