1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 429 Yang Jianzun

Liu Yunfan kept observing Chen Jiazhi's reaction, eager to see the worry on his face.

However, no.

Even though he said he was going to the Yucai Market after he left, the other person remained calmly sitting there, fiddling with the tea set or tasting the tea. He knew that Mr. Chen was not a good tea drinker.

Perhaps Mr. Chen really doesn't care about his future or the export business.

This made Liu Yunfan very angry, even a little furious.

He felt this was wrong. Everyone was thinking about increasing exports, but the person in front of him insisted on acting like he was the only one who was sober while everyone else was drunk, stubbornly believing that an economic crisis would occur in Southeast Asia and exports would collapse.

Why does he think he's right?

Liu Yunfan wanted to prove that this was wrong.

After leaving Kaopu Fresh, Liu Yunfan quickly joined Congyu Vegetable Industry, where he was warmly welcomed.

In Conghua, he met Yang Jianzun, the founder and chairman of Congyu Vegetable Industry.

Yang Jianzun started his business in Huizhou in 1992 by growing vegetables. Initially, he focused on supplying vegetables to Hong Kong, specializing in a few varieties such as choy sum.

Around 1994, Yang Jianzun invested in and built a vegetable market covering an area of ​​3000 mu in Conghua. In 2012, he successfully listed Congyu Vegetable Industry on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a single vegetable. However, Yang Jianzun cashed out and left the company less than two years after the listing. Congyu Agriculture was later renamed China Gold Holdings and quickly became a penny stock.

However, Yang Jianzun remains active in the Chinese cabbage industry, with bases in Guangdong, Jiangxi, Ningxia, Gansu and other places. He is a "fossil-level" veteran in the industry.

In 1996, Congyu Vegetable Industry was able to generate several million US dollars in foreign exchange annually through supplying Hong Kong and exporting, with a total output value of nearly 100 million yuan, making it one of the star enterprises in Conghua City.

In the office, Liu Yunfan drank the tea brewed by Yang Jianzun himself, and felt that it was a little sweeter than the tea brewed by Boss Chen.

Yang Jianzun is very optimistic about exports, believing that this is another key development direction besides the jade supply channel to Hong Kong.

He was also paying attention to Kaopu Fresh, but he only noticed the existence of such a company after Heli Agriculture was established.

After all, besides Yucai Vegetable Industry, Heli Agriculture is the second large vegetable market in Huacheng with an area of ​​3000 mu.

The key point is that it also supplies Hong Kong, especially in recent days, another shareholder of Hop Lee Agriculture, Tong Hing Tai, has been very active in the Hong Kong Cheung SW market.

After just over two months of investment, stable output began to emerge, and the output was quite substantial, with 30 to 40 tons supplied to Hong Kong daily.

This not only shocked his peers in Hong Kong, but also surprised Yang Jianzun with its speed.

It took Yucai Industry almost half a year from confirming the investment to producing the first batch of vegetables, which was half as long as Heli Agriculture.

It is said that the quality of the dishes that Tong Hing Tai gets is also quite good, even in Hong Kong it is second to none.

Such an opponent made Yang Jianzun very wary.

Interestingly, it seems that the export business of Kaopu Fresh has run into problems. Not only did their sales representatives proactively introduce business to Congyu, but they have now even switched jobs and come to Congyu.

He had to meet this kind of person.

After chatting with Liu Yunfan for a while, Yang Jianzun changed the subject and asked, "What kind of person do you think Boss Chen is? Why doesn't he want to do exports?"

Liu Yunfan paused for a moment, then picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea to hide his nervousness.

"Mr. Chen is a trustworthy person and very confident, but sometimes his confidence goes too far and becomes arrogance."

His reluctance to engage in exports stemmed from his assessment of financial risks in Southeast Asia, implying that exports would also be risky. Consequently, he focused more on developing the domestic market, neglecting resource investment in export markets.

"Is there financial risk in Southeast Asia?" Yang Jianzun murmured, then asked, "How did he come to this conclusion?"

Liu Yunfan had thought about this question many times, and chuckled, "He said that the currencies of Southeast Asian countries are appreciating, which will affect exports, widen the trade deficit, and lead to insufficient foreign exchange reserves."

Yang Jianzun was surprised: "It's that simple?"

"It's that simple."

"Didn't you consult an economic expert?"

"No."

Yang Jianzun frowned, and his back straightened as he leaned back in his chair.

This judgment is completely opposite to his.

He didn't know much about Kaopu Fresh, and even less about Chen Jiazhi, only that he had gotten involved with Vice Mayor Chen Guanye.

But if a market can be developed and expanded, is it really necessary to draw such a conclusion?
Moreover, he sees absolutely no signs of a financial crisis in Southeast Asian countries. On the contrary, the real estate and stock markets are booming, with hot money from various countries pouring in and investment amounts soaring.

Exporting to Southeast Asia is also very profitable, with many orders and high profits. Selling one kilogram of vegetables to Southeast Asia is equivalent to selling several kilograms domestically.

His judgment was completely opposite to Chen Jiazhi's.

Yang Jianzun then asked, "What did Chen Jiazhi do before?"

“He used to be a vegetable farmer,” Liu Yunfan said eagerly. “He was indeed very good at growing vegetables, and his people were good at it too, but he didn’t understand economics at all!”

Yang Jianzun was starting to believe it.

Only in this way can it be explained, and he is unlikely to change his existing strategy.

"Yes, that should be it. Yunfan, do a good job with Congyu. We value the export market and also value talent."

Yang Jianzun stood up, shook hands with Liu Yunfan, and patted him on the shoulder, making Liu Yunfan feel highly valued.

After Liu Yunfan left, Yang Jianzun had someone summon the sales manager, Chang Hao.

"Chairman, what is it?"

Yang Jianzun asked, "Old Chang, what do you think of Kaopu Fresh's focus on the domestic market?"

Chang Hao said, "I think it's a good thing. With the supply of reliable fresh produce, once they also focus on exports, it will create a lot of competition for us."

Even now, with the support of Heli Farm, Tong Hing Tai's influence in Hong Kong should not be underestimated. In fact, Tong Hing Tai had gained some fame at the end of last year and in the first half of this year, but without a stable supply of goods, it was like a rootless duckweed, which wouldn't significantly impact the overall situation for major players.

However, things are different now. Even though Tongxingtai is still a low-level company, it has a base that produces a lot of food, and no one dares to ignore its existence.

Yang Jianzun then asked, "What should be done about the jade market in mainland China?"

“Selective abandonment.” Chang Hao pondered, “It’s difficult to invest the same amount of energy and resources in the domestic market as in the jade industry. If the domestic market sells one more pound of vegetables, the export market will sell one less pound of vegetables. The profit margins for the two are worlds apart.”

"Makes sense."

Yang Jianzun originally thought so too.

A vegetable farmer talking about international economic advantages and even shamelessly predicting a financial crisis—if it were just talk, it would be irrelevant.

But to actually take concrete action for this would only be described as foolish.

Liu Yunfan's work at Congyu Vegetable Industry went very smoothly, and he quickly closed one deal after another by leveraging the resources at his disposal.

He quickly became a sought-after celebrity in the jade industry, admired by many.

After getting drunk with his colleagues once again, Liu Yunfan thought of his classmate Fang Shaohua.

During their last phone call, Fang Shaohua had mentioned quite a bit how booming the export business of Fanrong Vegetable Market was.

The subtle sense of superiority in that tone left a deep impression on him, and he still can't forget it to this day.

Thinking of this, he walked towards the office. A light rain was falling and a cold wind was blowing. The temperature at the Congyu vegetable market at the foot of the mountain had dropped significantly, but Liu Yunfan felt a fire burning inside him.

Once he arrived at the office, he found his personal phone book and dialed the landline number for the Prosperity Market.

He mimicked Fang Shaohua's tone from last time, trying to speak in a light voice about the brilliance of Congyu.

But without realizing it, he showed a hint of arrogance. He didn't think he was wrong; on the contrary, he felt extremely pleased and stopped trying to hide his smugness.

Fang Shaohua listened attentively until Liu Yunfan stopped, then he spoke: "Yunfan, you've had too much to drink."

"I am not sleeply."

"You shouldn't have poached the company's clients so quickly; that's not good."

"Heh~" Liu Yunfan scoffed, "Shaohua, you still have a student's mindset. We are adults. As long as we can bear the consequences, we can do anything."

What can Chen Jiazhi do to me? He can't do anything to me. Our contract doesn't stipulate these things!

Seemingly still not satisfied, Liu Yunfan added, "Chen Jiazhi is determined to focus on the domestic market. The prosperity of vegetable markets will be the same sooner or later. Shaohua, come to Congyu Vegetable Market. There is no future in Kaopu Fresh."

"Yunfan, you've really had too much to drink."

"I didn't drink too much..."

beep~
The dial tone startled Liu Yunfan for a moment. After a long while, he muttered something and went out.

"You'll regret it sooner or later."

...

As the sky began to lighten with the blue of crab shells, a faint red glow appeared in the east.

Whenever he comes to the base, Chen Jiazhi's favorite thing to do is to patrol the fields. He loves the crisp morning air; taking a breath of it brings a cool sensation straight to his lungs.

What unfolds before you is the flat vegetable field of the bustling market.

The fields were still shrouded in a thin layer of moisture, like a light veil floating low in the air.

Dark green bok choy hearts, vibrant green Shanghai bok choy, and tender green lettuce are arranged in rows, their leaves glistening with dewdrops.

In the distance, vegetable workers were already moving about on the ridges of the fields. They carried various tools and walked deep into the vegetable plots, their figures casting long shadows in the rising sunlight.

Whenever he is in such an environment, Chen Jiazhi feels that all the troubles in the city have disappeared.

Sure enough, he still prefers growing vegetables; being a vegetable farmer is his true calling.

Li Xiu also carried a camera, walking through the fields and taking pictures of each scene, which will become precious memories in the future.

As the sun rose higher, Ao Dehai finished arranging various tasks and walked towards Chen Jiazhi.

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu arrived last night and came to the market this morning.

"boss."

"Let's take a walk together."

After walking a short distance, Chen Jiazhi saw kale and broccoli; these were the only types of vegetables available at the market.

But its operating performance is astonishing.

6~10月5个月已累计创汇160万美元，算上5月西兰花那茬菜，今年创汇已达220万美元。

The local market only generated over 90 yuan in sales, accounting for less than 5%.

This was a figure that alarmed Chen Jiazhi, and he almost told Ao Dehai to reduce exports on the spot.

But he also knew that the Japanese and South Korean markets were somewhat different from those in Southeast Asia.

He didn't know the answer, but he had spent several years in Shanghai in his previous life.

I can still clearly remember that around 1999, the business of exporting leafy vegetables from Shanghai to Japan was very good.

So there's no need to be so alarmed.

He didn't say he wouldn't export. Even when communicating with Liu Yunfan, he only said to reduce exports to Southeast Asia, but that they could still do business in the European and American markets.

(End of this chapter)