1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 433 Fruit Business
Every October in later years, people on short video platforms would urge the people of Guangxi to hurry up and harvest the sugar tangerines.

Chen Guanye looked at Chen Jiazhi and asked, "Mr. Chen, are the oranges delicious?"

"Delicious." Chen Jiazhi picked up another small tangerine and said, "Guangxi is very suitable for growing fruit, and so is Baise."

Meeting Chen Guanye's gaze, Chen Jiazhi pondered and said, "Boss, Kaopu Fresh is interested in going to Baise to do fruit business, acting as a middleman, buying fruit from farmers in the mountainous areas, and providing them with an income in addition to growing grain."

In addition, we could also introduce a number of excellent fruit varieties to Baise, such as tangerines, which I think is worth considering.

Of course, there are certainly many more excellent varieties that can be introduced, but we need to conduct a thorough investigation before we can know for sure.

Chen Guanye smiled; this was already a fairly clear reply, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied.

"Mr. Chen, if you're only considering being a middleman, have you considered investing in a fruit base, such as tangerines?"

Chen Jiazhi shook his head. "Due to limited transportation in the mountainous area, fruit can only be transported by individual households carrying it on their shoulders. We are not yet in a position to invest in a fruit base."

"Reliable Fresh is only suitable as a middleman, but it's different from simply buying and selling. I prefer to build a transit station in a suitable local location to complete the processes of acquisition, preliminary sorting, and refrigerated delivery. This transit station is estimated to require an investment of at least 100 million yuan."

Chen Guanye listened intently, nodding frequently; fixed asset investment was even more convincing.

Chen Jiazhi's thoughts also took flight, and one idea after another came out of his mouth.

"Around this transit station, farmers can be guided to plant superior varieties using standardized techniques. If a virtuous cycle is formed, a primary processing plant can be established, providing more jobs..."

Every word Chen Jiazhi said struck a nerve with Chen Guanye.

Although Chen Guanye advocated reform, he also witnessed too many profit-driven private business owners.

But Mr. Chen seems to be a little different.

Chen Guanye asked, "Can Kaopu Fresh make money from this?"

Chen Jiazhi: "I'd like to give it a try."

"it is good!"

Chen Guanye made no attempt to hide his appreciation, leading the applause and cheers.

With this atmosphere, another person spoke up to share their thoughts with Chen Guanye, and the atmosphere in the private room improved.

Lao Jun secretly gave Chen Jiazhi a thumbs up, "Brother, great skills."

Chen Jiazhi frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "What do you mean by that, Mr. Lao?"

Seeing Chen Guanye chatting enthusiastically with another person, Lao Jun whispered, "Whether we do this or not, let's make the leader look good today and get a good impression. Maybe we can get one or two good projects first."

Chen Jiazhi frowned even more deeply. He wasn't just fooling Chen Guanye; he had genuinely decided to go to Baise.

One million yuan might not be enough to bribe someone like Chen Guanye, but investing one million yuan in poverty alleviation projects would certainly earn Chen Guanye's favor.

In Chen Jiazhi's view, this is a very worthwhile investment.

Moreover, poverty alleviation projects can also be profitable. For example, tangerines were once very popular, and as long as you persevere, you will eventually make money.

However, his thinking does not mean that others think the same way.

Just like Lao Jun, and the person who was chatting with Chen Guanye, Chen Jiazhi found that this person's conversation was also a bit 'highbrow', which is commonly known as being out of touch with reality.

After this person, others spoke up one after another.

The wider Chen Guanye's smile became, the more suspicious Chen Jiazhi became.

Will all these people really invest in Baise?
It's hard for him to guess.

But whether he goes or not, it's a good thing for him. If he goes, he might have someone to keep him company; if he doesn't go, the impression that Kaopu Xiansheng has in Chen Guanye's mind will be even higher.

If things really work out in the future, and they get excited, another big project or preferential policy might fall into Kaopu Fresh's lap.

After Chen Guanye finished asking around, more than ten people were willing to invest in Baise.

This pleased Chen Guanye and also diminished Chen Jiazhi's presence.

When they clinked glasses and drank, Chen Guanye only chatted with Chen Jiazhi for a few more minutes.

However, Mr. Chen was not flustered at all. He wanted to see what kind of expression Mr. Chen would make when no one actually went to Baise to invest.

This is quite appealing to him.

With this mindset, Chen Jiazhi was generally in a pleasant mood at the banquet.

But perhaps because he was too handsome, he aroused jealousy, and not many people chatted with him throughout the banquet.

Chen Jiazhi, reeking of alcohol, returned to Kaopu Fresh, whose signboard seemed neither big nor bright enough under the night sky.

He thought of the office building Chen Zhengxu had mentioned, and how he would name it the Reliable Building. His heart was immediately filled with enthusiasm.

Then I sensed something was off. Was this a case of the employee making empty promises to the boss, going against the grain?

He just wanted to eat the pancake.

Upon entering the office, the sorting workshop was already bustling with activity. Li Xiu was also helping out, her hands and feet moving swiftly, and the workers were also moving incredibly fast.

It was as if the landlady was chasing after him to do the work; Chen Jiazhi estimated that Li Xiu's reputation would suffer as a result.

But it did significantly improve efficiency.

After thinking it over, Chen Jiazhi decided not to interfere with Li Xiu; he just wanted her to be happy doing what she wanted.

There was only one night shift operator in the office; everyone else was out.

Chen Jiazhi sat down at Chen Zhengxu's workstation and looked at the documents for a while. Recently, the business situation has been surprisingly stable, with daily income remaining stable at 35 to 40 yuan.

October's revenue was nearly ten million yuan, and the gross profit was also quite good. However, the company's financial management remains sloppy; the money is basically sitting in the bank and not being fully utilized.

Chen Jiazhi pondered where he needed to recruit two more finance professionals, while also implementing reasonable management and control measures.

After checking the company's business for a while, Chen Jiazhi's thoughts returned to the fruit.

His suggestion to Chen Guanye to conduct fruit purchasing in Baise was not just talk; he genuinely intended to do so.

But before that, the framework of Kaopu Fresh's fruit business still needs to be further improved.

Fruits and vegetables have many similarities, and the Jiangnan Wholesale Market also functions as a fruit wholesale market. In the future, it will be renamed the Jiangnan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market.

If Kaopu Fresh can do a good job with vegetables, it also has the ability to operate a fruit business.

Fruits also have a higher profit potential than vegetables.

However, the fruit business in the Jiangnan market is currently weak, which does not meet Chen Jiazhi's requirements.

Just like with vegetables, location is very important for a good business, and the Jiangnan Market does not yet have the clustering effect of a fruit wholesale market.

In Guangzhou, the North-South Fruit Market remains the strongest fruit wholesale market.

Chen Jiazhi planned to rent a stall to do wholesale fruit business, and he had some ideas in mind.

A mandarin orange is one.

There's also the fruit import business, like the durians Xue Chenglin gave us before, which should be quite profitable.

In addition, my hometown has been promoting Tarocco blood oranges and Anyue lemons in the past two years. I can try them out in the future, as a way of helping my hometown.

As Chen Jiazhi recalled the fruits he had eaten, inspiration struck him like a sudden burst of urine, and a map of fruits appeared in his mind.

But a tall building starts from the ground up, and right now all he can think of are the tangerines he ate today.

The next morning, Chen Jiazhi called Xue Jun, and together they drove to Sihui City in Zhaoqing, northwest of Huacheng.

After 1990, due to market-oriented reforms, the price of citrus fruits increased year by year, and the number of farmers growing citrus fruits gradually increased.

Sihui is a historically significant citrus-producing region, with nearly 5 mu of citrus orchards currently in the city.

Gonggan and Satsuma mandarin oranges are the most famous, but Satsuma mandarin oranges have a much larger planting area.

Beside the Suijiang River are two picturesque towns, Huangtian Town and Shigou Town, which are now the main areas for growing sugar oranges.

The name of the sugar orange also originated from Sugar Pit Village in Huangtian Town.

After arriving in Huangtian Town and Shigou Town, Chen Jiazhi did nothing else but wander around the various tangerine orchards.

Satsuma mandarins typically ripen in mid-to-late October, and now is the harvest season.

The orange trees covering the hillsides were laden with golden tangerines, a delightful sight that delighted Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun, who thoroughly enjoyed their meal.

After relieving himself on the cliff, Xue Jun shook his hands and said, "Damn, I can't eat anymore, or my pee will turn orange."

Chen Jiazhi said the same thing, "Let's buy some more oranges and then go back. We've seen everything we needed to see."

They had been out for two or three days, and the two of them had traveled to many areas of Sihui City. It seemed that the low prices of citrus fruits had not affected them.

The price of mandarin oranges remains firm, and farmers are very enthusiastic about growing them.

The problem is that seedlings are hard to buy, and the supply of legitimate seedlings is limited.

Chen Jiazhi inquired with many farmers who were planting orange seedlings, and found that most of them had bought seedlings without proper documentation.

Seedlings without proper documentation have generally not undergone virus-free treatment and pose a high risk of carrying potential viruses.

Huanglongbing, in particular, has been suspected as early as the Qing Dynasty and has been studied for decades in modern times. It is highly contagious and causes great harm to citrus.

Chen Jiazhi recalls that one of the reasons why Guangdong sugar oranges were moved to Guangxi was the harm caused by Huanglongbing (HLB).

The chaotic situation with seedlings that I've seen these past few days indicates that the seeds of trouble were sown long ago.

However, it shouldn't be a big problem for Kaopu Fresh to import sugar oranges into Baise. With Chen Guanye involved, they can go through the proper channels.

Moreover, the mandarin oranges I've eaten these past few days all have seeds, while the ones I'll be eating in later generations are mostly seedless Golden Autumn Mandarin Oranges.

The direction for variety selection and breeding has been determined, but this matter can only be left to professionals to study.

After buying a truckload of tangerines, Chen Jiazhi and Xue Juncai drove back.

On the way, Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Jun, the fruit business is still short of a person in charge, and I can't find a suitable candidate. How about you go?"

Xue Jun paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not good with words, so I might not be suited for business."

Chen Jiazhi said, "Sometimes you don't need to be very eloquent to do business. As long as you follow the company's operating principles, even if you lose money in the early stages, the business will eventually take off."

The profits from the vegetable business gave him the confidence to say that.

Xue Jun is not entirely useless; although he is relatively simple-minded, he is trustworthy enough.

This is one of the most important factors in hiring for those running a fruit and vegetable business, according to Chen Jiazhi.

Moreover, Xue Jun had traveled with him the most times, gaining extensive experience.

No matter how prestigious the fruit business may seem, it's really just about buying and selling.

With Chen Jiazhi offering advice and strategies, Xue Jun's abilities were sufficient.

Xue Jun pondered for a moment and said, "Then I'll fill in for now. Once you have a suitable replacement, you can replace me."

(End of this chapter)