1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 437 Response
After learning about Tongxingtai's situation, Chen Jiazhi stayed at the stall until dawn.

He rarely participates in selling vegetables now; each time he comes to the stall, he only does spot checks and supervises the quality.

As long as the quality is guaranteed, selling vegetables shouldn't be a problem with the current system.

Let alone 80 tons, the stall can easily produce 100 tons of leafy vegetables a day now.

By six o'clock, the stall's main vegetables were basically sold out.

Chen Jiazhi followed the delivery truck back to the office. The sorting workshop was still busy, and he opened a bag of vegetables for random inspection as usual.

Inside, there were neatly arranged lettuce leaves, fresh and green, clearly from that day's harvest.

Li Xiu walked over, still looking a little dazed. "Jiazhi, when did you get back?"

Chen Jiazhi looked up and said, "I arrived at the airport at three in the morning. On the way back, I stopped by the stall for more than two hours to check the quality of the vegetables."

Li Xiu pouted and said, "He didn't even bother to go back to the office and let them know first."

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "I knew that with you here, the quality of the delivered vegetables would definitely not be a problem. Look how beautiful this packaged lettuce is. With vegetables like this delivered, even the most demanding customer will have a hard time finding fault."

Li Xiu's lips curled up slightly, and she said, "That's true. The distribution center hasn't had any customer complaints for a long time."

Chen Jiazhi continued to praise, "You deserve some credit for this."

Li Xiu's eyebrows curved even more beautifully as she said, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Just now, I had someone bring up some rabbit meat. I'll go cook you a bowl of rabbit noodles."

Chen Jiazhi licked his lips exaggeratedly and said, "I've been craving this for a long time. Remember to add more rabbit meat and vegetables."

"I know, I guarantee you'll eat your fill." Li Xiu picked two heads of lettuce from the vegetable basket and went upstairs.

Chen Jiazhi also noticed that lettuce was becoming increasingly popular.

The stall sells its goods quickly and delivers a lot of goods; even family members like to eat there.

After checking a few more bags of vegetables and finding no problems, Chen Jiazhi returned to his office, which had been moved to the second floor, and called Xia Youche.

But no one answered.

After thinking about it, I realized that this is a busy time of year.

Chen Jiazhi had no choice but to take out his notebook and sort out what he had seen and heard in Baise over the past three days, as well as the construction plan for the Baise fruit and vegetable purchasing station.

"Jiazhi, the noodles are ready, eat quickly."

Li Xiu then brought the noodles to Chen Jiazhi, with layers upon layers of rabbit meat and green vegetables, filling a large bowl.

Chen Jiazhi quickly got up to take it, but Li Xiu said, "Be careful, it's hot. I'll put it on the table for you."

"Just call me and I'll come to the kitchen to eat."

"I see you're busy, you'll probably forget to go eat again later," Li Xiu said with a smile. "Eat quickly."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Xiu, your skills have improved quite a bit again!"

Li Xiu said, "You haven't even eaten yet, and you're already praising people without any basis."

Chen Jiazhi stirred the noodles, sniffed them, and said, "I can tell you've improved just by smelling them."

"Eat up, stop being so talkative." Li Xiu smiled and said, "I'm going to eat too. I should go back and rest later."

Chen Jiazhi ate this bowl of noodles with great satisfaction; there was plenty of meat and vegetables but not much noodles—this was true enjoyment.

After finishing his bowl of noodles, Chen Jiazhi continued to organize the plans for Baise. When Xue Jun returned, he had a detailed discussion with him.

Mangoes in Baise typically ripen and are available from June to September, with a slight delay in mountainous areas. However, it is already December, which is well into the off-season for fruits.

Therefore, Xue Jun still has more than half a year to prepare for the acquisition station, which is quite a lot of time.

At the same time, Xue Jun was also tasked with importing sugar oranges to Baise.

In addition, they also need to solve the problem of supplying goods to their stalls recently, so the overall pressure is still considerable.

After giving his explanation, Chen Jiazhi called Xia Youche again.

This time the call connected, but the voice that came through was a slightly familiar young man.

"Hello, this is Tongxingtai."

After a moment's thought, Chen Jiazhi realized that this must be Xia Youche's son, Xia Yang.

"I'm Chen Jiazhi, looking for your father. Tell him to come and answer the phone."

"Okay, Mr. Chen, please wait a moment."

Chen Jiazhi then heard Xia Yang's voice. He felt that Xia Yang was more composed; he had never been so polite to him before.

A moment later, Xia arrived by car. "Mr. Chen, I'm sorry, I've been very busy these past two days."

Chen Jiazhi cut to the chase and asked, "I heard that Congyu has joined forces with several vegetable markets to target Tongxingtai?"

Xia Youchedao: "I feel that Hong Kong will be returned to China in six months, and the old rules no longer apply. Now everyone is fighting for territory and attracting customers again. It's just that Tong Hing Tai's traditional territory has been besieged."

Chen Jiazhi: "Can you still hold on?"

"We have to hold on, even if we can't. This is a family business built up by two generations. We can't let it go to waste in my hands."

"Just let me know if you need anything."

"I will."

Xia Youche felt a warmth in his heart. Boss Chen was rarely so gentle with him, but he was truly reliable in a critical moment. "Kaopu Fresh has already given me a lot of support. The vegetables they give me are the best, and they prioritize supplying me with in-demand items such as lettuce and mustard greens. Most of my customers have also been able to stay with me."

"Are they engaging in a price war?"

"Yes, their goods are usually two or three cents cheaper than mine, but my vegetables are of better quality, more in demand, and I can keep them in stock."

What if competitors lower their prices again?

“A difference of two or three cents is already a big deal. If the competitors lower their prices again…” Xia Youche hardened his heart and said, “I have no choice but to play along with them to the end. Nobody wants to have an easy time.”

Xia Youche invested 10 million yuan in the vegetable market a few months ago. The company itself is small and its financial strength is definitely not as good as the others.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "Try not to engage in price wars, but to differentiate ourselves from others. Also, if others are taking your customers, Tongxingtai can naturally take other people's customers as well."

Hong Kong is a very developed city, and there are many restaurants that have high requirements for the quality of vegetables. We should have an advantage in this regard.

Chicken heart mustard and daikon radish are two very prominent varieties nowadays.

However, Heli Farm is located in the northern mountainous area of ​​Zengcheng, where the soil and water sources are far from pollution. The vegetables such as bok choy and kale produced there are all of good quality, which has a considerable advantage compared with vegetable markets in the suburbs.

Industrial pollution is particularly severe in major cities in the Pearl River Delta these days.

With this in mind, Chen Jiazhi instructed Xia Youche to capitalize on this point for promotion, even adding the 'organic' label.

Following this line of thought, Chen Jiazhi then thought of vegetable packaging in later generations.

"Old Xia, for deliveries to some customers with retail needs, we can put some effort into the packaging..."

"You mean mustard greens and lettuce?"

“No.” Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, “Wait a little longer. Chicken heart mustard and daikon radish are not quite suitable. Heli Farm will have new products on the market in a few days, and we can use new packaging.”

Xia Youche asked in surprise, "A new product?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "Well, compared to mustard greens and lettuce, choy sum is probably more popular in Hong Kong."

"And if we wait a bit, we'll have time to design the packaging and develop a strategy. Lao Xia, you need to screen the target customers during this time..."

Listening to the advice and suggestions offered by the person on the phone, Xia Youche became more and more confident.

Judging from the performance of the mustard greens and lettuce, Xia Youche had great confidence in the late-season mustard greens that Mr. Chen had mentioned.

What Mr. Chen has high hopes for can only get better.

With better supply of goods, Tongxingtai is indeed better able to cope with competition.

You do your thing, I'll do mine, it's the same for everyone.

Xia Yang was also busy receiving guests at the vegetable market. The recent crisis facing Tongxingtai had also made him feel a sense of crisis.

In Hong Kong, where land is incredibly valuable, there is a sizable vegetable market that is his source of livelihood.

If the vegetable market collapses, his good days may be over.

So he hasn't been causing much trouble lately, but has been helping out at the vegetable market. Facing direct competition has put him under even more pressure.

To win customers, many competitors have adopted a price-cutting strategy, which is the most difficult tactic to deal with.

Even though Tongxingtai has a good supply of goods, customers are constantly being lost, and Xia Youche, the father, often has a worried look on his face.

But after Mr. Chen called, he kept looking back and saw a long-lost smile on his father's face.

When his father came out, Xia Yang asked, "Dad, is there any good news?"

Xia Youche nodded and then arranged for Xia Yang to expand the business to other neighborhoods using mustard greens and lettuce, while also promoting the products around the elements of 'pollution-free' and 'organic vegetables'.

Xia Yang listened attentively and said, "They should have fought back long ago!"

Xia Youche added, "Yes, Boss Chen promised to continue to improve the quality of the goods and ensure supply. In addition, there will be high-quality new products on the market soon."

After a pause, Xia Youche continued, "Yangyang, you've been out there for so long, it's time for you to put your skills to use. Filter out all the high-end restaurants, bars, parties, etc. that you know. We'll focus on the high-end market later."

Xia Yang asked in confusion, "Does the bar provide vegetables?"

"You frequent bars, and your family sells vegetables, yet you don't even pay attention to this? Do you know how Au Tai Kee started out?"

Xia Yang smiled awkwardly. Au Tai Kee had recently been competing with Tung Hing Tai for customers in Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po, but he didn't know much about his rival.

Xia Youche understands her son's character, and the fact that he is now willing to stay and help out at the vegetable market is already a great improvement.

"About eleven or twelve years ago, the Hong Kong film market was booming, and actors and stars were very wealthy. They were frequent visitors to bars, dances, and other such places, spending money like water. Around that time, Au King-tai started a vegetable business in bars and dances, and Au Tai Kee subsequently entered a period of rapid development in Hong Kong..."

Having worked in this industry his entire life, Xia Youche knows all his competitors very well.

He doesn't have the confidence to touch Hexing and Yonglong for the time being, and Congyu's business area is too scattered, but Qu Taiji and Tongxingtai are in the same category, which is just right.

Although the Hong Kong film market is showing signs of decline, the spending power of that demographic remains considerable.

Xia Yang was also familiar with these places, and even knew quite a few people because he frequented them.

Xia Youche then decided to launch his first counterattack from this point.

Xia Yang agreed.

Xia Youche reminded him, "Be careful, and bring a few more people with you when you go."

Xia Yang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Dad. I can't beat you at selling vegetables, and I can't beat you at working in a bar."

(End of this chapter)