1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 439 Cai Lan
A terrified roar suddenly echoed from the bustling vegetable fields of Dongsheng Farm.

"How dare Xia Youche! What right does he have to steal our customers!"

The visitor said, "Xia Youche's son, Xia Yang, frequents bars and nightclubs. He's a regular at many of the shops we deliver to. In addition, the sample vegetables that Tongxingtai provides for free are of good quality, especially the mustard greens and lettuce. The customers who were poached have reported that as long as we can provide vegetables of the same quality, they will still give priority to Qu Taiji."

But Au Tai Kee couldn't produce it.

Not to mention mustard greens and lettuce, even leafy greens like bok choy and Chinese kale may be of inferior quality.

Having spent so much time together, they were all too familiar with the strength of Jiangxin Vegetable Market, not to mention Heli Farm, which promoted itself as having unpolluted soil and water.

Au Tai Kee's only hope now lies in its farm in Conghua.

However, in order to save money, they chose a site on a barren land with poor infrastructure. Even after two years of planting, it was still a rotten land, with stones that could not be picked up.

The high-quality vegetables from Heli Farm, combined with Xia Yang's involvement in entertainment venues, have created enough energy that Qu Jingtai is now somewhat alarmed by.

While the employee was waiting for a reply, Qu Jingtai turned around and looked at his son.

At only twelve or thirteen years old, the idea of ​​sending him to entertainment venues was immediately abandoned.

However, Au Tai Kee's core customers are mainly concentrated in entertainment venues in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Japan.

Hong Kong is where they started, and they have only gradually expanded into other fields in recent years.

He recently participated in the attack on Tong Hing Tai, but Au King Tai only wanted to follow behind the big shots like Hop Hing, Wing Lung, and Cong Yu and get a taste of the spoils.

Little did they know that Tongxingtai had struck right at Qu Taiji's lifeline.

To be fair, why didn't Tongxingtai target Hexing? At the very least, shouldn't they have made trouble for Congyu, the one who initiated the conflict?
How could a punch land directly on Au Tai Kee's heart?!

Qu Jingtai looked at the Jiangxin vegetable market next door and suddenly regretted it. He shouldn't have provoked him in the first place.

After much deliberation, Qu Jingtai decided to first try to reconcile with Xia Youche.

Xia Youche was not surprised at all when he received Qu Jingtai's call. He sneered, "President Qu, you made the first move. It's too late to back down now."

Qu Jingtai pondered for a moment and said, "It started with Yu, and Hexing and Yonglong were the most aggressive in grabbing territory. Why did you only target Qu Taiji?"

"Because you're weak!"

When Xia Youche said this, he felt particularly clear-headed. "Just like when you besieged Tongxingtai, didn't you think Tongxingtai was an easy target?"

"You're all adults. Since you've already resorted to violence, you should have been prepared to bear the consequences!"

Qu Jingtai gritted his teeth in hatred and said, "Aren't you afraid that when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman will benefit?"

Xia Youche chuckled lightly, "So you want me to be slaughtered like this? Don't worry, before I die, I'll definitely drag your Qu Taiji down with me!"

"you……"

Qu Taiji was helpless in the face of the dial tone; the other party was clearly keeping a close eye on him!
After pacing back and forth a few times, Qu Jingtai called Yang Jianzun again. Both of them had investments in Conghua and were in closer contact.

After finishing the call, Qu Jingtai breathed a sigh of relief. "Yang Jianzun agreed. They have intensified their offensive against Tongxingtai. Tongxingtai is in a very difficult situation now, otherwise they wouldn't be biting people like a cornered dog!"

"Let's persevere a little longer, try our best to retain our existing customers, and renew any orders or contracts that are about to expire as soon as possible!"

Au King-tai then took a boat back to Hong Kong overnight, his heart bleeding as he looked at the list of clients who had been robbed.

In particular, there are two high-end clubs. These two stores have stable demand and high profit margins. Each store can bring in at least HK$10 in profit for Au Tai Kee every year.

Tongxingtai's move was practically cutting off his flesh.

Qu Jingtai visited the heads of the two clients overnight, but the results were not satisfactory.

"We chose Tongxingtai as our vegetable supplier simply because they can provide better quality vegetables, nothing more."

“As long as Au Tai Kee can provide vegetables of the same quality, we will still choose Au Tai Kee first, but unfortunately, you obviously cannot.”

The two parties have been cooperating for quite some time and understand each other's strengths and weaknesses.

One is a high-end club dedicated to providing a better experience for its clients, while the other is merely a vegetable supplier; their positions are not equal.

After visiting clients all night, Qu Jingtai's personal intervention did not yield good results; only a few people were willing to give him face.

But more emphasis is placed on quality, given the intense competition in various industries in Hong Kong.

In the end, Qu Jingtai could only place his hopes on Cong Yu.

However, two days later, news came again that Cong Yu had indeed made a move against Tongxingtai again.

However, Cong Yu also took the opportunity to target Qu Taiji, secretly poaching Qu Taiji's customers.

"Yang Jianzun, what the hell do you mean? Your men are causing trouble on my turf!"

"Who says you're the only one who can run an entertainment venue?" Yang Jianzun said calmly. "Wake up, Mr. Qu. Things will change in Hong Kong in six months."

"Everything is starting all over again. Not only am I targeting you, but Hexing and Yonglong are also vying for Congyu's clients. They might have been eyeing you for a while now."

Upon hearing this, Qu Jingtai felt a chill run down his spine. How did the attack on Tongxingtai suddenly turn into a chaotic battle between multiple parties?

Where did they get so many dishes?!
Cong Yu, Yang Jianzun convened a board meeting.

"Gentlemen, an army marches on its stomach. With the export market growing rapidly, Hong Kong is about to usher in a new era. It's time to build a new base."

Director Bai Yuqiao responded, "I agree with Chairman Yang's proposal. Now is the time to press our advantage and expand our gains."

"agree."

"agree."

In Hong Kong, Congyu cabbage has been frequently active in the high-end market in the past two years, and the image of high-end cabbage brand has gradually been established.

At the same time, abandoning the mainland market and focusing on overseas markets has led to the booming performance and rising profits of Congyu.

All of this gave the shareholders a bright future, and they all agreed to expand production.

At the same time, Hop Hing and Wing Lung also had plans to build new bases.

For a time, vegetable markets in the Pearl River Delta experienced explosive growth.

The locations of vegetable markets have gradually spread from the suburbs of cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou to more distant places.

Reliable Fresh Food.

Around noon, Chen Jiazhi, Chen Zhengxu, Li Cai, Xue Jun, and a few others went to the rooftop to get some fresh air and smoke.

The cold air has moved south this year, and the temperature has dropped rapidly. Even at noon, there is no sunshine; instead, the sky is shrouded in gloom.

Chen Jiazhi was discussing with several people the plan for major vegetable markets in Hong Kong to expand their production scale. The plan was quite significant, and related reports could be seen occasionally in newspapers and on television.

Chen Jiazhi, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, said, "Based on the current development trend, the existing supply of leafy vegetables may reach saturation as early as next year, or at the latest the year after." Chen Zhengxu, with one foot propped against the wall, said, "But business has been very good lately, and progress in various cities has been very smooth."

Li Cai leaned against the railing. "The stall business is very good. We can easily sell seventy or eighty tons of vegetables a day. No one in the entire Jiangnan market can compare with us."

"Because the large, well-established vegetable markets have all gone into export, they don't have enough supplies to compete in the domestic market."

Chen Jiazhi exhaled a breath of stale air and said, "But there may be big changes this year. Even if there are no changes, based on the area expanded this year, someone will be eyeing the mainland market next year. Even a mosquito's leg is still meat, let alone an elephant's leg."

Chaos has broken out at the Xiangjiang vegetable market.

Regarding exports, according to information and news recently obtained by Chen Jiazhi, Southeast Asian currencies remain high, trade deficits continue to widen, and economic risks are increasing.

Any slight mishap could cause problems, so the fresh produce markets under the Reliable Fresh brand have become increasingly cautious about exporting.

The price is negotiable, and the quality can be controlled, but the payment period remains unchanged. If payment is not made on time, the market will not deliver the goods.

This has also led to a continuous decline in export business, and the overseas customers who remain can be considered true devotees.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jiazhi said, "Brothers, we need to step up our efforts. We don't have much time left, so let's try to extend our reach into every city."

Chen Zhengxu took the foot off the wall. "I'm leaving now. I'm going to Shenzhen this afternoon."

Chen Jiazhi said in surprise, "There's no need to rush."

Chen Zhengxu tilted the cigarette in his mouth upwards slightly. "At times like these, we should seize every second."

A moment later, Chen Zhengxu went downstairs and drove away in a van, leaving the three people upstairs looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Should I not stay here either?" Xue Jun scratched his head and left.

Li Caichong and Chen Jiazhi shrugged. "Looks like my plan to go fishing in Zengcheng with you is ruined again."

Halfway there, Li Cai turned back and said, "By the way, should we build another base?"

Chen Jiazhi shook his head. "At least we won't consider the Pearl River Delta for now. If the goods delivered aren't enough, we can gradually reduce the supply to other wholesalers. We still have dozens of tons of goods every day, which is enough for now."

The deeper the distribution network extends, the more capillaries there are, significantly increasing the management difficulty, and the profit margin may not be much higher than supplying wholesalers in other cities.

However, there is one advantage: the supply chain is more stable. By the time other farmers' markets realize what's happening and try to compete for the domestic market, Kaopu Fresh has already seized most of the high-quality market share.

It won't be so easy to snatch the meat back from Kaopu Fresh.

Chen Jiazhi gazed eastward at the city's blurry outline for a while, then stubbed out his cigarette before going downstairs back to his office.

The chaotic state of the Xiangjiang vegetable wholesale market is exactly what Chen Jiazhi wanted to see.

This not only gave Kaopu Fresh time to expand its territory in China, but also meant that Tongxingtai might also profit from this chaotic battle.

Tongxingtai and Heli Agriculture are linked; if Tongxingtai makes a profit, Heli Agriculture will also make a profit.

Therefore, Chen Jiazhi has been giving Xia Youche advice and suggestions.

In addition to countering Qu Tai Kee, Tong Hing Tai also began to impact the business scope of Hop Hing and Wing Lung, frequently contacting intermediate wholesalers and retailers who cooperated with Hop Hing and Wing Lung.

Since you punched me, I have to punch you back.

However, the results were only so-so. He Xing and Yong Long had very stable cooperative relationships with intermediate wholesalers and retailers. Only for vegetables that the two companies did not have, such as mustard greens and lettuce, were they able to get some orders.

However, on the surface, Tong Hing Tai acted recklessly, directly attacking Hop Hing and Wing Lung.

In reality, Chen Jiazhi and Xia Youche's true targets were always Qu Taiji and Congyu.

If Hop Hing and Wing Lung dominate the mass market in Hong Kong, then Tai Kee in Yuk Wo District has the most high-end customers.

Xia Yang had been quietly collecting information on high-end restaurants, hotels, clubs, and other high-quality clients throughout Hong Kong.

To date, we have secured at least 60 high-quality order contracts with clients, the majority of whom are jade clients.

However, apart from targeting the clubs and bars of the district's Taiji, Tongxingtai did not rush to take action against Congyu.

The jade supply is good and stable, and the cooperative relationship with order and contract customers is also very solid.

If you pounce on it and try to bite it, you might only manage to take off a small piece of flesh in a short time, but you won't actually break its bones.

On the contrary, attacking Au Tai Kee on one hand and feigning attacks on Hop Hing and Wing Lung on the other is more likely to make Tsung Yu lower his guard.

Once fully prepared, we will deliver a fatal blow to Congyu.

In Chen Jiazhi's judgment, the jade had the biggest flaws and posed the greatest threat.

Firstly, it has sufficient supply, but it has abandoned the mainland market and focuses on overseas markets. Once an economic crisis occurs in Southeast Asia, jade will inevitably suffer a severe blow.

Secondly, Chen Jiazhi already knew about Congyu's micro-sprinkler irrigation plan, and the total investment of 1800 million yuan was definitely not a small amount of money.

Third, the jade is still expanding its planting scale, which is another large investment, and its funds will be affected.

Finally, its target customers largely overlap with those of Kaopu Fresh. If its exports fail, it will inevitably target the mainland market, directly competing with Kaopu Fresh.

Therefore, Chen Jiazhi wanted to take advantage of the reshuffling of the Hong Kong vegetable market to directly attack Cong Yu's base in Hong Kong.

It's not easy to completely destroy Congyu, but with the repeated setbacks in exports and its main market, Congyu's sales system will definitely not be able to react in a short period of time.

As a result of the chain reaction, its cash flow will also be in trouble.

In this way, Kaopu Fresh has firmly established itself in the high-end vegetable market, such as bok choy.

The plan is wonderful, but in reality, it will ultimately depend on the overall quality of the vegetables, especially the mustard greens, lettuce, and the Zengcheng late-season cabbage that will soon be on the market.

However, to make the best use of your high-quality vegetables as quickly as possible, you need a catalyst.

Chen Jiazhi picked up two copies of the Oriental Daily News and Ming Pao, both from Hong Kong, from his desk.

Both newspapers have a column by a man named Cai Lan.

"Xia Yang, Xia Yang, whether you can continue to be a rich young master in the future depends on this one time."

Cai Lan is known as one of the four great talents of Hong Kong, and is famous for his food writing and film production.

For over a decade, he has been writing columns for Oriental Daily News and Ming Pao daily, covering topics such as food reviews, dining, and entertainment, and has amassed a large following.

Chen Jiazhi knew him because of "A Bite of China," for which Cai Lan was the chief consultant.

His favorite green vegetable is rapeseed (Chinese cabbage heart), especially the rapeseed from Hongshan, Hubei. He is also fond of bean sprouts and loofah. He has also mentioned broccoli and lettuce in his column.

In order to promote his own vegetables, Chen Jiazhi set his sights on Cai Lan and asked him to write a food review column.

(End of this chapter)