1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 442 From Jade: Our Home Is Almost Being Robbed

As a horn sounded, Chen Jiazhi turned around and saw two cars parked on the side of the road.

He first saw Huang Jianyuan waving at him, "Boss Chen."

Then I saw Cai Lan, all smiles. His hair wasn't the full head of white hair I remembered, but black with a hint of gray. He was accompanied by a beautiful female companion.

Chen Jiazhi stepped forward, shook hands, and said, "Mr. Cai, I have long admired your name."

"Excuse me, Mr. Chen, I didn't expect you to be so young and handsome." Cai Lan smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, have you ever thought about making movies?"

Although Chen Jiazhi had no interest in making movies, he thought Cai Lan's aesthetic sense was indeed quite good.

Although he's a bit tanned now, he still has a good foundation.

It's no wonder that Cai Lan became a famous food critic because of his insightful perspective; he has a strong ability to see through appearances to the essence of things.

Cai Lan was unaware of Chen Jiazhi's thoughts; he was admiring the scene of the dishes before him.

All that could be seen were rows of vegetable plots, streams winding around the fields, distant mountains layered like dark eyebrows, a thin mist clinging to their waists, and the green and yellow ridges of the fields shimmering in the warm sun.

"It truly is a beautiful landscape."

"It is precisely because of this landscape, climate, and soil that we can grow late-season cabbage with its unique taste."

Chen Jiazhi knew why Cai Lan had come, and he had already prepared his speech, so he listened attentively and explained.

"Xiaolou Town is located in the northern mountainous area of ​​Zengcheng. After the cold air moves south, the temperature difference between day and night can reach more than 10°C, which is conducive to sugar accumulation."

"The soil is also alluvial sandy loam, which has good aeration and drainage. The roots of the Chinese cabbage here are well-developed, allowing them to absorb mineral elements more fully."

"At the same time, the water sources in mountainous areas are clean and the water quality is slightly alkaline, which can reduce the precipitation of heavy metals in the soil."

"And we have emphasized the use of organic farming methods..."

Chen Jiazhi assumed that Cai Lan was gathering material to prepare for his next article, so he spoke in great detail and slowly, hoping that Cai Lan would have a good memory and remember more of what he said so he could polish his column.

At the end, Chen Jiazhi gave a summary.

"Zengcheng's unique combination of 'cool temperature difference + sandy soil + mountain spring water' gives the late-ripening cabbage a sweetness and crispness that is hard to replicate. I would call it the best winter vegetable in Lingnan!"

Chen Jiazhi emphasized the tone of the words "the best winter vegetables in Lingnan".

Cai Lan understood the implication and asked, "Does Mr. Chen want me to add this sentence to his food review column?"

Chen Jiazhi readily admitted, "Haha, experience counts, and I knew I couldn't hide it from you, Mr. Cai."

Cai Lan pondered his words for a moment, then said thoughtfully, "Indeed, it's worth considering. I still can't forget the sweet and crisp taste after tasting it last time."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "In that case, please come in, Mr. Cai. I have already had someone prepare a late-season cabbage feast for today, all of which are ingredients picked within the last two hours."

"Haha, good, I'll see if it lives up to the reputation of being the best winter vegetable in Lingnan."

The Late-Season Cabbage Feast consists of several dishes that Chen Jiazhi recently collaborated with a local restaurant to develop, along with some local specialty meat dishes.

Due to time constraints, they could only make some improvements and extensions to the traditional methods, but Cai Lan still thoroughly enjoyed the meal and even gave his evaluations one by one, as if he were reminiscing.

"Boiled cabbage in salt water, a seemingly simple cooking method, best brings out the sweetness and texture of the cabbage. The stems and roots taste like sweet and delicious radishes, while the leaves retain the cabbage's own fragrance. Just a little salt is enough to make the vibrant green cabbage incredibly delicious."

"Stir-fried preserved meat with late-season bok choy: The salty aroma of the preserved pork and the sweetness of the sausage are stir-fried together with the late-season bok choy. The oil seeps into the bok choy and combines perfectly with it, which not only cuts through the greasiness of the preserved meat but also prevents the bok choy from becoming bland."

"Soaking bok choy in congee water makes it perfect for winter..."

Listening to Cai Lan's comments, Chen Jiazhi and the others felt the professionalism, which was far superior to what they could only say, "Damn, this is delicious."

For Cai Lan, this trip was worthwhile, given his nature of being fond of good food and women.

For a delicious meal, Cai Lan never complains about the long journey; as long as he can eat the best, it's all worth it.

Today's late-season cabbage feast is a perfect example.

After the banquet, Cai Lan said to Huang Jianyuan, "Mr. Huang, you should learn to cook these dishes. I'll come to Huang's Restaurant to eat next time."

Huang Jianyuan was overjoyed and quickly agreed.

Chen Jiazhi could tell at a glance that the expression was fake; it was too fake. Huang Ji Restaurant had learned to make these dishes in the last couple of days.

"Mr. Chen, thank you for your hospitality. This trip was very worthwhile."

Cai Lan shook hands with Chen Jiazhi to say goodbye. Chen Jiazhi reminded him, "I also look forward to Mr. Cai's food reviews. I hope you will say a few kind words to me."

Cai Lan laughed and said, "It will be published in the newspaper as early as next week. I will tell the truth. Today's vegetables deserve the name of being the best winter vegetables in Lingnan."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and saw Cai Lan off. As for the arrangements, he left it to Tongxingtai to handle. It's also possible that Cai Lan was indeed upright and didn't take any money to get things done.

However, as one of the beneficiaries, Tongxingtai cannot refrain from taking this action.

...

Cai Lan's food review will not be available for another week, but Tong Xingtai's actions continue.

This time, neither Xia Youche nor his son Xia Yang came to Zengcheng; instead, they sent Huang Jianyuan instead, because the father and son were still sorting out clients.

After sending out samples of mustard greens, lettuce, and Zengcheng late-season cabbage for free, the father and son waited for feedback.

"Dad, should I take the initiative to ask?"

"Be patient."

Xia Youche was also very nervous. It was so exciting to poach someone else's partner, but he knew that things couldn't be rushed. If he urged them now, it would put him at a disadvantage in the subsequent negotiations.

The first order feedback didn't come until it got dark.

"Yangyang, I've got it! Paradise Island wants to order some lettuce and late-season bok choy!"

"Okay, it's finally here!"

Xia Yang thought of Paradise Island, a client of Qu Taiji, whose high-end positioning could be seen from the quality of service there.

He was the one who contacted this client, and he ate two late-season cabbage hearts raw for the sake of it.

Evening is the time to prepare the next day's food orders. As the first call was made, more calls came in one after another.

Moreover, the calls were very consistent, mostly about the three free dishes.

This shows that their strategy has been initially effective. The vegetables were given away for free yesterday, and orders have already been placed today, indicating that the quality of the vegetables has been well received.

What puzzled Xia Youche was that he received seven or eight calls, all from clients that Xia Yang had visited.

This made him somewhat suspicious; could eating raw late-season cabbage really have such an effect?

"Yangyang, you answer the phone. I'll call Boss Chen and tell him to ship the goods tonight."

Xia Yang said, "I'll call him."

Xia Youche hesitated for a moment before replying, "Okay, you talk to him. You young people have common topics and should communicate more."

Xia Yang was speechless. He had always felt that Boss Chen was very cold towards him, as if he didn't take him seriously at all.

But he still has to take the initiative to approach her.

After listening to Tongxingtai's request, Chen Jiazhi replied, "The goods will be shipped on time and will definitely arrive by midnight. Please provide timely feedback on any changes in demand so that I can adjust the shipment volume accordingly."

"Understood, Mr. Chen."

With a snap, Chen Jiazhi realized that he had been talking to Xia Yang a lot more often lately.

He didn't like Xia Yang much; he still vividly remembered Xia Yang's arrogant attitude at the Jiangxin vegetable market. "You country bumpkin, Tongxingtai is doing you a favor by buying your vegetables!"

"You country bumpkin, are you looking for death?!"

A year or two has passed, but he still remembers Xia Yang's exact words, which are roughly like this: he is not the same person as the docile sheep he is now.

"Mr. Chen, it's so late, what are you muttering about in your office all by yourself?"

"I'll wait for you to come back from get off work." Chen Jiazhi smiled. "I just got a call from Tongxingtai. They've placed an order for Chi Caixin."

Yi Dinggan was surprised: "So fast?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "At noon, Hong Kong food critic Cai Lan recognized our late-season choy sum. It's no wonder that we won the order, as even the chefs in those restaurants with a little skill couldn't possibly overlook our dish."

Yi Dinggan excitedly picked up the lighter on the table, lit a cigarette, and then casually put it back into his bag.

"Great, we're open! Worth celebrating!"

Chen Jiazhi glanced at him. "So this is your reason for taking my lighter again?"

Yi Dinggan took a comfortable drag on his cigarette and said, "I feel like we're going to succeed again this time. Heli Farm will definitely break even next year."

Chen Jiazhi first reminisced about the lighter before saying, "It won't take a year."

Yi Dinggan was taken aback. "Is a year to break even really that long?"

Chen Jiazhi nodded and said, "Growing vegetables is not like growing trees. It's already a long time to break even in a year."

In his previous life, he had built so many small bases, and he always broke even and made money within the same year.

Although the area is now hundreds of times larger, his standards for himself have also increased.

Heli Farm starts producing vegetables in October. Although vegetable prices are often not ideal, the average price can remain stable between 1 and 1.5 yuan per kilogram due to the supply and distribution channels to Hong Kong.

Even now, the overall output value is not low.

If the late-season cabbage business can be managed well, and sales can be boosted for another two months, there will be a chance to break even after the late-season cabbage harvest is completed in March.

Every time Yi Dinggan felt he had set a very high goal, he would be ruthlessly crushed by the man in front of him.

Breaking even in one year doesn't mean having sales of 20 million yuan a year, but rather having a profit of 20 million yuan after deducting costs.

Suddenly, Yi Dinggan thought of something.

How much is late-season bok choy priced?

“It’s graded,” Chen Jiazhi said thoughtfully. “Top grade is HK$8 per jin, premium grade is HK$5, second-best grade is HK$3, and the next grade, the mass-market products, are HK$2 per jin.”

Yi Dinggan stroked his chin, deep in thought. Chen Jiazhi then said, "These are the prices from Heli and Tongxingtai. As for how much Tongxingtai will sell it for, I didn't ask."

"..." Yi Dinggan: "Will anyone buy it?"

Chen Jiazhi said, "I just told you about the freshly placed orders."

"right."

Yi Dinggan was somewhat stunned by the price. The market had been so-so recently, and he had thought that the cabbage would be very expensive later, but he didn't expect it to be this expensive.

Seeing his bewildered expression, Chen Jiazhi understood the situation and explained.

“Things are valued for their scarcity. This is the first year, and with Cai Lan’s encouragement, I dared to set the price this way. Otherwise, I would have been worried if the quantity increased.”

"But actually, there's still room for price increases for both top-quality and premium items in the future. Right now, we're just building up our reputation..."

Yi Dinggan listened silently, then took out the lighter he had just acquired from his bag and played with it for a while.

"Anyway, I'm just a vegetable grower. I'm only responsible for growing the vegetables. You decide how to sell them. That way, it'll be easier for me."

"Okay, Yi Cai Nong."

Tongxingtai received many orders by phone in one night, but in the early hours of the morning, restaurant buyers came directly to pick up the vegetables.

Chicken heart mustard, daikon radish, and late-season lettuce are all available.

Tongxingtai didn't have enough stock, which caused these three vegetables to sell out early. The good news is that it also boosted the sales of other vegetables.

"Boss Chen, please order more goods today."

"Boss Chen, would you like to order more dishes?"

"Mr. Chen, could you add some more..."

After receiving several calls from Xia Yang, Chen Jiazhi grew impatient and said, "Can you explain everything at once?"

"From morning to afternoon today, the number of customers placing orders has been gradually increasing."

Xia Yang really wanted to directly refute your point about timely feedback on changing needs, but he dared not speak out despite his anger.

The effects of late-season mustard greens, chicken heart mustard, and large lettuce on Tongxingtai are self-evident. He can only keep a low profile. For the sake of the young models, I, Yang Shao, have to endure it.

"I'll send over more goods today."

Over the past three or four days, Tongxingtai's number of high-quality clients has continued to increase, with the penetration rate of the 88 companies on the list exceeding half.

In addition, the market has also attracted some wholesalers and retailers, and the overall sales trend is very good.

And Xia Yang started sweeping the streets again. To be honest, he was a little nostalgic after not having eaten raw late-season cabbage for a few days.

Xia Youche was full of energy at his stall, as if he could really see the day when he would dominate the Hong Kong vegetable market.

Zengcheng late-season cabbage surprised him again, especially since Cai Lan's food review column hadn't even been published yet!
Mr. Chen is so charismatic.

These past few days, Heli Farm has been filled with the atmosphere of a bountiful harvest. Everyone working at Heli Farm received a red envelope, making the New Year's Day holiday atmosphere even stronger.

After the New Year's Day holiday, Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu returned to the city and sent two boxes of carefully packaged premium Zengcheng late-season cabbage to Chen Guanye and other officials they had connections with.

The next day, Chen Guanye called Chen Jiazhi to express his satisfaction with both the vegetables and Heli Agriculture.

Chen Jiazhi understood the underlying meaning: the leader was very satisfied with him. Besides being young and handsome, his most outstanding quality was his personal ability.

Meanwhile, in the conference room of Yucai Industry, the atmosphere was somber, and everyone's face was solemn.

Yang Jianzun's expression darkened, and he slammed his fist on the table in anger. "It's been several days already! Dozens of customers have been mixing in Tongxingtai's vegetables at the same time, and you're only just realizing it now!"

"My house has been almost completely robbed!"

"All you think about is getting a raise. Don't you know whether you've been working hard or not?!"

After venting his anger, Yang Jianzun suppressed his rage and analyzed the cause and effect, the ins and outs, with everyone.

It's actually quite simple. Cong Yu led the attack on Tong Xingtai and Kaopu Xiansheng, but Kaopu Xiansheng and Tong Xingtai used a smokescreen to cause trouble for their own people first. Their real target was Cong Yu, and they only stabbed Cong Yu in the heart at the crucial moment.

Some people lamented that they had been careless.

But tears had no effect.

Many of Congyu's customers did not choose to renew their contracts in time after they expired on New Year's Day, which made them realize the problem.

However, failure to renew on time indicates a serious problem, and the customer may have found someone else.

Time is running out for Congyu.

"Arrange a car, I need to go back to Hong Kong. I'll keep my clients here no matter the cost!"

(End of this chapter)