1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 443 The Best Winter Vegetables of Lingnan
Like Yang Jianzun of Congyu, Qu Jingtai of Qu Taiji also discovered the problem. He was equally furious and took a boat back to Hong Kong overnight, vowing to fight Tong Hing Tai to the death!
There's no way we can not fight it!
Orders from entertainment venues are Au Tai Kee's core sales channel in Hong Kong.

He thought that Xia Yang had become more restrained after setting up the first wave of familiar venues, but it turned out that he still had a big plan hidden in the dark.

Qu Jingtai also felt the anger of having his home stolen!
After returning to Hong Kong, Yang Jianzun and Qu Jingtai also found the core problem.

Tongxingtai provided three kinds of high-quality vegetables for free, which may have impressed customers with their quality. However, it is also possible that some customers used this as an excuse to negotiate for more favorable terms.

If it's the latter, it's easier to handle; lowering the price will only mean a slight reduction in profit.

However, contrary to expectations, most customers were the former, meaning they were impressed by the quality of the vegetables, which was the worst-case scenario.

Paradise Island is an upscale club that offers buffet-style breakfast, lunch and dinner. It used to be one of Au Tai Kee's premium clients.

However, a few days ago, Tongxingtai broke through and infiltrated their ranks.

Qu Jingtai contacted the purchasing manager He Hongwen several times by phone, but the other party's attitude was ambiguous. He was unwilling to renew the contract with Qu Taiji and was just keeping the matter hanging.

Even if you bribe someone, it's still the same.

That evening, Qu Jingtai met with He Hongwen again to discuss the renewal of the order.

He Hongwen, holding a glass of red wine, said, "President Qu, it's not that I don't care about past relationships, but this time not only did the lobby manager speak up for Tongxingtai, but even the head chef Yan Guang supported Tongxingtai."

Do you know what Yan Guang said?
He bluntly told the boss that Au Tai Kee's food was mediocre, while Tung Hing Tai's food was several levels above, and even personally cooked several vegetable dishes for comparison.

He Hongwen took a sip of red wine, looked directly at Qu Jingtai, and slowly said, "I've also seen and tasted it. Other people's dishes are indeed better. You can't compare to them in terms of appearance and taste."

Qu Jingtai was somewhat embarrassed. He actually valued the quality of vegetables very much. In the past year, Dongsheng Farm had made many adjustments based on the practices of Jiangxin Vegetable Market, and he was confident that the quality was not bad.

However, it still falls short compared to Jiangxin Market, not to mention Heli Farm, which has better conditions in all aspects.

The other party promoted the concept of organic farming, and Dongsheng Farm also wanted to mention organic farming, but unfortunately, the basic conditions were still far from being met.

Furthermore, Ho Hung-man has personally seen and tasted it, so any further argument he makes about it will only be a futile struggle.

Thinking of this, Qu Jingtai looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention, took out a red envelope from inside his shirt and stuffed it into He Hongwen's hand.

"What do you mean by this, Manager Qu?!"

"Old He, please teach me. This is just a small token of my appreciation."

"Manager Qu, you really know how to give me a tough time!"

With He Hongwen's many years of experience as a purchasing manager, he could tell how much merchandise was in the red envelope just by touching it, and it was more than ever before.

But He Hongwen still refused to accept it. "Mr. Qu, considering how many years we've been together, I can give you an idea, but whether it works or not depends on you."

Qu Jingtai's heart suddenly skipped a beat, and then He Hongwen said, "If you can find a source of goods of similar quality to Tongxingtai, I can try to negotiate for you again, and there might still be some hope if we can make a further concession on the price."

But if you can't find it, sorry, no one will dare accept your respect.

With that, He Hongwen returned the red envelope to Qu Jingtai, then downed his wine in one gulp and left.

Qu Jingtai sensed the difficulty of the situation. If Paradise Island was already in such a predicament, he imagined that many other customers were in the same situation. But despite the difficulty, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and proceed.

He pondered a solution. Tongxingtai was a shareholder of Heli Agriculture, so it was impossible for him to get goods from Heli and Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

However, their long-term interaction also led to many entanglements between Dongsheng Farm and Jiangxin Vegetable Market, and he knew more information than Yang Jianzun from Congyu.

For example, with chicken heart mustard, Qu Jingtai knows the specific production area.

Besides reliable fresh produce, local farmers must also grow it. In fact, people from Maoming occasionally come to the Huacheng market to sell chicken heart mustard, but the quantity is too small.

To ensure a stable supply, Qu Jingtai will likely have no choice but to send people to Shuidong in Maoming to purchase supplies.

As for lettuce, Dongsheng Farm also grows lettuce, but for now, they can only select the best of the best. For the long term, they can only try to find a solution from Jiangxin Vegetable Market: first, to buy seedlings, and second, to find out about seed information.

"Oh," Qu Jingtai slapped his forehead. He Hongwen had also mentioned bok choy. There was indeed a gap, but they could only choose the best of the best and put in more effort.

Qu Jingtai was unaware that Tongxingtai had brought out yet another new variety: Zengcheng Late-Season Cabbage.

...

There is a Lei Garden restaurant in Sham Shui Po, which is also the flagship store. It has 6 stores in Hong Kong and 2 stores in Singapore. It is one of the mid-to-high-end restaurants that has gained fame in Hong Kong in recent years.

In the past, most of the vegetables in the Sham Shui Po area were supplied by Tung Hing Tai, but Lei Garden Restaurant has always been a valued customer of Tung Hing Tai.

The situation changed in recent days after Xia Youche met with Chen Shujie, the owner of Lei Garden Restaurant.

After the vegetable supply contract with Congyu expired, Lei Garden Restaurant did not immediately renew it, but chose to wait and see, wanting vegetables from both Congyu and Tong Hing Tai.

Yang Jianzun was very annoyed by this wavering attitude, but he still jogged over to shake hands with Chen Shujie after seeing him.

"Mr. Chen, I apologize for bothering you."

Chen Shujie shook hands with him lightly and said, "Mr. Yang, I have guests later, so please keep it brief."

Now that things had come to this, Yang Jianzun had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "President Chen, I'm here to discuss the renewal of the vegetable supply contract. I hope Yu can make some further concessions on the price."

“It’s not about the price,” Chen Shujie said frankly. “I value the quality of the ingredients more than the price.”

“I know why you came here, and I can also tell you why I haven’t renewed my contract yet, because the quality of Tongxingtai’s vegetables impressed me.”

After a pause, Chen Shujie looked directly at Yang Jianzun and said, "Unless the dishes you supply can reach the level of Tongxingtai, Liyuan will not renew its contract with Congyu. Moreover, you don't have much time left."

Yang Jianzun assumed that Chen Shujie was showing leniency out of consideration for their past cooperation, and pondered for a moment before saying:
"I will send the samples as soon as possible."

Chen Shujie left. He didn't say that the reason he still had time with Yu was not because of past friendship, but simply because Tongxingtai was asking for too high a price for a certain dish, and the two sides hadn't completely reached an agreement.

Therefore, Chen Shujie was willing to give Congyu another chance. If he could find a cheaper dish of the same quality, he would have room to negotiate the price.

Instead of being stuck in this situation where neither advancing nor retreating is an option.

Soon, Qu Taiji and Cong Yudu took action, trying to find alternative sources of goods.

Both companies were working tirelessly to preserve their core businesses in Hong Kong.

Samples were sent, but were quickly rejected.

In particular, the difference between Chinese cabbage and Zengcheng late-season Chinese cabbage wasted a lot of time for both families to figure out that apart from both having the word "Chinese cabbage" in their names, they are very different in terms of variety, appearance and taste.

At this point, Yang Jianzun and Qu Jingtai realized that Kaopu Fresh had launched new products.

Besides mustard greens and lettuce, this is another very strong new product that has won over the taste buds of many restaurants.

Where can we find a substitute for Zengcheng late-season cabbage now?
Yang Jianzun and Qu Jingtai both expressed similar sentiments: "Just how much have they done behind the scenes!"

I always thought that Tong Hing Tai wanted to take revenge on He Hing and Wing Lung, but now I realize that the knife that was stabbed at Qu Tai Ji and Cong Yu was so fast that it caught me off guard and was so sharp that it was unstoppable.

It's just that I'm still unwilling to give up all my years of hard work.

They wanted to try again.

The people sent by Qu Jingtai to Pengcun did not retrieve the samples; instead, they sent back samples of mustard greens and attempted to organize a supply.

Yang Jianzun sought to solve the problem from within the Yucai Market itself. He started out growing vegetables and made his fortune from it, firmly believing that if others could grow vegetables, he could definitely grow them too.

He was confident in growing mustard greens, lettuce, and bok choy, but the Zengcheng late-season bok choy that suddenly appeared was something he didn't have time to plant, even if he was confident. But he still had to try, since Congyu had more than just Liyuan Restaurant as a customer.

...

Cai Lan submitted his manuscript to the newspaper office.

This was a food review article of more than two thousand words, which spread throughout the streets and alleys of Hong Kong the next morning with the help of the Oriental Daily News.

Many people working in the catering industry and food lovers have a habit of reading Cai Lan's food review column.

Uncle Qiao was such an old man, in good health. When he got the newspaper that day, he first started reading Cai Lan's food review special issue, "A Little Fun".

The title immediately caught Qiao Bo's attention: "[The Pinnacle of Lingnan Winter Vegetables—Zengcheng Late-Season Cabbage?]"

Like Guangdong, few people in Hong Kong don't love eating green vegetables, especially bok choy.

The same goes for Job.

"Cai Lan's article seems quite interesting."

Job, wearing glasses and with his legs crossed, began to read slowly and deliberately, and the first part made him laugh.

"I spent several days staking out Cai Lan just to eat raw late-season cabbage in front of him. This promotional method is quite interesting."

Soon, Job read the part where Cai Lan went to Huang Ji Restaurant to taste breakfast, which was also the part that many people liked to read the most.

Cai Lan always manages to vividly describe the deliciousness of food to his readers through his writing.

It's clear from the text that Huang's Restaurant's breakfast is quite good.

However, when it came time to savor the last of the green vegetables, Cai Lan's praise for them became clearly visible in his writing.

Words like 'crunch,' 'sweet,' and 'crisp and tender' kept appearing...

Job was mesmerized. He seemed to be in Cai Lan's shoes, tasting the delicious vegetables and going with him to Zengcheng to find the best late-ripening cabbage hearts. He interpreted the birth of a delicious vegetable from the perspective of climate, soil, water source and planting method.

Salted Late-Season Cabbage;
Stir-fried preserved meat with late-season bok choy;

Soak the bok choy in the congee water for a while;

Baked bok choy in its original flavor...

He was captivated by the preparation of each dish, which whetted his appetite. Cai Lan praised it as a top-notch winter vegetable from Lingnan.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Cai Lan recommend a vegetable like this; I have to try it."

Job wrote down the address of Huang's Restaurant in the newspaper and set off with brisk steps.

There were quite a few people like Jobs this morning, and the crowd grew even larger as noon approached.

The three Wong Kee restaurants in Hong Kong quickly became fully booked, attracting a constant stream of diners who had heard of their reputation.

Huang Jianyuan was tired but happy; working with General Manager Chen was truly a pleasant experience.

At the Li Wan Restaurant, during afternoon tea time, Ho Hung-man picked up a copy of the Oriental Daily News. Counting the days, he realized that Chua Lam's food review had been published today.

A moment later, He Hongwen finished reading the description of Zengcheng late-season cabbage in the article with surprise.

Immediately, he called Tongxingtai. Xia Youche was catching up on sleep, but that didn't stop He Hongwen from knowing that the Chi Caixin mentioned in the article was the Chi Caixin from Tongxingtai.

It will be an exclusive supplier at least this year.

He Hongwen then drove to the nearest Huang Ji Restaurant, where the crowds impressed him with Cai Lan's influence and solidified his decision to sign a contract with Tongxingtai.

If you act quickly, you can catch this trend.

After returning to the store, He Hongwen called Tongxingtai again to inform them of the signing of the contract. Xia Youche, who had only slept for three or four hours, had already been woken up by the others.

But he harbored no resentment. He had plenty of time to sleep after he died, and now, now he was about to take off.

Starting in the afternoon, Xia Youche and his son Xia Yang were busy signing contracts.

When Xia Yang signed several contracts, people would always bring up the story of him eating raw cabbage hearts. After Cai Lan's article publicized it, the story became an interesting anecdote in Hong Kong.

Xia Yang had no way to express his bitterness. If it weren't for the young model, he would never have been willing to eat so many late-season cabbages raw.

But now he has to maintain this persona in order to become a more youthful and beautiful young model.

In front of the client, Xia Yang took another bite of the late-season cabbage heart. The client did not feel offended; instead, he gave a meaningful smile.

"Boss Chen, orders for late-season cabbage have exploded!"

"It's kind of you to remember to call me."

Chen Jiazhi's tone was full of teasing and joking. It was already dark, but luckily he had calculated that the article would be published today. During the day, he couldn't get through to Xia Youche and his son by phone, and Huang Jianyuan was too busy to even catch his breath.

He had already anticipated what was happening in Hong Kong.

"Don't worry, Mr. Xia, I'll send you whatever you need tonight, not a single pound less."

"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Chen. From now on, I, Xia Youche, and Tongxingtai will follow your lead!"

"No need for that. We are partners. Congratulations, Mr. Xia. Enjoy this feast."

At this moment, Xia Youche really wanted Xia Yang to hear this: what did Tongxingtai mean by being manipulated by Kaopu Fresh?

How can it be!

We are partners, Mr. Chen said it himself!

In the early hours of the morning, refrigerated trucks carrying late-season cabbage arrived in Hong Kong, and were subsequently distributed to retail stalls, restaurants, clubs, and dance halls...

That night, Heli Farm delivered approximately 40 tons of vegetables to Tongxingtai.

Nearly 10 tons of Zengcheng late-season cabbage were among the products, and they were all sold out.

But Xia Youche could feel that the hype hadn't subsided; on the contrary, it was still spreading, and more and more restaurants and ordinary consumers knew about the name "Late Cabbage".

The number of orders only increased on the second day.

On that same day, Yang Jianzun, who was still trying to fight for it one more time, suddenly realized that the sky had fallen.

One by one, customers signed new vegetable supply contracts with Tongxingtai, and Congyu's high-quality customer base quickly became nourishment for others.

At the same time, Qu Taiji's salesman who went to Pengcun also contacted Qu Jingtai.

"Manager Qu, are you still buying mustard greens?"

"Buy it! Of course we'll buy it! Even if the wolf has already entered the house, we have to find a way to drive him out!"

Following the same method, Qu Jingtai arranged for someone to go to Zengcheng immediately.

(End of this chapter)