1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 444 Trend
The situation was changing too quickly, and Yang Jianzun and Qu Jingtai were increasingly exhausted from running around.

If the original contract customers only had the intention to cheat, now most of them are already on the path to cheating, and some have already started dating other people.

But they still have to suppress their disgust and try to persuade their clients to stop cheating.

It's not just physically tiring, it's mentally exhausting too.

Qu Jingtai sent people to Zengcheng to see if they could buy some late-season cabbage from farmers.

No matter how disgusting or difficult it may be, he will not give it up easily. So many years of hard work and dedication are not so easily taken away.

After making the arrangements, Qu Jingtai finally had the mind to read Cai Lan's comments. He was indignant, but he still walked towards the nearest Huang Ji Restaurant without thinking.

Compared to high-end restaurants, Huang Ji Restaurant has a more down-to-earth, everyday feel, which makes its business seem very booming.

Which restaurant owner wouldn't be tempted by such a scene?
This was solely due to a food review by Cai Lan, in which he highly praised a particular vegetable.

"It's not just me who'll be coming to visit; other people in the restaurant industry will also be paying attention to Huang's Restaurant."

Another voice sounded from behind, "At least in the short term, late-season cabbage will become a trend, it just depends on whether it can stay that way in the long term."

Qu Jingtai turned around and saw Yang Jianzun with a worried look on his face. "Mr. Yang, you've come to check on things too?"

Yang Jianzun said, "If you can come, then naturally I can come too. The loss of customers from jade has intensified these past two days."

Qu Jingtai suddenly felt less upset. He teased, "Why did you have to provoke Kaopu Xiansheng and Tongxingtai? Do you regret it now?"

"No."

Yang Jianzun's heart was bleeding, but he had to pretend that nothing was wrong.

"Yuhe and Heli Agriculture have overlapping business models. If I don't take action against them, they will eventually take action against me. I just didn't expect them to be so cunning and ruthless!"

"If he doesn't make a move, he won't do it at all; but when he does, he'll be a sensation." Qu Jingtai started to gloat a little. "From now on, Yu will have a lot more to suffer."

Yang Jianzun chuckled coldly, "How good can Qu Taiji be?"

Qu Jingtai: "At least my clients still consider personal relationships and connections. High-end restaurants are different. Clients pay close attention to the differences in ingredients. Mr. Yang should understand this well."

Yang Jianzun left, somewhat disoriented.

He thought of Chen Shujie; Lei Garden is a typical Cantonese seafood restaurant that pays great attention to the quality of its ingredients.

When Chen Shujie first opened his store, he lost money for six consecutive years.

After years of hard work, he transitioned from running a Western restaurant to operating a Cantonese restaurant, and subsequently became better and better at it, becoming increasingly picky about the ingredients.

I heard that in order to obtain high-quality ingredients, they are recently considering building a farm in Zhanjiang to raise pigs, chickens and ducks on their own.

Such people rarely consider personal relationships when choosing suppliers, but instead focus more on quality.

Chen Shujie said that time was running out for Congyu, and it really wasn't. The day after he said that, Cai Lan's food review came out, and he signed a contract with Tongxingtai.

"Fuck you!"

Yang Jianzun became increasingly angry as he thought about how Yu had consistently focused on the high-end market and had quite a few customers like him.

Now he only hopes to find a stable source of goods in Zengcheng. After all, it is called Zengcheng Late-Season Cabbage, and there must be many farmers in the area who grow it. At least he can retain some customers.

Secondly, there's the export market, where profits are consistently high.

He hasn't considered using underhanded tactics against Kaopu Fresh, firstly because he's far from despairing, and secondly because Kaopu Fresh has Chen Guanye's support behind it.

Heli Agriculture is also a key project in the city, and it also has a poverty alleviation aspect. Its positive impact on the local area is already beginning to show.

After all, Cai Lan was promoting Zengcheng late-season cabbage, not reliable late-season cabbage.

If Cong Yu still wants to make a living in Huacheng, using underhanded tactics might not be worth the risk.

Like Qu Jingtai, Yang Jianzun also sent people to Zengcheng.

To his relief, he could still buy late-season cabbage locally, but the quantity was small, the quality was not as good as Heli Agriculture's, and the supply was scattered, requiring individual households to organize their own sources.

But something is better than nothing.

Yang Jianzun and Qu Jingtai simultaneously instructed their subordinates to organize the supply of goods. Both of them had risen from the bottom as vegetable farmers and vendors, and they were resilient and would never give up until the very last step.

This industry is also destined to be one where it's difficult for a winner to take all.

No matter how much the two struggled, customers were still being lost little by little, like slowly bleeding flesh with a dull knife, which was extremely painful.

That day, Yang Jianzun walked out of a chain restaurant again and looked back at the signboard.

"I'll be back sooner or later."

But soon Yang Jianzun saw the news in the newspaper that Cai Lan had gone to Huang Ji Restaurant to taste the late-season cabbage.

In an interview, Cai Lan not only commented on late-season cabbage again, but also praised mustard greens.

Cai Lan doesn't particularly like mustard greens, but he thinks chicken heart mustard greens are different. This is also the first time he has commented on mustard greens, which has attracted a little attention.

What upset Yang Jianzun was that late-season cabbage seemed to have become a trend.

Besides Cai Lan, other well-known food critics and celebrities have also praised or tasted Zengcheng Late-Season Cabbage.

Zengcheng late-season cabbage has also captured the market with its stable quality, achieving almost zero negative reviews since its launch.

Clearly, Zengcheng late-season cabbage will not only become a recent trend, but is also likely to maintain its dominant position in the market.

Once it establishes itself as a leader in Lingnan winter vegetables, it will become a prestigious brand.

And Heli Agriculture, which drove all of this, will inevitably reap huge rewards.

At the same time, Yang Jianzun was also intimidated by the operational capabilities of Kaopu Fresh. From chicken heart mustard to late-season cabbage, two different kinds of vegetables were gradually promoted by them.

The planting standards and quality control behind it are undoubtedly top-notch.

The road ahead for Yu will be very difficult. Fortunately, Kaopu Fresh does not prioritize exports, otherwise the situation would be even more severe.

Compared to the worried faces of Yang Jianzun and Qu Jingtai, Xia Youche was riding high.

Almost every day, new customers join the Tongxingtai family.

Besides securing most of the 88 clients on the list, some intermediaries and retailers also came after hearing about the company.

"Reset, reset..."

Xia Youche used a calculator to tally up today's order volume, and then dialed the phone number for Heli Agriculture's office.

"Hey, this is Xia Youche. I need to order more late-season bok choy today, more, more!"

"We can't add any more, Mr. Xia."

"Huh..." Upon hearing the familiar voice, Xia Youche immediately changed to a gentle tone, "Boss Chen, you're back in Zengcheng again?"

Chen Jiazhi said calmly, "Yes, you've increased your orders too much, and the supply of late-season cabbage can't keep up."

"The customers are waiting for it, Mr. Chen. Is it possible to harvest it earlier or buy it from the farmers? I'd appreciate it if you could think of a solution."

“The farmers’ produce has all been bought by people from Taiji in Yuhe District.” Chen Jiazhi pondered, “Let’s raise the price. If we don’t raise it now, when will we? Right now, people are looking for vegetables, not vegetables looking for people.”

"Huh?!" Xia Youche immediately exclaimed, "Yes, it's time to raise the price!"

Chen Jiazhi's tone changed, "President Xia, I feel like you're acting against me. You've been selling vegetables for decades, and you've lost even this basic market sense?"

"No, no, absolutely not." Xia Youche hurriedly explained. He didn't want to cause any misunderstanding with Boss Chen. He had indeed been extremely busy lately, focusing only on poaching clients, securing orders, and getting other vegetables from Heli Farm into the supply chain, in addition to the three vegetables, including late-season bok choy...

It's really satisfying to poach someone else's partner.

In addition, there's the task of receiving and selling goods, leaving no time for thinking all day long.

After finally calming Mr. Chen down, Xia Youche said, "I'll notify them to raise the price right away!"

Chen Jiazhi nodded, "We also need to be careful not to overdo it, and we should take this opportunity to promote other dishes as well."

"it is good."

Tongxingtai's price increase naturally leads to a higher settlement price with Heli, further increasing their already substantial profits.

In fact, part of the credit goes to Qu Taiji and Congyu. If their sales representatives hadn't been scrambling to buy late-season cabbage in areas like Xiaolou, Zhengguo, and Paitan, driving up the price, Chen Jiazhi probably wouldn't have thought he could raise the price.

Things had developed to this point, which was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Chi Cai Xin has not only become popular in Hong Kong, but has also gained some fame in Shenzhen and Guangzhou.

Chen Zhengxu led the distribution center to do some small-scale promotions, and then it became unstoppable, with the demand increasing day by day.

Chen Jiazhi was so annoyed by the disturbance that he decided to return to his hometown to find some peace and quiet.

"The late-season cabbage should be ready by now. Good things can indeed stand the test of time."

Even though he knew that Chi Caixin would succeed before the planning, he was still very excited when the moment actually arrived.

He also vaguely remembered that the output value of Zengcheng late-season cabbage reached the billion-yuan level in the future, and this potential was destined to benefit Kaopu Fresh immensely.

This also made Chen Jiazhi rack his brains to recall what other well-known vegetables or fruits there were, so that he could try them out again when he had the chance in the future.

After sitting in the office for a while, Chen Jiazhi walked into the vegetable field.

The booming consumer market has kept Heli Farm, the production site, extremely busy. Even Li Xiu, who returned from the city, joined the vegetable harvesting team, and her mother often went to the fields to help.

The local workers also talked about it while they were working, and their words were often filled with disbelief.

Why is the tall-legged cabbage so popular in Hong Kong?

Not only are rapeseed shoots selling well, but even the thick leaves that were previously used to feed pigs can be sold for profit.

Many people have spotted the business opportunity.

At the same time, they have a greater appreciation for the strength of Heli Agriculture. Heli can make money, at least the land rent is more guaranteed, and they can get more wages on time for their work.

With more work in the fields lately, and the ability to earn overtime pay and even bonuses, Heli has gained a firm foothold in the local area.

Team morale at Hop Lee Farm is also at an all-time high, given the daily output of produce and the substantial Hong Kong dollar earnings.

After arriving at the vegetable field, Chen Jiazhi could feel the joy of harvest from the workers, managers, and locals taking a walk.

Even the two dogs were jumping around and having a great time when they followed him on his patrol.

After inspecting Heli Farm, Chen Jiazhi also communicated with Guo Mancang, his second sister Chen Jiafang, and other managers. However, Yi Dinggan went to other farms.

In his words, such a large Heli Farm cannot rely solely on late-season cabbage.

But Chen Jiazhi wanted to say, yes.

Given the current situation, these 3000 mu of land will likely have to be planted with late-season Chinese cabbage in the second half of the year.

After Yi Dinggan returned from Zhengguo, he had just parked his motorcycle when he overheard Chen Jiazhi's plan to plant late-season cabbage all over the place in the second half of the year right outside the office door.

"Are you crazy, or did I hear you wrong?"

“I’m not crazy, and you didn’t mishear me.” Chen Jiazhi handed a pair of gloves to Yi Dinggan. “Wear these when you ride your bike from now on.”

"Tch, I'm not cold."

"Then come back."

As Chen Jiazhi was about to snatch it, Yi Dinggan nimbly dodged him, saying, "You've already given it away, how can you have the nerve to take it back?"

After fiddling with the gloves for a moment, Yi Dinggan said, "I'm afraid that after this wave passes, the sales of late-season cabbage will return to normal, or sales will drop significantly by this time next year."

As the head of Heli Agriculture, Yi Dinggan is well aware of how much of each type of vegetable is produced each day.

Late-season Chinese cabbage has a much higher price, resulting in its production value far exceeding others.

However, in terms of sales volume, regular bok choy still has an advantage. In addition, other vegetables are also selling well and have remained stable.

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "Believe me, even if the popularity of late-season cabbage in Hong Kong may decline by the end of the year, Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai are still waiting with their eyes on it. It won't be a problem to sell the 3000 mu of produce."

Yi Dinggan was surprised: "Domestic demand is also huge?"

"Zhengxu and Li Cai didn't contact you, but they kept pestering me for goods, and I managed to withstand it all." Chen Jiazhi shrugged. "Otherwise, why do you think I came back? To help you?"

Yi Dinggan pursed his lips, "I thought you came back to go fishing."

"I'd like to too," Chen Jiazhi said helplessly, "but everyone is busy with their careers and striving for success. I can't just go fishing without any distractions."

Just then, the office phone rang, and a moment later, a clerk called out, "Mr. Yi, Mr. Cai from the stall is looking for you."

Yi Dinggan raised an eyebrow, looked at Chen Jiazhi, and said, "Didn't you say you held on?"

If it were just a regular daily vegetable request, there would be someone to handle it for me now, so Li wouldn't need to call.

Chen Jiazhi frowned slightly, went into his office to answer the phone, and said, "I told you not to rush the market, why didn't you listen!"

"Um... Brother-in-law... I'd like to ask Brother Yi to help me refill my fishing spot. I'm planning to go fishing in a couple of days."

"You'd better be really fishing!"

"Really fishing, really fishing!"

Li Cai swallowed all his words, only to find himself in the crossfire. After hanging up the phone, he looked at Chen Zhengxu with a helpless expression.

"Your uncle answered the phone."

"He ran back to Zengcheng?" Chen Zhengxu's eyes widened. After Li Cai nodded in confirmation, he sighed, "He really ran into trouble. He was probably annoyed by the constant nagging."

Li Cai spread his hands and said, "President Xu, I really have to go fishing in a couple of days. I've been getting annoyed by people nagging me, so I'm going to escape this." Do you want to come?

"I'm not going."

Chen Zhengxu shook his head and said that if you look closely, you can see that he was smiling. The trend of late-season cabbage in Hong Kong could spread to Shenzhen and Guangzhou, partly because he was helping to promote it.

Although the supply of late-season choy sum at the distribution center is limited, most of the customers already know that the late-season choy sum that has recently become popular in Hong Kong comes from Kaopu Fresh.

Moreover, while there wasn't enough late-season cabbage, he also had mustard greens, lettuce, and many other kinds of vegetables.

The fame of late-ripening cabbage not only belongs to the cabbage itself, but also makes the brand of Kaopu Fresh even more renowned.

Chen Zhengxu could feel that business was becoming easier to negotiate with recently. No matter where he went, most clients were willing to chat with him more or politely decline.

It feels good.

Moreover, according to my uncle's plan, the supply of late-season cabbage will be plentiful in the second half of the year. The Hong Kong market alone will definitely not be able to absorb it all, so it will inevitably be rolled out to the Pearl River Delta. Promoting it in advance now is just to whet people's appetites a little earlier...

Bah! This is called "preparation is key to success," and opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared.

(End of this chapter)