1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 448 The Mayor Invites Me for Tea

After leaving the Pengcun base, Chen Jiazhi went to the Jiangxin vegetable market.

The torrential rains last June made Qi Yongfeng more cautious, but he still retained his drive and managed to catch a new crop of water spinach after the rain, mitigating some of the losses.

Throughout the second half of the year, Jiangxin Vegetable Market emphasized stability.

The production and quality of the vegetables were stable, and the sales in the second half of the year just exceeded 10 million yuan. The profit was average, but the money was earned very comfortably.

Chen Jiazhi was also pleased after seeing it.

This management style may fluctuate occasionally in the overall situation of leafy vegetables over the next ten or twenty years, but it will not affect long-term profitability.

If we disregard human factors, they can be completely free-range.

Chen Jiazhi sometimes felt that he was lucky or had good judgment, as the farm managers he chose were all quite reliable.

One reason he was willing to train them was that they all had a talent for growing vegetables.

On the road, Chen Jiazhi often talked about these topics with Xue Jun.

Xue Jun once said something that really resonated with him: "If you work with reliable people, you will gradually become reliable yourself."

Xue Jun seemed to be alluding to himself, or perhaps to Yi Dinggan, or even Qi Yongfeng.
In Chen Jiazhi's memory, all three of them had a history of being 'unreliable'.

In his previous life, Xue Jun lost his life in a fight.

In his previous life, Yi Dinggan would take him fishing every day while he was at work; now he only baits the area but doesn't fish.

Qi Yongfeng isn't as reckless anymore;

Others have also changed to varying degrees, including Li Xiu, who is quite different now. He may not be as worried as he was in his previous life. Li Xiu still trusts him completely and is even more attached to him.

As the plane soared into the sky, Chen Jiazhi, with his eyes closed, was still reflecting on the changes in 'people'. Running a vegetable market and a fruit and vegetable business are inseparable from people.

The most needed quality is reliability.

Chen Jiazhi muttered to himself, "If anyone dares to say I'm bad at naming things in the future, I'll have to have a serious talk with them."

He felt that the name "Kaopu Fresh" was very well chosen, and it was gradually forming a trend, or rather, a corporate characteristic and corporate culture.

Everyone is reliable or is becoming reliable.

The value brought by this spiritual wealth is also very important for the growth of enterprises.

January 20, big cold.

When Chen Jiazhi arrived at the prosperous vegetable market, the cold wind was biting, and the surface of the vegetables grown in the open field was covered with a layer of ice crystals, which obviously slowed down the growth of the vegetables.

The vegetable market has entered its off-season.

However, the nearby Luonan Horticulture Farm is still thriving, with the Baoyang cucumbers and tomatoes in the greenhouses growing perfectly and fetching decent prices.

However, compared to the investment, the overall cost-effectiveness is not high.

This is the current situation of collective and state-owned horticultural farms in Shanghai.

Upon arriving in Fanrong, the first thing Chen Jiazhi did was to inspect the fields, and the second was to visit local officials in his field.

He had exchanges with everyone from villages and towns to Liao Ming, the director of the Baoshan Vegetable Office.

I also learned a lot of information from this. Not only were the collective horticultural farms not making money, but the Shanghai Vegetable Group was also struggling, with two or three hundred state-owned vegetable stores suffering large-scale losses.

This year, a very eye-catching "outlier" has emerged in Baoshan District - the Fanrong Vegetable Market.

Established in 1995, the company generated $284 million in foreign exchange in 1996, and its domestic sales reached 126 million yuan.

Such performance is remarkable, and in terms of yield per unit area, it far surpasses all other horticultural farms in the city.

The arrival of a dragon crossing the river from the south naturally attracted numerous visiting and learning groups.

As a result, more people have set their sights on the export market, and Baoyang cucumbers, tomatoes, and even broccoli have become research targets for many.

Chen Jiazhi also learned from Liao Ming that Baoshan District would invest 4500 million yuan to renovate a modern vegetable and horticultural farm.

They made it sound very impressive, mentioning the comprehensive introduction of Israeli greenhouse drip irrigation technology, and so on.

In his previous life, Chen Jiazhi had spent several years in Baoshan and knew about this modern vegetable and horticultural farm. After a few years of struggling to keep the business afloat, it switched to growing flowers.

Clearly, this was a failed investment.

Since the deal was already done, he couldn't say anything. He just asked the drip irrigation supplier, and it turned out to be from Israel again.

For vegetable farmers who rely on growing vegetables to make money, this technology is not cost-effective at all, but it is the most frequently introduced technology by agricultural science and technology parks in various places in recent years.

After leaving Liao Ming's office, Chen Jiazhi sighed, "I hope Green Vine Company can get up and running soon. Even if it can't kill these foreign products, it can at least bring down the prices."

The prosperous vegetable market will also be upgraded with micro-sprinkler irrigation, and Green Vine Company has sent people to design it.

Ao Dehai lamented, "I also feel that 4500 million yuan is too expensive, and the area is not large. It will be difficult to break even by growing cucumbers and tomatoes."

A cold wind was howling outside the car window. Chen Jiazhi wanted to smoke a cigarette, but the cold wind made him shrink his neck, so he quickly closed the window.

Planting broccoli early in this kind of weather will be very challenging.

However, having had successful experience, Ao Dehai became more adept at it, and the broccoli seedlings sprouted very well.

It also uses cold-resistant 'excellent' seeds, which are more resistant to cold and have a longer shelf life after harvest, making them more suitable for export.

In this day and age, most people are not very aware of the importance of actively seeking out good seeds.

Furthermore, its excellent cold resistance still relies on imports, resulting in a very small distribution volume, which is also a barrier to entry.

Even with competition, the prosperous vegetable market remains fearless.

Chen Jiazhi didn't stay in Shanghai for long. He inspected the fields, met with people, and arranged the year-end bonuses before heading to Yuanmou.

Yuanmou has also performed well this year, achieving its set goals.

The 100-mu greenhouse base in Huangguayuan Town is currently yielding a bumper harvest. Making money is secondary; the more important thing is that it has become a benchmark project, which is conducive to the promotion and publicity of seedlings.

Meanwhile, vegetable farmers who purchased seedlings this year have also reaped good profits.

In particular, the grafted seedlings were recognized for their resistance to the disease during a period when cucumber downy mildew broke out.

All of these factors are conducive to the development of seedling work this year.

In terms of seeds, apart from the self-sufficiency of seeds in various vegetable markets, the breeding industry is still in the stage of spending money to raise them.

At the end of January, the sun in Yuanmou was still warm and bright, with a few white clouds occasionally drifting across the sky.

Inside the greenhouse, cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants hung heavily from the branches, while cabbages and radishes grown outdoors were also thriving, creating a lush and green landscape.

For two consecutive evenings, Chen Jiazhi liked to take a walk in the vegetable field after dinner. A gentle breeze would blow by, and he would naturally take a deep breath. The fresh air made him feel refreshed and reluctant to leave.

“This place is perfect for wintering. I plan to buy a house here in the future and bring my family here to stay every winter.”

Li Mingkun said, "You can come here to spend the winter now. There are plenty of rooms available."

Thinking of his parents still enduring the damp and cold weather in Xiaolou Town, Chen Jiazhi did have this thought.

"Next year, I don't have time to do anything this year, I have to rush back."

I traveled thousands of kilometers continuously, almost non-stop, inspecting fields, meeting people, chatting, drinking, holding meetings... with almost no rest.

Fortunately, there were no unpleasant incidents, and every place I went had a good or acceptable result.

Li Mingkun added, "Why don't we stay a couple more days? It's comfortable here, and there's still time before the New Year."

"No."

At this moment, Xue Jun also jogged over and said, "Yi Dinggan called. Mayor Chen Guanye is going to Xiaolou Town in two days. He originally wanted to talk to you on the phone first."

Chen Jiazhi nodded, then looked at Li Mingkun and said, "It's not that I don't want to stay, it's just that I'm really busy." "I understand."

Meeting the mayor? Li Mingkun felt a bit emotional. He was always quite nervous when he received the local county head.

Returning to Guangzhou from the warmth of Yuanmou, the damp and cold air felt like a magical attack, always making people shiver.

In the afternoon, Chen Jiazhi stood downstairs, looking up at the signboard of Kaopu Fresh.

The signboard seems to get smaller the more you look at it, and the office seems to get narrower the more you look at it.

He wants to get a new one.

According to news reports these past few days, it seems the government is showing signs of easing restrictions on the real estate market.

However, Chen Jiazhi knew he had to wait for the economic crisis he had predicted to arrive, and Kaopu Fresh also needed to continue accumulating funds.

There weren't many people in the office in the afternoon, so Chen Jiazhi took out the latest reports and started reviewing them.

The vegetable market remains hot, and sales are steadily increasing. January's sales were explosive, breaking through the 1 million yuan mark.

Moreover, the whole process was very smooth and went by naturally.

Xue Jun went to the North-South Fruit Wholesale Market, while Chen Jiazhi looked at reports in the office. After Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai arrived, they discussed how to distribute bonuses at the end of the year.

Chen Jiazhi took this matter very seriously, believing that hard work pays off and everyone in the company who contributed should be rewarded.

If you want everyone to be reliable, their income must be reliable first.

Li Cai rushed to the stall after working until dark, while Chen Zhengxu was still leisurely making tea in the office.

Chen Jiazhi took a sip of the black tea he had brewed; it had a faint roasted aroma.

Chen Zhengxu brewed tea with great skill, saying, "Black tea warms the stomach and dispels cold, and it can also cut through greasiness, making it most suitable for drinking in winter."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "It really feels good to drink. Your tea ceremony skills are also quite good. Have you studied with someone?"

“I have to learn it.” Chen Zhengxu took another sip of tea and said, “When I’m doing business with clients in Guangdong, tea is almost always a topic of conversation, so I found a teahouse and go there to learn whenever I have free time.”

It was rare to see him so relaxed. "That's good. It would be nice to marry a tea master."

Chen Zhengxu suddenly hissed, and the tea set clattered. "It's nothing, I just burned myself."

Chen Jiazhi appeared unconcerned, but inwardly he was filled with gossip, suspecting that Chen might have been right.

"You don't need to visit clients these next couple of days?"

Chen Zhengxu shook his head repeatedly, "I won't go for now. The vegetables are selling very well right now, and if I go there, they'll just ask me for late-season bok choy. I can't stand it."

Chen Jiazhi nodded and said, "You can take some time to learn more about tea ceremony. You still need to practice your skills. It's not good to burn your customers."

Chen Zhengxu smiled and said, "Yes, I still need to practice more."

Looking at that smile, Chen Jiazhi felt that his guess was pretty much right. Good, good. He would definitely call Brother Shun to wish him a Happy New Year. Now he would have something to say.

"By the way, I'm not going home for Chinese New Year. Zhengxu, you can go back and spend the New Year with your parents."

“Okay, then I’ll go back and take a look.” Chen Zhengxu pondered for a moment, “My brother and sister-in-law aren’t going back this year either.”

“I saw Zheng Yan and Zhou Ping when I went there a few days ago. Apart from being a little tanned, they were both doing well.”

"Well, that's good. They just want to earn more money, and the market needs manpower during the Chinese New Year."

After chatting about family matters for a while, the topic of his cousin Chen Jiashun raising fish in their hometown came up.

Last year, after Chen Jiazhi suggested raising fish in the fields, Chen Jiashun actually talked to the village and decided to raise fish for half a year during the winter off-season.

Chen Jiashun once said on the phone that he would catch a net full of fish no matter what, but he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to finish them all.

His words also revealed that Chen Jiashun actually hoped they would go back together.

However, given the market's activity during this year's Spring Festival, it will be difficult for Chen Jiazhi to leave.

The next morning, Chen Jiazhi rushed back to Zengcheng. He had barely arrived when Chen Guanye's car followed.

At this time, Xiaolou Town was still shrouded in cold, which contrasted sharply with the busy scene of harvesting vegetables in the fields.

Chen Guanye observed very carefully, from the Heli field in Xiaolou to the second field in Paitan and the third field in Zhengguo, and found all sorts of problems at each place.

They are aware of everything, from the company's development to the rent and wages paid to the villagers.

It's like we're still conducting poverty alleviation research in Baise.

Later, he learned that Chen Guanye had indeed just returned from Baise the night before, and that Chen Guanye liked to go to Baise whenever he had free time on weekends.

Chen Jiazhi felt that such a leader deserved his respect, and Chen Guanye was also very satisfied with the development of Heli Farm in Zengcheng.

The county prepared lunch, and Chen Jiazhi was also present. Several classic late-season cabbage dishes were served.

Chen Guanye was very satisfied with the meal, and the sweetness of the late-season cabbage made him nod repeatedly.

"This dish is indeed delicious; no wonder it's so popular in Hong Kong."

Apart from Chen Jiazhi and Yi Dinggan, most of the people at the table were locals. Chen Guanye said to everyone, "Such good products should be promoted more vigorously to consolidate the achievements in poverty alleviation."

The group readily agreed, indicating that they would do their best to promote it.

Chen Jiazhi poured cold water on the idea at an inopportune moment: "Promotion is inevitable, but we must also protect this brand."

Zengcheng late-season cabbage became popular at least several years earlier than originally thought.

Chen Jiazhi was a little worried that history would be distorted because of him, and that a rush to plant would only lead to a rapid collapse of his reputation.

The output value of late-season cabbage, which could have reached one billion yuan, has shrunk significantly under his influence.

This is not what he wanted. He not only wanted the existing vegetables to become famous earlier, but also wanted them to develop better.

Chen Jiazhi discussed the establishment of production technology standards, mentioning how to grow late-season cabbage with the best taste and how to guide farmers to follow the standards in an orderly manner.

Heli Farm cannot monopolize the market; various other late-season Chinese cabbage growers will inevitably emerge in the future.

Chen Jiazhi was not opposed to it, and had expected it all along.

He only hopes that everyone involved can maintain the brand on their own initiative.

We are also willing to provide some technical support.

“Regional products like Zengcheng late-season cabbage can play a huge role in regional economic development.”

Faced with numerous leaders, Chen Jiazhi couldn't resist making a promise.

"This vegetable could very well be worth a billion."

The private room fell silent instantly.

Chen Guanye said, "Young Master Chen has a great vision. Our government departments should take a holistic approach to control the situation."

His entourage also said, "The State Administration for Industry and Commerce has been accepting applications for registration of geographical indication products since 1995. Perhaps Zengcheng late-season cabbage can also follow this path in the future."

Local officials also responded, saying they would do a good job in overall coordination and guidance.

Chen Jiazhi thought the research was over, but after the banquet, Chen Guanye invited him to have tea.

He casually mentioned that he would provide some supporting industry-related projects and financial assistance.

These are icing on the cake.

At the same time, he was given a promise he had made before: to build an agricultural industrial park with Heli Farm as the main body.

Chen Jiazhi sipped his tea, listened quietly, and nodded from time to time. Regardless of the amount of money involved, the feeling of being invited for tea by the mayor was indeed different.

(End of this chapter)