1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 455 Yue Wang
In Chen Jiazhi's memory, the Japanese had targeted pesticide residues more than once or twice.

Furthermore, the rational use of pesticides is also a way of taking responsibility for one's own brand.

Combining various pesticide application strategies can reduce pesticide resistance, prevent the occurrence of pests and diseases in advance, and thus reduce pesticide use and pesticide residues.

This may not have economic value in the short term, but in the long run, as long as it plays a role in critical moments, it will be worthwhile.

This is also part of diligently cultivating one's inner strength.

Jiangxin Vegetable Market originally had a research department, also known as a technical department, with plant protection positions, which Chen Jiazhi has now reorganized.

The technical department has become the technical department of Reliable Fresh. Plant protection plans will be developed by a dedicated team, and the vegetable market only needs to cooperate with the testing to find a suitable rotation method for pesticides.

This is a rather complicated matter, but not difficult; to put it simply, it's just a matter of what kind of medicine to administer.

Yi Dinggan complained, "I'm afraid that once I master the 'Regretful Dragon' technique, I won't be able to unleash it."

Chen Jiazhi said, "It will be used sooner or later, and it might not even be long before it is used up."

He considered the economic risks in Southeast Asia, fearing that if they affected the Japanese, it would trigger a chain reaction.

After walking for a while, Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu saw a scenario where micro-sprinkler irrigation was being used.

Li Xiu said, "It looks quite convenient, saving effort and manpower."

"Although it's a cheap product, at least I don't have to run a water hose to water anymore." Yi Dinggan is quite satisfied with the micro-sprinkler irrigation now; it saves him so much trouble!
After observing for a moment, Chen Jiazhi commented, "The water stream isn't fine enough; it hasn't formed a mist. We'll have to be careful when using it in the summer."

“I know, I’ve also received professional training,” Yi Dinggan said confidently.

Chen Jiazhi only hopes that he can be this optimistic in a few months.

Since it's a cheap product, it will need frequent maintenance soon, and repairing it can be quite a hassle.

On the bright side, if even this cheap equipment is usable, it will only make things easier when we upgrade to better equipment in the future.

This is also part of cost reduction.

When a crisis comes, even if forced to engage in a price war, Kaopu Fresh is not afraid at all.

...

As it was getting dark, Chen Jiazhi and his friends returned home and ran into Xue Jun, who was riding his bicycle home, at their doorstep.

He returned with Chen Jiazhi to prepare for the lychees that will be on the market in the next two months.

Chen Jiazhi asked, "How did the talks with the fruit farmers go?"

Xue Jun shook his head. "It's not very good. The language barrier makes communication too difficult."

Chen Jiazhi said, "Hire two more local buyers, and you can just focus on selling at the stall."

“That makes sense.” Xue Jun also came over to wash his hands and said, “But I don’t feel at ease unless I’m here to oversee the delivery.”

Chen Jiazhi said, "We have to hand it over eventually. You can't possibly run every trip yourself in the future."

“Ah, it’s still more comfortable to have our own base.” At this point, Xue Jun pondered and said, “The Baise Fruit Tree Institute has already introduced sugar oranges, and we can transplant them once we have seedlings.”

"You can handle it as you see fit, but you also need to keep an eye on the construction of the transit and acquisition station."

"Okay, I'm going to Baise again in a couple of days."

"Okay, it's good that you have a plan."

At this moment, Li Xiu called out from the doorway, "Jiazhi, stop chatting and come back for dinner."

Dou Dou also called out to Li Xiu, "Daddy, dinner's ready!"

Chen Jiazhi raised his voice and said, "Coming!"

Eating at home is always lively and the most enjoyable.

Even when I come back occasionally, I can still learn about the situation at home.

During this time, Yi Dinggan mentioned Yi Long and Yi Hu's reading.

Chen Jiazhi said, "I've already made arrangements with the school and can transfer at any time, but I think it's best to finish this semester."

When the topic of students' studies came up, the whole family stopped eating, except for Dou Dou, who ate her meat with a slightly bewildered expression.

Chen Jiazhi added, "This way we'll have time to look at houses first."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

Yi Dinggan looked at his two sons and said, "Why don't you thank your uncle? This has gone to a great deal of trouble."

The two brothers said in unison, "Thank you, Uncle!"

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "It's just a matter of a word, not that complicated."

He contacted Kang Ming, and it really was just a matter of a word from him.

However, the necessary expenses still need to be paid, but Yi Dinggan had already prepared for them.

Chen Jiafang instructed, "Xiaolong and Xiaohu, you two have gone through so much trouble, you must learn from this!"

Yi Long also knew how much effort his family had put into this matter.

"Mom, I will definitely study hard."

Yi Hu also said, "Me too, my uncle is still waiting for me to design an accounting system for his vegetable sales!"

"Haha, okay, I'm waiting."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said it was good to give the two of them a goal to strive for, and that accounting software was indeed important.

They then started talking about Xue Jun and his third sister's children, who were all struggling with their studies but were still in elementary school.

After hearing about Yi Dinggan's arrangements for Yi Long and Yi Hu, Xue Jun also had his own ideas, as he was not short of money at the moment.

Then they talked about the eldest sister's two daughters, who had run away from school and went to Jiangxin vegetable market after the New Year.

At the end of the conversation, Chen Shaochang said with some regret, "Now our family has everything we need, except for a college student."

He glanced at Chen Jiazhi, unsure whether to speak or remain silent, so he went to the door to roll a cigarette.

...

Starting in early April, Chen Jiazhi once again made continuous trips to various bases.

The core principle is simple: diligently hone your inner skills.

The various bases had developed too quickly in the past, with rapid growth in performance, but in fact, there were many internal problems.

For example, the training of workers and grassroots managers is something that Jiangxin Vegetable Market has consistently maintained, but other farms such as Heli Farm, Pengcun Base, Fanrong Vegetable Market, and Yunling Agriculture are lacking.

Especially regarding the workers.

With rapid expansion, there was a severe shortage of skilled workers, and in the first two months, Heli Agriculture often had to draw workers from Jiangxin Vegetable Market.

Other markets, like the Prosperous Vegetable Market, also occasionally encounter problems because their leafy vegetables are mainly for export and require high levels of craftsmanship and quality.

In terms of grassroots management talent, there is also an over-reliance on Jiangxin Vegetable Market. When there is a shortage of manpower, everyone thinks of transferring people from Jiangxin Vegetable Market instead of training their own.

The Jiangxin vegetable market is almost bald from being exploited.

Therefore, we need to revitalize the training of workers and grassroots management.

Now that they've made money, most people are quite confident and have the desire to improve themselves, which is a time when their desire to learn is relatively strong.

When Chen Jiazhi inspected the various bases, he could feel the workers' enthusiasm for learning.

Some wanted to be vegetable harvesters, others wanted to be team leaders; everyone was very motivated.

He felt the atmosphere was great.

This is one of the reasons why farmers' markets prioritize profitability when they are being built.

Only when the market has a continuous income, or even makes a lot of money, will workers feel secure and be willing to learn, improve, and adapt to the market's promotion rules.

If a vegetable market starts with massive infrastructure development and then has no income for six months or even a year, the workers will feel like they're living hand to mouth and will be lucky if they don't just run away with their buckets. Only then will the old folks think about learning.

In addition to improving the quality of workers and grassroots managers, some optimizations have also been made in the processes of packaging, shipping and payment collection, and material procurement.

In addition to reducing costs, the goal is also to make management smoother.

Chen Jiazhi had worked in vegetable market management for a few years in his previous life and understood most of the intricacies of the business. However, he didn't make any major changes and continued to focus on the big picture while letting go of the small details to reduce management loopholes.

After running around like this for almost half a month, Chen Jiazhi finally returned to Huacheng.

With the overcast sky and continuous rain, Chen Jiazhi asked as soon as he got into Chen Zhengxu's car:
"How's the food been these past few days?" "It's improved."

Chen Zhengxu knew what his uncle wanted to ask, and slowly explained.

Temperatures are rising in Guangzhou, making leafy vegetables more prone to spoilage. However, Reliable Fresh has always done a good job in this regard, and with recent training enhancements, their manual processing has become more consistent.

These are all the results of diligently practicing internal skills.

After the introduction, Chen Zhengxu pondered for a moment and then said, "The distribution center is also being continuously optimized, but now there is a very strong competitor in the city. Our expansion into government and public institution canteens is hindered, making it difficult to move forward, and we are even shrinking."

In a city as big as Huacheng, businesses and vegetable vendors could be delivering goods at any time.

However, fewer and fewer companies can influence Kaopu Fresh.

Especially after getting involved with Chen Guanye, Kaopu Fresh also tried to move into the system.

Chen Jiazhi rarely saw Chen Zhengxu so solemn.

"Which one is it?"

“Yuewang Agriculture,” Chen Zhengxu said. “The company is located in Jianggao Town and was only established in the second half of last year. It mainly deals in edible fungi and vegetables.”

"Not in Jiangnan or Yuexiu Market?" Chen Jiazhi felt like he had heard of Yuewang Agriculture somewhere before.

"They built the Jiangcun Wholesale Market in Jianggao, and then used it as the core to develop edible fungi and vegetable distribution. They are also building a vegetable base this year. In the past two months, Yuewang has bought a lot of Nanjing Iveco vans for delivery..."

"So fierce?"

"The chairman is Li Ziliu."

"Who?!"

"It's the Li Ziliu you're thinking of."

Chen Jiazhi's mouth was slightly open, unsure of what to say.

He remembered that Li Ziliu should have retired last year as the mayor of Huacheng City.

During his six-year term, he made outstanding contributions to the economic development of Huacheng, and vigorously promoted the construction of the Huacheng subway, earning him the nickname "Demolition Mayor".

Chen Jiazhi often saw him in the news, and the phrase "If I get it, I get it; if I get it, I'll return to Shunde" suddenly popped into his mind.

Chen Zhengxu had no reason to joke about this, so the former mayor really did come to sell vegetables.

"Uncle, what should we do?"

Noticing the gazes that kept turning their heads to look at him from time to time, Chen Jiazhi glanced at them sideways.

"Go and kill him."

"I?"

Chen Zhengxu felt it was a bit absurd, but then realized he was joking.

Chen Jiazhi said irritably, "You think I can handle him just because you can't take him down?"

He had no temper at all when faced with the fate of such a powerful figure. Li Ziliu could be considered to have retired gracefully, but his influence remained.

Even if it's just a nominal appointment, it's not something that Reliable Fresh can easily exploit.

Chen Jiazhi closed his eyes and thought for a while. Logically speaking, Li Ziliu shouldn't be interested in the vegetable business.

They have many ways to make money.

There must be another purpose behind involving the vegetable industry. What could it be?

Chen Jiazhi thought of Chen Guanye, the deputy mayor who was very enthusiastic about poverty alleviation and was genuinely working on it.

He may actually be putting into practice the idea of ​​letting some get rich first to help others get rich later.

Is it possible that Li Ziliu was the same?
It cannot be ruled out that this is the purpose, even if it is just for show.

Chen Jiazhi closed his eyes, making various speculations in his mind, unable to fathom the big boss's thoughts.

"Just handle it normally. Vegetable delivery depends not only on connections, but also on service."

"Good~"

Can service overcome relationships?

It might be difficult.

But you have to try.

Moreover, this kind of pressure might not be a bad thing for Kaopu Fresh.

Especially after Chen Jiazhi inspected the results of Kaopu Xiansheng's hard work in cultivating his internal strength, he was even more convinced.

So many people are honing their skills, but he believes the distribution center is the best at it.

To optimize sorting, they rented a storefront nearby, and all delivery vehicles were labeled with "Reliable Fresh," and delivery drivers wore eye-catching vests...

Chen Jiazhi experienced the entire process of purchasing, sorting, packaging, and delivery, and found it very smooth.

Efficiency is key in this industry.

After a day of delivering goods, Chen Jiazhi and several other deliverymen sat down at a barbecue stall.

A short while later, Chen Zhengxu arrived and jokingly asked, "Boss Chen, how does it feel to be wearing the imperial robe?"

Chen Jiazhi shook the yellow vest he was wearing.

"Not bad. When I was a child, a fortune teller said that I would be given an imperial robe in the future. I didn't believe it before, but now I do."

The deliverymen eating barbecue burst into laughter; after spending the day with their boss, they had a good impression of him.

One of the men from Guangxi, who had been drinking, laughed and said, "Boss, I don't believe you for a second. Don't think we don't know you designed this yellow vest."

"Hahaha~"

Chen Jiazhi didn't mind and laughed, "Eat your food, eat your food, don't just drink. Boss, another 10 skewers of lamb kidneys."

"Is the boss looking for a tonic?"

"I ordered this for your CEO Xu."

Chen Zhengxu sat down, looking exasperated, and then ordered two more eggplants, not forgetting to show off.

"You should order two more servings of eggplant. This barbecue restaurant became our customer because our eggplant is so good."

Chen Jiazhi was surprised: "This is also one of our clients?"

Several people answered yes in turn.

Chen Jiazhi took a closer look at the shop. It wasn't very big, and since it wasn't noon yet, there were relatively few people, but the signs of stalls outside the shop indicated that business was not bad.

They've really gone deep into the grassroots in their delivery business.

After waiting a while, the grilled eggplant arrived, topped with minced garlic, chili peppers, and houttuynia cordata. Chen Jiazhi felt incredibly satisfied with the meal.

He said to the barbecue restaurant owner, "Boss, your grilled eggplant is delicious."

The owner wasn't busy at the moment and smiled, "That's right, my best-selling dish every day is grilled eggplant!"

...

In the evening, Chen Jiazhi saw Yuewang's delivery truck on the street.

Iveco freight trucks look much more imposing than minivans, and they are 3 to 4 times more expensive.

First of all, the brand image and temperament are established.

That's the advantage of having a lot of money.

Yuewang has made a strong entry into the canteens of government agencies, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises. It has a clear advantage in edible fungi, and Kaopu Fresh has had to temporarily avoid its competition.

But everything has two sides. Chen Jiazhi then visited state-run vegetable stores, most of which also had vegetable deliveries from nearby units.

Now it is being gradually eroded by Yuewang.

Chen Jiazhi originally didn't have a strong opinion about state-run vegetable stores, but now he feels it's worth a try.

This is not only true in Guangzhou, but also in Shanghai.

(End of this chapter)