1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 458 is so sudden it's almost unbelievable.

The fact that broccoli could be exported at such a high unit price exceeded everyone's initial expectations.

This also includes Chen Jiazhi.

When both parties officially signed the contract and it came into effect, Chen Jiazhi couldn't help but shake hands with Dongshan Yan with a smile on his face.

"It's a pleasure to work with you, President Higashiyama En."

"Pleasant to work with."

Dongshan Yan was also in a good mood. Although the high purchase price would affect the final profit, it would not affect making money. Sometimes, getting things done is more important than being perfect.

He didn't want to wait another year.

It's hard to say whether there will be such an opportunity next year.

"I will arrange to pay the advance payment as soon as possible, and please harvest and ship the goods immediately."

After listening to Fang Shaohua's account, Chen Jiazhi nodded in agreement. With the price and money in place, the customer's requirements were easy to meet, and shipping the goods as soon as possible would be more beneficial for end-user sales.

After all, the window of opportunity is less than a month.

Dongshan Yan drove away satisfied, unaware that before the car had gone far, a burst of enthusiastic cheers erupted behind him.

"Holy crap, this price is unbeatable!"

"Damn, it's so easy to make money off those Japanese."

"Brilliant!"

Fang Shaohua, Ao Dehai, Chen Zhengxu, and others expressed their joy using various words.

Chen Jiazhi waved his hand, "You still need to pay attention to your image. It doesn't sound good if people spread rumors that you're using foul language all the time."

Chen Zhengxu, unusually, cracked a joke, teasingly saying, "How about the boss recites a poem that expresses your current mood?"

Chen Jiazhi pondered and pondered, but couldn't come up with an answer.

There's some truth to why 'Holy crap' and 'awesome' can spread so quickly.

After everyone had been making a fuss for a while, Chen Jiazhi clapped his hands and said, "To summarize the experience, this year's broccoli is another good example."

Fang Shaohua raised his head and said, "I thought about it all night last night and finally figured out the reason."

"what is the reason?"

Chen Zhengxu pressed for an explanation, saying that he couldn't understand how broccoli could sell for such a price.

Fang Shaohua said seriously, "After thinking it over, there's only one answer: the boss is just too awesome."

Chen Zhengxu's lips twitched. That's it? Such blatant flattery?

Fang Shaohua continued his analysis, explaining that the reason was not complicated. Just like last year, it capitalized on the window of opportunity presented by the supply and demand shortage in the Japanese market and the absence of seasonal tariffs.

Importers are extremely willing to pay high prices because it is very profitable for them.

"But it was the boss who identified this window of opportunity, which is why I say the boss is amazing!"

"Their ability to seize market opportunities is amazing!"

No one expected that Fang Shaohua, at such a young age, would be so skilled at flattery.

Chen Jiazhi waved his hand, "Alright, it's not important. The window of opportunity will only get weaker as time goes on. Sooner or later, there will be competitors growing broccoli. Once more people start growing it, the price of seeds will rise sharply."

We should also recognize the potential risks and address them as early as possible.

Seeing that everyone had taken his words to heart, Chen Jiazhi then said, "Dongshan Yan mentioned a very good and important point yesterday: brand image in the Japanese market."

The Japanese have a disdainful attitude towards vegetables imported from my country, and their prices are generally much lower than those of their own agricultural products.

Now that we have a flagship product like broccoli, we should seize the opportunity and improve quality control management...

Ao Dehai and others generally disliked the Japanese, and sometimes even wished they could sell poisonous vegetables to them.

However, from a businessperson's perspective, this kind of thinking is unacceptable.

The primary goal of doing business should be profit. It is essential to keep abreast of changes in market demand and to produce, process, and export products in accordance with market requirements.

Now, the broccoli produced by Prosperity Market has the opportunity to go further in the Japanese market and enter the high-end market segment.

At the same time, domestic consumers are increasingly favoring organic vegetables, natural foods, and health foods.

This is especially true in Japan, where natural farming methods and organic cultivation, such as pesticide-free or fertilizer-free farming or reduced pesticide and fertilizer use, have been promoted as a major transformation in agricultural production.

Kaopu Fresh cannot currently guarantee pesticide-free and fertilizer-free production, and Chen Jiazhi suspects that the Japanese are also making up stories.

But we should be aware of this.

"Alright, I won't say any more. Anyway, we should always pay attention to this aspect."

The originally cheerful atmosphere was somewhat ruined. Seeing this, Chen Zhengxu joked, "Isn't this also part of cultivating 'internal strength'? Teacher Chen, is it really okay for you to give Director Ao private lessons in front of me?"

Mr. Chen's reputation for being a teacher and his love of giving lectures anytime, anywhere is widely known.

This has been especially true in the last month or two.

His interruption livened up the atmosphere again; they should have been happy to have sold the broccoli at a high price.

Then everyone started discussing how much broccoli could be produced, what the pass rate would be, and so on.

Even if you lower your expectations, you will eventually have a very considerable income.

...

After signing the contract, since it was still early, Chen Jiazhi and Chen Zhengxu went to the city to investigate the market.

Shanghai is a large city, but the agricultural endowment of the Yangtze River Delta is stronger than that of the Pearl River Delta.

After a day of visits, Chen Jiazhi still came to the same conclusion: leafy vegetables still need to be planted.

In the future, competition from other vegetables will be too fierce, and only leafy vegetables that are quick and easy to prepare and require good preservation will have room for development in large vegetable markets.

In addition, there are still a few years of opportunities for slightly higher-end vegetables such as broccoli.

But in the long run, it still comes down to sales channels.

Therefore, it is very important to build a good reputation from now on, because only with a good reputation can you control high-end channels.

It was already dark when I came out of yet another wholesale market.

"Zhengxu, have you figured out how to start a delivery business in Shanghai?"

"No."

Chen Zhengxu denied it very readily, saying, "It's not easy to handle, and there's no suitable person to take charge."

"Talent is indeed a problem."

"I think we should hone our skills in the Pearl River Delta first, and then come to Shanghai when the team is more suitable. Since we've already named it 'Reliable Fresh,' we should be reliable wherever we go. Waiting a year or two shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"We can wait." Chen Jiazhi waved and hailed a taxi.

Chen Zhengxu added, "When I was visiting clients in Guangdong, people often called me Mr. Chen, the reliable one."

"Haha, you should be used to it by now, right?"

"I'm used to it, and I still like it when people call me that."

"Get in the car, Mr. Chen, you reliable guy."

The two got into the car, and Chen Jiazhi asked the driver to take them to a more authentic local Shanghainese restaurant.

Chen Zhengxu said, "No need for all that trouble. Let's just find somewhere to eat and go back to the hotel to rest. It'll be much more comfortable."

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "Cai Lan said something that actually makes some sense: there's nothing important in life except eating and drinking. Besides work, we should also try the local delicacies."

He felt that Chen Zhengxu's life was too monotonous, even after he started dating.

Chen Jiazhi listened to his story about dating, which was both funny and sad.

Translate this into Sichuan dialect.

Chen: Want to be friends?

Woman: Just playing around.

Chen: Staying at a hotel tonight?

Woman: Okay.

To put it simply, if the woman had shown even the slightest bit of restraint, Chen Jiazhi estimated the relationship would have fallen through. The Chen family is already small, and as an elder, Chen Jiazhi felt obligated to educate the next generation about relationships.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, Chen Jiazhi first ordered two authentic Shanghai dishes: poached chicken and osmanthus pork, and then ordered two spicy local dishes.

The taste is completely different from Sichuan cuisine. Chen Jiazhi originally thought he would need some time to get used to it, but to his surprise, it was not bad.

"Zhengxu, this grand hotel is something else!"

"Not bad."

"Try it more often in the future."

"Ah."

"Remember to call someone when you get back to the hotel."

"She will call me."

"..."

Considering how busy the distribution center would be that evening, Chen Jiazhi didn't have high hopes that Li Xiu would call him on her own initiative.

After returning to his room, Chen Jiazhi took the initiative to call Li Xiu. As expected, Li Xiu was busy, and when she answered the phone, he could still hear her giving instructions to people.

"Jiazhi, when are you coming back?"

"The broccoli export contract has been signed tomorrow," Chen Jiazhi said with a smile. "It's $3000 per ton, which is equivalent to 12.45 yuan per kilogram."

"Wow, prices are so high this year?" Li Xiu was also instantly stunned, as she knew the market situation last year.

Seeing his interest, Chen Jiazhi began to recount the story slowly, embellishing it slightly to make the battle against the Japanese seem thrilling and full of suspense, showcasing Mr. Chen's wisdom and decisiveness.

"Wow, Jiazhi is amazing."

"It's alright, it's alright. How's things at home?"

"The Nine Yin Manual has been partially mastered."

"?"

Li Xiu smiled and said, "You said it, we need to practice our 'internal strength' diligently."

Of course I know what I'm saying, the problem is... the problem is... Chen Jiazhi's brain went blank for a moment.

"Don't be too hasty, be careful not to go astray in your cultivation. Wait for me to come back."

"Yes, Sect Leader Chen."

Li Xiu appears to be beautiful and intelligent, but she actually enjoys watching martial arts dramas full of fighting and killing; it wasn't entirely Chen Jiazhi who led her astray.

He felt that if he didn't go back soon, the entire sect would go mad—no, the company.

Li Xiu didn't hang up the phone in a hurry. She also told Chen Jiazhi about the recent situation. The Lianzhou cooperative base would soon start producing vegetables, but the stall couldn't hold that many vegetables, so Chen Zhengxu had to contact wholesalers in the secondary market.

This is also good news.

"I have to go now, Jiazhi, I have a ton of work to do."

"If you can't finish your work, just hand it over to someone else."

"How can you be lazy when practicing martial arts?"

"..."

You really got into it, huh?
Chen Jiazhi shook his head helplessly and put down the phone. What kind of sect is this? A reliable sect?

He made himself laugh.

After calming down, I took out my notebook and began to review today's survey findings.

Even after returning to Huacheng, Chen Jiazhi focused his main energy on market research.

The market has recently turned from boom to bust, vegetable prices have fallen, and the market is relatively weak, so it is necessary to look for market opportunities.

From wholesale markets to rural vegetable markets, Chen Jiazhi personally organized people to collect information on markets and production areas.

Most vegetables are more difficult to grow this year than last year because the area under vegetable cultivation has increased rapidly.

Since growing grains is not profitable, growing vegetables has become the choice for more people.

Some people also practice rice-vegetable rotation.

After analyzing various pieces of information, Chen Jiazhi also found some opportunities, which were actually similar to the crop rotation period mentioned earlier.

With the promotion and popularization of small arched greenhouses, most migrant vegetable farmers have also learned how to cover the greenhouses to protect their vegetables.

Some of the original opportunities are no longer applicable.

But some opportunities will always exist, such as when the wampee fruit swells and the dragon boat races arrive, when the water level rises, when leafy vegetable planting area decreases during rice-vegetable rotation, and when cold storage is used to cope with typhoons and rainstorms...

Many market managers have experienced similar cases, and this is where the benefits of regularly recording and analyzing data become apparent.

Each person in charge, and even the team leader, can recall past experiences and strategies to prepare in advance.

Chen Jiazhi, on the other hand, needed to provide the farm manager with information on key milestones and which vegetables had better opportunities.

This is the best contingency plan to deal with a market downturn.

Time flies, and it's May 1st again. The broccoli at the bustling vegetable market is ready to be harvested.

The rows of broccoli are growing well. Looking around, the dark green broccoli heads are hidden under the lush green leaves, ready to be harvested.

After listening to the final harvesting requirements, the workers in each group filed into the vegetable garden.

Picking, sorting, packing, transferring, leaf picking, selection, packaging, pre-cooling... each task is clearly divided, and everyone is busy and happy.

With the first container shipment being dispatched and successfully signed for at the Port of Tokyo, the export of broccoli this year has officially begun.

The second cabinet, the third cabinet...

The daily harvest volume is increasing day by day.

After the shipment was made, Ao Dehai maintained the habit of calling Chen Jiazhi every day, mainly to share the good news.

"Boss, two containers of goods today."

"Boss, we've increased the shipment to four containers today."

"Boss, Qingguo Company just paid for the goods from the previous two days, a total of $36."

"Boss, it's four counters again today."

"Those Japanese devils have gone mad today. They ordered six containers of goods in one go, and they also paid the $36 from yesterday."

"When Shaohua arrived in Tokyo, he said that broccoli was not yet available in Japan and there was a shortage in the market. Our broccoli had passed all the tests and most of it had made it into the shelves of high-end department stores."

"The Japanese sell broccoli individually, and each one costs 30 RMB. Qingguo Society has made quite a bit of money from it!"

"Boss, there are so many people visiting the market today..."

Chen Jiazhi also got used to keeping in touch with Ao Dehai, and hearing that he had made money again every day made him feel better.

In just six days, this batch of broccoli generated over a million US dollars in foreign exchange.

Such a commotion not only delighted their own people but also left those who were paying attention to the booming market completely bewildered.

The Shanghai and Baoshan governments have both organized people to visit the prosperous vegetable market in search of the secrets to generating foreign exchange.

Ao Dehai also mentioned that broccoli growers from Taizhou, Zhejiang Province, visited the Fanrong Vegetable Market and asked a lot of questions.

Although Ao Dehai brushed it off, Chen Jiazhi knew that the information could no longer be kept secret.

The reason why exporting broccoli to Japan is profitable is firstly because few people grow it domestically, and secondly because it meets market demand.

After two years of cultivation at the prosperous vegetable market, many people have learned that growing broccoli can be profitable.

Given China's agricultural prowess, broccoli exports will be booming within two years.

The arrival of growers from Zhejiang will further accelerate this process, as Taizhou was one of the earliest regions in China to export broccoli.

However, Chen Jiazhi was satisfied; the first bite of fatty meat was enough to make his mouth water.

According to Ao Dehai's assessment, the average yield of qualified broccoli per mu (unit of land area) in this crop is 2300 to 2400 jin (unit of weight).

The 700-mu (approximately 133 hectares) plot is estimated to produce a total of 822.5 tons of grain, with an expected output value of US$246.75 million, equivalent to approximately RMB 2043 million.

One crop of vegetables is estimated to account for 86.7% of last year's total exports, which is quite astonishing.

(End of this chapter)