1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 459 This is technology, not luck.
Tokyo, light rain.

Yoshikawa picked up his umbrella and walked into the Seibu Department Store. On the vegetable shelf, he found a head of broccoli, picked it up, and noticed that it looked familiar. After checking the label, he realized, unsurprisingly, that it came from Shanghai.

"Damn it, we were the ones who came first!"

Yoshikawa Masaru gritted his teeth in anger, his eyes widening in fury as he stared at the price tag.

He lingered nearby for a while, and soon a number of women came and picked out several broccoli florets to take away.

Qingguo Co., Ltd. made a fortune.

This should have been Taihang's profit!
"Sir, please don't squeeze too hard when you take it, oh dear, you've ruined the vegetables! Sir, you have to buy them!"

Yoshikawa Masaru, who considered himself a gentleman, threw the broccoli he had bought into the trash can outside the store with a hint of annoyance, which attracted the attention of several passersby.

Yoshikawa Masaru was just in Tokyo on a business trip when, driven by curiosity, he investigated several department stores and confirmed that Aoko was making a fortune from broccoli.

Jealousy made him want to tear Saito Yoshino, who was in charge of purchasing, to pieces, but he still had to suppress his disgust and communicate with him.

"Minister Yoshikawa, I have already contacted other broccoli growers in China. They are from Taizhou, Zhejiang, and are professional broccoli growers. Their broccoli will be on the market in about half a month."

"This price will be gone in another two weeks."

“It’s a pity,” Saito Yo said calmly, “but I provided them with information about the thriving market, so maybe next year they can buy cheaper broccoli from other people.”

"Let's hope so, let's hope the situation won't change next year."

...

Spring rain washes over the city, and Daejeon Market remains bustling as yet, with another container truck arriving at the market.

Dongshan Yan arrived just in time to witness this scene.

"Murata, which cabinet is this?"

Naohito Murata, wearing a raincoat, would occasionally open the boxes for spot checks. Upon hearing this, he looked up and said, "This is the fourth and last box of today."

"Is the Prosperous Farmers Market still refusing to send an extra container of goods?"

"They said that the harvesting capacity has reached its limit, and if they harvest more, the quality cannot be guaranteed."

"Alright, quality is more important."

Higashiyama suppressed the urge to urge the other party to increase the harvest, and instructed, "Murata, keep in touch with Prosperity Market, and promptly report any needs they may have."

"Okay, President."

Dongshan Yan left again with his umbrella; the continuous spring rain could not extinguish his burning heart.

He never expected that, thanks to this batch of broccoli, Qingguo Co., Ltd. would establish cooperative relationships with two large retail chains in succession.

Sure enough, for vegetables that are scarce in their native region, without any deliberate promotion, few Chinese people will care about their place of origin, just like taro from China and pumpkin from Mexico have always been bestsellers in Japan.

Meanwhile, Au King-tai was also meeting with clients in Tokyo, hoping to get Au Tai Kee's vegetables into emerging supermarkets.

Thanks to the relationships built up over the years, communication with clients went smoothly, and cooperation was successfully achieved.

Having relieved himself of a worry, Qu Jingtai wanted to investigate the Japanese vegetable retail market.

He walked into a medium-sized wholesale vegetable store and walked from the fruit and vegetable section to the leafy vegetable section.

"Huh, there's bok choy!"

Qu Jingtai was surprised and quickly checked the product label. He learned from the place of origin that it came from Shanghai and had the Reliable Fresh label on it.

"Holy crap, no way?"

"Manager Qu, it should be true. Kaopu Fresh has invested in a vegetable market in Shanghai. The team leader who used to work on the land near Dongsheng Farm has become the farm manager..."

"I don't need you to explain it to me in such detail."

Qu Jingtai is almost obsessed. He feels like he's always living in someone's shadow. He was utterly crushed when he was running the vegetable market, then he was torn apart by competition in the Hong Kong market, and now he's come to Japan too~
The ghost doesn't go away!
Qu Jingtai immediately lost interest in continuing to browse the vegetable shop. He returned to his hotel and called Hong Kong again, but before he could even get anxious, the other side was already in a panic.

"Mr. Qu, the Thai baht exchange rate has plummeted again today, and I can't get in touch with my clients in Thailand."

"How could that be? The Thai baht has stabilized, hasn't it?"

"I do not know."

Au King-tai didn't think it was a big deal. Au Tai Kee had very little business in Thailand. In comparison, Reliable Fresh made him feel like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Qu Jingtai thought for a moment and said, "Let's contact the Thai side again tomorrow. If it really doesn't work, let's not go through Thailand for now and ship the goods to other countries instead."

"it is good."

Qu Jingtai didn't take the drop in the Thai baht exchange rate seriously, and instead sent people to investigate the situation of Kaopu Fresh in Shanghai's vegetable markets.

The next day, he learned about the broccoli again and even asked his Japanese customer about it. The customer was very excited and asked him for broccoli.

Qu Jingtai had no broccoli. He wanted to slap himself. Why was he asking about it? Why was he making himself uncomfortable?

What worries him even more is that Kaopu Fresh, through its broccoli, has also gained access to Japanese supermarket and department store channels.

They're really going after him!
He suddenly felt that perhaps Dongsheng Farm shouldn't be neighbors with Jiangxin Vegetable Market; it was like constantly reminding the other side: "There's someone here too!"
...

It's been raining more in Guangzhou lately.

Chen Jiazhi returned to Xiaolou Town and is currently watching the news broadcast at home.

International speculators, led by the Quantum Fund, launched a second wave of attacks on the Thai baht through foreign banks operating offshore businesses.

They borrowed Thai baht from local Thai banks and shorted the baht by selling large amounts of it in the spot and forward markets, causing a rapid drop in the baht's spot exchange rate and triggering market panic...

Chen Jiazhi couldn't understand it, but he was deeply shocked.

He saw problems in Thailand through vegetable exports: a widening trade deficit, insufficient foreign exchange reserves, and a potential crisis. However, he didn't expect that international financial giants not only saw the loopholes but also relentlessly mobilized funds to launch an attack.
He had previously made many assumptions about how to profit from potential crises.

But I didn't expect it to be this way.

Finance is clearly not something he can handle; he almost brought a country down with his efforts.

Growing vegetables suits him better.

As for the subsequent chain reaction, it is not directly related to Kaopu Fresh itself for the time being.

Liu Yunfan had already poached the business in Thailand and taken it to Congyu, and there weren't many clients he maintained contact with in other Southeast Asian countries.

The current financial crisis is limited to Thailand and has not yet spread to other countries.

Moreover, Kaopu Fresh had already made many preparations for this.

Besides Chen Jiazhi, Li Xiu, Yi Dinggan, Chen Jiafang, Chen Shaochang, and others were also watching the news broadcast.

Li Xiu murmured, "Jiazhi, did you foresee this scene all along?"

The others looked at Chen Jiazhi as if he were a charlatan.

Chen Jiazhi denied it, saying, "If I had foreseen this day, I would have shorted the Thai baht too. Why would I be here reading the news?"

Li Xiu added, "That's quite impressive."

Yi Dinggan had been watching the TV screen the whole time, and only after the news ended and the commercials started did he speak up:
"According to Jia Zhi's prediction, the crisis will continue to spread to other countries, and companies that export vegetables to Southeast Asia may suffer big losses."

Especially Cong Yu, who may suffer a setback, and Liu Yunfan, who probably won't fare well either.

"Jiazhi, should we give a good beating to a dog that's down on its luck?"

Chen Jiazhi pursed his lips and chuckled, "Let's focus on doing our own thing first and maintaining our existing business channels. This real show has only just begun."

Yi Dinggan pondered for a moment and said, "That works too. After practicing internal skills for two months, the management of the vegetable market is much smoother, and the manual labor and quality of the vegetables have also greatly improved."

"Yes, I went back to check this afternoon, and it's going very well." Chen Jiazhi took a sip of tea and then asked, "Have you developed a targeted planting plan for the key time points I mentioned to you on the phone?"

Yi Dinggan patted his chest. "Don't worry about me. As long as there's an opportunity, there will definitely be something." "That's good."

Chen Jiazhi's recent focus on market research is aimed at finding opportunities.

Now he doesn't have much energy to focus on vegetable production; he must learn to drive the company's development from a higher level.

Analyzing the market is one of his areas of expertise.

Whenever the market is down, he needs to try to provide better guidance to the farm managers, who then allocate vegetable planting areas.

In this way, he can make full use of his abilities in the entire production decision-making process without taking up too much of his energy.

"Uncle, I've finished watching the news, I'm changing the channel now~" Yi Long said at this moment.

"Let's change it, you can see."

The next moment, the TV switched to the Felix Wong version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", and soon after, the background music started playing.

They fought and even brought a sound system, yet the whole family watched with great excitement, and Li Xiu was completely hooked.

Chen Jiazhi shook his head and went back to his study alone, where he first called Ao Dehai.

I learned that exports to Japan are proceeding normally.

Even the export volume of leafy greens has increased due to the boost from broccoli, and they are moving towards high-end channels.

Payments were also made smoothly; Seika Co., Ltd. paid promptly.

From all perspectives, Qingguo has profited handsomely from this transaction, which is well-deserved by the other party.

A relationship can only last if the other party can profit from it. After all, being able to enter the department store and supermarket market is also an opportunity for Kaopu Fresh.

Then Chen Jiazhi called Ao Deliang to inquire about the situation.

"Boss, the quality and price of chicken heart mustard have dropped recently. I plan to fallow and fertilize early to prepare for autumn and winter."

"No problem, we've made enough money this year."

Pengcun base was the main source of revenue for Kaopu Fresh in March and April, and it only recently handed over the baton to Fanrong Vegetable Market.

Many people are now blindly following the trend of planting new crops, which has reduced their earning potential. It's better for them to take a break and recuperate sooner rather than later.

Chen Jiazhi held the phone in his left hand and typed with his pen in his right, then asked, "Where are the seedlings?"

Ao Deliang, who was also holding a pen, smiled and said, "The situation is good. Farmers have already placed orders for sweet pepper, tomato, and eggplant seedlings with us."

"Okay, let's postpone it a bit more this year."

Chen Jiazhi made another note in his notebook, then called Qi Yongfeng to analyze the upcoming market opportunities.

After making all the phone calls to ensure that each vegetable market had formulated a production plan based on the market research information he had provided, his thoughts returned to the export market.

Chen Jiazhi never considered giving up on the exit.

The domestic market is indeed larger, but the talent for farming in China is too high; no matter what you plant, it will produce amazing results.

It's much better overseas. Too many countries don't know how to grow vegetables, nor do they have the conditions to do so.

However, in Chen Jiazhi's understanding of vegetable trading, even overseas markets require a focus on stability.

Stable quality is important, but a stable supply of goods is even more crucial.

Just like with broccoli exports to Japan, while the window of opportunity in early May is certainly very hot, does Japan not need broccoli at other times?

In fact, demand has always been strong, with imports available year-round, which is why frozen broccoli has emerged.

However, neither the bustling vegetable market nor the reliable fresh produce store has the capacity to supply year-round.

The same principle applies to other types of vegetables.

The partnership is not stable.

This will lead to the emergence of vegetable export agency companies that do not engage in production but only in export trade.

The vegetables are sourced through partnerships with vegetable bases. Each type of vegetable has a long-term cooperative base, ensuring that the company has the goods whenever customers need them.

Such companies are small but excellent, with good profits and decent employee income.

Chen Jiazhi wasn't sure if such companies existed nowadays, but this approach wasn't suitable for Reliable Fresh.

One of the company's strengths is production, which is something we cannot afford to give up.

Chen Jiazhi tapped his pen on the paper, then wrote down broccoli, lettuce, romaine lettuce...

Then I looked at the map again, recalling the places I had been to and learned about.

This base still needs to be expanded.

Go ahead and roll it up, who's afraid of who?

...

A few days later, the Thai baht was still fluctuating, but it did not affect other countries.

Aside from checking the news, Chen Jiazhi didn't pay much attention to anything else and just focused on doing his own thing every day.

During this time, he also took his whole family to the hospital for a physical examination.

Now that we have money, my parents are very cooperative when they go to the hospital. They get the treatment they need and the conditioning they need.

Recalling how his father had kept it a secret and delayed going to the hospital in his previous life, Chen Jiazhi was filled with emotion, realizing that money really could cure all diseases.

So we still need to make more money.

This batch of broccoli was excellent; it was harvested and shipped in just over ten days, generating a total revenue of 2074 million yuan.

Ao Dehai was reporting the situation to Chen Jiazhi on the phone, "Boss, the final payment for the last three days hasn't arrived yet."

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "There's no need to rush. I feel like the payment is coming in too quickly."

Ao Dehai said, "The main reason is that the situation in Southeast Asia has been very unstable recently..."

Chen Jiazhi interrupted, "Who told you that?"

"Shaohua, he said it's your judgment, boss."

In Ao Dehai's memory, the boss's judgment of the market had never been wrong.

Since the risks in Southeast Asia have been mentioned as potentially affecting Japan, then it is indeed possible.

"..."

"It's not that serious." Chen Jiazhi asked, "Have the final yield and acreage data for broccoli been released yet?"

“I’ve got it.” Ao Dehai smiled. “The average yield per mu is 2380 jin, which is a pretty good increase compared to last year.”

Chen Jiazhi exclaimed in surprise, "This is more than just good progress! The yield per mu has increased by three or four hundred jin. In addition, the price is high this year, so the increased benefits are remarkable!"

He was in high spirits after being praised. "It's just a fluke, a fluke. It's probably because we transplanted the seedlings earlier this year, allowing them to grow more fully, which led to the considerable increase in yield this year."

Chen Jiazhi said, "This is a matter of skill, not luck."

Broccoli yields are generally low during this period, and many beginners are prone to various problems. A yield of 2300 jin is already quite good.

At this moment, the joy that increased production brought to Ao Dehai reached its peak.

The boss specifically emphasized that this was an affirmation of his technical skills, and it also meant that it would be reflected in his future income.

His ideas, rooted in planting techniques and management, became increasingly firm.

(End of this chapter)