1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 466 This money seems to have never changed.
In the early morning, the streets of Huacheng were not yet filled with noise.

Chen Jiazhi was driving, and Li Xiu was sitting in the passenger seat. The morning breeze was gentle on their faces, making them feel the unique tenderness and comfort of the city in the early morning.

When I arrived at the office, there were indeed deliverymen still busy at work.

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu carried breakfast to the door and called out, "Those who haven't had breakfast yet, come and get it yourself. I'll leave it here."

Upon hearing this, the deliverymen who were coming and going looked over, understood the situation, and responded with smiles.

Chen Jiazhi then said to Li Xiu, "Wait here for me for a while, I'll take it up to Zhengxu and Li Cai."

Li Xiu entered the sorting workshop. "Okay, call me when you leave."

Upstairs, Chen Zhengxu, Li Cai, and Xue Jun were all in the same office. Chen Zhengxu was looking at the computer, while Li Cai and Xue Jun were organizing documents at a table.

Chen Jiazhi placed the breakfast on the table. "I brought you breakfast. It was recommended by Mayor Chen's secretary. It's pretty good, especially the chicken feet, they're fantastic!"

"Sure, I'm really hungry." Xue Jun first took out some chicken feet from the breakfast and tasted them. "Hmm, they're really delicious, tender and falling off the bone, so satisfying."

Chen Zhengxu and Li Cai also put down their work.

"Is the municipal party committee secretary up this early too?"

"They rushed back from Baise overnight, they probably only slept for a while on the plane," Chen Jiazhi said, then looking at Xue Jun.

"Let's go to the North and South Market together this afternoon. Zhengxu will come too, there are some things we need to discuss."

"Good~"

"I'm going back to sleep now. Li Xiu is still waiting downstairs."

In fact, Li Xiu was watching Jiang Xiaoyan organize today's financial data on the computer when Chen Jiazhi pulled her away.

"How is Jiang Xiaoyan using the computer?"

"Better than me."

"It's okay, I'll teach you later."

"You're so busy, where do you find the time?"

"There are still some if you squeeze in."

Li Xiu has always persisted in studying, although she always falls asleep while studying.

But by persisting until now, he can read the 26 letters fluently and say a few simple words.

It might be a bit difficult for her to learn computers, but she's young now, and as long as she's willing to learn, it's not too late.

Chen Jiazhi believes that it's never too late to learn; the real problem is not doing it at all. Just like growing vegetables in his past life, excellent vegetable growers quietly acquire quality, new technologies, and new varieties. Chen Jiazhi is always a step behind, but he always knows to learn from these people, so he can still get a share of the profits.

Now, his and Li Xiu's learning abilities are definitely stronger than they will be 30 years from now.

Back at the hotel, after washing up in their private room, Chen Jiazhi read a few articles on spoken English conversation with Li Xiu, and then the two of them fell asleep.

"Jiazhi, get up. We still need to go and look at the furniture for the new house."

"Oh~"

Around three or four in the afternoon, Li Xiu tried to pull Chen Jiazhi out of bed, but was pulled into someone's arms again.

More than half an hour later, Chen Jiazhi felt refreshed and took a shower.

The two then went to a furniture store to order a batch of furniture for their new home, and after agreeing on a delivery time, they hurriedly went to the office.

"Jiazhi, think about it, is there anything else you want to buy?"

After getting into the car, which was hot and stuffy, Chen Jiazhi quickly turned on the air conditioning.

Li Xiu was still looking at the small notebook she carried with her. Under Chen Jiazhi's influence, she had also developed the habit of taking notes at any time.

"Hey Xiu, aren't you afraid of getting carsick?"

"It would have been better if you hadn't mentioned it." Li Xiu quickly put the notebook away and leaned back in her chair.

Chen Jiazhi then said, "Let's buy some more green plants, like Podocarpus macrophyllus and lucky bamboo."

"When I have time, I'd like to get a better car so you guys will be more comfortable."

“Okay, you can buy whatever car you want. I’ll have a ride.” Li Xiu then asked, “Once you buy the car, you should pick up your parents as soon as possible. Dou Dou should be starting kindergarten soon.”

"Okay, Little Dragon and Little Tiger should come up too."

After a pause, Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and then said, "After I finish dealing with these matters at home, I need to go and inspect the various bases again. One reason is to expand the bases further, and the other is to address the implementation of the quality standard system..."

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

When we arrived, the sun was still hanging halfway up the mountain, and even the air felt scorching hot.

In the same office, Chen Zhengxu, Xue Jun, and Li Cai were making tea.

Enjoying the comfort of the air conditioning, Chen Jiazhi asked, "What are you talking about? I could hear your laughter from the stairs."

"Haha, it just so happens to be related to Brother Zhi." Li Cai smiled and narrowed his eyes. "Last night, Chairman Yang made a declaration of withdrawal, and now everyone is saying that Boss Chen forced Cong Yu out of the Jiangnan market."

"Who is slandering me?"

"I don't know, that's what everyone's saying."

Li Cai crossed his legs, took another sip of tea, and laughed, "Yang Jianzun was very unwilling when he left. He shouted that he would come back sooner or later, and many people heard it."

"After the conflict between Congyu and you yesterday, nobody wanted to deliver goods to Congyu anymore. The whole market knows who did it."

Chen Jiazhi waved his hand, refusing Xue Jun's offer to give him a seat, and casually picked up a mahogany stool to sit down.

"These merchants have nothing better to do than slander me instead of figuring out how to do business properly."

Chen Zhengxu used tweezers to place the teacup in front of Chen Jiazhi, saying, "It's nothing serious, just have some tea."

Chen Jiazhi glanced at the teapot and asked, "What kind of tea is this? It has a rather nice shape."

Chen Zhengxu said, "The Zhuyeqing tea named by Marshal Chen is produced by the Zhuyeqing Tea Factory in Emei Mountain, and it tastes quite good."

Chen Jiazhi slowly drank it down. The taste was pure and refreshing. After drinking it, he felt more energetic, and there seemed to be a lingering fragrance in his mouth.

Chen Zhengxu asked, "How is it?"

"Not bad." Chen Jiazhi then asked, "Does your boyfriend work at the Zhuyeqing Tea Factory?"

"..." Chen Zhengxu's lips twitched and he said, "It's getting late, let's take care of business first."

Chen Jiazhi guessed that he had guessed correctly again, so he didn't ask any further questions. Then, the group of people drove a van to the North-South Fruit Market a few kilometers away.

As they walked, Xue Jun recounted the details of file number 113.

Just by listening to him talk about the production areas, harvest times, purchase and selling prices of various fruits, Chen Jiazhi could sense his progress and that he had a comprehensive understanding of the industry.

Just like selling vegetables, once you understand the general logic of how the market works, selling vegetables becomes much easier.

The same goes for fruits.

Xue Jun is currently developing in this direction.

The fruit stalls still sell a wide variety of fruits, displayed in a dazzling array that is hard to look at.

"While some fruit vendors make a profit, others lose money; overall, the stalls are still not profitable."

"But I'm getting better and better at it now."

"We will decide which fruits to sell by early next year at the latest. Currently, we have decided on lychees, plums, and peaches for May to July, as well as mangoes from Baise, and oranges, tangerines, and persimmons for autumn and winter..."

Although he wasn't making money, Xue Jun gave Chen Jiazhi a very confident feeling, a big change from when he first came to the North-South Market.

Chen Jiazhi felt that Xue Jun wouldn't be so greedy as to line his own pockets. It was true that he wasn't making money, but his confidence stemmed from his accurate understanding of the market.

This is the advantage of starting with the overall picture.

The company has the money to give him practice. Nowadays, doing fruit business isn't that complicated. You just buy fruit from the production area and sell it, and that's it.

The important thing is the process in between.

Ordinary people can't handle failure, but he can. He tries a few more times, gains experience, and then gains confidence.

After reading it, Chen Jiazhi only mentioned one point, "We should also pay more attention to imported fruits." Xue Jun asked, "Durian?"

"Hmm, we can give it a try. Li Xiu and my second sister both like to eat it. But we should also pay attention to other fruits. There are many rich people now, and some people like foreign things."

"okay."

The fruit wholesale market wasn't very crowded in the evening. Chen Jiazhi found a teahouse next to the market and slowly recounted his conversation with Kang Ming that morning.

First, the leadership hopes to build their own tangerine orchard to create a benchmark case for poverty alleviation.

Second, the company has the opportunity to buy the state-owned vegetable store.

"I have already agreed."

Upon hearing this, the three of them understood that there were specific arrangements to be made for them.

Chen Jiazhi added, "I will try my best to buy a well-located shop in a state-owned vegetable store, and plan to use it to open a fruit specialty store. I will open one first to try it out, and if the business is good, I will open a second one."

Xue Jun was slightly surprised, then immediately thought of the dazzling array of fruits at the stall.

Isn't this just right?

"Boss, you thought of this already?"

"Yes, I had thought about it before. This time, I'll take the opportunity to have the leaders act as matchmakers and buy a few storefronts." Chen Jiazhi pondered, "We'll also need to go to Shenzhen and Shanghai to see if there are any opportunities later."

"Hiss~" Xue Jun exclaimed in surprise, "Are we going to go this far?"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "The premise is that we can make the business work. If we can't, we can only wait to collect rent in the future."

He then looked at Chen Zhengxu, "The distribution center is very crowded now, so it's a good opportunity to select some storefronts to serve as distribution points."

Chen Zhengxu nodded and then asked, "We should also try retail sales. State-run vegetable stores should have some regular customers."

"We can give it a try; it's more flexible anyway."

In later generations, fresh food stores were everywhere, with two or three opening in a single neighborhood.

But the business environment is different.

In later generations, there were many tax incentives for fresh produce sales, but now the tax burden is heavier, making it more difficult to operate a vegetable business.

The gross profit margin for premium fruits can be even higher, so this business is worth doing.

"What do I need?" Li Cai asked again.

Chen Jiazhi pondered for a moment and said, "You're already quite skilled at selling vegetables at the stall, and you've reduced the use of large amounts of cash when collecting money. I'd like to give you more responsibilities and open two more stalls."

"One is in Shanghai, where is the other one?"

Currently, Mr. Reliable has stalls and sales points in Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

“Continue renting stalls in Jiangnan, or you can go to Yuexiu Market. Also, the stalls in Shenzhen need to be upgraded, and I plan to hand over the vegetable wholesale business to you.”

Chen Jiazhi paused for a moment, then said, "At the same time, there are too many vegetables in the production area recently, and they are not easy to sell. The new stalls can carry out consignment sales. For example, didn't the Yucai Market encourage many farmers to grow Chinese cabbage?"
Since the jade business is currently struggling to survive, the stalls can go and source their own goods.

"As long as there's a profit in reselling, I have no objection even if you resell jade through a third-party agent."

After entering August, the financial crisis intensified, and international investment funds set their sights on Hong Kong, making business very difficult.

One reason is that vegetable exports to Southeast Asia have been affected.

Another important reason is that the domestic vegetable planting area has expanded too rapidly, leading to a surge in production and putting pressure on the entire market.

Li Cai also participated in the market research some time ago, and since he sells vegetables every day, he knows exactly how low the purchase price in the production area is now.

With a new stall, the business can be differentiated from the existing stalls.

Li Cai agreed.

Chen Jiazhi joked, "Won't that affect your fishing?"

Li Cai smiled and said, "No, just have Boss Yi keep the nest for me."

"General Manager Yi is indeed a professional at catching fish."

Chen Jiazhi agreed wholeheartedly, got up to pay for the tea, and then turned around and said, "Work is work, but don't neglect dating."

"Goodbye is goodbye, the next one will be better."

Li Cai smiled and said, "Nothing can stop us from growing bigger and stronger, President Xu, don't you think?"

Chen Zhengxu shook his head and said, "If she really likes you, she will take the initiative to consider your needs."

Li Cai was fed a mouthful of dog food (a Chinese slang term for witnessing public displays of affection).

Chen Jiazhi glanced at Li Cai, thinking, "He's so handsome, but he still has to be a member of the Chen family."

...

After finishing their business, Chen Jiazhi went to call Li Xiu home, as the newly purchased furniture was arriving one after another.

Sofa, washing machine, dining table, TV... It took two days to finally finish furnishing the new home.

On that very day, Chen Jiazhi received a call from Kang Ming at his new home.

"Mr. Chen, you have two options. One is that Huacheng Vegetable and Fruit Company will sell a portion of its vegetable stores to you in bulk; the other is that you can select 5 to 8 vegetable stores and sell them to you at market price."

"I choose the latter."

"Okay, someone will contact you again."

Chen Jiazhi didn't ask any more questions, not even about the price. He didn't care if he lost out on the price because he had the right to choose.

The fact that they were able to take this step indicates that Huacheng Vegetable and Fruit Company has serious internal problems and urgently needs a sum of cash to solve them.

There may still be opportunities later.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Jiazhi made himself a cup of tea in his study. Just over ten minutes later, He Chengping, the general manager of the vegetable and fruit company, called him.

He remembered that He Chengping had been indifferent to him last time, but this time he was much more polite.

This also made Chen Jiazhi realize the benefits of having someone in a higher position to put in a good word for him.

This phone call set the terms of the deal.

Kaopu Fresh had already figured out the distribution of state-owned vegetable stores in Huacheng. Chen Jiazhi seized the opportunity and directly selected 8 state-owned vegetable stores in Liwan, Yuexiu, Dongshan, Xiguan and other places that were in good condition in terms of location, size and building age.

Then, sign the contract, pay the deposit, and wait for the property transfer process to complete...

That day, after leaving the Huacheng Fruit and Vegetable Company Group building in Liwan District, Chen Jiazhi drove around to inspect eight shops before returning to his office.

The 8 shops have an average area of ​​about 32 square meters and an average price of 6900 yuan per square meter. The price has dropped a bit compared to last year, but it is still not low.

However, given the rapid development of Huacheng, shops in such prime locations have considerable potential for future appreciation, and there are many options for doing business there.

For him to have the opportunity to buy it, timing, connections, and funds were all indispensable factors.

It only cost 176.64 million in total.

Chen Jiazhi then took stock of the funds.

From the end of June to the whole of July, vegetable prices were generally low, but the daily sales of reliable fresh produce in the Pearl River Delta market remained around 300,000 yuan.

After the broccoli was plowed, the daily output of leafy vegetables at the prosperous vegetable market also increased to 20-30 tons. Even with the expansion of the planting area, more than 5% of its output is still exported to the Japanese market.
This keeps the daily revenue of the prosperous vegetable market at around 12.25 yuan, but the overall profit is about the same.

Because of his poor performance in developing the Shanghai mainland market, Ao Dehai lacked the necessary capabilities and sometimes even sold his products at a loss to intermediaries, further dragging down the profits of his imports.

Even so, in less than two months, the disposable funds in Kaopu Fresh's account jumped from 3000 million to 3500 million yuan.

The 176 million yuan spent on the shop purchase will have a negligible impact on Kaopu Fresh.

Even the two sets of pesticide residue and antibiotic equipment imported from Japan cost more than 360 million yuan.

The total is only 536 million yuan. Rounding up, Kaopu Fresh still has 3000 million yuan at its disposal.

The money seems to have remained unchanged.

(End of this chapter)