1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 470 Qualifications
After entering September, the weather in Shanghai became noticeably cooler.

Chen Jiazhi was having tea in his office at noon when he heard the vegetable workers coming out to work.

He also came to the door, leaned against the tin wall, and sized up the vegetable workers passing by.

Recently, the amount of vegetables produced has recovered, and the workers have smiles on their faces, which is a good sign.

This shows that the workers also want to produce more vegetables, because producing more vegetables gives them a chance to earn more money.

Chen Jiazhi felt a vibrant and upward force.

The workers gathered in their respective groups, and soon the group leaders came to assign tasks. Chen Jiazhi listened for a while and heard many somewhat technical terms, which showed that the technical training provided by the technical department had also been effective.

At this point, the framework of the entire quality standard system is finally complete. All that remains is to refine it, much like building a house. After the house is built, the interior needs to be decorated and beautified. After the decoration is complete, you need to buy furniture and even create a garden...

The Prosperity Vegetable Market has also been equipped with a set of pesticide residue and antibiotic testing equipment. Recently, every batch of exported vegetables has been sampled and tested, and the various indicators are getting better and better.

While climate change is a factor, many more are the sacrifices people are making for it.

Chen Jiazhi has personally experienced the progress, and now he just needs to wait for it to bear fruit.

Jingle bell bell~
After standing at the door for a while, the phone in the office rang. A clerk answered and called out "Boss."

"It was the landlady who called."

Chen Jiazhi withdrew his gaze from surveying the work site and turned back to answer the phone.

"Hey, Xiu, what's up?"

"Nothing much, I just had some free time and thought I'd give you a call." Li Xiu paused, then asked, "Jiazhi, when are you coming back?"

"We might have to wait a bit longer, as we need to go to Baise later."

It's been about twenty days since he left, and Chen Jiazhi is quite homesick. "How's things at home?"

Li Xiu said, "It's great. Yi Long, Yi Hu, and Dou Dou are all in school now, and Mom and Dad are doing well too. They're adapting well to city life..."

Listening to Li Xiu's rambling, Chen Jiazhi felt relieved. He had initially been quite worried that the two elders wouldn't be used to living in the city.

Li Xiu added, "When you get back, we'll probably have to treat you to a meal. We're moving, and Zhengxu, Li Cai, General Manager Xu, and General Manager Huang all sent us gifts."

"Okay, I'll finish it when I get back."

“I saw Zhengxu’s girlfriend come to the company to see him a couple of days ago, and they seemed to be getting along well.”

"That should be really good."

"You've never seen it."

"You have good taste. Out of so many men in the world, you chose me. Those who missed out on me back then must be regretting it so much they'd slap their thighs."

"Then I do have good taste..."

We chatted for half an hour, interspersed with some work-related information.

The first fruit store of Kaopu Fresh is ready for renovation, and Xue Jun is waiting for him to go back for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Chen Zhengxu also made use of the other seven state-owned vegetable stores. Those that were doing well continued to operate as stores and also served as delivery points, while those that were not doing well were directly converted into delivery points.

Li Cai replaced Buji's original stall with a larger one.

In addition, Li Cai also rented a stall in Yuexiu Market, which is said to be very close to the stall rented by Cong Yu Cai, and the two are quite competitive.

However, exports have rebounded somewhat due to policy stimulus.

Xue Chenglin from Malaysia can ship an average of 1-2 containers of goods per week, so the situation with jade must have improved somewhat.

From Li Xiu's perspective, Chen Jiazhi can gain a comprehensive understanding of the current situation of Kaopu Fresh.

Although Yi Dinggan and Qi Yongfeng often report losses, sometimes amounting to dozens or even hundreds of acres, and their attempts to grow lettuce have repeatedly failed, from Chen Jiazhi's perspective, these losses will become badges of honor for Reliable Fresh in the future.

In the early hours of the morning, Chen Jiazhi and Hu Chunmei's husband, Zhang Weidong, arrived at Cao'an Market.

Zhang Weidong is currently the sales manager of Fanrong Vegetable Market in the local market, and his abilities are average.

This was the person Ao Dehai chose, probably because he thought Zhang Weidong was reliable.

It is indeed reliable, but its capabilities are far inferior, so its reliability is not very useful.

In her previous life, Chen Jiazhi's eldest daughter married Zhang Weidong's cousin, Zhang Weibing, and Hu Chunmei was a capable assistant under Yi Dinggan.

Therefore, Chen Jiazhi knew the couple well. Zhang Weidong was honest and reliable, but apart from hard labor, he was just average in other aspects. He was suppressed by Hu Chunmei both internally and externally.

After spending a day running around the market with Zhang Weidong, Chen Jiazhi felt that the choice of personnel needed to be changed.

It may be reliable, but if it occupies a position and can't get anything done, it's useless no matter how reliable it is!

Back at his lodgings, Chen Jiazhi lay on his bed pondering the candidates.

The first to emerge is Ding Qiao. He has spent a long time at No. 63 and is familiar with the market operation methods of Reliable Fresh. If he is transferred to Shanghai, he can directly replicate the practices of No. 63.

The downside is that we're not familiar enough with each other and don't know much about their family background.

If Ding Qiao is to be transferred here, someone else needs to be found to assist him. After thinking it over, Chen Jiazhi thought of his eldest nephew, Chen Zhengyan, who had been working at the vegetable market for more than a year.

This nephew is rather introverted and doesn't have Chen Zhengxu's abilities, but he should be able to assist without any problems.

Chen Jiazhi had an idea in mind and was going to discuss it with Li Cai, since Li Cai was also in charge of the stall business.

He has only recently taken over a stall in Yuexiu and Buji, so he can't focus on the Shanghai market for the time being.

After figuring things out, Chen Jiazhi slowly fell asleep.

After staying for two more days, Fang Shaohua, who had gone to Japan, brought back more good news: Kaopu Fresh had passed Japan's agricultural product quality certification, and had also made significant progress in several international certifications.

This work actually started a few months ago when we were 'working hard on our internal capabilities'. However, there is a serious disconnect between domestic and international testing. The number of pesticide residue items tested and the standards for indicators are far below international requirements, so progress has been slow.

With the introduction of advanced equipment, the number of tests increased, all indicators met the requirements, and with the assistance of equipment manufacturer Shimadzu Corporation, the entire process became a natural success.

"Well done, Shaohua!"

"Boss, we can start working on the independent export rights now." Fang Shaohua suppressed his excitement and reminded his boss that they should take action on this matter.

In the past two years, export qualifications have been strictly controlled, and there are very few private enterprises in all sectors of Huacheng that have independent export rights.

This year, thanks to the financial crisis, has opened up new avenues for development, presenting a great opportunity.

Having export qualifications not only saves on agency fees, but also gives you greater business autonomy. You can also directly receive and pay foreign exchange, and directly enjoy policies such as export tax rebates, logistics subsidies, and exhibition subsidies. Your corporate image is also better, and it's easier to gain the trust of your customers.

There are many benefits.

The export tax rebate policy alone is enough for Chen Jiazhi to pull strings. If handled properly, he could earn a net profit of three or four percent from export tax rebates alone.

"Okay, leave this to me. Shaohua, you also need to focus on developing export business recently."

"Boss, I've already arranged for other colleagues to do it. In addition to Japan, we've also sent a salesperson each to South Korea and Southeast Asia."

"OK, contact me immediately if anything happens."

"It should be soon, boss. Recently, Japanese farmers have been increasingly vocal in their opposition to importing vegetables from Japan. We see related news in the newspapers and on TV every day."

It's quite reasonable for Japan to counter its own policy of encouraging exports, given that China has just introduced such a policy.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Jiazhi pondered how to tell Kang Ming or Chen Guanye about this.

He glanced at the calendar; tomorrow was Saturday. Would Chen Guanye be going to Baise?
I haven't seen Chen Daguan for a long time now.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Jiazhi decided that he should start with the mandarin orange base.

Land rent and labor costs are very low in Baise, so investing in a 1,000-acre tangerine orchard shouldn't cost much.

Chen Guanye happened to be interested in this as well.

After making several intermittent phone calls, Chen Jiazhi contacted Kang Ming, saying that he needed the leadership's help in choosing a site for the tangerine orchard. "Mr. Chen, what a coincidence, the leadership's flight to Nanning is tonight."

"I'll buy the tickets right away."

Kang Ming then went to Chen Guanye's office and informed him of the situation.

Chen Guanye smiled and said, "This young Mr. Chen is quite a character. He probably timed his call carefully."

Kang Ming said, "He probably needs something from you again. It was the same last time. He agreed to invest in the mandarin orange plantation, and then he proposed to buy the state-run vegetable store."

“The state-run vegetable store was already in a mess, so it’s good to sell it to him.”

Chen Guanye knew that many people were eyeing the state-owned enterprise reform opportunity, and selling it to a reliable fresh food company would at least offer a fair price.

Do you know what he wants this time?

"He didn't say."

"Then I'll have to pick a tough nut to crack for him."

Chen Guanye looked at the map of Baise. There were too many poor areas, and it would be difficult to ensure that poverty alleviation through industrial development was equally effective.

He guessed that Mr. Chen probably didn't intend to make money from poverty alleviation industries, but just wanted to use his connection to manage his business in the Pearl River Delta.

Chen Guanye does not reject this idea.

As long as enterprises are willing to invest real money in poverty alleviation, he can give them some preferential treatment as compensation.

Chen Guanye's gaze finally settled on a small county town west of Baise.

He had considered this position for a long time, and perhaps it was suitable.

...

The sunset in Nanning is beautiful, and the view from the airplane window is even more picturesque.

Chen Jiazhi's flight arrived first. After waiting at the airport for a while, he saw Chen Guanye and his entourage, dressed in Zhongshan suits, walking briskly and exuding a powerful aura.

Following the example of how he does in movies and TV dramas, Chen Jiazhi jogged a few steps to greet him.

"lead."

"Mr. Chen."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Guanye didn't waste any more words. After leaving the airport, he boarded a special car to Baise, chatting with people about the poverty alleviation work in Baise throughout the journey.

This was the first time Chen Jiazhi had ever encountered such an official, in both his past and present lives.

In his past understanding, most officials were greedy and corrupt. They might have done some good work, but they would not forget to seek personal gain.

However, Chen Guanye gave him a slightly different feeling; he was very dedicated to poverty alleviation.

Chen Jiazhi couldn't tell what was true and what was false, so for now he could only rely on this powerful figure.

After arriving in Baise, it was already late at night. The next morning, we took a car to a place called Xilin for research.

Chen Jiazhi carried a map with him; it was in a very remote area.

Xilin is located in northwestern Guangxi, at the junction of Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces. It is a fold belt that transitions from the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau to the Guangxi hills. The county seat is nestled between two mountain ranges, with the Yu River flowing through it.

This is a very small county town.

If it weren't for following Chen Guanye, Chen Jiazhi would have had no idea about this place.

Official Chen really knows how to pick a position.

Is Xilin County suitable for growing sugar oranges?

Chen Jiazhi stared at the map, lost in thought. He knew even less about this place than he did about Xiangshui.

Upon arriving in Xilin, it was another day of research in the countryside. The feet ached terribly from all the walking, our clothes were soaked with sweat, and our stomachs were also upset.

Following Chen Daguan, you wouldn't go hungry three times a day, and at most you could eat corn and sweet potatoes to fill your stomach at noon.

After returning to the county guesthouse that evening, we still have a meeting to discuss poverty alleviation, mainly focusing on education.
When the topic of introducing industries came up, Chen Jiazhi felt as if he had become a lamb to the slaughter, being stared at by the eyes of butchers.

"Mr. Chen, how's Xilin?"

"can."

Chen Jiazhi's words were concise and to the point.

During his research trip, he also learned about Xilin's climate, soil, water resources, and other natural conditions, which were surprisingly well-suited for the cultivation of sugar oranges.

Chen Jiazhi's straightforwardness made Chen Guanye smile, feeling quite pleased. Young Master Chen had never disappointed him.

How much are you planning to invest?

"We will invest at least 10 million yuan within three years to develop the mandarin orange industry."

"it is good!"

Not only was Chen Guanye excited, but the county officials and county head who came to the meeting also applauded enthusiastically.

An investment of ten million yuan is not a small amount for this small county.

Moreover, it's agriculture.

If successful, it will greatly contribute to regional economic development and poverty alleviation.

The applause lasted for a long time, and Chen Guanye calmed down.

"Mr. Chen, from your perspective, is Xilin suitable for growing tangerines?"

Apart from a few people from Guangdong, the locals in Xilin knew almost nothing about tangerines at this time.

Everyone was looking at Chen Jiazhi.

Chen Jiazhi was still wearing short sleeves. He rubbed his arms and said, "Xilin is at a high altitude, so it's still a bit chilly at night."

Confused, the crowd offered to get him some clothes.

Chen Jiazhi stopped the man, then smiled and said, "It's hot during the day when we're conducting research, but cold at night when we're having meetings, which shows that Xilin has a large temperature difference between day and night. In addition, there's the climate, water source, and soil here..."

He paused, then surveyed the crowd with a firm gaze, "Growing tangerines is truly a privilege bestowed upon us!"

This was a reassuring blow, striking the hearts of the county committee members like a powerful punch.

County officials and the county head have repeatedly stated that they will safeguard the project and provide as much support as possible.

Chen Guanye was very satisfied with this ending.

After Mr. Chen mentioned that sugar oranges could be introduced to Baise, he studied the site selection and finally chose Xilin.

The fact that he has gained such strong recognition from the person involved makes him feel proud.

After the meeting, Chen Guanye kept Chen Jiazhi behind for a moment. "Young Mr. Chen, just tell me what you need. Let's talk it over so we can get some sleep. We have research to do tomorrow."

Knowing that his little scheme had been seen through, Chen Jiazhi didn't try to be coy.

"Kaopu Fresh is applying for independent export rights."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Young Master Chen is truly a man of great courage!"

Chen Guanye believes he may have misunderstood Mr. Chen, having made a special trip and invested ten million yuan just for an export qualification that he could likely obtain on his own.

(End of this chapter)