1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 476 The store is gaining momentum
Chen Lirong is a public servant and lives very close to her workplace.

That morning, as usual, she was reading the Huacheng People's Daily when she quickly came across the article titled "Our City's Leafy Vegetables Are Being Exported to Japan Normally, Unaffected by Pesticide Residue Testing."

This piqued her interest.

As a native of Guangdong, her family's dining table is never without green vegetables.

She has been paying attention to the recent issue of pesticide residues in leafy vegetables, but people can't live without eating green vegetables!

Chen Lirong slowly began to read it and quickly became engrossed in it.

After reading the article, she murmured, "Are there any vegetable companies in the city that are this impressive?"

"Reliable Fresh~ Reliable Fresh... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before."

"Sister Rong, what are you muttering about while reading the newspaper?" At that moment, another woman walked into the office.

Chen Lirong said, "Hey, Awan, take a look at this report. Which company is this Kaopu Fresh? I feel like I have a vague impression of it, but I can't remember."

"Kaopu Fresh?" Awan thought for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "Huh~ it seems like a new fruit shop just opened on the street outside the company dormitory area, and the shop's name is Kaopu Fresh!"

"I remember now!" Chen Lirong said, "I was just saying I was going to buy fruit a couple of days ago, but I forgot. Oh, they also sell vegetables!"

Looking at the newspaper, Awan said, "This company is quite large. They export 150 tons of leafy vegetables to Japan every day. How much land must they own?"

Chen Lirong said, "Their vegetables are good. I buy some after get off work and feel safe eating them."

Vegetables are a staple in the daily lives of many citizens, and there are quite a few people like Chen Lirong.

The first few stores of Kaopu Fresh in the city center were the ones that caught people's attention.

As the person in charge of all eight stores, Wang Liang was the first to receive Chen Zhengxu's notification. He immediately arranged for each store to prepare, mainly to replenish the stock as soon as possible.

At that moment, Wang Liang was standing in front of a vegetable shop, looking at Li Le, who was wearing a yellow uniform.

"Why are you so late?"

"Hey, I was delayed while delivering food to the restaurant." Li Le said speechlessly, "A few old men stopped me and asked if the company mentioned in the newspaper was us."

Wang Liang asked in surprise, "Don't they know how to read?"

Li Le shook the yellow vest she was wearing. "Maybe it's because they can read that they stopped me from asking questions."

"..."

Wang Liang glanced at the van parked by the roadside again. The words "Reliable Fresh" on it were equally prominent, and he wondered how many people had seen it that morning.

Li Le glanced into the vegetable shop and exclaimed in surprise, "Business is booming!"

The small vegetable shop was bustling with people; some went in empty-handed, while others came out laden with purchases.

Wang Liang said, "We're just waiting for you to restock. If you keep running around today, we'll probably need to restock a few more times, and it's only morning."

The two unloaded the styrofoam boxes from the car, and Li Le laughed, "Wearing this outfit today, I feel full of energy wherever I go!"

"You've made a name for yourself, haven't you?"

"Haha~ That's for sure, you'll be recognized wherever you go." For the first time, Li Le thought the yellow vest was alright.

...

At the same time, after arranging various tasks, Chen Jiazhi also conducted research on the stores to identify and address any shortcomings.

All necessary certificates and quarantine documents should be displayed behind the cashier so customers can easily see them when checking out, and the store shelves should also be kept tidy.

At the same time, he also had a discussion with the store managers of each store, such as how to select products and how to use vegetables to attract customers.

This is one of the few things he understands about grocery stores.

After the morning newspapers came out, there was a noticeable increase in customer traffic at the reliable fresh produce and fruit stores.

Although most of the customers are elderly people or housewives, some of them are attracted by the newspaper and often start chatting with the staff about related topics as soon as they enter the store.

The response came very quickly.

However, the real peak time is after get off work, when the army of bicycles weaves through the city streets, and several stores become crowded with people.

Chen Jiazhi and Xue Jun stood under the roadside trees twenty or thirty meters away from the fruit shop, smoking and staring blankly at the men and women carrying large and small bags of fruit as they came out.

The retail price of fruit in the store is definitely not low, and most families would not be willing to buy it to eat, but there is no room left in the store for two people.

Chen Jiazhi said, "This business is worth doing."

"More than just capable," Xue Jun said in a deep voice, "we're incredibly capable! Boss, let's bring the other shops to sell fruit too. How much money can we make selling vegetables!"

“Tell Wang Liang and President Xu what you’re saying,” Chen Jiazhi said, pursing his lips. “Besides, you should broaden your horizons. This business can be done in Shenzhen as well, not just Huacheng.”

"But there are no storefronts in Shenzhen."

"Can't we just rent it?"

"Anyone with eyes can see that you want to buy it."

Is it that obvious?

"Yeah, you're so busy, but you still managed to find time to check on how the state-run vegetable store is doing."

"..."

From a retail perspective, there is no doubt that fruit is more profitable.

A customer typically spends 1 to 5 yuan on vegetables, but can easily spend more than 5 yuan on fruit, and some even spend more than ten yuan on fruit.

This difference in price per customer also allows fruit chain stores to have higher gross profits, making it easier to cover costs such as taxes, labor, and procurement.

Chen Jiazhi drove away and went to other grocery stores, where he stood outside for a while.

This seemingly ordinary little shop has suddenly burst forth with amazing energy at this time of year.

Every store was packed with people.

By the time he finished visiting the last store for the second time, it was already getting dark, and he finally entered the vegetable store located in Liwan District.

"Hello, what would you like to buy? We also have chili peppers... Oh, boss, you're back again."

"Hmm, it sold out pretty well."

Chen Jiazhi noticed that most of the shelves in the store were empty, especially leafy greens such as bok choy. He walked around the store but couldn't find a single green vegetable.

Even root vegetables like potatoes, onions, and radishes were almost gone; the only ones that were still plentiful were green and red peppers.

No wonder they tried to sell him chili peppers as soon as he walked in.

This stuff is usually only bought by people from out of town; locals don't even give it a second glance.

Chen Jiazhi arrived at the cashier. The store manager was a middle-aged woman with her hair tied up at the back of her head. She was counting today's sales and revenue.

Just then, Wang Liang walked in. "The boss is here too!"

"Hmm." Chen Jiazhi asked, "How was the business today?"

"Great! The foot traffic at each store is enormous, and we've had to restock multiple times."

Wang Liang was in high spirits, talking non-stop about the grand occasions at each store that day.

"The stores that sold the least amount of vegetables today all sold 1000 jin (500 catties) of vegetables, and the most sold nearly 1500 jin (750 catties) of vegetables. All of them have a turnover of over 1,000 yuan."

The fruit shop had the highest turnover, reaching over two thousand yuan.

At this moment, the store manager said, "Boss, Manager Wang, our store sold about 1080 jin today, with a turnover of 1135 yuan."

Business should be even better tomorrow. Many customers bought vegetables today, but we sold out. Also, people who bought vegetables elsewhere at the morning market today might come back tomorrow.

Chen Jiazhi felt that the store manager was quite professional, at least he could analyze the surrounding customer base, and the turnover was also decent.

"You've done a great job. Pack up and go home." As Chen Jiazhi was about to leave the store, he turned back and said, "Manager, next time we should order less chili peppers. Maybe our daily sales will be even higher."

The store manager was embarrassed; the chili peppers were definitely a mistake today.

As night fell, Chen Jiazhi drove his car back to the office building.

After parking his car and entering the gate, Chen Jiazhi could hear the conversation inside.

"Yes, it's us. Thank you for your compliment. Yes, the vegetables we give to your restaurant are from the same batch as those exported to Japan."

"Yes, Mr. Xiao, we're the ones in the newspaper. Are you here to pick up your vegetables today? It might take a little while; I need to check with my colleagues about the availability. Sorry..."

The delivery feedback has also arrived.

Chen Jiazhi went upstairs to his office, and a short while later, Li Xiu and Chen Zhengxu appeared.

Li Xiu took a boxed lunch, placed it on the table, and then, seeing that she still had things to do, went downstairs to the sorting workshop.

Chen Zhengxu then said, "After the TV station reported on it again at noon, the phone kept ringing all afternoon. Old customers and customers who had cooperated with us before were calling us, asking if the person in the news was us. By now, the increase in orders is quite obvious."

If this continues to escalate, our supply may become insufficient!

Due to intense competition in mainland China and strong demand in the Japanese market, the main output of Heli Farm and Jiangxin Vegetable Market is sold to the Japanese market, with only basic supplies maintained for distribution and stalls. Originally, this wasn't a problem; however, the fierce domestic competition and the somewhat arrogant attitude of Kaopu Fresh, which sells vegetables, naturally led some customers to buy from other places.

However, this news report further boosted Kaopu Fresh's reputation and solidified its image, making it even more prestigious to talk about.

Customers with this demand returned, naturally leading to a shortage of vegetables that were originally intended to ensure basic supply.

Chen Jiazhi easily figured out the hurdle and said, "Wait two more days. I called Hu Chunmei again at noon, and she said that at least one container of goods can be sent over today!"

There will be even more tomorrow and the day after!

"What about these next two days?" Chen Zhengxu suggested, "How about we go and buy some vegetables from the farmers? Li Cai had previously contacted vegetable farmers in Conghua."

"Forget it." Chen Jiazhi pondered, "We're the ones who stick out now, and a lot of eyes are watching us. We don't feel comfortable selling vegetables that aren't our own. Let's wait a couple more days; the hype won't die down so quickly."

It's a bit of a pity about Chen Zhengxu.

Now is the best opportunity to expand distribution, but if we can't buy from farmers, we can only cut our export share.

That's even more impossible. Even if the boss were willing, he wouldn't, because the profit margin for exports is far too high.

And they're making money off the Japanese!
This kind of opportunity is even rarer!

So he could only feel regret, and then Chen Zhengxu went out to communicate with Wen Rong about the order.

Prioritize meeting the needs of long-term customers who consistently place orders, followed by new customers, and lastly those who frequently change their order status.

In the office, Chen Jiazhi brewed a pot of Sichuan black tea, as drinking black tea is more comfortable in winter. Only then did he notice the lunchbox that Li Xiu had placed on the table.

When I get busy, I tend to forget to eat.

Chen Jiazhi was indeed a bit hungry. He opened the lunchbox and found rice, stewed pork ribs with potatoes, and stir-fried bok choy.

The stewed potatoes and pork ribs were tender and flavorful, with a hint of spiciness. Chen Jiazhi showed off and finished the meal in just a few minutes.

He drank some more tea, rested for a while, and then went downstairs again.

Li Xiu saw this and asked, "Jiazhi, where are you going again? Aren't you going home tonight?"

Chen Jiazhi replied, "Sure, I'll go to the market first and then come back to pick you up after get off work."

Li Xiu: "Okay."

After lighting a cigarette and standing at the entrance for a while, Chen Jiazhi saw a tricycle going to pick up vegetables from a stall, so he hitched a ride and got off after entering the market gate.

Just like patrolling the fields, taking a walk in the market every day can be quite enjoyable.

Here, you can see merchants from all over the country and different vegetables from different regions.

There are always business opportunities hidden within them.

Even in today's brutal market, many types of vegetables are still in high demand.

Chen Jiazhi hadn't gone far when he saw a truckload of scallions from Hubei selling out. He also saw his own deliveryman, Li Le, also scrambling to buy them.

The last time Chen Jiazhi met him, it was also at Yuexiu Market getting scallions; first come, first served.

Seeing that Li Le couldn't compete with others in carrying and loading goods by himself, Chen Jiazhi ran over to her.

"Pass it to me from upstairs."

"Ah, boss!"

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

"it is good."

After snapping up a whole cart of scallions, Chen Jiazhi was still a little reluctant to leave, as it was the first time he had ever rushed to buy someone else's vegetables.

It's always been others who scramble to buy his vegetables.

Turning the corner, you can already see stall number 63, which seems to be no different from the scene of people rushing to buy scallions.

The stalls were also filled with various vehicles loaded with vegetables, and there were many people unloading and loading goods.

However, when Chen Jiazhi got closer, he noticed something different. Many of his old customers, who usually just said a word and left, were now either sitting in tricycles or standing smoking, chatting and bragging.

Some people would chat for a while and then leave, but others would quickly join in. Naturally, they would talk about how Reliable Fresh was on the news, appearing in newspapers, on television, and on the radio.

"Hey, Mr. Chen's here. Have a smoke."

"Smoke me."

"My cigarettes are just as good, Mr. Chen."

Chen Jiazhi felt recognized, or rather, respected, from their words.

Previously, customers might have been more interested in the vegetables, but now, despite Japan's deliberately stringent pesticide residue standards, Kaopu Fresh has managed to overcome obstacles and expand its exports.

This may go beyond simply selling vegetables; it has stirred up latent emotions in many people.

Chen Jiazhi took out cigarettes from his bag and laughed, "Try mine, mine are pretty good too."

After dispersing the cigarettes, we entered the stall, opened the box to inspect the goods, and found that the craftsmanship and quality had not changed much.

In this situation, even the employees of Kaopu Fresh know that the company was on TV and was praised as a model.

The TV station also went to the market and interviewed the managers and vegetable collectors.

Chen Jiazhi didn't know who had appeared on TV yet, but he figured everyone should be proud and would consciously try to maintain that reputation.

...

Yuexiu Market.

Tang Huaijie felt that the world had been surreal these past two days; what wasn't sold out yesterday, wasn't enough to sell today.

And they both ran into the boss.

"Boss, the leafy greens are indeed sold out."

"It's not midnight yet?"

"It's really gone."

Before the busiest market of the night could even open, the leafy greens were gone. Tang Huaijie was quite embarrassed by the owner's question.

"Around ten o'clock, several big clients came in, one of whom was from the market management company. They bought almost all of the bok choy, kale, lettuce, and romaine lettuce..."

"Market Management Company"

Chen Jiazhi muttered to himself, he had a rough idea of ​​who it was, and he figured the vegetables that had been bought would appear at the state-run vegetable store tomorrow.

It's unlikely he can revive the state-run vegetable store; he's still hoping to buy another shop.

Thanks to the leafy greens attracting customers, other vegetables at the Yuexiu stalls are also selling quite well, so it looks like we'll be able to close early today.

Chen Jiazhi took a few more steps and looked at Cong Yu's stall in the passageway. It was very lively, but no matter how good business was today, it couldn't compare to Kaopu Fresh.

He wanted to go to Dong Sheng's stall to chat with Wang Xiaodong, but he saw Qu Jingtai from a distance, and Qu Jingtai saw him too.

Chen Jiazhi nodded slightly, turned around and went home, "Never mind, I won't bother anyone today."

He felt it wasn't a good idea to poach people directly.

...

Qu Jingtai was very fortunate, both that the man hadn't come over and that there weren't enough reliable fresh leafy greens.

Well... exporting over 150 tons to Japan is already quite a lot. Fortunately, there aren't many leafy vegetables coming to the Yuexiu Market.

Otherwise, he would have to lower the vegetable prices today.

At current prices, Dongsheng Agriculture is also selling at a loss, losing money every day it sells.

But for professional vegetable markets, there is no way out; if there is, it is to exit the market and be eliminated.

Qu Jingtai is unwilling to withdraw from the market yet, and even does not want to sell the farm for the time being, because dawn is after nightfall, and the more difficult the market is now, the stronger the rebound will be in the future.

This is based on his many years of experience in the industry.

Putting yourself in the shoes of someone in the vegetable market, the more losses you incur, the more decisive you should be in planting, and then wait for the opportunity.

So he wanted to grit his teeth and persevere.

We can make a little money every day now, and by cutting back on all expenses, we can barely keep the 5000-mu vegetable market running.

He has no hope for the Japanese market for the time being, and only hopes that Reliable Fresh will stop sending vegetables to Yuexiu Market, because that could really be fatal.

Meanwhile, Yang Jianzun was hiding in Congyu's stall when he saw the news about Kaopu Fresh, so he came to the stall tonight to witness Kaopu Fresh selling vegetables firsthand.

He was also very fortunate that Kaopu Fresh didn't have that many dishes.

(End of this chapter)