1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 480 Four Consecutive Files

On November 22, a damp and cold air swept through the city in the evening, but the city's plants remained lush and green.

Chen Jiazhi drove his Cherokee home with Li Xiu after get off work, and on the way, they took a detour to check on two or three stores.

Li Xiu leaned against the car window, watching the flow of people entering the store, and smiled, "Business is still good; it seems to have stabilized."

More than half a month has passed since Reliable Fresh made the news, and the hype has subsided.

Although the business of several vegetable shops and stores is not as booming as it was at the beginning, it has stabilized. The repeat customers from the surrounding residents are enough to support the stores.

Chen Jiazhi also looked at it for a while, then drove the car back home.

"Let's go, go home."

“I ran into Ms. Xu in the neighborhood a couple of days ago,” Li Xiu suddenly mentioned Xu Wenxiang. “She didn’t seem to be doing well.”

Xu Wenxiang also lives in Mingya Garden.

Chen Jiazhi said, "Yunshan's business has declined sharply in the past six months. I guess she's quite worried, with formidable competitors all around her."

As early as when the Huaxia Hotel opened, Chen Jiazhi had a premonition that Yunshan would lose some of its customers.

Coupled with sluggish external economic growth and internal management problems, it will be difficult to turn the tide.

Li Xiu said, "She's had a tough time too."

“Don’t worry about her,” Chen Jiazhi said. “Even if Yunshan goes under, she still has 5% of the shares in Kaopu Fresh, which is enough for her to live on for the rest of her life. She’s better off than most people in the country.”

"Yes."

Li Xiu smiled and asked, "Jiazhi, how much money are you going to contribute for dividends this year?"

"I don't know." Chen Jiazhi focused on driving and watching the road. "The company still needs money for development, but it's not a problem to distribute another 20 to 30 million in dividends before the end of the year. At least everyone can have a prosperous New Year."

"Every year is a prosperous year."

"Haha, isn't this good?"

"There are still ten million left in the family, and now another ten million is coming in. How are we going to spend it all?"

"This shows you haven't gotten used to the life of the rich yet."

"Jiazhi, are you used to it?"

"No, I'm still more used to the life of a small vegetable farmer."

"So we'll go back to growing vegetables?"

"I can't go back. Although I'm more used to the life of a small vegetable farmer, I think my current life is better."

"Me too."

Upon opening the door, Chen Jiazhi saw Xiaolong, Xiaohu, and Doudou sitting on the sofa playing with a puzzle, while his parents were watching TV.

"Uncle and Aunt~"

"Mom and Dad."

"You're back! Dinner's ready! Today is Minor Snow, so I made radish and mutton soup. It'll warm you up nicely."

"Wow, that's a feast!"

Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu entered the house, changed their shoes, washed their hands, and then sat down to eat.

The temperature in Guangzhou drops suddenly, giving people no time to adjust.

After eating a few pieces of radish and mutton, taking a sip of mutton soup, and then a small sip of medicinal wine, Chen Jiazhi felt particularly comfortable.

"Dou Dou, don't just eat meat, eat a couple more pieces of radish. Radish is good for you. Look, your brothers are all eating it."

"I ate radishes."

"Have another piece." Li Xiu put another piece of radish on her son's plate.

Yi Long and Yi Hu also picked up a piece of radish to eat at almost the same time. Yi Long added, "Dou Dou, radish is better than ginseng. It helps with digestion and is a perfect match for mutton."

DouDou then started eating it in big bites.

Chen Jiazhi laughed and said, "Not bad, Xiaolong, you've really got some knowledge about food."

Yi Long's lips curled up slightly, and he said, "Of course, after all, he's the son of a vegetable farmer, how could he not understand vegetables!"

Yi Hu said, "My brother saw it at the Youth Science Station. There was a book in there that was specifically for popularizing food science."

"Hey, don't try to sabotage me."

When the topic of the juvenile science station came up, Chen Jiazhi inquired about the two students' studies.

Since moving to the city and living separately, the management wasn't as strict as in the countryside, but thankfully, neither of them fell behind in their studies.

Besides attending school, the two brothers also have to go to the juvenile science station to learn computers after school and on weekends. In addition, Yi Dinggan also enrolled them in tennis lessons when he last came. With the addition of playing video games, the two brothers hardly have time to go out and have fun.

That's alright.

Even if you don't master computer skills in the future, at least you won't become useless.

"Uncle, I'm sure I can master computers." Hearing Chen Jiazhi's words of encouragement, Yi Hu said firmly, "I'll definitely make the vegetable selling accounting software you mentioned!"

"Hehehe, don't just talk about yourself, where did you put your brother?"

Yi Long retorted indignantly, which made the whole family laugh.

"Alright, I'll be waiting for you two."

...

After a month's absence, Li Cai returned to Yuexiu Market.

Stepping into the market, it seems that there haven't been many changes compared to a month ago.

Li Cai blew on his middle-parted bangs and walked back to the stall, which he had built up single-handedly.

He was present from the initial negotiations with the market to the opening of the stall and the sale of the first truckload of vegetables.

Thinking back to when I first came here, I was quite disappointed. After all, stall number 63 in Gangnam Market had a constant stream of customers every day, while the new stalls had very few customers.

But things have changed now.

Li Cai stood about 30 meters away. The stall was still the same, and the person selling vegetables hadn't changed, but there were more people buying vegetables.

There was so much of it that it felt a little unfamiliar to him.

Even though he already knew from the reports that the Yuexiu stalls were no longer what they used to be, he still couldn't hide his surprise.

It wouldn't be said that there would be long queues, but compared to the surrounding stalls, it's definitely a prime location.

No wonder Dong Sheng was forced to sell his farm.

Having a reliable fresh food stall will be a nightmare for all competitors.

Li Cai blew his hair again and rubbed his palms together. The temperature had dropped, and the market was about to recover. How many more, like Dongsheng Farm, would collapse before dawn?

He glanced at Cong Yu, who was still struggling to hold on.

Li Cai knew that neither Qu Taiji nor Cong Yu would pose a threat to Kaopu Fresh in Huacheng in the future.

In core product categories such as bok choy, lettuce, and mustard greens, Kaopu Fresh has already established a significant advantage, making it extremely difficult for Qu Taiji and Congyu to catch up.

He tried his best to recall the development process of this new stall. There were coincidences, but in essence, it was the company's quality standard system that played a role.

It was the efforts made on the production side that allowed Kaopu Fresh to seize this opportunity, yet another one.

After reviewing the situation, he realized how wise his boss's decision to focus on internal improvements at the beginning of the year and implement a quality standard system in the middle of the year had been.

As if anticipating that the Japanese would bring up pesticide residues, they made preparations in advance.

But the farm managers were also quite capable; they actually managed to grow the vegetables as required.

Li Cai had contacted clients in Shanghai and Japan, and had heard them complain about the new regulations more than once, saying that even Japanese farmers were far from meeting the standards.

And our own vegetable market met the standards.

This demonstrates the capabilities of the farm managers.

With a significant improvement in production, Li Cai felt that as the stall owner, and also jokingly referred to as the "God of Wealth," he needed to make the stall even more successful.

Li Cai blew his hair upwards again, thinking that it was better not to keep this long hair.

"Oh, Mr. Cai is back?"

Tang Huaijie noticed Li Cai.

"Well, good job."

"Hehe, it's mainly because the company is doing a great job. After the company made the news, business suddenly picked up."

"Hold still."

"A reliable gentleman indeed!"

The customers here are all new, and Li doesn't know many of them. After checking the quality of the vegetables by opening the box, he walked into the market again.

From his conversations with salespeople like Tang Huaijie, he could easily sense that most people understood how well their stall businesses could thrive.

The main reason is that the food is good.

Moreover, it's better to have a stable supply of vegetables over a long period.

If you can achieve this in production, it will be difficult to do business in the market. If you persist, you will succeed sooner or later. Getting on TV is just a matter of chance.

Li Cai knew that this was thanks to the production side.

For market operations, the only way to continue to improve is to be more reliable, have existing business and new business, so that the business can continue to grow and become stronger.

During this process, there will be other opportunities.

“Lettuce…” Li Cai murmured, “Let’s go to Shenzhen tomorrow. There’s not much room for me to make a difference in Guangzhou.”

"Huh~"

After leaving Yuexiu Market, Li Cai suddenly saw a "Shop for Rent" sign posted outside the security booth.

He stepped forward.

"There are stalls for sale? Are they going out of business again?"

Li Cai paused to think for a moment, then quickly walked towards the Jiangnan Market.

Compared to Yuexiu, he was more optimistic about Jiangnan Market. After arriving at the market, he soon saw information about subletting, including stalls 64 and 65 next to stall 63.

"It seems that Hua Cheng still has room to grow."

If a stall becomes available, just grab it without hesitation.

Not to mention they can also be linked together.

Li Cai went straight to the white building that housed the market management and knocked on an office on the second floor. "Come in."

"Manager Wang, it's been a long time."

Wang Qi looked towards the door and saw a handsome young man with long hair walk in smiling. He stood up and smiled.

"The God of Wealth has arrived! What a rare guest! Please have a seat."

Li Cai sat down on the sofa and said, "Manager Wang, I won't waste any more words. I just saw some stalls for sale in the market. Kaopu Fresh is planning to take a few more to form a chain of stalls. That should be fine, right?"

How many rooms?

Wang Qi was making tea when he heard this and asked in surprise.

"Numbers 64 and 65," Li Cai added. "Of course, it would be even better if we could also get number 66."

Wang Qi remained silent.

Li Cai then asked, "Is there a problem?"

"Of course, no problem. It's just that I might not be able to make that decision myself. I'll have to report to President Ye first."

After thinking for a moment, Wang Qi said, "Currently, there is no situation of consecutive releases in the market."

Moreover, although some merchants have recently gone out of business, there is no shortage of people renting stalls in Gangnam Market.

Since the subletting notice was posted, many people have inquired about it, and the subletting price has actually increased.

Kaopu Fresh is definitely qualified to compete, but Li Cai is asking for too much, so he doesn't dare to agree immediately.

"Okay, let me know if there's any news."

"must."

...

"Mr. Ye, there's a new development. Kaopu Fresh wants to rent another stall and they want to form a chain of stalls."

The next morning, Wang Qi waited for Ye Canjiang downstairs in the office building.

"Reliable Fresh Produce? A continuous batch?" Ye Canjiang exclaimed in surprise, then after a moment's thought, he said in a deep voice, "Give it to him!"

"what?"

"Give him as much as he wants!"

Wang Qi felt that President Ye wasn't joking, but his decision was a bit too decisive.

"I'm afraid he'll run away." Ye Canjiang added, "If you don't meet his demands, do you believe that Kaopu Fresh will open two more stalls in Yuexiu?"

With one side gaining and the other losing, would we still worry about a reliable merchant like Fresh being overstocked?!

"Yes, I'll go and do it right away."

Wang Qi sensed General Manager Ye's dissatisfaction, which might be due to the fact that Kaopu Fresh went to Yuexiu, but it was more likely due to his failure to understand the merchants' needs in a timely manner.

If he had communicated beforehand, Kaopu Fresh might not have gone to Yuexiu in the first place.

Mr. Ye had always been wary of Yuexiu Market, yet he allowed one of the market's best merchants to open a branch next door.

As he pondered this, Wang Qi broke out in a cold sweat despite the chilly wind.

"Mr. Cai, did I disturb your rest?"

"No, I haven't rested yet. Manager Wang, is there any news about the stall?"

"Yes, President Ye personally gave the instructions to do my best to meet your requirements. In addition to numbers 64 and 65, number 66 can also be given to you."

"I see that number 66 hasn't been transferred."

“I’ll talk to him and find him a different stall.”

"Okay, thank you, Manager Wang. Let's have tea together sometime."

After hanging up the phone, Li Cai took a satisfying bite of a chicken foot and said to Chen Jiazhi, who was making tea nearby:

"Boss, we've secured the stall, so easy!"

"Still in continuous gear!"

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "I heard you mention it this morning, and I thought there might be some twists and turns."

Li Cai laughed and said, "Maybe the market is afraid that we'll go to Yuexiu Market now."

Chen Jiazhi added, "From this perspective, it's even more necessary to manage the stalls in Yuexiu well."

Li Cai quickly understood what Chen Jiazhi meant.

While I am more optimistic about the development of the Jiangnan Market, the existence of the Yuexiu Market can also play a certain role.

This can prevent the Jiangnan market from forming a monopoly and deter market operators from excessively exploiting the interests of merchants.

At the same time, for high-quality merchants like Kaopu Fresh, they can also negotiate more favorable conditions with the market.

The Jiangnan market is growing and expanding, but Kaopu Fresh's influence in the industry is by no means weak.

The two remain interdependent, and the market is wary of them shifting their focus to other markets.

Li Xiu had been listening to their conversation and asked, "Aren't you worried about the supply of goods?"

Chen Jiazhi looked at Li Cai, wanting to hear what he had to say.

Li Cai smiled and said, "In five days, on November 28th, the Qinglian Class I Highway will be open to traffic."

Chen Jiazhi paused slightly; he had forgotten to pay attention to this information. However, he was very satisfied with the answer; Lianzhou was also a good place to grow vegetables.

Li Xiu realized she had overthought things.

After finishing the breakfast brought by Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu, Li Cai tidied up the table briefly.

"I'm going back to sleep now. I'll go straight to Buji in Shenzhen when I wake up. I won't be coming over tonight. The new stall still needs the owner to take over."

"You just got back from Shanghai, shouldn't you rest for a couple more days?" Chen Jiazhi said. "You can go fishing in the countryside. Boss Yi even refilled your fishing spot."

"I think he's become addicted to feeding the fish," Li Cai joked, then shook his head. "Let's not go fishing anymore. We've almost taken over Huacheng, it's time to cultivate the Shenzhen market more deeply. By the way, where did President Xu go?"

Shenzhen.

"Look, with him around, how could I possibly go fishing again?"

"There's no need to make things difficult for yourself."

“No problem at all.” Li Cai smiled. “I’m starting to enjoy this process.”

After leaving the office, Li Cai went to get his long, center-parted hair cut into a neat buzz cut.

He looked in the mirror and thought that if he wore a suit, he would be worthy of the company's 100 million yuan in revenue.

...

As we entered late November, vegetable prices rebounded somewhat due to factors such as continuous temperature drops, slower growth of leafy vegetables, and reduced planting area.

But many people didn't make it to that day.

This was a very brutal process, and it was the first time many vegetable growers had experienced a market crash.

Chen Jiazhi, however, knew that this would become the norm in the future, as in another month, it would be the tenth anniversary of the implementation of the "vegetable basket project".

There are too many hardworking farmers in this vast country. Since growing grain is not profitable, growing vegetables has become one of the few options.

This will make market downturns more common in the future, but the opportunities brought about by information asymmetry will not decrease.

This will also be the most glorious period for vegetable wholesalers.

"Mr. Chen, it's a pleasure to cooperate with you. Please feel free to let us know if you have any needs in the future, and we will try our best to meet them."

"Okay, Mr. Ye, thank you for your help this time too."

The day after Li Cai left, Jiangnan Market Company notified them to sign a contract for three new stalls, which Chen Jiazhi, representing Kaopu Fresh, secured.

At this point, Kaopu Fresh has formed a four-stall network of stalls (numbers 63-66) in the Jiangnan Market, providing more space, making it more convenient to sell vegetables, and also facilitating the expansion of product categories.

Ye Canjiang smiled and said, "Mr. Chen, are you free today? How about we have dinner together tonight?"

"Sure, no problem, I'll arrange it."

These stalls are very useful, Ye Canjiang is very accommodating, and Chen Jiazhi is also very willing to befriend him.

Ye Canjiang chuckled again, "Haha, Mr. Chen, I'll treat you this time, but you can treat me next time."

"Okay, you must come next time!"

"it is good!"

At the beginning of the year, Jiangnan Market Company, as the organizer, led a group of merchants to build vegetable bases in the production area.

However, the process did not go smoothly.

In recent months, some merchants have suffered heavy losses and had to withdraw from the market, which has damaged the reputation of the Jiangnan Market.

After all, it was the Jiangnan Market that led merchants to build vegetable bases in the production areas.

Ye Canjiang felt a little melancholy.

After a couple of drinks, Chen Jiazhi said, "President Ye did nothing wrong. The failure was not your fault, but rather the merchants' lack of strength. Market competition will inevitably cause resources to concentrate on a few outstanding large wholesalers."

Ye Canjiang smiled and said, "Take Kaopu Fresh, for example. What President Chen said makes sense. Come on, let's drink."

Ye Canjiang has a high alcohol tolerance, and Chen Jiazhi felt he might not be able to handle it, so he talked more to avoid drinking too much.

It was a rare opportunity to communicate with the market side, and he did indeed have many ideas and suggestions.

For example, market settlement.

There are actually significant security risks associated with market settlements. Things are slightly better inside the market, but outside the market, problems are more likely to occur.

He also mentioned vegetable brokers in the market, as well as brokers, agents, and small-scale wholesalers in the production areas, and even second- and third-tier wholesalers in nearby counties and cities.

"Mr. Ye, you are only thinking about building the base. In fact, it is a whole. Not every merchant is suitable for operating a vegetable base. In fact, most of them are only suitable for doing business and cannot grow vegetables."

"As a primary wholesaler, the Jiangnan Market needs to cultivate and strengthen its distribution entities, develop wholesale agents and brokers, and make intermediary organizations a link and bridge connecting farmers and wholesale markets, and facilitating production and sales. Only in this way can a unified interest group be formed..."

Ye Canjiang, Wang Qi, and the others were stunned, while Chen Jiazhi raised his wine glass.

"Just my humble opinion, Mr. Ye, you can just take it with a grain of salt."

Ye Canjiang snapped out of his reverie and picked up his glass as well. "President Chen, you're too modest. Your views are not shallow, but insightful and truly profound!"

He thought to himself, if he had eaten this meal a year earlier, perhaps so many merchants wouldn't have left this time.

However, if it weren't for the four consecutive releases today, Mr. Chen probably wouldn't have said those words.

(End of this chapter)