1988: Back to the human world for a few years

Chapter 280 Price Control
Jinan, Wei 11th Road, farmers’ market.

As one of the largest and most famous vegetable markets in Jinan, in the winter of previous years, the stalls here would be much sparser, and the goods sold should basically be poultry, meat, eggs, seafood, pickles, and dried goods.

But this year seems to be very different. Overnight, the market was filled with all kinds of green fresh vegetables. At a quick glance, the stalls selling fresh vegetables occupied more than one-third of the total stalls.

"Cucumbers! Greenhouse cucumbers! Thin cucumbers just plucked from the vines... 3 yuan a pound!"

"Water spinach! Water spinach from greenhouses! Water spinach freshly pulled out of the soil... a bunch for 50 cents!"

"Bean sticks! Greenhouse bean sticks! Tender and long bean sticks... Eighty cents a pound, 16 yuan a bundle, the last ten bundles left, hurry up if you want one!"

........................

Bai Mengmeng, who had squeezed out of the dense crowd with difficulty, took two deep breaths.

I have to say, she was a little scared when she saw the way people buy vegetables in the north for the first time.

"Master, are you sure that these people will eat the vegetables they buy themselves, rather than setting up a stall at the entrance of the alley to sell them themselves?"

The young apprentice stretched the shallow cut on his trouser leg with a look of heartache, and then pointed at the piles of various vegetables that were pulled out like small mountains.

Yang Mo glanced at the people who were excitedly pulling, pushing, or dragging baskets out of the vegetable market, and said in a nonchalant manner: "Of course they eat by themselves... It's just that everyone has no money and can't afford a car now, otherwise, they would bring carts of vegetables home, and the corridors would be filled with a half-person-high vegetable wall... That would be a spectacular sight!"

People in the north have the habit of hoarding winter vegetables, and they buy vegetables in bundles and bags. Therefore, even in later times, it is a sight to see people hoarding winter vegetables at the big markets in the north in winter.

Although with the rapid development of economy and logistics, the phenomenon of hoarding winter vegetables in truckloads in later generations often only occurs in rural areas, and city dwellers still live their exquisite lives... But that is in later generations after all, right? Before the millennium, city dwellers would still pile up all kinds of winter vegetables in their corridors.

The corridor on the first floor is covered with half-person-high vegetable walls?
Bai Mengmeng was shocked. Coming from the south, she had no idea what the scene was like.

But the vegetables that were being pulled out in piles today couldn't be fake, so she didn't think her master was bragging. She patted her chest and said, "These vegetables are so expensive. I was worried that they might not sell well, but now it seems that I was worrying too much."

Yang Mo glanced at her unhappily: "Expensive? The fact that you can say this word only proves that you still don't understand the situation in the north, and it also shows that all the things you learned before are useless!"

"Whether it's expensive or not depends on demand and more importantly, comparison... Compared to last year's 10 yuan per kilogram of cucumbers, the price we give for sale at the greenhouse and the market guidance price are already very cheap!"

Bai Mengmeng had no way to refute. At Yang Mo's strong request, the second batch of winter vegetables shipped out of the greenhouse were purchased and priced uniformly by the Linyi County Supply and Marketing System, and then uniformly connected to the distribution units and downstream merchants. The purchase price of the greenhouse was based on the purchase price of similar seasonal vegetables this year multiplied by three;
In addition, under his suggestion, the competent authorities of Linyi County also spent a lot of energy to apply for joint action with the price management units of Dezhou, Jinan and Tai'an to regulate the price of winter vegetables at the market terminals;
At first, she thought that Yang Mo was worried that these high-priced vegetables would not sell well. After all, she initially viewed this matter from the sales logic of regular seasonal vegetables. But now, after witnessing the madness of northerners hoarding winter vegetables, she realized that this was not the case at all.

Therefore, Bai Mengmeng now thinks that this method of being stuck at both ends is a thankless task.

Although the growers made a decent profit, they did not get the tenfold return they had initially thought;
Due to the price limit, although the profits of distribution units and individual vendors are higher than those of seasonal vegetables in previous years, they are still far from making a fortune.

She could easily imagine that as a result of this, the enthusiasm of greenhouse growers in Linyi County would definitely not be as high as it was at the beginning. Let alone expanding the greenhouse vegetable planting area to 5 acres next year, even 2 acres would be difficult... This is under the premise that the competent authorities are willing to advance the greenhouse infrastructure costs. If there is no such policy, it is estimated that it will be difficult to expand to 1.2 acres.

Thinking of this, Bai Mengmeng expressed his doubts, and then lowered his voice: "Master, although you have lowered the price, it has indeed quickly solved the problem of regular sales channels for these winter vegetables...but if the farmers in Linyi County are not so enthusiastic about planting next year, aren't you afraid that you will not be able to explain to Magistrate Ma?"

In the young apprentice's opinion, the method that Yang Mo strongly recommended was completely useless except that it could speed up the sales process and eliminate the worries of unsalable winter vegetables.

Upon hearing this, Yang Mo slapped his little apprentice on the head in dismay: "Girl, do you understand what the vegetable basket project is? The first purpose of the vegetable basket project is not to let you make a lot of money, but to ensure that people can buy the vegetables they need in the most convenient way and at the most affordable price when they need it!"

At this point, Yang Mo poked Bai Mengmeng's forehead with his finger and said, "You still can't explain to County Magistrate Ma? Haven't you ever thought about why County Magistrate Ma and his team approved the proposal made by me and Vice President Feng at the special work meeting of Linyi County?"

"You have to understand that this is the first time that winter vegetables have been put on the market on a large scale in Qilu, or even in the whole country. Although the supply is only more than 10,000 tons, it has a strong price anchoring effect on the future supply of winter vegetables in northern China, whether it is the price at the greenhouse or the retail price at the terminal... The starting point of this work is not entirely for the purpose of generating income, so you can't just look at the surface of some things!"

“Believe it or not, if the prices at both ends are not controlled, the planting area of ​​greenhouse vegetables can certainly double or triple easily next year, but there will also be a situation where the people will scold us for making dirty money while the growers will suffer huge losses due to the large amount of unsold vegetables… By then, forget about the results, it will be good enough if Magistrate Ma is not held accountable!”

Bai Mengmeng, who was covering his head, was stunned: "Slow sales? Loss? How is that possible! There are so many people in Qilu, and everyone's single stockpile of vegetables is so large, how is it possible that they can't sell it?"

Yang Mo rolled his eyes. "Only you are allowed to introduce winter greenhouse cultivation technology, but other counties are not allowed to introduce this technology? Only your Linyi County's winter vegetables are allowed to be transported to Jinan for sale, but other counties are not allowed to transport vegetables here for sale? ... There is no such thing in the world!"

"You've been with me for more than two months. You should know that the higher the price of a product, the smaller the audience, right?"

"If you didn't consciously control it from the beginning and set a price anchor, but let it operate purely on the market mechanism, and a kilogram of cucumbers was still sold for 10 yuan, do you think so many people would come here to stock up on winter vegetables today?"

"This is not the most frightening thing. The most frightening thing is that the Chinese people are obsessed with following trends. With the profits of winter vegetables this year, do you believe that at least ten counties will jump out and grit their teeth to expand the planting area of ​​winter vegetables to more than 50 mu in one fell swoop next year?"

"If everyone still sells cucumbers at 10 yuan per kilogram, but there are only so many people who can accept this price, do you think you can sell all the cucumbers you produce? Forget selling all of them. We'd be lucky if we could sell 1/6 of them!"

“10块钱卖不出去怎么办？那只能降价呗……8快、6块、3块，甚至到最后1块钱一斤都未必能卖出去！”

"You have to know that people are always on the sidelines. When you start to raise prices quickly, people will not really feel that it is a good deal. Instead, they will wait until your price is maintained, and then they will measure whether this price matches their psychological expectations, which have been adjusted countless times, and then decide whether to buy in large quantities or regularly;"

“But no matter whether they think it’s worth it or not, before this, the growers and distributors have already lost everything, let alone continuing to grow winter vegetables next year…With so much debt, it’s good enough if no one dies or there are no mass incidents!”

"As for the credibility of the authority that leads the cultivation of overwintering vegetables, it is even more of a disaster... County governance is already a very difficult task. If the credibility is damaged, future work will be difficult... If this happens one or two more times, hehe~"

At this point, Yang Mo sighed: "This is a standard collapse process. Once a collapse occurs, it will be a devastating blow to the enthusiasm of growers and even the competent authorities... So, you know the importance of doing your best to anchor prices while the first batch of winter vegetables are on the market on a large scale, right?"

He did not expand on this topic.

In fact, many agricultural projects in later generations have transformed from Xiao Tiantian to Mrs. Niu in just two or three years. The reason is far more than just following the trend of planting and lack of a reasonable price anchor point... But the social value of winter vegetables, a daily necessities, is not comparable to that of pure cash crops. The situation after 94 is also different from the present.

Therefore, as a descendant of Chinese farmers, when there were actually other means available, his basic conscience forced him to choose the most brutal and least incompatible with the laws of the market economy, but at the same time able to avoid the losses of farmers to the greatest extent... Although many people may not understand it, and in fact some farmers have already cursed him behind his back.

It was obvious that the young disciple did not fully understand his master's intention, but even so, after a little deduction, Bai Mengmeng was still frightened by the scene described by Yang Mo.

Although her father once told her that working in the county was to some extent similar to walking on a tightrope, and that any slightly wrong decision would bring extremely serious consequences, it was not until now that she truly felt the difficulty of it... And this was just the tip of the iceberg; and this was only seen by herself after her master pointed it out.

After a long sigh, Bai Mengmeng nodded: "I understand, County Magistrate Ma and his men also foresaw this problem, so they agreed to your proposal, Master."

Yang Mo glanced at her and said, "It's not that they foresaw this problem, but they remembered it after I reminded them... The court had already summarized the difficulties in the vegetable basket work... Fortunately, there are documents from the court to back it up, otherwise, do you think they would be so easily persuaded by a young man like me who knows nothing?"

Bai Mengmeng looked at his master with a strange expression.

A young man who knows nothing?

Master, are you serious?
But compared to complaining, she is now more concerned about another point: "The court has already concluded it? Why didn't I notice it?"

Yang Mo glanced at her unhappily. "Please go back and read the relevant documents of the imperial court word by word. In the work requirements for the establishment of a vegetable production supply chain, are there any plan steps mentioned for [solving shortages - keeping fresh all year round - focusing on quality - eating with confidence - standardized production]?"

Bai Mengmeng was stunned: "Yes, there is content about this, but... what does it have to do with Master's price control suggestion this time?"

Yang Mo rolled his eyes and slapped him again: "What do you mean by solving the shortage? Do you really think the word "shortage" means a mere lack of supplies?"

"The world's annual food production is enough for 70% of the world's population to eat, but 30% is thrown away. However, there are still hundreds of millions of people who are hungry every year... You can't say it's because of a global food shortage, right?"

“Productivity improvement + supply and demand balance + purchasing power balance + logistics guarantee are the four major support points to solve the shortage problem!”

"So... after being with me for so long, you don't even understand the most basic relationship between supply and demand, right?"

Bai Mengmeng thought for a long time before she reacted, blushing and lowering her head.

If the people cannot afford them, it is useless to plant more winter vegetables;

No matter how many overwintering vegetables you plant, it is useless to sell them;
In this process, the key is how to grasp the price scale of each link so that most people can afford winter vegetables and growers and distributors can maintain the minimum economic value driving force... Only when the gains and losses on both sides are balanced can winter vegetables, a new thing that has just emerged, grow in a healthy and orderly manner.

No, this also involves the planting enthusiasm of other regions. Overheating or overcooling can easily cause the market for winter vegetables to collapse, and even produce extremely bad chain reactions.

Is this why my master strongly urged us to adopt the strategy of lowering prices on both ends when the winter vegetables are on the market in large quantities?

Thinking of this, Bai Mengmeng recalled the suggestions for adjusting planting varieties put forward by Yang Mo at the Linyi County Vegetable Basket Project Special Work Conference, as well as the list of local superior varieties based on the survey of the 100 villages. Only then did he realize that his master had even prepared a backup plan.

That list of superior vegetable varieties from various regions was a treasure at a time when information was not well-circulated, and it was also a bargaining chip for Linyi County to negotiate and divide the cake with other regions.

As long as we take advantage of this large-scale listing to draw a price anchor line for overwintering vegetables, then after seeing that there is not as much profit as imagined, the trend of planting overwintering vegetables will not be overheated, but at the same time ensure a good attractiveness;

In this case, if there are signs of building winter greenhouse vegetable planting bases in other surrounding areas, the people from Linyi County Agricultural Bureau can simply run over there, slap the list of superior varieties on the other party's table, and then sit down and negotiate which varieties of vegetables each should plant this year and how much of each vegetable to plant.

Don't doubt it, as long as Linyi County, which has the first-mover advantage, is willing to do so, there is a high probability that the deal will be reached... Nowadays, logistics are not well developed, and everyone supplies vegetables within a radius of 100 to 150 kilometers. Given the size of the pie, no one would want to see a life-and-death fight due to inadequate planning.

Realizing this, Bai Mengmeng looked at his master with admiration in his eyes.

My own master... is so awesome!

Even the most vexing transportation guarantee problem at the moment has the possibility of being solved because of the emergence of escort teams in various places... To be precise, it is the escort teams plus the road improvement work that the country has already started that have given people hope.

The four most unpredictable aspects of the first phase of Linyi County's vegetable basket project were, except for the initial infrastructure costs of the vegetable greenhouses which were solved by Vice President Feng, the remaining sales adjustment, logistics guarantee, and production control, were solved by their own master with the help of two and a half at once?
Ok……

Although in terms of sales, the construction of local farmers' markets/fairs is apparently more important, and this aspect is mainly managed by the competent authorities of Linyi County, but Bai Mengmeng is very clear that although the carrier is important, the price is the key... As long as the price anchor line is successfully drawn this time, the public will have a reference for the price expectations of wintering vegetables, then even if someone wants to mess up the price in the future, it will not be so easy. The positive significance of this is naturally self-evident!

"In short, remember, no matter what you do, the first shot is the most important... because the first shot often means rules and boundaries;"

"Although it seems that what we are doing now is to prevent people from getting rich quickly, in fact, we are seeking to ensure their continued income in the next few years, or even more than ten years...Agriculture is the foundation of all economies, and rural areas are the ballast and reservoir of China's economy. With the development of science and technology, the yield of vegetables per mu can easily reach thousands of kilograms, but each kilogram can only be sold for a few cents, which may not really be a good thing!"

Yang Mo concluded this way, not caring whether his young disciple could understand the complicated cause and effect involved.

………………

At the end of the 1980s, when farmers' markets were still dominated by major state-owned enterprises, today's joint price supervision action was actually just a formality. The appearance of this section chief was purely to show the drilling company's attention to this matter. To put it bluntly, he was a mascot.

Therefore, he, who did not care about the face-saving project, appeared with several leaders of the competent units, and then began to shrink aside and let himself go.

Ok……

This guy's way of letting himself go is very simple, which is... standing in front of the entrance of the farmer's market in a daze while basking in the sun.

I don’t know if this guy has special abilities. He can stand there in a daze in this cold weather with the northwest wind as sharp as a knife. I guess he is the only one who can do this.

Coming out of the farmers' market again, the young apprentice nudged his master with his arm, then handed a fried Spanish mackerel to Yang Mo attentively: "Master, it's cold, eat something to warm yourself up!"

Looking at the fragrant Spanish mackerel, Yang Mo did not refuse. He took it and took a bite from its back, then sighed with satisfaction.

Well, not bad, not bad.

Although the fish skin was not scraped much and tasted a bit fishy and bitter, it was fried very thoroughly and it was fried over a low heat, so the fish was almost dried... My little apprentice really knows how to choose.

Seeing Yang Mo enjoying the meal, Bai Mengmeng also became happy. Then he followed his master's example and squatted down to eat the mackerel.

She also heard from people in the market that people in Qi and Lu love Spanish mackerel, so she bought two to try. She didn't expect that the master, who usually didn't care much about food, was so happy with the meal. It was worth it for her to pester the boss to help fry it for five more minutes.

There is actually not much meat on a Spanish mackerel, and Yang Mo is not a person who pays attention to chewing slowly when eating. In just one minute, only the head and the main bone of the fried Spanish mackerel, which was less than two feet long, were left.

"Master, I'll bring you two more!"

Seeing Yang Mo throwing the fish bones and bamboo sticks into the trash can with some reluctance, the little apprentice who had not even finished eating one third of the fish stood up immediately.

Yang Mo waved his hand: "No need, this thing is just for the sake of thought, that's enough."

Bai Mengmeng was a little disappointed when he heard this, and then blinked his eyes: "Yes, it's easy to get sick of eating fried food all the time. Otherwise... I will help Master get a bowl of tofu pudding?"

Yang Mo was somewhat speechless: "We can stop working and have lunch in about half an hour. After a bowl of tofu pudding, there will be no extra stomach for the dinner party...Are you planning to save money for the city?"

Bai Mengmeng laughed awkwardly, then remembered that there was a work meeting at noon, and rolled his eyes: "Then... Master, how about I bring you a big bowl of tea to warm you up? It's very cold today."

Looking at Bai Mengmeng who looked expectant, Yang Mo laughed: "Why are you so attentive today? It's not like your style... What's the matter?"

Although Bai Mengmeng was usually very attentive in front of Yang Mo, it was obvious that the girl's attentiveness today was a little beyond the normal range.

Bai Mengmeng looked innocent: "No, as a disciple, is it wrong to show respect to the master?"

Yang Mo looked at her with amusement: "Why, you are nervous because I haven't been to Director Zhang's house to eat bacon for a while?"

After Du Bing interviewed Wang Yinuo, a fat guy invited Yang Mo to his home for dinner several times. Yang Mo went the first time, but when he found that this guy avoided talking about it the whole time, he didn't go when he was invited again.

Bai Mengmeng looked a little unnatural: "No, Master, you think too much. Given your relationship with Uncle Zhang, even if there is something wrong, it is not worth it for me to worry about it."

Hearing this forced remark, Yang Mo laughed, but did not continue the topic: "So, I didn't let you come to class at night during this period, so you and Director Zhang had wild thoughts?"

Bai Mengmeng's face was a little stiff, and she said awkwardly: "Not entirely... It's mainly because you have been staying with Mr. Wang every day and night recently, and Uncle Zhang, he, he..."

Seeing that his young disciple had been talking to him for a long time but still couldn't figure out the reason, Yang Mo smiled and touched a cigarette to light it up: "Are you worried that I will change my mind and stand with Mr. Wang?"

Bai Mengmeng hesitated for a few times, and finally nodded imperceptibly.

Yang Mo sneered: "This fat guy, how many things have you hidden from me? You are so guilty that you don't even dare to come and ask me about this in person... You actually let a little girl like you act as a messenger."

As he said that, Yang Mo glanced at Bai Mengmeng with a smile: "You might as well go back and tell your Uncle Zhang that even if I, Yang, have ten thousand shortcomings, I am still a man with a penis. As long as he doesn't do anything stupid, I will never regret what I promised him. "

"But at the same time, please remember that although I have a good personal relationship with him and I always stand on his side, this does not mean that I have to follow his wishes in everything, and he can keep me in the dark about everything and even use me as a pawn without telling me;"

"If we are compatible, we will gather together. If we are not compatible, we will separate. Do you understand this principle?"

Catching the dissatisfaction in his master's eyes, Bai Mengmeng nodded with some fear, but did not dare to say a word.

On one side is the master, half father;

On the other side is my uncle, who has a life-and-death relationship with my father.

Not only are both sides his elders, but his master is definitely not the kind of person who would be submissive to his leaders.

What's more, although Uncle Zhang nominally helped Yang Mo and could be considered Yang Mo's old leader, the actual situation was very different from what outsiders thought...his master was now half a level higher than Uncle Zhang!

While I was thinking about this, several people who looked like leaders came over.

"Hahaha, Chief Yang, I'm sorry to have wronged you. You must be frozen in this cold weather... It's almost time for dinner. Let's go, let's go. We, the hosts, have to entertain Chief Yang... By the way, let's learn from Chief Yang and the cadres in your county!"

Looking at the middle-aged cadre with a friendly smile, Bai Mengmeng knew that he was not the leader of the price department, but one of the main leaders of a district in Quancheng... probably on par with County Magistrate Ma.

Watching Yang Mo, who looked shy, exchanging a few pleasantries with everyone and then walking towards an ordinary car, a trace of deep worry appeared on his pale little face.

Uncle Zhang.

The master is no longer the little white man who has no support or resources except his skills.

If there really is a rift between you two, or even if you drift apart...

Even if Manager Wang Xingmin can return smoothly, it will be a loss for you!
(End of this chapter)