1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 130 He shouldn't be a small-time vegetable farmer.
Late at night, two or three figures returned, and the vegetable baskets in the dam area gradually increased in number.

"Squeak~"

Chen Jiazhi also pushed open the door and came out, stretching and yawning. Li Xiu's instructions could still be faintly heard from inside the room.

"Jiazhi, be careful."

"Hmm~"

The other families were all giving instructions, and they all knew how powerful the typhoon was, but the sea was usually calm before the typhoon made landfall.

The same goes for tonight.

It was past 1 a.m. when we set off, and it was already 2 a.m. when we arrived at the market. Heiwa was getting impatient.

"Why is it getting later every day?"

"The weather's been hot lately, so to ensure the vegetables look good, it's best to deliver them as late as possible. You wouldn't want any of the vegetables you send out to rot, would you?"

“That makes sense,” Heiwa replied. He had indeed heard complaints from time to time these past few days. “It’s okay if it’s a little late, but the quality of the food still needs to be guaranteed, since it’s quite expensive.”

How many did you sell?

"I don't earn much."

"Oh." Chen Jiazhi didn't believe him. He did the math and said, "It's 302 jin in total, I'll charge you 845."

"Here you go, please click on it."

Chen Jiazhi took the money, didn't count it, and casually put it into his bag, saying, "There's a typhoon tomorrow, so I won't be coming."

"it is good."

"They'll be here the day after tomorrow morning, but the price of vegetables will have to go up."

"Of course, I hope you're okay with your poor skills."

"Good luck to you too."

"Yeah~Okay."

Heiwa felt something was wrong at first, but seeing Chen Cai Nong's sincere face, he realized he was just being paranoid.

Chen Jiazhi was also wondering how he should price Heiwa'er the day after tomorrow, since Heiwa'er agreed to raise the price without hesitation.
Originally, I wanted to learn about the situation in Hong Kong through Hong Biao, but I never expected it to turn out like this.

However, it's not advisable to get too involved in smuggling; if something goes wrong, it could be a big problem. It's better to maintain the status quo and accumulate capital for now.

Then it was Chen Ze again, repeating similar words once more.
When he arrived at stall number 56, there weren't many vegetables left. Among the many stall vendors, it was quite an anomaly, occupying a good location but with low daily sales.

Fortunately, the market doesn't charge entry fees by the ton, otherwise he definitely wouldn't have had a chance to win No. 56.

This is a small wholesale market. Generally, wholesalers only have a small truckload of goods per day. Many people also use tricycles, and the better ones are light trucks.

Some wholesalers source their goods from primary wholesale markets, while others drive themselves to nearby and distant production areas to pick up their goods. The more sophisticated ones ship directly from other regions. The connection between production areas and sales areas is not very close.

Pure vegetable farmers like him are rare in this market, but this phenomenon will become very common in the future.

"Mr. Chen, it's rare to see you still here today."

As soon as he parked his car at the stall, he was greeted by voices. Chen Jiazhi looked up and a license plate number automatically popped into his mind: green tricycle number 133. He hadn't seen it for a few days.

"I'm late today."

How much are the bok choys now?

"Regular bok choy is 2.3 yuan per jin."

"Still so expensive?"

Before Chen Jiazhi could reply, Old Wu came again, handing him 250 yuan.

"Boss Chen, you did this on purpose, didn't you? You didn't even put the vegetables down when you passed by my place. Isn't it troublesome for you to deliver them later? You made me make a whole trip."

Chen Jiazhi replied with a smile, "I don't want to get yelled at for parking my car in the middle of the passageway."

"Hey, only you would think that way. Everyone in the market often parks haphazardly, causing traffic jams for half an hour."

"Helping others is helping yourself."

"You have a problem. Your position at the entrance of the passageway makes it difficult for others to retaliate against you."

After receiving the money, Chen Jiazhi ignored Lao Wu and looked at 133, asking, "Want some bok choy?"

After a moment's thought, 133 said, "Yes, just for your reputation, I have to give it a try. Two 10-jin cabbages and one 15-jin cabbage."

"Okay, should I take it now or deliver it later?"

"take away."

"I'll install it for you right away."

Several customers came in a row. Communication was inconvenient, so we had to go to each stall to buy vegetables. Most wholesalers wouldn't reserve vegetables for regular customers because they were afraid that if they did, the customers wouldn't come back.

Chen Jiazhi does the same; he will wait a while for customers who come to pick up vegetables every day, but even if they don't come after a long wait, he will still sell to them.

Fortunately, his regular customers all knew that Chen Cai Nong, or rather, Boss Chen, was a famously quick finisher, so they usually arrived very early.

I arrived at the market at 2 PM, and by almost 3 PM, the vegetables were already sold out. By the time I finished delivering the goods, it wasn't even 3:30 PM yet.

"Boss Chen, are you done work again?"

Stall number 56 is opposite stall number 55, also at the intersection of the passageway. As Chen Jiazhi was stacking the vegetable baskets one by one, a joking voice came from across the street.

"That's a wrap-up day. I don't have as many vegetables as Boss Hu."

Stall number 55 is run by a couple in their thirties. The owner's surname is Hu. The stall has baskets of tomatoes and bell peppers, which look pretty good. I don't know where they got them from. There's no way to find out about these things. They're all just using their own ways to make money.

Mr. Hu added, "Having fewer vegetables won't affect your profits. We work from morning till night, just trying to earn the difference between the prices."

You've made quite a bit of money from that price difference!
Chen Jiazhi complained inwardly, then thought of going across the street to buy some tomatoes and bell peppers, but since the stalls were right across from each other, the vendors probably wouldn't accept money, so he gave up again.

Go home, go home.

Returning like an arrow.

I got home around 4:30, and was able to sleep for two hours. I've been getting more sleep lately, even though I've been resting on and off.

When he heard Yi Dinggan and the other two return, he yawned, slowly got out of bed, and was about to get out of bed when Yi Long pushed open the back door and walked in. "Uncle, breakfast is ready."

"Here you are! What do you want to eat?"

"My mom made meat buns and porridge."

"can."

When he sat down at the table, he was the only one left. Everyone was eating with relish, and the radio was on, with everyone keeping an eye on the weather.

Li Xiu ladled a large bowl of porridge for him, and Chen Jiazhi also picked up a steamed bun and started eating, saying a few words every now and then.

Yi Long had never seen a typhoon before, or even heard of one for the first time, and kept asking questions, full of curiosity. In contrast, the adults were full of worry, and after a while, Yi Long stopped asking about the typhoon.

"Old man, how much money did you make today?"

"Why do you ask this?"

"Fine, don't tell me then. I can guess even if you don't say it. Is there two hundred?"

"Eat your food!"

"Uncle, how much did you sell today?"

"I'm afraid your dad will beat you."

"That's possible. My dad is just too proud. You have so many more vegetables than him every day, so you can imagine you make a lot more money."

Yi Long finished the remaining buns in one bite, drank the porridge, put down the bowl, and then ran to the door.

"My dad sold it for 200 yuan, but you, Uncle, probably made 1,600 yuan, eight times his. To be honest, it's really embarrassing, I'm too ashamed to say it."

"You little rascal, you're asking for a beating, aren't you?" Yi Dinggan was indeed enraged, but Yi Long had already disappeared in a flash.

"That brat, he has no respect for his elders."

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Brother Yi, Second Sister, you still need to find him something to do, or let him learn something. He can't just keep playing around like this all day."

Yi Dinggan didn't take it seriously: "He's too young, he doesn't know what to learn, and even if he wanted to learn a skill, he wouldn't be able to find a master in Huacheng. Just let him play around."

Thirteen years old is indeed too young. Even Yi Ge and his second sister are reluctant to let him do farm work, and Chen Jiazhi can't persuade him any further.

After finishing his meal in a few bites, he went back inside, and Li Xiu followed him in.

"Jiazhi, take some time today to deposit the money."

"What's wrong?"

Li Xiu pursed her lips and said, "Nothing much, it's just that I've accumulated another 1 yuan, and it's not safe to keep it at home."

"Okay, I'll deposit it later tonight."

"Yes, I've sorted out all the money separately. You can just take it and deposit it."

"it is good."

He guessed that Li Xiu's urging him to deposit money was related to Yi Long. A boy who was only half a kid was always hanging around at home, and there was nowhere to hide money. If nothing happened, it would be fine, but if something did happen, it would be a real headache.

Yi Long shouldn't have any dishonest habits, but we can't give him that opportunity.

Outside, the wind was calm and the sky was clear.

I could see further and more clearly while patrolling the fields, and it didn't take up much time. I just walked around briefly and then continued with yesterday's work: reinforcing the facilities.
Around 10 a.m., village officials rode bicycles, wearing straw hats and carrying loudspeakers, around the village, reminding every household to take precautions against the typhoon.

The weather became extremely hot and humid, and the vegetable farmers gradually returned to their houses.

As soon as Chen Jiazhi entered, Li Xiu handed him her handbag, her eyes bulging, conveying only one message: Don't dawdle, hurry up and deposit the money.

"At least let me have a drink of water."

Li Xiu went back into the house and poured him a cup of plain water. Chen Jiazhi took it and drank a big gulp before grabbing his bag and setting off on his bicycle alone.

With this 10,000, I now have 36,000 in the bank, and I should still have about 1,000 at home.

Buying a used minivan should be enough.

It doesn't have to be a minivan; a small truck or light truck will also work.

Once the weather clears up, I need to buy the mini-tiller first; it seems I haven't gotten my driver's license yet.

There are quite a few places to spend money~
Lost in thought, he arrived at the bank entrance. He was dressed casually, and even wore yellow rubber shoes, so he didn't attract anyone's attention when he entered.

But when he went to the window to deposit the money, the female employee, who was wearing a short-sleeved shirt and had her hair in a ponytail, recognized him at a glance.

"It's you again, little vegetable farmer?"

"Hmm, time to save money~"

Then he pulled out stacks of banknotes, some in small bills and some in large bills, from his bag. Next to him was a fashionable couple from that era, who stared in disbelief, looking at the money and then at the people, their expressions quite surprised.

Is this the new fashion trend for people to dress when depositing money at the bank?

Bank employee Xiao Zhang felt the stacks of money and wasn't surprised at all; she had seen the same scene twice before.

"You're depositing 10,000, right?"

"Correct."

"All right."

After a flurry of activity, Chen Jiazhi took the passbook, glanced at it, and walked out.

While Xiao Zhang was still talking with his colleagues, he was actually a little surprised, "Is growing vegetables really that profitable now?"

"Vegetables are more expensive than meat, so vegetable farmers naturally make money."

"That's incredibly profitable! It's only been eleven or twelve days since his last visit!"

"Maybe we were just lucky. A typhoon was coming soon, but we weren't so lucky afterwards."

"He shouldn't be a small-time vegetable farmer either."

(End of this chapter)