1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 43 Seeding Plan and Breaking Records Again

"A Biao, are you going to flood soon? I need a batch of foreign pesticides. Can you bring some for me?"

A Biao is Hong Zhong's cousin, whose original name is Hong Biao. He has a good relationship with Hong Zhong. It was Hong Biao who helped him bring the pesticides last time.

"No problem, Zhong. Just send me the list and I'll let you know when the goods arrive."

Hong Biao readily agreed, "Ah Zhong, how's your business lately? If it's really not going well, come and work with me. It's very profitable."

"Business is okay. I definitely don't make as much as you do, but there's no risk either. I live a comfortable life. Ah Biao, have you ever thought about switching to a legitimate business?"

"Haha, not yet. If I give up like you, who will help you carry the pesticides? Oh, and who is buying such expensive pesticides? Can you introduce me to someone?"

A Biao’s business is very diverse, including cigarettes, cooking oil, chemical raw materials, vegetables, etc.

The vegetables are mainly gray imported vegetables supplied to Hong Kong.

Because the vegetable market in Hong Kong Island is controlled by major vegetable stalls and is highly monopolized, prices are extremely high, and the profits from selling unsold vegetables are also very substantial.

Thinking of this, Hong Zhong looked at the vegetables he had just brought back from farmer Chen, and they were of excellent quality.

Small vegetable farmers actually have a pursuit of pesticide residues.

If such vegetables were to arrive in Hong Kong Island, they would surely be even more popular.

Unfortunately, the scale is too small.

"He's a small vegetable farmer, quite interesting. I'll introduce you to him when I have the chance."

...

The sun was a bit scorching at noon, so the vegetable farmers all went back home early.

"Jiazhi, the land has been plowed."

"Well, I'll spread some quicklime this afternoon, expose it to the sun for two days, and then harrow it. Then we can start sowing."

"Scholar, what seeds do you plan to sow?"

Hearing the conversation between Chen Jiazhi and Li Xiu, Li Mingkun, who was repairing the hoe handle outside the door, asked curiously.

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and said, "Let's go with the vine vegetables."

Li Mingkun was puzzled: "Why are you still growing vine vegetables? There are too many vine vegetables on the market recently, and the price is already unbearable."

"Yeah, it feels like the weather is going to get better in a few days. At this time of year, the leafy vegetables change every day, so there are more and more vegetables in the market."

Hearing the noise, Guo Mancang, Qi Yongfeng and several other vegetable farmers who were waiting to eat came over.

"I don't dare to plant vine vegetables anymore. The price is already cheaper, but it's not firm yet. It will fall in price later."

"That's right, order more other dishes. Choy sum, kale, etc. are all good."

Chen Jiazhi thought for a moment and reminded them, "The last time it rained was on May 6th. It's only been sunny for a few days now. In less than four days, you've already forgotten the pain!"

Several people started selling vegetables a few days earlier than Chen Jiazhi, and they sold the fast-growing vine vegetables in the small shed at high prices for a period of time.

The income is still okay and everything has recovered.

The cost of a small greenhouse is 500 yuan per mu. In just seven or eight days, most of the cost has been recovered. The key is to connect it with open-air leafy vegetables, and it is basically on the right track.

However, compared with Chen Jiazhi, the income is far behind, and the difference mainly lies in the higher price of Chinese cabbage.

In order to get things done quickly and keep a minimum, a few people chose Teng Teng Cai. Now that they have recovered, they are thinking about pursuing high income.

A difference of a few cents per pound will result in a huge difference in accumulated income.

Chen Jiazhi produces more than 200 kilograms of Chinese cabbage every day, but the income from the same amount of water spinach is nearly half of that.

Who wouldn’t be envious after seeing this?

Li Mingkun said: "It's mainly the price. I feel that the price of vine must drop tomorrow morning."

Guo Mancang said: "The weather is so good. As long as there is enough water, the vine vegetables can grow a section taller overnight. If there are a few more sunny days, there will be more and more vegetables on the market."

Chen Jiazhi: "It won't affect sowing now. The seeds sown now can only be harvested in 20 days."

As soon as he saw everyone's expressions, Chen Jiazhi understood that even Qi Yongfeng, who trusted him the most, was not very fond of water spinach.

No matter how close our relationship is, I will feel uncomfortable when I see him making so much money growing vegetables.

The bad habits of vegetable farmers.

Plant in large quantities when prices are good.

Prices showed a downward trend and reduced production.

When the market is bad, people may not want to do farm work anymore because it is boring.

There should not have been any vegetable market crashes in this era. Vegetable farmers have little experience, but it is their nature to seek profit and avoid harm.

Plant whatever makes money.

But it is also possible that he fell into the market trap. In addition, Chen Jiazhi was clearly aware of the severity of the heavy rain at the end of May.

Vegetable prices will definitely rise after the heavy rain.

At this time, planting a batch of fast-growing leafy vegetables can just fill the gap in the market. After the heavy rain, you can prepare vegetables for the typhoon season, so that each batch of vegetables can be at the best point.

Chen Jiazhi did not hide his thoughts. As for how much the vegetable farmers could listen to, it was up to fate.

...

Chen Jiazhi slept until four in the afternoon before getting up. Ao Dehai and Zhao Yu were watering the plants, and Li Xiu was thinning out the seedlings.

"Li Xiu, go pick the cowpeas and beans. Pick more so I can apply the pesticides."

Li Xiu was wearing a straw hat and long-sleeved shirt and trousers for sun protection, and her face was covered in sweat.

Chen Jiazhi actually wanted her to go back.

But there were only four acres of land left, and Li Xiu knew clearly that she was the main force in thinning the seedlings, and Chen Jiazhi was not good at or liked thinning the seedlings.

It's probably impossible to persuade her at this time. Fortunately, thinning out the seedlings is relatively safe except for sun exposure, so I can only let her do it for now.

When Li Xiu was picking cowpeas, Chen Jiazhi was inserting blue boards next to them, mainly to prevent and control thrips.

In addition, pest dynamics can also be monitored.

The cowpeas were picked quite aggressively today. Many of the cowpeas that could be kept until the next day or the day after were picked directly. The tenderer ones were used to make soaked cowpeas at home. The sour cowpea and minced meat dish goes well with rice and is very hard to get tired of.

After picking the cowpeas, Chen Jiazhi started spraying pesticides, Ao Dehai and the others went to harvest leafy vegetables, and Li Xiu was very enthusiastic in cutting the loofahs one by one.

Today's dishes are also a bit over the standard.

The amount of cowpeas and green beans increased by dozens of kilograms, the amount of Chinese cabbage also increased by 30 kilograms, and the amount of other vegetables only decreased slightly.

Yi Dinggan, Qi Yongfeng, and the others were also carrying more vegetables, and they were almost unable to fall behind. Every vegetable farmer had a cart full of vegetables. When climbing the Luoxi Bridge, everyone was panting with exhaustion.

After arriving at the market, Yi Dinggan yelled at Chen Jiazhi, "Jiazhi, we'll just help you carry these 100 pounds. We're all exhausted. No, everyone needs a bottle of soda later."

Chen Jiazhi quickly agreed.

"Okay, soda is a must. Besides soda, they're selling noodles this morning. I'll give each of you a bowl of noodles."

"That's settled."

"Jiazhi has made a lot of money recently, it's time to give him a good meal. I have to eat this bowl of noodles!"

Yi Dinggan shouted, "It's not enough to just give him a bowl of noodles. He must treat us to a meal when he's free!"

Although most of the money he earned was invested again, Chen Jiazhi still agreed.

Last month, when he harvested vegetables early, and in recent days, this group of people have been helping him bring vegetables. One meal is nothing to him.

Qi Yongfeng smiled and said, "Brother Zhi, I'm running low on food. I'll bring you some food every day. Can you treat me to some noodles every morning?"

A bowl of noodle soup with meat costs only two or three yuan at a street stall, but Qi Yongfeng, that reckless man, dared to rush across the Luoxi Bridge with hundreds of kilograms of vegetables.

A bowl of noodles is worth it, so Chen Jiazhi also agreed.

It’s hard to say who is taking advantage of whom.

The Xichuan vegetable farmers in Dongxiang Vegetable Market are a whole, but there are also small groups within this whole.

It is normal for small groups to lend a hand to each other.

After agreeing to treat them to soda and noodles, the vegetable farmers were in high spirits and their prices were full of vigor when selling vegetables.

The supply of vegetables in the market is increasing.

But there is also a lot of demand.

Water spinach only fell slightly, while other vegetables are still relatively strong.

The speed of serving dishes is also quite good.

With Liu Minghua around, Chen Jiazhi felt a little more relaxed, but he was still sweating and collecting money in handfuls.

"The vegetables are still so beautiful, how come you got so tanned after just a few days of not paying attention?"

Ms. Zhang, the retail vendor, took a little of each dish today, a total of 58 yuan. When she paid, she looked at Chen Jiazhi twice more. The lighting was not bright, and he was tanned, so she almost didn't recognize him for a moment.

Chen Jiazhi took the money and laughed, "If the vegetable farmer isn't tanned, then he's probably not a good farmer, and you won't be able to buy such good vegetables."

Sister Zhang smiled and said, "That makes sense. Even though he's a little darker, he's still handsome. Dark handsome, dark handsome."

Chen Jiazhi: “…”

The market is actually not that big, and Chen Jiazhi’s customers have not changed much, and many of them are familiar faces.

The monk who was supposed to sort the cabbage still came in person to inspect the goods and watch over the packing of the vegetables, and the word "distrust" was almost written on his face.

If the weather continues to improve, Chen Jiazhi feels that he will lose this customer. At least he can still bring in 120 to 130 yuan in revenue every day.

The customer who ordered 30 kilograms of Chinese cabbage yesterday also successfully completed his first transaction. After inspecting the goods, he paid and left. It was very quick and efficient.

The cabbage head came early again today and only asked for the cabbage heart, not the water spinach.

But when it was almost dawn, Curly Cabbage Head was looking around for vegetables again, and he called out to him from two meters away:

"Chen, the vegetable farmer, are you selling it at a discount today?"

“Not for sale…”

Before he had finished speaking, the cabbage head had already passed his stall, apparently having anticipated his answer.

By the time the curly cabbages had made another round of the market, Chen Jiazhi had successfully cleared out his stock in the last wave of customers.

He even showed the empty basket to Curly Head, whose cheeks were stiff with clenched teeth under the dim light.

"Hahaha……"

The battle of wits and courage between the two became a topic of interest among the small group.

Yi Ding laughed dryly and said, "Jiazhi, Curly's expression just now was too funny. You got me in trouble again today."

Qi Yongfeng was the first to sell out today, and he's been watching the show from the sidelines: "Let's see if he still wants to take advantage. If he meets our Brother Zhi, no matter how cunning he is, he'll be defeated!"

Guo Mancang: "There are actually cheap vine vegetables on the market, but this curly hair seems to be competing with the scholar, always trying to take advantage of him."

Chen Jiazhi quite agrees with Guo Mancang's words. There are a lot of water spinach in the market now, and there will definitely be some leftovers if you want to buy them at a bargain price.

But the cabbage head took his cabbage hearts every day, but did not take any water spinach. For two consecutive days, he came to ask him where to deal with it at dawn, but he refused to dispose of it.

Obviously he had a fight with her.

Chen Jiazhi naturally wouldn't be polite to him.

Li Mingkun has been selling vegetable leaves quite well recently. He passed out cigarettes to everyone and said, "Scholar, you must have made quite a lot of money today. I think you've broken your daily record again."

Guo Mancang: "With so many dishes, breaking the record is not a problem. It just depends on whether we have 700 yuan."

Qi Yongfeng gasped: "700! I only sold a little over 200 today. There's no comparison!"

Li Mingkun smiled and said, "Thanks to my remaining crop of cucumbers, I almost sold 300 yuan today. Artificial pollination is really effective. The cucumbers are setting fruit very steadily. I estimate I can harvest more than 2,000 kilograms of cucumbers from my two mu of land."

The weather has been good in recent days, and Li Mingkun is often still pollinating in the cucumber field at noon.

Guo Mancang: "Xu Cai's skills are really good. Whether it's cucumber or loofah, this crop is not bad, but it's still not as good as Xiu Cai's."

Li Mingkun: "By the way, Jiazhi, you haven't told me how much you sold this morning?"

Yi Dinggan smoked silently. He felt that the cigarettes he smoked recently were a bit choking and difficult to smoke.

"I don't know how much it was sold for. I haven't counted it yet." Chen Jiazhi laughed. In fact, he knew the number, but there was no need to make it public.

"Just count them. Everyone is curious."

"Come on, come on, what are you dawdling about for? Do you still want to slurp some noodles?"

"Would you like some more soda?"

Yi Ding quickly packed up his things: "Yes, of course I don't want to! Damn it, I want two bowls!"

"How about adding an egg?"

"Okay!"

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(End of this chapter)