1994: Vegetable farmers strike back

Chapter 108 Hong Zhong's Thoughts and Insect-Proof Net

Carrying a sprayer, Chen Jiazhi shouted from several meters away at the door of his house, "Li Xiu, help me take off my clothes."

After calling out several times, Li Xiucai came out from behind the stove in his second sister's house.

"You wait."

"Okay, just put it at the door. Stay away from me. You smell like pesticides."

He had cleaned the sprayer carefully, but his clothes and pants were soaked with sweat, so it was inevitable that they would be contaminated by the atomized medicine.

After getting clothes and soap, Chen Jiazhi went to take a shower.

A piece of light green soap was rubbed on the body again and again. The soap was a Longchamp brand, and its main feature was a cooling feeling.

I feel much more comfortable after washing.

When he came out, the sun was at its peak and there were still vegetable farmers spraying pesticides in the fields.

Chen Jiazhi shook his head, went back to the house and said hello to Li Xiu who was busy cooking, then took the bag of money and rode his bike to the Agricultural Bank of China Credit Union in town.

The shoulder bag was still bulging.

This was after he left 5,000 yuan at home to pay for the insect net.

There was actually only 10,000 yuan in the bag.

But it's all change.

There wasn't a single dark green hundred-dollar bill.

When he lined up at the bank counter and took out stacks of banknotes in front of the teller, there were whispers in the bank hall.

"How much does this cost?"

"It's all small change. What does this guy do?"

“It looks spectacular.”

Due to Yi Dinggan’s reminder last time, Chen Jiazhi made a special effort to observe the female employees in the bank this time.

Not bad looking~
There was indeed something different about the way he looked at her.

"Sir, is it still possible to survive?"

"Yes, current account."

After saving the money, Chen Jiazhi left in a leisurely manner under the gaze of many people.

The bank staff are still discussing it.

"Xiao Zhang, he came here last time, right? Do you know what he did? How much did he save last time?"

"It seems he has saved 16,000 yuan. He said he was a small vegetable farmer."

"He came to deposit another 10,000 today. It's only been a few days. Is he still considered a small vegetable farmer?"

"Of course not. Which small vegetable farmer would save tens of thousands of yuan? Uh, no, small vegetable farmers wouldn't put their money in the bank."

"He looks quite handsome, but he's a little tanned. Otherwise, Xiao Zhang, you might consider him."

"Oh, sister, please stop teasing me."

...

Another day passed.

It was still dawn when a square van of the Tianjin Dafa brand arrived at the agricultural supply store under the banyan tree. A man got out of the van, and it was Hong Biao.

"Ah Zhong, I'm here."

"It's A Biao."

Hong Zhong walked out of the house and saw Hong Biao unloading the goods from the car. These were the goods he wanted.

If ordinary private agricultural supply stores want to compete with supply and marketing cooperatives, they must have some hidden treasures.

Hong Biao said, "The insect-proof net has also arrived. I'll send it to Chen the vegetable farmer later."

"I'll deliver it. You don't have to show up. Oh, and he also needs insect netting. I calculated the total price for him to be 1.2 yuan to make up the two acres."

"Then we'll lose one or two thousand."

"Come in, I'll tell you."

After entering the house, Hong Zhong expressed his idea: to sell two batches of vegetables to Hong Kong to test the waters.

After learning about the amount of vegetables that Chen the vegetable farmer had produced recently, Hong Biao was a little surprised and felt sorry for it.

He also expressed his strong agreement with hiding the matter from Chen the vegetable farmer.

"A few days ago, someone in Tiankou told me that the price of choy sum in Xiangjiang has risen to 10 yuan per catty."

“10 yuan, so expensive?!”

Hongjoong was startled.

Nowadays, the price of vegetables in most cities across the country is still around 1 yuan, and this is the result of inflation.

As a pioneer of reform, Huacheng suffered a natural disaster, which led to its current rise.
I didn’t expect Hong Kong to be even worse.

But it’s not surprising if you think about it carefully, as the vegetable supply in Hong Kong and Macao is very dependent on the Pearl River Delta.

The vegetable base in the Pearl River Delta suffered a disaster, and these two places will definitely not be spared.

Hong Biao smiled and said, "Haha, people in the hall said that Hexing and Yonglong vegetable stalls are brewing something recently. Vegetable prices may have to rise sharply in the future. Now is the right time to test the waters."

"Hmm~"

Hong Zhong pondered and said, "If Xiangjiang sells it for 10 yuan, even if I give Chen the vegetable farmer 3 yuan, and deduct the tail shipment, there is still a profit of 5 yuan per catty. If I can produce 500 catties a day, that's 2500 yuan. It's worth a try. Besides, there's a possibility of further price increases."

"That's true. Business is not good right now."

In the past two years, everyone who works on the sea knows that a cross-river dragon has arrived and the route to the country has been blocked.

But if you go outside, there is still a chance.

2500 yuan is a lot, which is the 5-month salary of an ordinary employee. Add some other small things, and a small team can live a comfortable life.

The two brothers discussed it for a while and decided on the matter.

"I went to find someone, secretly went to the market to contact Chen vegetable farmers to buy vegetables, and then went to the fields step by step to get the vegetables."

"A Biao, get the insect-proof net as soon as possible. It's very important. If there's food poisoning at Zougui Dian, it will be easily discovered by Hexing and Yonglong. So Chen Cainong needs your full support for using the insect-proof net."

"Well, now that I'm familiar with the route, I'll be able to come here in a few days."

Zouguidang are mobile hawkers who only appear in the early morning and evening. They are very common in Hong Kong movies.

The vegetables sold in ghost stalls are mostly sourced from leftover goods from vegetable markets.

It is relatively safer if soggy vegetables are mixed in and sold.

However, when food poisoning occurs due to illegal food stalls, the source of the goods will definitely be checked, which means there is a possibility of exposure.

In fact, in the past decade, there have been at least 50 cases of poisoning caused by pesticide residues on the other side of the strait.

Many of them have significant impacts.

And most of them are from mainland China, such as Chinese cabbage, Chinese kale, and mustard greens.
Each time, a thorough investigation was launched.

With Hong Kong vegetable merchants purchasing vegetables at bargain prices, similar incidents will most likely occur this year.

But as long as the food that has been contaminated by water doesn't show any problems, they generally won't investigate further. For safety reasons, Hong Zhong and his team don't want to make any mistakes at this stage.

Therefore, when Chen Cainong started buying imported pesticides, Hong Zhong paid attention to the safe source of goods with guaranteed pesticide residues.

There is no one more suitable than him.

Hong Biao drove away in a van, while Hong Zhong rode a motorcycle carrying an insect-proof net to the Dongxiang vegetable market.

It was morning.

He saw Chen the vegetable farmer in the field, with two dogs, one black and one white, following him.

"Chen, the vegetable farmer, your insect net has arrived~"

A loud shout.

Not only did Chen Jiazhi come back, but other vegetable farmers also came out to watch.

Insect-proof net~Many people have never heard of it before, let alone seen it.

"This is an insect-proof net. Why does it look like a mosquito net?!"

"Hey, you know what, they do look a bit alike. They're both insect repellent."

"Hey, this fabric is much better than the mosquito net."

Everyone touched it and found that the insect-proof net was folded together, but the fabric was light and covered with small holes. The holes were so small that common insects on leafy vegetables could not get through.

Seeing everyone touching it, Chen Jiazhi stepped forward and said, "Hey, hey, hey, stop touching it, it's expensive."

He put the insect net under the eaves.

"Boss Hong, wait a moment, I'll give you the money right away."

A minute later, Chen Jiazhi brought a stack of banknotes and counted out 4800 yuan to Hong Zhong in front of him.

The vegetable farmers were shocked.

"Just this one net, and you're charging 4800 yuan?!"

"It's too expensive."

"Pesticides are still the best. Once you spray them, all the insects will die."

"Well, that's a fair point. Pesticides are cheap and easy to use. But even if this net is the best, it'll rot in the sun and rain every day. I think it's just too much money with nowhere to spend it."

No matter what the vegetable farmers say, the deal has been done.

Hong Zhong happily accepted the money and said to Chen Jiazhi, "We agreed on 10 yuan per square meter. This 400 square meters is 4000 yuan. The remaining 800 yuan is a deposit. The rest will be delivered in a few days."

"Thank you, Boss Hong."

"Hey, you're welcome." Hong Zhong took out a cloth bag from the trunk of his motorcycle.

"I'll go to your field and pick some more vegetable hearts."

"Pinch it, pinch it, it's enough to fill this pocket."

The total price was saved by more than 2,000 yuan, and Chen Jiazhi acted very generous, but he knew that Hong Zhong and Hong Biao still made a lot of money.

It's just that the deal has already failed, but they are still continuing to give him concessions, which makes him a little confused.

Maybe Hong Zhong and Hong Biao still have hope. What if they can do it again in a year or two?

So, should we establish good connections in advance?
This is just his guess.

It’s hard to say what will happen after waiting for a year or two.

But the insect net has arrived which is good news.

Most of the vegetable fields in Dongxiang Vegetable Market have been sprayed with pesticides, and some vegetables that are about to be harvested have also been sprayed with pesticides.

But Chen Jiazhi didn't dare to do that.

One is conscience,
Second, once something goes wrong, all the reputation accumulated previously will be lost.

So he did not spray any pesticides on the cabbage he was still harvesting or about to harvest.

In the eyes of insects like flea beetles, this is definitely a beautiful home!
Once discovered, you must do your best to correct it!
Although he took some precautions, Chen Jiazhi was still worried.

Last night, I dreamed that the flea beetle was cultivating immortality and had become an invincible monster. It was baring its bloody fangs and eating his vegetable hearts with a crunching sound.

Uh~
In his previous life, he had listened to books and had heard of two online novels about animal cultivation and evolution. One of the protagonists was a turtle, and the other was a carp.
At that time, he thought, what would happen if the flea beetle could practice cultivation?

Too bad no one wrote it~
Far away.

In short, with the insect-proof net, you no longer have to worry about insects when harvesting vegetables.

After Hong Zhong left, Chen Jiazhi called Ao Dehai, Qi Yongfeng and Huang Juan, took scissors, nylon rope and insect-proof net, and went straight to Site No. 7.

It’s not easy. Qi Yongfeng has worked for him for more than 20 days, and finally it’s his turn to harvest the vegetables.

Both of them were very active.

"Boss Chen, how do we build this insect-proof net?"

Huang Juan was calling him "Boss Chen" more and more skillfully, without any abnormality. Just a month ago, she often called him "Scholar".

Chen Jiazhi smiled and said, "Just put it on top of the sunshade net. Although the insect net has fine mesh, it is light-transmissive and won't be a problem."

Huang Juan replied, "Okay."

The three of them got busy.

The insect-proof net comes in a whole sheet and needs to be cut according to the length, width and height of the small shed.

Leaving some margin when cutting will basically not affect the use effect.

The Chinese cabbage to be harvested today is what's left from the June 2 planting and one acre planted between June 5 and June 6. It's expected to be harvested in four or five days.

The next batch is plot No. 5, which is 0.25 acres sown on June 7 and is under the management of Ao Dehai. It is expected to be harvested in one day.

In fact, these two batches had taken precautions in the early stages. There were few insect eggs in the ground, and they only spread through migration. There would be no problem if they could persist for a few more days.

But the Chinese cabbage sown on June 11 was sprayed with pesticides yesterday, so there was no need to cover it with a net, and the safe period had passed by the time of harvest.

In the end, the 400 square meters of insect-proof net was used in Site 5, and the remaining half was used in Site 7.

Just treat it as a drill.

It is only the end of June now, and the insect pests have just begun. There will be more waves to come.

While they were putting up the insect-proof net, Hongzhong also finished picking the vegetables.

This guy was so rude that he took a big cloth bag full of cabbage hearts, and the bag was full of them. The two puppies surrounded him and barked at him all the way.

He was still unhappy and started scolding the dog.

"Go away, I was the one who found this master for you."

It was not until he saw Yi Dinggan that he walked over, handed him a cigarette, and asked casually.

"Lao Yi, which market do you usually sell your vegetables in?"

"Over at Haizhu~"

After chatting for a few sentences, Hong Zhong remembered the location.

(End of this chapter)