The Lettuce Diaries
How a Frenchman Found Gold Growing Vegetables in China
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The Lettuce Diaries
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Narrated by:
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Graham Earnshaw
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By:
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Xavier Naville
About this listen
A snobbish French executive arrives in Shanghai with his expensive shoes and ties, expecting a short career-boosting posting before returning to Paris. Instead, he ends up deep in China's manure-soaked fields, buying and selling vegetables, all because he has convinced himself that he can single-handedly drag Chinese agriculture into the 21st century. It didn't work out as he planned.
The Lettuce Diaries is a revealing and humorous memoir of entrepreneurship, doubling as a primer for all seeking to do business in China, and explaining things the French executive, Xavier Naville, only learned the hard way—like humility and listening to people, and how the Chinese economy is both totally different and a huge opportunity.
©2021 Xavier Naville (P)2022 Xavier NavilleWhat listeners say about The Lettuce Diaries
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Brent
- 27-03-2025
A Fresh and Raw Take on Business in China
The Lettuce Diaries isn’t just a story about growing vegetables—it’s about the growth that comes from stepping into an unfamiliar world, facing unexpected challenges, and digging deep to make things work.
Xavier peels back the layers of China’s food industry, revealing the seedy realities of agriculture, supply chains, and business culture in a rapidly evolving market. His storytelling is both crisp and engaging, giving readers an unfiltered taste of the trials and tribulations of entrepreneurship in a foreign land. The book doesn’t sugarcoat the experience—like a bitter leaf in an otherwise sweet salad, it highlights the frustrations, cultural misunderstandings, and red tape that can trip up even the most determined entrepreneur.
The Lettuce Diaries isn’t just about hardship. It’s about resilience, adaptation, and the fruits of persistence. Xavier’s journey proves that even in the toughest soil, with the right mix of patience and ingenuity, something remarkable can take root.
For anyone curious about China’s food industry, the ups and downs of starting a business abroad, or simply a well-seasoned memoir, The Lettuce Diaries is a rewarding read—one that leaves you with plenty of food for thought.
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