1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Director Li kept his word and signed a long-term cooperation agreement with Dong Jianguo before leaving get off work that afternoon.

However, he also made it clear that it would take time to issue specific requirements to various local railway bureaus, and the order volume would not suddenly explode in the initial stage.

However, at the latest within a month, the order volume will be at least three to five times, or even more, than the order volume of the Harbin Railway Bureau.

This is certainly a good thing for Tsurunomi.

But opportunities and pressures coexist.

Dong Jianguo readily accepted this offer.

Based on the factory's current production capacity, it's probably not enough to meet such a large demand.

Moreover, through the promotion of the trade fair, many local distributors will likely purchase goods from me.

At that time, the pressure on production capacity will likely increase again.

That evening, Dong Jianguo made phone calls to his home and his second uncle's house.

On the one hand, he needs his wife, Xiuyun, to oversee the process, and on the other hand, he needs to recruit more staff.

On the other hand, they asked their second uncle to help them find some suitable production equipment.

Dong Jianguo did not attend the exhibition for the next two days.

He handed over the entire scene to Erzhuzi and Zhao Hongmei to handle, and then went to the Heilongjiang TV station himself.

Compared to Heilongjiang City Radio Station, Heilongjiang Provincial Television Station, being a nationally received television channel, offered a significantly higher price for Google Play services.

黄金时段（20:-10:00）： 1500元- 3000元/秒。

Outside of prime time: 300-800 yuan/second.

Furthermore, the provincial TV station explicitly requires that all types of videos be charged in three tiers: 5 seconds, 10 seconds, and 15 seconds. If the video is shorter than 15 seconds, the charge will be increased according to the corresponding tier.

In other words, if you skip a four-second clip, the TV station won't care about the missing second; instead, they'll charge you for five seconds...

After seeing this requirement, Dong Jianguo finally understood why such a meaningless and vulgar phrase as "Hengyuanxiang, sheep sheep sheep" was repeatedly broadcast three times every time it aired on television.

It's just padding out the runtime!

However, although television promotion is expensive, the results are equally immediate.

Nowadays, most people don't have many other forms of entertainment, and when they get home in the evening, almost every household will sit in front of the TV.

Therefore, the number of people that TV can reach is absolutely beyond imagination.

But the price... is really prohibitive.

Dong Jianguo really wanted to grit his teeth and do it, but in the end he gave up.

On the one hand, the money in the savings account is not enough, and on the other hand, the noodle factory still needs to focus on increasing production capacity.

Finally, he thought about it and realized that although the provincial TV station could be received by people all over the country, not many people watched it. Ultimately, it was the people of Heilongjiang Province who watched it the most.

However, as one of the old industrial bases, Heilongjiang Province has factories giving their employees extended leave, and farmers are generally not wealthy. Playing games here would be like throwing money into the water...

Good steel should be used where it's needed most. If you really want to do something bad, you might as well just throw money at CCTV and call it a day...

That way, even ordinary people who don't pay for cable TV can still watch it!

With that in mind, the matter of playing TV games, which I had discussed with Erzhuzi and Zhao Hongmei on the train, was temporarily put aside.

On the last day, Dong Jianguo was not idle either. He went shopping in the mall in the morning. In addition to buying some basic ingredients, he also picked out some new clothes for Xiuyun and the soon-to-be-born Xiaojuzi.

When I returned to my lodgings at noon, I gave the guesthouse owner 30 yuan and borrowed the kitchen for the entire afternoon, where I spent the day playing ping-pong and other games until evening.

That evening, he brought his belongings to visit Director Wan.

As soon as he entered, Director Wan looked at Dong Jianguo with a smile:

"Don't worry, Xiao Dong. Director Jiang of the Hecheng Passenger Transport Section is under investigation by the railway inspection department!"

"So fast?!" Dong Jianguo was taken aback.

"It's far too slow! Allowing these parasites to run rampant for so many years is, in my opinion, a dereliction of duty by the railway inspection department!"

"Hey, you've had too much to drink. What nonsense are you spouting at home?!" Hearing Director Wan's incoherent words, Sister Wang couldn't help but give him a shove.

"We're all on the same side, what can't we say!"

Director Wan straightened his neck and turned to Dong Jianguo: "I reckon when you go back this time, the Hecheng Passenger Transport Section will have a new director!"

Dong Jianguo frowned:

"Director Wan, I heard that Director Jiang's connections extend all the way to the Provincial Railway Bureau... With such a severe punishment of him, won't someone retaliate against me?"

"Impossible! They caused such a huge scene at the exhibition that day; so many eyes were watching! It wasn't just people from the railway bureau, but also people from the China Merchants Group!"

"No matter how powerful the Jiang family's backers are, they would never dare to do anything to you!"

After hearing this, Dong Jianguo felt a little relieved:

"That's great! I was thinking that many distributors planned to buy from us at this exhibition, but with Director Jiang blocking the way, I didn't feel comfortable shipping by rail."

"As you know, this is what we in the food industry worry about most. What if Director Jiang had someone throw some dead rats or something into our boxes? Our reputation would be ruined!"

"Now that he's been arrested, I can finally get things done without any problems!"

Director Wan nodded after listening:

"That's right! Jianguo, let me tell you from the bottom of my heart, you don't get many opportunities in your life. Seize one, and you can completely turn your life around. Right now is the perfect time for you to grow and thrive."

"The food you make at Crane Flavor is delicious, but it's too monotonous."

"At most, it's just braised eggs and pickled chicken feet. You need to work on that. Don't worry about the railway; if they have suitable products, we'll definitely help you!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Jianguo felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

This advice is indeed invaluable.

Tsuru no Mi's shortcomings are indeed very obvious.

The products we have on hand are indeed too limited.

And to be honest, apart from vacuum packaging, there aren't many technological barriers.

Braised eggs are something everyone can make; they're not exactly a high-end product.

The same goes for pickled chicken feet. Although it can still be considered a novel snack in the north, people in the southwest, such as Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan, also have this way of eating, and sooner or later there will be imitations.

To stay ahead, you really have to keep innovating.

Dong Jianguo smiled at Deputy Director Wan:

"Director Wan, we're really on the same page."

"Look what I brought you this time!"

As he spoke, he took an aluminum lunchbox from the bag he had brought with him when he came in.

Upon opening the lid, an overpowering aroma bursts out eagerly.

The flavor is anything but simple; the spiciness of chili peppers, the rich aroma of sesame seeds, the unique fragrance of cumin, and various other indescribable spices blend together to create an indescribable complex aroma.

Looking into the lunchbox, I saw strips of oily, shiny objects, each a bright orange-yellow color.

Upon closer inspection, Director Wan noticed that each strip was still speckled with bits of chopped chili pepper...

"What is this?"

"I've developed a new product, and I plan to call it spicy strips!"