1994: Starting with unpaid leave

If you walk out of Dong Jianguo's alley and go west for 500 meters, you will reach Bu Kuinan Street.

There is a relatively large vegetable market by the roadside called Wufu Market.

Inside the market are fixed stalls, while outside the market, there are many mobile vendors who get up early to set up stalls. Most of them are farmers from the suburbs who come to sell some of the fruits and vegetables they grow and the chickens and ducks they raise.

Sometimes you can even see vendors slaughtering pigs and sheep on the spot.

With each cut, blood gushed into the metal bucket. Sometimes, when the meat was being chopped, the nerves inside hadn't completely lost their vitality, and the audience could even see the pieces of meat twitching on the cutting board…

The bustling market naturally attracted a large number of residents living nearby.

This place is usually packed with people almost every morning.

Dong Jianguo plans to sell the remaining few hundred kilograms of eggs here.

The next morning, he and Erzhuzi got up very early and brought over the remaining eggs from home.

The wind in the early autumn morning in Hecheng was like a knife. Even so, Erzhuzi, who was pedaling his bicycle, was sweating profusely. He simply opened his coat and let the wind blow against his chest.

Aren't you cold?

Dong Jianguo, wrapped tightly in his coat and sitting on the egg carton, couldn't help but frown.

Having lived in the south for many years, he still felt a little out of place when the morning breeze from his hometown suddenly blew.

"What's so cold about this? We're got plenty of firepower!"

"Keep showing off, or you'll get sick when you're old."

Dong Jianguo muttered something under his breath, which made Erzhuzi roll his eyes.

He thought that while Jianguo was indeed impressive, sometimes his tone of voice was more condescending than his own father's...

The two found a relatively crowded place and started selling there.

The market price of eggs is between 2.2 and 2.3 yuan per jin (500 grams).

Dong Jianguo's price was the same as the price he sold to restaurants yesterday, only 2.1 yuan per jin.

Don't underestimate this one-cent price difference.

This is quite attractive to price-sensitive consumers.

Given the generally tight budgets of the nearby residents, the stall quickly attracted a group of elderly men and women who were selecting eggs.

It's not just unfamiliar elderly people who come to buy; occasionally, you can also run into acquaintances from the factory who come to buy.

In just half an hour, all four boxes had been sold out.

As Dong Jianguo was pondering where to take Erzhuzi for breakfast, two market administrators wearing red armbands walked over.

"Here, pay the sanitation fee, it's 5 yuan in total."

"Huh? Is there a mistake? We just handed it in!" Erzhuzi frowned slightly.

When I first started setting up my stall, the Administration for Industry and Commerce had already collected a two-yuan management fee.

Not long after, a tax official in a hat came and made them pay another 3 yuan.

If you pay another 5 yuan, the cost of setting up this stall will reach 10 yuan!

He used to earn only 5 yuan a day when he was working!

These people did absolutely nothing, yet they just opened their mouths and started taking money. Isn't that a bit too much?!

A slightly chubby man wearing a red armband glared at him and said, "Enough talk, or get out!"

"See what's strapped to my arm? It's for managing you small vendors! If you don't like it, go set up your stall somewhere else! It's not like I'm begging you to sell eggs here!"

Talking wasn't enough; to appear more imposing, the market manager also kicked an empty egg carton in front of the stall.

"Damn it, what are you doing?!"

The hot-blooded Erzhuzi immediately flew into a rage, leaping out of the stall and reaching out to grab the other man by the collar.

Fortunately, Dong Jianguo pulled him back in time, which stopped Erzhuzi's impulsive act.

He stood between the two and spoke:

"Comrade, is there some mistake? I saw in the notice posted outside the market that the management regulations state the sanitation fee for each stall in the morning market is only 2 yuan. How come it's 5 yuan here?"

The short, fat man snorted, "What's wrong with 5 yuan? That's the rule here! The extra 3 yuan is for choosing a spot; you have to pay more for a good location!"

"Rules?" Dong Jianguo frowned. "Why aren't these rules written on the wall?!"

"What the hell are you writing?! Are you going to hand it in or not?!"

"I'll pay! I definitely will!"

As Dong Jianguo spoke, he counted out two yuan in loose change from his bag and handed it to the short, stout administrator:

"Well, I'll only pay according to the rules I see. As for the rules you're talking about, I'm sorry, I can't pay them."

"Hey, you fucking asking for trouble, huh?! You think I won't wreck your place?!"

"You can give it a try." Dong Jianguo stared into the short, fat man's eyes, his voice still neither warm nor cold:

"To tell you the truth, I work at a textile factory. The factory shut down and I haven't received my wages. This truckload of eggs was bought with borrowed money."

"You've ruined my business, so I'm not going to survive anyway. But I promise, I'll take a few people with me before I starve to death."

Dong Jianguo's voice wasn't loud, nor did it carry much emotion, but it clearly reached the ears of everyone present.

Having already died once, his aura of having seen through life and death was far more terrifying than that of the enraged Erzhuzi.

The short, fat man was genuinely intimidated by Dong Jianguo's gaze, and for a moment he stood there with his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.

He didn't realize what was happening until his colleague nudged him.

But just as he was about to say something, several women in work clothes appeared in front of him.

"Who are you?!"

Those women were all female workers at the warp knitting factory. After overhearing Dong Jianguo's words and reflecting on their own experiences, they decisively stood in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing?! Are you trying to bully us working class?!"

"Is there no law?! Is there no justice?! We workers don't cause trouble for the factory, we're just trying to make a living, and we're still being bullied by these bastards! Are they trying to kill us?!"

"Are the men in the textile factory even breathing anymore?! Someone's bullying our workers!"

The area nearby is the residential area for the workers and their families of the fine knitting and weaving factory, and there are many workers and their families who come to the morning market.

Hearing someone call out, they all spontaneously gathered around.

"What's going on?! What happened?! Who bullied whom?!"

"Hey, isn't that Xiao Dong and Er Zhuzi?! What are they doing selling eggs now?!"

"They've been put on unpaid leave, and I finally managed to borrow money to start a small business. These two women with red armbands just keep asking for money, and they won't do it if I don't give them enough."

"Holy crap, what kind of bastards are they?! How can they bully people like this?!"

"Holy crap, are they treating us workers like clay?! Doing whatever they want with us?!"

More and more men were spewing profanities, and the two administrators caught in the eye of the storm turned deathly pale.

Although it was early autumn and the weather wasn't hot, large beads of sweat still appeared on their foreheads.

"Don't talk nonsense! We charge the normal fees!"

"Normal my foot! The extra money they collected all went into their own pockets!"

A nearby vegetable farmer was already angry because he had just been overcharged.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was looking, he picked a rotten tomato and smashed it at the short, fat man!

With someone taking the lead, the onlookers, who were always eager for a good show, suddenly realized what was going on and started throwing the vegetable leaves they had bought from their pockets at the two men!

Knowing they were in the wrong, the two administrators lost their earlier arrogance and fled in panic, running through the falling vegetable leaves into the Wufu Market.

As soon as the two ran, the workers in the textile factory burst into cheers, as if they had won a great victory.

Not only the workers, but even the nearby vegetable farmers felt a sense of relief and cheered enthusiastically.

Seeing this, Dong Jianguo stepped onto the tricycle and bowed to each of his fellow workers to express his gratitude.

"Brothers and sisters, thank you all for your help!"

"To thank everyone, I'm not making any money on these remaining eggs!"

"Two yuan a pound! Come and get yours!"