1994: Starting with unpaid leave

When we returned to the city after visiting four farms, it was already 2:30 pm.

Dong Jianguo's newly bought backpack was still bulging, but the eight Hongtashan cigarettes inside had been replaced with two old hens that had been slaughtered and processed on the farm.

The chicken was specially slaughtered by Secretary Guo of Hongqi Farm after he heard in a casual conversation that his wife was pregnant.

If his backpack hadn't been too small to hold it all, Secretary Guo would have even been thinking of calling someone to kill the goose...

The process of giving gifts to the other three farm secretaries was similar, and it was not difficult for Dong Jianguo, who was well-versed in this practice.

With a good appearance and eloquence, it's easy to win the favor of elders.

The key point is that the Hongtashan cigarettes sent out were also a form of hard currency.

Therefore, the secretaries all nodded in agreement to Dong Jianguo's request to increase the supply.

The farm's agricultural output is not fixed. As long as the farm can provide sufficient employee benefits to its superiors, the superiors will not inquire too much about the surplus output and will tacitly allow the farm to sell and dispose of it on its own.

The profits from product sales are recorded in the farm's own books. The basic portion can be used for employee expenses, while the surplus profit is used for employee benefits.

Although selling to Dong Jianguo yielded slightly less profit on paper than selling to small vendors, the secretaries still reaped real benefits.

Moreover, entrusting the overall management to Dong Jianguo for unified sales would reduce a lot of unnecessary trouble, so the matter was settled naturally without any resistance.

However, when Dong Jianguo arrived in Angxi District, he learned that there were many similar farms in the suburbs of Angxi District.

It's a pity my business is just starting out and I'm short on cash. Otherwise, if I visited a few more farms, I might have been able to get more fresh eggs!

Although the profit margin in the egg business isn't high, if one could monopolize the egg business in the three northern districts of Hecheng...

As Dong Jianguo walked, he kept thinking about how to expand and strengthen his business. Before he knew it, he had arrived at his own doorstep.

She looked up and was startled: "Mom, what are you doing here?!"

Zhang Guifen stood up from the steps in front of the courtyard gate, carrying two rectangular aluminum lunchboxes, and brushed the dust off her trousers.

"Why can't I come?! Can't I even come to see my daughter-in-law?!"

Dong Jianguo smiled and said, "Of course, there's no problem. Even if you didn't come here to see your beloved youngest son, we can't find fault with you!"

"You brat, still in the mood for banter? Open the door now!"

Zhang Guifen raised her leg and kicked Dong Jianguo, but she didn't use much force.

Dong Jianguo opened the door with a smile and invited his mother into his home.

The two walked through the courtyard and entered the house one after the other.

As Dong Jianguo passed by the yard, the tall stacks of empty egg cartons next to him made him a little worried.

Fortunately, my mom kept her head down and didn't seem to notice anything.

After Zhang Guifen entered the room, she placed the lunchbox on the kang (a heated brick bed), then stretched out her legs and sat down beside it.

"How's work these past few days? Are you tired?"

Dong Jianguo glanced at his mother, noticing nothing unusual on her face, and chuckled.

"What's so tiring about it? The factory has no orders, and none of the workshops are operating. They're not even turning on the air conditioners to save electricity. How can I, the air conditioning operator, be tired?"

"I didn't ask you if working in the factory was tiring, I asked if selling eggs was tiring."

"Selling eggs..."

Dong Jianguo was taken aback, looking at his mother's still expressionless face, and gave an awkward smile:

"Oh dear, nothing can be hidden from you, my little side business is just getting started and you've already found out."

"A side hustle? That can't be right. I heard you were suspended without pay at the factory?!"

"You're such a grown man, you just quit a perfectly good job like that? What's wrong with you?!"

"Such a big thing happened and you didn't even tell your family? I think you're getting bolder and bolder. What are you planning to do after selling the eggs? Become a hooligan?! Huh!"

The last "Ah" was uttered with the force of a tiger descending a mountain.

After years of accumulated power, even Dong Jianguo, who was about to become a father, couldn't help but tremble when he heard it.

Eggs, on unpaid leave...

Besides Xiuyun, the only people who could contact her mother Zhang Guifen were her second uncle's family.

Although he didn't know exactly who had leaked the information, Dong Jianguo wasn't too panicked.

After all, the first batch of eggs has already been sold, and the results are now verifiable.

Even though the profits were distributed, the return was much greater and more visible in the future.

So Dong Jianguo calmly poured his mother a cup of warm water from the thermos:

"Mom, let's talk this out. Arguing won't solve anything..."

Zhang Guifen glared at me: "Don't give me that crap! Just like your deadbeat father, now you dare complain about me being noisy?!"

"It's only natural for a mother to scold her son! I think you not only want to be scolded, you're asking for a beating!"

"What are you thinking? You have a decent, easy job, why can't you just do it properly?!"

"You sit in the factory, sheltered from the wind and rain. Although your salary isn't as high as your two brothers', things will get better once you gain seniority!"

"Even if you're suspended with pay as punishment by the factory, the factory manager still has a heart. Give him a little gift, apologize a bit, and he won't really stop you from going to work and earning a living!"

"I really don't know what you're thinking. You have a perfectly good office job, why do you have to deal with a few rotten eggs? How much money can you possibly make from those eggs?!"

Zhang Guifen, who had learned the news from her second sister-in-law, had been seething with anger for a long time.

Having waited at the door for half a day after arriving without a drop of water, it was inevitable that his mouth would be dry when he spoke.

While I was at the ventilation opening, I grabbed the water glass that was next to me and gulped down two mouthfuls.

After his mother had drunk almost all of her drink, Dong Jianguo finally spoke up quietly:

"Mom, the first batch of eggs totaled 1200 jin (600 catties), and they sold out in a day and a half. After deducting all costs, I made about 600 yuan..."

"puff……"

Zhang Guifen spat out a mouthful of water, seriously doubting that she had misheard.

"You made a fortune?!"

"Over 600..."

Dong Jianguo repeated it again.

"But I didn't keep the money; I spent it all."

Zhang Guifen was puzzled: "It was used for purchasing goods?!"

"No, I just came back from several farms in Angxi District. I've already reached an agreement with them; it's all a 'goods first, payment later' cooperation model."

"So where did you spend all that money?! I don't see any new appliances in your house!"

"I used all that money to buy gifts and sent them to the farm's Party Secretary..."

Zhang Guifen was even more confused: "That's not right. Your second aunt told me that your second uncle found these eggs through connections, so why are you giving them as a separate gift?"

"Mom! These days, connections are nothing compared to benefits! Besides, if you ask my second uncle for help, that connection belongs to him. If I can build good relationships with him myself, then those relationships are mine!"

Looking at her smiling son, Zhang Guifen stared wide-eyed, speechless.

I feel like my usually carefree youngest son is becoming more and more different...