1994: Starting with unpaid leave

"Sister Hongmei, don't feel guilty, just say what you think."

"I think... it's best to keep going."

"The factory doesn't have many orders, and nobody knows what will happen in the future."

"As for what you said about suddenly having a large sum of money... 3000 yuan sounds like a lot, but you can't just sit around and do nothing."

"Prices are rising now. Take the eggs you sell, for example. Last year they were 2 yuan a pound, but this year they've gone up to 2.2 yuan. Yueyue is still so young, and there will be many expenses in the future... So it's more reassuring to have a job."

Looking out the window at Yueyue playing with Xiuyun in the yard, Zhao Hongmei said earnestly.

"Then I'm relieved."

Dong Jianguo nodded.

He was genuinely worried that Zhao Hongmei would get carried away after receiving the money and say something outrageous like using the money to speculate in stocks.

If that's the case, handing over the money left by Wang Gaofei to her would be tantamount to harming the mother and daughter.

Dong Jianguo turned around and handed over the envelope left by Wang Gaofei:

"Last night, Secretary Wang from the factory office came to my house. He said he owed Brother Wang some money and hadn't paid it back. Over the years, with interest, it's been 3000 yuan. It's all here..."

"What?! Three thousand?!"

Zhao Hongmei was stunned.

She quickly realized something was wrong: "How much did Lao Wang earn in a month? How could he possibly lend Secretary Wang so much money?!"

"Besides, why doesn't Secretary Wang just give me the money himself?"

"I don't know about that. You can ask him when you start work... Oh, by the way, he's been transferred to Workshop 1 as a loader."

Dong Jianguo shrugged.

Regarding the cause of Master Wang Xiang's death, although he personally believed what Wang Gaofei said, he did not want to tell Zhao Hongmei.

Telling her won't give her the justice she deserves, so it's better not to say anything.

If Zhao Hongmei, upon learning the truth, couldn't resist confronting Zhao Ruidong, it might bring further trouble to her and her orphanage.

So last night before bed, he thought and thought, and finally came up with this idea:

They give you money, but they don't explain anything.

"Sister Hongmei, I don't care about anything else for now. Just count the money first, and once you've confirmed the amount is correct, then write me a receipt, so that Wang Gaofei won't try to extort money from me later..."

"Ah, this..."

"Sister Hongmei, I didn't mean anything by it, I just don't want to get into any trouble."

"On the receipt, just write that you received 3000 yuan from Dong Jianguo to Wang Gaofei today, and also specify the date. Is that alright?"

Zhao Hongmei hesitated for a long time before nodding in agreement.

As for her going to ask Wang Gaofei... judging from Wang Gaofei's demeanor last night, he should be heading south this morning after completing his resignation procedures.

If he really gets cornered by Zhao Hongmei, then he'll have to figure out how to clean up his mess himself!

Once he received the receipt, Dong Jianguo felt relieved.

Seeing Zhao Hongmei clutching the envelope, still looking completely bewildered, Dong Jianguo couldn't help but ask:

"Sister Hongmei, what are your plans with this money? You're not going to quit working for me, are you?"

Zhao Hongmei shook her head repeatedly: "How could that be! I don't even understand what happened with this money, how could I spend it recklessly?"

Dong Jianguo nodded: "That's right. If you haven't made up your mind yet, it's best to open a savings account at the bank and put the money in there first. That way, you can be prepared for any emergencies in the future."

"But be careful when opening an account, don't let the teller trick you into buying wealth management products, or you'll have nowhere to cry later."

Dong Jianguo had seen the news; bank tellers had been tricking customers into buying wealth management products and insurance for a long time.

It's just that information wasn't readily available in the 90s, and negative news was easily suppressed, so ordinary people rarely knew about it.

"I'll talk to him at work tomorrow and find out what really happened before I say anything more..."

Zhao Hongmei's mind was in turmoil.

Dong Jianguo nodded: "You should put the money at home first, and come back quickly. I'm going out later, and I'm worried about leaving Xiuyun and Yueyue to watch this business alone..."

"All right……"

As soon as Zhao Hongmei left, Xiuyun led Yueyue into the house.

Anyway, the bedroom window offers a clear view of the yard, so there's no worry about not being able to see customers coming to buy eggs.

"What did you and Sister Hongmei talk about? Why are you being so secretive?"

"secret!"

Fearing that Xiuyun might get into trouble if she found out, Dong Jianguo didn't tell her about Master Wang Xiang's matter or the money.

"Ugh! Annoying!"

Xiuyun gave a soft hum and casually turned on the TV for Yueyue.

Cable TV costs 28 yuan a month, which is too extravagant for the couple. Therefore, Dong Jianguo's television can only receive signals from three channels: CCTV-1, Heilongjiang Province-1, and Heilongjiang City-1.

In addition, if you pull out the antenna on the back of the TV and hold it down with your hand, you can receive CCTV-2 if you're lucky.

Fortunately, in order to improve GG's ratings, Qiqihar TV station would often edit the Spring Festival Gala skits and crosstalk performances and insert long segments of GG in between.

It will at least provide more daily entertainment for people who can't afford cable TV.

Seeing that Huang Hong and Song Dandan's skit "The Overpopulation Guerrilla Team" was playing on TV, Yueyue immediately propped herself up with both hands and sat down next to Dong Jianguo, watching it with a serious expression.

"Yueyue, have you had breakfast? I have some fried eggs here, your godmother just made them."

"No, I've already eaten the steamed rice cake!"

The little guy didn't even turn his head, his eyes glued to the TV.

Her family only had a black and white television, while her godparents' television was in color, which naturally made it much more attractive to her.

When Xiuyun got home last night, she made a special trip to Fatty's place to bring back some steamed rice cakes made from freshly laid eggs to give to Zhao Hongmei and Yueyue.

This allowed Yueyue to achieve "freedom to eat steamed cakes" at a very young age.

She didn't eat, and Dong Jianguo didn't try to persuade her. He ate his breakfast while watching the skit.

This skit first appeared at the New Year's Eve Gala in 90. At that time, Song Dandan was pregnant in real life, so she was actually playing a pregnant woman with a big belly, which was very realistic.

The skit caused a huge sensation as soon as it was broadcast, so after some simple revisions, it was officially performed on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala in 92.

Inside the room, Zhou Xiuyun and Yueyue, two beautiful women, one big and one small, were watching with great interest.

When Dong Jianguo saw the skit about the issue of having a boy or a girl, a thought struck him, and he nudged Yueyue:

"Girl, guess whether your godmother's baby is a boy or a girl."

"Of course it's my younger sister!"

"Huh? Why?!" Xiuyun frowned, a hint of dissatisfaction in her voice.

"Because my younger sister is as gentle and beautiful as my godmother!"

Although Yueyue was very sweet-talking, Zhou Xiuyun was still somewhat unwilling.

However, Dong Jianguo was very happy, feeling that Yueyue was very good at judging people!

He reached out and pulled his wife closer:

"Even if it's a daughter, it's fine. If you're willing, we can have a few more!"

"Get out of here! I'll fine you until you're dead!"

Dong Jianguo pointed to the guerrillas on the television screen:

"What's there to be afraid of?"

"If you're willing, I'd even have a whole football team of kids!"

Dong Jianguo put his arm around his wife and said with a smile.

"Ugh, you're so annoying!"