1994: Starting with unpaid leave

"No problem, Second Sister!"

"I happen to be short-handed, two hundred a month per person, are you interested?"

Dong Jianguo smiled and picked up a piece of fish belly, placing it in Xiuyun's bowl.

"Two hundred?! You earn so much and you only offer two hundred dollars?"

"Yeah, their work is only worth two hundred!"

"Jianguo, we're all real relatives, how could you possibly mistreat your second sister?"

Dong Jianguo shook his head: "Second sister, stop joking. You know, Xiuyun and I can't keep secrets. If I pay you too much, those few people will find out sooner or later. Then everyone will be demanding a raise, and I won't be able to keep my business."

"Some people do buy eggs from me and sell them by riding a tricycle through the streets and alleys, operating on a profit and loss basis. If you're interested in this, I can get you a larger batch of eggs."

Mother-in-law Cao Wenli, holding the pendant hanging around her neck, couldn't help but ask:

"Those egg vendors on tricycles all get their eggs from you?! Then tell me Jianguo is my son-in-law, can you sell me the eggs cheaper?"

Dong Jianguo is truly in an awkward position this time:

"Mom, they're just running a small business to make a living. If you say it's cheaper, it'll mean they're not making any profit. If you ever need more eggs, just give me a call and I'll deliver them to you..."

"Oh dear, I was just saying. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for my son-in-law to actually save a few cents?! Don't worry, Mom wouldn't do something like that!"

Zhou Yuejin raised his wine glass and coughed: "Xiuqing, what are you doing? Why are you holding onto Jianguo's hand like that?"

Zhou Xiuqing glanced at her father, then stared at Dong Jianguo in disbelief before finally letting go of his hand.

But she still persisted, asking:

"You earn so much, but you give them so little? That's outrageous!"

"These days, we don't follow the old system of equal pay; we earn what we put in. What's so unfair about that?"

Zhou Xiuqing didn't believe it at all, and turned to stare at Xiuyun: "Xiuyun, your Jianguo is lying, isn't he?"

Zhou Xiuyun shook her head directly: "No, I personally paid those two people's wages, which were two hundred a month."

Her eyes were sincere and clear, without the slightest hint of evasion or lying.

From Zhou Xiuyun's perspective, she was indeed not lying.

In addition to their salaries, Erzhuzi and Zhao Hongmei also receive an extra 200 yuan bonus.

Zhou Xiuyun now understands a little why Dong Jianguo split bonuses and salaries.

By saying this to outsiders, there is no risk of the lie being exposed, and it also deters others from having any improper thoughts.

Sure enough, seeing that Xiuyun said the same thing, the second sister, Zhou Yuqing, snorted and turned her head to the side:

"I thought it was something amazing, but it turns out it's just profits from exploiting workers!"

Xiuyun was immediately displeased upon hearing this:

"Second sister, you can't say that! Recently, our factory has implemented a work schedule adjustment, with one day on and two days off, and our wages have been reduced to one-third of what they used to be."

"The factory employs over a thousand people, including many dual-income families. With this wage cut, how many households will go hungry?"

"Jianguo was willing to sell eggs at a low price to the workers who came to help, which I think was helping them. How can you call it exploitation?!"

After Xiuyun said that, Zhou Yuqing realized that she had used the wrong words and awkwardly stopped talking.

However, Zhang Jinlong, the second brother-in-law, glared at his wife:

"Yes, Jianguo did a good thing by doing this. Don't talk nonsense about your Fine Textile Factory. Our First Machine Tool Factory is no better."

"Now, apart from the key workshops, all the other workshops are adjusting their work schedules, and some workshops have even started long holidays... If this continues, our security department will soon be out of work too."

"It's alright, we still have the country, right? We certainly can't let the workers lose their jobs!" Brother-in-law Tong Zi'ang offered a nonchalant piece of advice.

"But who can say for sure what will happen in the future? If the situation continues to deteriorate like this, I think things are going to get very bad..."

Zhang Jinlong is good at handling things and is quite familiar with many leaders. He can know about any changes happening in the factory beforehand.

In his view, even the renowned First Machine Tool Factory has now become uncertain about its future.

A meal can be enjoyable for some, but distressing for others.

After dinner, there was cake.

The two children from the eldest and second eldest sisters were overjoyed, their faces covered in food as they ate.

After dinner, Dong Jianguo wanted to roll up his shirt sleeves and go wash the dishes in his in-laws' small kitchen, but his father-in-law stopped him.

"Jianguo, come out with me for a smoke."

"Dad, this isn't right. It used to be my brother-in-law who kept you company. Besides, this dish hasn't been washed yet."

Dong Jianguo glanced at his expressionless brother-in-law, intending to politely decline the invitation.

Zhou Yuejin waved his hand and said, "It's alright. My three daughters are all at home. How can I let my son-in-law wash the dishes?! Come on, let's go to the door and have a smoke."

"Yes, Jianguo, let the three sisters wash the dishes together, and you can chat with your dad."

When the birthday celebrant's mother-in-law spoke up, Dong Jianguo was happy to have some free time and accompanied his father-in-law, who was carrying a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes, to the porch outside the house for a smoke.

In the small kitchen, Zhou's eldest and second eldest sisters entered.

Xiuyun leaned against the kitchen door, watching the two of them busy with their tasks with a smile.

Second sister Zhou Xiuqing looked displeased seeing her idle:

"Oh dear, she can't cook, she's too scared to wash dishes, all she does is sit there and eat. Does she really think she's some kind of capitalist's concubine?!"

Since Dong Jianguo offered such a low salary, the business deal with him fell through, and Zhou Xiuqing naturally didn't tolerate this younger sister she had fought with since childhood.

"Alright, that's enough! Can't you see your little sister is heavily pregnant?!"

"Big sister, we're all sisters, you can't be biased! Why can she rest when she's pregnant? When I was pregnant, I not only had to take care of Jinlong, but also his mother!"

"That's just bad luck, who else can you blame!"

The eldest sister, Zhou Xiulan, glared at her second sister with displeasure:

"Besides, don't you see how much stuff Xiuyun and her husband bought for Mom and Dad? If you two could buy that much stuff, you'd be lying in Mom and Dad's bed right now!"

Zhou Xiuqing was speechless, staring blankly at her older sister: "No, sister, how dare you bring this up! I think they deliberately tried to outdo us tonight to embarrass us!"

Zhou Xiuyun became anxious upon hearing this, frowning as she was about to explain, when her eldest sister, Xiulan, spoke up:

"I didn't feel embarrassed at all! Wasn't the meal quite enjoyable?"

Zhou Xiulan had always felt that Tong Ziang had become a bit arrogant after becoming a section chief, but being provoked by Jian Guo made her feel quite good.

After hearing her older sister's words, Zhou Xiuqing rolled her eyes dramatically and smacked her chopsticks noisily while washing them: "Tch, so what if you're rich!"

Anyone could tell there was a hint of bitterness in those words.

Seeing her second sister get the short end of the stick, Xiuyun felt very happy, as if she had won, and grinned, revealing her white teeth.

Who knew the eldest sister would suddenly come over:

"Hey, Xiuyun, let me ask you, in your family now... do you manage the money?"