1994: Starting with unpaid leave

"Dong Jianguo, three months' back pay, totaling 409.5. Zhou Xiuyun, three months' back pay, totaling 348, for a total of 757.5 yuan. Please check to see if there are any errors in the money."

Although the money wasn't much, it was his only chance to turn his life around, so Dong Jianguo counted it very carefully.

The person in charge of distributing the money was Tian Lina, the factory's cashier.

She is three years older than Zhou Xiuyun, and the two are usually considered to be good friends.

Tian Lina only learned of Dong Jianguo's gambling addiction after reading yesterday's penalty announcement.

Seeing that Dong Jianguo had taken all the back pay that the two women had received, she couldn't help but purse her lips.

Part of this money belongs to Zhou Xiuyun.

If Dong Jianguo takes them all, won't they all end up on the mahjong table?!

Looks like I'll have to talk to Xiuyun later, otherwise my silly sister will be in big trouble.

At this moment, Wu Qianzhu, who was standing next to him, had finished counting the banknotes, chuckled, and signed his name on the notebook.

He didn't leave either, holding two bottles of baijiu, he stood there smiling, waiting for Dong Jianguo to finish counting the money and signing the papers before finally speaking:

"Brother Jianguo, thank goodness you had a solution, otherwise we might never have gotten this money back."

"That's not true. If you hadn't helped me stall Secretary Wang, I probably wouldn't have been able to see the factory director."

Having successfully obtained the money and also managed to outmaneuver Secretary Wang, Dong Jianguo felt a great sense of revenge, and his face was full of smiles.

"That's not right. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to get the money back even if I saw the factory manager! You're really something else. Not only did you get the money back for the two of us, but you also helped out the other unlucky guys..."

Dong Jianguo waved his hand: "Stop! Don't say that when you tell them to come and collect their money later!"

"Huh? Why?" Wu Qianzhu was completely confused.

"To avoid future trouble."

These days, no one has it easy.

The factory is not doing well, and all employees are owed wages. Who knows, someone might hear about this and come to ask me to plead with Factory Manager Gao for leniency.

Dong Jianguo had no desire to deal with this womanizing factory director any longer.

As far as I can remember, not long after Hong Kong's return to China in 97, Director Gao was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission.

Getting close to him would just be asking for trouble!

Wu Qianzhu opened and closed her mouth, not understanding, but not intending to force the issue.

He nudged Dong Jianguo on the shoulder:

"Bro, if you ask me, let's skip tomorrow. I'm free this afternoon, so how about I call a few of my buddies who got their paychecks over to my place for a bit of fun?"

"What's wrong? Are your hands itching again?"

"Yeah, right! I watched you play cards yesterday, your luck was unbelievable! Not only did you get two consecutive hands of 'Treasure of the Treasure' and 'Seven Pairs,' but you also won a hand of 'Treasure of the Floating'! If the security team hadn't suddenly walked in, you might have won that kid Zhao Ruidong's underwear!"

Dong Jianguo felt nothing but bad luck: "What's the point of me, a married man, winning against him?! It's so unlucky!"

"Besides, playing cards is fine as a pastime, but it can't put food on the table. I'm 24 years old, and I've never heard of anyone making a living by playing mahjong."

"A man should know what's important and what's urgent; he should earn money and support his family first."

What Dong Jianguo didn't say was that he was too young when he got into trouble in his previous life, and at the time he only thought he was having great luck with the cards.

But now that I think about it, especially with the truth coming out about Wang Gaofei taking advantage of his position to kick someone when they're down, it seems that things aren't as simple as I thought before.

Especially since Zhao Ruidong had organized many mahjong games before, and everything had always gone smoothly. How could he be so unlucky this time, having the security team break down the door just when he was winning consecutive hands?

Are there really such coincidences in this world?!

Especially considering that Zhao Ruidong, who was also at the card table at the time, didn't lose a single hair after his incident.

The more I think about it, the stranger it seems.

Given the circumstances of 94, it wouldn't be surprising if something unexpected happened.

Wu Qianzhu didn't understand why Dong Jianguo had changed his attitude, and asked curiously:

"Huh? What do you plan to do with the money?"

"Of course I'll buy something for my parents! I plan to get a few pounds of pork ribs first to help them improve their diet..."

Thinking of his mother's cooking, Dong Jianguo couldn't help but sniff hard.

Although he has eaten a lot of delicious food outside, no matter how famous or skilled the chefs are, they can never compare to the taste of home compared to his mother.

My mother's signature dish is stewed pork ribs, which is so delicious it's absolutely irresistible.

Unexpectedly, Dong Jianguo was so thoughtful. Erzhuzi was taken aback, then thought for a moment and handed the bottle of baijiu in his hand to him.

"Brother Jianguo, we've been having so much meat and wine, but we need good wine too. Take this wine and have a couple of drinks with your uncle."

Just as Dong Jianguo was about to decline, Erzhuzi said again:

"Brother Jianguo, just keep it! I originally intended to use this liquor to exchange for my wages; I never planned to keep it. Now that you've helped me get my money back, the liquor should be yours!"

The two walked out talking, and Tian Lina, who was in charge of distributing the money, heard everything clearly.

She thought Dong Jianguo was no different from other men addicted to gambling, and that he would definitely go and play a few rounds as soon as he got the money.

Men with gambling addictions are not uncommon.

But to her surprise, Dong Jianguo not only refused Wu Qianzhu's invitation to play mahjong together, but also offered to buy pork ribs to visit his parents.

What gambler is this family-oriented?!

But she also felt somewhat dissatisfied.

While it is right to be filial to one's parents, one should not neglect one's family while only caring about one's parents!

Xiuyun is four months pregnant; she should be eating well, so why didn't Dong Jianguo mention her at all after receiving the money?!

She got a share of that money too.

Thinking of this, she stuffed the remaining wages to be paid back into the safe, then locked the finance office door and headed straight for the second workshop where Zhou Xiuyun worked...

……

Dong Jianguo's parents lived with his elder brother Dong Baoguo's family in Paotaitun, Tiefeng District.

This area is the residential area for the employees and families of the Hecheng Railway.

About ten years ago, the area was replanned, and a large area of ​​single-story houses and courtyards were demolished and rebuilt into more than 30 six-story brick-concrete residential buildings.

Walking outside, you can even see the red bricks embedded in the walls.

In the eyes of the reborn, these buildings were far inferior to the later commercial housing made of reinforced concrete.

But in 1994, it was considered quite good in Hecheng.

At least there should be a separate bathroom in the house.

For ordinary factory workers like Dong Jianguo, the housing they were allocated was just a bungalow with a yard.

If you want to use the toilet, you have to walk a hundred meters or so from your home to squeeze into a public dry toilet.

The old-fashioned dry toilet next to his house is nothing compared to the modern public toilets.

In summer, the air is foul and stinks, and it's teeming with greenbottle flies and plump, white maggots; in winter, although the low temperatures kill these little creatures, you can often see sharp, frozen mountains of excrement on the latrines...

Yes, this is a real strawberry tart warning.

What's even more absurd is that, regardless of the season, there are always residents in a hurry who don't use the designated stalls, resulting in the back alleys of the dry toilets often being riddled with pitfalls...

Dong Jianguo shook his head frantically, trying to shake those images out of his mind.

As I took the bag containing the wine and ribs off the bicycle and started climbing the stairs, I couldn't help but make up my mind:

Xiuyun is already four months pregnant. As Xiaojuzi grows bigger, her mobility will only become more and more inconvenient.

Being good to your wife isn't just about words; you have to find a way to provide her with a better environment as soon as possible.

Gathering his thoughts, Dong Jianguo knocked on the door...