1994: Starting with unpaid leave

In order to find sources of goods to fill the supply gap, Dong Jianguo traveled to Angxi District, Mei District, Nianshan District, Gan County, and other places in the following week.

The farms that could be found either didn't have extra production or couldn't deliver, so you had to pick up the goods yourself.

In the end, they could only barely make up for the shortfall of 1000 jin per day.

Although unwilling, he could only rush to Hongqi Farm in Angxi early Sunday morning to meet with the four secretaries who had initially agreed to cooperate.

Firstly, we need to settle the payments, and secondly, we need to inform them in advance about the impending personnel change.

When they heard that he was going to hand over the supply of goods from the original four farms to others, the secretaries of the four farms were reluctant.

Although the eggs were initially allocated to Dong Jianguo out of consideration for his old friend Dong Xuefeng.

But during the month or so of working together, they felt that this young man was not only good-looking, but also excellent at speaking and handling affairs.

Although Dong Jianguo has stated today that he will no longer cooperate, he still brought plenty of cigarettes and alcohol for this meeting.

He is indeed a meticulous young man.

It was worth it for the four farms to supply him with all their surplus production during this period.

"Jianguo, the cooperation is going so smoothly right now, but suddenly there's a change of personnel. Why do I feel so uneasy?"

Faced with Secretary Guo's questions, Dong Jianguo could only bite the bullet and give a guarantee:

"Uncle Guo, uncles, please rest assured. The person taking over my business is my second aunt's nephew. He's a college graduate, more educated than me, and he's sure to be a good businessman."

Moreover, Dong Jianguo's words were not definitive:

"Although your farms no longer send eggs to me, you will always be my uncles. If you ever have any problems with Cunyi, just call me, and I promise I'll be there anytime!"

What Secretary Guo valued most was Dong Jianguo's enthusiasm.

He knew that the child was busy finding sources of goods to fill the supply gap, and there were still several thousand kilograms of shortfall to be made up every day.

After seeing off the other three secretaries, he stopped Dong Jianguo, who was also leaving, and made several phone calls in front of him.

Eventually, they made contact with a breeding farm in Keshan County.

The farm over there had just expanded, but the orders that were supposed to be transferred to the higher-level unit were delayed due to changes in the plans.

The Party Secretary of the breeding farm and Secretary Guo of Hongqi Farm were quite acquainted. After chatting for a while, they finalized the delivery plan for Dong Jianguo:

5000 jin a day.

The price is even cheaper than the supply price from Hongqi Farm, at only 1.3 yuan per jin!

In this way, not only can the loss of supply from the four lost farms be made up, but the daily supply will even increase dramatically!

"Uncle Guo, I..."

"Sigh, I'll say thank you later. You should go to Keshan County first."

"Um!"

Dong Jianguo nodded, keeping this kindness in his heart.

By the time they returned to the old bungalow after finalizing the specific details of the cooperation in Keshan, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon.

Zhao Hongmei was greeting customers buying eggs in the courtyard, while Erzhuzi, who was delivering eggs to the restaurant on his tricycle, hadn't returned yet.

A small square table, about half a person's height, has appeared on the empty ground where egg crates were stacked.

Zhou Xiuyun and Yueyue were engrossed in reading at their desks.

Zhou Xiuyun was reading "New Principles of Accounting," while Yueyue had a brand-new comic book of Journey to the West.

The little girl has been watching a lot of TV lately, and she keeps rubbing her eyes.

Xiuyun was a little worried that her eyesight would be affected, so she simply let her read more comic books instead of watching TV.

Seeing that Dong Jianguo looked unwell, Zhou Xiuyun couldn't help but feel sorry for him and got up to greet him.

"You're back? Did everything go smoothly?"

"Hmm... I've spoken to those farms. They won't be sending us eggs anymore..."

"Yeah, that way I won't have to keep so many accounts. I'm getting so confused from keeping track of which farm delivered how many eggs every day!"

Xiuyun forced a smile and comforted her husband.

But she knew in her heart that without the support of the four farms in Angxi District, her future profits would likely drop significantly.

Whether we can earn the remaining mortgage payment by the end of this month remains to be seen.

"Honey, if we don't earn enough money by the end of the month... we might have to move back from Xijuzhai..."

Dong Jianguo's voice sounded somewhat dejected.

"Then let's move! I've always thought our place is pretty good, quite comfortable! There's no place like home!"

"You're not angry that I was showing off?"

Dong Jianguo looked at his wife with some curiosity.

"What's so strange about that? The initial connection was made with the help of Second Uncle, so it's normal for them to want to go back now."

"And we've made quite a bit of money lately!"

"If you're talking about buying the apartment in Xijuzhai... well, I've lived there for a while now, so I don't feel like I've lost out!"

"Anyway, I know what a good house looks like now, so I'll just buy one when I have more money!"

Xiuyun's eyes narrowed into two crescent moons, showing no trace of resentment.

Dong Jianguo rubbed his nose, feeling a sour taste inside.

When looking for a wife, you should look for someone like this!

Why didn't I know how to cherish things in my past life?!

After seeing the guests off, Zhao Hongmei walked over to the couple, cleared her throat, and said:

"Jianguo, if you don't have enough money, don't I still have the three thousand yuan that Secretary Wang left behind? Why don't you take it to tide you over?"

Yueyue jumped off the chair, raised her little hand and said:

"Godfather, Godmother likes that building, so please buy it for her. I still have eight cents here, it's the allowance Godmother gave me, you can use that to buy a building too..."

Looking at the two adults and one child in the yard, Dong Jianguo felt that if he continued to pretend, he would break down first.

He squatted down and rubbed Yueyue's little head:

"Godfather was just joking; the problem has already been solved!"

Zhao Hongmei was taken aback, staring into Dong Jianguo's eyes: "Really? Jianguo, don't try to fool us! That would be too much of a pretense!"

"No, Sister Hongmei, I'm telling the truth. Secretary Guo from Hongqi Farm helped me get in touch with the Keshan County breeding farm, and they agreed to supply us with 5000 jin of eggs every day!"

"So...the sky won't fall. Not only will we be able to pay the mortgage on time, but we'll only make more and more money in the future!"

"Oh! That's great! You're so mean, trying to trick me!"

When Xiuyun heard this unexpected good news, she almost burst into tears.

Overcome with excitement, she raised her hand and swung her small fist to punch Dong Jianguo in the chest.

Dong Jianguo reached out and hugged his wife:

"I just wanted to tease you... A little kiss, and you'll be alright now!"

Before Dong Jianguo's lips even touched Xiuyun's cheek, Yueyue exclaimed in surprise.

Turning my head, I realized that the little guy was covering his eyes with his hands, peeking through his fingers at the two of them to see what they would do next.

That's not all; while watching, the little guy kept muttering, "Shame on you, shame on you, shame on you..."

"Go away, go read your comic books!"

Zhao Hongmei tactfully shooed her daughter away and then turned away with a smile to tidy up the empty egg crates in the yard.

Just as Dong Jianguo was about to continue, a man's voice rang out from outside the courtyard gate:

"Hey, excuse me, is this Tung Chien-kuo? The Tung Chien-kuo who sells eggs?"