1994: Starting with unpaid leave

"Damn, does this kind of person even deserve to do business?"

During dinner, when Erzhuzi heard Zhao Hongmei talking about Zhang Cunyi's business acumen, he slammed the enamel mug in his hand onto the small table, his tone full of resentment.

He knew on Monday that Brother Jianguo was going to share some of the goods with others.

Seeing Dong Jianguo busy looking for new sources of goods these days, he felt anxious and frustrated.

Unfortunately, Dong Jianguo had always been in charge of the supply, so even if he wanted to help, he had no way to do so.

Now, hearing from Zhao Hongmei that the guy who took over those eggs wasn't a good person, he genuinely felt sorry for Dong Jianguo.

"Brother Jianguo, it's fine to give these eggs to those who really need money to survive. But giving them to someone like this... where does that kid live?"

"What do you want to do?"

"I...I'll smash his window!"

"Come on, there's new stock coming in. Just keep quiet and do your own thing, don't cause me any trouble!"

Dong Jianguo raised his glass, clinked it with Erzhuzi's, and downed it in one gulp.

Hearing Dong Jianguo say this, Erzhuzi could only suppress his resentment.

"By the way, Brother Jianguo, do you know who I ran into on my way back today?"

"Who?"

"Ma Qiang!"

"Oh……"

Seeing Dong Jianguo's indifferent expression, Erzhuzi mysteriously pointed to his right leg and added:

"That kid was on crutches, and he walked with one leg higher than the other. I asked him what happened, and he said he'd been shot by a knife or gun..."

"Swords, guns, and cannons?"

Dong Jianguo raised an eyebrow, finally showing some interest.

In Northeast China, the words "knife, gun, cannon" don't just refer to weapons, but also to "people."

What puzzled him was that Ma Qiang was at most Zhao Ruidong's follower, and shouldn't have had much chance to provoke those ruthless people.

"I asked him how he got hurt, and Ma Qiang told me that he went to a factory with a powerful backer, Zhao Ruidong. Zhao Ruidong lost so much that he started acting tough on their turf, and they rushed out and kicked him!"

"Ma Qiang was standing right behind Zhao Ruidong when he was accidentally injured..."

"According to him, that guy was incredibly arrogant. After beating people up, he even told Zhao Ruidong and his group that they were welcome to come and retaliate anytime!"

Realizing he was a tough nut to crack, Dong Jianguo couldn't help but ask:

"Did Ma Qiang tell you who the other party was?"

"He said he didn't know him either, only that the man's nickname was something like 'The Big Rich Man'."

Dong Jianguo's pupils contracted slightly.

He knows this person all too well.

The wealthy Zhang Zhixin, the medium-wealthy Zhang Zhigao, and the small-wealthy Zhang Zhiwen.

These three brothers, though young, had already made a name for themselves on the streets.

After they passed the age of forty, they all became notorious local thugs.

Getting involved with them will be a real problem for Zhao Ruidong.

"How's Zhao Ruidong doing?"

"Ma Qiang was also terrified at the time. He said that blood was spurting from Zhao Ruidong's thigh, and it was really scary. The key point is that he was detained, and they told Ma Qiang and his gang to come back and tell his family to send money to ransom him."

"He also said that when Factory Director Zhao received the news, he completely broke down! When they left, he was still at home crying and trying to figure out a solution with his wife!"

Erzhuzi gulped down a mouthful of beer, exhaling a breath of alcohol, feeling exceptionally relieved.

"If you ask me, Chun Chun deserves it. When Zhao Ruidong's father was the factory manager, he caused a lot of trouble for our factory! So many workers cursed him behind his back, saying he was blind. Now his karma has come back to haunt his son!"

Dong Jianguo glanced at Zhao Hongmei, who was silently eating her food without making a sound, and nodded, saying:

"That's true, but if we had continued hanging out with Zhao Ruidong all the time back then, we might have been the ones who got caught up in the mess..."

Upon hearing this, Erzhuzi finally realized, "Holy crap, that's really true..."

"Oh dear, stop talking about that! Yueyue's still here, you'll scare the child!" Xiuyun scolded playfully.

"Also, Qianzhu, please stop swearing in front of the child. You're setting a bad example for Yueyue!"

"Okay, sister-in-law, it was my fault. Here, Yueyue, let Uncle have a drink with you and sincerely apologize!"

As Erzhuzi spoke, he tapped the Jianlibao can in Yueyue's hand with his enamel mug.

He turned his head and saw that Dong Jianguo still looked preoccupied, and couldn't help but wonder:

"Brother Jianguo, I have a feeling Zhao Ruidong got what's coming to him, why aren't you happy?"

"What does it matter to me how he gets tormented?" Dong Jianguo put down his wine glass and picked up a piece of food.

However, he felt somewhat depressed whenever he thought about Zhang Zhixin, who had dealt with Zhao Ruidong.

These three guys are no ordinary people. They worked their way up in the black market, and by the year 2000, their assets had exceeded 100 million!

Those who run illegal businesses can build such large industries, while I've been reborn for over a month and I'm still here earning a pittance for eggs. It's really not up to me.

"Brother, I know you're unhappy about having some of your stock taken away. How about I try to get those eggs back for you? Even just half would be great!"

"Come on, I was thinking about something else."

"Huh? What?"

"I'm thinking about how to make more money than that guy surnamed Zhang!"

"Zhang Cunyi? Even if he sold all those eggs, he wouldn't make as much as we do!"

Dong Jianguo stared blankly at Erzhuzi, thinking to himself, "I'm comparing myself to a big landlord, who told you about Zhang Cunyi?"

He shook his head:

"Zhu Zi, have you thought about this? We sell eggs for 2.1 yuan a pound, but if the profit is spread across each egg, we only make 5 cents a egg."

"If we sell them in a different way, maybe we can make 3 cents per piece?"

"What?!" Erzhuzi was stunned. "How could this be?!"

Suddenly, Yueyue exclaimed, "Yes, yes, yes! An uncle came to buy eggs from us. He makes tea eggs, and he told me he can make several cents per egg!"

Reminded by Yueyue, Erzhuzi suddenly realized what was happening. He slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "That's right! With some processing, the price will go up!"

"But with so many eggs every day, how are we going to process them?"

"Besides, even if they're processed, they're not easy to sell. I can't exactly be like those old folks selling tea eggs, pushing my little stove around the street and selling them one by one, can I?"

Upon hearing this, Xiuyun immediately volunteered, "I can go!"

"Come on, honey! It's not that I don't trust you, but selling like this is too inefficient; it's not the result I want at all."

"No, what kind of effect do you want?" Zhou Xiuyun asked with a curious look.

"If we open a food processing plant, we can make sealed-packaged braised eggs!"

"At that time, convenience stores can sell our eggs, trains can sell our eggs, and if there are large supermarkets, they can also sell our eggs in the food section..."