1994: Starting with unpaid leave

After unloading the goods, as usual, driver Wang stayed behind to smoke and chat with Dong Jianguo and Erzhuzi, while also relieving his sore muscles.

Although Erzhuzi was somewhat resentful towards Master Wang before, after more than a month of getting to know him, he realized that the other party was not a bad person, at most just a little greedy for small advantages.

Therefore, their relationship is much more harmonious than before.

"You have no idea how infuriating that bastard is. When he handed me the phone number that Secretary Guo called back, he even gave me a dirty look."

"If we weren't so fucking civilized, we would have given him a good beating."

"The more arrogant he was before, the more idiots he became later. When I hung up the phone and told him that Secretary Guo had asked me to deliver the eggs to Boss Dong, that guy just stood there dumbfounded, like a broken telephone pole."

Master Wang recounted Zhang Cunyi's behavior at the time, his face beaming with satisfaction.

Erzhuzi couldn't help but grin and laugh along after hearing this.

Last night, after he returned from selling eggs, he heard Zhang Cunyi's outrageous remarks from Sister Hongmei and was particularly dissatisfied. Now that he heard that this guy had been humiliated, he was even happier than when he received his salary.

While the three were chatting, workers would occasionally ride by on tricycles to pick up goods.

Recently, as Dong Jianguo said, more and more workers from the fine knitting factory have rented the tin sheds. Seeing that this business is profitable, many workers have persuaded their idle relatives to join in.

As a result, Dong Jianguo's egg business already has seven or eight downstream partners.

Don't underestimate these tricycles.

On good days, they can bring in 600 to 700 catties of eggs; on bad days, they can still get 300 to 400 catties. Dong Jianguo's inventory is mostly taken care of by them.

Seeing the bustling traffic and good business, Mr. Wang approached Dong Jianguo:

"Boss Dong, I have something to tell you. You know that the number of eggs delivered to our farm will decrease after winter sets in, right?"

"Mm." Dong Jianguo nodded.

Master Wang took a drag of his cigarette, exhaled a puff of white smoke, and then spoke softly:

"Do you know what farms do with hens that don't lay eggs?"

Dong Jianguo was taken aback; he hadn't really thought of that: "Should we keep them for now? Let them lay eggs again next spring when they've recovered?"

"That's such a bad deal! The cost of raising a chicken for a year is there!"

Every autumn, the farm breeds a batch of chicks. The chicks eat little and have low heating requirements. By spring, they are almost grown up and ready to lay eggs.

"As for the adult hens, the farm will cull some of the low-egg-producing hens after winter."

As he spoke, Master Wang raised his hand and made a chopping motion downwards:

"When the time comes, you can talk to a few farm secretaries and maybe you can buy a batch of extra chicken to sell."

Dong Jianguo raised an eyebrow, a thought forming in his mind.

Selling meat is more profitable than selling eggs.

Moreover, every year before the Lunar New Year, as citizens' purchasing volume surges, the price of meat products will rise sharply.

But he hesitated again:

"This...didn't the cut-up chickens already get sold to someone else? I heard before that the cut-up chicken business of these farms is all being handled by the son of the weighing scale factory manager..."

Master Wang smiled:

"That kid was selling his usual farm produce. The extra batch of chickens slaughtered after winter was considered unplanned production. Secretary Guo wouldn't be willing to sell them to him at a low price!"

"If that's the case at Hongqi Farm, then the other farms are probably the same. I bet you have other sources of eggs; you can ask around then."

"You're capable and eloquent. If you make the right connections, you'll definitely get these chickens. Then you can have a prosperous New Year!"

After saying goodbye, driver Mr. Wang got back into his car and prepared to leave.

Before the car even started, a taxi, kicking up a cloud of dust, rushed into the alley and screeched to a halt in front of the truck.

"beep!"

Mr. Wang honked his horn twice, but seeing that the taxi showed no sign of moving, he couldn't help but roll down his window, lean out, and yell, "Hey, how do you drive? Don't you know you're blocking the road?"

As soon as the door of the red Lada taxi opened, Zhang Cunyi got out of the passenger seat with a sullen face.

He first glared at the driver, Master Wang, then turned to look at Dong Jianguo, who was smoking by the door. His eyes rolled back so hard they almost popped out, and he slammed the car door shut with a loud bang.

He turned around and helped an elderly woman out of the back door.

Upon seeing this, Dong Jianguo quickly stepped forward and reached out to help the elderly man.

"Second Aunt, Cunyi, what brings you here?!"

The second aunt snorted, "I'm not so old and senile that I need help. Besides, can't I come here? Is this road your property?"

"What are you saying? You're welcome to visit and offer your guidance anytime!"

The second aunt didn't even glance at Dong Jianguo while speaking, but instead turned to look at Zhang Cunyi:

"Hmph, welcome? I'm afraid some people will make money and then turn their backs on us!"

As soon as Aunt Er got out of the car, Dong Jianguo knew that Zhang Cunyi had gone to Aunt Er's house to complain about him.

He was about to speak when the Lada started moving and reversed away first.

With the car out of the way, Mr. Wang was about to leave when he called out to Zhang Cunyi, "Make way, let my car pass."

"Just wait and see, who gave you the right to speak?!"

Seeing that Master Wang was about to lose his temper, Dong Jianguo stood in front of the car and waved to Master Wang, signaling him not to rush.

"Second Aunt, let's go inside and talk about what's going on. Let's not bother other people. Besides, there are always people and cars coming and going in front of my house, so it's really inconvenient."

Zhang Cunyi pushed Dong Jianguo's arm away:

"Dong Jianguo, you've done something wrong, and now you realize it's inconvenient? I'm telling you too late!"

Seeing this, Erzhuzi, who had been watching the commotion, immediately became displeased and jumped in front of Dong Jianguo to protect him: "What the hell are you doing?! If you have something to say, say it. Don't resort to violence, understand?!"

Zhang Cunyi glanced at Erzhuzi, seeing the guy's muscular build and obvious he couldn't beat him, and swallowed hard. But he wasn't about to lose face:

"So what if I do it?! What's it to you?!"

"Holy crap! Getting excited, huh?!"

Erzhuzi snorted softly, turned around, and shouted into the bustling courtyard:

"Is anyone alive?! Someone's trying to bully Brother Jianguo!"

Upon hearing his words, the workers from the textile factory who were carrying eggs back and forth in Dong Jianguo's yard put down the egg boxes they were holding and rushed out of the yard to surround the group.

Working with Dong Jianguo these days has not only allowed us to earn money to support our families, but the physical condition of the workers has also improved considerably due to the constant moving around.

The muscles under their work clothes were bulging, stretching the clothes to an exaggerated curve.

Surrounded by these men, Zhang Cunyi dared not act arrogantly anymore. He opened his mouth, then turned to look at his second aunt:

"Auntie, look what Dong Jianguo has done! He snatched the eggs he was supposed to give me, and now he's calling for people to fight me!"

"This must be the Dong family's beloved eldest nephew, right?!"