1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Little Tyrant, endless fun.

Back then, the sound of the TV kept countless children glued to their screens for hours.

However, this thing is not cheap.

"The early Little Tyrant (Famicom) game console cost two hundred yuan."

"The new Subor learning machine that just came out has Jackie Chan as its spokesperson, and it'll probably cost around 300 yuan. If only the packaging didn't have Jackie Chan on it, it might be a few dozen yuan cheaper..."

After hearing Xiuyun say this, Dong Jianguo was genuinely worried that she might try to stop him.

I received two people's wages this morning, which amounted to just over 700 yuan.

Adding the money I spent on buying ribs for my parents today, and then buying a new learning machine, almost half of that money is gone before I even have a chance to enjoy it.

Zhou Xiuyun, sitting in the back seat of the car, was also somewhat surprised when Dong Jianguo mentioned the price of the game console.

But she still had some doubts.

This morning at the factory gate, Jianguo promised not to play mahjong anymore. Is it because he's planning to stay home and play video games?

However, compared to losing money playing mahjong, playing video games at home doesn't seem so bad.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xiuyun hesitated before speaking:

"Okay then... but you can't play for too long each day, an hour at most, okay?"

Dong Jianguo, who was pedaling hard, felt pampered.

How can life be the same no matter who you spend it with?!

He reached out to his wife for money, and she tearfully handed over the last twelve yuan and fifty cents they had at home.

He asked to buy a game console, and even after knowing it was expensive, he still supported me!

Xiuyun, the more you act like this, the more I feel like I've wronged you in my past life!

Dong Jianguo's eyes started to sting again.

However, he still gave a brief explanation:

"Honey, this learning machine isn't for my own use. I'm planning to give it as a gift..."

"A gift? To whom?"

"My second uncle is the director of a fire equipment factory. Although the factory is not big, it is still a downstream unit of a state-owned enterprise."

"Several of his comrades-in-arms served as secretaries in farms in Angsi District. I heard that those farms were all tertiary industry farms under the railway bureau."

"So I'm planning to give some gifts to my second uncle and try to find a way through him. If I can get cheap supplies, there's nothing I can't make money selling these days!"

Zhou Xiuyun pressed her small head against Dong Jianguo's back, listened carefully to his words, and then thought about them seriously:

"Don't you want to go back to work at the factory?"

"I'm not going back. This factory is doomed to close down sooner or later. Even if I stayed, I'd just be wasting my life..."

Dong Jianguo was not talking nonsense.

In the previous life, the fine weaving factory did not last long in the wave of market-oriented reforms. After laying off all the workers, the factory was acquired several times, but in the end, it could not leave anything behind. Like most state-owned factories of the old era, it disappeared from this land.

This time, Dong Jianguo did not want to go against the tide and strive to change the fate of the factory.

As long as one's family can live a peaceful and stable life with enough to eat and drink, and ideally achieve a comfortable standard of living ahead of schedule, that would be great.

Money doesn't have to be a lot, just enough to get by.

Now he thinks more about spending more time with his wife and children, and making up for what he owed in his past life...

"But wouldn't what we're doing be considered speculation and profiteering?"

"No, times have changed. The country is now advocating for the vigorous development of a market economy, so no one will question it."

Dong Jianguo said confidently.

After all, he was very familiar with the process and was confident in the historical events that were bound to happen.

"I see... Jian Guo, you know so much..."

"Xiuyun, please don't be like this, I'm afraid I'll become arrogant..."

"But I'm telling the truth. All I know is working in a factory, coming home to do laundry and cook, and stuff like that. I've never even thought about what you're talking about. If you think it's okay, then go for it!"

After saying that, she paused for a moment, then added, "If you feel you don't have enough capital to start a business, we can talk to my older sisters and borrow some from them. If that's still not enough, I'll go to my parents!"

"No, no, no, we don't need that much..."

Perhaps because of aging, Dong Jianguo's eye sockets are much shallower than those of younger people.

Being trusted and pampered by a woman he had wronged in a past life, Dong Jianguo felt a mixture of warmth and bitterness in his heart, and his face was dampened by the wind blowing in his face...

Hearing that something was wrong with the voice, Xiuyun asked, "Jianguo, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's just a bit windy, and my eyes are watering a little..."

"Then take a rest. There's no rush. We'll leave after the wind dies down."

"Um."

Dong Jianguo stopped his bicycle, and after Xiuyun got off, he also got off his bike, stood in front of his wife, and reached out to brush the hair from her forehead.

"what?"

"Let me see what kind of woman has such good taste to choose me!"

"Wait a minute, what happened to the wound on your forehead?"

Xiuyun's morning wounds were now completely smooth.

Dong Jianguo looked at it over and over several times, but found nothing unusual. To confirm, he even pressed it with his hand.

Zhou Xiuyun burst out laughing:

"Stop pressing! Sister Tian told me to put on some makeup while you're drunk so you'll feel guilty and won't dare to hit me again... She said that's how her mother dealt with her father..."

Dong Jianguo was taken aback, unable to distinguish for a moment who was the hunter and who was the fox.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Xiuyun quickly apologized softly:

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied to you... but it hurt so much when you hit me before... that's why..."

"Stop talking, you'll be punished if you lie to me."

"what?"

This time, it was Zhou Xiuyun's turn to be stunned.

Does it matter who the hunter is?

As long as the guilt in my heart is real, that's enough.

Thinking of this, Dong Jianguo cupped her face and kissed her rosy lips...

……

When the two arrived at their elder brother's house, the family was sitting happily watching TV in the south-facing bedroom.

Father Dong Xuewen had already woken up and was sitting on the edge of the bed.

The eldest brother, Dong Baoguo, had already gone home from get off work, and his son, Dong Xiaojun, had also finished his tutoring class. The only family member at home was his sister-in-law, who was a train attendant and was away on duty.

However, Zhang Guifen was thinking about her children. After her youngest son left, she called her second son's machine tool factory and her daughter's winery, asking them to come home and have some ribs together.

As Dong Xiaojun opened the door, he cheered, "Uncle and Auntie are back! Time to eat ribs!"

The eldest brother, Dong Baoguo, chuckled and joked:

"The third brother's back! We're all so lucky to have him back today!"

The second brother, Dong Weiguo, was not a talkative man; he simply smiled and nodded at the two of them.

The eldest sister, Dong Shaoying, was the most enthusiastic. She stood up, pulled Zhou Xiuyun over, and helped her to her side with a smile: "Come on, Xiuyun, sit next to me!"

"Sister, no need, I'll go help in the kitchen."

"Oh dear, you're not feeling well, please sit down and rest... I'll go!"

After settling Xiuyun in, she got up and went to the kitchen to help her mother, Zhang Guifen, serve the dishes.

Dong Jianguo didn't know what others thought, but he was genuinely happy to see this scene.

The eldest and second eldest brothers' hair is not yet white, and the eldest sister is still virtuous and beautiful.

And the parents are only in their fifties, and in good health.

If you can also live a life without worrying about money, food, or drink, and have a big house to live in, what kind of heavenly life would that be?!