1994: Starting with unpaid leave

Everyone in the living room was stunned.

The suggestion of 5 or 6 kilograms of eggs was already shocking enough, but now Jian Guo has "even bigger ideas"?

The second uncle stubbed out his cigarette and sat up straight: "Oh? Tell me about it."

"I want to start a food processing plant."

"Sir, you're the factory manager, you have a wide network of connections. I'd like to ask you to help me find out if there are any food processing plants in the city that are not doing well and are about to close down? Or perhaps some old equipment that large state-owned factories are discarding?"

"I want to buy a machine!"

Second Uncle Dong Xuefeng was stunned. Not only him, but his two cousins ​​also looked incredulous.

Dong Jianguo's egg business is booming, so why would he want to open a factory?!

And opening a factory...

We are all factory workers. State-owned factories are struggling to survive, so how much better can private factories be?

The eldest brother, Dong Huguo, cleared his throat: "Jianguo, let's focus on doing our business well first. You're taking such big steps, you might accidentally tear something out of us..."

Dong Jianguo shook his head, his eyes becoming deep and thoughtful.

"Grandpa, Big Brother, Second Brother, have you ever thought about it? What do we rely on to sell eggs now? We rely on physical strength, on our silver tongue, and on going door-to-door to promote them."

Dong Jianguo said slowly, "Although this can make money, it's hard-earned money, and there's a ceiling to it. How much can we sell in a day? 1000 jin? 2000 jin? I have seven or eight of my non-working colleagues from the factory helping me sell, and we still can't sell 10,000 jin a day."

"Making money like this can't go on forever."

"I believe that if you're going to make money, you should make money without any limit!"

"Unlimited money?" The second uncle was taken aback and looked at his two sons.

As it turned out, both of his sons were just as confused as he was.

Dong Jianguo stood up and paced around the living room: "That's right! Hecheng only has a population of three or four million. No matter how many people there are in the three northern districts, the number of eggs they can eat each day is limited. Even if everyone came to buy eggs from me, how many could they possibly buy?"

"But if you look at it from another angle, if you send the eggs to other cities to sell, the profits... there's no limit to how much you can earn!"

Second brother Dong Xingguo scratched his head: "Send it to another city?"

"How do you deliver? Do you drive? Will the money you earn cover the gas money?!"

"Besides, if you bump into something on this road, your balls will probably break!"

Dong Jianguo laughed too: "Second Brother, what I mean is, don't send ordinary eggs, send processed eggs!"

"To be honest, I've been considering investing in a food processing plant, starting with braised eggs!"

"After the braised eggs are made, vacuum packaging not only extends their shelf life but also allows them to be packed and shipped without worrying about damage during transportation... In this way, not only can the goods be shipped out of Northeast China, but they can also be delivered to Guangdong and Hainan Island!"

"Once we establish sales channels, we can try other processed food products!"

"That way, there's no limit to how much money you can make!"

"In the past, what we transported from the north to the south were machine tools, steel, oil, and timber!"

"Those methods don't work now, but we still have our black soil! The grains grown there and the agricultural products raised there can still be sold in the south, as long as they're packaged!"

Dong Jianguo's words were firm and resounding.

Upon hearing this, the entire Dong family stared blankly at Dong Jianguo, wondering what was wrong with his brain.

In those days, most people's understanding of agricultural products was still limited to "selling raw materials".

It is truly remarkable that Dong Jianguo came up with the idea of ​​"deep processing".

What's even more impressive is that he's so young, yet he's quite ambitious.

We haven't even seen a single product yet, and they're already thinking about selling it in the south!

After hearing this, Uncle Er thought for a while, his brows furrowing and relaxing intermittently.

As a veteran factory manager, he was all too aware of the power of "deep processing." The same raw materials, after processing, could double in value, and it could also solve major problems related to storage and transportation.

However, starting a factory is different from the wholesale and retail business that Dong Jianguo did before.

Not only are the costs high, but if the sales problem isn't solved, the pressure of not having enough inventory to sell can be overwhelming!

If things go wrong, you could lose everything.

Can this child do a good job?

However, it's not a good time to say discouraging things.

It's something to be encouraged if a child has this kind of thinking.

Thinking of this, Dong Xuefeng nodded:

"Jianguo, I support your idea!"

"You're right. I still have quite a few old buddies in the Machinery Bureau and Light Industry Bureau. Those large state-owned factories aren't doing well these days; they do have a lot of idle equipment, some even ready to be sold as scrap metal. Anyway, I'll be retiring in less than two years, so even if it means losing face, I'll help you find suitable machines! What kind of machines do you need?"

Dong Jianguo was prepared and took out a piece of paper from his pocket.

This list of records came in handy this morning after I asked Zhong Zhengtao at the meat processing plant.

Dong Huguo and Xingguo, the two brothers, also came over.

"Second Uncle, this is a list made by a professional I found based on the braised egg process we're going to make."

Dong Jianguo spread the paper out on the coffee table and pointed to the items on it, "First of all, there is a braising pot. The ordinary ones used at home won't do. You need a big one, preferably one that can braise a thousand or so eggs."

"Secondly, there's the sterilization pot. Once the braised eggs are made, they must be sterilized at high temperatures to ensure they don't spoil for six months. This thing has to be a pressure vessel; safety comes first."

"Also, there are egg washing machines and egg boiling machines. We have a large production volume, and washing and boiling eggs manually is too slow and involves burning your hands. It would be best to have automated equipment..."

After Dong Jianguo finished speaking, he looked up at his second uncle, who was frowning as he looked at the list:

"Second Uncle, then we're counting on you!"

"Don't thank me yet." The second uncle waved his hand, his expression turning serious again. "I can help you find the machines. But how to build the factory, how to recruit workers, and how to develop sales channels are all your own business."

He looked at Dong Jianguo and said earnestly, "Jianguo, remember this: running a factory isn't like selling eggs. If you lose money selling eggs, you can just start over; but if you lose money running a factory, it's an abyss. If you want to make this 'unlimited' money, you have to be prepared to take on 'unlimited' risks!"

"I understand, Second Uncle!" Dong Jianguo nodded emphatically. "Since I dared to bring it up, I was mentally prepared!"

"Alright!" Second Uncle Dong Xuefeng stood up, walked to the door, opened it, and shouted outside, "Protect the country! Revitalize the country! Go, bring out that bottle of Moutai! Today, I'm going to have a good drink with my promising nephew!"

"I'll go get you some snacks to go with your drinks!" said the second aunt, getting up and heading to the kitchen.

"Second Uncle, what are you going to do with that? I already brought some!"

Dong Jianguo pointed, revealing a corner of the gift box of cigarettes and alcohol he had placed on the table, and quietly looked at the Dong family members in the room...