1994: Starting with unpaid leave

On the other side, Dong Jianguo didn't linger long at the entrance of the Industry and Commerce Bureau. He put the stack of documents he had just received into his briefcase, hopped on his bicycle, and headed straight for the old bungalow.

He could tell that Li Wan's gaze held a complex and ambiguous emotion.

Therefore, it's best to clarify some things in advance.

Although obtaining the license quickly through Li Wan might be suspected of exploiting her feelings.

However, the efficiency of government agencies in the north has always been a major problem, and without her help, it's really unknown how long it would take to get the license.

"As for the favors I owe, I'll find a way to repay them later..."

Back in the old bungalow, Xiuyun, Hongmei, and their goddaughter Yueyue continued to sell eggs at home.

The braised egg factory has only produced its first batch of products so far, and they have already been packaged and stored in the warehouse.

There are no orders, and there's no rush to expand manpower for mass production.

Seeing Dong Jianguo return, Xiuyun wiped her hands and smiled gently, "Is everything done?"

"Yes, it's all taken care of." Dong Jianguo nodded, took out the papers from his bag, and said, "From now on, we're a regular army."

Xiuyun took the document, her eyes welling up with tears.

Who could have imagined that everything would feel like a dream in the past two months?

She still vividly remembers the scene of her crying to her husband that they only had a dozen yuan at home. Now, she not only has a business that makes a sure profit, but she also has a factory.

Dong Jianguo walked over and gently put his arm around his wife's shoulder: "It's just a few certificates, what's there to cry about?"

"I didn't cry!" Xiuyun raised her head. "Even if I did cry, it wasn't because of these few pieces of paper!"

Seeing her stubbornness, Dong Jianguo reached out and gently pinched her pert nose: "Then why are you crying?"

"I'm just worried about you going to Harbin for several days..."

"What's there to worry about! You've already sewed the money back up!"

Hearing Dong Jianguo's words, Xiuyun blushed, remembering what happened last night.

Xiuyun had little experience with traveling long distances.

I only saw on TV that there were countless serious cases of theft, robbery, and kidnapping at train stations and on trains, and it was very chaotic.

So when Xiuyun learned that Dong Jianguo and Erzhuzi were going to Harbin, she was naturally worried.

She asked several customers who came to her house to buy eggs what was the safest way to carry money on the road, and finally chose the most reliable method:

They sewed a big pocket onto Dong Jianguo's underwear!

This old-fashioned style left Dong Jianguo both amused and exasperated.

This trip to Harbin wasn't just about sales; the main purpose was to repay Director Wan of the Harbin Railway Bureau the remaining payment for the house.

Originally, Dong Jianguo intended to deposit the money into a passbook and withdraw it in another location.

But Xiuyun was worried about the small handling fee and insisted that he put the money in his underwear pocket...

It cost a full 50,000 yuan, and after stuffing it in, my pockets were bulging.

In Dong Jianguo's words:

"Even if a woman's skin sags, it shouldn't be this bad!"

As a result, Xiuyun had no choice but to give up and let him deposit the money into the passbook first. As for her, she kept 2000 yuan for Dong Jianguo and sewed it into his underwear along with the passbook.

"You're making fun of me!"

"How could I dare! After the baby is born, you and your child will both look down on me."

Dong Jianguo reached out and touched Xiuyun's belly.

Sensing something was wrong, the little orange in his wife's belly kicked him.

"Hey, stop messing around!"

Xiuyun looked up and gently punched Dong Jianguo's shoulder, her eyes filled with happiness...

……

The following day at noon, Dong Jianguo and Erzhuzi boarded a train to Harbin, the provincial capital.

By 1994, there were already express trains with the prefix T.

However, even with express trains, it takes more than three hours to travel from Hecheng to Harbin. This is not only incomparable to the high-speed rail of the future, but also far inferior to the T-series express trains that have undergone several speed increases in the years to come.

As soon as he boarded the train, a pungent odor of sweat, body odor, tobacco, and toilet smell hit him, causing Erzhuzi, who was taking a train for the first time, to frown.

"Why does this smell so strong?"

"Just bear with it. The smell is really bad on those old green trains with the 'K' prefix. This train is much better."

Dong Jianguo walked ahead carrying his travel bag, beckoning Erzhuzi to follow.

Following the crowded flow of people, the two squeezed their way to their seats, stuffed the travel bag containing the braised eggs under the seats, and finally breathed a sigh of relief before sitting down.

This train came from Hailar; Hecheng is not the starting station.

So the bus was already packed with people.

One batch goes down, another batch comes up, and it's still packed full.

The bus had barely started moving when the attendant, pushing a small cart, appeared along the aisle:

"Beer, soft drinks, mineral water, please move aside!"

"Peanut and melon seed eight-treasure porridge, please pull your legs together!"

As he passed by Dong Jianguo, he reached out to stop him and casually asked:

"Hey buddy, do you have Master Kong brand? How much is a bucket?"

"Yes, braised beef is 6 yuan, want a bucket?"

The exorbitant price left Erzhuzi, who was sitting opposite Dong Jianguo, speechless.

"No, I was just asking." Dong Jianguo waved his hand with a smile.

The flight attendant rolled her eyes and was about to push the cart away when a passenger sitting to Dong Jianguo's right called out to her:

"Give me a serving of braised beef!"

"Okay!"

The flight attendant instantly switched to a smiling face and handed a portion to the man next to her.

"The hot water is at the connection between the carriages. Be careful when you get the water, sir, don't get burned."

The man buying the noodles nodded and took the noodles to get hot water to make instant noodles, going in the opposite direction from the flight attendant.

Erzhuzi was a little puzzled: "Brother Jianguo, this noodle is almost twice as expensive as the ones outside. The people on the bus are really making a profit!"

"You should look at it from a different perspective. If the ticket sellers on the train all sold our braised eggs, wouldn't we be able to make a fortune too?"

"I don't think so. When they're buying goods, they have to drive down the price like crazy, don't they?"

Dong Jianguo smiled and shook his head, saying nothing.

There are many complexities involved in large-scale procurement like this.

Routers that cost hundreds of thousands to purchase actually only cost a few hundred, and they dare to sell them directly to universities with just a few zeros added.

It's not impossible for a small business like braised eggs to become a win-win situation.

I just want to do this business; there's no hope of promoting it through train attendants.

We must first find a way to open up the top-level channel.

When a leader has a commanding perspective, those below must do everything they can to make things happen beautifully and brilliantly.

So, there was another ulterior motive behind this trip to deliver the money for Deputy Director Wan's accommodation; it's just a matter of whether the trip will achieve its intended purpose...

Well, things can never be perfect, but let's strive to have a clear conscience...