1994: Starting with unpaid leave

No, before coming in, Secretary Wang clearly said that Director Zhang was incorruptible. How come he's suddenly become so direct now?

A direct, close-range shot?

That's so unprofessional!

Dong Jianguo frowned, noticing a sly glint in Director Zhang's eyes. Recalling what Secretary Wang had said on the way there, he suddenly realized what was going on.

He smiled and replied, "Director Zhang, do you really want to be like Deputy Director Wan?"

"certainly!"

"good!"

Dong Jianguo bent down and placed the travel bag on the ground directly on Director Zhang's desk.

"I gave Director Wan a bag of braised eggs...Where would you like me to put these eggs?"

"Cough cough cough... Who said I wanted these eggs?! I was talking about benefits! You're a businessman, surely you understand this basic principle?!"

Director Zhang tapped the table, his face darkening.

"I really don't know. Could you please explain it to me in detail, Director Zhang?"

"you……"

"If you're not going to tell me, then I'll take my leave. But..."

"But what?" Director Zhang looked at Dong Jianguo curiously.

"I just feel a little regretful. On my way to Harbin, I took the train. Along the way, the best-selling item on the train was Master Kong instant noodles."

"I'm curious, since we're selling things anyway, why not sell products from our own province instead of going through the trouble of selling other people's products?"

"Is it simply because they're willing to pay?"

Dong Jianguo shrugged, didn't take his travel bag, and turned to leave.

Seeing Dong Jianguo push the door open to leave, Director Zhang called him back:

"Congratulations, you passed the test."

"Pass the test? Pass what test?" Dong Jianguo feigned ignorance, asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Director Zhang smiled and said, "It's nothing. It's just that too many suppliers have tried to curry favor with me by trying to gain business benefits by bribing me. In this position, I have to be careful."

"However, I do need some benefits."

He pointed to the two plates of braised eggs on the table and said seriously:

"The 'benefits' I want are the quality of your braised eggs! I want you to guarantee that every single egg delivered to the train must be as impeccable as these two you've just shown me! That's the 'benefits' you're giving me, and it's also the 'benefits' you're giving to Director Wan!"

Dong Jianguo instantly understood. Director Zhang was using a very special method to remind him to always keep quality in mind.

"Director Zhang, don't worry!"

Dong Jianguo straightened his back and said firmly, "I, Dong Jianguo, guarantee with my life that Hezhiwei's braised eggs will absolutely not have any quality problems!"

"Good!" Director Zhang slammed his hand on the table. "With you saying that, I'll trust you this once."

"We'll pre-order 100 boxes of your braised eggs and distribute them on the train lines between Harbin and Hefei!"

"As for future cooperation, let's see how the first batch of goods sells first."

"However, even though we've already started cooperating, if there's a problem with the braised eggs delivered to the train, you'll not only have to bear the losses yourself, but we can also terminate the purchasing relationship at any time. Do you understand?"

"I understand! But that definitely won't happen!"

Upon seeing the purchase and sales contract handed to him by Director Zhang, Dong Jianguo nodded solemnly...

……

In 1994, the National Day holiday was only three days long.

But for people who only had one day off a week at the time, these three days off were a long and coveted holiday.

During this rare holiday, travelers who need to visit relatives and friends have made the train station much busier than usual.

At 9:00 AM, train K1234 departed from Hecheng and headed to Harbin.

On the train.

Flight attendant Xiao Li felt a chill run down her spine as she looked at the massive crowd.

In this situation, pushing a food cart piled high with snacks back and forth in the carriage is practically like being tortured.

However, he knew all too well that going to work was torture.

With a sigh, he pushed his cart and merged into the crowd.

"Beer, soft drinks, mineral water, peanuts, sunflower seeds, eight-treasure porridge..."

Repetitive words, crowded roads—what else could this be but torture?

The car was pushed to the middle of the carriage, but it was blocked by the crowd and couldn't be moved an inch.

Xiao Li sighed, wishing the carriage would explode right now, feeling utterly hopeless.

"Grandpa, a red-crowned crane..."

"Nonsense, there aren't any red-crowned cranes outside the car!"

"He wasn't outside, he was inside the train carriage."

Next to Xiao Li, a 4 or 5-year-old boy was whispering in his grandfather's arms.

His grandfather followed the little boy's gaze and finally saw a red-crowned crane spreading its wings.

The novel packaging instantly caught the attention of the grandfather and grandson.

He patted the flight attendant, Xiao Li, on the shoulder: "Young man, what's this? How much is it?"

Xiao Li glanced down at it, then took it out and waved it at the old man:

"These are braised eggs, a new item on our truck, one yuan fifty each."

"One yuan and fifty cents, that's so expensive!" The old man frowned.

Not only him, but the passengers next to him also chimed in:

"My god, what kind of egg is so expensive!"

"Exactly! Buying two eggs on the bus is enough to buy a pound of eggs outside! That's outrageous!"

Xiao Li felt depressed. He had only recently graduated from railway technical school and was still not used to the passengers' sarcasm. He felt wronged.

The price of this item is not something the flight attendants can decide.

Fortunately, a kind-hearted older brother helped out of the predicament:

"Alright, alright, the things on the train are expensive to begin with, you all know that... Selling things is the conductor's job, if you don't want to buy, fine, don't put it so harshly. Young man, give me one to try."

I took the braised eggs and tore open the packaging.

"Um?"

The aroma seemed to have grown wings, desperately trying to penetrate the noses of the surrounding passengers.

The older brother ate half a piece at a time, chewed a few times, and then a look of surprise appeared on his face:

"Wow, this egg...it tastes really good! The egg white is flavorful, the yolk is sandy, and it even has a meaty aroma!"

The older brother's exclamation attracted the attention of the surrounding passengers.

"Really? It's that delicious?"

On the bus, there were people who cared about money, and there were people who didn't. Hearing someone say it was delicious, and smelling the aroma, they immediately reached into their pockets.

"Give me one too!"

"Me too!"

"I want two!"

The once deserted and neglected shopping cart was suddenly surrounded by a crowd!

Looking at the banknotes waving in everyone's hands, Xiao Li cleared his throat and said, "Don't worry, everyone, there are plenty! There are plenty!"