1994: Starting with unpaid leave

The reason why pickled chicken feet have become a national snack, making it hard to stop eating once you start, is because it achieves an ultimate balance in terms of texture, taste, and psychological stimulation.

The most important aspect is the interplay between the crisp, bouncy texture and the gelatinous substance in the mouth.

Soaking the cooked chicken feet in ice water immediately during the cooking process will cause the skin to shrink quickly.

This allows the teeth to easily bite through the tight outer layer when it enters the mouth, producing a crisp sound that can only be heard in one's mind.

Once you bite through the skin, you'll find meat rich in collagen inside.

After being marinated, this part of the meat retains its fibrous texture and absorbs the broth, giving it a bouncy and soft texture similar to jelly when chewed.

Of course, the balance of the "golden triangle" of flavors—sour, spicy, and umami—also plays a crucial role.

Sourness can instantly awaken the taste buds, cut through greasiness, and stimulate the appetite.

The spiciness comes from pickled peppers and wild chili peppers. Its salty and savory spiciness is mild and penetrating. It is not as pungent as chili powder, but it can generate heat continuously.

The natural aroma of chicken feet, the richness of collagen, combined with the complex fragrance of ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and other seasonings, create a deep and savory base.

With all these factors combined, once it was launched, pickled chicken feet quickly gained a firm foothold in the hearts of the people.

"It tastes amazing! Honey, you have such a talent for making these things!"

Dong Jianguo spared no praise, making sure to give Xiuyun ample emotional value.

Xiuyun was skeptical: "Really? I think this tastes weird, I haven't dared to eat it..."

Dong Jianguo nodded: "What I said is definitely true, but since you're pregnant now, it's best not to eat anything indiscriminately."

"Is there still room for improvement?"

Dong Jianguo ate another chicken foot, thought for a moment, and nodded:

"Actually, it doesn't have to be boneless. Sometimes, the feeling of tearing meat off the bone when gnawing on chicken feet can bring a unique sense of satisfaction..."

Zhou Xiuyun didn't believe it: "I even kindly tried to remove your bones, what kind of twisted logic and heresy is this?"

"Seriously, I saw it in a food magazine."

"Honey, think about it. When we eat sunflower seeds, don't we often find ourselves unable to stop once we start? During the New Year, we could eat them all afternoon!"

"But if someone gives you a bag of shelled sunflower seeds, you probably won't be able to eat more than a few bites before you get tired of them..."

After listening and thinking about it, Xiuyun realized that it really did seem to be true what Dong Jianguo had said.

"Okay, but there are still a lot of chicken feet I didn't debone. Shall I bring them out for you to try?"

"No need, I'm going out later." Dong Jianguo called out to Zhou Xiuyun, "Tonight, Engineer Zhong from the meat processing plant is coming to the factory. I was thinking we could all have dinner together."

"Your pickled chicken feet are the grand finale tonight! We'll save mine for later!"

"Hmm, I just happened to have made some spiced chicken feet. I'll have Sister Hongmei bring Yueyue over to eat with us later."

"Okay, you can arrange it as you see fit."

Dong Jianguo pinched Xiuyun's cheek, then turned around and went to the storeroom to take out four boxes of braised eggs, placing them on the back of his bicycle...

The recruitment of sales staff went surprisingly smoothly.

From the list of more than 60 candidates, Dong Jianguo selected four female workers based on his impression.

Wang Guiying (31 years old, female worker in Workshop 1), Li Xiulan (30 years old, group leader of packaging group in Workshop 2), Gao Cailing (28 years old, sales representative in sales department), and Shi Huilan (26 years old, quality inspector in Workshop 3).

In my memory, all four of them are eloquent and persuasive. Let alone doing sales, they could definitely become the backbone of a team if they were to do sales as specialists.

Since they were all acquaintances from the factory, Dong Jianguo invited the four of them directly to the courtyard of the old bungalow.

Knowing that there might be a turning point in their work situation, no one hesitated and dropped their housework to come over.

As soon as everyone arrived, Dong Jianguo placed a box of braised eggs with meat gravy in front of each person.

"Jianguo, what do you mean by this? Didn't you ask us to work for you? Why are you giving us things?" Wang Guiying, the oldest among them, looked bewildered and asked first, seeing that everyone else looked equally confused.

Dong Jianguo smiled at the four people:

"I want you to work for me, but not as factory workers; I want you to do sales."

"Sale?"

Upon hearing the job title, the three looked at each other in bewilderment.

Only Gao Cailing, who had worked in the sales department, showed no extra reaction on her face.

"My food factory currently only produces two products, both of which are braised eggs. You should have all received your braised eggs when you came back from the factory this afternoon, right?"

Each of these four boxes contains 40 sealed braised eggs, just like the ones you received this afternoon. Each box is priced at 20 yuan.

If you're interested in this sales position, then this is what you'll be selling for the next period of time.

Dong Jianguo patiently explained his idea to the four of them, clearly stating where they were going and which stores they were looking for to promote their products.

Wang Guifen asked, "What kind of benefits are they like?"

"Sales staff are paid differently than regular female workers. Your base salary is only 100 yuan."

Seeing that Wang Guiying was about to interrupt again, Dong Jianguo waved his hand and continued, "But don't worry, everyone, there's a commission on sales. For every box of braised eggs sold, you'll get 1 yuan."

"If we can sell two hundred boxes a month, we'll be treated the same as ordinary female workers."

"If you can sell 500 boxes a month, you can earn twice the salary of an ordinary female worker."

"The top-performing salesperson will receive an extra bonus..."

Dong Jianguo himself had run a business and knew that having a kind heart alone was not enough to motivate employees.

Necessary incentive measures must be implemented.

Sure enough, upon hearing that it would cost 600 yuan a month, the eyes of the group, who had been somewhat hesitant, immediately lit up.

They were all people who had just lost their jobs, and earning 600 yuan a month was very attractive to them.

However, some people are dissatisfied, feeling that there is still room for negotiation.

For example, Wang Guiying said:

"Brother Jianguo, this commission is a bit low. Could you offer a larger one?"

Before Dong Jianguo could speak, Gao Cailing, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up:

"A box of braised eggs costs only 20 yuan, and you can get 1 yuan commission for each sale. That's a 5% commission rate, which is already quite high."

"Oh, I see. Xiao Gao, you know so much!"

After Wang Guiying finished speaking, she rolled her eyes at Gao Cailing's expressionless profile.

Dong Jianguo nodded:

"Apart from Xiao Gao, none of the other three have experience with this job, but I think you all have good speaking skills, so I wanted to ask if you would be interested in doing it."

"If you have any, take this box of braised eggs back. You can use it as a sample pack and start promoting it to different places from now on."

"Come to my place with the order form before noon tomorrow."

Dong Jianguo held up three fingers and waved them in front of the group:

"I'll only hire the top three salespeople who get the most orders. But don't worry, I'll give them all the commissions they're entitled to..."