1994: Starting with unpaid leave

"To be honest, I rarely eat spicy food, but the spiciness of these chicken feet is quite unique. Not only is it tolerable for me, but I also felt quite comfortable after eating them!"

"It gave me a feeling that I wanted to eat it again and again!"

"Hiss... This tastes so weird! I've worked in a meat processing plant for so long, and I've never eaten anything that tastes this strange..."

After Zhong Zhengtao finished speaking, he couldn't help but pick up another one.

Dong Jianguo poured him a beer at the opportune moment:

"Come on, Mr. Zhong, have some wine to cool down your temper!"

Having been reborn once, he naturally knew what was going on.

Although he disliked showing off in front of others, in order to avoid Zhong Gong suspecting that Xiuyun had added something strange to the chicken feet, he had no choice but to explain:

"I've heard that spiciness itself isn't a taste, but rather a 'pain' sensation caused by chemicals like capsaicin stimulating nerve endings in the mouth."

"The same applies to pickled chicken feet; the capsaicin in them stimulates pain receptors in the mouth, causing the brain to mistakenly perceive a 'burning' sensation."

To cope with this "injury," the brain activates a self-protective mechanism, releasing endorphins to relieve pain. Endorphins not only alleviate pain but also bring a feeling of relaxation, pleasure, and even excitement.

Many opioid enhancers work in the human body by chemically transforming into endorphins after ingestion...

As Dong Jianguo explained, he clinked glasses with Zhong Gong.

Although Mr. Chung works at a meat processing plant and is a graduate of a food science program, he had never heard of such obscure and little-known facts before.

Only when the other person was about to clink glasses with him did he raise his glass and sincerely praise them:

"Director Dong is truly knowledgeable!"

"No, I was just browsing through newspapers and magazines..."

Erzhuzi couldn't help but interject:

"Mr. Zhong, don't let Jianguo's background fool you; he's incredibly capable! I've worked with him for so long, and I've never seen him fail at anything!"

Dong Jianguo waved his hand: "Hey! Why are you dragging me into this chicken feet thing!"

Zhao Hongmei gave Zhou Xiuyun a heartfelt thumbs-up.

"Xiuyun has been busy all day by herself. I was wondering what she was busy with, and it turns out she made such delicious food. She's amazing!"

"No, these all belong to the founding of the nation..."

Just as Zhou Xiuyun was about to explain, Dong Jianguo bumped her thigh:

"My wife's success at tonight's dinner table was all thanks to my strong support! I told her that as her husband, I must fully support her ideas!"

"That's a straightforward statement, a real man's words!" Erzhuzi raised his glass and clinked it with Dong Jianguo's.

"A real man!"

Little Yueyue followed suit, raising her drink bottle and cheerfully clinking glasses with her godfather.

After gnawing on two more chicken feet, Zhong Zhengtao thought for a moment and said, "Jianguo, there's something I want to ask you."

"To be honest, I have even more confidence in these chicken feet than in the braised eggs you made before."

"I'm just a little worried..."

"What are you worried about?"

Zhong Zhengtao adjusted his glasses: "Chicken feet are much more expensive than eggs. Even with bulk purchases, the cost is still much higher than for eggs. What are your plans regarding the cost of these raw materials?"

Dong Jianguo smiled helplessly.

He naturally knew that raw materials were a major problem.

But he is truly powerless to do anything about it now.

Crane Flavor is just starting out. As a small factory of this size, it has no position in the supply chain and no bargaining power at all.

"Mr. Zhong, I'm all ears for your suggestions."

Do you know how our meat processing plant solves its meat supply problem?

"Let's set up a tertiary industry farm in another county."

"That's right!"

Zhong Gong leaned close to Dong Jianguo's ear and said:

"I heard that the group is short of money recently and intends to sell some of its underperforming tertiary industry farms."

"I was thinking, if you had money... maybe this is an opportunity."

opportunity!

A golden opportunity!

Dong Jianguo's eyes lit up.

Once you have your own farm, not only can the cost of purchasing eggs be greatly reduced, but the profit margin of braised eggs can also be much higher.

Most importantly, the procurement of other agricultural and sideline products will no longer be a problem!

You should know that in his past life, he sold far more popular snacks than just pickled chicken feet!

A single chicken leg can be made into multiple flavors such as salt-baked, Orleans-style, and honey-glazed...

Wouldn't this life just take off from where it is?!

"I heard from a colleague at the meat processing plant that our plant's farm in Meiqu is going to be sold for 350,000 yuan. I don't know if it's true or not."

"If you're interested, I can help you look into it?"

Ideals are lofty, but reality is cruel; being broke is a major weakness.

Even if you mortgage the house in Xijuzhai to the bank and pour all your profits into it, you probably still wouldn't be able to get half a decent farm.

"Mr. Zhong, thank you, but... I don't have enough money on me."

"Besides, the braised eggs haven't found a market yet, and the factory can't function without people. If I were to add a farm, I'd need trustworthy people to help me manage it..."

"I'll think about it again in a while..."

"Okay, anyway, things are always unpredictable in the factory, and the leaders' words are like farts, there's no certainty about them."

Clearly under the influence of alcohol, Zhong Zhengtao, a college student, couldn't help but start cursing his superiors.

Once the topic came up, everyone immediately found common ground.

"Who can argue with that? Our textile factory was originally a great factory, but it was ruined by two successive factory directors and turned into this mess."

"Half of them went home and were put on standby before National Day! If you ask me, if it weren't for that bastard Gao Yi's terrible management, the factory could have held on for another five or six years without any problems!"

Fueled by alcohol, Erzhuzi started cursing the factory manager, Gao Yi.

Zhao Hongmei was also full of resentment about this matter:

"When they needed us, they told everyone to treat the factory as their home. Now that they don't need us anymore, they tell us not to hold the factory back. They've said all the right and wrong things to us, as if we workers are just supposed to be bullied?!"

"Sister Hongmei, calm down..."

Xiuyun placed a chicken foot on Zhao Hongmei's plate and patted her on the back.

"Xiuyun, this isn't about being angry or not. To be honest, if it weren't for you and Jianguo helping me, I don't know what I would have done! Seriously, I've even thought about it. If you both think of us as a burden, then we might as well pick a good time and leave together!"

"Didn't you complain that we're causing trouble for others?! When the time comes, we'll just kick the bucket and won't bother anyone!"

As Zhao Hongmei spoke, her eyes reddened.

"Ahem!"

Dong Jianguo understood what Zhao Hongmei meant; this older sister wasn't just talking, she was truly capable of doing it.

"Sister Hongmei, you should always try to look on the bright side."

"If our factory hadn't gone downhill, I might not have gone out to start my own business."

"We're all so big, we can't even fill one table. What do you call this?"

Everyone at the table looked at Dong Jianguo with puzzled expressions: "What's your name?"

"Let's call it fate!"

"Come on, let's drink!"