1988: The Brick Factory Canteen Falls Apart

In 1987, Zhao Weidong, an educated youth who returned to the city, spent all his life savings and pulled every string to help his impoverished brother Lin Guoqiang take over the collective canteen of the county brick factory. The canteen soon boomed, yet Lin Guoqiang and his wife turned greedy and ungrateful. They planned to pay Zhao Weidong only his original investment of 12,000 to drive him out, keeping the canteen and all profits for themselves. Instead of arguing, Zhao Weidong took his money and withdrew completely. Along with him left the reputation, connections, supply channels and regular customers that secured the contracting right. Thinking they had struck a great bargain, the couple cut corners, switched to inferior ingredients and altered all rules to maximize quick profits. But they soon realized the canteen’s real value was never the kitchen stove—it was the entire network Zhao Weidong had built for them. In the end, they ruined the thriving business themselves, falling from successful contractors back into poverty.