Hongwen is a worker at a new franchise set up in southern China called Cowboy Chicken. Cowboy Chicken is intended to provide Chinese people with the foreign American food that they want to try, even though it is more expensive and of lower quality than the street vendors in China. Hongwen and his coworkers discover all the ways that American capitalistic jobs exploit their workers, with Mr. Shapiro and Peter, their two bosses, not allowing them to have any food or even a discount, all the while working them relentlessly. Peter used to be called Peihai and Hongwen grew up with him, but when he went to school in America he came back a completely different person with a new name to match. Hongwen makes more money than his father, who is frustrated that he worked all his life only for his son to go into an entry-level position and out-earn him. Hongwen understands that capitalist jobs pay more than the socialist job his father works, and develops a lust for wealth. One day, the workers are pondering what Peter's pay is. Acting on their curiosity, they look at Peter's check to see he is paid $1500 American dollars per check, a far cry from their measly earnings. They know that Peter is tasked with disposing of the chicken that doesn't sell by the end of the day, which they're also forbidden from eating, and they follow him after work to see what he does with it. Hongwen sees Peter burn the chicken with gasoline that the store also provides him with, and after it burns, he pees on it for good measure. Disgusted, the workers organize, confronting Peter the next day about why he would do such a thing when there are people on the streets starving. Peter tells them it is the American way, and that if they don't want to see food get wasted, they need to cook less chicken and sell everything every day. They insult him, saying he's forgotten his Chinese roots and sold himself to capitalism. The workers write a letter to Shapiro asking for Peter to be fired and replaced, but Shapiro simply ignores it. They write another saying that they will strike until their demands are met, expecting Shapiro to cave immediately, but the next day they see the police surrounding the building with metal detectors, saying someone threatened to bomb the place. Shapiro fires them all immediately, saying that he won't employ terrorists like them. Although they're fired, they all have connections in other areas that run a business. One will get a friend to turn off their electricity, another will have the garbage trucks skip the restaurant. The workers prepare to make Cowboy Chicken pay for exploiting them.