Huaguang, in general, belongs to Liang Qinxuan; Guan Baiyu is just one of the shareholders.

However, he was already content, after all, without Liang Qinxuan and his father, he would not have been able to start the company at all.

Now he can receive dividends and has the opportunity to watch a company grow from nothing to something... There's so much he can learn from it.

This week is a big week. After Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan met with the distributors, Liang Qinxuan planned to recruit people, while Guan Baiyu went to the small workshop that did OEM for them to produce new pencil cases.

Guan Baiyu had already come up with the design for the new pencil case. No, it can't be said that he came up with it. In fact, he and Liang Qinxuan had some ideas, and then Shi Zhen helped them improve them.

When Liang Qinxuan was in junior high school, he learned a lot of things, such as calligraphy and painting, but he only learned them halfway. His painting skills were not as good as his brother's.

After his brother drew the design of the pencil case, he bought the fabric and is now just waiting to make it.

When Guan Baiyu arrived at the small workshop, there were only a few people inside—the proprietress hadn't received many orders recently.

Therefore, the proprietress was particularly enthusiastic when she met Guan Baiyu.

Guan Baiyu mentioned the new order, thought about it, and then started making pencil cases himself.

The proprietress seems reliable, but if they don't supervise, the final product quality will definitely not be as good as the product they supervise.

So during the winter break, Guan Baiyu spent every day watching. After watching for a while, he even tried it out and learned how to operate the sewing machine.

It's not difficult; the difficulty lies in doing the work quickly and well.

Guan Baiyu was sitting in front of the sewing machine, making a pencil case, when she suddenly heard a surprised voice: "Guan Baiyu?"

Guan Baiyu turned his head to look at the other person, but didn't recognize them: "Who are you?"

"I'm from Class 5 of the first year of high school." The one who called out Guan Baiyu's name was a girl about the same age as Guan Baiyu, who smiled shyly.

"Hello," Guan Baiyu greeted her.

This girl is here to distribute gifts. In their area, when people get married, have children, or even turn thirty, they give gifts to their neighbors or relatives, usually things like eggs or pastries.

The girl put down her things and left. Guan Baiyu didn't pay any attention and sewed two more pencil cases of different styles using the sewing machine.

"I can process this pencil case for you, it'll cost two cents each. This pencil case will cost four cents, and you'll also need this..." The shopkeeper listed the processing fees one by one.

Once the workers are skilled, they can make pencil cases very quickly, and when she calculates the processing fee, she looks at how long it takes to make one pencil case.

Generally speaking, after she earns some money herself, she makes sure that the workers can earn two yuan per hour, so that the workers will be motivated to work.

Guan Baiyu discussed the price with the proprietress, and after confirming it, he placed the order.

There were four styles of pencil cases this time. After he made four, the shop owner also made four.

Compared to the proprietress's skills, Guan Baiyu's dishes... don't look refined enough.

Before leaving, Guan Baiyu put on the pencil cases he had made and took them with him.

Today is Sunday, and he's going home. This pencil case... he can take it to Shi Ting and the others.

After the previous order was completed, Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan each took a sample, which included a backpack and one pencil case of each of two different styles.

Liang Qinxuan took them to school and used them himself, while Guan Baiyu gave the schoolbag and pencil case to Shi Ting.

Shi Ting was overjoyed, and even Zhao Qiujuan and Zhao Meiyun liked it. Guan Baiyu planned to give it to them, as well as Shi Zhen, after receiving it.

Shi Zhen and his friends no longer need a bag for pens, but they can use it to store money or other small items.

It was Liang Qinxuan's cousin who took Guan Baiyu home. As soon as Guan Baiyu arrived home, he saw that his door was open and Shi Zhen was taking a bath in the small room with a plastic sheet hanging in front of the door.

Guan Baiyu couldn't look away, but he also felt that he looked a bit... lecherous.

He sighed inwardly, concealing all his emotions.

Shi Zhen came out after taking a shower and getting dressed.

For convenience, he cut his hair very short. He had been working on the construction site for a while, which had also tanned him a bit, giving him a masculine aura.

"Brother!" Guan Baiyu smiled and told Shi Zhen about his company.

"You've done a great job." Shi Zhen smiled, then suddenly thought of something: "Your products are still few and your company is small... When your company grows bigger in the future, you can make signs for the stationery stores near the school gate for free. Then you can make signs for 'Huaguang Stationery Store' and make Huaguang's name known." What Shi Zhen was talking about was the promotional strategy of some brands in later years.

Guan Baiyu carefully wrote it down.

At this moment, Shi Zhen asked, "By the way, do you have any sourcing channels for various stationery items?"

Guan Baiyu used to sell stationery at school, and it's true!

"Brother?" Guan Baiyu looked at Shi Zhen curiously.

Shi Zhen said, "I want my parents to open a small shop, selling stationery and snacks, so it will be easier for them."

Shi Dalin sells fried skewers at a street stall, enduring wind and rain; it's actually very hard work for him.

Shi Dalin planned to do this for the rest of his life, but Shi Zhen felt it would be better to rent a shop for him.

Clothing stores are definitely not an option for Shi Dalin, and opening a shop to sell fried skewers wouldn't make him much money. In comparison, opening a small shop selling stationery and snacks near an elementary school is the best choice.

In this way, Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun will be sheltered from the wind and rain, and their income should not be bad.

"Brother, I know the supply channels, but the variety of stationery I can get might not be as complete as that of stationery stores."

"It's okay if it's not complete," Shi Zhen laughed. "We'll mainly sell various snacks, and as for stationery, we'll just have the commonly used ones."

The town's primary and middle schools are not far apart, and there are many other people living around... Even when students are on winter or summer vacation, the shop will still have business.

Shi Zhen planned to talk to Shi Dalin about this the next morning, but while he was having lunch with Guan Baiyu, Zhao Qiujuan suddenly pushed the door open and said, "Zhen, something bad has happened..."

Zhao Qiujuan's face was full of panic, and Shi Zhen immediately asked, "What happened?"

Zhao Qiujuan sobbed, "Dongjuan ran back and said she wanted a divorce. Then that family came and wouldn't leave."

Shi Zhen: "..."

"What's wrong with her now?" Guan Baiyu was also speechless.

After Zhao Dongjuan got married, she rarely went back to her parents' home.

Wang Zugen's family wasn't exactly wealthy, but all of them were workers with formal jobs, so their financial situation was quite good.

Black and white television, gas stove, electric fan, washing machine, rice cooker... the Wang family had everything they needed.

Moreover, although the Wang family was very dissatisfied with Zhao Dongjuan's sudden change of attitude and lack of initiative after marriage, they had spent a lot of money to marry her and were afraid of losing everything, so they were actually quite good to her.

Zhao Dongjuan was living a life of luxury over there, and she even had dowry money to spend... She would only occasionally return to the Shi family to show off to them; otherwise, the Shi family would never see her.

By the way, she came back twice, wanting to marry Zhao Qiujuan off to an old bachelor in town. Fortunately, even if Zhao Qiujuan was foolish, she knew she couldn't do that, so she gritted her teeth and didn't agree.

As for her insistence on divorce this time... the reason is simple.

Wang Zugen has been laid off.

The factory where Wang Zugen works was doing poorly last year, and it managed to hold on until the end of the year... but it's not doing well this year. Wang Zugen hasn't gone to work since the Chinese New Year.

Zhao Dongjuan didn't know at first, but when she found out, she asked Wang Zugen to find a job.

But how many people were laid off during the wave of layoffs in the 1990s?

Here, it's not so bad for women who are laid off; they can always find work in small workshops or private enterprises. Although those places don't offer the five social insurances and one housing fund, and often require three shifts, at least they have an income.

It will be harder for men to find jobs.

Especially someone like Wang Zugen, who has no real skills, can't endure hardship or fatigue, and is unwilling to lose face.

In short... Wang Zugen lost his job.

He stayed at home every day, and Zhao Dongjuan became increasingly annoyed with him, so she made a fuss about getting a divorce and even went back to her parents' home.

The Wang family definitely wouldn't agree to this, which is why they've come all the way to the Shi family.

After listening to Zhao Qiujuan explain the whole story, Shi Zhen realized something.

He was actually quite puzzled, not understanding why the Wang family would be willing to marry Zhao Dongjuan.

You have to understand that in this era, because there is little population mobility, outsiders are very noticeable and easily looked down upon.

Especially the Wang family... They look down on people from other places, and even rural people.

It's a bit strange that this family would suddenly be willing to spend so much money to marry Zhao Dongjuan.

It seems that the Wang family probably knew about Wang Zugen's impending layoff all along, which is why they rushed to find him a wife before he was laid off.

They probably chose Zhao Dongjuan because they thought she came from a small town, was easy to fool, and that marrying her would make her their slave.

As it turned out, Zhao Dongjuan was no pushover.

From this perspective... Zhao Dongjuan and Wang Zugen are quite a good match.

Shi Zhen said, "Zhao Dongjuan didn't even register her marriage with Wang Zugen, so there's no question of divorce. She can break off the relationship by returning the betrothal gifts and the three gold pieces to him."

He didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing.

Zhao Qiujuan looked embarrassed: "Dongjuan refuses to return the betrothal gifts."

Shi Zhen said, "Then there's nothing I can do."

The Wang family was also at fault in this matter. Zhao Dongjuan returned the betrothal gifts and was no longer willing to be with Wang Zugen, so no one else could say anything about it.

But she wants a bride price but doesn't want to be with the person, which is unreasonable.

In fact, besides the bride price, the Wang family also held a banquet and bought a lot of things for Zhao Dongjuan... They spent a lot of money.

"Ah Zhen, what should we do now..." Zhao Qiujuan was very anxious.

"Nothing to do, let her be." Shi Dalin's voice rang out, and then the door was pushed open again.

Shi Dalin stood outside the door with his fried food stall and Shi Ting, who was carrying a schoolbag. When he saw Shi Zhen, he said, "Zhen, come and help me move the stall inside."

The bottom of this fried food stall has wheels made by Shi Zhen, making it easy to push on flat ground. However, there's a threshold at Guan Baiyu's house, so it can't be pushed in.

Shi Zhen easily moved the fried food stall inside.

Shi Dalin said, "I've lost all face today. She's always trying to take advantage of people. She took the bride price, the total dowry of over a thousand yuan, and the three gold items for the change of address. She has over eight thousand yuan in cash on her, and all her belongings add up to over ten thousand yuan. She wants to keep it all... There's no reason for that."

Shi Dalin added some more.

The Wang family also made excessive demands, namely that Zhao Dongjuan should return all the betrothal gifts, dowry money, and gold jewelry, and also compensate them for the cost of the wedding banquet... Only then would they agree to a "divorce".

What about Zhao Dongjuan? She's unwilling to pay back a single penny. She feels that since he married her and gave her all the money, why should she have to return it? This is a separate issue from her current desire for a divorce.

The argument at home was so loud that Shi Dalin simply took his daughter out to look for his son.

His daughter could spend the night with Shi Xingchao's sister, while he would squeeze in with Shi Zhen.

As for Zhao Dongjuan... he couldn't beat her like he used to beat Shi Zhen, so he couldn't control her.

"Dad, it's Mom..."

“She’s at home. Go see her. Ah Zhen, you don’t need to go. It’s too noisy there,” Shi Dalin said to Zhao Qiujuan.

Shi Zhen really didn't plan to go.

He felt that the best thing for Zhao Dongjuan to do was to return the money and break off the engagement, but if he really said that, Zhao Dongjuan might think he was trying to harm her... so he wouldn't go.

Shi Ting was carrying two backpacks, her hair was all messy, and she looked a little pitiful and silly. When she saw Guan Baiyu, she gave him a pleading look: "Brother Baiyu, I don't know how to correct a few math problems..."

Shi Zhen was particularly pleased that his sister now knew she needed to study.

Well, it's highly likely that his sister didn't know she needed to study; rather, she just studied because they told her to, without thinking about anything else.

Guan Baiyu laughed: "Let me tell you... Oh, right, I have something else for you."

"What is it?" Shi Ting asked, her face full of curiosity.

Guan Baiyu immediately took out the four pencil cases he had brought back. Two of them were darker in color and were for boys. He gave them to Shi Zhen and his father so they could use them to store money and other items.

He gave the remaining two to Shi Ting, saying, "One for you and one for your sister."

Shi Ting took the pencil case to Zhao Qiujuan: "Sister, which of these two pencil cases do you want?" She wanted both...

“I don’t need it,” Zhao Qiujuan said.

"Sister, take one, it's good for storing small things," Shi Zhen said.

Zhao Qiujuan really liked the pretty pencil case. She picked one out and then looked at Shi Zhen for help: "Zhen, what should I do?"

Shi Zhen said, "Sister, you go back and keep Aunt Zhao company. You two go to Mom and Dad's room to sleep. Lock the door and don't be afraid."

Although the Wang family members are awful, they only dare to cause trouble; they wouldn't dare to hurt anyone.

Especially now that things are so noisy over there, I bet all the neighbors have come to watch.

If Zhao Qiujuan listens to him and hides with Zhao Meiyun... the Wang family will leave later.

As for how to resolve this matter, it depends on whether Zhao Meiyun can harden her heart and ignore Zhao Dongjuan.

Zhao Qiujuan eventually left.

Shi Dalin was a man of few words, so he sat quietly, watching Guan Baiyu explain the problem to Shi Ting.

Seeing his expression, Shi Zhen told him about Guan Baiyu and his classmate's company, which had only been open for a short time but had already earned 10,000 yuan.

Shi Dalin was shocked: "This...so much?"

"It's not much... Dad, why don't you open a small shop?"

"What kind of shop?" Shi Dalin asked, puzzled.

Shi Zhen then began to talk to him.

Shi Zhen was very patient and detailed when he spoke to Shi Dalin. However, Shi Dalin was still used to speaking his local dialect, so Shi Zhen also spoke to Shi Dalin in the dialect.

While explaining the problem to Shi Ting, Guan Baiyu would occasionally glance at Shi Zhen.

Shi Ting said, "Brother Bai Yu, why do you keep looking at my brother?"

"Your brother is handsome!" "No, not just your brother, he's my brother too!" Guan Baiyu calmly replied, "I already read your questions, what else would I be looking at?"