In his previous life, Shi Zhen led Shi Xingchao and others to work on a construction site at the end of this year.

At that time, his uncle and aunt lent him a sum of money, so he had some capital. However, he was still a naive and inexperienced person. He and his group were still looking disheveled, and the business they got was not very good.

At least someone like Fang Changming would never hire them to build houses, and they couldn't build houses like that either.

He's encountered all sorts of customers: those who owe them wages, those who complain about their poor performance and demand less pay, and those who speak ill of them behind their backs.

But what else could he do? He could only keep going.

They work very hard on construction sites, but they do earn money, so people from the village often come to him looking for jobs.

As his workforce grew, supporting so many people became increasingly difficult for him.

He could only try his best to take on more business so that everyone would have something to do.

But this also means he will be very busy, since people from his hometown simply don't know how to do these kinds of jobs.

At that time, he was rushing from one construction site to another, even teaching people how to work late into the night... If he hadn't been young and strong, and hadn't been so determined, he definitely wouldn't have been able to keep going.

Even so, after working so hard for several years, when he turned twenty-two and Anshan Town was undergoing a major development, he had some money and could finally have some free time, but his health wasn't as good as it used to be.

Guan Jianguo had also experienced coughing up blood from exhaustion before.

That's when he met Guan Baiyu.

In this life, his starting point is much higher than in his previous life. His family has also been taken care of, so he doesn't need to worry about them anymore.

Shi Zhen was in a good mood as he introduced himself to people, saying that he had worked in a big city and had studied architecture, and that people who needed to build houses could contact him.

Moreover, he not only knows how to build villas, but also factories, and he has some knowledge of interior decoration.

Shi Zhen immediately received a job building a factory.

Starting in the late 1980s, many small workshops emerged in various parts of Changxi City. Many of the owners of these workshops started factories in the late 1990s, turning into private enterprises.

To set up a factory, you need factory buildings, and you definitely need to find someone to build them.

Because Anshan Town didn't have large-scale demolition and construction projects before, it doesn't have the kind of construction teams found in J City. Some small workshop owners who want to open factories still need to hire workers to build houses piecemeal.

Although this saves money, it requires someone to keep an eye on things, and the bosses don't actually have that much time to do so.

Now that Shi Zhen can take full responsibility, they are naturally happy to accept it.

Shi Zhen was in a good mood when he got home that day.

The house he built for Fang Changming was better than Fang Changming's younger brother's house in every way. Fang Changming was happy and paid the final payment readily.

Although Shi Zhen's job took a long time, he actually gained a lot of benefits and earned more than he initially thought.

He kept separate accounts for the money at the construction site. After deducting the wages he paid to Shi Daniu and others and various expenses, he still had a surplus of over nine thousand yuan after adding the final payment.

This is pure profit.

Shi Zhen didn't hesitate. He deposited 6,000 yuan, then took out 3,000 yuan and gave each of Shi Daniu and the others a 300 yuan red envelope. He then took them to a restaurant in town for a meal.

Meat wrapped in zongzi leaves, braised chicken pieces, duck stuffed with glutinous rice, stir-fried pork intestines...

Shi Zhen ordered a table full of hearty dishes and a bottle of Shaoxing wine—Shi Daniu and his group could drink a little alcohol.

However, he didn't drink it; instead, he poured himself a glass of boiled water.

There were seven of them in total. They ate and chatted until they had finished all the food on the table. Only then did Shi Zhen drive the tractor to take them home.

The next day, Shi Zhen had nothing to do and could rest. He got out of bed and went to Guan Jian Guo's place.

Guan Jianguo went out again, leaving Grandma Guan at home to take care of the children.

When Shi Zhen arrived, she was talking to someone about sending her child to kindergarten in the second half of the year.

Many children in the village do not attend kindergarten, and most parents feel it is unnecessary to spend the money. However, some parents who are more concerned will send their children there.

Parents who value their children the most will send them to the town's kindergarten, which costs more than 600 yuan per semester, a high price. However, the children eat very well there, with one meat and one vegetable dish at noon and snacks in the afternoon.

The slides and such there are things that rural children occasionally visit when they go to town, and they stand outside the school and look at them with envy.

Guan Jianguo's family used to be quite well-off, but ever since he bought a boat, they have incurred some debts, and the whole family has been struggling financially. His daughter went to school, so naturally, she went to a kindergarten in the countryside.

Upon seeing Shi Zhen, Grandma Guan tentatively asked him if he wanted to rent another room.

“I see you have more and more belongings. We can rent out our two south-facing rooms to you,” said Granny Guan.

The room that Shi Zhen and his group rented was indeed a bit too small. If it weren't for the fact that it was a self-built house in the countryside with a relatively high ceiling, where sweaters and other items could be piled up, it probably wouldn't have been big enough.

"It would be best if you could rent it to us, but would it be inconvenient for you?" Shi Zhen asked. The room was originally used by Guan Jianguo for meals, and it had a wooden eight-immortal table.

Grandma Guan said, "From now on, we'll eat in the kitchen at the back, and we can go in and out through the side door... Jin Jin's family uses the two front rooms to raise chickens, and they still manage to live their lives."

That is indeed true.

Many families in the village use the two south-facing main rooms for other purposes, such as raising chickens or silkworms.

Shi Zhen talked to Grandma Guan and they agreed that starting in June, he would rent out the two rooms in front of the Guan family's house to her, and he would pay Guan Jianguo sixty yuan a month.

Houses weren't expensive to sell in this era, but the rent-to-price ratio was quite high, and rents weren't cheap. Now, a small, habitable one-room house in town costs seventy or eighty yuan a month to rent, and the area is about the size of a room in a building.

The rent for the house that the Shi family was renting was not increased. This was partly because the house was very dilapidated when they first rented it, and partly because the Sun family was not short of money.

Grandma Guan was in a good mood after she and Shi Zhen settled the rental agreement. Sixty yuan was not much for people in the town, but it was a lot for people in the village. Most families would only spend ten or twenty yuan a month on utilities, groceries, and other necessities.

Shi Zhen rented an extra room, and the happiest person was none other than Shi Xingchao.

The two rooms in front of Guanjian State originally had a door. After renting them together, one room was used to store sweaters, and the other room was used to sell substandard clothing, substandard scarves, yarn, and the like.

You can also sell soft drinks and some snacks along the way.

Shi Xingchao was always keen on making money.

After finalizing the rental agreement, Shi Zhen went to town and delivered his freezer to Shi Dalin's place.

As the weather gets warmer, it's time for Shi Dalin's little shop to start selling popsicles and cold drinks.

Speaking of which, this freezer was kept at Shi Dashan's house a while ago.

The pork tenderloin that Shi Dashan and his team sell is only available in Changxi City. After they buy it, they freeze it in a freezer to preserve it, so they can restock every now and then.

The freezer is currently with Shi Dalin, and their belongings can still be stored inside.

When Shi Zhen arrived at Shi Dalin's place, it was noon.

The children attending the town's primary school were all from the town, and their homes were not far away. At that time, people were more at ease with their children, and first and second graders were already walking to and from school on their own.

Anshan Town Primary School has a canteen where children can eat after buying meal tickets, but many also go home to eat or bring their own food.

After all, the cafeteria is very small, the food inside doesn't taste very good, and if you go late, you often can't buy anything.

As a result, Shi Dashan's little shop is quite lively at noon. Some children even buy bread or ask Zhao Meiyun to cook them a bowl of instant noodles for lunch.

Some children would go to town to buy a few steamed buns for lunch, or eat at a fast food restaurant in town.

The gap between the rich and poor among the children is really big. Some children don't have a penny of pocket money, while some children can get a few dollars from their parents and grandparents every day.

When Zhao Meiyun saw Shi Zhen, she asked, "Zhen, have you eaten?"

"Not yet," Shi Zhen said.

Zhao Meiyun said, "We've already eaten lunch, and now we only have some leftovers. Shall I go and make you some fried rice?"

Shi Zhen readily agreed: "Okay."

Seeing that Shi Zhen agreed, Zhao Meiyun quickly took two eggs and fried a bowl of egg fried rice for him.

As Shi Zhen was eating, several children came over and, seeing the egg fried rice he was eating, asked Zhao Meiyun, "Do you have egg fried rice here?"

Zhao Meiyun quickly replied, "No, this is for our own consumption."

Shi Zhen added, "Not for now, but maybe in the future."

The children responded and sat down at the folding table Zhao Meiyun had set up by the door. They asked Zhao Meiyun to cook instant noodles for them, and each of them also asked for a tea egg. Someone else went to buy ham sausages.

Upon seeing this, Shi Zhen said to Zhao Meiyun, "Aunt Zhao, you can sell fried rice with eggs from now on. Prepare some rice and keep it on hand. If someone wants it, you can fry a bowl with diced eggs and ham. If no one wants it, we can eat the rice ourselves."

Shi Zhen noticed that after Zhao Meiyun started selling her own tea eggs and instant noodles, she became more talkative and cheerful, and even dared to chat with the children who came to buy things in her broken Mandarin.

When Zhao Meiyun first arrived in Anshan Town, although she also went out to set up a stall with Shi Dalin, she never spoke to anyone.

I guess only when I earn my own money will I have confidence.

Once they make money and gain confidence, Zhao Meiyun and Zhao Qiujuan will become different.

Most importantly, these small businesses are guaranteed to be profitable no matter what, making them suitable for Zhao Meiyun.

After listening to Shi Zhen's explanation, Zhao Meiyun also thought that selling fried rice with eggs was a good idea, as it could be sold both in the morning and at noon.

They can just cook one on the spot if someone orders it, it doesn't take much effort at all!

If we can't sell them, we can just eat the rice ourselves.

After resting for two days, Shi Zhen led his men to build a factory. Not only that, he also received several jobs to help build self-built houses.

He accepted them all without hesitation.

He only has six people on hand now, which is a bit insufficient, but he can find local bricklayers to help him with the work he takes on. Of course... he definitely won't go looking for troublemakers like Master Zhang.

As a result, Shi Zhen became busy again, even busier than before.

Guan Baiyu is also very busy at Changxi No.1 Middle School.

Since hiring people, his and Liang Qinxuan's company has had much less to do, and Liang Qinxuan's father even helps with some things.

Take their desire to produce ballpoint pens, for example... Liang Qinxuan's father knew people in Japan, and without much effort, he found a way to purchase ballpoint pen refills.

With the pen refill in hand, making the outer casing is actually quite simple; you can just find a factory to do it for you.

Of course, many things take time, so Huaguang's ballpoint pens are not yet on the market.

Guan Baiyu could actually ignore company matters, but he wanted to learn, so he tried his best to follow along and understand things. And also...

Final exams are coming up.

His first year of high school is coming to an end, and the final exams will be coming soon.

These days, Guan Baiyu has been focusing on his studies and keeping an eye on Liang Qinxuan, urging him to study hard.

"Guan Baiyu, you're working way too hard..." Liang Qinxuan looked at Guan Baiyu, who was still memorizing English words while eating, and said helplessly, "You've already memorized all the vocabulary for the senior year of high school, do you really need to do this?"

Guan Baiyu had finished eating. He put down his chopsticks and said, "If I finish my English course in the first year of high school, I can spend less time on English in the future, isn't that good?"

“Okay…” Liang Qinxuan looked at Guan Baiyu with admiration, and then said, “By the way, Guan Baiyu, tomorrow is the little Sunday, shall we go to the factory to take a look?”

In addition to their warehouse, they now rent a small house next to it as an office for their employees.

This is what Liang Qinxuan meant by "factory".

Shi Zhen has been extremely busy these days, spending all his time at the construction site. He only has an afternoon off on Sundays, so you can't even see him when you go back home.

Moreover... every time he saw Shi Zhen, he would have wild thoughts and feel disgusting about himself.

Guan Baiyu said, "Go."

Liang Qinxuan was quite happy. The next day at noon, right after school, he took Guan Baiyu outside the school.

They first went to the factory and took a look around. Then Liang Qinxuan dragged Guan Baiyu to the roller skating rink: "Baiyu... studying should be balanced with rest. Let's go have some fun together?"

It was still early, so Guan Baiyu agreed: "Okay."

For the past six months, Guan Baiyu hadn't been rollerblading. He was a little rusty at first, but he had fallen so many times that he wasn't afraid anymore. Before long, he was skating exceptionally well.

"Guan Baiyu!" A sudden, excited shout rang out.

Guan Baiyu turned his head away, looking somewhat helpless.

I met Qiu Yunxin.

Last winter break, he had already made things clear to Qiu Yunxin, and Qiu Yunxin kept her distance from him afterward.

But when they occasionally met, he could sense that Qiu Yunxin still liked him.

This made him a little embarrassed.