Anshan Town plans to build a road running from south to north on the westernmost part of the town, connecting to the national highway in the south and a major road in the north.

The townspeople can buy the land next to this road.

The news didn't reach the countryside, or if it did, no one paid attention. But in the town, people kept telling me and me, so basically everyone knew, and many people kept talking about it.

The small shop run by Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun has awnings on both sides to provide shelter from the wind and rain. People in the neighborhood avoid the area when the children are leaving school in the morning, noon, or evening. However, during the children's school hours, retired women from the neighborhood would bring their grandchildren or great-grandchildren who are not yet in school to sit and chat.

When the children get out of school... they'll be home cooking anyway.

These people then started talking about buying land and building houses.

"It would be nice to live in a big house, but that house is going to be five stories high. I heard that we need to hire a construction team and use a pile driver to build the foundation... Not to mention the cost of buying the land, building the house will probably cost a lot of money."

"Building a house will easily cost over ten thousand yuan!"

"This is way too expensive!"

“My son is obsessed with getting a house and moving out. Recently, he wanted to borrow money to buy land. I don’t know what he was thinking.”

...

Most of the elderly people in the town do not approve of their family members buying land to build houses, since it is too expensive.

In the past, houses were allocated to them!

It costs tens of thousands of yuan to build a house now... that's way too much!

However, some young people want new houses. At this moment, a woman who was also playing here with her child said, "It is a bit expensive, but it is a five-story building with shops on the ground floor and four apartments on the top floor... Before, there was a sweater trade market in Changxi City, and shops were sold for 5,000 yuan a month. Everyone thought it was expensive. Now? The rent for those shops is 3,000 yuan a year."

Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun listened with mixed feelings.

The money needed to build a house is too much for them, but a house... they really want one.

Shi Zhen had already convinced Shi Dalin, but he knew that Shi Dalin and his group couldn't come up with that much money all at once, so he planned to partner with Shi Dashan and his group to buy a plot of land.

But as for Tong Shida and his group, things are a bit complicated.

It's not that Shi Dashan is troublesome. After staying here for a year, Shi Dashan and Chen Xiaofen wanted to live here permanently. They weren't comfortable renting a house in the countryside, so they wanted a house.

But just the foundation alone would cost at least 40,000 yuan per family, which they didn't have, so... they hoped Shi Xingchao would buy it with them.

Shi Xingchao and Fang Miyan also needed a new house.

You know, Shi Xingchao and Fang Miyan have been married for so long, and Fang Miyan has always lived with Shi Xingchao. If this continues, how will they ever have a grandchild?

But Shi Xingchao was unwilling to spend money to buy land and build a house.

Shi Zhen came to Guan Jianguo's place and sat down in front of Shi Xingchao.

Shi Xingchao ignored Shi Zhen, his gaze wandering around: "Zhen, this is really too expensive! I don't have that much money!"

“You have money,” Shi Zhen said.

Shi Xingchao has at least 20,000 yuan on hand, so buying a quarter of the land is no problem at all.

“Making money isn’t easy. Is it worth spending all your savings on a mere cement shell? And that little bit of foundation costs over 80,000 yuan? That’s highway robbery!” Shi Xingchao became more and more frustrated as he spoke. Building houses in his hometown was so cheap!

Shi Zhen remained calm: "Brother Xingchao, have you noticed that many things are going up in price?"

"Huh?" Shi Xingchao was puzzled. Many things had indeed increased in price in the past two years, but what did that have to do with buying a house?

“The prices of everything are going up, and wages are rising too. I guess money will become less and less valuable in the future,” Shi Zhen said. “You can buy a pound of rice for a few cents now, but in the future a pound of rice will definitely cost several dollars.”

"How much is a pound of rice? Are you robbing me?!" Shi Xingchao almost jumped up.

Shi Zhendao said, "More than ten years ago, everyone's salary was only a few dozen yuan."

Shi Xingchao fell silent. In fact, he also felt that money was becoming less and less valuable.

Shi Zhen continued, “Many people don’t have a house to live in now, and in places like Anshan Town, more and more people will come to work, and locals will also want to live in good houses… The price of houses will definitely become more and more expensive. Not to mention the price of houses, just look at the price of red bricks. This year, the price of bricks from brick factories has increased again. If you build a house now, it will cost less than building a house later.”

In recent years, with the large-scale development of Shanghai, much of the bricks and cement produced here have been directly transported to Shanghai, where they are very popular and in short supply.

As a result, the prices of red bricks and cement have been rising steadily.

Shi Xingchao was extremely conflicted, but ultimately didn't want to buy it.

Shi Zhen said, "I won't cheat you. Besides, you and Fang Miyan can't be without a place to live. This time, we're all building houses together. If you buy a house, it won't cost you much."

Shi Zhen recalled that when he passed away, the apartment buildings with elevators in Anshan Town were priced at over 10,000 yuan per square meter.

He initially spent 250,000 yuan to buy a house in Anshan Town for Zhao Qiujuan and Shi Dalin to live in. The price per unit was not that high, but each 140-square-meter house was worth one million yuan, and the two houses together were worth two million yuan.

The price increase isn't as much as in big cities, but it's still not bad. Most importantly, they're building their own houses now, four apartments and two shops, which together... only cost around 200,000 yuan.

Anshan Town is a small place, but the education is quite good. Later, a highway exit was opened, and it's less than an hour away from the provincial capital by highway. There's also a high-speed rail station nearby, so it's actually a very livable place.

Of course, Changxi City is definitely better, but we can take it slow, right?

Many of them sold their houses in Anshan Town and moved to Changxi City in the early 2000s.

Because the real estate market hadn't developed yet, the housing prices in the two places weren't that different at the time.

Even in 2015... at that time, elevator apartments in Anshan Town sold for five or six thousand yuan per square meter, while elevator apartments in Changxi City sold for around seven thousand yuan per square meter.

Of course, following a surge in prices, the housing prices in Changxi City skyrocketed, leaving the housing prices in Anshan Town far behind.

Shi Xingchao really couldn't bear to spend the money.

Fang Miyan asked, "Will housing prices really rise?"

Shi Zhen said without hesitation, "It will definitely go up."

Fang Miyan was somewhat tempted.

Compared to Shi Xingchao, Fang Miyan wanted a house more.

For Shi Xingchao, he has roots; no matter what, he has a house in his hometown.

But Fang Miyan is different.

She could no longer go back to her parents' home. Shi Xingchao's hometown was a strange place to her. She wanted to have her own home.

Shi Zhen didn't try to persuade him any further and left quickly.

If Shi Xingchao didn't want the house, he would take the spot himself.

Shi Xinghuo and Shi Xingxing couldn't come up with that much money all at once, and buying it together could easily lead to disputes.

Shi Zhen thought Shi Xingchao would struggle with the decision for a while, and might even give up the house altogether.

After all, in his previous life, Shi Xingchao had been saying since the early 2000s that housing prices were too high and would collapse sooner or later. It wasn't until 2015, when housing prices in Changxi City skyrocketed, that he suddenly woke up and started buying houses.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Shi Xingchao told him with red eyes that he agreed.

Shi Zhen was a little confused, but after thinking about it, he understood.

In his previous life, Shi Xingchao did buy a house to live in, but it was a bit small. He still doesn't have a house now... He probably still wants a place to live.

Shi Zhen asked, "How did you come to your senses?"

Shi Xingchao said, "If I rent a place in the future, even if the rent is only one thousand a year, it will cost fifty thousand in rent when I'm old, not to mention that the rent will continue to rise... I might as well get a house!"

Indeed... Shi Zhen said, "A house of this size, with three bedrooms and two living rooms, would cost at least two hundred yuan a month in rent in town, and probably three thousand a year."

The whole apartment wouldn't actually cost that much, but a three-bedroom apartment could be rented out to three different families.

Shi Xingchao was immediately delighted: "Then I'll break even after living here for more than ten years! And this house is big enough for my children to live in when they get married and have children in the future!"

Shi Xingchao agreed, and Shi Zhen then began to handle the matter.

He said the land price was over 80,000, but that was just a rough estimate; the actual price of land varies depending on the location.

He finally chose a plot of land in a good location, and with other fees, the total came to 90,000.

It was agreed that Shi Xingchao and Zhao Qiujuan would each receive one apartment, while Shi Dashan and Shi Dalin would each receive one apartment and a shop.

So in the end, Shi Xingchao and Zhao Qiujuan each contributed two-tenths of the 90,000, which is 18,000 each, while Shi Dashan and his wife, and Shi Dalin and his wife, each contributed three-tenths of the 90,000, which is 27,000 each.

Zhao Qiujuan and Shi Xingchao are doing well; they have enough savings.

Shi Dalin and Shi Dashan both contributed all their belongings, and it still wasn't quite enough.

Once Shi Dashan and his wife had taken Shi Xinghuo's money, that was about it.

As for Shi Dalin and the others, Shi Zhen lent them some money.

After both families had almost emptied their pockets... cough cough, everyone was even more motivated to make money.

Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun were alright; they didn't start any new businesses. But the others were different.

The Shi couple, Shi Dashan and Shi Dashan, have stopped setting up their stall together and are now setting up their stalls separately!

What about Zhao Qiujuan? In the morning, besides selling rice balls, she also started selling zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) and tea eggs!

Shi Xingchao turned Guan Jianguo's house into a small shop, and as for Fang Miyan...

She no longer does embroidery, but has started selling cooked food at a nearby construction site.

The food at most construction sites wasn't very good, so she put a bucket full of cooked food on each side of her bicycle seat and drove to those construction sites to sell it, and business was pretty good.

Braised pork lungs, pork cracklings wrapped in tofu skin, pork skin stewed with soybeans... These dishes have very low costs. She prepares two dishes each time, and when someone gives her 50 cents, she gives them a little bit of each dish. This is especially profitable for those who work on construction sites, and she can earn quite a bit.

Shi Zhen was just as busy as they were.

On the one hand, he was trying to secure projects in Anshan Town—if he could actually get these projects, earning over 100,000 yuan after completion wouldn't be a problem.

On the other hand... he also recruited some people to go to Changxi City to build a factory for Huaguang Stationery.

The factory he built in Anshan Town before the Lunar New Year is now almost complete, so he spends most of his time in Changxi City.

He registered a company for himself and hired some technical staff.

Although he had learned some architecture-related knowledge in his previous life, he didn't know much. If he wants to expand the company in the future, he will definitely need professional talents.

Fortunately, he had experience from his previous life, in which he had lived in Changxi City, so no one knew better than him which person was suitable.

Hua Guang has shares in Bai Yu, and Liang Qinxuan is his former friend. Shi Zhen built Hua Guang's factory very carefully, and even gave Liang's father several suggestions for improvement based on his later experience.

Liang Qinxuan is already a senior in high school, and Guan Baiyu is also busy studying. The construction of the factory is mainly the responsibility of Liang's father, who is also the one who coordinates with Shi Zhen.

In the 1990s, many people built factories, but they were all built in a relatively simple way and did not pay attention to things like fire prevention. Later, when the country tightened its regulations, they had to make changes... Now, Shi Zhenxian has solved many of these problems.

Liang's father gave the factory building to Shi Zhen only to give Guan Baiyu face. Compared to Shi Zhen, he actually trusted the person who had built the factory building for him more.

But after talking to Shi Zhen, he suddenly realized that there was something wrong with the factory building he originally built.

His glass factory is going to expand next year, and he plans to hire Shi Zhen!

Liang's father was wealthy and cared deeply about his son's factory, so he was very generous with the project payments and never delayed payment... Shi Zhen worked for him and enjoyed the job immensely.

It was around this time that he took a side trip to Changxi City and unexpectedly landed a municipal engineering project there.

This was like a windfall from heaven. Shi Zhen didn't even know how he received it. After all, he was somewhat well-known in Anshan Town, but in Changxi City... apart from Liang's father, no one else should know him.

But no matter what, Liang's father was just a businessman; he couldn't get involved in this, nor would he get involved for someone so unrelated as to Liang.

However, no matter how he got the job... once you have a job, you have to do it well and do it to the best of your ability.

Some contractors only think about making a quick buck and leaving, but he wants to do a good job, build a reputation in Changxi City, and make his "Baishi Construction" bigger and better.

For his first municipal project, he was willing to lose money but still wanted to do it well.

Because of the large number of projects he was taking on, Shi Zhen's team was growing rapidly.

He had already experienced this situation once in his previous life.

This was in 1996. Actually, even with rapid growth, it wouldn't have been that great. The number of people under him grew rapidly in the early 2000s.

Back then, construction was happening everywhere, and because he lacked experience, he suffered losses several times.

Now it's different; he has experience.

Shi Zhen hired some local workers.

Many factories prefer to hire local workers, and that's understandable.

Most people in this world don't have much ambition. Once they find a job near their home, as long as the pay is decent and it's not too tiring, they're willing to keep doing it.

However, many migrant workers don't mind changing jobs once a year.

Of course, Shi Zhen also called his hometown and said that if anyone was willing to come, they could come and work for him.

Since we've hired quite a few workers right now, we don't need to be too particular about them.

It was already June at this point.

Time flies when I'm busy.

It was at this moment that Shi Zhen clearly realized... he was missing a car.

If you have a car, Changxi City and Anshan Town are less than half an hour apart.

But without a car, it's really inconvenient to go back and forth.

Moreover, sometimes when going to discuss business, riding a bicycle or taking a tricycle always makes people look down on you.

As for taking a taxi...

At that time, bus fares were not cheap, not to mention taxis. There were two types of taxis in Changxi City: Santana taxis had a starting price of seven yuan, and Xiali taxis had a starting price of six yuan.

Having a driver's license and a car... in the eyes of people at that time, it was like having a secure job.

Leaving aside others, just take Liang Qinxuan's cousin who always drives him around. His income is actually very high. He can get several hundred yuan in red envelopes by occasionally taking on private jobs, such as helping others pick up their brides!

Some people work hard for a month, and that's all they get in wages.

At that time, the Santana was a bit expensive, with even the ordinary ones costing 130,000 to 140,000 yuan. After thinking about it, Shi Zhen finally bought a Xiali priced at 70,000 to 80,000 yuan.

He had already bought a car... He gritted his teeth and bought another Changhe minivan for 50,000 yuan, which he used at the company.

Shi Zhen earned a lot last year and quite a bit this year as well. After Guan Baiyu's shares were diluted, the 20,000 yuan that Liang's father gave him also ended up in his hands.

But his expenses were also high. He bought tools such as a cement mixer, and now he has bought two cars... He suddenly ran out of money.

Fortunately, projects were completed one after another, and the projects he took on were all reliable, with no delays in payment.

Shi Zhen had already obtained his driver's license a few months ago.

It's much easier to get a driver's license at this point. He knows a lot about traffic and has good driving skills, so he can pass the test quite quickly.

After buying the car, Shi Zhen drove it back to Anshan Town.