Guan Baiyu chuckled dryly: "Grandma, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

The old lady said, "No, I've seen her several times. She's a very gentle and pretty young girl. She's been coming and going with your brother these past few days."

Zhao Qiujuan wasn't particularly beautiful, but she wasn't aggressive and was the kind of person that elders liked.

For some older people, a tall young man is considered handsome, and a young woman with no major flaws in her features is considered beautiful.

After the old lady finished speaking, she wanted to chat with Guan Baiyu for a while longer, but Guan Baiyu smiled again and ran upstairs faster.

The old lady was left standing there. After a pause, she said, "Kids these days can run so fast!" Guan Baiyu used to be very polite, but just now his smile seemed like he was holding something back. Was he in a hurry to go to the toilet?

She shouldn't have started chatting with them.

The old lady slowly went downstairs.

Guan Baiyu ran up to the fifth floor and saw that their door was open, so he rushed in immediately.

Shi Zhen was pouring water when he heard the noise. He looked up, smiled, and asked, "Xiao Yu, shall we have some noodles for lunch?"

Shi Zhen's smile was Guan Baiyu's favorite; it always made him feel cherished. Right now, Shi Zhen's gaze made his heart race.

However, precisely because of this, he felt even more upset when he saw that there were extra things in the restaurant kitchen.

For example, a red apron was hanging at the kitchen door.

Shi Zhen often cooks, but he's not particular about it. He never wears an apron when he cooks, and there were no aprons in their house before.

Guan Baiyu felt a tightness in his chest and blurted out, "Brother, do you have a girlfriend?"

Guan Baiyu's expression was not good, and his words were somewhat accusatory, but Shi Zhen... could also see his fear.

Shi Zhen sighed inwardly: "Who told you that?"

"The downstairs neighbor." Guan Baiyu clenched his fists, waiting for Shi Zhen's verdict.

Shi Zhen finally understood what was going on and laughed, "Your sister Qiu Juan has been staying here recently, they must have misunderstood."

Guan Baiyu: "..."

The sharpness on Guan Baiyu vanished instantly, replaced by an awkwardness that made him look at Shi Zhen with embarrassment.

Shi Zhen composed himself and smiled gently: "So... how about we have noodles for lunch?"

"Okay." Guan Baiyu gave Shi Zhen a well-behaved smile.

Shi Zhen really wanted to touch his head, but in the end he didn't reach out.

He hadn't thought much about it before and hadn't noticed Guan Baiyu's little actions, but after observing carefully over the past year... he felt more and more clearly... that Guan Baiyu liked him.

Perhaps this feeling is still deepening.

He suddenly remembered that Guan Baiyu had asked him questions about marriage before.

At the time, he didn't think much of it, assuming that Guan Baiyu was possessive of him.

This kind of situation is not uncommon among relatives. At that time, he didn't want to lie to Guan Baiyu, so he directly said that he didn't plan to get married.

Now he doesn't know whether he should use this to appease Guan Baiyu.

Shi Zhenting values ​​a balanced diet. He took a piece of pork from the refrigerator, diced it, and chopped a few eggplants, intending to make pork and eggplant noodles.

Guan Baiyu was busy nearby, planning to slice a cucumber for a cold salad and peel some fruit.

Shi Zhen said, "Xiao Yu, the kitchen is too crowded. Take the cutting board and go outside to chop."

The kitchen was small, and Guan Baiyu and he stayed in the kitchen together, huddled close together.

He could also clearly sense that Guan Baiyu... was deliberately getting close to him.

Guan Baiyu moved very carefully, sometimes just touching his arm with the back of her hand and then beaming with joy.

He's such a child.

Only children would be so happy with such a small amount of contact.

Guan Baiyu was indeed very happy to be cooking with his brother, which he could also brag about to his tablemate.

However, his brother told him to go out... Guan Baiyu could only dejectedly carry the cutting board out.

He made a plate of cucumber salad, and carefully peeled, sliced ​​and plated a pineapple he took out of the refrigerator.

Shi Zhen noticed that Guan Baiyu kept glancing at him while working, and he became somewhat worried.

He didn't know if letting Guan Baiyu come back to live was the right or wrong thing to do.

A year ago, after he moved to Changxi City, he thought about letting Guan Baiyu come home to live so that Guan Baiyu could sleep better, but after discovering Guan Baiyu's feelings, he ultimately did not do so.

He asked Guan Baiyu to come back to live here this time because Guan Baiyu had been very restrained throughout the year.

But now he realizes... his existence can actually affect Guan Baiyu.

It would be better for him to go home less often in the future.

Shi Zhen cooked noodles, topped them with minced meat and stewed eggplant, and served them to Guan Baiyu: "Xiaoyu, I've been a bit busy lately, and I have to go out this afternoon... I'm sorry."

"Brother, it's okay, you don't need to apologize," Guan Baiyu smiled, then asked, "By the way, brother, why is eldest sister living here?" Shi Zhen was leaving soon, so he could only chat with Shi Zhen a little longer.

Shi Zhen then told him about Zhao Qiujuan working as a receptionist at his place.

"Brother, I've never been to your company before, can I go?" Guan Baiyu asked again.

Shi Zhen completed the house-building project in Anshan Town last year, earning several hundred thousand yuan, and then bought a piece of land in Changxi City to build an office building.

The house was only recently built, and Guan Baiyu had never actually been there.

“I’ll take you there. You can play there this afternoon, and I’ll pick you up tonight,” Shi Zhen said.

Guan Baiyu said, "Brother, I don't want to play. I can go there to review!"

“Okay,” Shi Zhen said.

Guan Baiyu packed a few books, and then Shi Zhen sent Guan Baiyu to his company.

He has to admit that he had ulterior motives for buying this land and building this company.

In my past life, this place would be developed into a wealthy area in a dozen years.

He'll occupy a piece of land here, and when it's demolished, he'll make a lot of money.

However, he didn't buy any particularly large plots of land. If he had actually bought large plots... people might have bypassed him and developed the land elsewhere.

The land that Shi Zhen bought was only about 500 square meters in total. He reserved more than 200 square meters around it as a yard, planning to create some landscaping in the future. Of course, there are no flowers or plants planted here yet; it's just a dirt field.

As for the office building behind it... Shi Zhen's three-story office building was a particularly modern and innovative structure in Changxi City at that time.

The house has three floors and occupies about 200 square meters.

Its ground floor is slightly smaller than the second and third floors, as if it is supporting the second and third floors. The upper two floors also adopt a glass curtain wall design, and the overall color is sky blue.

Compared to the various bizarre and trendy buildings that have become popular over the past two decades, this is not particularly special, but in an era where most buildings are vertical, it is definitely novel.

Even the four characters "White Stone Architecture" standing upright in the mud at the entrance seem unique.

Shi Zhen said, "The landscape design is complete, but construction hasn't started yet. I'm sure you'll love it when it's finished."

Shi Zhen plans to dig a pond with an area of ​​about 60 square meters and a depth of about one meter, and then raise some koi in the pond.

Of course, that's not the key point. The key point is... he plans to build a glass bridge over this pond.

In later generations, there were many glass skywalks, but at this time... even a small glass bridge over a small pond was quite rare.

Most importantly... after he proposed the idea, Liang's father was willing to build the bridge for him free of charge.

In fact, all the glass used in his office building was provided by Liang's father.

After all, the fact that his office building is just sitting there is already a form of advertising for Liang's father.

The fact that Shi Zhen was able to come up with the idea of ​​building houses in this way was actually related to Liang's father.

Last year, when he was building a factory for Huaguang Stationery, Liang's father told him about the expansion of his glass factory. It was at this time that Shi Zhen learned that Liang's father planned to produce high-strength architectural glass.

The two hit it off immediately, which led to the creation of Shi Zhen's office building.

Liang's father was already thinking about building an office building like this himself, and of course, he would hire Shi Zhen for the construction.

Shi Zhen briefly explained his envisioned landscape to Guan Baiyu, who then showered him with praise, making Shi Zhen feel somewhat embarrassed.

He benefited from being reborn.

Entering his office building, there are some glass-enclosed offices on the ground floor, but there are not many people inside. Just at the entrance, there is a woman in a business suit sitting behind a large table... Who else could it be but Zhao Qiujuan?

"Boss." Zhao Qiujuan greeted Shi Zhen with a smile.

Although she has only been here for a few days, Zhao Qiujuan has already adapted to the work environment here.

She especially liked this place.

She used to earn quite a bit, but to be honest... back then, she didn't dare to go into any of the nicely decorated shops in Anshan Town.

She felt that she shouldn't have gone into that kind of place.

But now, she works in a place that looks much more upscale than those other places!

"Sister, how's your typing practice going?" Shi Zhen asked Zhao Qiujuan.

Zhao Qiujuan said, "If they are all characters I know, I can type seven or eight hundred in half an hour."

This speed isn't fast, but it's definitely the result of Zhao Qiujuan putting in a lot of effort over the past few days.

"Sister, you've improved so quickly," Shi Zhen said.

Zhao Qiujuan smiled, pursing her lips.

Shi Zhen did not stay there long; he left Guan Baiyu behind and departed.

Guan Baiyu and Zhao Qiujuan didn't spend much time together. When Zhao Qiujuan saw Guan Baiyu, she didn't know what to talk to him about, so she just asked him if he wanted some water.

Guan Baiyu smiled and said, "I can pour the water myself... Sis, are you learning computers? Can you teach me?"

Guan Baiyu, a person like him, actually asked me how to use a computer!

Zhao Qiujuan was slightly excited. She taught Guan Baiyu how to turn the computer on and off, and even opened a drawing software to show him how to draw...

The No. 1 High School in the city recently set up a multimedia classroom and bought several computers, but Guan Baiyu and the other senior students have never even touched those computers.

This was his first time using it; it was just a drawing software, but he found it very interesting.

At this moment, Zhao Qiujuan opened the document again and told him how to type. She happily said, "I've typed some words so many times that I don't even need to think about them anymore; I know how to type them out now."

She uses an input method called Intelligent ABC, and she has already memorized the serial numbers of many characters!

While playing on the computer, Guan Baiyu chatted with Zhao Qiujuan and naturally mentioned, "My brother is really busy now. I rarely get a day off, but he always has something to do."

Zhao Qiujuan had spent a lot of time with Shi Zhen these past few days and didn't find him particularly busy, but she didn't like to argue with others, so she just nodded and said, "Yes."

Guan Baiyu played on the computer for a while, then handed it over to Zhao Qiujuan so she could type, while he started doing his homework.

Zhao Qiujuan's work desk is round and large, with enough space for three people to sit side by side at the back. The two of them are sitting in the back, and it's quite spacious.

When Zhao Qiujuan got tired of typing, she went to look at the problems Guan Baiyu had done... She immediately felt that what she had learned was too simple.

She watched a lot of TV dramas and could speak Mandarin, so learning to read and write wasn't difficult for her.

She felt that if she typed slowly for a few months, she would be able to recognize most of the characters, and then she could learn other things.

Shi Zhen drove over when Zhao Qiujuan got off work, picked them up and took them home. They had dinner together, and then he made an excuse to leave again.

He didn't actually have anything to do, so he just went to check on the workers' living quarters.

Migrant workers' living conditions are generally not good. They usually live in a few shacks built on the construction site, or they may rent a house nearby and then live together in a cramped space.

Some construction sites may have houses built on the site, and people may live in the houses that have already been built.

Of course, some local workers also go home to live.

Shi Zhen came over after dinner; everyone was taking showers and chatting.

Recently, more and more of his fellow villagers have been coming to the construction site.

However, because the people he brought from the village, such as Shi Daniu, were all good, and the managers he promoted later were all serious about their work and didn't like to cause trouble, there was no situation like in his previous life, where people from the same place would form cliques.

Furthermore, no one used his relative's name to enjoy preferential treatment on the construction site.

He had no relatives on his mother's side. Some of Zhao Meiyun's siblings' sons did come to work, but they didn't try to establish any connection with him.

As for his father's relatives... these people arrived later, and once they knew he wouldn't give them special treatment, they quieted down.

They weren't even close relatives to begin with.

Before Shi Zhen arrived, he specially bought some drinks and beer, which he then distributed to the workers and chatted with them.

We're all from the same place, so we're talking about things related to our hometown.

A very small number of them had their wives come with them, but most of them came out to work alone and were thinking about bringing their wives along as well.

Otherwise it would be too deserted.

Of course, there are also those who are not married and are thinking about going back home for the New Year to get married.

“If your wife comes out, it would be best to bring the children along so they can study here,” Shi Zhen said. “Children won’t be close to their parents if they’re not with them, and the schools here are very good.”

It's easy for problems to arise when elders are taking care of children, let alone the fact that most of the people who have children and come out to work are from the post-60s generation.

Due to the limitations of the times, their parents' generation had some misconceptions about disciplining children, such as feeding their children pickled vegetables every day even though they had money.

Moreover, they usually have several siblings. When they leave their children with the grandparents, their other siblings will follow suit to leave their children with the grandparents so as not to be taken advantage of. In the end, the grandparents have to take care of many children, which is not only tiring but also means they are less attentive.

In his past life, there was a worker who had a decent relationship with Shi Zhen. His child was raised by his parents from the time he could eat. His mother was frugal and would only cook a little bit of food each time, then mix the vegetable soup with rice for the child to eat. As a result, the child later disliked eating vegetables and only ate rice mixed with vegetable soup.

Most of these migrant workers actually earn a decent living. They can bring their wives and children here, rent a house, and make a living, but they didn't realize this before.

After Shi Zhen made the suggestion, some people started to have the same idea.

Not to mention, there's Shi Daniu as a role model.

Shi Daniu's son has been in kindergarten for a year in Anshan Town and will be able to start primary school next year.

Back in his hometown, this child was spoiled rotten by his grandparents and was like a little tyrant, but here... he can't even speak Mandarin properly.

When he first started kindergarten, he wanted to bully his classmates, but later he found that... he was the one being ostracized.

It was only because Mr. and Mrs. Shi loved their child and gave gifts to the teacher and caregiver that the child gradually adapted to their new environment.

By the second semester, he was doing quite well at school and had learned a lot.

Back then, there were no regulations prohibiting kindergartens from teaching things in advance. The kindergartens in town were expensive, and they taught singing, dancing, arithmetic, and writing, which made Shi Daniu very happy every day. Now he started to brag: "The schools here are really good, you wouldn't believe it! The children at school get cookies in the morning, a meat and a vegetable meal for lunch, and each child gets a small bed to sleep in in the afternoon. After their nap, they get snacks too—wontons one day, dumplings the next, all sorts of things. My son can write a lot now, he can do arithmetic problems, and he can even dance."

People are naturally competitive. After hearing Shi Daniu talk about his son every day, even Shi Duofu started to think about bringing his own child here to study.

Shi Zhen stayed at the construction site until nine o'clock before going home. When he opened the door, he saw Guan Baiyu sitting in the dining room.

Upon seeing him, Guan Baiyu immediately said, "Brother, you're finally back! Brother, are you this busy every day? Aren't you too tired?"

Guan Baiyu's face was full of concern, and seeing him like this, Shi Zhen also felt a little uncomfortable.

Guan Baiyu cares so much about him, yet he's avoiding Guan Baiyu...

"I have too many projects on hand, there's no way around it... and the weather will be especially hot in July and August, so we want to finish some of the work ahead of schedule," Shi Zhen said.

"So that's how it is..."

"Xiaoyu, I'm sorry, I'm afraid I won't have time to take care of you during this period," Shi Zhen said.

“Brother, I don’t need to be taken care of! I go home after evening self-study, and I just sleep when I get home,” Guan Baiyu said.

“I’ll take you to and from school,” Shi Zhen said.

"Okay." Guan Baiyu smiled.

Guan Baiyu spent only a few days during the two-day holiday with Shi Zhen, but spent a considerable amount of time with Zhao Qiujuan.

He spent his days at Shi Zhen's company with Zhao Qiujuan, where they ate lunch. There was a toilet and a small kitchen there where they could cook.

Zhao Qiujuan usually just cooks something simple for lunch there.

After the prayer service ended, Guan Baiyu returned to school.

Upon seeing him, Lu Mingqi immediately asked, "Guan Baiyu, did you meet your older sister during this Grand Ceremony?"

"We met," Guan Baiyu said, then recounted how Shi Zhen had made noodles and cooked for him, adding that Shi Zhen was very busy...

He described it so vividly that Lu Mingqi was extremely envious, and kept saying that he wished he had an older sister too.

Guan Baiyu: "..." That's not actually an older sister, it's an older brother.

He didn't dare tell Lu Mingqi.

If Lu Mingqi knew the truth, he would most likely stay far away from him.

Shi Zhen was very afraid that Guan Baiyu would run into some trouble before the college entrance examination, so he tried to avoid Guan Baiyu as much as possible.

Guan Baiyu did not notice.

He doesn't have time to think about it now.

Throughout June, a tense atmosphere permeated the school, and he was also affected.

However, even though she didn't have time to think much about Shi Zhen, Guan Baiyu would still talk to Lu Mingqi about her "big sister" as a way to relieve stress.

He often told Lu Mingqi that he would confess his feelings after graduation, but whether he actually did or not, nobody knows.

He knew that he most likely wouldn't dare.

Before the college entrance examination, the first thing to do is the final exams for the first and second year of high school.

During this period, the school gave senior high school students a holiday to allow them to relax their tense nerves.

Some students felt better at home, so they simply asked the school for leave and stayed at home even after the final exams.

Guan Baiyu did not ask for leave.

Shi Zhen is always very busy, leaving early and returning late every day. If he goes home, he will either be with Zhao Qiujuan or alone. It would be better for him to stay at school and study with his classmates, which would help him maintain a good state of mind.

This year's college entrance examination actually introduced some new policies.

For example, you have to pay tuition to go to university, and not only that, you are no longer assigned a job after graduation.

This prevents many students from poor families from attending university.

Even in the city's No. 1 High School, there are students like this, especially those who don't usually do well academically and whose families are short of money.

Guan Baiyu was born in 1979. In his class, there were others like him who were born in the late 1970s, such as the oldest in their class who was born in 1977. There were also those born in the early 1980s, such as Sun Qiqi, who was born in 1980.

Some of them already have only children, but most of them do not. If a rural family has several children, they may not be able to afford to send their children to school.

In Guan Baiyu's dormitory, there was a boy who always regretted not going to vocational school but choosing to go to high school instead.

He was from the countryside and was the youngest in his family. His parents were very old and could not earn much money. His older brothers and sisters had all started their own families. They had to scrape together his high school tuition. Now, university tuition doesn't even guarantee job placement... His older brothers and sisters didn't understand the outside world and thought that he wouldn't be able to find a job after graduating from school, so they didn't want to support his education.

High school is fine, but going to university in a faraway place will increase tuition and living expenses, and even travel expenses will be a lot of money.

Some students in the dormitory were worried that they would not be able to continue their studies, which affected the other students to some extent.

Guan Baiyu was also feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Without Shi Zhen, even if he managed to get into high school, he might not have been able to go to university.

That evening, after finishing his evening self-study session, Guan Baiyu got into Shi Zhen's car and brought up the matter.

“Xiaoyu, I’ll sponsor his studies,” Shi Zhen suddenly said.

"Brother?" Guan Baiyu was somewhat surprised.

Shi Zhen said, "I plan to donate 10 percent of my income to charity in the future... My income is not high now, but it is enough to help some students go to school."

Shi Zhen had earned a decent amount of money the previous year, but he had invested it all in purchasing equipment, leaving him with very little cash on hand.

Only recently has his financial situation improved, allowing him to donate some money to charity.

He didn't know why he was reborn, but doing more good deeds was never a bad thing.

“Brother…” Guan Baiyu was a little confused.

Shi Zhen usually doesn't mind helping others. For example, they live on the fifth floor, and there are quite a few elderly people living there. If Shi Zhen sees someone moving things, he will help them.

In addition, Shi Zhen is willing to help his workers if they encounter difficulties at home or are short of money.

But Guan Baiyu never expected that Shi Zhen would be willing to sponsor someone who had no connection with him to go to school.

Shi Zhen earns a decent amount, but not a lot, considering he's only started earning money in the last two years.

Putting aside everything else, Liang's father's assets were far more than Shi Zhen's.

Shi Zhen hasn't bought a house yet. Even when he bought an air conditioner, he only bought one. So now only his room has an air conditioner. Shi Zhen and Zhao Qiujuan both use electric fans.

Guan Baiyu said, "Brother, let me sponsor him. I have enough of Huaguang's dividends."

“No, if you donate, they’ll feel uncomfortable,” Shi Zhen said. “Even if you do donate, it should be in Huaguang’s name. You can discuss this with Liang Qinxuan. As for me, I will donate in the name of Baishi Construction.”

He did charity work in his past life and encountered many ungrateful people.

If Guan Baiyu personally provides financial assistance, he'll be fine if he encounters kind people, but if he encounters some people with unconventional ideas... who knows what they'll think?

He might even feel that Guan Baiyu is trampling on his self-esteem.

Or perhaps they were dissatisfied and felt that Guan Baiyu had given them too little.

There are quite a few people like this.

Of course, most people are reasonable.