That evening, Shi Zhen learned from Qian Qi, who was visiting, that Yan Jiangtao had been splashed with mud.

Qian Qi sat on a small stool that Grandma Guan Baiyu had nailed together from salvaged wood planks, somewhat gloating: "Now that Yan Jiangtao's family has become rich, he's always complaining about how others are poor, showing off this and that all day long, and looking down on others... He's offended a lot of people at school, I wonder who did this this time!"

"Nobody saw it?" Shi Zhen was somewhat surprised.

“No one saw it, or maybe everyone saw it but no one said anything,” Qian Qi said excitedly, moving the small stool and making a “creaking” sound, as if it was about to fall apart. “There are quite a few people in the school who don’t like him.”

While skillfully handling the pig's head, Shi Zhen tried to salvage the small stool: "Don't sit there anymore. Do some squats when you have time; it can help strengthen your thigh muscles."

Qian Qi put down the small stool and started doing squats. After a while, seeing that Guan Baiyu had left, he whispered to Shi Zhen, "By the way, Master, I heard that Yan Jiangtao's father gave the teacher a gift and asked the teacher to arrange a good deskmate for Yan Jiangtao. That's why the teacher let him sit with Guan Baiyu. As a result, he always dislikes Guan Baiyu, often bullies him, and even steps on Guan Baiyu's desk and stool. He has also said a lot of bad things about Guan Baiyu at school."

Shi Zhen's expression was somewhat cold.

If it weren't for Guan Baiyu's good grades, most people would have given him a second thought because of his academic achievements. Yan Jiangtao's actions could very well have led to the entire class ostracizing Guan Baiyu.

These unruly children lack the harsh lessons they need from society.

On Tuesday, Yan Jiangtao arrived at school looking resentful, as if he couldn't stand anyone.

He really didn't like anyone. He hated studying, but his dad said that if he didn't come to school, he wouldn't get any pocket money!

He can only come to school.

I wonder if everyone at school was talking about him or looking down on him today...

When Yan Jiangtao arrived near the school, he felt that everyone around him was looking at him strangely, making him want to punch them.

However, although he didn't hit anyone, he did say to several people passing by him, "What are you looking at? Idiot!"

Some of the people he insulted didn't even know him, and didn't realize that Yan Jiangtao was insulting them.

However, once Yan Jiangtao entered the school gate, one of the people he had insulted became unhappy: "You're the idiot, you've been doused in sewage and gone mad!"

Yan Jiangtao was furious: "You son of a bitch, you're the one who's been soaked in filth and gone mad! Do you eat shit at home every day? Did your mother give birth to you in a latrine?"

Yan Jiangtao grew up in the village and was particularly good at cursing. After cursing for a long time, he finally said, "A bunch of country bumpkins, poor bastards..."

The man who had been scolded by Yan Jiangtao for a while turned pale as he listened. He snatched a bucket from the man standing next to him and splashed it on Yan Jiangtao's head.

Their leader told them to throw dirty water at Yan Jiangtao and then say some things about him at school, like he was dirty and stinky.

They agreed, but since they had no grudge against Yan Jiangtao, they hadn't planned to splash the water on his face; they felt that splashing it on him was enough.

But Yan Jiangtao's words were so rude... and a bucket of water was thrown directly at Yan Jiangtao's face.

Yan Jiangtao was completely stunned.

He was splashed with water yesterday, but the water only smelled of mud and had no other odor, so he wasn't too disgusted. But now...

This water smells bad!

Yan Jiangtao couldn't think of anything for a moment, so he rushed to the toilet.

The person who splashed him saw this and turned and left the school.

He didn't injure anyone; he was just retaliating after being scolded by Yan Jiangtao. The school couldn't do anything to him; at most, they could give him a reprimand.

But this didn't bother him at all—he never came to school, and even his teachers told him not to come and disturb others, as long as he took the graduation exam…

If that's the case, what does being criticized matter!

Guan Baiyu arrived at school very early and started doing his homework. Just then, the girl sitting behind him came in with her backpack and poked his back with her pen.

He turned his head and saw the girl asking him mysteriously, "Guan Baiyu, do you know that Yan Jiangtao has been splashed with excrement again?"

Guan Baiyu asked curiously, "Again?"

"Didn't he get splashed with sewage yesterday at noon? I heard it was sewage! He was splashed with sewage again just now, it was disgusting!" The girl said disgustingly, but she seemed quite excited.

After Yan Jiangtao became rich, he became arrogant and looked down on others who were poor all the time, which made many people dislike him.

Besides, they're all from the countryside, and you might accidentally step in chicken droppings while walking on the road. Everyone's pretty familiar with these things, cough cough.

Guan Baiyu: "..." What he threw away yesterday wasn't sewage, it was just muddy water...

However, Yan Jiangtao's misfortune is always a good thing.

When Guan Baiyu talked about this with others, the other students in the class also discussed it, all talking about how Yan Jiangtao had been splashed with feces twice.

Yan Jiangtao must be furious... Guan Baiyu banished the man from her mind and started working on the problems at hand.

He could usually answer the questions correctly on the test papers printed by the school teachers themselves, but when it came to the city-wide standardized test papers for the final exam, he always had many questions he couldn't answer, and some he had never even seen before.

The two workbooks he has now contain many questions he has never seen before. If he finishes these two workbooks, his Chinese and math scores should improve a lot.

While Guan Baiyu was doing his homework, Shi Zhen took the time to visit a nearby chicken farm.

He plans to develop a new product.

Shi Zhenxuan's new product is braised eggs, which require almost no technical expertise.

After peeling the eggs, I braise them and sell them. I make a small profit by selling a lot of eggs.

In the future, he can also braise some dried tofu or other similar items, so that when people come to his stall, they can buy several kinds of dishes at once.

His food may not be as refined as that of other cooked food stalls, but it's cheap, so there's still a market for it.

People in J City are very interested in making money and are happy to try various ways to do so.

When Guan Baiyu was in his first year of high school, his adoptive father thought about raising chickens to make money because someone in their village had made a fortune raising broiler chickens, and someone in the next village was raising a lot of old hens and selling eggs every day.

Shi Zhen went to the place where eggs were sold, asked about the price, and then started picking out eggs.

As for how to choose... well, of course you should choose the smaller one!

He sells eggs individually, but buys them by weight. If he buys a large egg, he loses money.

Shi Zhen selected some eggs, and after weighing them, he found that one yuan could buy about eight eggs.

In that case... he can sell four of his braised eggs for one yuan.

Tea eggs in town sell for three cents each, while his braised eggs sell for five cents for two, and people always buy them.

Shi Zhen was thinking of going home to boil eggs, but the egg seller stopped him: "You bought so many eggs, are you going to make braised eggs with sauce? These eggs were just laid, and they will be difficult to peel after boiling. It is best to let them sit for a few days before cooking."

Locals often make braised eggs with soy sauce when they have a wedding or other celebration. They make a big pot of it at once. Since Shi Zhen bought so many eggs, this person assumed that he was also going to make braised eggs with soy sauce.

However, freshly laid eggs are difficult to peel because the shell is stuck to the egg white after boiling, and the egg may be bumpy when peeling.

Some people thought there was something wrong with his eggs and would confront him about it, so he got into the habit of reminding them.

Shi Zhen was unaware of this matter and immediately expressed his gratitude.

If we can't sell the eggs right away, we can sell some braised tofu first...

After thinking for a moment, Shi Zhen went and bought a lot more dried tofu to stew.

Qian Qi came again that evening. He couldn't resist the aroma and immediately said that he wanted to buy a dollar's worth of braised tofu once it was ready.

"Sigh, I'm almost out of money, and I just can't find a job..." Qian sighed.

Shi Zhen's heart skipped a beat: "Do you want to work for me? I'll provide you with lunch and give you five yuan a day. That way, if you want to practice martial arts, I can give you pointers anytime."

He plans to sell a few more items, as he's already overwhelmed by the sheer number of things he sells by himself.

If he could come and help out, his life would be much easier, and he could even get some other products.

Actually, he had considered asking Shi Xinghuo for help before, but Shi Xinghuo couldn't even keep track of the money...

The most suitable job for Shi Xinghuo at this stage is to work as a laborer.

Qian Qi readily agreed: "Okay! Master, you don't have to give me money, just let me learn martial arts from you!"

Qian Qi was only sixteen years old and didn't care much about material possessions.

Shi Zhen, however, was not about to take advantage of him: "If you work for me, how can I not pay you?" He had never formally studied martial arts, so there was very little he could teach.

Shi Zhen insisted on giving him the money, and since he had the money, he didn't refuse. Now that he had a job, he was especially happy when he went home that day.

Shi Zhen soon realized that paying Qian Qiqi to help him was the right thing to do—Qian Qiqi's father bought him a bicycle the very next day when he learned that Qian Qiqi had found a job!

Qian Qilai's parents had four children in total, two boys and two girls. Qian Qilai was the third child, with two older sisters and one younger brother.

Qian Qi couldn't find a job before and looked like a child, so his parents didn't pay much attention to him. But now he has a job...

Parents believe that everyone with a job should have a car. They can't afford a motorcycle, but for a family that lives frugally and doesn't spend money recklessly, buying a bicycle is quite easy.

With the money, he acquired a brand-new 28-inch bicycle.

The quality of bicycles nowadays is very good. The old-fashioned bicycles can carry a lot of things. Although Shi Zhen has not yet bought a tricycle, once he has money, he will no longer have to carry a pig's head to town.

Add a wooden board to the back of the bicycle, put a basin on it, cover it with another wooden board, and then put another basin on top... You can transport two basins of pig's head meat to town at a time, and you can also put some odds and ends next to it.

Moreover, it takes half an hour to walk from Guan Baiyu's home to the town, but only ten minutes by bicycle.

Hiring someone for five dollars and ending up with a free bicycle is such a great deal!

Shi Zhen was in a great mood and felt more confident about expanding his business.

Qian Qi is also very satisfied with his job. Five yuan a day is not much, but it's not a small amount either. Most importantly, after getting a bicycle, this job is not tiring at all!

Working in a factory only earns a little over two hundred yuan a month, but that requires three shifts and doesn't include meals. With Shi Zhen, all you have to do is "work" during the day. Sometimes, when there's nothing to do, Shi Zhen will even let you wander around town. You even get paid daily, which is fantastic.

In addition, Shi Zhenguan's lunch was also quite delicious, with braised eggs that he hadn't peeled properly, broken braised tofu, and pig's head meat... How could he usually eat like this at home?

He found the food delicious and received a daily wage, so he would buy some to take home every day. As a result, his family was very satisfied, making it a win-win-win situation.