When Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu arrived at the fried food stall, Shi Ting was pestering Zhao Meiyun for fried food.

Shi Ting was only four years old when her mother passed away.

She was very sad at the time, but later Zhao Meiyun came to her home and treated her very well. Even though she knew that Zhao Meiyun was not her biological mother, she still treated Zhao Meiyun as her mother and was very close to her.

Zhao Meiyun herself couldn't bear to eat a single skewer of the food on the stall, since it was all stuff that could be sold for money.

But Shi Ting wanted... She asked Shi Ting and fried a skewer of sausages that they sold for 50 cents for her.

Zhao Qiujuan also asked Shi Ting with a smile if she was tired from reading.

While waiting for the fried sausages to be ready, Shi Ting said, "I'm not tired, but it's a bit annoying that I can't watch TV."

"As long as you study hard, I'll give you two hours a day to watch TV at Teacher Fei's house," Shi Zhen promised. Teacher Fei was eager for someone to come to his house and certainly wouldn't mind, of course, only when the person was home and not resting.

Shi Ting was overjoyed.

When Zhao Qiujuan saw Shi Zhen arrive, she asked, "Zhen, have you eaten? Is it enough?"

“I’ve already eaten,” Shi Zhen laughed. “You left me a lot; I almost couldn’t finish it.”

"Hmm... It's good to eat well..." Zhao Qiujuan wanted to say a few nice words to get closer to Shi Zhen, but she didn't know what to say. In the end, she just silently led them over and brought the stools she had prepared for them to sit on when they were tired to Shi Zhen: "Ah Zhen, please sit down."

The bench was long and could seat two people. Shi Zhen was indeed tired after running around all day, so he sat down at one end and gestured for Guan Baiyu to sit at the other end.

Guan Baiyu had been sitting at home for a long time and wasn't actually tired, but if he didn't sit, Shi Ting would probably come and sit down... Guan Baiyu immediately sat down, right next to Shi Zhen.

His eyes crinkled with laughter, and he secretly glanced at Shi Ting again.

Shi Ting's mind was completely focused on the fried skewers; she didn't even glance at him.

Guan Baiyu felt like he was crazy again. Why was he always thinking about... vying for favor?

After calming down, Guan Baiyu asked Shi Zhen if he had bought a freezer.

Shi Zhen said, "The freezer costs two or three thousand, which is too expensive. I can't afford it... Xiaoyu, I'll have to trouble you to lend me the money."

Guan Baiyu was stunned. Where did he get any money? All his possessions consisted of the pocket money Shi Zhen had given him, which he had gradually saved up, totaling only one hundred yuan.

However, he quickly remembered that Shi Zhen didn't want the Shi family to know about his financial situation... Guan Baiyu nodded haphazardly and looked at Shi Zhen expectantly.

Shi Zhen winked at him.

Guan Baiyu's eyes widened suddenly—his brother's eyes seemed to electrify!

His heart was racing; he was extremely happy.

His brother doesn't hide anything from him.

They also kept a secret from the Shi family.

Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu were chatting, speaking Mandarin.

If two people chat in their local dialect, it can feel like they're excluding others; it's different when they use Mandarin.

Zhao Qiujuan and Shi Ting can both understand Mandarin, while Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun can also barely understand a few sentences.

"Brother Baiyu is so rich! Where did he get all that money?" Shi Ting took a bite of a fried sausage and looked at Guan Baiyu with envy. "Sigh! I wish I had that much money. I saw a hat that's so pretty, I really want to buy it."

Shi Ting wanted to buy more than just hats! She also wanted clothes, pants, skirts, shoes, backpacks, hair clips, hair ties...

Unfortunately, she had no money.

“Xiaoyu is like me, running a small business,” Shi Zhen said. “I have a lot of expenses, like renting a place, but Xiaoyu doesn’t have many expenses, so she saves a lot of money.”

So that's how it is!

The Shi family accepted this explanation, after all, they had seen Guan Baiyu setting up a stall when they first arrived in Anshan Town.

I heard that Guan Baiyu skipped junior high to set up a stall in order to save up for high school tuition.

What's even more impressive is that he stopped going to class and still managed to get into the best high school in the city!

That's true. Even someone as illiterate as Shi Xinghuo managed to save over a thousand yuan after working for a few months, so it's perfectly normal for Guan Baiyu to have some savings.

Zhao Meiyun handed out the fried skewers the customers had ordered, then turned around and asked Guan Baiyu and Shi Zhen if they wanted some.

Shi Zhen naturally refused, and Guan Baiyu also declined. Firstly, he wasn't a glutton, and secondly... he had seen how Shi Zhen saved money.

Just now, Shi Zhen ate so fast... He must not have bought himself any food while he was out today.

His brother works so hard just to give the family a better life, how could he waste money?

Guan Baiyu thought to himself that he should talk to Shi Ting again tomorrow, telling her how hard Shi Zhen worked and how difficult things were, and telling Shi Ting not to think about buying this and that all the time.

As for the specifics of his brother's hard work... although his brother is unwilling to tell him, he can make it up!

Shi Zhen sat and watched for a while and found that it was perfectly fine for his parents to run the fried food stall together.

He felt relieved and looked at his sister.

Shi Zhenyuan originally wanted to find Zhao Qiujuan a factory job so that she could interact more with the young girls in the area and change her perspective.

However, during this period, in a small place like Anshan Town, factories still preferred to hire locals rather than people from other places.

In addition, Zhao Qiujuan is a bit introverted, not good at speaking, and not good at socializing, making it even more difficult for employers to take a liking to her.

Shi Zhen couldn't find a suitable job for her for a while, but now he thought it would be better to let her manage the rice ball stall, just like he had told Qian Qiqi before.

Selling rice balls doesn't require much preparation and the profit is decent, so Shi Zhen originally planned to do it himself first.

He can't be completely without income.

But this time when he went to Changxi City, he not only decided to sell cold drinks in the town, but also planned to take on work at a sweater factory.

Shi Zhen said to Zhao Qiujuan, "Sister, as you know, I also have a stall where I sell rice balls in the morning at the market. You can come with me starting tomorrow and try it out for a few days. If you can manage it, I'll let you look after the rice ball stall from now on."

Zhao Qiujuan listened to Zhao Meiyun's words and flattered Shi Zhen in the hope that Shi Zhen could help her, such as finding her a good partner.

She didn't ask for much. As long as she could eat and drink her fill after marriage, and the man didn't beat her, and he wouldn't mind if she gave birth to a girl, she would be content. She didn't care if he was a little older or a little less attractive.

Zhao Qiujuan never expected that Shi Zhen would give her the rice ball stall.

Asking her to help out is fine, but asking her to set up a stall by herself... she really can't do it!

"Ah Zhen, I can't do it..."

“Sister, you’ve always been very capable, you’ll definitely succeed,” Shi Zhen said.

Zhao Qiujuan was still somewhat apprehensive: "I..."

"Sister, get up early tomorrow morning and help me prepare. Let's set up the stall together. Let's try it out for a few days. If you can do it well, you can take care of the stall from now on," Shi Zhen said.

"And what about you?" Zhao Qiujuan asked.

This is a lucrative business, it's so important! Her brother actually wants to do it for her!

At this moment, Zhao Qiujuan was extremely grateful, but also felt uneasy.

Shi Zhen said, "I plan to do something else."

Actually, if he handed over both stalls... he wouldn't have to worry about household expenses anymore, which would make his life much easier. And his sister selling rice balls in town would allow her to meet more people and become more outgoing.

As for his sister's marriage... Shi Zhen really hadn't thought about that.

His sister is only twenty!

Why should a young girl who is only twenty years old be in such a hurry to get married?

Actually, he wanted his sister to get some more education, mainly because she only attended primary school for two years and couldn't even recognize all the characters, which would put her at a great disadvantage in the future.

But it's impossible for his sister to continue her studies...

His sister is a grown woman; she can't exactly go back to sitting in an elementary school classroom.

Shi Zhen thought for a moment and then suddenly said, "Sister, Tingting has been learning pinyin with Bai Yu every day recently. You can learn it too, and then you can learn to recognize the characters later... Once you recognize the characters, it will be convenient for you to do whatever you want in the future."

"No, no, I'm too old to learn anymore..." Zhao Qiujuan waved her hands repeatedly.

“How could that be? Sister, you’re only twenty. You can learn to read anytime soon,” Shi Zhen said. “Sister, think about it. What if you have a child in the future, and the child wants you to read a story to them, but you can’t read it? That would be terrible.”

Zhao Qiujuan seemed to be deep in thought after hearing Shi Zhen's words.

Shi Zhen felt somewhat helpless upon seeing this.

His sister is the kind of person who is willing to sacrifice everything for her child. Talking to her about other things doesn't work, but mentioning the child works.

Even though she doesn't have children yet.

Shi Zhen added, “When your child goes to school in the future, if the teachers ask parents to fill out forms and you don’t know how to fill them out, or if you can’t read at parent-teacher meetings… it will embarrass your child.”

When Zhao Qiujuan thought about it, she became terrified.

After Shi Ting entered junior high school, she would occasionally bring home forms for her parents to fill out. She didn't understand these forms, and neither did her parents; Shi Ting filled them out herself.

If her child gets such a form back in the future...

Zhao Qiujuan felt that everything else could be ignored, but she still needed to learn to read.

If Shi Zhen really gives her a stall, she should work hard so that she won't be penniless when her children need food in the future.

Zhao Qiujuan was suddenly filled with enthusiasm.

Shi Zhen didn't take a nap today and was already very tired, so he didn't stay at the fried food stall for long and went home to rest early.

He slept soundly for a night before recovering, and went to town early the next morning.

His rice ball stall is now located in the Shi family's area, where he goes to prepare for his morning activities.

When they arrived at the destination, Shi Zhen found that Zhao Qiujuan was already up.

He asked his sister to get up early, but he didn't expect her to get up so early.

But it can't be denied that his sister's behavior made him quite happy.

If his sister is lazy, he won't even bother helping her.

Cooking rice in an electric rice cooker was a bit slow, so Shi Zhen also cooked some in an iron pot. Then he instructed his sister to chop pickled vegetables and preserved mustard greens, and then stir-fry them in oil.

You can taste it while stir-frying. Generally speaking, adding a little sugar to pickled vegetables will make them taste better.

After stir-frying these two ingredients, it's time to make the egg crepes. Not many people buy rice balls for one yuan, so the amount of egg crepes needed is very small. Shi Zhen usually makes enough egg crepes for two or three eggs, and there are often leftovers.

Next comes frying peanuts, which isn't difficult either.

Zhao Qiujuan was efficient and, with Shi Zhen's guidance, she successfully completed all the work.

Shi Zhen then took her to a place that sells fried dough sticks to get some, and then they went to set up a stall in town.

The rice balls sold today were still made by Shi Zhen, but for rice balls that were pre-ordered, Shi Zhen had Zhao Qiujuan make them.

Zhao Qiujuan is twenty years old this year. She is not good-looking, but her face... looks simple and honest, like the kind of person who wouldn't lie.

Therefore, she won't make people like her at first sight, but she will never make people dislike her either.

Shi Zhen would introduce Zhao Qiujuan to his regular customers, saying that she was his sister, and everyone would smile at her.

Zhao Qiujuan is a bit introverted, but she's not the kind of person who doesn't want to interact with society.

In fact, she was also very curious about the outside world and wanted to explore it.

As she set up her stall alongside Shi Zhen, she felt accepted by this unfamiliar place.

The factories in Anshan Town mostly start work at eight o'clock, and by eight o'clock, fewer people come to buy breakfast.

However, Shi Zhen usually sets up his stall for a while longer, mainly to sell all the items he has prepared.

Today, they don't have much material left.

Shi Zhen remembered that Zhao Qiujuan had helped him when he set up his fried food stall a few days ago, so she had some experience. He said, "Sister, I have something to do today and I have to go to Changxi City. I'll have to look after this stall from now on. Once we've sold everything, you can take it home."

When Shi Zhen was nailing wooden frames for Zhao Qiujuan and the others, he also made a suitable stall for himself to sell rice balls.

The stall was a rectangular block made of wood nailed together and covered with a thin sheet of iron. It had wheels at the bottom and two holes dug in the middle of the top, just big enough to fit two large buckets of rice.

After selling all her rice balls, Zhao Qiujuan could push her stall home.

Hearing Shi Zhen say this, Zhao Qiujuan was a little uneasy, but she still seriously agreed.

Shi Zhen smiled and boarded the bus bound for Changxi City.

After arriving in Changxi City, Shi Zhen went straight to the wool sweater factory he had visited the day before.

The leader Shi Zhen met yesterday was already waiting at the factory. Shi Zhen went up to him and said with a smile, "Hello, General Manager Zhou. I brought the deposit and my ID card with me. We can sign the contract now."

Mr. Zhou was stunned.

He was the one who brought up the deposit issue. It was impossible for him to give Shi Zhen a large batch of newly produced wool sweaters without Shi Zhen providing any collateral.

He also asked Shi Zhen to bring his ID card, as he wanted to know Shi Zhen's background.

But signing a contract... he really hadn't thought of that before.

But it would be good to sign one, like an insurance policy, but... how do I sign it?

This "General Manager Zhou" is the factory director's younger brother, and he's not young anymore.

People their age didn't have much schooling back then, so they don't really know how to handle contracts and such... If there's a template, that's fine, but if there isn't, they don't really know how to do it.

Shi Zhen talked to him and learned about this, finally saying, "How about I write it?"

President Zhou then let Shi Zhen give it a try.

Shi Zhen quickly wrote a contract.

He practiced calligraphy in his spare time, and his handwriting was very beautiful, even resembling that of Guan Baiyu.

As for contracts... he had seen countless contracts in his past life, many of which were dozens of pages long, and he had to review them with a lawyer by his side...

Now, it's really too easy for him to write a simple contract by hand.

Shi Zhen's contract was very well written, which satisfied Mr. Zhou. However, after seeing Shi Zhen's ID card, Mr. Zhou was somewhat dissatisfied.

He thought Shi Zhen was a local, but he wasn't?

During this period, society was still quite chaotic. If Shi Zhen was a local, then he wouldn't have to worry about Shi Zhen running away, but if Shi Zhen was from out of town, then he wouldn't be so reliable.

Shi Zhen knew this, which is why he took the initiative to offer to sign the contract. He then earnestly explained, "President Zhou, my household registration is not here, but I have lived here for a long time and have relatives here. If you are worried, you can come with me to take a look today."

Mr. Zhou was in a hurry, so he gave him two hundred wool sweaters today and asked him to find someone to embroider them.

Shi Zhen had seen the pattern and roughly understood why he had agreed to his proposal so easily.

The factory recently produced a batch of sweaters that needed to be embroidered with rather intricate floral patterns. They were worried that they couldn't find anyone to do it right away, so they asked me to give it a try.

Mr. Zhou readily agreed.

As agreed, their factory was to deliver the clothes to Shi Zhen, and he would definitely go with him to check on them.

Although Shi Zhen paid a deposit of one thousand yuan, the value of the two hundred sweaters was definitely over one thousand yuan.

Furthermore, they plan to produce several thousand of these sweaters over the next month, all of which will require embroidery. In the future, they might even have to send thousands of sweaters to Shi Zhen at once...

Speaking of which, if Shi Zhen hadn't come yesterday... he might have hired some workers today to come to the factory to do embroidery.

However, doing so is more expensive than sending the job out, and there's no guarantee that it can be completed before delivery.

In comparison, it's better to outsource this kind of work.

He can also get kickbacks!

All the clothes were loaded onto the truck, and Shi Zhen got on as well.

The truck only had two seats in the front. The driver and General Manager Zhou sat there, so Shi Zhen could only sit in the back of the truck, next to a large number of sweaters.

With the scorching sun overhead and thick sweaters all around, Shi Zhen felt hot both physically and mentally.

Fortunately, once this business takes off, it should be able to make a lot of money.

Shi Zhenzheng sighed, and in the blink of an eye, he saw the sweater sample that President Zhou had given him, which was placed on the top shelf.

Wait, there's only one of these samples?

He's going to outsource this work to the women in the village, so he'll definitely have to give them samples.

There's only one sample left... what should he do?

The factory said they needed to take these two hundred pieces of clothing the day after tomorrow, so time was very tight and it would be difficult for him to find someone to sew samples for him right away.

Shi Zhen took a deep breath, looked at the sweaters, and revealed a bitter and resentful expression.

For now, only he can embroider this sample.

It would be good for him to learn how to embroider the clothes, so that when the older women come to him for work, he can teach them how to embroider.

It's really...good.

He's probably going to become a friend of women next.