Shi Zhen suppressed his complicated emotions and looked at Guan Baiyu up close.

Fifteen-year-old Guan Baiyu was a head shorter than him, only about 1.6 meters tall. He was very thin, and his dry, yellow hair showed that he was malnourished.

This child is still very young.

After Shi Zhen was reborn, he was eager to see Guan Baiyu. Once he saw her and felt at ease, he began to consider how to get along with Guan Baiyu.

In his past life, Guan Baiyu treated him very well, helping him manage the company, doing his laundry, cooking for him, and taking care of his life.

He grew up in a poor family with many members, so he rarely experienced warmth at home, but he felt it in Guan Baiyu.

Guan Baiyu is a gentle and kind person.

This kind of person... he has already ruined other people's lives, it's not right for him to ruin them again.

Moreover, he preferred the adult Guan Baiyu, not... the child in front of him.

With his advanced mental age, how could he possibly prey on a minor?

In this life, he hopes that Guan Baiyu will not take any more wrong turns, will study hard, get into a good university, get married and have children, and live a happy life.

Guan Baiyu looked at Shi Zhen with suspicion. Shi Zhen said, "Your mother is my aunt. She told me about you before she died, so I came to find you."

In his previous life, when Guan Baiyu was alive, he never thought of going to his biological grandfather's side to acknowledge his relatives.

Later, after Guan Baiyu died, he unintentionally came into contact with people from that side.

Guan Baiyu's grandfather was just an ordinary civil servant in Anshan Town in the 1950s, but he rose through the ranks step by step and became one of the vice mayors of Changxi City when he retired. His later wife's children were also very successful.

Shi Zhen had a successful career at that time, and since he was staying in Changxi City, he naturally had contact with the other party and they even chatted a few times.

But they never mentioned Guan Baiyu's biological father, and he couldn't find out who Guan Baiyu's mother was either.

Clearly, Guan Baiyu's mother was determined not to acknowledge him, and Guan Baiyu's grandfather also had absolutely no feelings for this grandson.

In that case, he could naturally fabricate an identity for himself and openly treat Guan Baiyu well.

Guan Baiyu stared blankly at Shi Zhen.

Shi Zhen smiled and said, "May I come in and have a seat?"

Guan Baiyu made way for Shi Zhen, who then went inside.

Guan Jian's house has a cement floor, but Guan Baiyu's house still has a mud floor, making the room a bit damp.

There are very few items here, and the few that are there are old objects. For example, the table is obviously quite old, with a pitted and uneven surface. There is a cardboard box on it, as if it has been used to keep something.

Guan Baiyu kept a wary eye on Shi Zhen, but Shi Zhen felt he wasn't being vigilant enough—this kid had actually let him in…

An electric wire was hanging from the roof of Guan Baiyu's house, with a light bulb emitting a dim yellow light.

Guan Baiyu's face was bathed in a halo of light under the lamp: "Are you really my cousin?"

“Of course,” Shi Zhen said. “What benefit would I get from lying to you? You’re not going to give me any money anyway.”

Guan Baiyu stared straight at Shi Zhen with his clear black and white eyes.

Shi Zhen took out thirty yuan and gave it to Guan Baiyu: "Although you are my cousin, I don't have much money right now and can't help you much. Take this money and buy some good food."

Guan Baiyu didn't take the money, so Shi Zhen put the money on the table, sat down at the table, and started talking to Guan Baiyu about Guan Baiyu's mother.

"Both my mother and your mother married far away. My mother married into the mountains, and my aunt married your father. Both of them had a hard life..." Shi Zhen made up his nonsense sound incredibly real. Of course, there were some truths in it, such as his mother's experiences.

He said that his mother died early, and that after Guan Baiyu's father passed away, Guan Baiyu's mother was unable to support him and gave him away. Guan Baiyu's mother also passed away from illness a couple of years ago.

He also said that Guan Baiyu's mother always missed Guan Baiyu, but her family home was too far away to visit him.

Guan Baiyu stared blankly at Shi Zhen with a complex expression.

Shi Zhen knew he needed time to process everything, so he got up to say goodbye: "It's getting late, you should get some rest. I'll come see you again tomorrow night."

Shi Zhen left the thirty yuan and then departed.

Today, he and Shi Xinghuo earned a total of fifteen yuan, but even so, his entire fortune is less than twenty yuan.

He was really...very poor.

Shi Zhen told Guan Baiyu that it was getting late, but in reality it was still early.

Shi Xinghuo wasn't the type to wander off, so staying at home was quite safe for him. Shi Zhen simply jogged off to town.

After digging in the mud all day, he was exhausted, yet still full of energy.

There were hardly any people left in the town, with only a few shops open. Shi Zhen walked along the main street, and when he saw someone, he shamelessly approached them and asked if there were any job openings nearby.

He knew that casting a wide net was unreliable, but for him now, it was the only thing he could do.

Most people are willing to answer questions from someone who is smiling and asking them questions. Unfortunately, most of them don't know where to find workers. Only a few people can name some places, but they are mostly looking for odd jobs.

Anshan Town is currently undergoing road construction and needs laborers. In fact, for many migrant workers, their first job after arriving in the city is on a construction site.

The job of a laborer is unstable and hard, so no one would compete for it. In contrast, a stable job in a factory would be filled quickly by the factory workers' relatives and friends.

Shi Zhen wrote down all this information.

He didn't really want to work on a construction site, but he needed to earn money and couldn't be picky about the job.

When Shi Zhen returned, it was around 9 p.m.

Many people in the countryside were already asleep, but quite a few were still awake. On the way back, you could still hear the sound of televisions playing from some houses.

The next morning, Shi Zhen and Shi Xinghuo ate at Guan Jianguo's house, and he gave Guan Jianguo's mother a dollar.

The old lady immediately beamed with joy, and even cut a salted duck egg, giving half to each of Shi Xinghuo and Shi Zhen to eat with their porridge.

The salted duck eggs are homemade. We start eating them when they're still mild, and they get saltier and saltier as we eat them... These duck eggs are very salty, but they're perfect for people like them who do a lot of physical labor and sweat a lot.

After Shi Zhen finished eating, he and Shi Xinghuo went to find the person who had led them to dig mud yesterday.

Upon learning that they would be digging mud at the same old spot again today, Shi Zhen thought for a moment and decided not to go with them. Instead, he told Shi Xinghuo to work hard with the man.

Shi Xinghuo doesn't speak the local dialect, but he dug mud all day yesterday, so he shouldn't make any mistakes if he continues working today.

The tractor driver only needed one person to help him, and since Shi Xinghuo was older than Shi Zhen and worked harder, he couldn't be happier.

However, since it was just Shi Xinghuo, he would only pay him ten yuan a day.

Shi Zhen had no objections. After Shi Xinghuo and the others went to dig mud, he went to town again.

Anshan Town has many rivers. In recent years, various kinds of domestic sewage have been dumped into the rivers, as well as sewage from various factories. As a result, some river channels are no longer so clear, and there is also silt accumulation.

The government plans to dredge the river that runs through Anshan Town, and once it's finished, they'll build a slope along the river and plant some trees.

Recently, the town has needed laborers, mainly from this area, so Shi Zhen went directly to them and asked if they needed any workers.

“We have enough people,” said one of the men digging in the mud.

Shi Zhen didn't leave after hearing this. He smiled and talked to him, asking how much he was paid for working here for a day.

These weren't secrets, so the man didn't hide them—dredging mud in the riverbed was tiring, and they had a rule that the work had to be completed within half a month, so the daily wage was fifteen yuan, including meals.

Compared to a factory job that pays around 200 yuan a month, this is considered a high income, but it's ultimately unstable. They might lose their jobs in half a month.

Shi Zhen really wanted this job, since it included meals. He didn't have any other options right now, so earning a few dozen or a hundred yuan would be good enough.

He asked who was in charge of the job and went directly to them.

The man in charge of these workers was a middle-aged man in his forties. He himself was also busy, helping people shovel the dredged silt into the tractor.

Shi Zhen waited until he had some free time and was all alone before walking over and asking, "Uncle, are you still hiring here?"

"I'm not confessing anymore," the man said.

"Uncle, ten yuan a day is fine with me," Shi Zhen said without any pretense. "I'll give you five yuan a day."

This man was the leader of the workers, but not the one who paid them. He hesitated for a moment, then left Shi Zhen behind.

He made the excuse that time was tight and he might not be able to finish, and asked to hire an extra worker, which his superiors would most likely agree to.

Shi Zhen breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt somewhat helpless.

There are so many construction sites, these winding, convoluted places, and the workers at the bottom are often exploited.

In the following decade or so, a large number of people went to the city to work, but the laws were not perfect, and too many migrant workers suffered losses.

But things gradually got better after that.

However, such construction sites are undoubtedly the best. These jobs are all funded by the government, so there won't be any issues like wage arrears, and the working hours are usually fixed.

It was a bit tiring, though.

In a few years, when people go to dig up the silt, they'll always be given a waterproof bodysuit with rain boots.

But now the conditions aren't so good; Shi Zhen and his group only have one pair of rubber rain boots each.

Much of the water in the river has been drained. The shallow parts are fine, but in the deep parts, water can easily fill your shoes if you step in.

Even though your feet are constantly in the water, you still have to get the work done.

At noon, Shi Zhen climbed ashore, emptied the water from his shoes, rinsed his feet in the nearby river, and then went to collect his lunchbox.

Rice is unlimited here. There's only one dish, but it's braised pork with fried tofu. Even though there aren't many pieces of meat, it's very oily.

Shi Zhen was extremely satisfied with this job.

Xiaqiu Junior High School, Class 1, Grade 9.

Lunch is provided at Xiaqiu Junior High School, but students are also allowed to eat at school.

If you want to eat at school, you have to pay ten kilograms of rice and fifteen yuan every month.

The school food was very basic. We ate meat once a week, and the rest of the time it was mostly vegetables, with maybe a little bit of shredded meat at most.

Guan Baiyu neither paid for grain nor for money; he brought his lunch to school every day in an enamel mug.

As soon as the school bell rang at noon, he took out his enamel mug.

This cup is quite old; it's been chipped and chipped in many places, and the outer porcelain is gone. It looks dark and dirty. The food inside is simple: white rice and steamed garlic leaves, which have long since gone cold.

He took a spoon and ate slowly, bite by bite.

At the same time, Yan Jiangtao, who had just returned with his food, also started taking out his lunchbox from his bag. Yan Jiangtao eats at school, but his parents prepare meat or scrambled eggs for him to take to school every day to eat with hot rice.

But today, when he opened his schoolbag, he suddenly found a dead inchworm inside.

Locals call this insect an "inch-foot worm." There are many of them on the trees here. Sometimes when we are doing exercises at school, these insects will fall from the trees next to us and land on our heads.

Children are usually not afraid of these insects, but they are disgusting because they are slimy after they die. Yan Jiangtao immediately started cursing.

Guan Baiyu, perhaps fearing being implicated, stood aside with his cup in hand, lowering his eyelids to avoid looking at Yan Jiangtao.