When Shi Zhen returned home that day, he felt a little heavy-hearted.

Guan Baiyu was probably bought by his adoptive grandmother back then.

In the 1970s and 80s, the preference for sons over daughters was severe, and the abandonment of female infants was not uncommon, even in Changxi City.

But male infants, especially healthy ones, are generally not abandoned.

Who are Guan Baiyu's biological parents?

If it were twenty years or more later, with the help of the internet and various family-finding organizations, Guan Baiyu would have a high probability of finding his parents.

But this was in the 1990s.

These days, even human trafficking is still common, making it extremely difficult to find family members.

As for the fact that Guan Baiyu's identity as his "cousin" will be exposed after he finds his family... Shi Zhen doesn't care much about that.

The brotherhood he developed with Guan Baiyu in their daily interactions was genuine. Even if he lied to Guan Baiyu, Guan Baiyu probably wouldn't hold it against him.

Actually, he didn't mind telling Guan Baiyu everything, but he was afraid that if he did, Guan Baiyu would no longer be willing to accept his help, or would think that he had ulterior motives.

Thinking about these things now is actually meaningless.

In two years, once he has the money, he will definitely find a way to help Guan Baiyu find his biological parents.

Shi Zhen was in a bad mood, but when Guan Baiyu came back, he looked particularly happy, his eyes and brows full of joy, and he even rushed towards him and hugged him tightly.

Guan Baiyu was taking a car home, and instead of feeling cold, he felt warm. Shi Zhen was bumped into by him, and all his frustration vanished.

"Xiaoyu, what's making you so happy?" Shi Zhen asked.

Guan Baiyu said, "Brother, I want to start a company!"

Start a company? Shi Zhen was stunned.

Guan Baiyu said, "Brother, don't I have five thousand yuan? I want to use this money to start a company with Liang Qinxuan, specializing in producing pencil cases and school bags!"

Shi Zhen was both surprised and delighted that Guan Baiyu would have the idea of ​​starting a company.

He didn't know about other eras, but in 1995, opening a stationery company... was basically a sure-fire way to make money.

For someone born in the 1970s like him, unless they lived in the city, their parents wouldn't give them much money to buy stationery when they were in school.

When he was a child, he only had one pencil, and he would only buy another one when it was used up.

But children today are different.

Nowadays, people have more money, and most people still won't skimp on their children's education.

Most importantly, the period from the late 1980s to the early 1990s was a time of massive births in the country, also known as the baby boom.

He remembered looking at population data in his previous life. Starting in 1963, there was a baby boom. After that baby boom, the year with the highest number of births was 1987, with 25 million births in a year.

Many years after that year, an unusually large number of children were born.

These children are either just starting primary school or about to start primary school.

When they were born, the one-child policy had already been implemented. Although there were still some who had more than one child, it was generally... Because there were fewer children, parents at that time treated their children much better than parents in the past.

Parents will never leave their children without pencil cases and school bags.

"Xiaoyu, you're amazing! That's a fantastic idea," Shi Zhen praised.

Liang Qinxuan, who got off the car behind Guan Baiyu, was shocked by Guan Baiyu's idea. Guan Baiyu, who had not read many books and usually worked as a street vendor and bricklayer, and whose cousin worked hard to support him, did not think that Guan Baiyu was being unrealistic at all.

Shi Zhen not only didn't think Guan Baiyu was being unrealistic, but he also said, "You shouldn't just sell pencil cases and schoolbags. These two things can make money, but they're definitely not the most profitable... When you have money, you can think about producing ballpoint pens, which are consumables."

Backpacks and pencil cases are typically bought one per year at most for children. If the quality is good and the child takes good care of them, these can even last for several years.

But pens are different, especially ballpoint pens.

Shi Zhen recalls that although many people used fountain pens at that time, in a few years, everyone would use ballpoint pens and no longer like using fountain pens.

Later, they switched to using ballpoint pens.

These things consume a lot of resources!

Twenty years later, large brands monopolized certain markets, making it difficult for small companies to make money. But now...

In his past life, he would read autobiographies of brand founders. Right now, the founder of one of the well-known stationery brands is still working as a stationery salesman.

Anyway, in the 1990s, producing these necessities would definitely not have trouble selling.

"Producing ballpoint pens?" Guan Baiyu asked with some curiosity.

Shi Zhen said, "That's right. It seems that ballpoint pen refills can't be produced domestically yet, but they're not expensive to buy from abroad... The pen barrels are made of plastic, so if you have the capital and buy the machines, you can definitely produce them."

In his previous life, Shi Zhen knew many wealthy people in Changxi City.

Some of them made their fortunes producing wool sweaters, some producing cups, some specializing in textile raw materials... they do all sorts of things.

After his rebirth, he did not follow their path because he did not understand these things and did not have the corresponding connections.

But if Guan Baiyu were to work with Liang Qinxuan... Liang Qinxuan's father had a very wide network of connections at that time, and could definitely help them.

In his previous life, a year or two later, Liang Qinxuan's grandmother would pass away, and Liang's father would kick Liang Qinxuan out of the house.

Later, his company went bankrupt, and he himself fell ill and died.

But now... according to Liang Qinxuan, his grandmother is in good health. Her physical examination showed that she only has minor ailments and no major ones. She spends her days at home taking care of her granddaughter and scolding her daughter-in-law. She is very energetic and may live for another ten or twenty years.

Mr. Liang has just had a daughter late in life, so he will definitely be very dedicated to his work. His glass factory itself is fine and should not go bankrupt.

With Liang's father's help, Liang Qinxuan and Guan Baiyu's stationery company is doing pretty well.

"Brother, you know so much!" Guan Baiyu thought his brother was amazing, he knew everything.

Shi Zhen smiled and then told Guan Baiyu how to start the company, adding, "The company name must be catchy and easy to remember, and don't forget about the trademark. I think the affordable market is easier to do than the high-end market, and the products should be inexpensive and of good quality."

Shi Zhen then started chatting with Guan Baiyu.

Liang Qinxuan, who was listening from the side, was completely confused.

He's about the same age as Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu, and he comes from a family with a strong academic background, so he has the highest level of education... He's already in his second year of high school!

As a result, how come the other person knows so much more than him?

As for Liang Qinxuan's cousin, he also stayed by his side, pretending to be invisible, and took notes of everything he could remember.

He was actually just an ordinary person since childhood. He was able to work as a driver for Liang's father's company because he was Liang Qinxuan's cousin.

Moreover... while he's called the company driver, what Liang's father actually asks of him now is to take good care of Liang Qinxuan.

As long as Liang Qinxuan is well, he's fine!

The previous semester, regardless of Liang Qinxuan's relationship with his father, he received a big bonus when he ranked in the top 30 of his class at the end of the semester!

In addition, he told Liang Qinxuan's father about what Liang Qinxuan did, such as Liang Qinxuan selling stationery at school... When Liang's father was happy, he would give him a big red envelope.

All of Liang Qinxuan's changes were brought about by Guan Baiyu.

Liang Qinxuan's maternal uncle is a bit superstitious. He now believes that Guan Baiyu is Liang Qinxuan's benefactor, and by extension, his benefactor as well.

This important person... is truly exceptional! They're clearly destined for great things!

He had previously told Liang's father that Liang Qinxuan and Guan Baiyu wanted to make pencil cases to sell. At the time, Liang's father said that they were just kids, acting on impulse. Then, worried that they wouldn't be able to sell their pencil cases, he hurriedly went to find people, determined to help them sell them no matter what.

And now... they're already thinking about starting a company.

Although things are progressing a bit fast, Liang Qinxuan's uncle believes that Liang's father will definitely support him and might even give him a red envelope.

Liang Qinxuan is so promising! He's only in high school and he already wants to start a company!

In his previous life, Shi Zhen had also run a company, so he knew exactly what a company was all about and pointed Guan Baiyu and the others in the right direction.

He thought it was a good idea for them to start by making pencil cases and school bags, and then think about other things once they made some money.

As for starting a company and needing a legal representative... Liang Qinxuan and Guan Baiyu are both too young. Shi Zhen glanced at Liang Qinxuan's cousin. If he were Liang's father, he would probably ask this person for help.

Liang Qinxuan stayed at Shi Zhen's house for a long time that day, and didn't go home until it got dark.

He was very excited after hearing what Shi Zhen said.

He now feels that the stationery business has a very promising future.

He'll surpass his father in no time!

However, the smile on his face disappeared when he got home.

He went in with a stern face, giving his father a cold shoulder.

However, he answered his grandmother's questions properly.

Unable to contain himself, he said to his grandmother, "Grandma, I want to start a company!"

Grandma Liang was overjoyed: "Oh my good grandson, you're much more capable than your father! How old are you! And you're already starting a company!"

Liang Qinxuan immediately became smug.

Father Liang: "..."

After Liang Qinxuan went upstairs, Liang's father asked Liang Qinxuan's cousin about the situation. When the cousin told him, he was also somewhat surprised: "That Guan Baiyu and his brother are really not simple."

In the past, if he met someone like that, he would definitely want to be friends with them.

Now... let his son go and make friends.

Thinking of something, Liang's father asked again, "What is that Shi Zhen doing now?"

He knew a lot about Guan Baiyu before, but very little about Shi Zhen, and only now did he think of asking him.

Liang Qinxuan's cousin then told him about Shi Zhen building houses for people in the countryside.

After a moment's thought, Liang's father immediately said, "He certainly won't stay in the countryside building houses for people forever."

After a while, Liang's father said again, "If Xuanxuan wants to start a company, then let him start it. You'll have to take care of the company's affairs."

Liang Qinxuan's cousin was overjoyed.

Meanwhile, Shi Zhen contacted people and bought a lot of things.

He bought everything needed for the Chinese New Year, including couplets, bright red "福" (good fortune) characters, and various candies and biscuits.

He's going back to his hometown for the Chinese New Year.

Previously, he always took the bus back and forth, but this time, he plans to drive a tractor back.

Given that taking the bus is expensive now, the whole family, including Guan Baiyu, will go back together. Driving a tractor would be cheaper than taking the bus.

He could also... load half a truckload of goods and go back.

Shi Zhen had already made plans. He would buy everything he could take to the mountains to sell, and when he set off, he would build a small shed on the tractor with bamboo strips and cover it with plastic sheeting to keep out the wind... so that his family wouldn't get cold inside.

As for having Guan Baiyu come back with him for the New Year, that was something he had already decided long ago, and he had asked Guan Baiyu, who agreed.

Guan Guangguo did not treat Guan Baiyu as his son, and he could not leave Guan Baiyu alone here for the New Year.

There wasn't a single wool sweater left in Guan Jianguo's house; instead, it was piled high with Shi Zhenjin's various goods.

It was at this time that Shi Zhen told the villagers that they could come to him to collect the money for the last month or so of embroidering sweaters.

He'd had the money in his hands for several days already, but he deliberately delayed telling him about it. As for the reason...

There are only seven or eight days left until the Lunar New Year. Most villagers have prepared some things for the New Year, such as salted meat, dried bamboo shoots, and dried kelp, but most people haven't bought couplets or anything like that yet.

Now the women come to Shi Zhen to collect their wages...

"Zhang Xiumei, five hundred and twenty-one yuan and six mao." Shi Zhen handed Zhang Xiumei the money: "Auntie, you count it."

Zhang Xiumei took the money, a smile appearing on her serious face, and then her gaze drifted to the various items behind Shi Zhen: "How much is that big red 'Fu' character?"

"The one with gold trim? Fifty cents," Shi Zhen said.

Five cents isn't cheap, but that "Fu" character is big and beautiful; it would look so nice to stick it on the front door! Most importantly, she just got over five hundred yuan from Shi Zhen.

The money is warm in my hand, and spending a little bit doesn't seem like a big deal.

Zhang Xiumei, a thrifty person, couldn't resist buying a couplet, a "Fu" character, and some candy from Shi Zhen. Not to mention the others.

Some women in the village are actually quite willing to spend money. They like everything they see. If they see this and think it's nice, they want that too. Before they know it, they've spent tens of yuan.

Shi Zhen was very happy to receive the money.

After he acquired these items, he sold them almost all for double the price, and some even sold them for three times the purchase price. For example, a couplet that cost three cents a pair would be sold for one dollar.

The profits are just amazing!

However, this kind of thing only allows you to make a quick profit before the Lunar New Year.

When Shi Zhen was selling, he also paid attention to what people preferred to buy.

After selling a batch of goods here, he would go to get more stock before going home. When he did get stock, he would definitely buy whatever sold well.

While Shi Zhen was running a small business in Guanjia Village during the Chinese New Year, Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan's company was also starting to register.

The company's legal representative is Liang Qinxuan's maternal uncle. The registered capital is 20,000 yuan, of which Liang Qinxuan contributes 10,000 yuan, Guan Baiyu contributes 5,000 yuan, and Liang Qinxuan's maternal uncle also contributes 5,000 yuan.

The company is currently just an empty shell. Many agreements were signed separately by them. Guan Baiyu is young, so some contracts were signed by Shi Zhen.

When signing, Shi Zhen also helped to supplement the contract—the original contract had many loopholes that could be exploited.

Of course, these loopholes were not created by Liang Qinxuan to trick Guan Baiyu; they probably didn't even know it themselves. In fact, if he had seized these loopholes, he could have used them to trick Liang Qinxuan in return.

Now, by adding some clauses, he can ensure that the Liang family will not dare to underestimate Guan Baiyu.

The contract they signed, supposedly prepared by Liang Qinxuan's maternal uncle, was actually written by someone hired by Liang's father; it was quite complicated.

Liang Qinxuan and his cousin, who were already having a hard time understanding the original contract, were speechless. "This Shi Zhen is too formidable! He's not someone who can be easily fooled!"

Even Liang's father, after seeing the revised contract, felt a newfound respect for Shi Zhen. He decided that his company would also include the clauses Shi Zhen added in future contracts with other companies!