Fang Miyan woke up very early.
Her family's house is quite nice. Her parents are frugal. When her father wasn't an alcoholic in his younger years, he was willing to work. The couple saved a lot of money, and with the dowry her older sister received when she got married, they managed to build the house they have now.
The house has two floors, with two large rooms facing south and two large rooms facing north.
The two large north-facing rooms on the ground floor were walled up and divided into four rooms: a woodshed, a sheep pen, a kitchen, and her bedroom.
The two large rooms at the front of the second floor were the bedrooms of her parents and her younger brother, while the two rooms at the back were used for raising silkworms. When the silkworms grew larger and more numerous, the two rooms on the ground floor facing south were also used for raising silkworms.
Silkworm farming is her family's main source of income. Because they raise so many silkworms, their own mulberry leaves are simply not enough, so they have to buy mulberry leaves from other families in the village who don't raise silkworms or raise only a few.
Fang Miyan's bedroom is at the far north end, accessible only from the kitchen, but there's one advantage to her living here.
Her bedroom has a north-facing door, so she could easily leave without making a sound.
Her father and brother were too busy to pay attention to her, and her mother didn't dare to say anything to her father when she wasn't around, which made it easier for her to go out and work.
"I can cook later today," Fang Miyan said. After waking up, she went to the main room to check the time, then went back to the kitchen to add rice and water to the pot. After boiling it, she simmered it to make a pot of porridge before leaving through the back door.
She walked very fast, sometimes even running, and soon arrived at Guanjia Village, which Shi Zhen had mentioned.
It was only a little past six o'clock, but people in the countryside get up early; some were already drinking porridge at their doorsteps, and others were working in the fields.
Fang Miyan asked around and walked forward until she saw the place Shi Zhen had mentioned.
The door was wide open, and inside were various things. A young man in old clothes was sorting through bundles of sweaters, tying them up with plastic rope.
Fang Miyan walked over, sized up the man who exuded an air of poverty, and asked, "Hello, do you know where Shi Zhen lives?"
Shi Xingchao turned his head and was stunned.
Since he came to Anshan Town, he has never seen a young girl dressed like that again.
In the rural areas of Anshan Town, there are also families who are not well-off and cannot afford to eat meat or turn on the lights.
But most people still care about their clothing, and young girls certainly wouldn't dress in rags. Take Guan Guangguo, for example; he lost money raising chickens, but Guan Jinjin never had to resort to wearing tattered clothes.
But the girl was wearing a patched men's shirt, and her canvas shoes didn't fit properly...
Generally speaking... only old men and women in the village, and middle-aged men and women who have to work in the fields, would dress like this, right?
Oh, he dresses like that too.
He actually has new clothes, especially recently, his mother bought him new clothes, but he feels that the old ones are still wearable and there is no need to wear new clothes.
"Are you Fang Miyan?" Shi Xingchao asked.
Shi Zhen told him that Fang Miyan would be coming today, but he didn't expect Fang Miyan to be like this.
"Mm," Fang Miyan said.
"Shi Zhen lives in that little house, and Shi Daniu and the others live over there," Shi Xingchao pointed out the way to Fang Miyan.
Fang Miyan nodded and walked towards Shi Zhen.
When Fang Miyan arrived, Shi Zhen had already washed up and was eating noodles.
Fang Miyan asked, "Am I too late?"
“It’s not late. I was just hungry, so I made something to eat myself… Well, you can just come over and cook lunch and dinner for the next couple of days,” Shi Zhen said. If they don’t have to work, they can have simple breakfasts; they can just cook some porridge themselves. Fang Miyan doesn’t need to come over to cook breakfast.
"Mm." Fang Miyan nodded.
"I'll take you to Shi Daniu's place to familiarize yourself with the area." Shi Zhen led Fang Miyan forward.
Fang Miyan was a woman of few words, and Shi Zhen had assumed she wouldn't speak to him first. However, after taking a few steps, Fang Miyan suddenly said, "Boss, since you're not working these past two days, could you perhaps reduce the food expenses a little?"
"Oh...how do we lower it?" Shi Zhen asked.
Fang Miyan said earnestly, "We can eat something cheaper."
Shi Zhen laughed: "It would be great if you could save me money, but it can't be too bad."
"Mm," Fang Miyan replied.
Shi Zhen still gave Fang Miyan thirty yuan for food expenses, so she could buy groceries and cook. As for the money, there should be more... they can make up the difference tomorrow.
Shi Zhen thought that after Fang Miyan proposed cutting food expenses, the quality of their lunches and dinners would drop significantly, but that didn't happen.
Their lunch today actually looked better than usual.
Locals don't like to eat pig lungs, so Fang Miyan bought two for six cents, washed them clean with water, boiled them, cut them open, stir-fried them with chive hearts, and made a big bowlful.
She also spent two yuan to buy a lot of saury, which she braised.
Add a pickled vegetable and tomato soup... the three dishes only cost three yuan, but they looked very plentiful and the portions were large.
She truly is a master at saving money.
To be honest, Shi Zhen used to give her thirty yuan a day to buy groceries, but she had never spent that much before; she usually only spent about twenty yuan a day.
Now... without making breakfast, she can probably manage to feed the seven of them for ten yuan a day.
Shi Zhen's idea was correct. The next day, Fang Miyan bought a pig's head with its ears and tongue cut off.
Although the price of pig's head has gone up, it's still cheap to be honest. Most importantly, there's a lot of meat. She stewed one pig's head and divided it into two meals for Shi Daniu and the others, along with some cheap salted fish and stir-fried vegetables... Everyone liked it.
When Shi Zhen went to Shi Xingchao's place, he took the time to talk to Shi Xingchao about Fang Miyan.
Shi Xingchao's eyes lit up: "Then she knows how to manage a household well!"
“He’s very good at managing his finances,” Shi Zhen said.
It should be said that, like Shi Xingchao, he felt uncomfortable when he didn't have money, so he was stingy.
There are actually quite a few people like this in rural areas, mainly because they were too poor in the past and can't change their ways.
Another similar problem is hoarding; some people can't bear to throw anything away and even pick up things from all over the place to bring home.
Shi Zhen didn't introduce Shi Xingchao and Fang Miyan. He skipped introducing Shi Xingchao, since he wasn't that familiar with Fang Miyan.
But the two of them soon came into contact.
After learning that embroidering sweaters could earn money, Fang Miyan got a sweater from Shi Xingchao to embroider.
After Shi Zhen and the others changed construction sites, Fang Miyan cooked for them and embroidered sweaters whenever she had free time. She was very serious about it, but she didn't have much time and could only embroider for four or five yuan a day.
Shi Zhen was not surprised by this, but Shi Daniu and the others were a little surprised.
Shi Daniu also privately told Liang Dawen and Liang Weiguo that she was a good girl and that they should cherish her.
However, Liang Weiguo was preoccupied with Shi Xingxing and had no interest in Mi Yan.
As for Liang Dawen, he also refused outright: "Brother Da Niu, I don't have a single penny right now, how am I supposed to get married!" The girls here ask for much more in dowry than they do back home.
Of course, there are girls who don't ask for a dowry, but would they even be interested in him?
He was thinking that when his younger siblings grew up and the house was built, he would save up enough money to find a wife.
As November arrived, Shi Zhen had more jobs completed, and of course, he also took on new jobs.
Previously, many bricklayers and other craftsmen worked for him as part-time jobs, but later, when he had more work, they simply started working for him.
Although the work here is heavier and doesn't include meals, if you work fast, you get paid fast too!
Elsewhere, you can earn a maximum of one thousand a month, but here you can earn two or three thousand!
Shi Zhen's team is growing larger and larger.
Shi Zhen pondered that if there were still people in his hometown willing to come with him when he returned for the New Year, he could find a few more people to join his team.
In addition, he also wants to train some capable people. He is currently managing all aspects of various construction sites, and he is too busy. He certainly cannot continue like this in the future.
Shi Zhen's first choice was Liang Weiguo and Liang Dawen, both of whom were young and had great potential.
But this can't be rushed.
Shi Zhen built many houses for people and became famous in the local area. At the same time, a big problem arose - people often couldn't reach him for a while when they wanted to find him.
Shi Zhen had to admit that doing business well required a lot of things.
He used to think that what he needed most was a van, but now he feels that... what he needs most is a cell phone.
If Shi Zhen builds self-built houses for those bosses, including decoration, he can earn tens of thousands of yuan per house.
His savings have soared in recent months and now amount to more than 40,000.
During this period, a rural family with this much savings was considered wealthy. This money wasn't accumulated little by little; it was earned over several months, making it all the more remarkable.
But this money really doesn't last long... These days, a mobile phone costs over ten thousand!
Well, back then, people didn't call them cell phones; they called them "big brother phones."
The reason you can buy it at this price is because the price of mobile phones has recently come down... A few years ago, mobile phones would sell for 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.
Of course, today's mobile phones are different from those of a few years ago. Although they still have antennas, they are smaller and have already taken on the form of mobile phones.
After thinking about it, Shi Zhen decided to buy one anyway.
Installing a telephone would also work, but a mobile phone is more convenient.
Speaking of telephones... most households don't have telephones nowadays, but the number of people who need to use them is increasing...
After buying the mobile phone, Shi Zhen went to find Shi Dalin.
Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun opened their shop every day and made a lot of money in the past few months. The two were overjoyed. They not only paid back the money they had borrowed from Zhao Qiujuan, but also secretly gave Shi Zhen three thousand yuan, saying it was for the refrigerator and tricycle.
A few days ago, Zhao Meiyun also bought a bicycle, and she treasures it like a precious gem.
Furthermore, not long after Shi Ting started wearing underwear, Zhao Qiujuan also started wearing it, while Zhao Meiyun remained largely unchanged.
When Shi Zhen arrived, it was just after elementary school let out, and a group of children rushed into Shi Dalin's shop.
Some people bought stationery and snacks, while others bought tea eggs, vermicelli soup, and other things from Zhao Meiyun. Cup-packaged instant noodles were also popular.
Seeing this, Shi Zhen helped collect the money.
Although he doesn't come often, he still knows the prices of most items in the store.
After working on it for an hour, the children finally dispersed.
Zhao Meiyun and the others had already finished dinner, and now they asked Shi Zhen, "Zhen, have you eaten?"
"Not yet," Shi Zhen said.
"Shall I make you some fried rice with eggs?" Zhao Meiyun asked.
"Okay," Shi Zhen agreed.
Zhao Meiyun quickly made fried rice for Shi Zhen, with at least two eggs and some ham. Zhao Qiujuan also brought out vermicelli soup and a plate of fried peanuts for Shi Zhen.
Shi Zhen ate heartily, saying as he ate, "Dad, Aunt Zhao, I bought a mobile phone. You can call me if you need anything in the future."
"What? A mobile phone?" Shi Dalin was dumbfounded.
Shi Zhen then took out his old mobile phone and showed it to him.
In Shi Dalin's small shop, there is a toy that sells very well: a fake mobile phone.
The fake mobile phone was made just like the real one, with buttons and even the sound it made when the buttons were pressed was indistinguishable from the real thing.
Children especially love this toy, and recently there have been news reports of people using fake mobile phones to scam money.
But that was fake; the mobile phone that Shi Zhen has now is real.
Shi Dalin didn't dare to touch it at all.
Zhao Meiyun also gasped, looking at the toy mobile phone that was smaller than the one in their store, and asked, "How much does this cost?"
“More than ten thousand,” Shi Zhen said.
"This is such an expensive thing..." Zhao Meiyun found it unbelievable.
Zhao Qiujuan remained relatively calm: "Mom, it's nothing. All those big bosses have mobile phones. Ah Zhen is a boss now, so he should have one too."
However, despite saying that, she didn't dare to touch Shi Zhen's big brother.
This thing is too precious!
All her current possessions are probably only enough to buy a mobile phone.
Zhao Qiujuan has been helping out at the shop every day recently, so Shi Dalin told Zhao Meiyun not to charge her for meals anymore. In addition, since there are no expenses at home, she has been saving money very quickly, and now she has 12,000 yuan.
Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun, on the other hand, although they earn a decent amount, they only have about two or three thousand yuan left because they have to pay off debts.
“I heard that this mobile phone costs 60 cents per minute to make a call,” Zhao Meiyun added. “If it were me, I wouldn’t dare to use it.”
"Having a mobile phone would make things much easier if we wanted to take on business... By the way, Dad, Aunt Zhao, why don't you install a telephone in the shop?"
"Install a telephone? What's the point of that? It's just a money pit," Shi Dalin said.
“Having a telephone would be much more convenient. You could even put up a ‘public telephone’ sign and charge people when they make a call,” Shi Zhen said.
By this time, many households in the town already had telephones, and more households in the countryside also had telephones, but there were still many people who did not have telephones at home.
Installing a telephone not only makes things convenient for yourself, but you can also collect money from people in the neighborhood who call you.
Most importantly, he had inquired beforehand and found that installing a telephone is now cheaper than before.
A few years ago, it cost 3,000 yuan to install a telephone. Now, in towns, you can find someone to install one for only 700 or 800 yuan. In rural areas, it's a bit more expensive, but 1,000 yuan is still enough.
Over the years, this country has undergone tremendous changes every year.
He recalled that in the early 2000s, public telephone booths were built in many places in Anshan Town to make it convenient for people to make phone calls. However, after a few years, mobile phones became widespread, and all those public telephone booths were abandoned.
Many households in the town have telephones, so it would be a lie to say that Shi Dalin didn't want a telephone.
Not long after Shi Zhen suggested it to him, he installed a telephone in his small shop.
After that, quite a few people paid to make phone calls, and Shi Daniu and his group contributed a lot of money.
With a mobile phone, it became easier for Shi Zhen to contact Guan Baiyu.
As December arrives, Shi Daniu and his team will be finishing up their work again.
This is a self-built house for two brothers. The house is now completed, and the painting and tiling are almost done. Next, the carpenters and painters will come in, as Shi Daniu and his brother are going to move to another location.
Because it was time to wrap up work and there were a lot of things to do, Shi Zhen stayed there for a while.
At noon, Fang Miyan made braised pork with preserved mustard greens. Each person had a bowl. Shi Zhen ladled out a bowl of rice, put half of the meat and soup into it, and started eating.
As for the bland stir-fried vegetables... he didn't even want to pick up his chopsticks.
Everyone else, like Shi Zhen, ate rice mixed with meat broth. While they were eating, Fang Miyan suddenly asked Shi Zhen, "Boss, why don't you buy a motorcycle?"
"I don't have any money," Shi Zhen said with a smile.
He actually has the money to buy a motorcycle, but he thinks it's better to buy a car.
“You can borrow money if you don’t have any,” Fang Miyan said.
"What do you need to borrow money to buy a motorcycle for? To drive a motorcycle taxi?" Shi Zhen asked with a smile.
Speaking of which, motorcycles have become popular in rural areas this year.
Many families with good financial means bought motorcycles for their sons this year.
Young men with motorcycles...that's really cool, and it makes finding a spouse easier.
Some of these young people who bought motorcycles just know how to drive around with girls, while others are different; they go to town to pick up passengers and earn money as "motorcycle taxi drivers."
Those who do well can earn quite a bit of money.
Fang Miyan lowered her head and ate her food, remaining silent.
When she got home, she saw her younger brother making a fuss again: "They all have motorcycles, but I don't!"
“They’re everywhere, but many people don’t have them…” said Mr. Fang. In their village, not a single one out of ten families had bought a motorcycle.
"Yeah, there are motorcycles everywhere now! Even her boss doesn't have one!" Fang Miyan thought to herself.
"Old Qi and Er Mao are both here!"
“Xiao Liang, their family is rich…” Fang’s mother muttered.
“Our family isn’t that poor either. Didn’t you all save more than 20,000 yuan?” Fang Miliang said.
Fang Miliang insisted on buying a motorcycle, and he wanted to buy the more expensive one, which would cost 30,000 yuan in total.
Mr. and Mrs. Fang couldn't persuade their son otherwise. Neither of them knew many words and had only ever been to nearby towns. They had never been to the city and didn't know how to buy a motorcycle... They borrowed 5,000 yuan from others, scraping together 30,000 yuan, and gave it all to their son so he could buy it himself.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com