The people of Guanjia Village all thought the Shi family had gone mad, spending so much money to build a house that wasn't even facing south, but rather east-west.
What's the point of having a house like this?!
"Buying the land and building the house will cost about 200,000 yuan, which is too expensive."
“Building a house in the countryside only costs 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.”
"So much money just going to be thrown in like that?"
...
Twenty years later, the reason why housing prices in Anshan Town are so high is actually because people from nearby rural areas are buying them.
After all, only by buying a house in town can the child attend kindergarten, primary school, and junior high school in town.
Back then, everyone was doing their best to send their children to schools in town. When young men went on blind dates, the first thing people asked was whether they owned a house in town.
Of course, the most impressive are those who own houses in Changxi City... The schools in Changxi City are better than those in the town.
In a rural junior high school, out of 400 students taking the high school entrance exam, it's already quite good if 100 of them can get into a regular high school. Getting into the city's top high school basically requires being recommended for admission.
What is the best junior high school in Changxi City? A class there can have more than a dozen students admitted to the No. 1 Middle School in the city.
As for the junior high school in Anshan Town, in each grade, there are always twenty or thirty students who can get into the No. 1 High School in the city, and more than half of the students can go to regular high schools.
Of course, most rural people in the 1990s didn't push their children too hard, and they didn't think that much about it. They just felt that houses in town were too expensive.
“We also want to build a house in the countryside, but we can’t get a land permit,” Shi Xingchao said.
In rural areas, land belongs to the village collective, and only villagers are allowed to build houses within the village.
"Sigh, then you'll have to spend a lot of money." Hearing Shi Xingchao say this, the villagers sighed and showed sympathetic expressions.
As for private matters... they are certainly envious.
The Shi family is incredibly wealthy!
Most people just envy her, but those like the young grandmother inevitably gossip in the village, saying that the Shi family is bragging and that they are putting on a show of wealth when they actually have no money.
Of course, apart from a very few people, no one believed her.
Besides the people of Guanjia Village, those in the town who knew Zhao Meiyun and Shi Dalin were also shocked.
Zhao Meiyun and Shi Dalin were from out of town, from the mountains, and they couldn't read or write, so the locals looked down on them somewhat.
When Shi Zhen bought the car, people praised him and envied him, but in the end... there were some people who thought that Shi Dalin, Zhao Meiyun, and Zhao Qiujuan gave all the money to Shi Zhen so that he could afford the car.
Their family is so hardworking, yet they use all their money to buy a car for their son... Some people even think Shi Zhen is a spendthrift.
There are always many people who are unwilling to believe that others are really rich.
But now Shi Dalin and his group have bought land to build houses, and the person in charge of building the houses is still Shi Zhen...
Previously, I stubbornly refused to believe that Shi Zhenzhen was the promising person he described to Zhao Meiyun, but now I have no choice but to believe him.
They even inquired around and felt that Shi Zhen might be even more promising than Zhao Meiyun had described.
Some people who had gossiped about Shijia behind his back were too embarrassed to come to the Shijia convenience store to cool off and chat.
Of course, Zhao Meiyun knew nothing about this. Lately, she couldn't help but keep telling people about her house that was going to be built, and everyone was getting annoyed.
Of the four construction teams building the house, Shi Zhen was the first to start work.
He builds bare-bones houses, without any decoration. The reason why a five-story building costs 70,000 yuan is because, according to the government's construction requirements, the building must be a cast-in-place concrete structure.
Not only that, but piles also need to be driven underground.
Shi Zhen didn't have a pile driver, so he had to go to Changxi City to rent one in order to drive the piles, and the pile driving process alone would take a long time.
Fortunately, the land where he built the house was not a paddy field before, otherwise the cost of piling alone would have exceeded the budget.
Early that morning, Shi Zhen arrived at the construction site to watch the workers drive piles with machines.
Just then, someone called out, "Shi Zhen?"
Shi Zhen turned his head and saw a short, chubby young man. After thinking for a moment, he remembered that this was the man Zhao Dongjuan had initially sought out. He had completely forgotten the man's name.
"It's you," Shi Zhen said with a smile.
"Did you build this construction site?" Zhong Liyang asked curiously.
Shi Zhen's attire was completely different from those of the workers; he was clearly the site manager.
“I did it,” Shi Zhen asked him. “How did you get here? Is your house here?” As he spoke, he suddenly remembered that among the people who signed the contract with him, there was indeed a family surnamed Zhong, and that family had built a house with a separate storefront.
"Yes, our current house is too cramped, so my parents want to build a new one," Zhong Liyang said.
The houses in town used to be really not very good.
However, Zhong Liyang's family is really rich to be able to buy land and build a house on their own.
He had previously misjudged this person's family background.
"The main reason is that I'm getting married." Zhong Liyang smiled shyly at Shi Zhen.
"Congratulations," Shi Zhen said.
Zhong Liyang was clearly in a good mood. He asked Shi Zhen some questions about the construction. During the conversation, he also mentioned that his wife was a Chinese language teacher at the junior high school in town, who had just arrived last year.
Zhong Liyang chatted with Shi Zhen for a while before leaving. As soon as he left, other people who came to see how their houses were being built approached Shi Zhen for a chat.
This person had seen Zhong Liyang before and had spoken enviously about Zhong Liyang's family situation. Zhong Liyang's father worked in the town government and owned shares in the cement factory in Anshan Town where Shi Zhen occasionally bought cement.
Cement from cement plants is currently in high demand and short supply, which is why Zhong Liyang's family is incredibly wealthy.
The person also mentioned that Zhong Liyang's family had just bought a computer, which cost over ten thousand yuan.
Shi Zhen felt poor once again.
He was indeed poor. To be honest, Guan Baiyu's company had computers, which Liang's father bought for him. They weren't very useful; they were mainly used for appearances and as high-end typewriters.
After Liang Qinxuan finished his college entrance exams a while ago, his father bought him another computer.
Yesterday, he went to Changxi City to see Liang's father, who complained to him that his son played video games at home every day.
However, judging from Liang's father's expression, he seemed quite happy that his son was playing video games at home. When it was time to eat, he rushed home to have dinner because his son was home.
Of course, it wouldn't be accurate to call him a good father, since Liang Qinxuan's mother was driven away by him and is now living in another city.
Liang Qinxuan had always planned that once he went to university, he would buy a house near the university and bring his mother to live with him.
At that time, housing prices were not expensive in any big city. If Liang Qinxuan wanted to buy a house near the school, his father would definitely give him the money.
In fact, his mother received a considerable amount of money in the divorce settlement, so she should have some money on hand.
Shi Zhen stayed at the construction site until noon, when Fang Miyan and Shi Xingchao rode their tricycles to the site to sell food.
Shi Zhen originally wanted to invite Fang Miyan to cook at his construction site, just like before, but after calculating, he felt it was too troublesome and too expensive.
He simply gave the workers meal tickets, which they could then use to buy meals from Fang Miyan. Fang Miyan would collect the meal tickets and then exchange them for cash from Shi Zhen.
Meal tickets for breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all one yuan each. The dishes were rationed, with a mix of meat and vegetables, and rice was unlimited.
In addition, since it's summer recently, Shi Zhen also gives the workers a two-cent mung bean soup coupon every day. In the afternoon, Fang Miyan will deliver a big pot of mung bean soup to the construction site, and the workers can exchange the coupon for a bowl of mung bean soup.
The sugar is added after the drink has cooled completely, making it incredibly refreshing!
Besides the people working on the Shizhen construction site, people repairing roads nearby also buy it.
By this calculation, each worker under Shi Zhen's command only needs a little over three yuan a day for food, which is quite economical and doesn't interfere with Fang Miyan's business.
Sometimes, when workers needed to work overtime, Shi Zhen would pay Fang Miyan to do something extra to provide meals for the workers on his construction site.
Fang Miyan prepares a lot of food, too much for one person to carry, so Shi Xingchao has been coming along recently.
At this moment, Shi Xingchao helped Fang Miyan carry several buckets of food downstairs, then rode his tricycle home quickly, and soon brought back several more buckets of food.
After two trips, a considerable amount of food was delivered. Fang Miyan could sell it for a while, and then he would take the time to collect the cardboard and small pieces of steel bars and wires from the construction site and load them all onto his tricycle.
Every day he would huff and puff as he carried these things home to sell as scrap.
Of course, after returning home and putting down the recyclables, he would then pack up some food and head back to town.
After that, he would help Fang Miyan sell food in town, and the two of them would go back together after Fang Miyan finished selling her food.
Seeing Shi Xingchao searching for steel bars on the construction site again, not even letting go of the ones the size of a thumb, Shi Zhen said helplessly, "Is that necessary?"
There are very few unused steel bars on the construction site. To prevent workers from wasting steel bars, they are not allowed to take them and sell them as scrap.
Because the quantity was small, and collecting it would probably only yield two or three yuan, Shi Zhen didn't have the workers collect it.
These are usually picked up and sold by elderly people in the neighborhood.
As a result, Shi Xingchao, a grown man, came to pick up this every day.
“I sold some scrap yesterday and made twenty yuan,” Shi Xingchao said.
Shi Zhen: "..."
Because many people are doing the same thing as the sweater sellers, the profit margin is much lower than before, and Shi Zhen no longer has time to manage it. So a month ago, he transferred it to Shi Xingchao for two thousand.
Shi Xingchao is no longer working for him; he should be earning significantly more than before.
According to Shi Zhen's estimate, even if Shi Xingchao didn't embroider sweaters himself, just by being responsible for receiving and sending sweaters and running a small shop in Guanjian Country... he could earn two thousand a month.
But it was impossible not to embroider sweaters, so Shi Xingchao continued to embroider.
He was also picking up trash at the construction site.
No wonder he's a money-making maniac!
Nowadays, receiving and sending sweaters is Shi Xingchao's own business. He has made an agreement with the villagers that he will close the shop for two hours at noon and come out to help Fang Miyan.
As for the evenings, Shi Xingchao would usually give Shi Xinghuo some snacks and trick him into delivering buckets of vegetables to Fang Miyan.
"Ah Zhen, I'm leaving now!" Shi Xingchao said and walked away.
Shi Zhen watched him leave in a flurry, and suddenly realized he had been spending money a bit too much...
Stop! We can't let Shi Xingchao influence us!
Shi Zhen ate lunch at the construction site here, and then went to the construction site in Changxi City in the afternoon.
He established a reward system for his workers: as long as they finished their work within the specified time, they would receive a reward, provided that the quality was guaranteed.
Therefore, the people under him are quite fast at working.
It's summer now, and it's hot, so night shifts have started in Changxi City. Because today's work is quite important, Shi Zhen has been overseeing the construction site the whole time.
When they finally finished work, it was already past eight o'clock. Shi Zhen invited Shi Daniu, who was in charge of the construction site, and his newly hired technician to go out for a late-night snack.
Recently, a street of night food stalls has appeared in Changxi City.
The people here can't really handle spicy food yet, and the various foods from outside haven't been introduced here. That night, the street of food stalls sold things that are always available locally, such as fried skewers, as well as wontons, noodles, and cold drinks.
Shi Zhen took them to eat vermicelli casserole.
This dish uses vermicelli as a base, plus about ten kinds of vegetarian and meat dishes. It's actually very similar to mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot), except it's not spicy at all. Of course, if you want it spicy, you can add your own chili sauce.
It's a locally produced hot sauce that's not spicy at all.
The vermicelli casserole was a novelty, and the portion was quite large. It was also quite expensive, costing three yuan per serving. Shi Zhen treated everyone to one serving and also ordered a few bottles of drinks.
Everyone enjoyed the meal and chatted as they ate, which helped them get to know each other better.
The thing Shi Daniu talked about most was his son.
His son is still young. After a few months here, with his mother watching over him, he has changed many of his bad habits. As a result, Shi Daniu no longer has any anger towards him and loves him all the time.
Previously, when the town's kindergartens enrolled students in May, they first admitted those with town residency. Only after there were extra spots were other people allowed to apply.
Shi Daniu queued up overnight and even agreed to pay an extra thousand yuan to secure a spot for his son so he could start school in September.
That kindergarten isn't cheap; it costs over 600 yuan per semester, which includes meals.
After finishing his meal, Shi Zhen was too lazy to go all the way home, so he found a hotel in Changxi City and booked a room to stay in.
He's thinking about renting a place here.
As for buying a house, that will have to wait... Right now, the most important thing is to use the money to develop his company.
Shi Zhen slept for one night, and the next morning he went to the construction site in Changxi City first, and then went to Anshan Town.
When he arrived in Anshan Town, he went to the construction site first and didn't go home until he had dinner there. When he got home and opened the door to Guan Baiyu's house, he found that his house had been burgled.
Shi Zhen: "..."
Twenty years later, Changxi City has excellent public security, but at this time... theft is still quite common.
Guan Baiyu's house is a bit dilapidated, making it even easier to steal from.
Shi Zhen called the police, and more than half an hour later, the police arrived on bicycles. By then, everyone in the village knew that his house had been burgled.
"Shi Zhen, what was stolen?"
"Those thieves went too far!"
"I wonder when they arrived!"
"That's right!"
...
Shi Zhen's losses were neither a lot nor a little.
The radio he bought for Guan Baiyu, the bicycle Guan Baiyu gave him, and some of their nice clothes are all gone.
The thief must have broken in through the window in the middle of the night, stolen the items, and then casually walked out the front door and rode away on a bicycle.
Fortunately, Shi Zhen was reborn, unlike in his previous life when he liked to keep cash close at hand, so not much money was stolen.
The policeman, after inspecting the scene, was quite exasperated: "Young man, you're already driving, why are you still living here?"
The policeman, a man in his forties who lived nearby, was a retired soldier. He told Shi Zhen the truth: "These things are basically gone forever. If you continue to live here, you'll definitely have to replace these doors and windows..."
This is... to make him move.
After everyone left, Shi Zhen tidied up the house, his mood somewhat complicated.
He could have moved to Changxi City a long time ago.
There are many reasons why he won't leave.
For example, he wanted to isolate himself from Guan Baiyu, and he also felt very safe living here.
Also, Guan Baiyu's accident actually happened in Changxi City in his previous life, and they were renting a place there at the time.
Even though it has been more than two years since his rebirth, he still can't help but feel a pang of heartache when he thinks of certain things.
Shi Zhen was quite annoyed by the burglary, but his annoyance mainly stemmed from the loss of the gifts Guan Baiyu had given him, not from the money. After two days, remembering that Guan Baiyu was alright and many of Guan Baiyu's belongings were still in the house, he stopped worrying about it.
When Guan Baiyu returned from his vacation and learned that his house had been burgled, his expression immediately changed: "Will the thief be caught?"
“Even if we catch him, he’ll definitely have already sold the stuff,” Shi Zhen said.
"How could they do this!" Guan Baiyu paced back and forth in his house, furious.
Actually, this house isn't very comfortable to live in.
But this house holds many memories for him and Shi Zhen. Even though it wasn't comfortable to live here, he still loved the house and cherished the things Shi Zhen gave him.
But now...
Damn thief!
Guan Baiyu is usually a very peaceful person and doesn't care much about money.
He's so angry now... Shi Zhen felt a little strange, and his heart skipped a beat.
He suddenly remembered something.
He rarely went into Guan Baiyu's inner room. Occasionally, he would help Guan Baiyu air out his belongings or something, but he would never touch Guan Baiyu's things.
But when his house was burgled this time, he went to clean it up and ended up cleaning up all of Guan Baiyu's things as well.
Guan Baiyu had three old-fashioned wooden boxes left by his grandmother, two large ones and one small one. The small wooden box was locked inside a large wooden box by Guan Baiyu, but this time they were all pried open.
There were a lot of odds and ends inside, probably things that Guan Baiyu had collected from childhood to adulthood, things he liked.
For example, those beautiful pebbles he had never seen before.
In addition, the glass bottle used for IV drips, as well as the books and pens he had previously bought for Guan Baiyu, were all placed inside.
There are even some things he used, such as some design drawings he had made before.
“Xiaoyu, don’t be angry. If you want those things, I’ll buy them for you in the future,” Shi Zhen said with a smile. “By the way, I’m planning to move to Changxi City.”
"Brother, are you coming to live in Changxi City? Does that mean we can see each other every week?" Guan Baiyu asked.
“Yes,” Shi Zhen said.
"That's great!" Guan Baiyu hugged Shi Zhen.
He quickly let go, but Shi Zhen still... felt something was off.
He recalled that although he and Guan Baiyu hadn't spent much time together that year, it seemed... they were getting closer and closer.
These things happened subtly and gradually; he was still looking forward to it and didn't realize something was wrong.
Thinking about it carefully, Guan Baiyu was a little too intimate with him.
Shi Zhen said, "Xiaoyu, you can invite your friends over to play... I'll rent a nice place, and you can bring your girlfriend over too."
"I don't have a girlfriend!" Guan Baiyu said without thinking, his emotions a little off.
Shi Zhen, acting as an older brother, urged him to find a girlfriend... which annoyed him.
Seeing his reaction, Shi Zhen's suspicions deepened, and his heart sank.
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