After seeing Guan Kai's mother, Guan Baiyu felt a little uneasy and said to Shi Zhen, "Brother, should we wait a while before we buy it?"
He spotted the other person first and dodged, but if they meet again, they might not be able to avoid each other.
Shi Zhendao asked, "Why do we need to wait?"
After asking the question, Shi Zhen noticed Guan Baiyu's unease and immediately said, "She just swaggered out, clearly not afraid of being seen. If she's not afraid, why should we be?"
Their village is not far from the town, and Guan Kai's mother is a native of the area. Not only do people in their village know her, but people from other villages also know her.
If she's out strolling hand-in-hand with a strange man, she's probably determined to get a divorce.
Guan Baiyu thought Shi Zhen's words made sense, but she was a little worried: "Won't she get beaten by her husband?"
Shi Zhen said, "Your great-uncle's family... apart from your great-uncle, no one else would dare to hit someone, right? Even if they did, they might not be able to win."
Guan Kai's father, Guan Wenguo, is a little taller than his brother, Guan Pingguo, but only a little over 1.6 meters tall, about the same height as Guan Kai's mother. He might not be able to beat Guan Kai's mother.
Guan Baiyu thought about it carefully and realized that it made perfect sense.
Shi Zhen added, "Moreover, they bully the weak and fear the strong, and they act entirely on their own initiative, so they dare not fight."
"From the heart?" Guan Baiyu didn't understand.
"Coward," Shi Zhen explained.
Guan Baiyu couldn't help but laugh.
After being sick once and being taken good care of by Shi Zhen, Guan Baiyu became closer to Shi Zhen and dared not accept anything from him anymore.
Shi Zhen valued making money so much, but when he fell ill, he stopped managing the business...
For the first time, he truly understood what family members were like.
No wonder, when his adoptive parents asked Guan Jinjin to do something, Guan Jinjin would refuse to do it if he didn't want to.
Shi Zhen could also sense the changes in Guan Baiyu.
He really liked Guan Baiyu's transformation.
Shi Zhen bought Guan Baiyu four pieces of clothing and three pairs of pants.
The tops were all simple short-sleeved shirts, and the three pairs of pants were all long pants.
It was hot in the summer, and Shi Zhen originally wanted to buy shorts for everyone, but Guan Baiyu's words woke him up from his dream: "Brother, there are a lot of mosquitoes in the summer, you'll get bitten if you wear shorts."
There's a lot of water here, and the fields are all paddy fields, so there are a lot of mosquitoes. In the summer, mosquitoes are everywhere, and usually, they bite your legs.
Although Guan Baiyu grew up in the countryside, he didn't do much farm work and didn't like to go out. His skin was very tender, making him particularly attractive to mosquitoes. Not only did he attract mosquitoes, but he also got huge welts on his legs after being bitten.
Shi Zhen simply bought him loose-fitting trousers.
Wearing new clothes, Guan Baiyu looked much more energetic. As the villagers would say, he looked like someone from the street, not a country bumpkin.
This was the first time Guan Baiyu had come to buy new clothes with someone, and he treasured his clothes so much that he held them in his arms and was reluctant to put them down.
After buying his own clothes, he said, "Brother, why don't you go and buy a few pieces too?"
"Okay." Shi Zhen agreed, found a store, and bought eight vests and six pairs of shorts in one go.
This shop was recommended to him by someone else. The vests sold here are cheap and of good quality, only four yuan each.
Of these eight vests, Shi Zhen planned to keep four for himself and give four to Shi Xinghuo, and the pants would naturally be split equally.
Their clothes and pants were different colors, but the sizes and styles were the same.
As for why I bought a vest... these days, in the sweltering heat, men mostly wear vests, and many even go shirtless.
Moreover, he is not afraid of being bitten by mosquitoes. He usually doesn't feel anything when bitten, except for some particularly venomous mosquitoes that might cause him to get a welt.
Shi Xinghuo was even more uncouth. Back when they lived in the village, it was very stuffy in the summer when several people had to live in one room. So Shi Xinghuo often slept outside, and being bitten by a swarm of mosquitoes didn't bother him at all.
The clothes that Shi Zhen and Shi Xinghuo bought together were not as expensive as the clothes that Guan Baiyu bought.
Guan Baiyu glanced at Shi Zhen and secretly decided that when he had money in the future, he would definitely buy his brother the best clothes.
Also, he wanted to wear the same clothes as his brother, Shi Xinghuo.
After buying clothes, Shi Zhen also bought two pairs of plastic sandals for himself and Shi Xinghuo.
These plastic sandals are also very cheap, only five yuan a pair. He and Shi Xinghuo have the same size, so there's no need to worry about buying the wrong one.
But Guan Baiyu... thinking that his feet would easily get bitten by mosquitoes if he wore sandals, and that he probably wouldn't be allowed to wear sandals during physical education classes at school in the future, Shi Zhen took him to buy a pair of Warrior shoes. These shoes sold for fifteen yuan a pair in town, and the soles were quite thick, so you could tell at a glance that they were of good quality.
Shi Zhen originally planned to buy Guan Baiyu a size that fit, but both the shopkeeper and Guan Baiyu felt that they should buy a size larger, so in the end they bought a size larger.
After buying the shoes, Shi Zhen looked at Guan Baiyu and said, "Today is Children's Day, so these clothes are your Children's Day gift... How about we go get some wontons for lunch, and then go for a walk in the park?"
Guan Baiyu hadn't even noticed before that today was Children's Day.
These days, people don't really value these holidays. He hasn't been to school lately, and he hasn't heard anyone mention Children's Day at all.
His brother wants to celebrate Children's Day with him, that's so great!
Shi Zhen took Guan Baiyu out for lunch, but instead of the small wontons they had before, they had large wontons. In some places, these large wontons are called "chaoshou".
A bowl of ten large wontons costs two yuan, which is considered expensive, but there's a lot of meat inside, making it quite substantial. Guan Baiyu couldn't finish them all and even gave two to Shi Zhen.
After they finished eating, the two went to the park.
There is a park in this town, which is the only place for people in the town and the surrounding countryside to play.
When Shi Zhen came to Anshan Town twenty years later, the park was already free, but now it charges a fee of two yuan per ticket, with only children under 1.2 meters tall getting in free.
So not many people from the town come here, except on weekends when some parents bring their children to the park.
But today is different. Although it's Wednesday, the town's primary schools are closed for Children's Day. Not only that, the school also gave each student a park ticket.
Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders can come and play by themselves, but younger children can't; they all need to be brought by their parents, so the park gets very crowded.
The park's management probably anticipated this, and specially prepared some decorations to make it exceptionally beautiful.
Guan Baiyu had never been to a park that charged admission before. Seeing Shi Zhen buy a ticket, he couldn't help but feel sorry for him. After Shi Zhen led him inside, he was overwhelmed by the sights.
There are just so many people here!
Moreover, there were many things in the park that he had never seen before, such as bumper cars and trampolines.
Guan Baiyu found everything new and interesting.
Shi Zhen, on the other hand, found the small park to be both dilapidated and tiny.
Later parks all had large lawns and squares, but what about this park? The square dancing aunties who want to dance can't find enough open space.
However, its scenery is quite nice, with ponds, artificial hills, and a playground crowded with children.
The rides in the amusement park are all very expensive; a single ride on a bumper car costs five yuan!
Seeing that Guan Baiyu found everything fascinating, Shi Zhen asked him if he wanted to go ride the bumper cars.
Some of the facilities are for young children and are not suitable for Guan Baiyu, but he can play on the bumper cars.
The bumper cars in this park weren't the kind that were all driven together in later times. Instead, they were driven one by one. Someone would pay to get on one of the cars, and the staff would use a key to unlock it. They could drive it for a while, and then the car would stop so someone else could get on.
There were a lot of people today, and everyone was queuing up. As soon as the cars stopped, people got on immediately.
"Brother, this is the first time I've seen it, I'm just looking at it. I don't want to play," Guan Baiyu said seriously. He really didn't want to play.
Five yuan just for sitting down for a while... Are you crazy?!
Fearing that Shi Zhen would make him go out to play, Guan Baiyu immediately said, "Brother, let's go wander around somewhere else."
The two of them took a stroll around the park.
Although the park is small, it has a lot of things, including a small shop.
Shi Zhenhua spent 1.6 yuan to buy two strawberry yogurt popsicles.
The popsicle was later reduced to 50 cents, but now, for some reason, it costs 80 cents a stick.
Guan Baiyu had never even eaten the cheapest popsicles that cost two or three cents each. This was the first time he had ever eaten such an expensive popsicle, and he was filled with joy.
They also hired a photographer in the park to take photos for two yuan to take a group photo. The photographer used a film camera, and it would take a few days to develop the photo. So they gave them a receipt and told them to pick up the photo at the photo studio next to the park in a few days.
This photographer's business is booming; there's a long line of people wanting his photos taken—many parents might not bring their kids out to play even once a year, but when they do come, they just want their kids' photos taken.
Especially for very young children, there are many photos taken. Their parents were mostly born in the 1960s, and they are generally literate. Now they are in their thirties, the prime of their lives, and most of them have jobs. In addition, most of them are only children these days... They are willing to spend money on their children.
The little boy behind Bai Yu and Shi Zhen had his parents generously pay ten yuan to have the photographer take individual and group photos of him, resulting in five photos being taken in one go.
The boy had a red dot on his forehead with lipstick drawn by his mother, and no one covered him up even though he was wearing open-crotch pants... Shi Zhen thought that when the boy grew up, he would definitely think that this photo was a dark history.
The two stayed in the park until 4 p.m. before heading home.
That evening, Shi Zhen went to town to sell fried skewers as usual, while Guan Baiyu, who was in the village, attracted a crowd.
Shi Zhen came to the village in March, and it's June now, so he's actually been here for less than three months.
Guan Baiyu has changed a lot in the past three months, but the villagers don't really notice the changes because they see him all the time and he always wears old clothes.
But today...
Shi Zhen is getting old, and his aesthetic sense is different from when he was young. When he picks clothes for Guan Baiyu, he likes to choose bright colors.
Guan Baiyu used to wear drab gray clothes and also liked bright colors. He got along very well with Shi Zhen.
So Guan Baiyu had a bright red t-shirt, a dark blue t-shirt, a mustard yellow t-shirt, and a brown t-shirt. At the time, Shi Zhen thought he looked best in red, so he had him change into red clothes.
Red T-shirt, black trousers, white sneakers...
Guan Baiyu's skin appeared exceptionally fair, and he looked clean and refreshed. The children in the village who were his age standing next to him looked like mud monkeys.
With the weather getting hot these days, people often come out to chat after dinner. Since Guan Baiyu's family has been cooking a lot of things lately, and you can also buy cooked food from his house, there are a lot of people coming over. Right now, they are all gathered around Guan Baiyu praising him.
"Xiaoyu is so handsome!"
"He'll definitely be popular with girls in the future."
"Even the celebrities on TV aren't as good-looking as you."
“Your biological father wasn’t as handsome as you! But your biological mother must have been quite good-looking, and your cousin is handsome too.”
...
After praising Guan Baiyu, these people started talking about other things in the village.
For example, the chickens raised by Guan Guang's family are not selling very well.
Domestic broiler chickens are generally ready for sale after seven weeks of raising. The chickens in Guan Guang's country have been raised for two months and have already been put on the market.
But it didn't sell well.
In later times, logistics were fast. At that time, there were several large breeding farms near Anshan Town, and the chickens and ducks there were supplied to nearby big cities. There was no worry about sales. As for prices, these things were also stable in a large area around.
During the pandemic, chickens and ducks couldn't be transported out, causing local chicken and duck prices to plummet, all dropping by half.
And now... due to imperfect logistics, the situation is actually similar to that during the pandemic, with chicken and duck prices entirely dependent on the local market.
If fewer people in the local rural areas raise chickens and ducks, the prices of chickens and ducks in the town and Changxi City will rise.
If more people in the local rural areas raise chickens and ducks, the prices of chickens and ducks in the town and Changxi City will decrease.
Pigs are the same.
For this reason, pork prices have always fallen, so pig farmers earn less money and therefore raise fewer pigs. When they raise fewer pigs, pork prices rise. When pork prices rise, everyone raises pigs, and pork prices fall again.
In previous years, the demand for chickens and ducks was increasing in both the town and Changxi City, but there were few people raising chickens and ducks at that time... so anyone who raised and sold chickens and ducks made a fortune.
Now, even people like Guan Pingguo, who don't have much experience, know that raising chickens can make money, and they've all started thinking about raising chickens. There are just too many people raising chickens now, so the price of chickens has dropped.
You can raise a few hens at home, feed them some millet and let them find their own food. It doesn't cost much. But raising broiler chickens requires feeding them feed, otherwise they won't grow big.
With so much money thrown in, the chickens couldn't fetch a good price after they grew up... Guan Guangguo was naturally worried.
Fortunately, although it didn't fetch a good price, it was sold... If it couldn't be sold and had to stay at home eating feed every day, that would be unbearable.
"Guan Guangguo worked hard for two months, but I heard he didn't make any money at all."
"Honestly, why raise chickens! If they didn't raise chickens and kept raising silkworms like before, they could make money no matter what."
"They want to get rich! They'll keep raising them!"
...
Guan Baiyu was somewhat worried when he heard this, but there was nothing he could do, so he just listened and let it go.
Just as I was listening, a scream suddenly came from afar, followed by the sounds of arguing and things being smashed.
The people who were chatting in front of Guan Baiyu's house suddenly perked up and rushed toward the source of the sound.
Guan Baiyu glanced around and realized that the sound was coming from Guan Kai's house.
Thinking back to what he had witnessed that morning, Guan Baiyu roughly knew what had happened.
He wasn't interested in that kind of thing.
The high school entrance exam is in about twenty days, and he would rather spend his free time studying.
Although Shi Xinghuo wasn't from the village, he was very interested in gossip, and since there was no work for him to do at the moment... he dashed off to watch the excitement.
The commotion lasted quite a while; Shi Xinghuo didn't return until an hour later, and even then, he couldn't explain what had happened.
Guan Baiyu, who wanted to ask him something, was speechless.
However, Guan Baiyu was unaware of what had happened, but the rest of the villagers did, and they were eager to discuss it with others, but everyone around them had gone to see the spectacle...
Recalling that Guan Baiyu hadn't gone, Guan Jianguo's mother specifically sought out Guan Baiyu and told him what had happened at his great-uncle's house.
Guan Kai's mother wants a divorce.
In the countryside these days, divorce is a big deal; generally speaking, people would never divorce.
If you're divorced, is there still a home?
Women generally tolerate their husbands' infidelity, since they might have nowhere to go after a divorce.
Men generally tolerate their wives' infidelity, because marrying a wife is not easy, and they may not be able to find another one after divorce.
Guan Kai's mother's decision to divorce him has surprised everyone.
Guan Wenguo was naturally unwilling. His wife was beautiful and made him proud. No matter how much his mother disapproved of his wife, he did not want a divorce.
Even the youngest grandmother didn't want her daughter-in-law to divorce her son. She disliked her daughter-in-law, but divorce was definitely out of the question!
But Guan Kai's mother had made up her mind and had already found a new partner.
What's even more amazing is that... the man she found was not married yet, only twenty-seven, ten years younger than her.
Second Grandma and Little Grandma didn't get along. At this moment, Second Grandma excitedly said to Guan Baiyu, "Guan Kai's mother is fierce. She said that if the Guan family doesn't agree to divorce, her lover will come and kill them!"
Guan Baiyu: "..." My aunt is amazing!
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