The next day, Shi Zhen helped Teacher Fei refill the gas cylinder and delivered it to his home for installation.
Teacher Fei was extremely grateful and gave Shi Zhen money for gas and four salted duck eggs as a gift.
With gas available, Teacher Fei stopped using a coal stove and even used a liquefied gas stove to boil water for bathing.
Shi Zhen considered this a rather extravagant act, since liquefied gas is very expensive, while coal briquettes are much cheaper.
Nowadays, many households in rural areas and towns have liquefied gas stoves, but to save money, people still use coal stoves for things like boiling water.
However, Teacher Fei is a retired high school teacher with a retirement pension, and her children are all grown up, so she certainly doesn't lack money.
Shi Zhen spent some time repairing the house and adding some things, such as a bamboo bed.
At that time, good beds were quite expensive. When Shi Zhen was arranging the rented house, he decided to buy bamboo beds for his family to sleep on, taking into account the cost.
Bamboo is much cheaper than wood, so bamboo beds are also cheaper. As for bamboo beds, they don't last very long... People at that time wanted to use everything they bought for decades, but after a few decades, who would still use these things?
In the countryside, those newly built houses will all be demolished and rebuilt in another ten years or so.
Shi Zhen had already bought a bamboo bed so he could rest on it when he was tired from work, and it would be a bed for his parents in the future. Now he bought three smaller ones to put in the attic for his three sisters to sleep on.
This type of bamboo bed, also known locally as a bamboo couch, is rather low. It is made entirely of bamboo, and in the summer, you don't need a mat to sleep on it. In the winter, you can put a quilt on it to sleep.
Shi Zhen was busy until June 20th before he finished dealing with the house, and by then, Guan Baiyu's high school entrance exam was just a few days away.
Shi Zhen was worried that Guan Baiyu would be too nervous, and also felt that Guan Baiyu needed to rest as the exam was approaching, so he told Guan Baiyu not to go to Xinhua Bookstore and to study at home.
That day, after selling rice balls, he went home and took a nap. Seeing that there was no sun outside, he asked Guan Baiyu if he wanted to go out for a walk to relax.
"Okay." Guan Baiyu nodded quickly. Although he didn't need to relax, he wanted to go out for a walk with Shi Zhen!
Guan Baiyu took Shi Zhen for a walk around the village, telling him about village affairs, even which grasses along the road could be used to dye dumplings and which grasses were edible.
During his journey, Shi Zhen passed by Guan Guang's country and noticed that the second batch of chicks he was raising had grown quite a bit.
When Guan Guangguo took his first batch of chicks to sell, there were too many chickens on the market, so he didn't get a good price.
In the end, after working for two months, he didn't make any money at all.
Raising chickens requires costs and capital investment. With so many costs already invested, Guan Guangguo didn't want to suddenly stop raising them, so he had to buy another batch of chicks.
Shi Zhen felt quite helpless upon seeing this situation.
However, raising chickens is actually a small business. Given the current situation, even if Guan Guangguo loses money, he won't lose too much, and he can pay back the money he owes in a few years.
Moreover, he knew that Guan Baiyu had written an IOU to Guan Guangguo, and he intended to help Guan Baiyu pay it back. If something really happened to Guan Guangguo, he would pay back the money.
Guan Guangguo had said long ago that he didn't need Guan Baiyu to support him in his old age, but Guan Baiyu had grown up eating his rice, so it was impossible for him to just abandon him.
But once Guan Baiyu repays the money, he no longer owes Guan Guangguo. In the future, the two can get along like ordinary relatives, which is good for both of them.
Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu hadn't walked far when they encountered Guan Kai.
Guan Kai should be in school at his age, but he hasn't gone since his parents divorced.
His family doesn't care about him either.
Guan Kai's father worked as a sweeper at a nearby cement factory, responsible for cleaning up cement that had fallen during loading and unloading. The job was done in three shifts, and he would go to work on time every day, then come home and drink, watch TV, and sleep, completely ignoring his son.
As for the young mistress... she took good care of Guan Kai's food and clothing, but after feeding Guan Kai, she started to complain to everyone about how bad her daughter-in-law was, and recently she has also started to complain about how her son treated her badly and blamed her... She was busy, so naturally she didn't care about Guan Kai's studies.
My great-uncle... he actually has problems too. He doesn't care about anything, and after he's eaten, he goes to find my second great-uncle, and the two of them just sit there doing nothing.
However, if he didn't have this personality, he would probably be arguing and fighting with his stepmother every day, and he might not have even married her back then.
Grandma didn't become like this after she got married. She was always causing trouble when she was young, and now her family doesn't associate with her anymore.
Guan Kai saw them from afar, glared fiercely at Guan Baiyu, and then turned and ran away.
Shi Zhen glanced at him and said to Guan Baiyu, "I saw Guan Kai's mother in town a few days ago."
Guan Kai's mother got married quickly after her divorce, and a few days later, Shi Zhen saw her in town. Qian Qi even gossiped about it to him.
The man Guan Kai's mother married after her divorce wasn't exactly a good match.
Men who are not young and still can't get married generally have some problems. The man who is with Guan Kai's mother has lost both his parents and lives alone. He was arrested for stealing silk from a silk factory to sell for money in his early years. After he got out, he couldn't find a proper job. He just worked in the fields and occasionally did odd jobs. He didn't earn much money and didn't even build a new house.
But he was truly devoted to Guan Kai's mother. It's said that he gave all his savings to her. Guan Kai's mother was equally generous; not long after the divorce, she had already rented a shop on the second floor of the market and started selling clothes.
Her husband would take her to town on his bicycle very early every day, and then she would go to the second floor of the market to sell clothes.
Shi Zhen's stall was right next to the market. When she saw him, she smiled and greeted him, and seemed to be doing well.
That day, Shi Zhen talked to Guan Baiyu about Guan Kai's mother. Unexpectedly, the next day, Guan Kai's mother took the initiative to come to find Shi Zhen.
She arrived early in the morning. Shi Zhen was busy when she arrived, so she waited for a while until there were fewer people around before coming over to tell him that she wanted to buy two rice balls for one yuan each.
As Shi Zhen massaged her hands, she asked, "Your name is Shi Zhen, right? I have something to ask you. Do you know if there are any job openings in this town? I'm looking for general laborers or anything else. My husband wants to find a job."
Shi Zhen didn't expect her to ask him this.
This is normal, though. Although she rented a shop in town to sell clothes, she didn't know anyone there and wasn't familiar with Anshan Town.
On the contrary, he got to know quite a few people by setting up a stall in town for so long.
Shi Zhenting admires her courage; it's always better to actively solve problems than to just wait around.
For example, if her husband can't find a job, her constant complaining at home is completely useless. The solution is to inquire around and find a job for her husband.
Shi Zhen said, "I don't know where they're hiring, but if your husband wants to make money, he can go to a paper mill to buy some paper or wholesale some popsicles and sell them around, or help people refill gas cylinders. Those are all options."
This man has a bicycle, which makes things much easier; he can easily go from street to street and do some small business.
If I buy popsicles wholesale in this weather and sell them in the countryside, I'm sure I can make a fortune.
As for toilet paper, it's what we call "grass paper." Everyone needs it, and the consumption is huge. Once we get the stock, we go from village to village shouting our way through, and the villagers will buy some, more or less.
Of course, no one knows how much or how little money you make... but neither of these requires much capital.
Guan Kai's mother's eyes lit up: "Thank you!"
Shi Zhen simply said, "No need to thank me."
Shi Zhen had to admit that this woman was very proactive.
Within two days, Shi Zhen heard that her husband had come to Guanbaiyu Village to sell straw paper.
When the villagers talked about it, they looked down on the man, saying that Guan Kai's mother had married a man who sold toilet paper.
Shi Zhen: "..." Guan Kai's father sweeps the floors at a cement factory. Does that make him more noble than someone who sells toilet paper?
In comparison, he felt that selling toilet paper had a brighter future... People who sell toilet paper can sell other things in the future, but Guan Kai's father would probably have to sweep the floor for the rest of his life.
However, Shi Zhen no longer had time to care about these things.
Guan Baiyu is about to take the high school entrance exam.
After Guan Baiyu stopped going to school, his homeroom teacher never contacted him again, since he himself had encountered some trouble.
Yan Jiangtao's grandmother went around telling everyone about the homeroom teacher taking money, which affected the homeroom teacher's teaching career.
However, he wasn't asked to resign, but he couldn't be a homeroom teacher anymore... In those days, schools weren't as strict as they were in later years. Not only did teachers collect money, but schools themselves often came up with various ways to get students to pay money.
For example, they might use excuses like needing to buy a book or organize an event to collect money.
It's only because students in rural areas are generally poor that such things are rare.
This homeroom teacher used to be quite strict with the students' studies, but after this incident, he became like other teachers and became too lazy to manage the students. As a result, he didn't call Guan Baiyu to school for the several exams organized by the school before the high school entrance examination.
But the high school entrance exam is something everyone has to take and cannot miss, since you can only get your graduation certificate after you finish the exam.
As a result, many people who had not graduated from junior high school but were already working in factories took leave to go to the high school in town to take the exam.
Rural junior high schools like Xiaqiu Junior High School naturally cannot become examination centers for the high school entrance examination. During the high school entrance examination, students from Xiaqiu Junior High School are arranged to take the exam at the high school in the town.
This is how it's been arranged every year. Last year, Qian Qiqi even got into a fight with students from the town's high school.
The day before the high school entrance exam, Shi Zhen accompanied Guan Baiyu back to Xiaqiu Junior High School to pick up the admission ticket.
On the day of the exam, they no longer need to go to Xiaqiu Junior High School; they can go directly to the town's high school to take the exam.
That day, Guan Baiyu put on the bright red T-shirt that Shi Zhen had bought for him. He also prepared all the necessary items for the exam, such as pens. Then, Shi Zhen stopped selling rice balls and took him to the high school in town in a tricycle.
After Guan Baiyu went in to take the exam, Shi Zhen waited at the door.
Actually, this was just the high school entrance exam, and there was no need for him to wait outside, nor were there any other parents waiting outside. But he was afraid that Yan Jiangtao would cause trouble for Guan Baiyu.
Given Yan Jiangtao's impulsive nature, it's highly likely.
To prevent Guan Baiyu from being bullied, Shi Zhen decided not to leave and told Guan Baiyu about it.
Seeing Shi Zhen's caution, Guan Baiyu also became somewhat wary.
While he was alert, he also felt an inexplicable sense of joy.
He had never been valued like this before.
He came to take the exam, and his brother was waiting at the door!
He felt a little embarrassed, thinking he had delayed his brother's important business, but he couldn't hide his joy.
Because of this joy, when Guan Baiyu saw a student he knew well and had a good relationship with, he took the initiative to go up and greet him.
"You are... Guan Baiyu?" The girl who was called by Guan Baiyu was the one who had been sitting behind him. She was stunned when she saw him.
"Hmm." Guan Baiyu smiled, revealing two small tiger teeth.
Guan Baiyu had already changed a little when he was still in school, but not much.
Now it's different. After two months apart, Guan Baiyu has changed his clothes again, this time in an unusual bright red...
Guan Baiyu is so handsome!
"Guan Baiyu, long time no see! I was a little worried you wouldn't come to the exam! They said your family doesn't want you to continue your studies," the girl said.
"My family wants me to continue my studies. I came to take the exam today, and my brother brought me. He's still waiting for me at the door after the exam, saying he wants to stay with me during the exam," Guan Baiyu said.
The girl immediately exclaimed with envy, "He's so good to you!"
“Yes,” Guan Baiyu smiled again, “my clothes were also bought by my brother.”
"Your clothes are really nice."
"This tattered clothing has no brand name at all, what's so interesting about it?" Yan Jiangtao sneered.
The exam hasn't started yet, so they're gathering in class by class now, and their homeroom teachers will give them some important instructions.
That's how Yan Jiangtao met Guan Baiyu. The moment he saw him, he felt like he was about to explode with anger.
Guan Baiyu has completely changed!
Yan Jiangtao wished he could skin Guan Baiyu alive.
Because of the incident where Guan Baiyu came to his family, his father was furious and kept a very close eye on him.
At first, his father still let him go to school, but he personally picked him up and dropped him off. Later, his family had a falling out with the teacher... so his father simply stopped letting him go to school and made him copy books at home.
He wanted to go to town to play on Children's Day, but his dad wouldn't let him, saying he was afraid something would happen to him, or that he would be kidnapped.
His father was kidnapped outside and had a sack put over his head. When he got home, he happened to see a news report on TV about kidnappers demanding ransom for a rich person's child. He was terrified!
Originally, after a while, things should have calmed down and nothing should have happened. However... a murder occurred in the canal near his home.
The canal is always bustling with boats coming and going, and some boats will dock to rest at night.
The murder occurred on one of the boats, which belonged to a young couple. They had brought jars, pots, plates, and bowls from afar to sell, but when they were resting at night, someone sneaked onto the boat, killed them, and robbed them of their money.
Nobody knows who did it.
Now, Yan Jiangtao's father dared not let Yan Jiangtao go out again. His family was much richer than the boat-running couple, and if they encountered desperate criminals...
Yan Jiangtao was only released because of the upcoming high school entrance exam.
Some people can stay at home for a long time and wish they could stay home every day, but Yan Jiangtao is obviously not like that. After being locked up for two months, he is going crazy.
“Guan Baiyu, it’s you who treats even a tattered piece of clothing like a treasure,” Yan Jiangtao said again, his eyes darting around.
His father told him he had to do well on the exam, saying that if he did well, he would definitely be able to continue his studies.
He didn't want to continue his studies, but his father said that if he didn't continue, he would have to work with the workers, taking three shifts to watch the machines.
He still wanted to go to school.
So he couldn't do anything to Guan Baiyu at school, but outside of school... Guan Baiyu tricked him, and he was going to make Guan Baiyu pay!
With that in mind, Yan Jiangtao only verbally harassed Guan Baiyu, making sarcastic remarks and calling Guan Baiyu a pretty boy.
Guan Baiyu ignored him completely. The teacher, who had previously been kind to him, even gave him a severe scolding.
Yan Jiangtao entered the examination room with a sour face.
When Guan Baiyu entered the examination room, he had a smile on his face.
Just thinking about his brother being away from home makes him genuinely happy.
When the test papers were handed out, Guan Baiyu started working on them seriously, but as he worked on them, he suddenly became confused again.
This exam paper is way too easy.
He used to find city-wide standardized tests, such as final exams, difficult, but this time he didn't feel that way at all; in fact, he found them very easy.
Guan Baiyu pondered for a while and quickly realized that he had already looked through the junior high school review materials in the bookstore these past few days and had done some high school level questions.
That's probably why the high school entrance exam wasn't too difficult for him.
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