After Shi Zhen returned yesterday, he told Guan Baiyu about some of the things he was going to do next.
Guan Baiyu strongly agreed with Shi Zhen doing this, since it wasn't tiring work.
But he didn't expect... Shi Zhen would embroider the flowers himself.
He knew how to sew and had even sewed a quilt for Shi Zhen, but when he saw Shi Zhen holding a needle... he was a little confused.
Shi Zhen wasn't embarrassed at all, and looked at Guan Baiyu calmly.
What didn't he do in his past life? Just say that at this time in his past life, he was still carrying bricks on a construction site, being ordered around by others.
“Brother, let me embroider with you,” Guan Baiyu said.
"No need, you go cook," Shi Zhen said.
It's almost time for dinner.
He told Zhao Qiujuan today that he wasn't going out to eat, and planned to just eat something casually at home with Guan Baiyu.
There were only two of them, so Guan Baiyu didn't cook rice. He just fried two eggs, stir-fried some vegetables, and made two bowls of noodles.
Ever since they bought the gas stove, they've basically been using it for cooking. Unfortunately, it's located at the Shi family's place along with their food stall... so they can only cook over a fire using the stove.
After cooking, the room was unbearably hot.
Fortunately, Shi Zhen was used to the heat at this time and was able to endure it.
In the morning, Shi Zhen asked Guan Baiyu to clean up Guan Jianguo's house, and he and Shi Xinghuo moved all their belongings to Guan Baiyu's house.
Guan Baiyu's house wasn't big, and right now everything was placed against the wall without being properly arranged. His and Shi Xinghuo's beds weren't made up yet either.
Guan Baiyu's dining room wasn't big, but fortunately, all the stall items had been moved away, so Shi Zhen moved the dining table a bit, leaving room for him and Shi Xinghuo's bed.
When they first went to Guan Jianguo's house to rent, they had nothing, including a bed. Fortunately, Guan Jianguo gave them two door panels.
In winter, they were freezing cold because they didn't have blankets, but now, sleeping on a door panel is a bit too warm...
Shi Zhen laid out the two door panels, placed straw mats on them, and then hung up the small ceiling fan he had bought earlier.
Guan Baiyu said, "Brother, do you want to sleep in my room? My room is spacious." He didn't like the way Shi Zhen and Shi Xinghuo were sleeping side by side.
His house used to be very crowded because he needed to store firewood, but now there isn't much firewood left.
"No need, we can sleep outside," Shi Zhen said. He liked men, so how could he get too close to Guan Baiyu?
Guan Baiyu was immediately a little disappointed.
After the two finished making the arrangements, Shi Xinghuo returned.
He ate in town, and as soon as he got back, he told Shi Zhen what he had for lunch and dinner.
Shi Zhen listened attentively, while simultaneously embroidering.
Since I'm idle anyway, I might as well do some embroidery.
Seeing this, Guan Baiyu joined in the embroidery.
Shi Zhen didn't stop Guan Baiyu, but after working until a little after eight o'clock, he stopped Guan Baiyu from working and told him to go to sleep early.
He should also go to bed early.
He has to go to town at four o'clock tomorrow morning to watch Zhao Qiujuan set up her stall.
Shi Zhen went to bed early, but many women in the village were still "working late into the night".
People from later generations who are used to playing with mobile phones would find it difficult to calm down and do such handicrafts, but people in this era are relatively patient.
Especially those who get jobs from Shi Zhen are all women over forty years old.
They all came from difficult times, and each one of them is incredibly hardworking. Now they get paid for this job... They are so dedicated.
Zhang Xiumei kept embroidering without stopping.
After bringing the clothes home this afternoon, she focused all her attention on them. She didn't even cook dinner, leaving her husband to do it. So far, she has already embroidered fifteen pieces by herself, earning ten yuan.
Zhang Xiumei felt an indescribable sense of accomplishment, but also a little disgusted with her daughter: "Jinjin, you've only embroidered three pieces so far... Can't you be a little more serious?"
"Mom, this is so boring!" Guan Jinjin didn't want to do it.
Zhang Xiumei said, "Is there anything about making money that isn't boring?"
Guan Jinjin stopped talking, but she also stopped embroidering and started tearing at the pattern paper on the clothes her mother had embroidered.
Zhang Xiumei had always indulged her daughter. She glanced at her daughter but didn't say anything.
She should be able to finish embroidering these thirty pieces of clothing by tomorrow afternoon.
She earned a little over twenty yuan in the past two days.
They didn't make any money raising chickens; in fact, they lost some money. It's really not as good as embroidery.
There were quite a few women in the village who were busy embroidering like Zhang Xiumei. Some people saw others embroidering and wanted to do it too, but they were told that Shi Zhen had no clothes left to take, which made them feel disappointed.
Shi Zhen's biological clock now starts at four o'clock.
After he woke up, he glanced at the alarm clock, then quietly went out and headed towards town.
When he arrived in town, his sister was already making preparations.
Shi Zhen was somewhat surprised. His sister was very introverted and wouldn't dare to do things unless told to do so. He had thought she would wait for him to arrive before starting.
"I got up early, so I made something first..." Zhao Qiujuan explained apologetically.
"Sister, you did a great job," Shi Zhen said with a smile.
He didn't lift a finger today; he let his sister do everything while he just watched.
When they arrived in town, he didn't make rice balls himself, but instead had his sister do it and deal with the customers.
His sister didn't dare to call out to customers, but luckily the stall had been there for several months and had regulars. When customers came in, they would usually hand over money first and then tell her what they wanted.
It's just a few materials, and Zhao Qiujuan can understand them, so her work isn't bad.
However, when it got past eight o'clock and there were hardly any customers left, she couldn't help but say to Shi Zhen, "Zhen, I'm really a little scared. I made some rice balls too small."
“Sister, they can’t tell,” Shi Zhen said. “If there are really difficult customers, just smile and that will do.”
People who buy rice balls in the morning are usually in a hurry and won't cause any trouble, so his sister should be able to handle it.
"Mmm," Zhao Qiujuan replied quickly.
Shi Zhen then said, "Sister, if you can manage on your own, I won't come tomorrow. You can have this stall."
Shi Zhen came to keep her company early in the morning, and Zhao Qiujuan felt a little embarrassed, but she also felt uneasy about taking Shi Zhen's stall for free: "Ah Zhen, it's fine if you don't come... but this stall... how about I give you all the money I make from selling it?"
"Sister, what are you going to do with the money you earn?" Shi Zhen said. "Keep this money and save it up."
Seeing that Zhao Qiujuan was still a little uneasy, worried that she would spend all the money she had worked so hard to earn on others, Shi Zhen said again, "Sister, it's okay for you to pay 100 yuan a month for food when you eat at home, but don't spend the rest of the money, and don't give it to others, especially not to Tingting. Tingting spends too much money, and I'm afraid that everyone will spoil her and turn her into a money-waster."
"Spend money like water" is a local dialect term that refers to people who grow up but don't work and spend their family's money all day long.
“Tingting wouldn’t…” Zhao Qiujuan said.
“Anyway, you can’t give her the money. If I find out, I’ll be angry,” Shi Zhen said. “If you can’t refuse, just say you gave me the money. Just don’t give it to anyone else.”
Zhao Qiujuan nodded quickly.
Shi Zhen continued, "Sister, you need to think about your future and plan for yourself. Let me tell you this: people here need a household registration to go to school, and it's best to buy a house in town... This stall can earn about six hundred a month. If you're frugal, you can save five hundred a month, which is six thousand a year. After a few years, you can buy a house."
No matter how terrifying the housing prices in Changxi City become in twenty years or so, houses are actually not expensive at this time.
However, not many people are selling them.
But in a few years, the first batch of commercial housing will be available!
If Zhao Qiujuan weren't in a rush to get married and instead focused on running her stall, given the current situation... she could definitely buy an apartment, or at least make a down payment, after a few years of running her stall.
Zhao Qiujuan looked at Shi Zhen in shock. She hadn't expected that Shi Zhen would actually want her to buy a house.
"I'm getting married, what kind of house do I need to buy..."
“Once you buy a house, it’s yours. If you own a house and can make money, you can live well even if you don’t get married, and you’ll have confidence even if you do get married.”
Zhao Qiujuan felt as if she had been struck by lightning.
No one had ever told her these things before, and she had never thought that far ahead.
All she wanted at that time was to marry someone closer to home.
This way, she can take care of her mother, and if she encounters any problems, she can turn to her father or ask Shi Zhen to stand up for her.
She was really afraid of meeting someone like her biological father.
But now, hearing Shi Zhen say this...
If she had a house, even if she accidentally married someone like her biological father, she could get a divorce and raise her child on her own.
By the way, a house, it's just a house.
A light shone in Zhao Qiujuan's eyes.
Shi Zhen smiled as he watched Zhao Qiujuan energetically making rice balls for people.
For their generation, a house is really... extremely important.
Their living conditions were terrible when they were young.
Take him for example. Ever since his father married his stepmother, he has been living in the room where his family eats and cooks. His bed is made of narrow wooden planks, and anyone can sit on it during the day.
They all want a house.
With such a carrot dangling in front of him, his sister will probably keep the money safe and not easily give it to others.
In fact, besides worrying that his sister would give the money to Shi Ting, he was also worried that his sister would give the money to Zhao Dongjuan.
In his past life, he made some money, brought his family out, and then gave it all away.
Zhao Qiujuan never asked him for money, but he knew that her family needed money for medical treatment and her children needed money for school. He would give her money without her asking. He was the one who ran errands for Zhao Qiujuan's children when they needed to go to school.
Later, when he had money, he bought a house across the street for his parents and Zhao Qiujuan so they could live there and take care of each other.
As for Shi Ting and Zhao Dongjuan... they all asked him for it directly without waiting for him to give it to them.
Often, as soon as Shi Ting asked him for money, Zhao Dongjuan would turn around and ask for it right away.
He was proud back then and found it hard to refuse, so he would usually give in. As a result, Zhao Dongjuan was someone who only took and never gave.
No matter how much money Shi Ting squanders, she always remembers him and buys things for him and Guan Baiyu, even though those things are flashy and impractical to him.
Zhao Dongjuan, however, was nowhere to be seen except when she was taking money.
He always acted like he owed her something.
Back then, he still held old-fashioned ideas, feeling that as a man, it was his responsibility to care for his family. He thought that Zhao Dongjuan's sharp tongue was just her personality, and that she would only get angry when she was in a bad mood. He wouldn't give Zhao Qiujuan money, but he didn't break off relations with her.
As a result, Zhao Dongjuan went around saying bad things about him and Guan Baiyu.
She must have discovered something, because she even told people that Guan Baiyu was a second-rate person.
The term "two-chair" used here roughly means someone who is neither male nor female.
At that time, Guan Baiyu was focused on self-study and obtained a university diploma.
Back then, adult education was highly valued, so Guan Baiyu wanted to become a teacher and take the civil service exam.
He hadn't read many books, so he didn't understand anything Guan Baiyu was learning. He didn't even know what a government agency was at first, and he just felt that he was getting further and further away from Guan Baiyu.
Guan Baiyu spends all his time reading and he hardly talks to him anymore.
But he couldn't very well stop Guan Baiyu from going.
He has already wronged the person enough; how could he not allow them to become a teacher?
Although he had money at that time, his family had high expenses, he liked to act like a boss and made the villagers borrow money from him all the time. In addition, in order to fight against that enemy, he took on several projects and bought some land, so he didn't have much liquid capital.
But he always felt uneasy, afraid that Guan Baiyu would look down on him, so he took on more odd jobs, thinking about buying Guan Baiyu a house.
He became even busier, and Zhao Dongjuan even gave him more work.
At the time, he had never touched a computer and knew nothing about the gay community, but he knew that "two-chair" was definitely not a compliment.
Moreover, Zhao Dongjuan said more than just that; she said everything.
He approached Zhao Dongjuan and told her not to talk nonsense, but Zhao Dongjuan meant that he should pay money to avoid trouble.
Zhao Dongjuan asked him for a house, a house exactly the same as the one he bought for Zhao Qiujuan.
He was extremely annoyed by Zhao Dongjuan, and at the same time, he had a lot of other things bothering him.
Zhao Qiujuan's two children suffer from the same liver disease as their father. They have been weak since childhood. One of them was hospitalized due to an accident. Zhao Qiujuan's husband was so worried that he went in with him. Zhao Qiujuan was too busy to take care of them.
After his stepmother had her leg amputated, she not only gained weight but also became much weaker. Somehow, she broke her hip.
His father also had problems. His father had always loved sweets, but in his younger years he couldn't afford them. After his father started giving him money, his father bought sweets all the time. Not to mention things like steamed sponge cake and osmanthus rice cake, his father would even scoop up a spoonful of white sugar as a snack whenever he felt like it, and he would always drink sugar water when he was thirsty...
At the time, he had no idea about diabetes and high blood pressure, so why would he stop his dad? By the time his dad suddenly collapsed and was hospitalized, his condition had become so serious that he would have to rely on injections to control his blood sugar in the future.
And then there's his sister. Her boyfriend is a complicated character. Sometimes he threatens her by self-harming, lighting cigarettes on himself, kneeling down and hugging her legs while crying, and so on.
He thought this guy was crazy, that's his sister, that he thought the other guy truly loved her and wouldn't leave her.
At the time, he was burdened with so many family matters, and there was also a contractor who had a grudge against him causing trouble...
For a time, he felt like he couldn't hold on any longer.
His health back then was far worse than it is now.
No matter how hard he works in this life, he gets enough nutrition. In his previous life, he ate poorly and worked hard on construction sites. Even when he went out to work on his own, he still had to work with others. In fact, because he was the only one who knew many technical skills, he did more work than others.
Not to mention that after going solo, he also started smoking and drinking.
He doesn't actually like drinking, but he has to drink when he goes out for business. As for smoking... he smokes a few when he feels sleepy, and he smokes at least two packs a day.
He always thought, what would happen to these people if he were gone one day?
If he falls ill, who will take care of him? Will we rely on his sisters or his parents?
He's always been a pretty pragmatic person. He works hard to get what he wants, and as for romance, to be honest, he thought it was all meaningless back then.
At the time, he believed that marriage meant choosing a suitable person to live with, managing the family well, and raising children properly.
As for love... Did his stepmother marry his father because of love?
His biological mother didn't marry his father for love either.
He didn't think Guan Baiyu liked him either.
When he first met Guan Baiyu, Guan Baiyu wanted to go to university.
Guan Baiyu didn't finish high school and didn't have a high school diploma. He had to take exams step by step, which was very troublesome. The exams back then were really demanding... Guan Baiyu needed a lot of time to study.
He got together with Guan Baiyu because he fell in love with her and coaxed her to be with him, and that's how they got together.
He promised that he would take good care of Guan Baiyu and let her study. Guan Baiyu agreed and stayed by his side.
If he had no money, and if Guan Baiyu had other support, she probably wouldn't be with him.
He was much older and darker back then, having worked as a bricklayer and such; his hands were in terrible shape.
Of course, he didn't care what Guan Baiyu thought at the time.
As long as they're together, that's enough for him. He doesn't care that Guan Baiyu is with him so they can have a better life.
Isn't this how everyone in their village lives?
Regardless of whether Guan Baiyu liked men or not, once he was with her, he treated her as his wife.
But Guan Baiyu has a bright future ahead of him, so there's no need for him to stay with her anymore.
If Guan Baiyu stays with him, Zhao Dongjuan might ruin her reputation and prevent her from becoming a teacher.
Zhao Dongjuan always felt that Guan Baiyu had taken a lot of money from her, and she disliked Guan Baiyu very much.
He was thinking about whether or not he should break up with Guan Baiyu.
In that case, Guan Baiyu can go and live his life as a cultured man without having to accompany him anymore.
As a result, Guan Baiyu died.
He suddenly lost all motivation to do anything, and his family stopped caring about him...
He didn't know what to say. During that time, he didn't care about anything, and everyone else was doing well.
Later... when he finally recovered, the land he bought had seen its price skyrocket because he had neglected it for several years out of despair.
He took the money and invested it in some properties built by his friends... and made a profit.
With capital, he no longer needed to work as hard as he did in his early years, yet he made money much faster than he had in his younger days.
After Guan Baiyu died, he never gave Zhao Dongjuan any more money.
Actually, among the three sisters, Zhao Dongjuan is the most opinionated.
His sister was timid and submissive her whole life in her previous life, and his younger sister lived an even more chaotic life. Only Zhao Dongjuan was particularly shrewd and calculating.
Actually, it can't be said that she's very shrewd; her main point is... she would never let herself suffer a loss.
She'll make a scene if she suffers even the slightest loss. She used to cause trouble when she was younger, but as she's gotten older and more experienced, she's become quite adept at manipulating people when she does make a scene.
How could someone like that possibly have a bad life?
She married a man who had received compensation for his land expropriation but lacked any real ability; he was completely controlled by her for life.
Even after all this, Zhao Dongjuan could still cry to Zhao Qiujuan, feeling that her brother was being unfair to her.
He was only a few months older than Zhao Dongjuan.
Shi Zhenzhen felt that no matter where Zhao Dongjuan went, she wouldn't suffer any losses.
Given the current situation, he gave one stall to his parents and the other to Zhao Qiujuan. Zhao Dongjuan will definitely ask them for money later.
In his past life, after he became rich, Zhao Dongjuan's attitude towards him wasn't actually this bad. She generally knew that if she was too rude, she wouldn't get any money. The reason she treats him this way in this life is probably because he's poor now, so she doesn't take him seriously.
He is indeed very poor now.
After selling the rice balls, Shi Zhen and the others took Zhao Qiujuan to the market.
She would tell Zhao Qiujuan which brand of pickled vegetables tasted good, which brand of pickled mustard tubers was cheap, and so on.
After he finished speaking, he and Zhao Qiujuan returned to the Shi family home.
As soon as he arrived at his doorstep, he heard Guan Baiyu's voice saying, "It's really hard for my brother to make money. Before, he could only sleep a few hours a day to run two stalls. Now that you've given the stalls to him, he stays home embroidering. He only earns seven cents for each piece of clothing he embroiders... He came back from Changxi City yesterday and has been embroidering ever since, but he's only finished a few pieces."
Shi Zhen: "..." Guan Baiyu doesn't need to tell anyone about his embroidery at home, right?
However, once Shi Zhen got closer, it was no longer appropriate to talk about Guan Baiyu.
Because Guan Baiyu was embroidering a piece of clothing, and she was doing it very quickly.
While teaching Shi Ting to read, Guan Baiyu also didn't forget to embroider to earn money; she was truly hardworking.
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