In rural areas, the construction of self-built houses can take any amount of time.
Some families even save up some money, build one floor first, and then continue to earn and save money until they have enough to build a second floor, extending the time frame to several years.
Of course, it's usually built all at once, in the simplest way: brick walls, precast concrete slabs for floors... and it can be completed and ready for occupancy in a month.
Mr. Wang's house is quite complex, so it will take at least two or three months to complete.
By mid-November, the outline of the house had emerged.
Shi Zhen left a large balcony on the second floor of the house and a large terrace on the third floor. He also designed three bedrooms with bathrooms on the second and third floors. In total, there are five bathrooms in the whole building.
In rural areas today, many families only have one toilet, and even the more well-off families only have one toilet per floor. But he not only built so many toilets, he also put the toilets in his bedroom!
Many visitors felt it was unnecessary, but Mr. Wang himself liked the design.
It will definitely be comfortable to use!
Most importantly, it is said that this is an apartment layout that was introduced from abroad, so you don't have to go far to use the toilet late at night, and it is also convenient for the couple to take a shower if they want to do something at night.
Once the basic framework of the house is mostly built, it's time to start buying tiles and other materials for the renovation.
Recently, mosaic tiles have become popular for exterior walls, but Shi Zhen thinks that palm-sized tiles would look better. As for the color... he drew a few outlines and let General Manager Wang choose.
Mr. Wang chose a dark red color scheme, then added some white tiles inside, used a bluish-black roof, and white European-style stone columns for the balcony railings.
The style of this house might seem a bit out of place to some professionals, but it's actually quite beautiful. Most importantly... it's absolutely unique in the countryside.
The red villa stands out starkly among the uniform white walls and black tiles!
This color won't look old!
Shi Zhen praised Mr. Wang's aesthetic sense, and then took Mr. Wang to buy bricks.
Mr. Wang is a wealthy man, and he plans to live in this house until he gets old. At first, he wanted to buy the best of everything, but after asking about the prices, he found that he couldn't afford it. So he calmed down and listened to Shi Zhen, choosing some relatively inexpensive tiles.
The cost of decorating a self-built house is often higher than the cost of building it.
As a result, in ten years or so, there will be many houses in this rural area that look better from the outside than the next, but have little to no decoration inside.
Mr. Wang's house was built almost entirely under Shi Zhen's coordination, but nowadays, life isn't considered busy for Shi Zhen.
In the evenings, he would even spend his free time at Guan Jianguo's house with Shi Xingchao and the women from the village, listening to the radio and embroidering clothes.
"Shizhen, why don't you buy a TV?" a woman in the village asked Shizhen. "A radio is no match for a TV! You can watch TV while embroidering clothes, that's so comfortable—even if you can't watch all the time, you can get the gist of it by glancing at it a few times."
"I don't have any money right now," Shi Zhen laughed.
Shi Dalin has already bought a color TV.
He didn't stop his father from buying a color TV because he knew that Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun really wanted a television.
Now that they have money, it's fine for them to indulge themselves a little.
As for housing... he won't be without a house for his parents to live in in the future.
But he himself didn't have much desire for a television set; he preferred to save his money.
For him, it was much more worthwhile to spend money on production tools than on things for enjoyment.
In fact, there were many, many people who came out of the mountains to work around the same time as him.
These workers can be roughly divided into three categories.
The first type is those who start as employees, gradually rise through the ranks, and eventually become big bosses. Putting aside other factors, these people are always different from others in terms of mindset. For example, he always wanted to stand out and was willing to make various efforts to achieve his goals.
The second category consists of those who have worked for a long time, climbed from the bottom to the middle class, and settled down in the city. These people don't have much ambition, are easily satisfied, but will save money to buy a house.
The third category is those who have been working but have never saved any money... Some of these people are unlucky and have encountered some uncontrollable events, such as illness, but most of them are because... after they earn money, they spend it all on enjoying life.
For example, eating better, dressing better, etc.
This era is changing very fast, and it's easy to make money. In the following ten years or so, housing prices were not actually that high, so it would be a real pity to miss the opportunity.
“How could you possibly be broke?” The villagers didn’t believe Shi Zhen.
Shi Zhen smiled, showing no intention of responding.
He certainly has money, but there's no need for him to tell anyone.
In his past life, when he was young and had money, he always wanted people to know and wanted to show it off to everyone he met, but now he no longer has that thought.
By eight o'clock, the villagers had gradually left, and Shi Xinghuo returned from outside, feeling somewhat disappointed.
Shi Zhen told Shi Xinghuo to go back to sleep first, while he and Shi Xingchao would sort and pack the sweaters they had received that day before going back.
"Okay!" Shi Xinghuo obediently replied and turned to leave.
After he left, Shi Zhen asked Shi Xingchao, "Brother Xingchao, have you noticed that your brother has been acting strangely lately?"
Shi Xinghuo died during this period in his previous life.
Although Shi Zhen had repeatedly told himself that everything had changed and that Shi Xinghuo would be alright, he still felt uneasy, and his attention to Shi Xinghuo increased.
He noticed that Shi Xinghuo seemed a bit unhappy lately.
"Really?" Shi Xingchao asked. "I think he's been doing quite well lately; he hasn't been spending money recklessly."
Previously, Shi Xinghuo would buy all sorts of food all the time, and he would always bring snacks when he went out for a walk after dinner, and he would finish them after just one walk... He couldn't stand it anymore.
“Something must have happened to him,” Shi Zhen said with certainty.
So, after packing up and going back, Shi Zhen specifically asked Shi Xinghuo, "Brother Xinghuo, has something happened to you lately? You seem a little unhappy?"
Shi Xinghuo thought for a moment and said, "Someone is sick, alas!"
"Is someone sick? Who?"
"You don't know... What if someone gets sick and doesn't have money for medical treatment? What should they do?" Shi Xinghuo asked, a little worried.
These past few days, when he went to see his friends, they stopped praising him and kept talking about her father's illness, wanting to borrow money from him.
But he really had no money; he had given all his money to Shi Zhen!
He refused to give her the money, and his friend got angry and told him not to go looking for her anymore.
He really isn't going, right? His friend came over again, saying he's heartless.
Shi Xinghuo really couldn't understand what she was trying to do.
He noticed she was always crying and suggested she ask Shi Zhen for advice... but she refused, saying their relationship shouldn't be known to others.
Why can't people know?
"How about we borrow money?" Shi Zhen asked.
"I think so too... Sigh!" Shi Xinghuo stopped talking, turned over, and prepared to go to sleep.
He said that he was smart too, and that he thought the same way as Shi Zhen.
Shi Zhen: "..." Shi Zhen became increasingly certain that Shi Xinghuo had a problem.
The problem likely stems from his nightly walks!
He could go with her tomorrow and see where Shi Xinghuo had gone. At the same time, the woman who wanted to swindle money from Shi Xinghuo was also discussing with her brother how to get money from him.
Their father was paralyzed in an accident when they were around ten years old. Their mother divorced and remarried not long after, leaving the two siblings to take care of their elderly father while trying to earn a living.
The two of them have grown up like this, and they've gone a bit astray.
Because they are all good-looking, they have taken a crooked path and started making a living based on their looks.
The older brother, Tian Xueshan, with his handsome face and sweet talk, flirted with several married women and never had to worry about food, clothing, or daily necessities.
What about her younger sister, Tian Xueling? The men around her change frequently, and she's always given the best food and clothes.
Their reputations weren't exactly good, but they didn't care; they were used to this kind of life.
It's so great to have food and drink without having to do anything!
The villagers tacitly agreed that Shi Zhen and his brothers were wealthy, which is why the Tian siblings set their sights on Shi Xinghuo, but Shi Xinghuo was completely unmoved by their advances.
“I really can’t do anything with him! He clearly has feelings for me. He comes when I tell him to come and goes when I tell him to leave. He’s very obedient to me, but he just won’t give me any money,” Tian Xueling said.
She used to seduce many men, most of whom were not good people and always wanted to take advantage of her... But they were also easy to fool. She could get them to touch her a few times, call her "brother" a few times, and say some nice things, and she could get them to give her things.
Only Shi Xinghuo was particularly shrewd.
“You’ve spent so much effort on him, and the total amount you’ve received probably doesn’t even add up to two hundred yuan. That’s such a loss! I’ve inquired around. He earns over four hundred yuan a month at the waterworks, and his younger brother earns over three hundred yuan a month just from embroidering clothes. Not to mention Shi Zhen, he helps people build houses and earns thirty yuan a day, which is nine hundred yuan a month! And they don’t spend any money. They must have at least several thousand yuan in savings! How about we set up a trap and force them to hand over the money?” Tian Xueshan said.
Tian Xueling asked, "How do we set up the trap?"
“Call Shi Xinghuo to our house and say he bullied you…threaten them that if they don’t give you money, you should call the police!” Tian Xueshan said.
Tian Xueling asked, "Will this work?"
"Why can't it work? They're from out of town, they're bound to be scared."
The more they thought about it, the more convinced they were that it was a viable idea.
That evening, after dinner, Shi Xinghuo went out for a stroll as usual.
Seeing this, Shi Zhen pulled Shi Xingchao along to follow.
Shi Xingchao was reluctant: "Ah Zhen, my brother is such a big man, what could possibly happen to him? You don't need to worry about him like this... Why don't we go home and embroider clothes?"
Shi Xingchao felt that Shi Zhen's worries were unnecessary. In comparison, he would rather Shi Zhen stop giving his brother pocket money, lest his brother squander it.
Shi Zhen ignored him and followed Shi Xinghuo all the way to the side of the cemetery.
"Is there something wrong with my brother? What is he doing in a place like this?" It was almost dark, and Shi Xingchao felt goosebumps all over when he saw the cemetery.
"Shh..." Shi Zhen made a gesture to make a sound.
They hid in the mulberry grove and, from a distance, saw Shi Xinghuo talking to someone.
Tian Xueling looked like she was about to cry, and said to Shi Xinghuo, "Brother Xinghuo, my dad's health is getting worse and worse."
"Oh..." Shi Xinghuo hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "Please accept my condolences?"
Tian Xueling felt like hitting someone. Her father was paralyzed, but he wasn't dead yet! "Brother Xinghuo, do you want to go see my dad?"
“I’m not a doctor, so it’s useless for me to see him, right?” Shi Xinghuo asked.
Tian Xueling's lips twitched, and she lowered her head, looking a little shy: "Actually...actually, my dad wants to meet you."
"Oh...then I'll go see him tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning?" Tian Xueling's voice rose. Shi Xinghuo wanted to come to her house in broad daylight? That wouldn't do!
Shi Xinghuo earnestly advised her: "When visiting someone in the hospital, you should go in the morning, bring some food, and give them twenty yuan... Your father isn't a relative of mine, so you shouldn't need to give him money, but you should visit him in the morning." He wouldn't pay the twenty yuan... mainly because he didn't have any money.
This was taught to him by Shi Zhen, who said it was a local custom to visit a sick person in the morning!
Tian Xueling: "..."
“You should learn these things well. If you don’t know how, you can ask Shi Zhen,” Shi Xinghuo added.
Tian Xueling didn't know if Shi Xinghuo was pretending to be stupid or was really stupid... most likely he was pretending.
"Did you already know what I wanted to do? Are you playing me for a fool?" Tian Xueling sneered. What was this person up to, wanting to take the food to her house in the morning?
What's most infuriating is that he wouldn't even give twenty yuan!
Tian Xueling is used to speaking in dialect.
Shi Xinghuo has lived here for a long time and can understand the general dialect. Before, they could only communicate with each other.
But this time Tian Xueling spoke too quickly, and Shi Xinghuo didn't quite understand.
When he didn't understand something, Shi Xinghuo would express his agreement, nodding subconsciously.
Tian Xueling was furious when he admitted it. She reached out and scratched Shi Xinghuo's face, shouting, "Brother, brother, come out! He bullied me!"
Tian Xueling was so aggrieved she was about to cry; it seemed she had been played for a fool!
Shi Xinghuo dodged when she saw her scratching at him, and then looked a little confused.
At that moment, Tian Xueshan rushed out and said to Shi Xinghuo, "How dare you bully my sister! I'll fight you to the death!"
He kept shouting, but he didn't actually go and fight Shi Xing.
He only has a face; those guys... with their broad shoulders and muscular builds, he can't beat them.
Shi Xinghuo paused for a moment before understanding his words, and subconsciously asked, "Why didn't you fight me? Oh... I didn't bully your sister."
Tian Xueshan's eyes widened—this person was going too far, taunting him so slowly!
He didn't bother with any more words and said directly, "Shi Xinghuo, I saw you lay a hand on my sister and try to bully her! I'm not going to let this go! You owe my sister four hundred yuan! Otherwise, we'll report you to the police!"
Shi Xinghuo was caught off guard and was struggling with his thoughts when Shi Xingchao, who could no longer hide, rushed over: "Four hundred yuan? You're dreaming! Let's go to the police station! I'm going to sue you for conspiring to cheat my brother out of his money!"
When Tian Xueshan and Tian Xueling talked about going to the police station, they were just saying it casually.
Although they usually cheat people out of money, they never dare to go too far, so they've never been to the police station, much less dare to go there.
During the previous crackdown, some people were executed for stealing just a few things. What if they went to the police station and the police found out they had been scamming people? They would rather avoid the police station altogether!
Shi Zhen then went out.
He listened in the shadows for a while and roughly figured out the reason.
Shi Xinghuo has fallen victim to a honey trap.
Fortunately, Shi Xinghuo was different from others and didn't actually try to take advantage of anyone; otherwise, the matter would have been difficult to explain.
Shi Zhen approached and was slightly taken aback when he saw the appearances of the two people in front of him.
He knew the brother and sister.
Then he smiled and said, "You cheated my cousin out of his money and even set up a scheme to extort money from him... Come with me to the police station. I know people there who will definitely treat you well."
The Tian siblings were immediately frightened.
Shi Zhen added, "Of course, you don't have to go if you don't want to... just pay up!"
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