Shi Zhen felt that it was a bit too early for Zhao Dongjuan to find a partner now.
Although she is an adult, she is not yet of marriageable age.
However, in rural areas at that time, it was quite common for people to get engaged or have a wedding banquet before reaching marriageable age, and then register their marriage when they reached the legal age.
"Who did she find?" Shi Zhen asked Shi Xingchao. "Was the person willing?"
Actually, regarding Zhong Liyang who came to our door last time... even if Zhong Liyang hadn't discovered that Zhao Dongjuan was lying, there was still no possibility between him and Zhao Dongjuan.
How could Zhong Liyang's parents possibly agree to their son marrying a woman from out of town who has nothing?
Leaving aside Zhao Dongjuan, just looking at him, the villagers think he's a good son-in-law because they are all farmers, and their daughters basically only graduated from junior high school and work in factories. Their family circumstances are not much better than his.
But in town, those people with decent jobs, pensions, and daughters who are middle school teachers... unless they're blind, they wouldn't be interested in him.
Given Zhao Dongjuan's qualifications, she could easily find a hardworking and reliable rural man near Anshan Town, but she definitely wouldn't be interested in such a man.
She had very high standards in her past life.
Shi Zhen recalled that at first, Zhao Dongjuan would keep eyeing people who were richer than him, but they were all unwilling. Later, they fell out, and Zhao Dongjuan reluctantly set her sights on a person who was being relocated due to demolition.
That man who was relocated... was quite a remarkable person.
This man originally had a fiancée he was engaged to, and the wedding date was already set, but the negotiations fell apart because the woman demanded a dowry of 18,000 yuan.
That girl even beat up the child of this family whose house was being demolished.
Of course, the most important thing is not that. The key thing is that... it was already eight years later. In those days, in the rural areas here, the bride price was already 28,000 or even 38,000 yuan.
What's even more interesting is that when Zhao Dongjuan married into the family, they gave her a dowry of 50,000 yuan.
However, even after the marriage, Zhao Dongjuan's family was dissatisfied with her.
One time, when the person whose property was being demolished came to him, he learned that Zhao Dongjuan had used the fact that her brother was a big boss to get people to pay so much money.
That's not all. After Zhao Dongjuan married into the family, she even took over the job of collecting rent and demanded that her husband hand over his salary.
That family... all agreed.
The locals in Changxi City are mostly hardworking, especially those who used to live in the countryside.
The parents of this family whose property was demolished are always busy.
Because of the demolition and relocation, the elderly couple received a policy-based supplementary pension insurance and are eligible to receive a pension, but they have not actually retired.
The father found a job sorting waste paper at a recycling center, and his combined pension and salary were higher than the income of many young people.
As for the mother, she initially helped Zhao Dongjuan take care of her child. Later, when Zhao Dongjuan's child was about to start kindergarten, she became a cleaning lady at the kindergarten. In addition to her pension, she also received double income.
The elderly couple were responsible for all the household expenses. They also took care of and raised Zhao Dongjuan's daughter, and even paid for her school fees.
This elderly couple, as they grew older, were persuaded by their neighbors to sign up for a senior citizen tour group to go on a trip... This was originally a very ordinary and normal thing, and they were spending their own savings, but Zhao Dongjuan was furious.
She wouldn't let her in-laws go on trips, and she would go to the travel agency to get the money back from them, then keep it for herself.
Even after all this, her husband didn't dare utter a single word in front of her. Instead, he went to Shi Zhen, hoping that Shi Zhen would uphold justice for them.
Shi Zhen, of course, wouldn't care; the residents facing demolition had no choice but to leave.
Afterwards, the man did not divorce and continued to live with Zhao Dongjuan.
There was no other way. All the rent and income they had accumulated over the years were in Zhao Dongjuan's hands. They were afraid that after the divorce, Zhao Dongjuan would run away, leaving them with nothing.
However, Zhao Dongjuan's life couldn't be said to be particularly good. Her daughter had a very bad relationship with her, never giving her a kind look, and was only close to her grandparents.
Zhao Dongjuan's parents-in-law, on the other hand, would often talk outside about how fierce Zhao Dongjuan was, and how she beat them.
Zhao Dongjuan's husband... he's practically invisible, there's not much to say about him.
Shi Xingchao said, "Your sister and the others still don't know what that family is like. Zhao Dongjuan is keeping it a very tight secret."
"Alright..." Shi Zhen said to Shi Xingchao, "If my sister comes over tomorrow, tell her that I will be there tonight."
According to custom, when someone visits a family for the first time, the entire family should be present.
However, it's not easy to go to Shi Xingchao and Shi Xinghuo, because Shi Dalin and Shi Dashan have long since separated and are now two separate families.
The next morning, Shi Zhen went to see General Manager Wang first.
He didn't go yesterday, and Mr. Wang's family was a little unhappy. They told Shi Zhen directly that they would deduct a day's wages.
"That's only right." Shi Zhen didn't dwell on it.
Currently, the general shape of Mr. Wang's villa has been completed, and the exterior has been tiled.
This house looks exceptionally beautiful from a distance; it's absolutely unique in the countryside.
However, the interior is still empty; the walls haven't been painted, and the plumbers, electricians, carpenters, and so on haven't started work yet.
Today, Shi Zhen hired someone to install the balcony railing. While it was being installed, more people came to visit the house.
The person who came was obviously from a wealthy family. He really liked the house and kept saying he wanted to build one just like it.
Shi Zhen said, "Boss, what's the point of building your house if it's the same as everyone else's? If you're going to build one, you have to build something unique."
"One of a kind?" The man looked at Shi Zhen.
Shi Zhen took out a business card and handed it to the other party: "I had someone design this house. If you want to build a house like this, you can contact me. I guarantee I can build you a unique house at a cheap price."
Shi Zhen wrote his own business card.
His name was on it, along with the address of the country that had built it.
Of course, the address was written in a slightly upscale style, with "Shijia Sweater Collection and Dispatch Point" following the village and house number.
Now his sweater collection and distribution point has become quite well-known; locals can easily find it by asking anyone in their village.
Shi Zhen has already handed out several of these business cards, but unfortunately no one has contacted him yet.
At this moment... Shi Zhen had a special chat with this person, talking about how things are abroad, how big cities are, how important the design of villas is, and so on. In short, he talked about things that could impress people and resonate with these newly wealthy people.
The man inspected the house, took Shi Zhen's business card, and left.
Shi Zhen worked until after 4 p.m., when everyone else finished work, before he also finished and drove his tractor to Anshan Town.
There was no parking available near the house Shi Jia rented, so he parked the tractor a short distance away before walking towards Shi Jia's house.
When Shi Zhen arrived, Zhao Dongjuan and her boyfriend were not yet there.
In the Shi family kitchen, all kinds of dishes were ready. Zhao Meiyun and Zhao Qiujuan had changed into new clothes and put on some lipstick, looking a little irritable.
Upon seeing Shi Zhen, Zhao Qiujuan said, "Zhen, you're here? Dongjuan said they were coming this afternoon, but they haven't arrived yet... If I had known they wouldn't come this late, I would have embroidered an extra garment. It's not good to go to work now, lest they come and see it, which wouldn't be nice."
Whether it's Zhao Qiujuan, Zhao Meiyun, or Shi Zhen and Shi Dalin, they are all the kind of people who can't stay idle.
Letting them wait is fine for a while, but if they wait too long, they'll feel uneasy and want to do something, but the chores at home have already been finished.
Shi Dalin also said, "If I had known, I would have gone to the school gate to do some business for a while, and then gone home after all the kids had finished school..."
Setting up a stall at the school gate during school hours can earn a lot of money, but Shi Dalin didn't go there this afternoon; he just stayed home waiting for Zhao Dongjuan.
Shi Zhen said, "It's a rare opportunity, so it doesn't matter if we earn a little less."
“That’s true.” Shi Dalin calmed down and began to ask Shi Zhen how much money he had been making lately.
Shi Zhen said a few words briefly, then looked at Shi Ting and asked her how her studies were going at school.
Shi Ting blinked innocently.
Shi Ting is in the second year of junior high school, and it's been several months now.
Thanks to Guan Baiyu's tutoring, her grades didn't fall to the bottom after she entered the town's junior high school.
But her grades... weren't good either.
There are fifty students in the class, and she ranks around forty. Those ranked after her are the ones who don't study much.
She studied diligently every day and did all her homework without fail, but her grades improved very little.
However, she still made a few friends.
She's good-looking and not the type to cause trouble, so she's quite likable.
Of course, there are many xenophobic people nowadays, so it's inevitable that some people will say that Shi Ting is from out of town and that she's dirty.
Then Shi Ting did something that no one expected.
She cried, cried very sadly, and wouldn't stop.
The teachers at the town's junior high school were quite good. Given Shi Ting's reaction, the teachers naturally reprimanded those who bullied her, and afterwards, no one dared to bully her anymore.
At this moment, Shi Ting felt very embarrassed and told Shi Zhen everything that had happened at school, including that she hadn't done well on her exams again.
Shi Zhen remained calm. So what if his grades were bad? It didn't mean him anything.
In contrast, Shi Ting's views on love and spending are what he values most.
Now... although Shi Ting loves to buy things, she does so within her means and within what she can afford.
Zhao Meiyun has been injured in her leg for the past few months, so Shi Ting will go and help Shi Dalin on weekends, which is great.
Of course, she did this because Shi Dalin would give her two yuan after a day's work.
After everyone had talked for a while, Zhao Dongjuan and her boyfriend finally arrived together with lots of bags.
Shi Zhen hadn't seen Zhao Dongjuan for a long time, and now that he saw her... he noticed that Zhao Dongjuan's makeup skills had improved, and coupled with her youth, she was quite beautiful and youthful.
The man who came with Zhao Dongjuan... he must be over thirty years old, right?
He was a man who was a little bald and had a dark complexion.
His face had large pores and some black marks on it, making him look unclean. His teeth were also very yellow... Shi Zhen glanced at his fingers and knew that he was a heavy smoker.
His teeth, his face... after smoking too much, it's easy to end up looking like a heavy smoker.
This person's appearance is really not good, but his family must be well-off, as he is quite well-dressed.
The customs of Shi Zhen's hometown are quite different from those here. Now that they are here, they follow the local customs. For example, when a child brings someone to visit for the first time, they should give the person a red envelope.
Of course, regardless of gender, people should bring gifts to their elders on their first visit. The man Zhao Dongjuan brought back was carrying a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of wine, two kinds of fruit, two kinds of pastries, a bag of dried longan and a bag of walnuts.
At that time, everyone was poor, so the gifts were not expensive. The groom's family would first send eight gifts to the bride's family. The bride's family would then take two of the gifts and eat them. The remaining six gifts would be taken by the bride's family a few days later to visit the groom's family.
Of course, the food we usually eat is fruit, which doesn't keep well. The rest we take home is mainly to save money—to avoid having to buy cigarettes and alcohol.
In most cases, after the cigarettes and alcohol are taken back to the man's house, the man will not smoke or drink them. They will usually save them for the engagement and send them to the woman's house as part of the engagement gift.
The Shi family had all found out about these things, but Shi Zhen was not very clear about them.
"This is my boyfriend. His surname is Wang, and his name is Wang Zugen." Zhao Dongjuan introduced the man next to her, and then introduced Shi Zhen and others to him.
“I recognize it,” Wang Zugen said, taking out a pack of cigarettes, pulling out two, and handing one to Shi Dalin and one to Shi Zhen. “Here, have one. This pack costs five yuan. You’ve never smoked it before, have you?”
"I don't smoke," Shi Zhen refused.
Shi Dalin waved his hand and said, "I don't smoke."
Shi Dalin used to live in the mountains and would occasionally grow some tobacco leaves and take a few puffs with a long, thin bamboo pipe.
However, he wasn't really addicted; he smoked mainly to stay alert.
When he arrived here, Shi Zhen wouldn't let him smoke, saying that smoking while doing business looked dirty, so he naturally stopped smoking.
Now he eats and sleeps well, and the work he does isn't heavy, so he doesn't really need to use cigarettes to stay awake anymore.
Wang Zugen put away his cigarette and said to Shi Dalin, "You're making money from your stall now, right? You don't need to treat yourself like this. What's the point of being a man if you don't smoke?"
Then he looked at Shi Zhen and said, "At your age, you can start learning too. You can't go out into the world without knowing how to smoke."
Wang Zugen, acting like an experienced person, started by praising the quality of his cigarettes, then complained that the cigarettes that cost one or two yuan a pack now tasted wrong, and even said disdainfully, "Last time, I even saw someone smoking a cigarette without a filter...tsk tsk, they even smoke those!"
Shi Zhen didn't intend to say anything to this person; he just wanted to be a background figure.
Since Shi Dalin and his companions were unfamiliar with cigarette brands, they were completely confused and simply invited him to sit down and have dinner.
The Shi family prepared a very lavish dinner, including drinks: a bottle of baijiu (Chinese white liquor), a bottle of huangjiu (yellow wine), and several bottles of soda.
Nowadays, many people drink alcohol directly from bulk bottles, but the Shi family specially bought bottled alcohol, and not even the cheapest kind... In the eyes of the Shi family, this was already respectable enough for their guests.
However, Wang Zugen was clearly dissatisfied: "You usually drink this yellow wine? This yellow wine can only be used for cooking."
"This liquor isn't even the original brew, it doesn't taste good... The bottle I bought is the good stuff, it costs ten yuan a bottle."
Shi Dalin couldn't understand the local dialect very well and didn't know what he was saying, so he could only smile.
Shi Zhen was a little speechless. The liquor his father bought cost four or five yuan a bottle. Although it wasn't as expensive as the ten-yuan bottles, it was still pretty good.
The key point is that they brought it as a gift, not the same as everyday food.
However, there are quite a few people like that, so there's no need for him to say anything... If he really said anything, Zhao Dongjuan might hate him, since she seemed quite proud of him.
Wang Zugen is indeed over thirty years old, but younger than Shi Zhen thought. He is thirty-one this year, born in 1963, which is why he cannot speak Mandarin.
He kept boasting that he was a native of the town, a proper local, unlike those who moved here from other places or from the countryside.
He also said that he knows many people, that the mayor grew up with him, and that the deputy mayor was his classmate.
When he mentioned that Shi Ting was in junior high school, he also said that he knew many junior high school teachers in the town and that he had a very good relationship with the principal.
The Shi family... I didn't quite understand, but I thought he was pretty impressive.
After finishing their meal, Zhao Qiujuan took out some melon seeds and peanuts and continued chatting. At this moment, Shi Zhen looked at Zhao Dongjuan and said in their local dialect, "He's bragging."
"You're the one bragging! Shi Zhen, if you cause any more trouble, I'll go to Shi Ting's school and make a scene so she can't go to school!" Zhao Dongjuan said, tossing her two long braids. "You're just jealous that I found a good boyfriend!"
Shi Zhen: "..."
While the Shi family was entertaining Zhao Dongjuan's guests, Guan Baiyu's fever had subsided.
He still felt a bit sore, probably from a muscle strain, but his body temperature hadn't risen all day... His physical condition is much better than before.
After recovering, Guan Baiyu started thinking about... making money.
Previously, Liang's father had given him an envelope containing five thousand yuan.
Guan Baiyu was shocked by the money. His first reaction was that he couldn't accept it, but Shi Zhen persuaded him to take it.
If he doesn't accept it, Liang's father will always owe him a huge favor. If he accepts it, the matter will be settled, which is actually a good thing for Liang's father.
Since Shi Zhen had already said so, he didn't refuse and planned to give the money to Shi Zhen.
But Shi Zhen refused and told him to keep it.
This isn't just a few hundred dollars, it's five thousand!
Guan Baiyu initially felt that the money was a bit too hot to handle, but after calming down, he felt that... it was quite nice to have the money.
He had written an IOU for four thousand to his adoptive father. With this money, he could repay the debt when he returned.
After paying it back, he would still have a thousand yuan left... Guan Baiyu pondered, wanting to start a small business.
As for what kind of business to do... there's a small shop at their school that sells everything at very high prices. Maybe he could stock up on stationery or something and sell it to his classmates privately?
No, you can't say "sell".
He bought too much stationery, and when some classmates wanted it, he would give it to them... Of course, the classmates couldn't just take his stationery for free, so they would give him some money.
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