When Shi Zhen returned home after selling fried skewers that evening, he learned about what had happened at Guan Kai's house.
He was a little surprised, but not unexpected.
In rural areas at the bottom of society, there are generally more men than women, and women are relatively rare.
Throughout history, there have never been women from truly impoverished backgrounds who couldn't get married; there have only been men who couldn't find wives.
In J City, twenty years later, due to the increase in the migrant population, local men, except for a very few, no longer had trouble finding wives. Even old men like Guan Kai's father could find old ladies they liked. However, during this period, there were still more men than women.
The preference for sons over daughters isn't severe here, but it still exists. Twenty or thirty years ago, cases of drowning or abandoning female infants due to unaffordable conditions occurred from time to time.
Another thing is that many rural women marry into towns, but Shi Zhen has never heard of a town woman marrying into the countryside.
Generally, it's only when rural men find good jobs, escape rural life, and become city dwellers that they can marry city women.
Previously, when Shi Zhen was setting up a stall in town, he heard people talking about a family in town who had married a country girl to their mentally challenged son, and the child they had was also mentally challenged.
Shi Zhenting sympathized with that woman, and he understood why she made that choice back then.
People who have never done farm work don't know how tiring it is, especially before the 1990s, when farm work relied almost entirely on manpower and the harvest was directly related to the entire family's livelihood.
When transplanting rice seedlings, leeches would entangle my legs. Even after pulling them off, my legs would still be bleeding, but I had to keep working.
Moreover, ordinary families don't have much good food to eat.
People who have suffered too much can be easily swayed by a little something. It's quite normal for a young woman to be willing to marry a fool just to have enough to eat and drink.
For various reasons, many men in rural areas cannot find wives. A few years ago, bachelors bought a wave of wives, but in the last two years, due to crackdowns and other measures, they no longer have that opportunity.
In such an environment, it's really too easy for a woman to find a man willing to marry her, and it's normal for her to find one who is a few years younger.
His stepmother was older than his father, and not as good-looking as his father.
However, his stepmother was a traditionally gentle, submissive, and selfless woman, while Guan Baiyu's aunt was clearly not.
"Brother, do you think they'll get a divorce?" Guan Baiyu asked.
“Definitely,” Shi Zhen said.
Guan Baiyu had just been rambling on and on, mentioning some things about his aunt from the past.
In the early years after she got married, she was suppressed by her mother-in-law and had a very hard time. Later, things probably turned around, and she stopped taking her mother-in-law's words seriously. Instead, she went against her mother-in-law and they argued with each other every day at home.
In the last two years, she has changed again. She does whatever she wants and only cares about her own happiness, spending all her time putting on makeup, dressing up, and going out to play.
Shi Zhen said, "Xiao Yu, do you know what kind of person can live a good life?"
"What kind of person is he?" Guan Baiyu asked.
“People who are good to you,” Shi Zhen said.
If a person is good enough to themselves and can be ruthless enough, they can live well anywhere.
Guan Baiyu was somewhat bewildered.
Shi Zhen laughed and said, "Alright, go to sleep early."
The matter concerning the young lady's family had nothing to do with Shi Zhen and Guan Baiyu, but it affected Guan Guangguo, Guan Jianguo, and Guan Xingguo.
Because Guan Wenguo didn't want a divorce, he asked these cousins to embolden him and have them accompany him to cause trouble at his wife's lover's house.
But the adulterer is also a local, and he has relatives, friends, and cousins!
He has more cousins than others.
Moreover, Guan Wenguo's relationship with Guan Jianguo and the others was just so-so. Guan Jianguo and the others were willing to embolden Guan Wenguo out of consideration for their cousin relationship, but it was impossible for them to fight for Guan Wenguo.
If Guan Wenguo himself isn't fighting, why should they?
It's not their wives who are running away!
Speaking of Guan Jianguo, Guan Xingguo, and Guan Baiyu's adoptive father Guan Guangguo, no matter what kind of people they were, they were all quite good to their wives and cared for their families.
For example, when Guan Xingguo got married, he insisted on separating the family property.
Guan Guangguo and Zhang Xiumei had no children in their early years. When his mother had a conflict with Zhang Xiumei, he sided with Zhang Xiumei.
Guan Jianguo didn't have any major conflicts with his parents, but he was very opinionated and didn't usually listen to his mother.
Previously, Guan Wenguo's mother had been spreading rumors about Guan Wenguo's wife, and Guan Wenguo had remained silent. They also looked down on Guan Wenguo.
After a few days of this commotion, Shi Zhen received news that Guan Wenguo and his wife had divorced.
Guan Wenguo doesn't have much property. As for the house and land... the foundation of the house and the land belong to the village collective and cannot be divided.
Even Guan Kai is registered under the Guan family's household registration; the Guan family won't let anyone take him away.
Guan Wenguo's wife ultimately left with nothing.
After the divorce, she went back to her parents' home, and a few days later, she held a banquet and remarried.
The speed was astonishing, and it made many women... quite envious.
During this time, the young lady's family became the talk of the village. Most people were saying that the young lady had gone too far and driven her daughter-in-law away, while also expressing sympathy for the family—neither of the two brothers had wives.
However, no one would say this in front of the young mistress, but the young mistress... she would go up to everyone she met and talk to them, saying how unworthy her former daughter-in-law was and how miserable her son was.
Then she took the opportunity to spill all the dirty laundry in her family.
Shi Zhen had no idea what she was thinking.
Normal people know that family scandals should not be aired in public, but she... just likes to air her family scandals in public.
For example, she often boasted about how she taught Guan Kai not to be close to his mother, so that when Guan Kai's mother wanted a divorce, Guan Kai even rushed over and hit his mother.
Then, a few minutes later, she started saying that Guan Kai's mother was cold-blooded and didn't care about her son.
According to her own account, she didn't let Guan Kai be raised by his biological mother when he was a child, and even taught Guan Kai to curse his mother. Now Guan Kai has even gone so far as to hit his own mother... Under such circumstances, it's no wonder that Guan Kai's mother doesn't value him.
Shi Zhendu suspected that Guan Kai's mother's decision to divorce was largely due to the heartbreak she had suffered at the hands of her son.
Guan Kai has been cursing his mother in the village lately, using foul language that is disgusting to everyone who sees him.
However, none of this concerned Shi Zhen. He was busy setting up his stall and had some free time recently—after Shi Xinghuo helped him with a lot of preparations, he was able to do more and more things!
Shi Zhen originally intended for him to continue working as a laborer, but now that he could do most of the preparatory work, Shi Zhen let him stay at home to help.
The main reason is that there are no suitable jobs for him outside.
In his previous life, Shi Xinghuo was crushed to death, leaving Shi Zhen with some psychological trauma. He wasn't afraid of anything else, but he was afraid that Shi Xinghuo would have an accident on the construction site.
Dredging river mud is fine, but Shi Xinghuo wouldn't dare to build a house.
Since Shi Xinghuo took over most of the preparatory work, Shi Zhen had free time to do other things, and Guan Baiyu was able to concentrate on his studies.
Shi Zhen raised wages for both Shi Xinghuo and Qian Qilai. He increased Qian Qilai's wages to fifteen yuan a day, while he increased Shi Xinghuo's wages to ten yuan a day.
At the same time, with Shi Xinghuo's help, he added some new products to the cooked food stall.
The new products are braised chicken wing tips and braised chicken feet.
These two items are perfect for pairing with alcohol, and quite a few people buy them.
The current situation is... Shi Zhen realizes that he needs a freezer.
When the weather gets hot, things spoil easily, so he has to go to Butcher Zhu's house early in the morning to get fresh pig heads to cook at home, which is a bit too tiring.
If he had a refrigerator or freezer, some preparations could be made in advance.
But freezers and refrigerators are not cheap.
He plans to rent a shop to open a store... Shi Zhen really feels that every time he earns some money, there are many places to spend it.
With these things in mind, Shi Zhen got up at four o'clock that morning and rode his tricycle to the next village to get a pig's head from Butcher Zhu.
When it's cold, Butcher Zhu would slaughter the pigs the night before and take them to town to sell the next day. But now that it's hot, if the slaughtered pigs are left overnight, they'll become sticky and the meat won't look right by the afternoon of the next day.
So now, Butcher Zhu arranges to meet people at 1 a.m. to go over and slaughter pigs. After slaughtering them, he takes them home, processes them, and then goes to town to set up his stall around 4 a.m.
Zhu the butcher lived a life of irregular hours and obvious hardship, but it was the only way he could make money.
When Shi Zhen arrived at Zhu the butcher's house, the door to one of the main rooms downstairs was open and the lights were on. Shi Zhen went in and saw Zhu the butcher cutting up pork.
Every day, he would go with others to slaughter pigs, and then give Shi Zhen the pig's head from his own pig, as well as the pig heads he bought from others.
Shi Zhen would also buy large chunks of lean meat from him, cook them at home, and then take them to town to make a cold dish.
Actually, cold beef salad would be more suitable, but right now in Anshan Town, you can't buy raw beef at all, since the people here don't raise cattle.
"Uncle, I've come to get the pig's head," Shi Zhen said as he saw Butcher Zhu.
Butcher Zhu quickly weighed the pig's head and calculated the price using a dirty calculator.
Shi Zhen immediately took out money to pay the bill.
Zhu the butcher liked doing business with Shi Zhen because Shi Zhen never owed money and always paid in full on the spot.
People who run small businesses love customers like him the most.
After paying, Shi Zhen said to Butcher Zhu, "Uncle, could you please split this for me?"
“Okay.” Butcher Zhu readily agreed, picked up his cleaver, and began chopping from the pig’s chin, first removing the tongue intact, and then the brain.
Shi Zhen wants pig tongue; he also sells cold pig tongue salad.
But he didn't want the pig brains; he always gave them to Butcher Zhu.
Many people now believe that pig brains can improve brain function, and Zhu the butcher was able to sell pig brains.
After buying the goods, Shi Zhen hurried home to process them, and then went to town to set up his stall...
The cooked food stall offers a wide variety of products and operates all day, earning at least fifty yuan a day.
Shi Zhen had worried that Qian Qilai might start his own business, but he didn't. Qian Qilai worked diligently and took his salary honestly.
Shi Zhen asked him why, and learned that he thought the preparation work was too troublesome and didn't want to do it, which was why he didn't set up a stall himself.
Thinking about it carefully, it's normal for people to make this choice when they have money.
Qian Qi is only sixteen years old. It's already impressive that he can sit still and set up a stall in town all day. Asking him to do other things in addition to setting up a stall... he can't handle it.
Moreover, managing someone else's stall guarantees a steady income regardless of drought or flood, while setting up your own stall means you bear all profits and losses, and it also incurs considerable costs.
In terms of money, working hard and earning over four hundred yuan a day is definitely better than setting up a stall.
Shi Zhen is now selling more rice balls than he did at the beginning.
However, these are not individual customers, but rather orders from nearby factories and workshops.
Nowadays, most factories in the town operate on a three-shift system. Female workers work one shift from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., called the day shift; another shift from 4 p.m. to midnight, called the night shift; and yet another shift from midnight to 8 a.m., called the late-night shift.
According to regulations, lunch is provided for the day shift, dinner is provided for the night shift, and breakfast is provided for the late night shift.
The factories usually didn't make their own breakfasts for the female workers; they bought them from town. Factory owners wanted to save costs, so rice balls that cost 50 cents each and were plentiful and filling were a good option.
Sometimes, when there are many orders, Shi Zhen even has to cook an extra pot of soy sauce and lard rice and then ask Shi Xinghuo to help him make rice balls.
Although Shi Xinghuo is slow at making rice balls, he can still do it. It doesn't really matter if the rice balls don't look pretty, as long as they are about the same size and the filling is not reduced.
Such orders can earn Shi Zhen an extra five or ten yuan a day.
Don't underestimate this money; some people want to earn it but can't.
After setting up his stall that morning, Shi Zhen didn't go home immediately, but instead strolled around the town.
He needs to rent a house.
Guan Baiyu will be taking the high school entrance exam soon, and he plans to bring his parents and sisters over after the exam.
Guan Baiyu's house is now filled with his belongings, and the house he and Shi Xinghuo rent from Guan Jianguo is also piled up with things. His family members definitely can't stay with them when they come here.
He didn't want them to live in the village either. Firstly, it was too close to Guan Baiyu, and he was afraid that Guan Baiyu would be bullied. Secondly, the village was quite a distance from the town, and it would be inconvenient to travel back and forth.
If it weren't for Guan Baiyu, he would definitely have rented a house in town instead of in the village.
Of course, renting a house in town will be more expensive, that's for sure.
Moreover, rent at that time was higher relative to income than in later generations.
The main reason was that there were too few houses at that time. Most people in the town didn't even have enough rooms for their own families, so there were relatively few houses available for rent.
These days, whose family isn't living in cramped conditions?
Shi Zhen had already inquired about the house beforehand, so this time he went directly to see it.
There are two houses in town that are planned for rent.
One of them is the former dormitory of the silk factory.
The toilet in this house is shared, and the kitchens are all built on the balconies of individual houses. As for the living quarters... it is a house of about 20 square meters, which can be divided into two rooms, one for eating and one for sleeping.
The people living here moved away because they had children. This house is furnished and rents for 50 yuan a month, excluding water and electricity.
As for the other house, it was an old two-story building.
This building is located in an old alley, with similar small buildings on both sides. It is said to be two stories, but the upper floor is actually an attic.
The house isn't very big. There are only two rooms downstairs, front and back, totaling about fifty or sixty square meters. The attic upstairs is a bit smaller, about thirty or forty square meters. There's also a tiny courtyard at the back, only five or six square meters, where you can hang clothes to dry.
This house has been uninhabited for a long time. The roof needs repair, and there is no furniture yet. The rent is four hundred a year.
The main reason is that the landlord now lives in Changxi City, not here, and isn't short of money. He's too lazy to collect tens of yuan in rent every month, so he simply collects it annually.
Because of this, the rent is relatively cheap.
When Shi Zhen first arrived in Anshan Town, he could only rent the first apartment.
After all, that apartment is furnished, which saves him a lot of trouble, and the rent he needs to pay at once is not much.
But now, he has saved up quite a bit of money, enough to repair the roof, and can even pay a year's rent in one go...
Without hesitation, Shi Zhen chose the second house and discussed renting it with the person who showed him the property.
He was a retired teacher in his sixties who lived in the house next door.
Once Shi Zhen decided to rent the house, he took out a piece of paper and wrote a receipt for Shi Zhen, stating that he had rented the house to Shi Zhen for a year and received four hundred yuan.
After finishing writing, the retired teacher mentioned some things to be careful about when renting a house, such as not making the house more dilapidated than it is now, and not making too much noise at night to disturb the people around.
As he spoke, he also mentioned some things about the original homeowner.
Shi Zhen had no interest in the original homeowner and would have just let it go, but he was taken aback when he learned the original homeowner's name.
The original homeowner... was Guan Baiyu's grandfather, his biological grandfather.
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