Guan Baiyu was quite popular in his class, after all, he had excellent grades.
But Yan Jiangtao didn't like him.
Guan Baiyu knew the reason.
In their school, most students come from families with similar lifestyles. The only difference is that some families are willing to spend money and have better food and clothing, while others are more frugal and have poorer food and clothing.
But Yan Jiangtao is different; his family is quite wealthy.
His father bought several machines to weave cloth at home and made a lot of money. Yan Jiangtao gets thirty yuan of pocket money every week!
You should know that other students in the class are lucky if they get 50 cents of pocket money a day, and many families don't give their children a single penny to spend.
Yan Jiangtao's family was wealthy, and he ate and dressed well, so they always looked down on him, thinking he was dirty.
Once, Yan Jiangtao saw a louse on his head, which made him even more disgusted with him, and he spread the word about it throughout the class.
Quite a few people in the class had lice before, and the lice medicine at the school store always sold very well. Most people didn't care much about it, but there were a few who joined Yan Jiangtao in making trouble for him.
Most of the time, they would publicly tell him that he had lice or that there must be bedbugs in his house, and occasionally they would suddenly push him during PE class.
It's childish and makes me feel bad.
In particular, although others sympathized with him, they could only offer him a few words of comfort behind his back, and they did not dare to go against Yan Jiangtao and his group for his sake.
Even he himself dared not offend Yan Jiangtao.
He wanted to change his deskmate and even mentioned it to the teacher, but the teacher didn't agree.
Their homeroom teacher's surname was Chen. In a school where most teachers were just going through the motions and giving casual lectures, the young Mr. Chen was quite conscientious and responsible. However, he always felt that students should help each other.
Teacher Chen asked him to help Yan Jiangtao improve his academic performance.
Well, this might not necessarily be Teacher Chen's idea; it could be Yan Jiangtao's father's idea.
He was one of the top students in school, never caused trouble, and was considered a good kid by many. Before, many people wanted to be his deskmate.
Yan Jiangtao was always willful. When he found a dead bug in his schoolbag, he didn't even eat his meal. He threw down his schoolbag and went straight home.
He didn't want to continue studying at all, and he didn't like listening to lectures. He was only put into the advanced class because his father forced him.
Yan Jiangtao didn't come to class in the afternoon, which made Guan Baiyu feel much more relaxed, but he kept getting distracted.
He... suddenly gained a cousin.
Shi Zhen returned to Guanjian State after a long day of work, and he was exhausted.
But he was in a good mood.
He and Shi Xinghuo went to dig mud together, earning only fifteen yuan a day. If they worked separately, they could earn twenty yuan a day together.
Even now, their expenses are quite high. Not to mention the many things they need to buy, they also need money for food every day.
Shi Zhen only rented one room in Guan Jianguo's house. There was no kitchen. Although he could cook by buying a coal stove and a pot, these things cost money. He didn't have any money at the moment, so he could only eat with Guan Jianguo.
Breakfast cost one yuan, and dinner cost two yuan for the two of them. He and Shi Xinghuo gave Guan Jianguo's mother three yuan a day, and the old lady would bring them food.
Of course, eating meat was out of the question; being able to eat a salted duck egg would be considered a luxury.
For Guan Jianguo, the rice and vegetables were all grown by himself, so he didn't spend any money and could even make a little money.
Not long after Shi Zheng arrived home, Guan Jianguo's mother brought over two large bowls of rice, packed tightly together, along with a bowl of stir-fried cabbage and a bowl of pickled lettuce.
Stir-fried cabbage doesn't have much oil, and pickled lettuce is just fresh lettuce cut up, sprinkled with some salt, and mixed.
The portions were generous, but there was no meat.
However, Guan Jianguo's family doesn't eat meat either, which is quite normal.
After finishing his meal, Shi Zhen thought that he would have to cook for himself again in a few days.
After finishing his meal, Shi Zhen took an enamel mug and headed towards Guan Baiyu's house.
He and Shi Xinghuo brought some personal items with them, such as a thick cotton-padded coat for each of them.
Last night, they slept on a door panel covered with straw, wearing thick cotton-padded coats. They slept like that in the bridge hole before. They also brought cups, spoons, chopsticks, and other utensils. This enamel mug was a new one he bought before he came out.
When they arrived at Guan Baiyu's house, Shi Zhen knocked on the door as usual.
Guan Baiyu opened the door and saw him.
Shi Zhen smiled and said, "Bai Yu, I've come to see you."
Guan Baiyu stepped aside to let Shi Zhen in.
Guan Baiyu's house has only two rooms. One room is for eating, with an eight-immortal table on the south side and a stove on the north side.
The other room was used as a warehouse and a place to sleep.
Shi Zhen came in twice, and each time he sat in the dining room for a while. He saw that the fire in the stove was still burning, so Guan Baiyu probably hadn't finished cooking yet.
This is not surprising. Junior high students don't get out of school later than him. When he finishes work and goes home, he can eat the meal prepared by Guan Jianguo's mother. But when Guan Baiyu goes home, he has to cook for himself.
"You haven't eaten yet?" Shi Zhen asked.
"Hmm," Guan Baiyu said softly.
"Perfect timing, I brought you some food." Shi Zhen placed the cup in his hand on the table and opened it.
The cardboard box that I left on the table yesterday is gone; now there are several books spread out on the table.
Shi Zhen opened the cup, and Guan Baiyu saw that it contained braised pork with fried tofu.
Shi Zhen smiled and said, "Put it on the steamer rack to steam it, and eat it when it's hot." Of the dishes he was given at noon, he only drank some soup and ate a fried tofu; the rest was left here.
"Why are you so good to me?" Guan Baiyu asked. Shi Zhen had given him money yesterday and brought him meat today.
“You’re my cousin,” Shi Zhen laughed. “Go and cook, then we’ll eat.”
Guan Baiyu gave Shi Zhen a deep look, lifted the pot lid, put the cup on it to steam, and stuffed some... grass roots into the stove.
"This is... rice straw root?" Shi Zhen asked.
"Um."
"Why are you burning this?"
Guan Baiyu said, "We don't have enough firewood."
Shi Zhen paused before saying, "We didn't have enough firewood, so we could only burn this? Where did you get this?"
Guan Baiyu looked at Shi Zhen with a puzzled expression: "Pulled from the ground."
Shi Zhen's family lives in the mountains, but they also grow some rice.
Rice seeds are edible, and the stems and leaves below are suitable for burning as fuel, but they don't burn very well.
In their village, they usually light a bundle of straw to start a fire, and then put some fire-resistant branches on top.
Their village is surrounded by mountains, so there's no shortage of firewood. But there are no mountains in Anshan Town, and all the arable land has already been cultivated. In other words, it's not easy for the people here to get firewood.
Every year after the rice harvest, we get a lot of straw, which everyone takes home and stores to burn throughout the year, but we often don't have enough straw.
Without a doubt, Guan Baiyu didn't have enough firewood, so he dug up a small section of rice stalks and the roots left in the field after the rice harvest, dried them, and used them as fuel.
This is really hard to dig, extremely tiring, especially since the only thing you can use for firewood...
Shi Zhen took a deep breath and saw Guan Baiyu stop tending the fire.
"Is it done?" Shi Zhen asked.
Guan Baiyu said, "Just let it simmer. The rice will be ready after simmering for a while."
Shi Zhen had long forgotten how to cook with a stove, and seeing this, he started chatting with Guan Baiyu: "Do you usually cook for yourself? How many times a day?"
Guan Baiyu didn't hide anything, and Shi Zhen quickly learned from him that he usually cooked once in the morning in the summer and once in the evening in the winter.
Eat three meals after making it.
Now that it's cold, he cooks dinner in the evening so he can also steam some hot water to drink.
In summer, leftover food spoils easily, so he cooks in the morning.
"Do you have enough food? What kind of vegetables do you usually eat?"
Guan Baiyu said, "My dad gives me enough food. Usually... I eat whatever grows in the fields."
Guan Baiyu wasn't a man of many words, but he was willing to talk, and Shi Zhen roughly learned about his current lifestyle.
His adoptive parents would give him food and a plot of land for him to grow vegetables, so he was self-sufficient in his diet.
We can eat our fill, but there's no meat.
The villagers mainly eat vegetables grown in their own fields. Buying meat once a week is considered good, and some families can't even afford to fry an egg.
Guan Baiyu didn't raise chickens and had no money, so he couldn't afford meat or eggs.
He didn't even have enough firewood to start a fire.
No wonder she's so thin.
The meal was ready. Guan Baiyu served himself a bowl of rice and also put the dishes on the table.
Besides the braised pork with fried tofu that Shi Zhen brought him, there was also a bowl of steamed garlic leaves.
Guan Baiyu only had one pot, so he probably steamed all the vegetables while cooking.
"Do you want to eat?" Guan Baiyu asked Shi Zhen as he sat at the table.
Shi Zhen said, "I've already eaten."
Guan Baiyu started eating by himself, and he only ate about a quarter of the dishes, whether they were brought by Shi Zhen or steamed by himself.
Shi Zhen watched him eat with a smile, but then suddenly realized something was wrong, so he got up and scooped a mouthful of rice from the pot.
"This rice is undercooked." Shi Zhen frowned—Guan Baiyu's rice wasn't cooked properly.
Guan Baiyu didn't take it seriously: "I don't have enough firewood."
Shi Zhen was speechless.
After eating Shi Zhen's food, Guan Baiyu became less wary of him and even asked, "My grandparents..."
“They’re all dead,” Shi Zhen said. “They only had two daughters, both of whom are dead. We’re their only grandchildren. I will take good care of you.”
"I am now a member of the Guan family..."
"So what? As long as you're my aunt's child, that's all that matters."
Guan Baiyu stared blankly at Shi Zhen.
Shi Zhen felt that it would probably take Guan Baiyu a few days before he could completely let down his guard, so he left soon.
When he got home, Shi Xinghuo was still awake. He took out ten yuan and gave it to him—his income was paid daily.
When they left the village, Shi Xinghuo's parents told Shi Zhen that he would give half of Shi Xinghuo's earnings to him, and that they would take care of Shi Xinghuo's food, clothing, and shelter. The other half would be saved for Shi Xinghuo.
Shi Zhen accepted the ten yuan, then took out a five-yuan note and put it in a bag next to him to deposit for Shi Xinghuo.
When the New Year comes, Shi Xinghuo will hand over this money to his parents.
Hopefully he can save up some money quickly, start a small business, and make more money. Otherwise... Shi Xinghuo only saves five yuan a day, and even after a year, he won't have two thousand yuan. He might not even have mud-digging work to do every day.
What about him? He was always digging silt in the river, and it was difficult for him to even give Guan Baiyu a little meat to eat.
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