Guan Baiyu probably didn't want Shi Xinghuo to hear, so he kept his voice very low.
In order to make sure Shi Zhen could hear clearly, he stood very close to Shi Zhen.
Shi Zhen saw his own reflection, clearly imprinted in his eyes.
He also saw the joy and... a little pride in Guan Baiyu's eyes?
Shi Zhen closed his eyes, unable to describe his feelings.
He knew that Guan Baiyu's grandmother had not left Guan Baiyu any money.
Guan Baiyu mentioned this in his previous life.
Once, Guan Baiyu went to visit his adoptive parents. When he returned, he was in a bad mood. After asking him, he told him about the conflict between his adoptive mother and his grandmother.
That's a common mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflict in rural areas. The mother-in-law is domineering and favors sons over daughters. She can't stand anything her daughter-in-law does. Plus, since her daughter-in-law hasn't given her a grandson, she treats her like an enemy.
What about the daughter-in-law? She's a human being too. It's impossible for her to be treated like this and not complain. So when her mother-in-law got old, she didn't care about her at all and also disliked the adopted son her mother-in-law raised.
Guan Baiyu also mentioned that his adoptive mother always felt that his grandmother had left him a lot of money, but in reality, his grandmother had only left him a dozen yuan, which he had spent before he went to high school.
After finding Guan Baiyu, he gave Guan Baiyu thirty yuan as soon as they met, because Guan Baiyu had mentioned that he had been so poor that he couldn't even afford salt for a while.
Guan Baiyu's grandmother left him a few yuan at most, so where did this three hundred yuan come from?
Shi Zhen took a deep breath and thought of what Guan Jinjin had said—Guan Baiyu went to Yan Jiangtao's house at noon today.
He had inquired about Yan Jiangtao before and knew that Yan Jiangtao's father ran a small weaving workshop and made a lot of money.
So the three hundred yuan that Guan Baiyu took out... was compensation given by Yan Jiangtao's father after he went to Yan Jiangtao's door, right?
Shi Zhen finally couldn't hold back and said in a hoarse voice, "This money, was it given to you by Yan Jiangtao's father?"
Guan Baiyu was taken aback.
After Shi Zhen returned from his trip, he seemed a little off, and Guan Baiyu could tell.
Although Shi Zhen seemed a little unhappy, his attitude towards her remained unchanged. Guan Baiyu suspected that Shi Zhen was acting this way because he wanted to do business but didn't have enough money.
Even if that's not the reason... having money would definitely make Shi Zhen happier.
He hurriedly gave the money to Shi Zhen, but Shi Zhen was unhappy because he found out that he had gone to Yan Jiangtao's house.
Guan Baiyu's mouth was slightly open, but he couldn't speak. He was also a little scared—he had lied to Shi Zhen. Would Shi Zhen be unhappy?
And wouldn't Shi Zhen feel ashamed for causing trouble at the Yan family's house and taking their money?
Guan Baiyu clenched his fists, his mind in turmoil, when suddenly he heard Shi Zhen say, "Xiaoyu, I'm sorry."
Guan Baiyu was stunned and looked at Shi Zhen in confusion—why was Shi Zhen apologizing to him?
Shi Zhen felt very guilty: "I'm sorry, Xiaoyu, I didn't even know you were beaten up at school, I'm so sorry..."
He thought Yan Jiangtao was just a bit foul-mouthed at school, but he never expected him to actually hit someone!
He only had someone smear Yan Jiangtao a little, which was too lenient on Yan Jiangtao!
“I wasn’t beaten at school…” Guan Baiyu said. He really wasn’t beaten. Yan Jiangtao kicked him a few times at most, but it didn’t hurt him.
Shi Zhen did not believe Guan Baiyu's words.
Based on his understanding of Guan Baiyu over the years... Guan Baiyu always reported good news but not bad news, and was very good at enduring grievances.
Guan Baiyu is not one to cause trouble, but Yan Jiangtao forced him to go to Yan Jiangtao's house, so what he did must have been very outrageous.
Shi Zhen gently rubbed the corner of Guan Baiyu's eye with his thumb: "You don't need to lie to me... It's my fault for not taking good care of you."
Guan Baiyu panicked: "Brother, I'm really fine! Don't be like this!"
Shi Zhen took a deep breath before saying, "Then... tell me, what exactly happened?"
Shi Zhen planned to have Guan Baiyu explain what had happened first, and then he would ask around to find out more.
Guan Baiyu did not want
I didn't want to cause trouble for Shi Zhen, so I hadn't told him about things at school before.
But now Shi Zhen thinks he was beaten up. Judging from Shi Zhen's appearance, he seems to think he was bullied very badly... Guan Baiyu couldn't bear to see Shi Zhen feel guilty, so he told him what happened at school yesterday.
Guan Baiyu was very angry yesterday, but he's not so angry now. When he spoke, he downplayed his anger to avoid upsetting Shi Zhen.
However, Shi Zhen was still very angry.
Guan Baiyu spoke lightly, but what Guan Baiyu said reminded him of things from his past life.
In his previous life, Guan Baiyu not only didn't get into the city's top high school, but he even went to the worst high school in the entire Changxi City. Could Yan Jiangtao be involved in this?
Putting aside his past life, Guan Baiyu almost missed out on getting into a good high school in this life.
Although Yan Jiangtao did not succeed, this cannot cover up how heinous his actions were!
Yan Jiangtao even poured the soup onto Guan Baiyu's schoolbag...
No wonder Guan Baiyu washed his schoolbag last night.
"Brother, I'm really fine, and I've already gotten my revenge. I was so angry today that I went to complain to Yan Jiangtao's dad, and Yan Jiangtao got a severe beating from him!"
Seeing Guan Baiyu like this, Shi Zhen felt even worse.
He was poor when he was a child, but he had never suffered such injustice.
This matter cannot be left unresolved!
Shi Zhen remained silent, which made Guan Baiyu even more worried: "Brother... don't be angry with me..."
"I'm not angry with you, I'm angry with myself. I didn't even know you were being bullied."
"It's because I didn't say so..."
"Then promise me that you'll tell me next time you're bullied, okay?" Shi Zhen looked at Guan Baiyu.
Guan Baiyu hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
In this incident, Guan Baiyu was actually the victim. Seeing his unease, Shi Zhen hugged him briefly before quickly letting go, saying, "We're family. No matter what happens to you, you have to tell me, okay? Don't worry, I'll always be on your side."
Guan Baiyu lowered his head and hummed in agreement.
He had been crying incessantly when facing Yan Jiangtao's father, relying entirely on garlic slices.
Actually, he didn't want to cry at all, nor did he intend to.
But at this moment, he found himself unable to hold back his tears.
His brother said he would always stand by him!
Guan Baiyu was thinking about saying a few kind words to Shi Zhen to make him like her more, but just then Shi Xinghuo woke up and asked, "Ah Zhen, what time is it? Are you going to sleep?"
Shi Zhen came to his senses, sighed, and said to Shi Xinghuo, "It's time to sleep. Let's get ready and go back."
Shi Zhen took the pig's head out of the pot, put in the eggs and brine, added some firewood, and then took Shi Xinghuo to Guan Jianguo's place to sleep.
Boil the marinated eggs for a while, then soak them overnight to let them absorb the flavor.
Guan Baiyu watched Shi Zhen and Shi Xinghuo leave, feeling a little envious of Shi Xinghuo.
Why doesn't Shi Zhen sleep here with him?
Shi Zhen and Shi Xinghuo went to bed early at night and got up early in the morning, around 4 a.m.
Shi Zhen then stewed a pig's head.
He was going to ride his bike to Changxi City today, so he moved all the things he wanted to sell to the town in advance and stayed busy until eight o'clock before riding away.
Starting from Anshan Town, Shi Zhen rode for more than an hour, and finally, Changxi City appeared before him.
At that time, there were many neat five-story buildings in Changxi City, most of which were dormitories built by some factories in the past.
There are two very tall buildings, some over ten stories high, but the vast majority of buildings are relatively short.
Furthermore, even in urban areas, there are some houses with vegetable gardens in the middle.
Shi Zhen was unfamiliar with Changxi City during this period; he even felt that the place was very strange to him.
It wasn't until a few years later that he became more familiar with Changxi City... For example, in the early 21st century, a large shopping mall opened in Changxi City, and it was packed with people!
At first, he would take Guan Baiyu shopping on his motorcycle. Later, he bought a car and started driving there.
And now, the site where the shopping mall was built is still...
An empty lot.
Shi Zhen asked around and found the vegetable market in the city.
In this era, the wet market and its surrounding area are often the commercial center of the entire city, where the vast majority of shops are located.
The vegetable market in Changxi City is much larger than that in Anshan Town. Unlike the individual stalls in Anshan Town, the stalls in the market are all built by themselves, but are uniformly constructed with bricks and plastered with cement, making them look particularly neat.
There are shops selling funeral supplies near the market, and there are many wreaths displayed at the entrance.
Shi Zhen went inside and asked about the prices of various items. He found that they were even cheaper than in Anshan Town. He then asked if he could buy some wholesale, and the shopkeeper immediately agreed.
According to the shop owner, there were quite a few people who came to buy wholesale a few days ago, but Shi Zhen was one of the latecomers.
The wholesale price offered by the shop wasn't particularly favorable, but if you sold it in Anshan Town, you could still make a little profit.
Shi Zhen bought some artificial flowers and some ribbons to decorate the grave, spending about 100 yuan. He packed them all in a snakeskin bag and tied it to his bicycle.
After buying these items, Shi Zhen walked around to learn about Changxi City during this period.
He rode his bike all over Changxi City and saw people selling toys like frogs that would jump forward on their own after being wound up, so he bought some.
These things aren't expensive. If you can sell them after you take them back, great; if not, you can give them away.
He didn't buy much.
Shi Zhen also found a tricycle shop here, where the tricycles were several tens of yuan cheaper than in Anshan Town.
If he's lucky, he'll have enough money to buy a tricycle after the Qingming Festival.
When Shi Zhen got home that day, it was already dark.
The lights were on in Guan Baiyu's house, and several people were sitting at the door chatting, creating a lively atmosphere.
Shi Zhen really enjoyed the atmosphere. When a small head peeked out from the door, his heart started beating even faster.
It is Guan Baiyu.
"Brother, you're back!" Guan Baiyu exclaimed happily when he saw Shi Zhen, then cautiously looked at Shi Zhen's expression.
He upset Shi Zhen yesterday, and he's afraid that Shi Zhen won't treat him as warmly as before.
"I'm back." Shi Zhen smiled at him, unloaded his things from his bicycle, and handed them to him.
Guan Baiyu's eyes lit up when he saw this, and he quickly came over to take it, a smile on his face.
"Shi Zhen, do you still want to fold that gold ingot?" Guan Jianguo's mother asked at this moment. She had been chatting with someone on the side, but she immediately came over when she saw Shi Zhen.
Guan Baiyu then said, "Brother, Second Grandmother and the others have already folded all the ingots and brought them over, and I've given them the money. They still want to continue folding."
Since Qingming Festival was the day after tomorrow, there was still time. Shi Zhen bought some more tin foil in Changxi City and immediately gave a pack to Guan Jianguo's mother.
Guan Jianguo's mother left happily.
Shi Zhen entered the house and put his things down. Only then did he realize that Guan Baiyu's house was filled with baskets, which were filled with gold ingots.
Guan Baiyu said, "Brother, they had nothing to put in their baskets, so they brought them here. We'll have to return the baskets in a few days."
Shi Zhen was shocked that ten packs of tin foil could be folded into so many ingots. He checked them and found that although some were not folded very well, most of them were quite good.
Thinking this way, Shi Zhen decided to distribute the tin foil he had on hand just like yesterday.
Apart from Guan Jianguo's mother, no one else was waiting here; he needed to deliver the tin foil to their door.
Shi Zhen took the paper and walked out. As soon as he stepped out, he saw a short old woman pulling a short middle-aged man along, walking briskly towards him.
That little old lady was Guan Baiyu's great-grandmother, the one who used to come to his door waiting for the pig's head to be cooked, and who would even walk with him.
She came a few more times after that, asking Shi Zhen for pig's head meat, but Shi Zhen was already selling pig's head meat in the village at that time, so he didn't give it to her.
Why wouldn't they sell it to Guan Jianguo and his group, but instead gave it to her?
The young lady was very dissatisfied with this and complained to Shi Zhen several times. She even said in the village that Shi Zhen was stingy and couldn't do business.
Fortunately, everyone in the village knew her character, and heard...
Just listen and forget about it.
Of course, what shocked Shi Zhen the most was that Guan Baiyu's young grandmother, while talking badly about him outside, could still shamelessly come to visit, and then take a piece of dried tofu from the pot to eat when they weren't paying attention.
She doesn't take any valuable meat or eggs; she only takes a piece of dried tofu each time she comes over. Shi Zhen can hardly ask her for money.
Seeing her now, Shi Zhen felt a bit awkward.
Grandma was indeed there to cause trouble, and she immediately said, "Shi Zhen! You're being way too biased!"
Shi Zhen: "..." Favoritism? He has no relation to this old lady, so why is he talking about favoritism?
"How could you do this! You rent a house from Xiao Qiu's family, and you even ask Xiao Qiu for money... She's Guan Baiyu's second grandmother, and I'm Guan Baiyu's third grandmother. How can you be so biased!" The young grandmother was furious.
Shi Zhencai then learned that Guan Jianguo's mother was named Xiaoqiu.
The old woman cried and screamed, demanding an explanation from Shi Zhen, but Shi Zhen had no intention of indulging her: "Your house isn't as good as theirs, so I'll definitely rent from them! You keep coming here to take advantage of me, and I'm already being lenient by not asking you for money. How could I possibly pay you to do my work? I asked you to fold a thousand gold ingots, and in the end you only gave me eight hundred. What am I supposed to do?"
A few days ago, she came to steal some dried tofu, but Shi Zhen didn't care because he was too lazy to argue with an old lady over a piece of dried tofu.
His time is precious.
But he wasn't a soft-hearted person, so he naturally spoke his mind at this moment.
Most people in the village don't like to cause trouble and maintain a superficial peace with others; very few people would confront someone directly like this.
The young grandmother originally thought that Shi Zhen would admit to her accusations and give her some compensation, but now that Shi Zhen is acting unpredictably, she is a little confused.
However, she was worldly-wise and not afraid of being criticized.
The young lady said, "I can tell you look down on my family. I'm so unlucky..."
Shi Zhen: "..."
“You can’t do this! Guan Baiyu, I held you when you were little. Your grandma was too busy to take care of you, so she left me with her and asked me to watch over you… You can’t be so heartless!” said the young grandmother.
Guan Baiyu, who used to dislike arguing, couldn't help but say this: "My grandma also helped you take care of Kai Kai."
However, Grandma didn't care what Guan Baiyu said: "Anyway, you can't do this! I'll do this folding of paper money too! And Shi Zhen, if you're going to hire someone to help, why are you looking for young men from other villages? My Pingguo can help you! Just pay him the same wages as that young man, as long as you give him ten yuan a day, Pingguo will work for you!"
As she spoke, the young woman pulled the middle-aged man beside her in front of her so that Shi Zhen could see him.
The little old lady was less than 1.5 meters tall, very short, and this middle-aged man... he was probably only a little over 1.5 meters tall, thin and small.
You can tell at a glance that he is the old lady's son.
Shi Zhen knew this person; he was the eldest son of Guan Baiyu's third grandfather. Not only was he short, but he was also lazy and unwilling to do anything.
Shi Zhen remembered that this man had been a bachelor his whole life in his previous life, never getting married, and spending his days idly playing cards and gambling.
Fortunately, he didn't even speak Mandarin, so he never played cards with strangers. He only played with gamblers from his own village and nearby villages, so he never lost big money. At most, he lost tens of thousands of yuan a year.
When the area was demolished, the house he was allocated had an annual rent of about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan. So his daily routine consisted of borrowing money from others to gamble. After losing for a year, he would use the rent to pay off his debts at the end of the year.
If he couldn't pay the rent, he would insist on selling the house. His younger brother and his brother's son, Guan Kai, considered the house theirs and refused to sell, so they had no choice but to help him pay off his debts...
Shi Zhen was unaware of these things until one time when the family got into a fight at home, with some ending up in the hospital and others in the police station. Guan Baiyu's adoptive father had to run around trying to find out what was going on at the police station, and that's how he heard a little bit about it.
Anyway, even if he's short-staffed... he's unlikely to ask Guan Pingguo for help.
Guan Pingguo doesn't even do his own farm work!
He can't read, so he can't calculate prices!
Shi Zhen said directly, "When I recruit people, they must at least have a junior high school education."
"You only sell pig's head meat, why do you need someone who only graduated from junior high school? You're just biased and look down on people! I'm so unlucky..." The young lady wailed, preparing to "cry".
Shi Zhen got annoyed and simply rolled up his sleeves, glancing at them sideways: "I just look down on people, what's wrong with that?"
The little grandmother's crying stopped abruptly, stuck in her throat.
She glanced at Shi Zhen's arm in horror, then grabbed her eldest son and ran away in a flash, at an astonishing speed.
Shi Zhen looked like he was about to hit someone, and the little grandma was scared!
Shi Zhen: "..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com