Today, Shi Zhen chopped the chicken into small pieces and braised it.
A chicken might seem like a lot, but the four of them finished it in one meal.
After dinner, Shi Zhen and Shi Xing went to Guan Jianguo's place to work, and Guan Baiyu followed them.
It's winter now, and the wind outside is blowing into the house through the cracks, making it very cold. Their door is closed, but there's no bolt on the door either; there's just a stool leaning against it.
Every now and then someone would push the door open and come in. Every time this happened, everyone would shrink their necks and shout in unison for him to close the door quickly.
The room was crammed with about ten people, all sitting on their own bamboo chairs, some embroidering clothes, some knitting sweaters, chatting with each other as they worked.
Since Guan Baiyu went to school in Changxi City, the villagers haven't seen him much. When he appeared at Guan Jianguo's house, many people immediately asked him about Changxi City.
Most of the women who come to Shizhen to get sweaters for embroidery are in their forties or fifties, and many were born before the founding of the People's Republic of China.
They grew up in the countryside and don't know how to ride bicycles. Visiting Anshan Town during festivals is a rare form of entertainment for them, and most of them have never been to Changxi City.
They listened with great interest to whatever Guan Baiyu said, and were even more curious about No. 1 Middle School.
Then I started thinking that it would be best if my own children, or grandchildren, could go to school in the city after graduating from junior high school.
Sometimes it's like this: when there are no benchmarks, people don't really have any ideas about their children's studies. But once there are benchmarks, the path their children should take in the future seems to become clearer.
As we were chatting, we heard the sound of a motorcycle outside.
Guan Jian Guo doesn't have a motorcycle, so who's here? The woman sitting by the door curiously opened the door, and everyone saw a motorcycle parked in front of Guan Jian Guo's house.
A man in his thirties got off the motorcycle, took off his helmet, and asked, "Is Shi Zhen here?"
"I'm here." Shi Zhen stood up and beckoned the other person to come in.
He recognized the man; it was the person whose business card he had given him a few days ago.
After Mr. Wang's house started construction, many people came to visit.
Some people just come to take a look, while others, although they like it very much, do not plan to build a house there for the time being.
And some people... have already copied his house design and started building houses.
Shi Zhen knew that these things were unavoidable—in this era, imitation was everywhere.
"I want to build a house that's different from everyone else's, so I came to you... Can you really build it well? Also, I'm very busy and don't have time to spend on it. Can you oversee everything for me?" The man was probably chilled by the cold wind of the winter night. After entering the house, he quickly closed the door and took off his leather gloves to rub his hands.
“Yes, I watched the entire process of building Mr. Wang’s house,” Shi Zhen said.
The man's motorcycle is a Honda, and this particular model of Honda motorcycle currently sells for over 30,000 yuan on the market.
In 1994, due to insufficient production capacity, many industrial assembly line products that would be very cheap more than 20 years later were expensive at that time, and home appliances were one of them.
However, comparing the prices of basic necessities like rice with the prices of these items around 2020... 10,000 yuan today has the purchasing power of 100,000 yuan 25 years from now.
Nowadays, many factories pay their workers two or three hundred yuan a month, which is equivalent to two or three thousand yuan in later times.
Of course, in the next few years, prices rose rapidly, and monthly wages increased by a hundred each year. Before long, the ratio would no longer be one to ten.
This person can afford a motorcycle worth over 30,000 yuan, so his family must be rich—nowadays, building a house without expensive renovations only costs 20,000 yuan.
The young man on the motorcycle scratched his permed, frizzy hair, which was flattened by his helmet: "Hey! What kind of boss is Lao Wang? But he did say you did a good job. Tell me, what's the process for building my house? How much do you charge?"
The room was crowded, but Shi Zhen was eager for more people to know he was building houses for people, so he said directly, "Here's the thing, we'll first determine the style of the house you want to build, then I'll give you a quote. After that, you can buy the materials yourself, pay me the labor costs, and I'll find people to build it for you, or you can give me all the money, and I'll buy the materials, find the workers, and be fully responsible for everything. As for the construction costs, they'll be paid in several installments, one installment at a time..."
As Shi Zhen spoke, he took out a form: "I have a price template here for Mr. Wang's house. I made a fee schedule based on this template, you can take a look."
Shi Zhen wrote this template very clearly, and it is easy to understand at a glance.
He listed out how much he would charge at each stage, and there was also a final payment to be made after the house was built and the client was satisfied.
Mr. Wang's house, not to mention the interior decoration, the entire framework alone cost more than 20,000 yuan to build.
This is because Mr. Wang's house is quite large and well-built, with bricks covering the exterior walls. Ordinary houses wouldn't cost this much.
"If you take full responsibility, will the price you charge me for building this house be about the same?" the man asked.
“I won’t charge you extra. If you want to build a house like his, you can pay the same price,” Shi Zhen added. “Also, if you’re worried about the hassle, I can take care of the workers’ meals and such, to save you trouble. Of course, that part of the cost will be included.”
This person was even more tempted.
Shi Zhen persevered and showed him some of the houses he had drawn before, along with floor plans.
Most people love houses; their love for houses is ingrained in their very being.
Holding a floor plan, people can often imagine a lot.
When Shi Zhen drew the floor plan, he included the bed, sofa, and other furniture, making it look even better.
"How about this one? The master bedroom on the second floor even has a walk-in closet. Rich people abroad use an entire room to store their clothes, and there's a large floor-to-ceiling mirror in there..." Shi Zhen introduced with a smile.
The person in front of me is young, has permed hair, and has good taste in clothes; he clearly pays attention to his appearance.
"You can do that?" The man kept looking at the floor plan.
Shi Zhen showed this man several apartment layouts, and the man ultimately decided on the one with a walk-in closet.
The women working here also listened to some of it and passed around the floor plans.
At first, they couldn't understand it, but Shi Xingchao and Guan Baiyu explained it to them, and they were able to understand it. They all liked it: "When we have money in the future, my family will also build a house like this."
“I think this is a good idea. My grandson can live here, and we’ll live here too…”
"This is better. The room downstairs is so spacious. We won't put that sofa there; we'll use it to raise silkworms."
...
Amidst the women's chatter, Shi Zhen made arrangements with the man, saying that he would write a contract during the day the next day, clearly calculating all aspects of the budget, and would go to the man's house the next evening to discuss it further.
"They even have a contract! That's professional! Not bad!" The man was very satisfied.
However, when he wanted to take the floor plan with him, Shi Zhen refused, saying, "These can only be given to you after the contract is signed and the deposit is paid."
"That's fine too." The person didn't insist.
This man came here on a motorcycle and left on the same motorcycle. After he left, everyone asked Shi Zhen, "Shi Zhen, how do you know so much?"
"You're a bricklayer, and you sign contracts with people?"
"You're all I need to build this house?"
...
Shi Zhen simply explained, "What I do is called a foreman."
Nowadays, people usually call them foremen or contractors, but in the future, there will be other names, such as project managers, and so on.
Of course, doing only this is not enough. According to his plan, after having his own manpower, he intends to register a company.
Building self-built houses in rural areas doesn't earn much money, but it's a good opportunity to train your team. Later, when you take on other more lucrative projects, you can quickly expand and grow your business.
What he needs to do now is to do all the small projects he has on hand well.
In the early stages of starting a business, even if you can't make money, you should still build a good reputation.
After Shi Zhen and the others left, they started calculating the price of building the house.
He'd done this kind of thing many times in his past life. He even familiarized himself with it when he built a house for Boss Wang before, so he could figure it out.
The problem is... he's missing a computer, so it's a bit slow to calculate.
Shi Zhen calculated it himself, and then asked Guan Baiyu to verify it for him.
Guan Baiyu calculated very quickly, and after finishing, he even took the time to bring back and organize all the floor plans that others had taken to look at.
These were all drawn by his brother with great effort; not a single one could be missing!
These houses are really beautiful, and he also wants a house so he can live with his brother in the future.
Guan Baiyu became even more focused on making money.
The next evening, Shi Zhen went to the house of the man who drove the Honda motorcycle and discussed the house construction plan with him in detail.
He only found out when he got there that this person, like Boss Wang, worked at the shoe factory... and his father was the real owner of the shoe factory.
His father had two sons. Originally, the whole family lived together, but he had a conflict with his younger brother, and his mother favored his brother's son and didn't like his daughter, so the family was in chaos.
His father couldn't take it anymore, so he gave him and his brother 50,000 yuan each so they could build their own houses.
So, he went to Shi Zhen.
Shi Zhen asked about his situation and offered his advice: "You only have you, your husband and daughter. You don't really need to build a three-story house. It's too much trouble to clean. I think a nice two-story house would be fine, and you can even build a garden outside."
"Two floors? Isn't that too small? When my daughter grows up and gets married, it will be too crowded for everyone to live in," the man said.
Shi Zhen was speechless: "Your daughter is only three years old... Is the house you're living in now the same house you lived in when you were three? When your daughter grows up, she might be a very good student and go to work in a big city... You might have to buy her a house in a big city then."
"That's true! My daughter is exceptionally smart." The man nodded repeatedly.
Without further ado, Shi Zhen took out the computer he had just bought that day and calculated the cost of building the house directly at his house.
This man was quite carefree, and also afraid of trouble, so he simply handed over all the work to Shi Zhen, letting Shi Zhen take full responsibility for the construction of the house.
Shi Zhende admitted that this was his favorite customer.
Mr. Wang handled everything himself, from purchasing materials to the subsequent renovations. He might not even let Mr. Wang get involved.
Judging from what Mr. Wang has been saying lately... he wants him to go back to work. It shouldn't be long before he settles his wages and lets him leave.
As for the construction of this house...
It's already mid-December 1994, and this year's Spring Festival is at the end of January 1995, which means there's only a month and a half left until the New Year.
Shi Zhen and this person agreed to buy building materials such as bricks before the New Year and then start construction after the New Year.
However, the money for the materials, the deposit, etc., had to be given to Shi Zhen first.
This man was also a straightforward one; he gave Shi Zhen five thousand directly.
Shi Zhen took the money home, in a particularly good mood.
This business opportunity came at just the right time.
While helping Mr. Wang build his house, he has already gotten to know some good local workers. After the New Year, he can also call some people from his village to come and help at the construction site.
In a good mood, Shi Zhen gave Guan Baiyu 100 yuan when he got home: "Xiaoyu, take this and go buy some snacks."
Guan Baiyu refused, saying, "Brother, I have money."
“Your money and my desire to give you money are not mutually exclusive,” Shi Zhen said.
"Brother, really, you don't need to! You don't need to give me any more living expenses in the future, I have money now," Guan Baiyu said. He usually earns his living expenses by selling stationery at school, and he can use the five thousand yuan to do some other business.
“You’re not an adult yet, so I’ll definitely give you living expenses. Here, take this money.” Shi Zhen forcefully stuffed a hundred yuan into Guan Baiyu’s hand.
He wanted to share his joy with Guan Baiyu.
Ever since he met Guan Baiyu, whether he was happy or sad, the person he wanted to find most was Guan Baiyu.
Of course, if he could do it all over again, aside from Guan Baiyu being bullied by Yan Jiangtao and almost not being able to get into No. 1 Middle School, and being beaten by Chen Shaojin half a month ago... he wouldn't be unhappy about anything else.
Most things are trivial to him.
Guan Baiyu had no choice but to take the money.
On Sunday morning, Guan Baiyu set off for Changxi City.
He told Shi Zhen that he and Liang Qinxuan had arranged to have tutoring together. Actually... he planned to buy some stationery and also ask if there were any clothing factories in Changxi City that could make pencil cases.
Making a pencil case is not difficult. The simplest pencil case can be made with just a piece of cloth and a zipper.
A slightly more complex pencil case is simply adding a few more pockets, which is nothing to a manufacturer that can also make clothes.
In comparison, finding suitable fabric is actually more troublesome, especially... the pattern on the pencil case. Generally speaking, the prettier the pattern, the more people will buy it, and it's best if it doesn't fade.
Guan Baiyu had the idea, but had never done it before, so he hesitated.
But... his brother always acts on his ideas immediately, so why can't he?
Guan Baiyu found Liang Qinxuan at noon that day.
The two had a meal together, and Guan Baiyu told Liang Qinxuan about her idea of making and selling pencil cases.
"That's a great idea! Shall we go ahead and do it together?" Liang Qinxuan asked.
"If you want to partner with me, that would be best," Guan Baiyu said.
“Then I definitely want to partner with you! I’ve received about ten thousand yuan in New Year’s money and stuff before. How much do you want?” Liang Qinxuan asked.
Guan Baiyu: "..." Ten thousand... Liang Qinxuan is really rich!
Just think, at the beginning of this year, all he had was a few dollars!
And his brother, when we first met, was so poor that he couldn't even afford a toilet!
Guan Baiyu asked Liang Qinxuan to contribute five thousand yuan, just like him.
They have a combined budget of 10,000 yuan, which is more than enough to partner with a clothing factory to produce pencil cases. They need to research the style of the pencil cases, the fabric to use, and so on. They also need to figure out how to sell these pencil cases after they are made.
They should wait until they've confirmed that someone wants these pencil cases before contacting a manufacturer to make them.
Otherwise, what if they produce pencil cases but can't sell them and end up with nothing to show for it?
There were many things to do, so Guan Baiyu listed them all out and planned to put them aside for the time being and deal with them during the winter break.
They have their final exams coming up, and exams are more important.
After purchasing a batch of stationery, Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan went to the largest stationery store in Changxi City to see how much their stationery was priced.
The stationery stores in Changxi City are very large, and most of the stationery is displayed in glass cases. If you want to buy something, the salesperson will take it out of the cases.
As soon as Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan entered, someone came up to ask them what they wanted to buy.
Guan Baiyu said, "Let's take a look first."
These days, there are quite a few people who just look around without buying anything. Many students will browse bookstores and stationery stores when they have free time. After hearing what Guan Baiyu said, the man went to greet the others.
There were more than just Guan Baiyu and his friends in the stationery store.
Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan slowly looked at the items in the display case. The prices of some items exceeded Guan Baiyu's expectations: "This fountain pen is so expensive!" A fountain pen costs several hundred yuan? He had never seen such an expensive fountain pen in the stationery store in Changxi City before.
“I have this pen! Do you want it? I can give it to you,” Liang Qinxuan said. “It’s a bit ugly, I don’t like it.”
"No need..." Guan Baiyu said.
He thought his five-yuan fountain pen was quite good, and if it didn't break, he didn't plan to buy a second one.
Not far from the two, three middle school students who came to buy things had already spotted Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan.
They weren't in the same class as Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan; they were students in a regular class in the first year of high school at No. 1 Middle School.
They didn't know Guan Baiyu before, but they recently bought stationery from him and got to know each other. After getting to know each other, they heard some things about Guan Baiyu.
For example, Guan Baiyu has good grades, and Guan Baiyu is good friends with Liang Qinxuan, a famous rich kid in the second year of high school.
There are many rumors about Liang Qinxuan at school; his fame far surpasses that of Guan Baiyu.
They're so rich that they order tons of food in the cafeteria every day.
They like to flaunt their wealth.
The father in the family had an affair, and he forced the mistress's son to change classes and even drop out of school.
Some of Liang Qinxuan's former friends said that Guan Baiyu was a sycophant who wouldn't let go of Liang Qinxuan and forced him to break off his friendship with them.
Anything can happen.
Seeing Liang Qinxuan and Guan Baiyu, they were a little curious. Hearing Liang Qinxuan's words, two of them were somewhat envious, while the other was a little jealous of Guan Baiyu.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out: "Guan Baiyu?"
Guan Baiyu had a very bad impression of the voice. He turned his head and saw Yan Jiangtao.
Guan Baiyu frowned.
Yan Jiangtao and Liang Qinxuan both come from wealthy families, but they are completely different people.
Although Liang Qinxuan is rich and loves to show off, he would never bully anyone.
Yan Jiangtao was different. He always acted superior and looked down on students in his class and school who were poorer than him.
Guan Baiyu hadn't seen Yan Jiangtao since the middle school entrance exam, and he never expected to run into him here.
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