In Anshan Town, many people still wear short sleeves until October, because summer is quite long.
So the popsicle and cold drink business can continue for at least another two months.
Two months later, the weather got cold, and it was time to change jobs, but the freezer would still be useful.
With a freezer, all kinds of food sold at the stall can be preserved. In fact, it's not just him who needs a freezer; his dad, who sells fried skewers at a stall, also needs one.
However, his father doesn't have the money to buy it for the time being.
Appliances these days are really too expensive.
When Shi Zhen wanted to hire someone, the first person he thought of was Shi Xinghuo's younger brother, Shi Xingchao.
Shi Xinghuo was his uncle's eldest son. Later, his uncle and aunt had a son and a daughter. The son was Shi Xingchao.
Shi Xinghuo was a bit slow-witted by nature; he couldn't even do addition and subtraction within ten. Shi Xingchao, on the other hand, was very clever. The last time Shi Xinghuo went back to the village to pick someone up, Shi Xingchao and some other villagers wanted to come with him.
But he had no money at the time, no way to settle them down, and no job opportunities to offer them, so he did not agree.
They come out on their own, and whatever job they choose is their own choice; they don't have to bear any responsibility.
But if he calls someone out and then fails to give them what they want, he will be blamed.
This kind of thing has happened before, even in my past life.
At that time, he called out the young people in the village to do work on the construction site. Some people felt that the work was too tiring and went to find other jobs. They also said some bad things, such as that he withheld their wages.
Shi Zhen is willing to help the villagers.
But if he finds work for others and they complain about him instead... then why should he do something thankless?
As for Shi Xingchao... he and Shi Xingchao were about the same age, and the two had always had a good relationship. Shi Xingchao had followed him in his previous life and had no ulterior motives.
However, Shi Xingchao himself has some problems.
He's incredibly stingy; in the local dialect, he's known for taking in but not giving out.
Unlike Guan Jianguo's mother, Shi Xingchao was reluctant to spend money because he had experienced hardship and was not well-off.
He was like Grandet; even if he had money, he was unwilling to spend it.
In his previous life, after Shi Zhen stopped being a contractor, he once wanted Shi Xingchao to take over, but with Shi Xingchao's personality, he was simply not up to the task.
He's too stingy; he can't get along with those bosses.
Later, Shi Xingchao changed careers and took over the property management of a residential community with a few villagers. He did a pretty good job, except that the community's landscaping always consisted of fruit trees. He also planted bamboo all over the river that ran through the community. Then, Shi Xingchao, the person in charge of the property management, not only led the community security guards to pick fruit and dig up bamboo shoots from the community to sell, but also organized group buying in the community's WeChat group, selling watermelons one day and corn the next. In winter, he asked everyone if they wanted sausages made by the security guards themselves...
Anyway, he kept making money, only taking in and not giving out, and he was having a great time.
Shi Xingchao and Shi Ting also had a good relationship. He was keen to ask Shi Ting for old clothes and so on, to take home and wear. The only clothes he was willing to spend money on for himself were probably his underwear.
Oh, and to save money, he often fills in for security guards when the community is short-staffed or on leave, and he also personally takes over when the cleaners resign. As for the community maintenance worker? That's him!
Some people in their neighborhood were shocked by him.
He was standing guard at the door when I entered the house in the morning, I saw him cleaning the elevator when I picked up my takeout at noon, and he was the one who came to fix the water pipes when I called him in the evening.
Many people came from their village in their previous life, and Shi Xingchao was the most successful among them, but he also had regrets.
Shi Zhen felt a little helpless as he thought of the things Shi Xingchao regretted the most and liked to talk about the most.
In his past life, he made his fortune by borrowing money from his uncle's family, and after making money, he repaid double the amount.
Shi Xingchao was extremely stingy back then, saving all his salary without spending a single penny, and living and eating on the construction site... For a few years, Shi Xingchao was actually richer than him.
Later, he bought a house to settle his family and bought land to expand his business. However, Shi Xingchao did not have such ideas. At that time, he felt that the prices outside were too high and wanted to earn some money before returning to the village to live.
Shi Xingchao... he has never bought a house.
Later, he finally decided to stay outside and even bought a house for his child's education... but the house was extremely small, and the whole family lived in cramped quarters.
Seeing that housing prices were rising higher and higher, Shi Xingchao finally bought a house. By then, housing prices in Changxi City had already soared from six or seven thousand to more than ten thousand in just a few months.
Then, seeing that Tian'er was upset because he hadn't bought it sooner, he would mention it several times every time he saw Shi Zhen, and then gritted his teeth and bought a few more sets.
He managed to buy it, and later the price of houses in Changxi City rose to 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.
He surprised his son, who had always felt that his family was poor, had never bought anything nice since childhood, and lived a frugal life, working part-time while attending university. When his son suddenly learned that his father had bought real estate worth over ten million yuan, he couldn't help but chuckle.
The father and son almost fell out over this, but Shi Xingchao made the down payment and bought his son a house in the provincial capital, and they finally reconciled.
But they still argued.
Before Shi Zhen died, every time Shi Xingchao's son came home, he couldn't help but throw away Shi Xingchao's junk things, and he would also buy things for Shi Xingchao. Then Shi Xingchao couldn't stand his son throwing things away and buying things, and the two would quarrel.
As for Shi Xingchao's wife... well, she's exactly like Shi Xingchao in every way, truly a perfect match.
Speaking of which, Shi Xingchao's wife is from Anshan Town. She and Shi Xingchao share the same views on spending. They fell in love at first sight and then got married quickly. To save money, they didn't even have a wedding...
Shi Zhen has never been one to squander money, but he simply cannot understand Shi Xingchao and his wife.
If we ask Shi Xingchao for help now...
It's inevitable that Shi Xingchao will eat and live at his place and try to squeeze some money out of him. However, Shi Xingchao won't take money that doesn't belong to him, he's hardworking, and he's a decent person.
As for this person's miserly behavior, just get used to it.
Shi Zhen borrowed a phone from someone in the village and called his own village.
The village chief answered the phone. Since he couldn't get Shi Xingchao over right away, Shi Zhen made an appointment with the village chief to call him back at a later time.
This time, Shi Xingchao answered the phone.
Upon learning that Shi Zhen was short-staffed, Shi Xingchao agreed to come without hesitation. After agreeing, he asked, "Zhen, is room and board provided?"
“Bag,” Shi Zhen said.
"Wait for me! I'll be there soon!" Shi Xingchao said.
Shi Zhen hung up the phone, feeling somewhat helpless.
Shi Xingchao's stingy nature wasn't actually that obvious when he was in the village.
After all, everyone was poor and stingy back then.
But after I got out... well, everyone lives differently.
Shi Xingchao should just do what makes him happy.
As for him... he just wanted Guan Baiyu to be well.
When Shi Zhen contacted Shi Xingchao, Guan Baiyu was shocked by Liang Qinxuan's generosity.
Liang Qinxuan simply... doesn't value money.
Of course, this is mainly because Liang Qinxuan is too rich.
Liang Qinxuan's father made his fortune in the mid-to-late 1980s.
Before becoming wealthy, Liang Qinxuan was already doing well as a teacher. After becoming wealthy... well, let's just say he would never lack money.
Nowadays, most students at the No. 1 Middle School in the city spend between 20 and 30 yuan a week on living expenses.
Breakfast can be had for under 50 cents, since a bowl of porridge with some pickled vegetables on top in the cafeteria costs only 10 cents, and dishes like pickled vegetable and shredded pork noodles and egg fried rice cost only 40 cents.
For lunch and dinner, one yuan is enough to eat well, and many dishes only cost two or three mao (0.2 or 0.3 yuan). Add rice, and you can have a meal for five mao.
Shi Zhen gave Guan Baiyu a monthly allowance of 150 yuan, which was not low.
But after Liang Qinxuan and Guan Baiyu arrived at the cafeteria together, he immediately bought all four meat dishes that the cafeteria was selling that day, spending almost four yuan in one go.
Guan Baiyu: "..."
In the school cafeteria, the dishes are served in individual bowls. Students usually buy a bowl of vegetables and a bowl of rice.
Guan Baiyu looked at the dishes and found that the cheapest ones were only two cents each. For example, pickled vegetables with a little bit of meat and mung bean sprouts, and braised potatoes were all priced at two cents each.
Those meat dishes that cost 80 cents or even one dollar are actually combinations of two dishes.
For example, you can put braised pork on top of braised potatoes, or braised chicken on top of braised tofu, and sell it for 80 cents, which is much cheaper than eating out.
Liang Qinxuan bought four dishes in one go, which he definitely couldn't finish by himself, not to mention that he bought two portions of rice.
Liang Qinxuan looked at Guan Baiyu: "Look, I bought too much. You can eat with me!"
Guan Baiyu did not refuse.
Liang Qinxuan initially thought Guan Baiyu had deliberately bumped into him, but now he no longer thinks so.
Why would someone deliberately bump into him when he's perfectly fine?
Knowing that Guan Baiyu was a first-year student, he told Guan Baiyu a lot about school. When he learned that Guan Baiyu was in the experimental class, he gasped in surprise.
“You’re in the experimental class? That’s amazing! I got in because my dad paid for it,” Liang Qinxuan said in a low voice. “I didn’t do badly on the high school entrance exam, but I was ten points short of the cutoff score for No. 1 High School. So my dad spent ten thousand yuan to get me in.”
"Ten thousand?" Guan Baiyu was shocked. He was just a few points away from getting into No. 1 High School. It was so expensive.
“Normally it wouldn’t cost that much, but my dad didn’t want me to go into that top class where everyone gets in through connections, so he sent me to a regular class,” Liang Qinxuan said. “It’s really boring. If I went to the top class, I’d be just average no matter what. But in the regular class… I’d definitely be in the bottom five.”
Liang Qinxuan had never experienced hardship since childhood, and his mother doted on him. He didn't study hard and preferred to play, so his grades were just average.
His family is wealthy, and his lifestyle is quite eye-catching in class, which inevitably makes some people dislike him.
Putting everything else aside, just look at how he always takes several meat dishes when he goes to the cafeteria, which most students think is him showing off his wealth.
Chen Shaojin was different; he was one of the top students in his class, handsome, and very popular at school.
When the two of them got into a conflict, most people sided with Chen Shaojin.
He couldn't refute what Chen Shaojin said; his father was indeed a scoundrel who seduced a married woman.
However, although Liang Qinxuan told Guan Baiyu about some things at school, he didn't mention much about his family.
He felt extremely ashamed.
No. 1 High School is a place that values learning, and both teachers and students highly regard those who excel academically.
Nouveau riche kids like Liang Qinxuan aren't very popular at No. 1 Middle School.
In addition, Liang Qinxuan was not used to living in the dormitory and could not stay at the evening self-study room when he went home every day, so he had even fewer friends.
Although Guan Baiyu was a year below him, he was in the experimental class... Liang Qinxuan was quite happy to chat with Guan Baiyu.
However, Guan Baiyu remembered seeing him during the summer vacation, but he did not remember ever seeing Guan Baiyu.
Guan Baiyu lived with his grandmother since he was a child. His grandmother was not an easy person to get along with. During the two years before she died, when she was paralyzed in bed, her mood was unpredictable every day.
Over time, Guan Baiyu became very good at reading people's expressions and knew how to win their favor.
But in the past, people like his adoptive parents and Yan Jiangtao disliked him from the very beginning, so no matter what he did, it was useless.
Things are different now.
Except for Zhao Dongjuan, Shi Zhen's family members all liked him quite a bit, even though he didn't interact with them much.
Now that Liang Qinxuan has a good impression of him, and he is deliberately cultivating the relationship... Liang Qinxuan's impression of him is getting better and better.
Especially after he told Liang Qinxuan about his background.
Sometimes, if you want to cheer up someone who's having a really tough time, comparing how miserable you are can be a great way to do it.
Of course, after comparing who's having the worst time, you'll definitely want to find a way to pull the other person out of that bad mood.
Through his conversation with Liang Qinxuan, Guan Baiyu discovered that Liang Qinxuan strongly disapproved of his father's behavior, but because his father loved him very much, he was in great pain.
Guan Baiyu thought for a moment and said, "That Chen Shaojin is really annoying. I think he's deliberately targeting you. Maybe he just wants to prevent you from studying properly so that your father will be disappointed in you... You must not let him succeed."
"Huh?" Liang Qinxuan was a little confused.
Guan Baiyu said, "Why don't you try harder to surpass him in grades?"
"He's in the top five of the class, and I'm in the bottom five."
“If you don’t understand, you can get extra lessons,” Guan Baiyu said. “Think about it, if you get good grades, you can go and ridicule him… Doesn’t that make you happy?”
Liang Qinxuan remained silent.
Guan Baiyu added, "And your dad, he's not young anymore, is he? I think you can work hard and outperform him in every way in the future, so that he can only watch your face!"
Liang Qinxuan was somewhat tempted.
Guan Baiyu added, "You're still a student. No matter how angry you are, you can't shake your father's decision. If you want to have a voice, you need to become stronger and have money."
Can I do it?
“Your dad can do it, your dad can make money, why can’t you?” Guan Baiyu said firmly. “No matter what, it’s better than you giving up on yourself! By the way, even if you really don’t want to study and your grades don’t improve, you can try to do something else, like opening a factory… No matter what you do, you still have to learn.”
Liang Qinxuan took a deep breath; his heart was moved.
Who doesn't want to become more capable?
Guan Baiyu then said, "But the most important thing is that you must break up with that Chen Shaojin. He's always around you, which makes you feel bad. How can you study then? When you get home today, tell your father that if Chen Shaojin is still in your class, you will quit school... and make Chen Shaojin transfer to another class!"
Liang Qinxuan's eyes lit up.
“If you transfer classes, it’s like you’re afraid of him. Just let him transfer. Even if your dad takes care of him and sends him to the experimental class, he’ll be the one avoiding you when he sees you, not the other way around,” Guan Baiyu added.
Guan Baiyu didn't want to say so much, but Liang Qinxuan looked clueless, so he couldn't help but offer a few more words of advice, while also feeling a little envious.
Liang Qinxuan must have been pampered by his parents to be like this.
Like Guan Jinjin, she certainly couldn't stand her father's infidelity, but if it were him, he wouldn't be in so much pain.
As for Liang Qinxuan's father... Guan Baiyu felt that he would most likely agree to Liang Qinxuan's request to transfer Chen Shaojin to another class.
Even if a man is blinded by beauty, he wouldn't be so irrational as to completely neglect his son.
Guan Baiyu and Liang Qinxuan became friends in this way.
However, Guan Baiyu's attention was not entirely focused on Liang Qinxuan.
He values his own studies more.
He came to No. 1 High School to study!
There is a placement test for admission to No. 1 Middle School.
It was probably because he reviewed the junior high school knowledge again while teaching Shi Ting during the summer vacation that Bai Yu ranked fifth in the class in the diagnostic test.
Guan Baiyu could sense that all the teachers liked him, and his homeroom teacher especially favored him.
There were eight people living in their dorm room. The other seven had all sorts of personalities, but none of them were difficult to get along with, and none of them deliberately made things difficult for him.
He quickly integrated into the group.
that is……
He misses his brother terribly.
I wonder if his brother misses him.
When Shi Zhen was cooking, he added an extra handful of rice.
He only realized this after he finished cooking, and rubbed his temples in exasperation.
He can't do this...
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