No. 1 Middle School of the city.
Liang Qinxuan had been tricked by Chen Shaojin once, and he had always wanted to trick Chen Shaojin back or beat him up.
Guan Baiyu was afraid something might happen, so he had repeatedly advised him not to act impulsively. This time when he went back, he gave him a long lecture on being careful, and he even emphasized the child in his stepmother's belly: "Look how insidious Chen Shaojin is, his mother can't be much worse. Be careful, lest something happens to the child in his mother's belly and she ends up framing you."
Chen Shaojin was now very willing to listen to Guan Baiyu's words, and immediately nodded in agreement, adding, "I will be careful, but Chen Shaojin's mother will probably be careful too. She cherishes the child in her belly very much, and she avoids me when she sees me from afar."
"That's good." Guan Baiyu felt much relieved. Actually, Liang Qinxuan is currently living at school and taking extra classes every weekend... so there shouldn't be too much conflict with his stepmother.
When Liang Qinxuan talked about his family, he became somewhat indignant: "My dad is so good to that woman! He even hired two people to take care of her... Before, when my mom was at home, she had to do all the housework herself!"
Liang Qinxuan complained to Guan Baiyu, and then Guan Baiyu sent him off to study.
The monthly exams are coming up soon, I have to study hard!
Guan Baiyu is now putting all his effort into getting first place.
Unfortunately, there are too many outstanding students at No. 1 High School, so he may not be able to get first place.
When the results of the first monthly exam came out, Guan Baiyu ranked fourth in her class and seventh in the grade—there are two experimental classes in total at No. 1 Middle School.
However, although he did not rank first, he became a student that the teachers paid special attention to. His homeroom teacher even talked to him to find out about his family situation, saying that if his family had difficulties, he could apply for poverty assistance.
This was something Guan Baiyu had never experienced before, and he finally understood why his brother was so determined to send him to a good school.
The difference is really big.
However, he refused the poverty subsidy. His brother had bought him a lot of things, and he usually ate and used quite well. If he still went to accept the poverty subsidy, others would have objections.
When the results of the monthly exam at No. 1 Middle School came out, in the countryside near Anshan Town, ditches had already been dug on the new homestead of Mr. Wang's family.
The bottom layer of the ditch was filled with cement, and bricks were laid on top.
In rural areas, people usually supervise the construction of their houses themselves and hire workers. Neighbors often come to work as laborers. After doing this many times, everyone gets to know a little about building houses.
The house built by Mr. Wang is quite unique, and people come to visit it from time to time.
Previously, the village was full of two-story buildings of the same style, and there was a reason for that. When the houses were built, the process was to lay the foundation and build the walls. When the walls were more than three meters high, precast slabs were placed on top of the two walls to make the floor slabs, and then the walls were built up.
Precast concrete slabs are concrete slabs made of reinforced concrete. They are very sturdy and have good load-bearing capacity. Ordinary families can live normally on them without them breaking.
The precast concrete slabs are all purchased and are the same length. As a result, the houses built in this way may vary in length, but the width of the houses is the same, and the appearance is naturally not much different.
Of course, with current technology, we don't actually need to build such simple houses anymore. For Mr. Wang's house, Shi Zhen used reinforced concrete to cast several pillars to make it more sturdy.
However, the wall was still made of red bricks.
There are several ways to build a wall. Some methods use more bricks, while others use fewer. Since Mr. Wang has plenty of money, he chose the method that uses more bricks.
That morning, Shi Zhen dealt with various trivial matters and then remeasured and laid out the lines, reminding the bricklayers to be careful when building the wall.
When building a wall, you must follow these lines; you must not be crooked, or you will easily cause problems.
"What can you even do? All you can do is lay a line? Anyone can do that! Foreman... what foreman?" Among the bricklayers, Master Zhang had always disliked Shi Zhen.
He used to build houses for people, and they all listened to him. He even built a three-story house for someone. They felt that Mr. Wang's house should be built using the methods he had used before!
But then Shi Zhen suddenly appeared!
Master Zhang was particularly indignant that he had to listen to a young man.
Shi Zhen generally doesn't argue with people, but that's in his daily life.
He knew that he wouldn't gain anything by arguing, so he didn't bother arguing with others.
Given the current situation... it's impossible for Shi Zhen not to react.
Shi Zhen picked up a brick, weighed it in his hand, looked at Master Zhang, and laughed, "I can do everything... How about we have a competition to see who can build a wall faster?"
"I've been building walls for decades, do you think you can build walls faster than me?" Master Zhang sneered.
Shi Zhen, however, was quite certain: "Yes!"
If Master Zhang hadn't been building walls for decades, he might not be as good as others, but now... Master Zhang has been in the industry for decades and is already in his forties. No matter how skilled he is at building walls, his hands and feet are not as fast as those of young people.
Shi Zhen, ever since he bought the tractor, he's been carrying bricks a lot. These past few days he's been playing with bricks all the time, and now his familiarity with bricks has returned.
For an 18-year-old to compete in hand speed with a 40-year-old is really bullying.
However, Master Zhang clearly didn't think so. He kept arguing and insisted on comparing himself to Shi Zhen.
This attracted a lot of onlookers. Neighbors and Mr. Wang's family all came. They were quite interested in this competition. They chose a wall, each of them counted out one hundred bricks, and then let the two of them start building.
Shi Zhen picked up a brick, threw it into the air, caught it, and made a dashing gesture.
On the other side, Master Zhang was already diligently building the wall, but when he glanced at Shi Zhen's actions, he looked down on him: "All show and no substance."
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Shi Zhen began to build.
Bricklayers have special tools for building walls. They use these tools to dig out cement, apply it to the bricks, and then build the bricks on top.
Too much cement will squeeze out, and too little will be even worse. Of course, experienced craftsmen can usually control the amount of cement well.
Shi Zhen must have built countless walls in his past life, so he naturally wouldn't make a mistake this time.
He quickly started building.
Young people are definitely faster than middle-aged people. After Shi Zhen focused on building the wall, the bricks around him disappeared quickly. Although Master Zhang was also fast, he was not as fast as Shi Zhen.
Master Zhang noticed this and couldn't help but get anxious, and when people are anxious, they are more likely to make mistakes.
Moreover, these experienced workers are used to working slowly, so if they suddenly speed up... they'll keep making mistakes like applying too much or too little cement...
Shi Zhendu felt that he had been bullying someone.
But why did he even participate in the competition? Wasn't it just to bully people?
He only listens to people after he's bullied them.
When it came to the last few bricks, Shi Zhen would pick up a brick each time and throw it upwards. As the brick spun and fell, he would use his other hand to scrape up some cement, catch the brick, smear cement on it, and press it against the wall... and it was finished!
"Great!" some people around cheered.
Shi Zhen's behavior is like that of a juggler.
Shi Zhen also regained some of the vitality he had in his youth.
Well, in everyone's eyes, he is very young now.
He learned his brick-handling skills from Qian Qifa back then.
He had a very poor material life when he was a child, so he didn't have much of a spiritual life. Later, when he started working, he was only focused on making money.
Entertainment and the like are almost irrelevant to him.
So, the martial arts stories that everyone listened to on the radio at the construction site back then had a great impact on him and the people in his village.
After that, many people started practicing Iron Palm by sticking their hands into the sand and Vajra Palm by breaking bricks with their hands.
The former was alright, but those who did the latter were severely punished by Shi Zhen—did they think he was a free brick?
However... Shi Zhen also secretly tried it back then. He could indeed split the bricks when they were suspended in the air, but they couldn't be split when they were placed directly on the ground, even when several bricks were stacked together...
The brick-throwing action was something they learned and practiced out of boredom. When he first met Guan Baiyu, he often showed off by throwing and catching bricks in Guan Baiyu's presence.
Who told Guan Baiyu to like watching it!
Because he threw so many, no one on the construction site could match his skill back then.
Throw it forward, throw it backward, throw it while spinning... Shi Zhen can do it all.
Thinking this, Shi Zhen performed a few more moves.
"good!"
"One more!"
"Wow!"
...
People around applauded.
Shi Zhen placed the last brick on the wall: "I'm done."
Master Zhang only had a few bricks left, but no one paid attention to him anymore. Boss Wang's six-year-old son even rushed towards Shi Zhen and asked, "Uncle, do you know martial arts?"
“I don’t know how,” Shi Zhen said.
"You definitely can! You look amazing, and I want to learn too! I even wanted to go to Shaolin Temple to learn martial arts, but my dad wouldn't let me!" the chubby boy said. "Don't worry, I can endure hardship, and I can do the horse stance! Teach me!"
Shi Zhen: "..."
Shi Zhen showed off his skills and gained one, no, several, little fans.
There were more than just the chubby kid watching him play.
And afterwards, these children all looked at him with awe.
Not only that, Mr. Wang's family members also looked at him with new respect.
Although Mr. Wang's family is now wealthy, they have a history of hardship. Previously, Mr. Wang's wife and parents had objections to him hiring someone like Shi Zhen—it's thirty yuan a day! There are so many other things one could do with that money!
But now they stop complaining and even think that Shi Zhen is truly capable.
Putting everything else aside, his bricklaying skills are truly excellent; he must have been a bricklayer for several years!
Most importantly, a handsome, well-mannered young man is always more likable than a picky middle-aged foreman. According to local custom, when hiring workers to do chores at home, tea and lunch should be provided, and snacks should be prepared around two or three in the afternoon.
Of course, you can choose not to prepare these, but then you'll have to pay more money. In the current market, it's an extra five yuan per day for labor.
The workers ate meals and snacks together, and the cost was split equally among them. Each person couldn't afford five yuan's worth of food, so most families would choose to provide meals rather than pay an extra five yuan in wages.
Although Mr. Wang earns a lot of money, none of the other members of his family are employed and are willing to cook for the workers. His family provides meals, and the food is quite good.
Shi Zhen was very satisfied with the food after eating there for a few days, but Chef Zhang was probably used to being fawned over when he went out, and because the Wang family was rich, he had too high expectations of them... He was picky from time to time, which made him unpopular.
For example, yesterday afternoon, he did something bizarre. The "snacks" prepared by Mr. Wang's wife were loose biscuits and watermelon. Each person had two packs of biscuits, and the watermelon was cut and shared. As soon as one watermelon was cut open, while everyone was cutting one half to share, Mr. Zhang took the other half and scooped out the watermelon core with a spoon.
Later, neither of his two apprentices had the nerve to take the other half of the watermelon to eat.
Mr. Zhang also felt that it was too perfunctory for them to give them cookies as a snack, saying that when he worked at someone else's house before, the person would make wontons for them to eat in the afternoon...
Shi Zhen: "..." Even if you really have grievances, it's pretty stupid to say them out loud.
It's alright that bricklayers are scarce now, but if more people have this skill in the future, people probably won't want to hire them anymore.
Mr. Wang was granted a plot of land of 180 square meters, but the house layout that Shi Zhen planned for him was a bit complicated, with many walls, so the construction was slow.
However, because Shi Zhen was watching closely the whole time, their progress was actually quite fast compared to others.
Shi Zhen sees himself as a foreman, and he oversees all aspects of the work, such as how to mix the cement better, how many times to sift the sand, and how many walls each person should build per day...
Other things to consider include how to build scaffolding more securely.
After the incident with Shi Xinghuo in his previous life, Shi Zhen has always been very concerned about construction site safety, and his knowledge in this area is much richer than that of people who have only built self-built houses in rural areas.
Since Shi Zhen was mainly responsible for handling these matters, no one would mind if he left for a while occasionally.
Because of the house construction, Shi Zhen didn't spend much time with Guan Baiyu during the three-day National Day holiday, and the weather gradually turned cooler as October approached.
By mid-October, the cold drink stall could no longer operate.
After running this stall for more than three months, Shi Zhen not only made back the money for the freezer, but also earned several thousand yuan more. He was very satisfied. Since he didn't need the freezer for the time being, he went to town, found his father who was running a stall, and asked his father if he wanted to take it.
At Shi Dalin's barbecue stalls, many foods spoil if left out for too long, so it's best to store them in the freezer.
But Shi Dalin refused. He was very conservative in his business and dared not stock up too much. He would sell out the things that couldn't be kept for long by eight or nine o'clock every night. He would only stock up a little more on things that could be preserved, such as ham sausages.
"Dad, this is good... How's business lately?" Shi Zhen asked him.
Shi Dalin said happily, "Great, great! From morning till night, we can sell two hundred yuan a day! Roughly speaking, we can earn seventy or eighty yuan a day."
Because he earns a lot, Shi Dalin is very motivated. Now he sets up a stall in front of the town's primary school every morning around six o'clock.
The primary school students in the town are all only children, and they have a lot of pocket money. Many of them will come to him and spend 50 cents to buy a skewer of ham or sausage.
After selling out this batch, he'll go home for a nap, and then set up a stall in front of the town's movie theater—most people who come to town to shop during the day will pass by here, so business is pretty good!
When it was almost time for elementary school to let out in the afternoon, he would go to the school gate again... There was a kindergarten next to the elementary school, and now some children would refuse to go home if their parents didn't buy them some food!
After the students all went home, Shi Dalin would set up his stall near the movie theater.
He's so busy, so of course he earns a lot. It's just that there are other people selling fried skewers in town now, so there's competition. Otherwise, he could earn even more.
Of course, he is already very satisfied with his current income.
He used to worry about the dowry and wedding banquet costs for his son's wedding, but now he doesn't have to worry anymore—he can earn that amount in a month!
Of course, after talking to people, he also found that if he got married here... the expenses would be much higher than in his village!
However, Shi Zhen is still young. Men should be 22 years old to get married, so there's no rush. Besides, Shi Zhen can earn money on his own, so he doesn't need to worry about him.
Shi Zhen arrived at noon. There weren't many people at Shi Dalin's stall, so Shi Dalin chatted with Shi Zhen about his family matters.
Shi Dalin now gives Zhao Qiujuan 200 yuan a month to buy groceries and cook for the whole family. Since he is too busy with his stall, Zhao Meiyun delivers the meals to him.
The town wasn't big, and Shi Zhen suggested that Zhao Meiyun should walk around more, so they let her go.
Now, Shi Dalin has saved up nearly three thousand yuan and wants to buy a television.
“Dad, go ahead and buy it if you want. It would be best to get a color one,” Shi Zhen said. He had previously visited an electronics store and seen that a 21-inch color TV cost around three thousand yuan.
This price was very high compared to people's income at that time.
However, he could understand his father's desire to buy a color TV.
They had never seen these before and always wanted them.
Moreover, having a television at home allows Zhao Meiyun and Zhao Qiujuan to learn more about the world.
"The colored ones are too expensive..."
“If we buy a black and white one, we’ll definitely have to replace it later. We might as well go all the way and buy a color one,” Shi Zhen said. At that time, color televisions were of very good quality, and Shi Dalin could watch them for more than ten years after he bought one.
“That works too… Hey, if I buy it, I’ll be the first person in our village to buy a color TV! What do you think about bringing the TV back with us when we go home for the New Year, so we can show it to them?” Shi Dalin laughed, revealing his sparse, few teeth.
Shi Zhen didn't think bringing a TV series home for the New Year was a good idea, so he changed the subject: "Dad, when is it time for me to take you to see a dentist and get dentures?"
Nowadays, it's actually inconvenient for Shi Dalin to eat anything. He has to bite through many hard things and swallow them directly. However, he never tells anyone about this and just eats a few more bites of soft food.
"You even have dentures?" Shi Dalin asked, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, there are." Shi Zhen smiled.
Shi Dalin suddenly felt a sense of longing. He licked his teeth and said, "Another tooth of mine is loose."
"Dad, you should rest more at home during the day from now on," Shi Zhen advised him.
Shi Dalin smiled sheepishly and didn't say anything; he wanted to make money.
Since they had started chatting, Shi Dalin also asked Shi Zhen about building houses for people.
He didn't quite understand why Shi Zhen wanted to build houses for others—wasn't it good enough to just send and receive sweaters? He could earn much more than a bricklayer!
In addition, Shi Zhen already has a freezer, so he can open a small shop and collect and distribute sweaters at the same time.
Shi Zhen laughed: "Dad, you won't earn much doing this."
In his past life, Guan Baiyu and his family ran a small shop in their village, and they spent their entire lives running that shop.
"How much do you want to earn?" Shi Dalin asked, puzzled.
"For example... one hundred million?" Shi Zhen laughed.
Shi Dalin felt that his son had mental problems.
After talking with his father, Shi Zhen drove his tractor, which was parked not far away, to the station to pick up Guan Baiyu, who was going home for the Buddhist service.
Unlike trucks, tractors can only seat one person in the front. Guan Baiyu moved a stool and sat in the somewhat dirty tractor bed, which was often used for loading goods, listening to the tractor's "putt-putt-putt-putt" roar as he bumped his way home.
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