Shi Zhen knows almost everyone in the village.
Right now, some of the people he knows are still very young, while others he thought were old look strong and healthy.
Shi Zhen was a man of few words.
As he got older, he no longer enjoyed the feeling of being the center of attention like he did when he was young.
After greeting everyone and distributing cigarettes, he took out some candy he had brought back to treat them. Shi Zhen then sat down next to them, answering questions only when asked.
He came back this time intending to find some people to work with him, and he has already decided who he wants to find.
In this situation, it wasn't appropriate for him to talk to them directly, so he planned to speak with them privately in a couple of days.
In the end, it was mostly Shi Dalin and Zhao Meiyun who were greeting the guests.
Shi Dalin occupied the room where they cooked and ate, and chatted with a group of people. Zhao Meiyun, on the other hand, took the women and children to the room next door where they slept at night and talked to people about things outside.
Seeing Shi Dalin showing off his false teeth and looking radiant with excitement, Shi Zhen was in a good mood.
His father is much more cheerful in this life than in the last.
Indeed, although he returned home in glory in his previous life, it was two years later. By then, his family had gone through many troubles, and his father looked older and more dull, completely unaware of the outside world...
At the time, he was the focus of everyone's attention. When they saw his father, the most they said was that his father had raised a good son.
He remembered that his father was in the corner at that time, grinning with his toothless mouth, and nodding occasionally.
His father went out with him, but that was several years later. Because Zhao Meiyun had broken her leg and needed someone to take care of her, his father didn't go out to find work and stayed at home every day.
Being bedridden for a long time can make a person emotionally unstable. Zhao Meiyun was like that. She was always crying and saying that she was a burden to others.
His father spends every day with Zhao Meiyun, so it's hard for him to be happy.
Things are different now. In the previous six months, his father earned more than a thousand yuan every month and bought a color TV and a lot of other things on his own. He has a lot to talk about with people.
He can also show off his son.
Many of the men in the village have a habit of smoking, but they don't smoke rolled cigarettes; they smoke homemade tobacco.
Sometimes they smoke because they have nothing to do, or sometimes they are too tired and need to perk themselves up. And then they get addicted.
The room quickly filled with smoke. Although Shi Zhen had smoked heavily in his previous life, he couldn't stand the smell now. He immediately said to Shi Dalin, "Dad, I'll take Xiaoyu for a walk in the village."
"Okay, take this flashlight." Shi Dalin took out a brand new flashlight and handed it to Shi Zhen.
He bought this too. In the 1980s, in their village, a flashlight was considered an electrical appliance. Anyone who had a flashlight was the envy of others.
After Shi Dalin became wealthy, he couldn't resist buying one, even though they didn't really need it back then in Anshan Town.
Shi Zhen took a flashlight and led Guan Baiyu outside. They then heard women's voices coming from the next room.
The situation there should be similar to that here in Shi Dalin.
Shi Zhen led Guan Baiyu around to the back and into the room where they would be staying that night through the back door. He told Guan Baiyu to put on an extra coat and a scarf before taking him out.
It was already dark, and the village was a bit eerie; you couldn't see anything, but the wind was chilly.
Guan Baiyu was a little depressed.
When Shi Zhen brought him out, he thought it would be romantic to stroll around the village late at night. But now... what romance? It's just cold.
However, he still didn't want to go back.
Guan Baiyu reached out and grasped Shi Zhen's hand.
Shi Zhen paused.
He didn't want to hold hands, but Guan Baiyu's hands were very cold... He still squeezed Guan Baiyu's hand tightly: "Are you a little cold?"
"A little," Guan Baiyu said, somewhat relieved that it was dark and concealed his complexion.
He must be blushing now.
He and Shi Zhen have always been quite close, but they would never hold hands.
Shi Zhen's hands were a little rough, but very warm...
"Ah Zhen? Xiao Yu? Why are you holding hands?" Shi Xingchao's voice suddenly rang out.
Shi Zhen looked over and saw Shi Xingchao carrying a basket on his back.
He released Guan Baiyu's hand and explained, "Xiaoyu is a little cold."
Shi Xingchao didn't think much of it and said, "Oh, I see... Xiaoyu, when I have time, I'll knit you a wool glove, it'll keep you warm! By the way, Zhen, do you have any rabbit skin? Otherwise, I can make a glove for Xiaoyu with rabbit skin."
The yarn he used for Guan Bai's brocade scarves and other items was all from Shi Zhen.
Since Shi Zhen didn't want his money, he didn't mind putting in extra effort.
"No, I sold all the rabbit skins back then," Shi Zhen said. He explained that he sold everything he could to raise money to go out and work.
“Then all I have left are woolen gloves… Shi Zhen, I’ve sold most of the goods from earlier today. Let’s go to your place, I’ll give you the money.” Shi Xingchao said.
"Brother Xingchao, you just got back? Have you eaten?" Shi Zhen asked.
"Not yet. Do you have anything to eat at your house? Can I come over and get something to eat?" Shi Xingchao asked.
"Yes, it was sent by your parents, but it's cold," Shi Zhen said.
They didn't cook dinner today; they ate the food that Mr. and Mrs. Shi Dashan brought them.
The meal consisted of salted meat, pickled vegetables, and white rice—a large portion, which they didn't finish.
By now, it's probably all cold.
“It’s okay if it’s cold. You should have hot water at home. Just soak the rice in it!” Shi Xingchao said.
There was indeed hot water available. After many villagers came to visit, Shi Dalin boiled a pot of water and put firewood in the stove to keep the water boiling.
If anyone wants to drink water, they can take a bowl and scoop some from the pot themselves.
If there isn't enough water in the pot, add more water and some firewood.
Shi Zhen led Shi Xingchao to his and Guan Baiyu's room, and then went to get food for Shi Xingchao.
He chose a stainless steel bowl that they had brought back, slightly larger than the largest bowl in his house, put rice in it, and then scooped hot water from the pot and poured it in.
The rice was too cold, so when hot water was poured in, it cooled down. Shi Zhen used chopsticks to stir the rice, poured out the water in the bowl, ladled in hot water again, and then carried the rice bowl and dishes to find Shi Xingchao.
The water in the rice bowl was warm. Shi Xingchao drank the water from the bowl before picking up his chopsticks and eating. After eating a little, he began to complain to Shi Zhen about his parents: "I don't know what my parents are thinking. They don't want to go out, but they want me to find a wife here... That's not all. The girls they find are not thrifty at all."
Shi Zhen was speechless—it wasn't that they weren't thrifty, but rather that Shi Xingchao was too stingy.
Shi Xingchao said, "I really can't stand them wasting money. Take the girl I met today, for example. She's only been in the village for a short time, and she already wants to buy snacks. It's not that I don't want her to eat them, but now that it's the New Year, everything is more expensive. Can't she eat them later?"
Shi Zhen: "..." The only person who could be matched with Shi Xingchao is probably his wife from his previous life!
Most people absolutely couldn't stand him!
If it were him, he would have bought snacks for Guan Baiyu without her even asking. But Shi Xingchao? He stopped the girl from buying them herself.
"I ate rice balls for lunch and brought some for her too, but she still complained..."
Shi Zhen: "..." Going out on a blind date during the Chinese New Year, and having to eat cold rice balls? Especially... Shi Xingchao's rice ball probably only had some pickled vegetables in it.
In their hometown, a bowl of hot noodles with shredded meat costs only 50 cents. Why would Shi Xingchao need to do this?
Guan Baiyu was shocked.
When Shi Xingchao went to Anshan Town to help Shi Zhen, Shi Zhen had already started school, so he and Shi Xingchao didn't actually spend much time together.
He had always thought that Shi Xingchao was fine except for his shabby clothes, but now he realized... most people wouldn't do something like this.
"Brother Xingchao, you must have a high income, right? Don't you spend the money you earn?" Guan Baiyu asked.
“I can’t just spend the money I earn however I want. I like to save it all!” Shi Xingchao said.
Guan Baiyu glanced at Shi Zhen; he wanted to give the money he earned to his brother.
Unfortunately, now he can only buy his brother snacks and such.
Shi Xingchao added, "Actually, I don't want to get married yet. Getting married costs too much money."
Shi Zhen had nothing more to say to Shi Xingchao.
After finishing his meal, Shi Xingchao began to settle the day's accounts with Shi Zhen, asking, "Zhen, what about the money I owe for embroidering sweaters last month..."
“Here it is.” Shi Zhen handed him a red envelope.
Shi Xingchao happily accepted the money and began counting it.
Shi Zhen certainly wouldn't shortchange him, and even gave him a total of ten, which made Shi Xingchao even happier.
Shi Zhen looked around and found that Shi Xingchao had almost sold out the goods he had left behind: "Brother Xingchao, thank you so much for today."
"No need to thank me, no need to thank me. I like making money," Shi Xingchao said. Even though the money was for Shi Zhen, he was still quite happy.
Of course, he was mainly grateful to Shi Zhen; since he couldn't contribute money, he could at least offer his help.
Shi Xingchao was afraid of being scolded by his parents if he went home, so he was in no hurry to go home. Instead, he stayed to talk to Shi Zhen and said, "Zhen, you should also be careful. When my mother was setting up matches for me, she always said that so-and-so was a good match for you...tsk tsk, who knows, you might have to go on a matchmaking trip after the New Year."
Shi Zhen: "...I won't go."
"You can't refuse to go? Your parents will definitely force you to go!"
“They can’t force me,” Shi Zhen said. As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Guan Baiyu looking at him with bright eyes, somewhat puzzled: “What’s wrong?” Guan Baiyu seemed to have something to say.
"Brother, you're amazing," Guan Baiyu said.
Shi Zhen was a little confused—what had he done? What was so special about him?
Shi Xingchao didn't understand what Guan Baiyu was talking about either. He turned to his brother and said, "By the way, my parents also found a girlfriend for my brother. They're afraid the girls will look down on him, so they've all found women with some issues. Sigh! Luckily, I told my brother not to agree to any of them. You know, if the girl had a limp or something, I wouldn't mind, but... I told them to take my brother for a checkup, but they wouldn't go. Instead, they're looking for women who are a bit slow like my brother. What were they thinking?"
Shi Zhen was also speechless.
After chatting with Shi Xingchao for a while, Shi Zhen said, "You should go home now."
“I’ll get scolded when I get home,” Shi Xingchao said.
“Your parents are at my house now. If you go back, no one will be home. If it gets any later, they will have to go back soon.”
Shi Xingchao left immediately.
Shi Zhen asked Shi Xingchao to leave because this whole ordeal had already taken until after eight o'clock.
Guan Baiyu is still growing, he should be asleep by 9 o'clock.
Shi Zhen went to fetch some hot water and came back: "Xiao Yu, wash your face and feet, then go to bed early." He planned to go to bed later.
Guan Baiyu deftly took out a towel and put it into the hot water.
The water was a little hot, so he pinched a small corner off the towel, swirled it around in the water a few times, then took it out, wrung it out, and handed it to Shi Zhen: "Brother, wash your face first."
Shi Zhen said, "I'll wash later..."
"Brother, let's do it together. You wash first, then I'll wash."
"Then you go first..."
"Brother, you're arguing with me about washing my face?" Guan Baiyu blinked, looking puzzled.
Shi Zhen also felt something was off. He washed his face, handed the towel to Guan Baiyu, and then saw Guan Baiyu happily wring out the towel again to wash his own face.
After washing, Guan Baiyu poured the water into another basin and said, "Brother, let's wash our feet together."
"No..."
"Brother, are you disgusted with me? I see a lot of people washing their feet with their parents, siblings, and other family members..."
Guan Baiyu looked a little sad when he spoke.
Shi Zhen: "..."
The two ended up washing their feet together.
Actually, this happened often in my past life, but it's the first time in this life.
The two men's feet bumped and swayed in the water, reminding Shi Zhen of many things and making him feel somewhat dazed.
Guan Baiyu didn't notice Shi Zhen's distraction.
He stared at his feet soaking in the water for a long time, then realized he had gone a bit too far.
Whether it was the dim lighting in the room that emboldened him, or the fact that he used his brother's towel to wash his face that gave him wild ideas, he actually asked his brother to wash his feet with him.
At this point, logically you could step on my foot, and I could step on your foot, using our feet to rub the mud off each other's feet.
But in this way... it seems like he's taking advantage of his brother.
Guan Baiyu bent down and rubbed his feet with his hands.
His feet weren't dirty, so he quickly finished rubbing them. He dried his own feet and then rubbed Shi Zhen's feet.
"Xiaoyu..." Shi Zhen suddenly woke up.
"Brother, the school made us wash our family members' feet during winter break," Guan Baiyu casually made up an excuse.
After he finished rubbing Shi Zhen's feet, he said, "Brother, soak them for a while longer, and I'll go get you some more hot water."
The water isn't so hot anymore now.
Shi Zhen was stunned.
In his past life, Guan Baiyu would have been like this too...
Shi Zhen was a little quiet while soaking his feet. After he finished, he poured out the water and said to Guan Baiyu, "Xiaoyu, I'm going to go outside and take a look. You go to sleep first."
Guan Baiyu did not refuse.
Shi Zhen went outside and found that Shi Dalin and the others were still talking and probably could continue for a long time.
He was listening right there.
Shi Zhen sat for a long time before returning to his room, where Guan Baiyu was already asleep.
He didn't take off his clothes, but took another quilt and slept next to Guan Baiyu.
He wouldn't actually do anything to Guan Baiyu; the main reason for avoiding suspicion was that Guan Baiyu might find out about his sexual orientation someday and feel uncomfortable.
Shi Zhen was actually very tired.
On the way back, he was definitely the most exhausted of everyone.
Therefore, he fell asleep not long after lying down.
After he fell asleep, Guan Baiyu opened his eyes.
Guan Baiyu had a vague feeling that something was wrong... Why did his brother... specifically bring another blanket?
The other blanket was a bit thin, and his brother hadn't even taken off his clothes...
Is he not used to sleeping with someone?
It seems so... His brother used to share a bed with Shi Xinghuo and the others, but their blankets were always separate. However, Shi Xinghuo and Shi Xingchao shared a blanket when it was cold in winter.
Guan Baiyu stretched his feet out of his own blanket and into Shi Zhen's blanket, then remained still.
He dared not do too much, fearing that Shi Zhen would find out and dislike him.
The next day was Lunar New Year's Eve.
There are many things to do on this day, such as ancestor worship and paying respects to the Buddha.
Zhao Meiyun went to bed very late last night, but she woke up this morning looking radiant. She, along with Zhao Qiujuan and Shi Ting, got ready together.
Of course, Zhao Qiujuan was the main one who did the work, as she was already familiar with the process. Zhao Meiyun would do things like tending the fire, while Shi Ting would help wash the dishes and candlesticks.
As for Shi Zhen and Shi Dalin, they took Guan Baiyu and went to the village early in the morning to continue setting up their stall.
Yesterday they left half of the goods with Shi Xingchao, who sold almost all of them, but they still have half of the goods left.
The women were mostly busy at home with ancestral worship, while the men didn't concern themselves with such matters.
Some of them caught their own chickens to sell, while others just wandered around aimlessly.
Of course, the children are the most idle, coming and going in droves.
Actually, if Shi Zhen were to set up his stall tomorrow, his business would be much better with the children having their New Year's money in their hands.
But he didn't want to be busy on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, business was still good, and Shi Zhen sold most of his remaining goods.
Especially couplets and such, almost all of them are sold out.
These are inexpensive items that can be displayed openly and seen by others, so many people are willing to buy them.
However, by noon, no one was buying anything anymore.
Everyone has gone home for the Chinese New Year.
Shi Zhen and his team also packed up and went home.
Shi Zhen spent the Spring Festival in Guanjia Village and also sold goods here. He spent about 500 yuan to buy the goods, and now he has nearly 1,000 yuan in his hands.
In other words, they ate all the remaining food themselves and had already earned four hundred yuan.
That's a lot of money!
When Shi Zhen and his group packed up and went home, they saw Zhao Meiyun talking to someone in the village.
Zhao Meiyun had never received so much attention before, and she was especially happy. For her, the only regret was Zhao Dongjuan.
However, when she told people that Zhao Dongjuan was married and would be spending the New Year at her husband's family home, no one asked any questions, which relieved her.
Upon seeing Shi Zhen and the others return, Zhao Meiyun immediately said, "Zhen, you and Xiaoyu should go and offer your prayers. After you're done, you can blow out the candles."
Shi Zhen led Guan Baiyu inside, clasped his hands together in prayer, and Zhao Meiyun began to blow out the candles. She then took two eggs from the table and gave one to each of them.
As for herself, she will now be busy preparing the New Year's Eve dinner.
Well, it wasn't her who did all the work. Zhao Qiujuan cooked the meal, and Shi Ting took over the task of tending the fire.
In the dead of winter, tending a fire behind the stove is an absolute treat.
Zhao Meiyun grabbed a handful of melon seeds and, together with Shi Dalin, continued to show them off throughout the village.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com