Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

“Brother Zhou…” Shi Zhihui was not in a hurry to go inside, but instead looked around the yard.

Although Zhou Yuren's family wasn't extremely wealthy, they still had some savings.

Four single-story houses with glass sand exterior walls—quite fashionable at the time. Due to a shortage of building materials, many buildings were simply constructed. The exterior walls of Zhou Yuren's house were made by breaking glass bottles, turning them into glass shards, adding cement and some red sand and gravel. This was considered very high-class at the time.

To the right is a three-room house that has never been renovated. It has brick walls and is covered with red sand and red clay, without the use of cement.

Near Dongtaizi Village, there's a type of red sand that's similar to gravel but definitely sand. Zhao Da'e doesn't know the exact description, but it's a deep, blood-red color. It's not valuable, though. Above Dongtaizi, there's a ditch called Shibatanggou… Zhao Da'e doesn't know why it's called Shibatanggou. Shibatanggou is full of this red sand, and below it, there's a rare red clay. It's perfect for building houses, a substitute for cement.

Of course, cement is too expensive.

To Shi Zhihui's left were two particularly low thatched huts, inside which lived a blue ox and a red and white ox, and a calf was running around on the ground.

The courtyard had earthen walls and an iron gate.

At that time, such courtyards were extremely rare, especially the four large single-story houses, which were truly a symbol of wealth.

When Shi Zhihui saw this, she was incredibly excited. She had come today to let Ma Huaihua, Old Ma's daughter, see what Zhou Yuren's family was like. And what did she find? The conditions were excellent; they must have no worries about food or clothing.

“Brother Zhou, you’re living a really good life. These two girls…”

Zhao Da'e immediately replied warily, "I'm just visiting, here to freeload. My family is dirt poor, but my uncle is a good man, so I can eat meat at his house every day. Whenever we have guests, my uncle is very kind and makes sure I have mutton dumplings three times a day. Right now, we're steaming buns because we're tired of dumplings for lunch."

Shi Zhihui was completely stunned: Three meals a day with mutton dumplings? That must be incredibly wealthy.

What kind of family serves dumplings to guests, especially lamb dumplings?!

Shi Zhihui can't even afford mutton dumplings for the New Year, yet this young female guest is treated to such a feast. It's clear how wealthy Zhou Yuren's family is. I shouldn't miss out on such a nouveau riche.

Everyone wants a good life, but good days are hard to come by. As the saying goes, if you want a good life, you have to get up early for at least ten years. If you don't work hard from dawn till dusk, you won't get something for nothing.

Shi Zhihui was very satisfied with the current financial situation of Zhou Yuren's family. However, there were too many maids in the house...

"Then this..."

Seeing that Shi Zhihui was probably pointing to her eldest sister Zhou Chunwen, Zhao Da'e took it all in and said, "Fourth Aunt, my eldest sister is already eighteen, and my second sister is fifteen or sixteen. Neither of them went to school, but they both have jobs now, earning ten yuan a day. They work outside, and their income is quite good. Moreover, my eldest sister has a boyfriend and will be getting married soon."

When Shi Zhihui heard that Zhou Chunwen had a salary, and that both girls also had salaries, they would have an income of two or three thousand yuan a year, which was a considerable sum. You have to understand that at that time, rural bricklayers like Lao Ma, being second-rate, only earned twelve yuan a day, even though they were skilled workers. For a girl to go out and work, ten yuan a day was considered quite high.