Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 292

In this day and age, that's not really an option. Most people would choose to bring a water bottle, since after a whole day without water and working under the sun, you'll be severely dehydrated, and the feeling of thirst is really unpleasant.

Even when going out, it's the same. If you don't bring a water bottle, it's extremely uncomfortable to go a whole day without drinking water. And there aren't many places to buy water outside. If someone forgets to bring a water bottle, they usually just endure it until they get home to drink.

Carrying a water bottle around all the time is a hassle, but if you switch to bottled water, the inexpensive plastic bottles are lightweight and convenient. You can basically only hold the weight of the water, and once you've finished drinking, you can just throw the bottle away or recycle it.

Zhao Da'e is certain that bottled water exists elsewhere, but it hasn't become widespread in her small area yet. In the future, when bottled water becomes a trend, most people will no longer carry a bulky water bottle when they go out, but will choose to buy a lightweight and simple bottled water outside.

Another point is pricing. Price bottled water in a way that ordinary people can afford, so that they don't feel bad about spending the money. This will make bottled water more acceptable to the general public.

With this in mind, Zhao Da'e had an explanation in mind.

"Grandpa, I know what you mean, but you can't just look at the immediate situation, right? In the countryside, everyone carries a water bottle when they go out to work in the fields. The water bottle is left aside, so people don't have to carry it around all the time. So people think buying water is unnecessary. But it's different in the city. Sometimes when people go out to play, if they carry a water bottle all the time, they have to carry it in their hands the whole time. You see, it's very troublesome to carry a water bottle in your hands all day. It's inconvenient and tiring. Some people choose not to bring a water bottle when they go out, but if they're thirsty after playing all day, there's nowhere to buy water. The feeling of thirst is very uncomfortable, so people can only endure the thirst and go home to drink water."

“If we sell water, specifically to the city, then a lot of people will definitely come to buy water. Grandpa, think about how cheap this water is, it’s even free. As long as we boil the water and clean it, we can sell it for money. It’s a sure way to make money, and there’s hardly any cost involved.”

Of course, Zhao Da'e was only talking about a small business, but if you want to expand, it's better to open a factory, which will earn you more money.

Zhao Tingming was somewhat tempted by what Zhao Da'e said. After all, what Zhao Da'e said made some sense. He had spent most of his life in the countryside, and his perspective was limited to rural areas. He couldn't think of so many things. In the countryside, people really didn't need to carry water bottles around all the time. They would just leave them aside while doing farm work, and when they were thirsty, they would just pick them up and take a few sips.

However, the situation is different in the city. City dwellers don't farm. Perhaps only construction workers would bring a large water bottle to work on the construction site, while other people would not carry a water bottle with them, since carrying a water bottle is quite troublesome.

Zhao Da'e continued, "When the time comes, I'll definitely sell the water at a reasonable price. After all, water has low costs, and the only expenses I might incur are packaging and marketing. I've already thought it through. When I start selling water, I'll go to a plastic factory and ask if they can make water bottles for me. Plastic is low-cost and high-volume, and it's also good enough and lightweight for holding water."

“Water in plastic bottles has appeared in other places, but it hasn’t become widespread here. But once it’s popularized, cheap bottled water, and the bottles can be thrown away or recycled after the water is finished, will be extremely convenient for city dwellers. I’m sure many people will buy it, and then we can easily make money.”

Zhao Da'e explained the prospects of bottled water to Zhao Tingming. After all, not many people in the vicinity had tried selling bottled water. If Zhao Da'e tried it, although there were certain risks, the returns would be extremely high.

Zhao Tingming's eyes lit up when he heard this. He felt that what Zhao Da'e said made perfect sense, and he even thought about starting his own business and opening a water plant to sell water.

However, he also knew himself; he wasn't good at business, while Zhao Da'e had both the brains and the guts to do things. This was something Zhao Tingming greatly admired. No wonder Zhao Da'e could make money. Moreover, she was only seven years old. If she got older, she could do even more things, and her future would be limitless. She might even become the richest person in the village.

However, Zhao Tingming couldn't help but sigh, "Among the younger generation, you, Zhao Da'e, are the most special. At only seven years old, you dare to do all sorts of things. In the early days, you sold water, and later, when there was a chicken plague, you persuaded Chen Shuyi to let his daughter, who was in college, work for you. Later, you asked me to buy the land behind your Zhao family's house to build a new house. If you only heard about your deeds, no one would think that you were just a seven-year-old child."

Zhao Da'e scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "Grandpa, look at what you're saying, you're making me sound so amazing. I'm not that great. I just do what I have some ideas for. There are many things I don't know, like the water plant project. I don't really understand the process or what permits are needed, and I can't find anyone to help me. That's why I came to you, Village Chief."

After all, Zhao Tingming had been the village chief for decades and had a certain network of connections. He knew and interacted with many people, and they were all related to him to some extent. It was the best thing for him to consult the village chief about this matter.

Zhao Tingming said happily, "You've come to the right person. I can help you find out what conditions are needed to set up a water plant. For example, I can ask about the plant opening permit. In fact, if you're willing, I can even help you get the permit."

Zhao Da'e was overjoyed when he heard this, "Grandpa, that would be perfect!"

She absolutely could not have run this water plant by herself; she would have needed financial, human, and material resources.

Seeing Zhao Da'e's happy expression, Zhao Tingming chuckled as well. But then, he changed the subject, reminding him, "But Da'e, setting up a water plant requires a lot of money. You'll need at least tens of thousands of yuan. A few thousand yuan won't get you any water plant. I can only offer some advice for now, but to get the permit, there's a requirement: you need a lot of capital, at least tens of thousands. Otherwise, the plant won't be able to get started."

The problem Zhao Tingming mentioned is also the problem Zhao Da'e is currently facing. Zhao Da'e can only sigh that she doesn't have enough money right now. She has only earned nearly 10,000 yuan from selling water in the past few months, but that is still far from enough to set up a water plant, not to mention the costs of buying equipment and hiring workers.

Zhao Da'e could only take a step back and say, "Then, Grandpa, I'll trouble you to help me inquire about it."

Zhao Tingming had helped him a lot, and Zhao Da'e was thinking that he would bring some gifts when he came to see his great-grandfather next time.

As human beings, we should be grateful and repay kindness. If we only take and do not give back, we will not go far in the future.

Zhao Tingming agreed to Zhao Dage's request, "Okay, I'll ask around for you when I have time tomorrow. If you have enough funds to meet the requirements for setting up a factory, I'll see if I can help you get it done, saving you so much effort."

Zhao Da'e was somewhat moved. Zhao Tingming's actions for him were even better than those of his own grandfather.

The grandfather would only complain about her, saying she was a waste of money because she was a girl and not as good as a boy who could carry on the family line.

Zhao Tingming smiled, shook his head, and explained, "I'm helping you as well as myself. If you have the ability and the funds, it proves that you have the ability to open this water plant and make a lot of money. If you follow me, you'll have a share of the profits and you can also make money. That's why I chose to help you."

Zhao Tingming has served as village chief for decades for a reason; he has a good eye for people. He believes that Zhao Dage will achieve great things in the future.

Zhao Da'e is still a seven-year-old child, and there are many things she can't do on her own. She often needs an adult to handle them. Zhao Da'e has thought about this issue. She is too weak at the moment, and her father is unreliable. The only good choice is her great-grandfather.

Zhao Da'e immediately promised, "Don't worry, Grandpa, if you work for me and I make money, you'll definitely get a share."

Even if Zhao Tingming doesn't help her this time, she will come back to help him when she becomes successful, or she will buy him a house to repay him. After all, Zhao Tingming has helped her too much. Without him, her little sister Xiaojuan might have been taken away by Wang Guixiang to be raised by someone else.

Zhao Da'e will never forget the kindness shown to her, and she will repay it when she has the chance.

Zhao Tingming immediately laughed and said, "Alright, Big Goose, I believe you." After all, he had watched Big Goose grow up since she was a child. Big Goose was a loyal and righteous person. If someone helped her, she would definitely remember it and find a chance to repay them.

After leaving Zhao Tingming's house, Zhao Dage thought a lot. At present, her funds were not enough to support her to open a factory. This matter could not be rushed and had to be taken slowly. If she wanted to raise enough money quickly, there were two ways: one was to borrow, and the other was to earn it.

Zhao Dage, however, prefers to make money. After all, borrowed money has to be repaid, and even if it's borrowed from a bank, there's interest involved. If he can't repay it, things will go wrong.

Money earned through earning is real money that truly belongs to you, and you feel secure holding onto it.

Currently, Zhao Da'e's only way to make money is by selling Kangxi Spring Water. However, this method is not sustainable. If others see this and discover his way of making money, many people will follow suit, leading to competition and making it harder to earn money.

Zhao Da'e is now looking for other ways to make money, and opening a physical store is one of her current ideas.

Opening a physical store requires less preparation than opening a factory, and the costs are also lower. The permits for opening a store are easier to obtain, and the rent is within one's budget. Then, one just needs to source goods from other places to sell. Once the price is agreed upon, everything is easy to negotiate, and physical stores can generate a great deal of money.

Zhao Dage also asked Xiaofeng to inquire about the shops, and we believe we'll have news soon.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Da'e took a deep breath and immediately felt much better.

"I need to eat well when I get home tonight. Tomorrow I'll think about a way to make money. You can't stop making money for a moment," Zhao Da'e said to himself.

Back at her aunt's house, Zhao Da'e heard the news that her cousin was getting engaged in just a couple of days. She couldn't help but sigh, "It's just like my previous life."

The engagement day arrived quickly, and Cheng Jinxi was busy with Zhou Chunwen and others early in the morning.

There are also customs for engagements here, and the groom's family has to buy gifts.

Basically, it's similar to getting married. If you really want to find any difference, it's probably that since there's no marriage certificate, both parties have the opportunity to back out, and secondly, you can receive an extra gift of money...

The first thing to buy is wine, which symbolizes "lasting love". Buying two bottles is a good omen, as they represent a pair.

Buying cigarette packs symbolizes a happy marriage; if you're going to buy them, buy two packs to make a pair and bring good luck.

After finishing all that, Cheng Jinxi went to the pork shop and specifically asked to buy her beloved pork.

There are also rules about what constitutes a baby girl's preciousness. According to surveys, most girls are born weighing around six pounds.

These six pounds were born from their mother's body; they are naturally her "heart and soul." Raising them to adulthood is no easy feat. Now that they are getting married, the new son-in-law should return these "six pounds" to his mother-in-law.

Therefore, when the groom's family buys meat at the market, they must specify that it is for "giving four gifts" and select fresh, rib-lined, three-layered pork belly with skin and meat attached.

The three gifts were ready, and Cheng Jinxi also bought some groceries. She needed to hurry back to cook, since there was an engagement banquet at noon.

Cheng Jinxi first cut the pork tenderloin into even slices, while Zhao Da'e filled a large spoonful of potato starch for later use.

After doing all that, Zhao Da'e had to wash the scallions, ginger, garlic, carrots, and cilantro thoroughly, and then have Zhou Chunwen cut the carrots and ginger into sections for later use.

Zhao Da'e had prepared salt, sugar, rice vinegar, light soy sauce, cooking oil, etc. in advance and placed them next to Cheng Jinxi.

Cheng Jinxi put the sliced ​​pork tenderloin into a bowl, each slice about half a finger thick, added an appropriate amount of salt and cooking wine, and marinated it for more than ten minutes.

Then Cheng Jinxi added an appropriate amount of water to the potato starch and mixed it to make a thick starch paste.

After finishing these steps, Cheng Jinxi started heating the oil in the pan. She asked Zhou Chunwen to coat the marinated meat slices evenly with the starch paste.

Once the oil is hot, Cheng Jinxi uses chopsticks to carefully place the slices of meat coated in starch paste into the oil one by one. After a few minutes, they are fried until golden brown, then removed and drained of oil.

The sweet and sour pork is done! It's incredibly fragrant and delicious. Zhao Da'e swallowed hard and couldn't resist picking up a few pieces to eat. It was so fragrant and crispy, with a wonderful fried meat flavor.

Zhou Chunwen couldn't resist trying a few pieces, and they were really delicious. After eating one piece, she couldn't help but try another.

When Cheng Jinxi discovered the two gluttons, she sighed and yelled at them, "Stop stealing food, you two! Come and help me!"