Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 324

Xiangzi felt that the afternoon had been too hard. He had been standing for almost an hour, and his feet were so cold that he couldn't feel them anymore. He was relieved that he would be able to turn on the heat soon. He felt that it was really too difficult.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Daya suddenly felt a chill down her spine. When she turned around, she saw Zhou Shi giving her a cold look, blaming her for making others suffer so much.

Zhang Daya felt a little guilty. She had misunderstood. She would just give them more money to compensate them later. After all, money was the last thing she needed.

Zhang Daya invited the three of them to the tea room. The tea room was heated and well-lit. As soon as they entered, Zhao D'e felt the temperature rise by at least ten degrees, and he felt warm and relaxed all over.

Zhang Daya brewed some warm tea, handed them cups, and poured it for them. As soon as Xiangzi saw the warm tea, he immediately took it and drank it.

After drinking the warm tea, Xiangzi felt all warm inside and finished it in one gulp. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Waaaah, this is so comfortable! Compared to the freezing cold outside, this is heaven!"

Zhang Daya was stunned, and a cold sweat broke out on her back. Sure enough, Zhou gave her a look from behind, blaming her again.

Zhang Daya was on the verge of tears. She really wanted to go up and cover Xiangzi's mouth. He could have just drunk tea, but he had to say something that would get him beaten up.

Zhao Da'e held the warm cup of tea in her hand. Her hands were freezing cold outside, but the warm tea and the heating in the room made her feel much more comfortable.

Zhang Daya also took out some biscuits, melon seeds, and other snacks, saying, "You guys take a rest first. I see you're a bit tired. Once you've rested, we can talk about some serious matters."

Zhao Da'e and his two companions had been standing outside for three hours, and their spirits were as low as wilted eggplants. They looked listless, but entering the tea room refreshed them considerably.

Zhao D'e remained silent, quietly sipping her warm tea and eating biscuits. The tea contained ginger, which warmed her stomach. She really needed to rest and refresh herself so that she could face Zhang Daya in a better state.

While Zhao Dage was resting, Zhang Daya was also sizing him up. He was less than 1.2 meters tall, very thin, and his hair was somewhat dry and yellow. Although it was clear that Zhao Dage had been well taken care of recently, some details suggested that he hadn't been doing well before. Although he had a bankbook to prove that he had the capital to do business with her, Zhang Daya still felt that Zhao Dage was just playing around with renting the shop, like a child playing house. Zhang Daya didn't want to rent the shop to a child.

After Zhao D'e and the other two had rested, Zhang Daya got straight to the point, "Before we talk about the shop, I'd like to ask how long you want to rent it. You know my shop's rules, which are 2 yuan a month. How many months do you want to rent it for?"

Zhang Daya dislikes trouble, so she mostly rents shops for long-term leases because it's very troublesome to find another place after a short-term lease. If it's a lease of three years or more, Zhang Daya will definitely sign the contract immediately.

When it comes to the lease term, Zhao Da'e is a bit hesitant. She only has close to 10,000 yuan on hand right now, which is enough for a maximum of four months. However, she can't use all her money to rent the shop; she also needs money to operate it. So, Zhao Da'e plans to take over the shop first and rent it for two months, and then renew the lease when she has more money.

So Zhao Da'e told the truth, "Currently, funds are limited, Aunt Zhang. I will rent for two months first, and once the funds are available, I will definitely rent for a longer period."

Upon hearing "two months," Zhang Daya frowned. Two months was too short, and the rent for those two months would likely require using the money in her savings account. If Zhao D'e was running a business, he would need to set aside funds for cash flow. Zhang Daya didn't believe that a child could run a decent business; it was probably just something he was casually playing around with.

Does this mean that the rent will expire in two months, Zhao D'e's business will fail, and he won't have the funds to continue renting the shop? He might even have to find someone else to rent the shop in two months. Zhang Daya thought about it and felt that this matter was very troublesome and difficult to solve. Her first thought was that she couldn't rent the shop to the child in front of her.

Before rejecting Zhao D'e, Zhang Daya had one more question for him: "Can you tell me what your plans are after you rent the shop?"

What kind of business should she start after renting the shop? Are there any sources of goods she can sell? These are the questions Zhang Daya wanted to ask.

After thinking for a moment, Zhao Da'e replied, "After renting the shop, we'll go to Jinzhou to buy some clothes that sell well."

Jinzhou is a large city, a coastal city, and economically developed. Zhao Da'e remembered that many clothing brands in her previous life had developed in Jinzhou, so she thought about importing some clothes from Jinzhou to sell, hoping they might become a hit.

In her past life, someone also sourced some popular clothes from Jinzhou and brought them to this small county to sell. It became the most popular clothing store in the county. Zhao Da'e wanted to imitate this store. She knew some of the things that happened in her past life. She wasn't stupid, so of course she had to make good use of it to make money.

Zhang Daya was shocked when she heard this. She never expected that Zhao Dage, who looked so young, wanted to do something that was not something an ordinary person could do.

"Do your parents know what you're doing? Do they support you?" Zhang Daya asked.

Zhao Da'e nodded and said, "I know, they support it."

My mother knew that I was in the water-selling business, or at least she knew, though not very clearly. But I believed that no matter what I did, my mother would support me.

Zhang Daya was a little surprised. She didn't expect that there would be parents supporting a seven-year-old child. This child must be from a wealthy family.

"So all your money comes from your parents, right? Forgive me for being blunt, but I won't rent my shop to you. Your parents support you and lend you money, probably just to let you experience the thrill of doing business. There's a high chance of failure in business. Come back to me to rent the shop when you're older and more mature."

Zhang Daya's words at this point clearly indicated her refusal. She looked down on Zhao Da'e for spending his parents' money on playing house. She believed that it was more practical to use the money to buy a house than to start a business. At least a house is there and will appreciate in value in the future, while a business is uncertain and has too much instability.

Zhao D'e knew that Zhang Daya had misunderstood, so he quickly explained, "Aunt Zhang, you've misunderstood. This money wasn't given to me by my parents. I earned it myself through other businesses. My family isn't wealthy; we're just an ordinary rural family. My parents can't provide me with financial support. The money in my savings account is all earned by doing small business on my own. I know it's hard for you to accept this right now."

As he spoke, Zhao Da'e stepped forward and stretched out his hands, which were covered with calluses from his frequent work. Although Zhao Da'e hadn't done any heavy work since his rebirth, the calluses on his hands from his previous heavy work would still remain and wouldn't disappear for at least a year.

Looking at the calluses on Zhao Dage's hands and listening to what he said, Zhang Daya was incredulous. "What did you say? The money in your bank account is what you earned from your small business? Are you trying to scam me?"

"What kind of business do you run to make money?" Zhang Daya asked curiously.

Looking at the calluses on Zhao Da'e's hands, she believed that Zhao Da'e's family was not wealthy. If they were really rich, they wouldn't have so many calluses on their hands. Rich people would hire people to do their work. She had been thinking too far ahead before, assuming that the several thousand yuan was given by Zhao Da'e's parents. Only very wealthy families would give a child thousands of yuan to start a business. She never expected that this money was earned by Zhao Da'e.

Zhang Daya found it hard to believe that such a young child could earn several thousand yuan, while she, a woman in her thirties, could only make money by collecting rent.

No, she also wanted to thoroughly investigate how Zhao Da'e made money.

Zhao Da'e smiled slightly, "Aunt Zhang, how to make money is my private matter, and I can't tell you about it. But I can assure you that I have the ability to make money. In fact, my small business can even cover the rent every month. I'll definitely rent for more than just two months in the future. I said I'd rent for two months because I can only afford to pay for two months' rent right now. Next month or the month after that, I can come up with more money to pay for rent. The lease term will be at least a year."

Zhao Dage made a promise to Zhang Daya, but Zhang Daya was a little hesitant. She was still not very optimistic about Zhao Dage, but she was also curious about whether Zhao Dage could do it. What if he really rented the shop to her and Zhao Dage really made the business successful?

Seeing Zhang Daya hesitate, Zhou Shi became a little anxious. After listening to Zhao Da'e's words, she trusted Zhao Da'e from the bottom of her heart. She couldn't help but say, "Daya, just agree. After all, your mother also sells eggs. It's a small business, and I know how hard it is to make money. Look, I only earned a few yuan after selling eggs all day, while this little girl can earn several thousand yuan on her own. She's even more remarkable than me."

When the topic of selling eggs came up, Zhang Daya said helplessly, “Mom, we’re not short of money. We have plenty of houses, and the rent alone is enough to support us for the rest of our lives. You don’t need to sell eggs to make money at all. Besides, the few dollars you earn from selling eggs all day is not enough. You don’t even know how much the rent from our shop would be in a year.”

More importantly, any eggs that couldn't be sold at home had to be kept for her to eat. Just thinking about having to eat four or five eggs every day made Zhang Daya feel nauseous. She never wanted to eat eggs again in her life!

Zhou disagreed with Zhang Daya's words and earnestly advised, "Daya, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but although our family is wealthy, we can't just sit around waiting to die. We need to learn some ways to make money, not just rely on collecting rent. Look at me, I'm persisting in selling eggs every day. Maybe I can even get rich by selling eggs. Although I didn't sell many eggs today, maybe I can sell more tomorrow. What people value is perseverance."

Faced with Zhou's nagging, Zhang Daya picked at her ears, letting it go in one ear and out the other, not listening at all. Her only worry was that she would have to put a lot of eggs in tonight's dinner. Many of the eggs she had stockpiled at home had gone bad, and Zhang Daya had secretly thrown away quite a few eggs behind Zhou's back.

Zhang Daya couldn't let Zhou's temper get the better of her; she might feel sorry for the eggs and want to cook them, only to get diarrhea the next day. She didn't want to suffer like that.

When Zhao Da'e heard Zhou talking about selling eggs and saw that Zhang Daya didn't want to listen, he quickly realized that the reason Zhang Daya hated eggs was probably because she ate eggs every day.

Zhao Da'e had a brilliant idea in a flash. She quickly stepped forward and said, "Grandma Zhou, let me help you sell your eggs. I can help you sell them."

Upon hearing this, Zhou was stunned and looked at Zhao Da'e in surprise, "Little one, what did you say? You want to help me sell eggs?"

Zhou rubbed her ears, thinking she had misheard. Why did this little child suddenly want to help her sell eggs?

Hearing this, Xiangzi asked in confusion, "Little Aunt, didn't we come here to talk about the shop? How did it suddenly turn into selling eggs?"

Can't you do something serious?

But Xiangzi clearly didn't dare to say too much, only whispering a reminder to Zhao Da'e: "It'll be dark soon..."

Zhao Dage's eyes flickered, ignoring Xiangzi. Instead, he looked up at Zhang Daya and said, "Aunt Zhang, didn't you say you didn't believe I could make money in business? Well, I can help Grandma Zhou sell eggs. If I help Grandma Zhou sell all the eggs and make money, how about you agree to rent the shop to me?"

Zhang Daya was stunned, but Zhou Shi reacted with surprise and said, "Little girl, what did you say? Can you help me sell all the eggs? Really?"

Zhou shouted loudly, and Zhang Daya finally realized what Zhao Da'e was talking about, "You said you wanted to help my mother sell eggs?"

Zhao Da'e nodded and said again, "I've been around this area and know there's a vegetable market right here. I can take the eggs and sell them there. I'm sure you have a shop at the market where you sell eggs for Grandma Zhou, Aunt Zhang. I can go there now to sell eggs. It's still afternoon, so there will be more people out buying vegetables. If I can sell the eggs, it proves that I can make money in business. Aunt Zhang, please rent the shop to me."

Zhao Da'e can't guarantee that all the eggs will be sold, but she's confident that she can sell most of them.

Listening to Zhao Dage's assurance, Zhang Daya thought that if she sold most of the eggs, it would mean she wouldn't have to eat eggs for several days.

Although Zhao Da'e might not be able to sell any eggs, the thought of that possibility instantly cheered Zhang Daya up. Right, didn't she doubt Zhao Da'e's business acumen? She could just test him by selling eggs. If he sold all the eggs, she'd rent out the shop at a super low price. If he didn't sell any, it wouldn't affect her much; in fact, she might even be able to eat fewer eggs because of the extra eggs sold.