Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Zhao Dage wasn't lying. Today, she successfully proved to Zhang Daya that she had the ability to do business by selling eggs, which earned her a two-month rent waiver. Two months' rent is four thousand yuan, which is equivalent to earning several thousand yuan by selling eggs.

But Cheng Jinxiang clearly didn't believe what Zhao Da'e said, taking it as a joke. Cheng Jinxiang felt sorry for him, "Da'e, you don't have to force yourself like this, telling these jokes to make me happy. Selling eggs can only earn you a few dozen or a hundred yuan at most, how could you possibly earn several thousand yuan? Several thousand yuan is the total income of an ordinary family for a year."

Cheng Jinxiang didn't believe it at all. Several thousand yuan was a huge sum of money; did money have to be so easy to earn...?

It's impossible to make money that easily.

Cheng Jinxiang didn't believe it at all.

Zhao Da'e smiled helplessly, without revealing the amount in her savings account. She had over six thousand yuan in her account, and if you added the three thousand yuan she lent to her aunt, her savings would actually reach ten thousand yuan. With a stable source of income every month, she could easily be the richest person in the village without all that trouble. But Zhao Da'e's ambitions went far beyond that, and she also understood that selling water was a business that couldn't last long and was unstable.

If there's a severe drought or water shortage, will she still be able to run this business? Or what if a factory opens nearby and pollutes a water source, making the water she sells problematic? Will she still be able to sell it?

Or what if a competitor emerges, learns from her selling water, and steals her customers with a lower price? Will she still be able to sell her water then?

Zhao Da'e has many concerns and will never rely on such a monotonous source of income. It would be good to have several stable and profitable channels. She doesn't mind spending some time and effort as long as she gets things done. Of course, Zhao Da'e's goals are not limited to these, but everything has to be done slowly. She needs to accumulate some financial capital first.

Only with enough money can she support herself to do more.

She told Zhao Da'e to quickly wash up and go to bed so he could get enough rest, as she needed to go to Zhao Chunqin's place to collect the debt the next day.

Zhao Da'e nodded to indicate that she understood and went back to her room. Watching Zhao Da'e's small figure, Cheng Jinxiang began to worry, "Xiao Juan was only born not long ago and needs a lot of care right now. Otherwise, I would go to town to see if I could find a temporary job to earn some extra money. From now on, I can only wait until spring to take care of Xiao Juan while doing farm work. I need to hurry up and earn some money. I don't know if I can raise enough money to build a new house."

Cheng Jinxiang also had her own worries. When Cheng Jinxi saw this, she could only comfort Cheng Jinxiang, saying, "Jinxiang, everything will be alright. You have a good daughter. As long as Da'e grows up and becomes more capable, you will naturally be able to live a good life. Moreover, Da'e is more capable than me, her eldest son, and she can make money. She is only seven years old and she is already like this. When she grows up, she will earn even more money, and you will be able to enjoy more happiness."

Cheng Jinxi was speaking from the heart. She had witnessed Zhao Dage's ruthlessness firsthand. After all, the three thousand yuan dowry she received was given to her by Zhao Dage. However, she estimated that it had cost most of Zhao Dage's money. Cheng Jinxi felt a little guilty. Zhao Dage lent her most of the money as dowry money, but didn't keep any for himself to build a new house, which led to the current shortage of money. Zhao Dage had to sell eggs to earn some extra money.

Cheng Jinxiang felt a headache coming on at the thought of having to go to the city tomorrow to ask Zhao Chunqin for money, and also about building a new house after spring. She had never wanted to entrust the money to Wang Guixiang for safekeeping, and now, when it came time to actually build the new house, she would never be able to get the money back.

Cheng Jinxi suggested, "Jinxiang, do you need me to go to the city with you tomorrow? Many hands make light work. I don't believe Zhao Chunqin won't pay back the money."

Cheng Jinxiang sighed and declined, "No need, elder sister. This is a family matter. If you get involved, people will definitely talk. I'll go to the city tomorrow to try. If Zhao Chunqin is willing to repay the money, that's fine. If not, we'll discuss it further later."

Seeing this, Cheng Jinxi had no choice but to say, "Then I'll do as you say."

The next day

Zhao Da'e was pulled out of bed early in the morning to wash up, as he was going to the city to visit his aunt Zhao Chunqin.

Cheng Jinxi also got up early to prepare breakfast for Zhao Da'e. She stir-fried some greens and made porridge with pork. Cheng Jinxi felt that Zhao Da'e was too thin and needed to eat more good food to nourish him.

Zhao Da'e ate a hearty breakfast, and Cheng Jinxiang and Zhao Tiesheng came over while he was eating.

Cheng Jinxiang held Zhao Xiaojuan in her arms and handed her to Cheng Jinxi, letting her hold Zhao Xiaojuan. "Big sister, I'll have to trouble you to take care of Xiaojuan for me all day. I'm going into town today to ask Zhao Chunqin for money, and I'm afraid the process will frighten Xiaojuan, so I won't be taking her with me."

Cheng Jinxi hugged Zhao Xiaojuan with a gentle expression and teased her. Zhao Xiaojuan wasn't shy at all and smiled at Cheng Jinxi, waving her hand as if trying to grab him. Although Zhao Xiaojuan was small, she was still cute to look at, and Cheng Jinxi was very happy to see her.

Zhao Tiesheng didn't quite understand why Cheng Jinxiang wanted to hand Zhao Xiaojuan over to Cheng Jinxi. "Jinxiang, we can totally take Xiaojuan with us into the city. Xiaojuan is my younger sister's niece, and she'll definitely like her. Besides, she'll definitely pay us back. Mom said she's using the money to start a business, and it's doing quite well. If she has income, she'll definitely be able to pay us back. You don't need to think about that. Just think about how to build our new house after spring."

Zhao Tiesheng was very confident in his own family, which made Cheng Jinxiang look down on him. After being married into the Zhao family for ten years, she had seen through their true colors. Zhao Tingxu, Wang Guixiang, and Zhao Chunqin were all hypocrites who took their money from the second branch of the family without paying it back. Only Zhao Tiesheng, that big, simple-minded guy, actually thought they were good people. Little did he know that he was being sold out and was even counting the money for them.

No, I'm the one who's being stupid. No matter what, Zhao Tiesheng is Wang Guixiang's biological son, so they wouldn't mistreat him too much. But it's different for me, an outsider. I didn't even have a son, so Wang Guixiang doesn't like me. They can waste my time however they want.

Looking at Zhao Tiesheng, Cheng Jinxiang felt as if she were looking at a fool, afraid that talking to him would affect her intelligence.

Hearing this, Cheng Jinxi, who was standing nearby, said with dissatisfaction, "Second brother-in-law, what do you mean by this? Do you think I, as the eldest aunt, am not good to Xiaojuan? I helped take care of Jinxiang for quite a few days when she was in confinement. Tell me, did the child's aunt come to see Jinxiang? Did the child's father come to help at all?"

Cheng Jinxi's question made Zhao Tiesheng feel embarrassed, wishing he could disappear into the ground. He lowered his head, unsure how to answer, and felt very guilty.

After all, Cheng Jinxi had helped Cheng Jinxiang a lot during her postpartum period and had taken care of Xiaojuan for quite some time. In contrast, Cheng Jinxi, the father of the child, had not taken care of Xiaojuan as much as Cheng Jinxiang's aunt.

But who can he blame for all this? If Cheng Jinxiang hadn't insisted on going back to her parents' home, he could have fulfilled his duties as a father, or if Cheng Jinxiang had been willing to see him at her parents' home and not chased him away, he could have helped a lot.

Seeing Zhao Tiesheng's silence, Cheng Jinxi didn't know what to say. She felt a sense of disappointment and frustration, thinking that she must have been blind to agree to her sister marrying such a coward.

It was getting late, and Cheng Jinxiang and Zhao Tiesheng picked up Zhao Dage and were about to head to the city. Zhao Dage specifically asked Xiangzi to drive them into the city, otherwise it would be very troublesome to get to the city from the countryside. First, they would have to walk for an hour to the town, then wait for the bus to the city, and after getting off the bus, they would have to walk for another half hour to get to Zhao Chunqin's house. The whole process would probably take three hours, while taking a bus directly to the destination would probably only take an hour and a half, which would be much more comfortable.

Of course, Zhao Da'e didn't call Xiangzi over for nothing; she even gave him extra money, since Xiangzi was supposed to rest in the morning.

Cheng Jinxiang didn't know that Zhao Da'e had given them money; she only thought that Xiangzi was kind-hearted and willing to help their family. After entering the city, Cheng Jinxiang held Xiangzi's hand and said sincerely, "Xiangzi, I'll invite you to my home as a guest in a few days. You must come, otherwise I'll feel bad. You really helped me a lot today. You know how much trouble it is to come from the countryside to the city; it takes three hours and is incredibly inconvenient."

Xiangzi shook his head, feeling it was nothing. "It's alright, it's all part of my job."

Moreover, he was receiving wages from Zhao Dage and hadn't suffered any losses. If possible, he hoped to do this every day so he could have extra income every day.

Cheng Jinxiang was unaware of the truth, but she felt that Xiangzi was being too polite, and she felt a little embarrassed. She secretly resolved to make it up to Xiangzi.

After dropping Zhao Da'e and the others off at their destination, Xiangzi drove away. He had other things to do, but he made an appointment with Zhao Da'e to take them back to the countryside in the afternoon.

Zhao Tiesheng had only visited Zhao Chunqin's residence once. Looking at the surrounding environment, he felt both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar.

Cheng Jinxiang pursed her lips, clearly displeased with Zhao Tiesheng's foolish appearance. She nudged him with her elbow and said, "Didn't you come here once before? Why aren't you leading the way?"

Zhao Tiesheng said somewhat awkwardly, "I did come here once, but that was a year ago, and I don't remember it very clearly now."

Originally, Zhao Chunqin was a lawyer, working as a legal advisor for others. Later, for some unknown reason, she became a purchasing agent at a large factory. However, large factories have their advantages; at least they provide housing. Moreover, Zhao Chunqin was a minor manager, also working part-time as a warehouse manager. Her salary was quite high, around 5,000 yuan a year, not including year-end bonuses, salary increases, and commissions. It could be said that Zhao Chunqin was one of the more successful people in Dongtaizi Village. However, after experiencing the benefits of big cities, people like her didn't want to return to the countryside but settled in the city, only occasionally returning home to visit their elderly relatives during holidays.

This is one of the reasons why Zhao Tiesheng wasn't flustered when he learned that Zhao Chunqin had borrowed money from him. After all, his younger sister had gone to university and was working a high-paying job in the city, so he wasn't worried about her not being able to repay the money. On the contrary, he felt that Zhao Chunqin must have encountered some difficulties to ask Wang Guixiang for money.

When Zhao Chunqin moved to the house allocated by this large factory last year, Zhao Tiesheng and Wang Guixiang also came to visit. Zhao Chunqin's treatment was quite good; it was a two-bedroom apartment, enough for her, her husband Li Qingmin, and their youngest son Li Ping.

Zhao Tiesheng couldn't quite remember which floor Zhao Chunqin lived on, so he simply asked someone randomly, "Excuse me, where does Zhao Chunqin from your factory live?"

The houses were allocated by the factory, and naturally, the surrounding area was also home to the factory's employees.

The man asked curiously, "You're talking about Manager Zhao. May I ask your relationship with her?"

Zhao Tiesheng explained, "Oh, I am Zhao Chunqin's second brother. My name is Zhao Tiesheng. Zhao Chunqin is my younger sister. I came here to ask her to handle some family matters."

Upon hearing the relationship between Zhao Tiesheng and Zhao Chunqin, the man immediately realized that they were related. He remarked on how similar their features were, explaining that they were family.

The man pointed the way and said, "Go straight ahead, turn left at the top, and the first building is where Manager Zhao lives. It's on the third floor. Today is a day off, so most people are home. You should be able to find Manager Zhao there."

After receiving the answer, Zhao Tiesheng thanked the man and left with Zhao Da'e and Cheng Jinxiang.

Throughout the journey, Zhao Tiesheng's smile never stopped; the thought of receiving the money soon put him in a good mood.

"Big Goose, when you see your aunt, you must be polite and greet her warmly, understand?"

Zhao Tiesheng knew Zhao D'e's stubborn nature and was afraid that her lack of manners would cause him to lose face, so he specifically reminded her again.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Da'e pursed his lips, unsure of what to say. They were there to ask Zhao Chunqin for money, not to be guests. Being too polite to Zhao Chunqin would only make her think that her family was easy to bully and manipulate. However, Zhao Da'e didn't say any of this, lest he offend Zhao Tiesheng and make him unhappy again.

Cheng Jinxiang, however, didn't have so many concerns. She directly said with dissatisfaction, "Stop smiling like that. We're here to ask someone for money, not to visit them. What are you laughing about? Be serious. You can't keep smiling until we get the money."

Zhao Tiesheng didn't care at all. He laughed and said, "Jinxiang, look at what you're saying. It's not like my little sister won't pay back the money. Don't worry, I'll go over and talk to her properly. I'll ask her to pay back 10,000 yuan so we can use it to build a new house. She should be able to come up with that amount of money."

Cheng Jinxiang couldn't help but scold Zhao Tiesheng, "Look at you, so spineless! If you want money back, you should get it all back. Zhao Chunqin took at least 40,000 yuan from our family, and you should return it all. This money was earned by you and me through hard work. I didn't want to lend it out in the first place, but your mother took it upon herself to lend it out. When I went to question your mother, you stopped me at every turn. Now look what's happened, your mother is telling us to go to Chunqin and get the money back, and you, being so spineless, are asking her to return 10,000 yuan first."