Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 337

"Chunqin, what should we do? Are we really going to send the money over in the spring?" Li Qingmin asked, scratching his head.

Zhao Chunqin clenched her fists in anger, her fingertips digging into her flesh without her even feeling it. "Of course not, I won't give them a single penny! Saying that is just to fool them, otherwise how could I have tricked them into leaving?"

Li Qingmin was somewhat annoyed. "Chunqin, what if they come knocking on our door again after spring? Don't forget that we are at a crucial time for promotion. Even if we want to make a fuss, we should wait until we get promoted. Besides, we've already lost a gold bracelet. If we make a scene, we'll lose our deputy section chief position and the gold bracelet. Wouldn't that be a losing proposition?"

A deputy section chief in Zhao Chunqin and Li Qingmin's unit retired, leaving a vacancy. Naturally, someone would fill the vacancy, and the candidates would be selected from among these outstanding staff members. Zhao Tiesheng and Zhao Chunqin were also on the candidate list. As the saying goes, husband and wife are one, so it would be good if one of them got the position.

However, becoming a deputy section chief is not easy. Besides being outstanding in one's work, one must also have good character and, at the very least, a clean reputation. Li Qingmin has been working himself to the bone these past few days because of his promotion. If he fails to be selected in the end because of a tainted reputation, Li Qingmin will have nowhere to cry.

Zhao Chunqin shook her head, a sinister glint in her eyes. "I won't give them the money, and I'm getting the gold bracelet back. As for whether they'll cause trouble, humph, do they dare? I'll go back to my parents' house and ask them to stand up for me!"

Zhao Chunqin was very confident that as long as she went back to the Zhao family and made a scene, Wang Guixiang and Zhao Tingxu would definitely stand on her side, and Zhao Tiesheng would not dare to talk back to his parents. She could persuade her second brother and then have him teach Cheng Jinxiang a lesson. At the very least, she couldn't let them come to the city to cause trouble for her during this period. If her colleagues saw this and reported her, she would definitely not get promoted.

On the other side, Cheng Jinxiang, back at the Cheng family home, led Zhao Da'e and looked at the newly built house of the Cheng family, a hint of envy flashing in her eyes.

“Big Goose, I want to borrow some money from your great-grandfather so that we can move up the date for building the new house. The temperature will rise in a few days, so I think we can buy some materials first, and then we can start building the new house.”

Cheng Jinxiang didn't want to live a life of dependence on others and felt that it would be better to have her own house.

The reason for asking Zhao Tingming for money was that Zhao Tingxu was the village head, his family had some resources, and he had taken good care of his family, so there was hope of getting the money from him.

But... Cheng Jinxiang lowered her head, her emotions complicated. If she could, who would want to humbly borrow money? She was confident that Zhao Chunqin would come looking for trouble again in a few days, and she could use that as an excuse to confront Zhao Chunqin, go to her workplace, threaten her to repay the money, or use the tea as collateral. In any case, she should be able to get the money back.

The reason I took a step back and accepted the gold bracelet today was to see Zhao Chunqin's attitude and give her a chance. If Zhao Chunqin didn't cause trouble and actually returned part of the money in the spring, it would mean that Zhao Chunqin still had some integrity, and she wouldn't cause any more trouble.

But if Zhao Chunqin instigates Wang Guixiang to cause trouble for her and force her to return the gold bracelet, then she shouldn't blame Wang Guixiang for making a scene at Zhao Chunqin's workplace.

Another reason was to let Zhao Tiesheng see Zhao Chunqin's true colors and see what kind of person she was who didn't keep her promises.

But right now, her most pressing need is to borrow money to buy building materials for her new house. Building materials are cheaper during this period, and if she buys them now, she might be able to save several hundred yuan. Cheng Jinxiang is a thrifty person and doesn't want to miss this opportunity.

When Zhao Da'e heard Cheng Jinxiang say that she was going to buy materials to build a new house, she subconsciously asked, "Mom, what materials are you going to buy, and how much is your budget?"

Cheng Jinxiang thought for a moment and did some calculations. “The materials we need to buy include cement, concrete, bricks, and sand. These will cost a lot of money, but your third uncle has negotiated with your uncle-in-law on our behalf. He will help us haul the sand, which will save us some money. As for wood, there are plenty of trees on our back mountain. We will just need to go up the mountain to cut down trees and collect wood to prepare for building the new house. These materials will cost at least several thousand yuan, but we can buy less first and build slowly. We can buy more later when we have more money.”

Cheng Jinxiang wanted to build a new house as soon as possible, so that she would feel more secure. Otherwise, if the construction of the new house was delayed again and again, when would she be able to build it?

Only by starting and gradually continuing could Cheng Jinxiang feel truly fulfilled.

Zhao Da'e, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but ask, "Mom, did you go and apply for it?"

Building a house in rural areas is not something you can do casually; you have to apply for permission and wait for the government to approve the building permit before you can start construction. Otherwise, illegal construction will face the risk of forced demolition.

When asked about this, Cheng Jinxiang finally smiled a little. "I applied for the permit a long time ago. Your great-grandfather taught me how to handle it. Now we're just waiting for the building permit to be approved. But I heard from your great-grandfather that the permit has already been approved. With the certificate, we can build the new house. It's just that the certificate won't be available for us for a few days. When it is, I plan to treat your great-grandfather to a nice meal. But I'll have to trouble him again to borrow some money from him to buy some building materials, otherwise the construction of the new house can't proceed."

Cheng Jinxiang had a plan; after all, she had been talking about building a new house for a long time.

After hearing this, Zhao Da'e thought about her savings. She only had about seven thousand yuan in cash available. She needed money to renovate her shop in the county town and to buy goods in Jincheng. If she could spare a few thousand yuan to buy materials for building a new house... it seemed that this was not enough at all.

There was a lot to do, and Zhao Da'e felt her wallet was a bit tight. However, looking at her mother's longing gaze, Zhao Da'e touched her nose, thought for a while, and said, "Mom, leave the material purchase to me. I know a lot of people, so I can ask them to give us the materials to build the house first. We can pay them back later when we get the money from my aunt."

In fact, Zhao Da'e was lying to Cheng Jinxiang. It was true that she knew many people, after all, she was in business and had connections. But she didn't intend to take the materials for free; she would pay her. She just didn't want to see Cheng Jinxiang borrow money from her great-grandfather. After all, it was several thousand yuan, and she didn't know if her great-grandfather would lend it. She already troubled her great-grandfather a lot, and Zhao Da'e felt bad about troubling him again. Besides, her great-grandfather had several sons. It was fine if her great-grandfather was willing to lend her money, but what if his sons disagreed? Zhao Da'e didn't want to damage the relationship between the two families over this matter.

Besides, Zhao Da'e already had money and didn't want to go through all that trouble; she could just use the money to buy the materials first.

When she needs money to do business later, she can borrow from Aunt Zhang. She believes that there is a high probability that Aunt Zhang will lend her money. If not, she can go to other people. Anyway, she knows a lot of people, and she has a talent for doing business, so she is not afraid that no one will invest in her.

Cheng Jinxiang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Big Goose, can you really get the materials from your friends? If we don't pay a deposit, will they give us the materials?"

Zhao Da'e nodded firmly, "Don't worry, Mom, leave this to me. I guarantee you won't have to spend a single penny."

Just give her the money for the materials.

Seeing Zhao Da'e's confident tone, Zhao Chunqin breathed a sigh of relief. It would be good if they could get the materials ahead of schedule and start building the house. They could pay back the money for the materials when Zhao Chunqin returned the money.

Cheng Jinxiang had made up her mind. After getting the building permit in a few days, she would invite Zhao Tingming to dinner and then start construction. She would first clear the land in the backyard to make it easier to build the house. After that, she would wait for the weather to warm up and then hire workers to build the house.

But Cheng Jinxiang had another problem: hiring workers to build the house was a difficult task. Building a new house was a huge project, and hiring one worker was not enough; at least three workers were needed. Moreover, the workers needed to be responsible, have a good reputation, and be able to afford it. Hiring workers was not like buying materials, where you could take the materials first and pay them back later. You had to pay the workers upfront for them to be willing to come and build the house for you.

Cheng Jinxiang told Zhao Dage about the problem she had thought of, "Dage, do you know any workers? I mean, reliable workers with good skills. See if you can hire some workers. As for the money, I'll borrow some money from your great-grandfather in a few days so we can hire workers."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Da'e's eyes lit up instantly. Wasn't this a perfect coincidence? Aunt Zhang had also mentioned that she would introduce reliable workers to renovate the shop. Wouldn't it be the same if she invited these workers to build her own new house?

Moreover, Aunt Zhang's recommendations are absolutely reliable, and you might even get a friend's price, so you'll spend less money.

Zhao Da'e patted his chest confidently and said, "Leave this to me. I know where to find reliable workers. As for the money, don't worry about it. You don't need to borrow money from Grandpa. I'll figure out the money. Don't worry about it. Just take good care of your little sister during this time."

Zhao Da'e didn't want Cheng Jinxiang to work too hard and worry about money all the time. But it's not Cheng Jinxiang's fault. After all, she had just given birth not long ago and needed some time to recover. She couldn't do heavy work and wouldn't earn much money. And now she was living at her older brother's house, which made her feel like she was living under someone else's roof. It's normal for her to want to build a new house and have her own place as soon as possible.

When Cheng Jinxiang heard that Zhao Dage had taken on the task of buying materials and hiring workers, she couldn't help but smile. "Dage has become sensible. He knows how to share so much of the burden with his mother."

Although Cheng Jinxiang was smiling, she felt terrible inside. Zhao Dage was only seven years old and had to help with so many things. She felt guilty, but she couldn't do anything to help.

Zhao Da'e noticed that Cheng Jinxiang wasn't in a good mood and her eyes were full of guilt towards her. Zhao Da'e quickly patted Cheng Jinxiang's back and pretended to comfort her, "It's okay, Mom, you don't need to feel so guilty. I'm very happy that I can help. If I weren't still too young, I would want to take care of everything for building this new house. When I make a lot of money in the future, I will build you a bigger house and then hire a nanny to take care of you, so you won't have to do any work."

Of course, Zhao Da'e is also a very lazy person and doesn't want to do any work, so it's better to hire a housekeeper.

Cheng Jinxiang couldn't help but laugh out loud. She reached out and tapped Zhao Da'e on the forehead. "I'm not disabled. It's fine to ask an aunt to take care of me. I won't spend my money like this when I have it in the future. Money should be spent wisely and in useful places. Asking an aunt is too extravagant. I'm not willing to do it."

Cheng Jinxiang thought she should save as much money as possible for Zhao Da'e. After all, making money is not easy. For people like them in the countryside, earning two hundred yuan a month and three or four thousand yuan a year is already very good. They have enough to eat and wear and a place to live. Such a life is happy enough. Cheng Jinxiang didn't want to ask for too much. As long as her closest people were by her side and they were living happily, Cheng Jinxiang would be satisfied.

three days later

Cheng Jinxiang was busy in the kitchen, as Zhao Tingming was coming over for lunch.

Zhao Tingxu has been working so hard for his family's building permit for so long, Cheng Jinxiang should treat him to a good meal to thank him.

So early in the morning, Cheng Jinxiang went to the market to buy some ingredients to make the dishes taste better. The pork she used was from the pigs slaughtered during the Chinese New Year.

Cheng Jinxiang washed the cutting board, placed the pork on it, and began to slice it into thin pieces.

Zhao Da'e helped with chores in the kitchen. First, he found the starch, and then he took a small bowl of starch and gave it to Cheng Jinxiang.

Cheng Jinxiang put the chopped and washed meat pieces into a bowl of starch, added a spoonful of oil, took out a clean plastic bag, and started stirring through the bag to ensure the meat, starch, and oil were thoroughly mixed.

Putting on a plastic bag is also to prevent sticking to your hands. Also, the oil and starch mixture on the plastic bag can be easily scraped off without wasting any. If you use your hands, it will be very sticky, wasting some food, and it will be difficult to remove the food from your hands.

Next, Cheng Jin asked Zhao Da'e to wash the scallions and bring them over, along with light soy sauce, salt, sugar, chicken bouillon, and dark soy sauce. These were ingredients that Cheng Jinxiang had bought at the market, which would make the food more fragrant.

Chop the washed scallions, put solidified lard into the pot, and wait for the lard to melt into oil before adding the chopped scallions. Instantly, the aroma of scallions fills the entire kitchen. It smells really good. When the time is almost up, Cheng Jinxiang adds a little salt, sugar, and light soy sauce for color.

During this time, Cheng Jinxiang also took the time to make a starch water solution. He put starch and water in a bowl in a 1:5 ratio and stirred it well.

Cheng Jinxiang estimated that the oil was hot enough before taking out the pieces of meat and putting them into the pot one by one. The meat made a sizzling sound as soon as it hit the pot. Cheng Jinxiang found a slotted spoon and waited for the meat to change color before taking it out and placing it on an empty plate.