Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 291

"Mom, you definitely will." Cheng Jinxi emphasized again, as if only in this way could she comfort her panicked heart.

Even Cheng Jinxiao said, "Yes, Mom, you will definitely live to be a hundred years old. After the New Year, I will go to work in the city. When I earn money, I will buy you a nice set of clothes and take you to explore the village. Everyone will be so envious."

When she was young, Wang liked to show off her possessions to others, but since she became paralyzed, she rarely went out. People's opinion of her was that she was a useless old woman, which made Wang feel very uncomfortable, so she simply didn't want to go out and hear those unpleasant things.

Hearing her youngest daughter's promise, Wang felt a surge of joy. However, she knew her own body well enough to know that it would be difficult for her to live to next year; at most, she would only have a few months left. But she didn't say it out loud. Instead, she lovingly ruffled her two daughters' hair, trying to spend as much time with them as possible.

A few days later

Zhao Da'e had been staying comfortably at home these past few days, but not long after, someone came knocking on the door.

"Boom boom boom!"

"Boom boom boom!"

"Hey Goose, are you there? This is Wu Shanhe, I need to talk to you!"

Hearing that someone had come to see him, Zhao Da'e got up to open the door and saw Wu Shanhe, who lived near the Zhao family, coming over. Zhao Da'e looked at Wu Shanhe's angry appearance and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Uncle Wu, why are you in such a hurry?"

Wu Shanhe was furious, feeling like he had been tricked. He yelled at Zhao Da'e, "You're asking me what happened? Didn't you say before that Zou Xiaohua and my son were a perfect match? But she wasn't interested in my son, and my son didn't like Zou Xiaohua either. I was so excited to have a matchmaker arrange a marriage for my son, and now it's all fallen through."

Zhao Da'e immediately realized that she had indeed told Wu Shanhe that he would have a son who would marry Zou Xiaohua in the future, since Wu Er had married Zou Xiaohua in his previous life.

Zhao Da'e tentatively asked, "Uncle Wu, which son are you arranging a marriage for?"

Wu Shanhe said matter-of-factly, "Of course it's my eldest son. My eldest son isn't even married yet, that's why I'm arranging a marriage for him."

Alright, now the truth is out.

Zhao Da'e sighed, feeling somewhat helpless. "Uncle Wu, you've got it wrong. Last time I was talking about Wu Er. Wu Er and Zou Xiaohua are the perfect match, not your eldest son. You're just randomly pairing people up and saying I'm wrong, but you're the one who's wrong."

Wu Shanhe was startled. He subconsciously said, "But my eldest son isn't even married yet." Since ancient times, it has always been the older son who gets married first, and then the younger son.

Wu Shanhe also followed this advice, wanting the eldest child to get married first.

Zhao Da'e said helplessly, "But your youngest son Wu Er and Zou Xiaohua are a perfect match. Opportunities are rare. Besides, what era are we living in? It doesn't necessarily have to be the older one who gets married first. Uncle Wu, Wu Er and Zou Xiaohua are a perfect couple. Why don't you arrange a marriage between them? Maybe they'll make it work."

Zhao Da'e's words made some sense. Wu Shanhe thought about it. He had two sons. After worrying about the eldest son's marriage, he would have to worry about the younger one's. If this was really Wu Er's good match, it would be good if it came to fruition.

But Wu Shanhe felt a little guilty. This was originally something he was worried about for his eldest son, but now it had become something for his younger son. He felt that he had let his eldest son down.

However, this matter has not yet been settled. Wu Shanhe is not sure if what Zhao Da'e said is true. In any case, he has to try to find out whether Zou Xiaohua and his youngest son can get along.

"Okay, then I'll trust you one more time. If you're lying and lying to me, I'll definitely tell your parents about you. If you're telling the truth, then I'll bring a gift to your door to express my gratitude."

Sometimes Wu Shanhe wondered if he had been foolish to believe Zhao Da'e, a seven-year-old child, who said that Zou Xiaohua and his son would be a good match. He even spent some money to hire someone to arrange the marriage, but it didn't work out. When he came to ask Da'e, he was told that there had been a mistake and that his younger son should be arranged to marry the same person for both of his sons. Wu Shanhe felt a little embarrassed and began to doubt whether he should have believed Zhao Da'e.

But if this really works out, it'll be a good thing. All my hard work over the years will have been worthwhile. If it doesn't work out, I can always settle accounts with Zhao Da'e.

After Wu Shanhe figured things out, he left. Zhao Da'e watched Wu Shanhe's retreating figure and couldn't help but sigh, "Uncle Wu's temper is still as bad as ever."

After returning home, Wu Shanhe called his youngest son, Wu Er, over and asked, "Son, how about I have a matchmaker arrange a marriage for you with Zou Xiaohua in a few days?"

Wu Er was a little confused, then his heart leaped with joy, "Dad, are you serious? You want me to be engaged to Xiao Hua?"

Then, Wu Er became disappointed again, "Dad, you're not joking with me, are you?"

After all, Zou Xiaohua was originally supposed to go on a blind date with his older brother, but it didn't work out. Now, he's being asked to go on a blind date with Zou Xiaohua. It doesn't seem right no matter how you look at it.

Seeing Wu Er's expression, Wu Shanhe was both surprised and delighted, yet also disappointed.

Wu Shanhe raised an eyebrow. He had watched his son grow up since he was a child, and he knew everything about Wu Er's little tricks. Wu Shanhe had an idea in his mind, but he was not sure. Then he asked tentatively, "Son, tell Dad the truth, do you have feelings for that Zou Xiaohua?"

Hearing Wu Shanhe's blunt words, Wu Er couldn't help but blush, feeling a little nervous, and even stammered, "Dad, you...I..."

Wu Er hesitated, unsure of what to say.

Wu Shanhe was extremely anxious when he saw this. He pressed him for an answer, "Just tell me, is it true or not? Do you have feelings for that Zou Xiaohua? If you really do, I'll arrange a marriage for you with her right now and see if she'll be interested in you."

Upon hearing this, Wu Er was overjoyed and excitedly raised his head, saying, "Is what you said true, Dad? Then I'll tell you the truth."

The thought of Zou Xiaohua made Wu Er's face turn red, and he began to stammer, "I...I do...have feelings for Xiaohua."

Seeing this, Wu Shanhe could only helplessly pat his head. Well, it turned out that Zhao Da'e was right. He had really messed up the matchmaking. His eldest son didn't like Zou Xiaohua, but his youngest son did.

"Okay, son, I'll have a matchmaker come over tomorrow to arrange a marriage between you and Zou Xiaohua. But I also have to remind you that even though you're interested in her, there's nothing I can do if she doesn't want to marry you."

Wu Shanhe gave Wu Er a heads-up beforehand, saying that if things didn't work out later, Wu Er would still like Zou Xiaohua, and it would be too painful for him.

Wu Er nodded quickly and urged, "Dad, go ahead and do your best. I'll do my best."

Seeing his youngest son looking so serious, Wu Shanhe could only sigh, "It's really rare. My son, whom I've watched grow up, has actually come to his senses and is even urging me to find you a wife. I've asked around at several girls' families before, trying to find you a match, but you always seemed uninterested and didn't like it. How come you're so enthusiastic when it comes to Zou Xiaohua?"

Wu Er scratched his head sheepishly, "Dad, I really do have feelings for Xiao Hua. Please stop talking about me here. Why don't you go find a matchmaker this afternoon to propose marriage?"

"Good, good, good!" Wu Shanhe said "good" several times in a row, and shook his head helplessly. He must have owed his son something in his past life, he was just destined to be a worrywart.

On the other side, Cheng Jinxi and Zhou Yuren brought their son Zhou Tianfu to the Ma family. They wore their best outfits, and even Zhou Yuren wore a black overcoat. Being tall, he looked quite handsome.

Before coming, they prepared some gifts at the market, including wine and meat. Both sets of parents came to discuss the engagement ceremony. After all, Cheng Jinxi had already raised the dowry money, so they had to finalize the engagement and then set the wedding date.

Old Ma said cheerfully, "This engagement can't be done casually. We have to prepare a big feast to make it a proper engagement banquet."

Cheng Jinxi quickly replied, "Of course, we'll have everything prepared for the engagement banquet at noon. We'll also prepare the betrothal gifts. This shouldn't be delayed. I think we should hold the engagement banquet in two days. The New Year is just around the corner, and it will be too late to get engaged then."

Old Ma nodded, agreeing that it made a lot of sense, but he still had to say something. "Since you've already prepared the betrothal money, I have a few requests. None of the betrothal gifts should be missing at the engagement banquet. The wedding date should be set for the second day of the second lunar month. As you know, this day is called 'Dragon Raises Its Head,' which symbolizes the revival of all things. It's an auspicious day for a wedding. I only have one precious daughter, and I want everything to be on an auspicious day."

Cheng Jinxi smiled and said, "I understand. Don't worry, in-laws. I'll take care of the engagement banquet. It will be held at my house in two days. I'll make sure it's a beautiful affair!"

Preparing gifts for the engagement banquet also costs money, and with the Chinese New Year approaching, that money will be spent even more. Cheng Jinxi is incredibly grateful that Zhao Da'e lent her a lot of money, which gives her the resources to handle the engagement banquet and the New Year's troubles. Without money, she would be completely helpless.

With the engagement date and the wedding date set, Cheng Jinxi left with her son.

Zhou Tianfu was excited throughout the journey. He would be getting married in just a few months, and he couldn't stop smiling.

But Cheng Jinxi had many more worries. Her son would be getting married in a few months. The house only had two heated kang beds, which meant two beds in total. After her son got married, he definitely wouldn't be able to sleep in the same room with her anymore. He would need a room of his own for his wedding, which meant one room would have to be vacated.

If that's the case, where should my two daughters sleep?

Although Cheng Jinxiang had told her before that once her new house was finished, Zhou Chunhong and her sister would sleep with the goose, the key issue was that the new house would take a long time to build, several months in total. Her son would be getting married soon, so where would her two daughters sleep before Cheng Jinxiang finished building the new house?

Now that our daughter is older, she can't sleep with her parents all the time; it's inconvenient no matter where she sleeps.

This matter was also a source of worry, making Cheng Jinxi feel troubled. So she simply stopped thinking about it and focused on getting the engagement banquet done first.

Meanwhile, Zhao Da'e ran to his great-grandfather's house, which was also the village chief Zhao Tingming's place.

Zhao Da'e didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "Grandpa, I won't hide it from you anymore. There's a large lake called Longquan Lake behind our village, right? I'm planning to set up a water plant there. Do you think I should prepare anything?"

Zhao Da'e came to ask Zhao Tingming for two reasons: first, Zhao Tingming had been the village chief for so many years, so he was knowledgeable and experienced and could help him to some extent; second, Zhao Da'e was not very familiar with this area and needed someone to help him.

Upon hearing Zhao Da'e's words, Zhao Tingming was initially shocked. "Da'e, are you serious? You're saying you want to set up a water plant?"

Seeing that Zhao Tingming didn't believe him, Zhao Da'e had no choice but to nod seriously again and said, "I'm telling the truth. I'm going to set up a water plant so that I can sell water."

Zhao Tingming was puzzled and even disapproved, saying, "Big Goose, if you said you wanted to open a clothing factory, I could understand. After all, people need to wear clothes, and life is better now. Many young people like to wear nice clothes. But I don't understand why you want to open a water factory and sell water. Nowadays, people don't lack water to drink. They just boil water in a kettle and that's enough. Who would specifically sell water? Isn't this a losing business? Tell me how you're going to make money. Besides, the cost of setting up a factory is quite high. If you don't have some money on hand, I don't think it'll be easy."

Zhao Tingming had been talking for so long, but what he really wanted was for Zhao Da'e not to open a factory, at least not a water plant. In Zhao Tingming's opinion, how much money could that make? It was a losing proposition and not worth doing. If Zhao Da'e wanted to set up a clothing factory, Zhao Tingming would be somewhat supportive, but he had no confidence in a water plant.

After thinking about it carefully, Zhao Dage realized that Zhao Tingming's words made sense. Many people bring their own large water bottles to drink when they go to work. If they were to sell water, there might not be much of a market because people would bring their own water. Selling water seemed like a difficult business.

But Zhao Da'e was reborn and knew a lot about her past life. She knew all too well that many bottled mineral waters would appear one after another in the future.

Nowadays, people bring a water bottle when they go out, seemingly because they don't need to buy water. However, bringing a water bottle is actually a hassle, since it's quite heavy and you have to carry it for a long time. Most people can't stand it.

Many of the richest people in later generations made their fortunes selling water. Although they did not produce water, but were merely porters of nature, this did not prevent them from making a fortune selling mineral water.