Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 366

"After all, if the price of this boxed meal is high, the cost will also be high, and there won't be many people buying it. Selling boxed meals isn't a long-term business. If you want to do business, you have to think of other ways. Even my current business of selling water is like this. If selling water makes money, others will see it and follow suit, and then selling water won't make money anymore."

That's why Zhao Da'e wants to open a physical store; having more ways to make money is always a good thing.

Cheng Jinxiao was shocked. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would never have believed that these words came from the mouth of a seven-year-old girl.

Cheng Jinxiao's first thought was that her niece might actually achieve great things in the future!

During their conversation, a somewhat haggard man, wearing a black overcoat and with a shaved head that seemed to glow from a distance, approached Zhao Da'e and Cheng Jinxiao with a hesitant voice. "Excuse me, ladies, may I ask you a question?" he asked nervously.

Cheng Jinxiao looked at the man, somewhat puzzled, and asked, "What's the problem?"

The man hesitated for a moment, looking a little embarrassed, before finally mustering his courage to say, "I'd like to ask how you managed to sell boxed meals on the train. Of course, if you feel it's presumptuous of you, I can pay for the information. If not, I'll leave."

Cheng Jinxiao knew the visitor's intentions. She frowned, clearly feeling uncomfortable. After all, it was Zhao Da'e who came up with the idea of ​​selling boxed meals on the train. If too many people knew about this way of making money, then she would have more competitors, and she and Da'e wouldn't be able to make much money selling boxed meals on the train next time.

The man's name was Qi Bin, and like Zhao Da'e, he came from Quanshui County. He had just seen the two of them at the train station, and then at noon he saw them selling boxed lunches. They were doing quite well, and he estimated they could earn several tens of yuan. If they sold them every day, they could probably make a thousand yuan a month. So Qi Bin had the idea of ​​asking Zhao Da'e and the others how to sell boxed lunches.

Qi Bin is currently short of money, and he won't let any opportunity to make money slip by. He thought he would go up and ask if he could get any ideas. He also knew that not everyone was willing to share this kind of money-making method, so Qi Bin thought he would take out cash to buy this money-making idea. Of course, Qi Bin was also prepared to be rejected.

The question just now had exhausted most of Qi Bin's courage. Qi Bin was also good at reading people's expressions. When he saw Cheng Jinxiao's unhappy look, he felt even more uneasy and uncomfortable. His face was as red as a cooked octopus. He was really embarrassed and didn't want to stay any longer. So he said, "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I'll leave now."

Cheng Jinxiao couldn't help but roll her eyes. She thought they'd better leave quickly. Why did they have to come here and ask others about ways to make money? Did they think they were stupid? They didn't even have enough to earn themselves, yet they wanted to share their money-making methods with others.

Zhao Da'e didn't find it abrupt. Instead, he thought that Qi Bin was someone who could achieve great things. He was bold and decisive, and he would try any money-making opportunity he saw. He was much better than those honest people who only looked on with envy.

Seeing that Qi Bin was about to leave, Zhao Da'e spoke first and asked, "Didn't we meet at the train station?"

Zhao Da'e had seen Qi Bin at the train station. Qi Bin was tall, wore a black overcoat, and was bald, making him quite conspicuous in the crowd; you could spot him at a glance.

Qi Bin stopped in his tracks, feeling somewhat embarrassed. He had just been thinking of leaving when he was called back.

He honestly replied, "Yes, we boarded at the same train station. My name is Qi Bin, and I'm from Quanshui County."

Qi Bin introduced himself first, while Zhao Da'e's eyes widened, but only for a moment before her expression returned to normal. However, she still had some doubts in her heart. Was it Qi Bin? Could it be him?

The names matched, and they were from the same county, making it easy to match them with the person from his previous life. So Zhao Da'e asked again, "Qi Bin? Which character is that?"

Qi Bin figured the seven-year-old girl in front of him was probably curious about his name. He also knew that his surname was rare, so he patiently explained, "Qi is the 'qi' in paint, and Bin is the 'bin' in polite."

After explaining, Qi Bin suddenly realized that the girl in front of him was only seven years old and probably didn't even know what politeness was. He thought that she might not understand his explanation at all.

But Zhao Da'e's eyes lit up and he became excited. The name and the place matched up, so it must be that person!

Zhao Da'e remembered very clearly that in her previous life, there was a very popular clothing store in the county town, and the store was the number six shop that she had rented. The owner of that store was named Qi Bin.

Why was Zhao Da'e so familiar with the name Qi Bin? It's because Zhao Da'e would visit this physical store every time he went to the county town. Qi Bin, as the owner, stayed in the store just like the employees, serving customers with a smile every day. Moreover, Qi Bin was a well-known philanthropist in the area, who liked to donate money to help children with disabilities. He was also kind to people. Over time, the name Qi Bin became famous in Quanshui County. He even became a cadre later and was praised in the news.

Zhao Da'e's physical store was actually modeled after Qi Bin's store, even the shop layout was the same. It was like seizing the opportunity in advance and copying others to open stores. Zhao Da'e felt a little guilty thinking about this, since he opened the store first, and the money that others made when they opened their stores later was far less than what they made in his previous life.

According to Zhao Da'e's budget, she planned to open the store within a month, while Qi Bin in her previous life opened the store next year. What Zhao Da'e did not expect was that she would meet Qi Bin on this train.

Zhao Da'e thought that since Qi Bin was able to open this physical store in his previous life, he must have had some extraordinary abilities. And since he was in need of manpower at the moment, he might be able to recruit Qi Bin as his employee.

Thinking of this, Zhao Da'e showed a friendly smile, "What a coincidence, Uncle Qi, we are from the same county as you. Since we are fellow townsmen, let's not stand, let's sit down and talk."

There was an empty seat in front of Zhao Da'e, which was perfect for Qi Bin to sit down.

Qi Bin was somewhat flattered. He hadn't expected the seven-year-old girl to be so kind to him. However, he also felt a little strange. The seven-year-old girl was accompanied by an adult who looked to be in his early twenties. But he had just observed that when selling boxed lunches, the adult in his twenties was mainly focused on the seven-year-old girl.

For example, Cheng Jinxiao would subconsciously ask Zhao Da'e for her opinion whenever she wanted to do something, while the seven-year-old girl in front of her had wise eyes and was clearly very opinionated.

It's hard to believe that a twenty-something adult would listen to a seven-year-old child, but Qi Bin actually witnessed it firsthand.

However, Qi Bin still sat down as Zhao Dage suggested, feeling somewhat uneasy and unsure of what to say.

Zhao Da'e smiled to ease the atmosphere and said, "Uncle Qi, you don't need to be so reserved. If you want to know the tricks of selling boxed meals on the train, I'll tell you. It's not a secret anyway."

Cheng Jinxiao was slightly shocked after hearing this. She tugged at Zhao Da'e's sleeve, lowered her head and asked in a low voice, "Da'e, are you really going to tell us? We don't know the people in front of us at all. If we tell them, what if everyone finds out and starts selling boxed lunches like us? How will we make money selling boxed lunches next time?"

Cheng Jinxiao wondered why Zhao Da'e was so enthusiastic towards a stranger and even told him about ways to make money. Wasn't that something only a fool would do?

Zhao Da'e gave Cheng Jinxiao a reassuring look and whispered, "Auntie, don't worry, I have my own ideas, and I would never do a losing business."

Zhao Da'e's current demeanor resembled that of a cunning businessman. That was Cheng Jinxiao's first thought after hearing Zhao Da'e's words. For some reason, Cheng Jinxiao felt that Zhao Da'e's words were reassuring and convincing.

Although she didn't know why Zhao Da'e said that, she trusted him and decided not to say anything more.

Qi Bin sensed Cheng Jinxiao's hostility towards him and felt even more uneasy. He wanted to slip away right away, but Zhao Da'e offered to tell him how to make money selling boxed lunches. Qi Bin began to look forward to it, wondering if this would allow him to earn more money. He didn't want Zhao Da'e and the others to suffer losses, so he took out a ten-yuan note from his pocket and said.

"I won't listen to your ideas about making money by selling boxed lunches for nothing. I can pay you, and if I make money this way later, I'll pay you back."

Qi Bin was thinking that if Zhao Dage provided a money-making strategy, then paying him would be like paying tuition, and he wouldn't feel so bad about it.

When Cheng Jinxiao saw Qi Bin take out a ten-yuan note, her eyes lit up—that was real money!

Who would turn down money! Cheng Jinxiao immediately reached out to take the ten-yuan note for Zhao Da'e.

But before she could reach out, Zhao Da'e stopped her, shaking his head and saying, "Auntie, we won't take this money."

Cheng Jinxiao was a little embarrassed. This was a ten-yuan note, why shouldn't she accept it? She was really itching to take the money offered to her.

Seeing this, Qi Bin quickly explained, "Take this money, consider it my tuition fee. I know I was being a bit presumptuous to come here today. If you reveal this money-making method to me, you will also suffer some losses, and I would feel bad about it."

Qi Bin spoke with great sincerity, which at least made people feel comfortable and made Cheng Jinxiao less resistant to teaching Qi Bin how to sell boxed meals on the train.

Zhao Da'e shook his head and said, "Uncle Qi, I'm not taking your money because the way to make money selling boxed meals on this train is no longer viable."

Then, Zhao Da'e picked up his water bottle, took a sip, and slowly said, "This method can only make you some money in the short term, but in the long run, you won't make much. I see you're a nice person, so I'll just tell you this method. You don't need to pay me. If many people learn my method to sell boxed lunches to make money, I think you'll face a lot of competition, and the money you earn might not even cover the tuition fees. But if not many people learn it in the early stages, I think you can earn a few hundred or a thousand yuan using this method."

Qi Bin nodded upon hearing this. He hadn't expected that this seven-year-old girl would be so sensible, fearing that he wouldn't earn any money and therefore refusing his money.

But Qi Bin felt he still had to pay the money, considering it a way to make money. Moreover, Qi Bin thought Zhao Da'e was a reliable person, and it would be good to make his acquaintance through this.

"Keep this money, so I can listen to your stories about making money with a clear conscience. Little sister, you said it yourself, if not many people learn to buy boxed meals on the train, I might be able to earn almost a hundred yuan in the early stages." Qi Bin tried to stuff the money into Zhao Da'e's hand.

Zhao Da'e shook his head and refused, then sighed and said, "Uncle Qi, why don't you listen to my idea of ​​buying boxed meals on the train?"

Qi Bin's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "Great!"

Qi Bin has always been curious about ways to make money and often tries to learn from others in this way. However, many people refuse him, because not everyone wants to reveal their money-making methods, even if he offers them money.

He was quite curious about how Zhao Da'e came up with the idea of ​​buying boxed lunches on a green-skinned train.

Zhao Da'e took a sip of water to moisten his throat and slowly said, "It's very simple. You see, the boxed meals sold on the train are expensive, costing three or four yuan each, but the cost is probably less than one yuan. Many people are reluctant to buy them, so the vendors have a lot of unsold boxed meals. At this time, we can go and negotiate with the vendors to buy these boxed meals at a low price. As long as we have enough, and the price we give is enough to make the train break even and even make a profit, they are usually willing to sell us the unsold boxed meals at a low price."

"After receiving the boxed meals, we need to think about how to sell them. First of all, the price we set cannot be higher than the price set by the original salesperson, but it also cannot be too low, otherwise we will not be able to break even. Moreover, we need to make the boxed meals more eye-catching and make people want to buy them."

Zhao Da'e spoke with great confidence and logic, and Qi Bin listened intently. He followed Zhao Da'e's train of thought and continued, "How can we make this boxed meal more eye-catching? Isn't this boxed meal just something to eat?"

Qi Bin was very curious, and Cheng Jinxiao laughed when she heard this, saying first, "I know this, I can tell you."

Having spent a long time with Zhao Da'e, Cheng Jinxiao had asked him many questions about the techniques of selling boxed lunches, and after listening to them so much, she was able to explain them herself.

Zhao Da'e didn't interrupt, letting Cheng Jinxiao explain for her first. She then took another sip of water, her mouth dry from talking so much.