Reborn in a small village in the 1990s

Chapter 305

After hearing this, Cai Xiaofeng asked with some doubt, "Find a photographer? To take a family portrait?"

This was the old-fashioned era of film photography, unlike later times when you can just pick up a mobile phone. Even so, you still had to search for it everywhere; it was practically nonexistent in rural areas.

Zhao Da'e nodded and explained, "My grandma recently wanted to take a family photo. I thought she wasn't feeling well, so while she can still move around, I wanted to take a family photo. Also, it's Chinese New Year now, and the whole family is gathered together. Even my cousins ​​who work in town have come back. Since you're going to the city, I thought I'd ask you to help me find a photographer."

"Don't worry, if we find it, I'll give you extra money today as a reward for your hard work. Money is not a problem. I'm willing to spend some money to hire a photographer."

It turned out to be the case.

Cai Xiaofeng breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. It wasn't a difficult matter. "Boss, it's nothing. Don't worry, I can handle this for you."

"When we go to the city later, I'll find a photographer for you right away."

Upon hearing Cai Xiaofeng's promise, Zhao Da'e continued, "There's no rush. We just need to find the photographer in the next few days."

Zhao Da'e thought about it and decided to go to the city herself. Firstly, she could negotiate the price with the photographer herself. If she let Xiao Feng and the others come, they wouldn't know how much to ask for the photographer. If a shrewd photographer saw through her intentions and asked for an exorbitant price, Zhao Da'e thought it was not worth it.

Moreover, there are many things in the city, and Zhao Da'e wanted to go into the city to buy some things for his family.

"Xiaofeng, Xiangzi, I'll go to the county town with you later. We'll deliver the water first, and then we'll go find the photographer."

Zhao Da'e said, and Cai Xiaofeng nodded in agreement.

Xiangzi laughed and said, "Don't worry, little aunt, Xiaofeng and I will not only deliver the water, but also help you find a photographer. If you're worried and want to come along, you can."

Xiangzi thought Zhao Da'e was worried about them and that's why he wanted to go with them. Zhao Da'e smiled helplessly after hearing this, "I still believe in your work ability. I'm going with you this time mainly because I want to buy some gifts for my family in the city."

Now that Zhao Da'e has some money, he won't treat his own people unfairly.

After discussing it for a while, the group decided to go to the county town after lunch. It would take three or four hours to go to the county town and back, and if they went now and finished their business, it would be afternoon by then.

Considering the long journey and the fact that Zhao Da'e hadn't eaten much yet, he decided to sit down and have some food with Xiangzi.

Soon, Xiangzi began carrying buckets of water onto the van. He was delivering so much water every day that the van was becoming too small. Xiangzi was thinking that after working for a few months, he would spend money to buy a large truck.

Zhao Da'e saw all of this, and she thought that she should not only buy a large truck, but also hire someone to work with Xiangzi to reduce his pressure. Otherwise, it would be quite hard for him to do so much work by himself.

Less than half an hour later, Zhao Da'e got into Xiangzi's car and headed to the county town.

The group first transported the water to the city. Coincidentally, Zhao Da'e was there again. Cai Xiaofeng took Zhao Da'e to the boss with whom they had just finalized a business deal a few days ago, and had Zhao Da'e collect the money. The money he collected was more than a thousand yuan.

Now, Zhao Da'e has realized that money earned by selling one's labor is often not enough to make one rich; only by running one's own business can one grow big, become strong, and make big money.

There are rarely any futures in working for others. After receiving the money, Cai Xiaofeng took Zhao Da'e to find a photographer.

Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, and many people choose to visit relatives. However, after searching for several shops, Zhao Da'e found that they were all closed. Helpless, he had no choice but to ask around.

When asked about a mahjong parlor, a middle-aged man kindly reminded them, "Are you looking for a photographer? Lao Gai is the perfect one. Look, he's the handsome guy with the bowl cut hair. You can't go wrong looking for him. He owns the photography studio and came here to play mahjong on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

Zhao Da'e thanked the middle-aged man and followed his gaze. He immediately saw the handsome young man with the bowl cut hairstyle, whom the middle-aged man had called "Old Gai," playing mahjong and swearing, "I lost again!!!"

The middle-aged woman opposite him smiled and said, "Old Gai, a bet is a bet."

As she spoke, the middle-aged woman waved to Lao Gai, clearly asking for the cigarette box that Lao Gai had placed on the table.

Despite his reluctance, Lao Gai reluctantly gave his only cigarette pack to the middle-aged woman. He had truly lost even the cigarette pack. He didn't have much money to squander, since his wife controlled his finances strictly, and his allowance was all spent on cigarettes.

Without a second thought, Zhao Da'e walked over, pulled out a ten-yuan note, and waved it in front of Lao Gai. "Want to chat?"

Old Gai stared wide-eyed at the ten-yuan note; ten yuan could buy a good pack of cigarettes.

Old Gai immediately snatched the money from Zhao Da'e's hand and stuffed it into his pocket, unable to suppress the smile on his lips. "No problem, no problem."

Outside the door, Zhao Da'e asked simply, "I heard you're a photographer. Can you take family photos?"

Old Gai's eyes darted around, revealing a shrewd look. He said, "Of course I can take them! I'm not bragging, but I'm the only one around here who knows how to take family photos. You've come to the right person! What's up, kid? Does your family want to take some?"

Zhao Da'e nodded and said directly, "I want you to come back to the countryside with me and take a family photo for my family."

Zhao Da'e breathed a sigh of relief; it had finally been a long time since he had found a photographer who could take a family portrait.

Sure enough, Lao Gai smiled as expected. This was exactly what he thought. The child had come to take a picture with him. In an instant, Lao Gai had an idea.

"Little friend, you need to know that it's Chinese New Year time now. I don't go out to take photos for people unless you can afford it."

As he spoke, Old Gai rubbed two fingers together, his meaning clear: he wanted money.

Zhao Da'e saw this and knew that this old man was a money-grubber. But this made things easier. Instead of mentioning the price first, she asked, "How much do you think it would cost to take a family photo? Don't worry, it won't take up too much of your time, just a day."

Old Gai's eyes darted around. Seeing that Zhao Da'e was so young, yet accompanied by two adults, it was clear that Zhao Da'e was the one in charge. Perhaps she was some rich young lady out having fun, and on a whim wanted to find a photographer to take a family portrait. Rich young ladies never lack money, and Old Gai thought this might be a good opportunity to make quick money. With this thought, Old Gai became excited and said directly, "Five hundred yuan! Five hundred yuan for me to go out and take a family portrait!"

This price is four times more expensive than his normal family photo.

Cai Xiaofeng's eyes widened. Five hundred yuan! That was more than her monthly salary! Cai Xiaofeng's face immediately darkened. She angrily said, "Five hundred yuan? Why don't you just rob someone? Who's so nice as to charge that much for a family photo!"

Old Gai almost rolled his eyes. He seemed to be certain that Zhao Da'e would agree, and that children are easily fooled. He retorted, "Why don't you ask around about my reputation? The photos I take are top-notch in the county. Besides, you won't find anyone else who takes family photos. And who does business during the New Year? I'm the only one who's kind-hearted. As long as you pay, I'm willing to take photos for you. If you don't even have that much money, why are you asking me to take photos? Go to sleep."

Zhao Da'e's face was somewhat gloomy. She really wanted to say that although she was young, she wasn't stupid. Anyone with eyes could see that the price had been inflated several times over. Did they think she was stupid? What was this?

Zhao Da'e said directly, "Before I came to you, I had already inquired about the price. Normally, it would cost around 100 yuan to have a family photo taken. Now that it's the New Year, I can offer you 200 yuan for a family photo. 500 yuan is impossible. If you don't want to, then I'll find someone else."

Anyway, it's impossible for his family to be the only ones in this county to take a family photo.

Old Gai's eyes widened, completely surprised that this was not what he had imagined. He tried to argue, "Little friend, that's not how you price things. I asked you for five hundred, but you just said two hundred. You should at least cut the price in half, say two hundred and fifty. Ugh, two hundred and fifty doesn't sound good. Two hundred and sixty is fine too. I'm not rushing you, but I'm the only one around here who can take family photos. It's the dead of winter now, and it's going to be difficult to find anyone else. Finding me is the best option."

Zhao Da'e didn't want to listen anymore and said directly to Cai Xiaofeng behind him, "Xiaofeng, Xiangzi, let's go and ask if there are any other photographers."

This photographer, Lao Gai, is so unscrupulous. He just thinks she's a kid and easy to bully. Her money doesn't grow on trees. A family photo that normally costs 100 yuan is charged 200 yuan. He only raised the price because he knows it's in the dead of winter and he has to travel to the countryside, which is inconvenient. But that doesn't mean he's stupid and rich.

Seeing that Zhao Da'e and the others were about to leave, Lao Gai immediately became anxious, "Hey, kid, don't go! Raise the price a little higher, and I'll go with you to take a family photo!"

Zhao Da'e ignored him and pulled Xiao Feng and the others away. Lao Gai became anxious and finally walked quickly to Zhao Da'e's side, saying, "Alright, alright, I'll go with you to take a family photo for two hundred yuan, okay, my little darling!"

Old Gai immediately admitted defeat, thinking that this money was still money, and it didn't have to go through his wife's hands; it could be his private stash. He said he would just stay in the mahjong parlor all day.

Another reason is that he was just bragging. He's not the only one running a photography studio in this county. Rather than letting others make money, he might as well make money himself.

After hearing the answer he wanted, Zhao Da'e's lips curled up slightly. After suppressing his smile, Zhao Da'e turned around and said, "Besides taking the family photo, you also need to take a few individual photos of me for these two hundred yuan. But don't worry, I'll reimburse your travel expenses. I'll send you back the same way I picked you up."

When Lao Gai heard this, he knew that Zhao Da'e meant that the filming would be done today. After hesitating for a while, he still agreed. It would be foolish not to make money when you can.

"Okay, wait for me a moment, I'll go to the museum to get the camera, I'll go with you now."

Zhao Da'e smiled with satisfaction. She asked Xiangzi to drive Lao Gai over to pick up the camera, and then drive back to the village.

While waiting for Lao Gai to get the camera, Xiangzi watched Zhao Da'e's actions and couldn't help but give him a thumbs up. "Not bad, little auntie, you're really something! You didn't see the ugly look on Lao Gai's face when he saw you were about to leave. He definitely didn't expect you to actually leave, hahaha. To be honest, when he asked for 500, I almost punched him. A normal person's monthly salary is only a few hundred yuan, and he's asking for so much. Does he think we're stupid? And it's just for taking a few photos, tsk tsk tsk. If it were me, I would have just said 100 yuan. I would never have given him 200. Letting him make so much money is really letting him off easy!"

Hearing Xiangzi's complaint, Zhao Da'e couldn't help but laugh. She shook her head and said, "There's nothing we can do. If we ask someone to take photos for us during the Chinese New Year, they won't come if the price isn't high enough."

A little while later, Lao Gai came out with all his equipment. As he came out, Lao Gai felt that something was off, especially with that guy named Xiangzi in front of him, who kept rolling his eyes at him...

He can see it too, okay...

Along the way, Lao Gai rode in Xiangzi's minivan, a bumpy ride. The road from the city back to the countryside hadn't been well-maintained, with many small potholes, making the ride incredibly shaky. Lao Gai felt like he was going to throw up, but he still clung tightly to his camera, afraid that the bumps would damage it. What if it got broken? This was his livelihood, and he had to take good care of it!

But the bumps ended quickly, and the road ahead was smoother, so the car didn't shake as much.

They arrived at the Cheng family's door in no time. Zhao Da'e and Lao Gai got out of the car and shouted loudly at the door.

"Mom, Aunt, Auntie, Grandma, look who I brought back!"

Zhao Da'e ran to the door and shouted into the yard, while also urging Lao Gai to hurry up and catch up.

Old Gai's legs went weak as soon as he got off the bus. He grabbed the railing and vomited. He was feeling terrible from the bumpy ride. But even so, Old Gai still held onto the camera in his hand tightly.

Hearing Zhao Da'e's calls, Cheng Jinxiang came out of the kitchen. Seeing Zhao Da'e, who had been missing all day, finally appear, she couldn't help but say, "You child, you've finally decided to come back? Where have you been? I wanted to call you back for lunch but couldn't find you anywhere. When I asked others, they all said you went to the city with Xiangzi and the others."

Cheng Jinxiang knew a little about the inside story. She understood that Zhao Da'e followed Xiangzi and the others into the city probably because of the water-selling business. So she only mentioned it briefly and didn't complain much. After all, Zhao Da'e was doing it to make money, not to play around.

Zhou Chunwen and Zhou Chunhong followed behind. Zhou Chunwen looked at Lao Gai following behind Zhao Da'e, especially when Lao Gai was holding a camera, and asked curiously, "Da'e, where did you go today?"