For example, acquiring electronic foreign waste.
Foreigners also love environmental protection, transferring solid waste that is difficult for them to dispose of, such as waste paper, old clothes, and electronic products, to other countries, only needing to pay for transportation.
This foreign waste happened to solve China's problem of raw material shortages, and domestic import was allowed, even if this waste contained a large number of germs and pollution, until early 2018 when the import of foreign waste was officially prohibited, breaking the "beautiful dream" of developed countries relying on China to digest their own waste.
Fang Bai has the ability to analyze equipment and electronic product failures, so foreign waste leakage detection is very suitable for him.
Of course, he does not have the ability to obtain first-hand foreign waste, but it is very easy to buy processed and sorted electronic foreign waste at a low price, and he might make a lot of money from it.
However, he still has many things to deal with at the moment, so he temporarily has no time to deal with foreign waste.
Fang Bai also has other ways to make money, such as buying second-hand equipment for refurbishment and reselling, which is also feasible. The unit price is high, the profit margin is large, and the capital turnover is fast. Of course, it is not so easy to find good deals.
But he can try it, there is no trial and error cost anyway.
In addition, he can also use his experience from his previous life to be a valve middleman.
There are indeed many ways to make money. The above three are all considered highly profitable methods, take little time, and are more suitable for Fang Bai.
As for the future, perhaps plans cannot keep up with changes. It is better to do what is in front of him first, and not be overly ambitious.
Speaking of renting a house, Fang Bai mainly has two requirements.
First, it must be close to the school where he will repeat his studies, and it must be convenient for him to leave campus to handle business matters, so that he can balance both business and studies.
Secondly, the teaching level of the school's teachers cannot be too poor. When he has learning problems, at least the teachers should have sufficient ability to help him answer questions.
The high schools that can meet these two points are Oubei No. 1 High School, Oubei No. 2 High School, and Huangyuan Middle School.
With his college entrance examination scores, he can enter all three of these high schools for re-study.
As for key high schools in the urban area, if he doesn't spend money or have connections, it will be very difficult to get in.
Fang Bai does not plan to enter a key high school; the management is too strict, which is not suitable for him.
He previously attended Oubei No. 1 High School and is more familiar with the teachers there, so he prioritizes this school.
He took a human-powered tricycle to the vicinity of Oubei No. 1 High School and began to look for those buildings on side streets, where the first floor could be used to place equipment and the second floor could be lived in.
At a glance, most of these side street houses are used as small workshops, and very few are used as shops.
Finding a house in those days was not convenient, mainly because communication was not convenient.
Fang Bai bought a pack of cigarettes and a box of matches, not for himself to smoke, but mainly for social interactions, and embarked on his search for a rental house.
After more than an hour of searching, he found that there were not many empty houses, and none of them met his requirements.
"For Rent: Two-story building, floor area 75 square meters, building area 160 square meters, simple decoration, 500 yuan per year, Location: Jinta Road No. 239"
"Cheap Bungalow for Rent, building area 95 square meters, half-yearly payment, annual rent 180 yuan, Location: Jinta Road No. 58…"
...
Prices ranged from tens of yuan to two or three thousand yuan per year.
Houses were very cheap in those days, but apartment buildings were rare.
In May of this year, Wen City's first apartment building, namely Li Ming Qiao Cun Building 16, with 236 units totaling 24439 square meters, was completed and delivered. The housing prices were 1850 yuan/㎡, 1600 yuan/㎡, and 1250 yuan/㎡ for the three grades. This price was extremely high at that time, even higher than Shanghai and the capital. Fang Bai saw this information in the newspaper.
Residential buildings were also few, like the recently completed Wen Di Jin Yuan, which had an average price of only one thousand five hundred.
By 2000, Wen City's new housing prices were only two to three thousand per square meter;
In 2001, Wen City began to see real estate speculation groups, and national real estate speculation groups also originated from here.
By 2003, Wen City's housing prices approached ten thousand, ranking among the top in the country, even higher than Shanghai, and then Wen City's real estate speculation groups began to shift to Shanghai.
Of course, private houses are still very cheap now, a few hundred yuan per square meter, but they are rarely for sale.
The high rent is mainly due to too many small workshops, leading to a supply-demand imbalance.
After more than two hours of searching, Fang Bai found a two-story building with a floor area of 70 square meters, 5 meters wide and 14 meters deep, with simple decoration (of course, no tiles), a bathroom, and already installed water and electricity, with an annual rent of 360 yuan.
It used to be a small workshop, specifically wired with three-phase electricity, so connecting high-power machinery was not an issue.
The location is near the South Gate of Oubei No. 1 Middle School, which meets Fang Bai's requirements.
He was too lazy to look further. Finding a house in those days was really troublesome, and this was the only place nearby that met his requirements, barely. Fang Bai wouldn't want to rent anything further away.
He found the landlord, inspected the house, and after feeling it was suitable, signed the lease, recorded the water and electricity meter readings, paid the annual rent, agreed that no deposit was needed for the annual rent, and received the keys.
After finishing with the house, it was already three o'clock in the afternoon.
Walking to the intersection, he saw a young man in a suit showing off on a motorcycle.
The young man's suit sleeve tag had not been cut off. In this era, not cutting the suit sleeve tag was a sign of fashion.
Having a motorcycle now is similar to driving a Mercedes or Ferrari thirty years later, so this rich young man looked very arrogant, and Fang Bai really wanted to give him a flying kick.
"Damn it, what's so great about riding a motorcycle!"
"Brother, I've owned BBAs!"
Fang Bai couldn't help but complain, yet he had to admit that having a motorcycle now was truly impressive; at least he couldn't afford one at the moment.
In this era, Fang Bai experienced the trouble and inconvenience of not having transportation. He wanted to buy a bicycle. Taking human-powered tricycles all the time was also a considerable expense, and mainly inconvenient.
He took a human-powered tricycle to the second-hand bicycle market. After a quick look, he found that many bikes had no locks and no license plates, and in those days, most people were reluctant to sell their own bikes. He felt that they were stolen and sold to second-hand dealers.
"Little brother, this bike is 80% new, only 90 yuan, very affordable!"
"Boss, I'll look around more."
Fang Bai circled around and felt that buying such a suspicious car was simply encouraging the theft market, so he ultimately didn't buy it and left the second-hand market, his plan to save money falling through.
He went to the department store and spent 265 yuan on a 26-inch bicycle and a rubber strap.
When buying a car, he also needed to provide identification, register the license plate number, and register his ID card. Fang Bai received a small blue booklet.
Years ago, buying a bicycle also required a bicycle ticket or industrial coupons.
Some provinces might still have this system in place today.
Holding the small booklet, Fang Bai felt a bit like he had bought a car.
Fang Bai tied his luggage to the back seat of the bike and rode his new bike, feeling a different kind of joy.
"Riding a bicycle is still great; you can exercise, it's environmentally friendly and energy-saving, and you can directly feel the fresh air of nature, unlike a car where you have to bother opening the windows."
He rode and thought, heading towards home.
Leaving the county town, the villages he passed were surrounded by terraced fields and continuous green mountains, with clear streams flowing through the villages, making leisurely water sounds.
The sounds of labor in the fields, the calls of livestock, and the clanging of farm tools intertwined, forming a unique rural symphony.
After riding for about half an hour, Fang Bai felt his butt getting a bit uncomfortable, especially since the bumpy dirt roads in the countryside were not easy to ride on.
Holding the handlebar with his right hand was still a bit inconvenient, and he couldn't exert much force.
From time to time, a gust of wind swept by, carrying yellowish dust, getting a lot of dust on Fang Bai.
"Ah, having a car is still better!"
"Damn it, these wretched muddy roads. If it rains, getting covered in mud would be so annoying."
Complaints aside, Fang Bai rode his bike, encountering many pedestrians along the way, some walking, others riding horse-drawn carriages.
Seeing this, Fang Bai again felt that having a bicycle was not bad. He pressed the bell, and it rang "ding-ding-ding," clear, light, and pleasant.
Villagers passing by saw a young man riding a new bike, and some spat at his back: "What's so great about having a new bike!"