vrcanaries Chapter 201 The Extremely Cold Doomsday: Buying Charcoal
Chapter 201 The Extremely Cold Doomsday: Buying Charcoal
"I've lived for decades, but this is the first time I've seen such heavy snow. The temperature suddenly dropped last night, and it snowed and hailed. The old lady and old man from the Wang family at the head of the village didn't make it. When their son went to check on them, their bodies were already cold."
At this point, Liu Jianguo shook his head, and the others also looked sad.
Obviously, it was not just Old Wang and his family who suffered in Qingshui Village.
Zhang Qiang also sighed, saying that if the houses in the village had not been reinforced and every household had not received a lot of charcoal, the situation in their village might not be as good as that in Qingshui Village.
"Some time ago, when Xiaofeng and his friends came to inform Zhang Shan's family, they brought back two boxes of charcoal. We relied on this charcoal to survive these few days."
"We came here this time to ask if we can have some of the charcoal."
As if afraid that Zhang Qiang would misunderstand, he unbuttoned two layers of clothes and took out several hundred yuan from his pockets.
"Don't worry, we don't want the charcoal for nothing. We brought money with us."
Now the mountains are blocked by heavy snow, and even if they have money, they can't buy anything to keep warm.
The charcoal from Qingshan Village is like a life-saver to them.
Liu Jianguo touched the thick military coat, which still had water marks from melted snowflakes.
I don’t know which kind-hearted person donated the military coats and food to them, but it really saved the lives of everyone in the village.
Zhang Qiang was a little troubled because the charcoal in the village came from the charcoal factory, not from individual households.
In fact, the charcoal produced by the charcoal factory is more than enough to supply three villages for a year, but Zhang Qiang dare not make such a boast.
With the factory on one side and relatives on the other, Zhang Qiang is in a dilemma.
It was Liu Hui who reminded him.
"How about asking Jiang Jiang? She might have a solution."
Yes, Zhang Qiang clapped his hands, wondering why he didn’t think of it.
Jiang Jiang is solely responsible for this factory, so she definitely has a say in whether the charcoal in the factory is sold or not.
"Just wait in the room for a while. I'll go ask the person in charge of the factory."
Without waiting for Liu Jianguo and the others to speak, Zhang Qiang left in a hurry again.
On the other side, Jiang Jiang had just woken up. She felt refreshed after a good sleep.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, after she had finished preparing Sanhu's lunch, she began to think about what she should eat with her chin resting on her hand.
hot pot?
No, no, no, I just ate it two days ago.
Stir-fry?
I don’t know what to cook.
After thinking it over, Jiang Jiang decided to drink a bowl of porridge first. After all, this was her first meal of the day, so she decided to just nourish her stomach.
Just after I finished a bowl of century egg and lean meat porridge, the branch secretary came to my door.
The first ones to discover him were the fox father and mother.
The two foxes were originally playing around Jiang Jiang, and suddenly they let out low growls.
They are not very familiar with the people in the village, and they will react as soon as someone enters the yard.
Jiang Jiang looked outside the door and sure enough, someone came.
Jiang Jiang opened the door without waiting for Zhang Qiang to knock.
"Secretary, come in and sit down."
"This is?"
Like Zhang Yang, Zhang Qiang looked at the foxes in the house with a confused look on his face.
Jiang Jiang smiled.
"It ran into my yard. I felt sorry for it, so I adopted it temporarily for a while. I'll release it back to the mountain when it's warm."
Seeing several foxes being intimate with Jiang Jiang, Zhang Qiang resisted the urge to give them a few warnings.
"Jiang Jiang, I came to see you today because I want you to make a decision on something."
Then, he told Jiang Jiang everything that had happened in his family.
Jiang Jiang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
She thought it was some big deal.
After the factory was built, charcoal was produced continuously, and people asked her when it would be sold and shipped away.
She keeps making excuses to delay, isn't it just for this moment?
When survival supplies are limited, everyone will fight for a meal, a box of charcoal, or a piece of clothing. What if survival supplies are sufficient?
At least Jiang Jiang has never seen people fighting each other to the point of bleeding just for a bite of food in peacetime.
"Uncle, you said they bought it with money. Isn't the purpose of burning charcoal in this factory to sell it for money?"
"Since they are all relatives and friends, and they come to the factory to pick up the goods themselves, we can raise the price a little bit based on the cost price, and sell them for one yuan per pound. But they have to carry it back themselves."
"Okay, okay, I'll go talk to them right away!"
Zhang Qiang was very happy that a problem that had been bothering him was suddenly solved.
There is no better way to sell charcoal and help relatives at the same time.
Zhang Qiang went back and ate something quickly to get by, then brought Liu Jianguo and his group to the factory.
Several employees in the village each have a key to the factory.
There was nothing valuable inside, so Jiang Jiang wasn't worried that someone would find a way to steal it.
"This is the new factory built in your village. It's really impressive!"
Liu Jianguo and a few others followed Zhang Qiang, and were extremely envious of the new factory.
When various things were being moved before the factory was built, they also went to help. During that period, those who earned more received 700 to 800 yuan, and those who earned less received 200 to 300 yuan.
For them, even if this money doesn't fall from the sky, it's not much different.
I didn’t expect that the new factory would be completed in less than a month, and it’s so good.
Look at the beams and materials used. Even people who don’t know much about it know that this kind of house is much stronger than the ones they live in.
At least you don't have to worry about being crushed by snow or smashed by hail.
When Zhang Qiang heard the praises from several people, he naturally felt very proud, and even his steps became lighter.
A box of charcoal weighs thirty kilograms. Zhang Qiang and his team directly moved out twenty boxes and received six hundred yuan from Liu Jianguo and others.
Under normal circumstances, they would not be willing to spend money to buy charcoal for heating, but now human lives are at stake and they cannot survive without heating and a fire.
"Qiangzi, I really don't know how to thank you this time." Liu Jianguo had worked outside before, and he knew that if Zhang Qiang hadn't worked hard, they wouldn't be able to sell a pound of charcoal for only one yuan per pound.
This is equivalent to selling it at half price and giving it away for free.
"What's the big deal? We are all brothers. If Xiaohui and I are in trouble, can you, as the eldest and second brothers, not help us?"
"How could I not help?"
Liu Jianguo patted Zhang Qiang on the shoulder.
"No matter what, everyone in Qingshui Village will remember this favor."
Originally, Zhang Qiang wanted to help move the charcoal to Qingshui Village, but was directly rejected by Liu Jianguo.
"It will be dark when you come back, and I will be worried about you. We are a group of people who can carry the loads, so we don't need your help."
When they came, they also brought some backpacks and bamboo baskets. Each person carried a few dozen pounds, and they were able to take all the charcoal back.
When they left, everyone was in high spirits, as the charcoal would help their children and the elderly get through the cold winter.
There was a long trail of footprints on the white snow. Snowflakes kept falling and soon covered the footprints, as if no traces were left...