Silly Zhu's Moving: The Old Neighbor's Nightmare

Chapter 104 Coal

After giving his cheap, nominal disciple some detailed instructions, Sha Zhu sent him away and began his day of slacking off.

As the weather grows colder and the biting north wind blows intermittently, it foreshadows the possibility of a blizzard at any moment.

To ensure a warm and comfortable home, Shazhu plans to stock up on more coal.

Actually, in the steel rolling mill, there's so much coal that it's like a small mountain; it wouldn't be difficult to just grab some.

But Sha Zhu also knew that it wouldn't be right if there was a constant supply of coal at home but he never brought it back. That would give them away.

Despite possessing the ultimate cheating device, he still has to strive to play the role of an ordinary citizen in this era.

After get off work, Sha Zhu rode his bicycle to collect rainwater first, and then the two of them went together to the Coal Mine near Dongzhimen.

There was a small coal mine there, which supplied coal to the surrounding residents.

It was rush hour, and the coal plant workers were packing up to go home.

Sha Zhu quickly went into the coal yard, found a salesperson, and planned to buy two truckloads of coal to take back.

Seeing that the factory had ready-made coal briquettes and honeycomb briquettes, he bought an extra truckload of coal briquettes and a truckload of honeycomb briquettes.

In those days, people mainly relied on coal, coal briquettes, and coal ash for cooking and heating.

Coal briquettes are made by hand, requiring specialized technicians to operate them.

Honeycomb briquettes are a relatively new product. Due to technical reasons, it was not until 1957 that Beijing began to vigorously promote the use of honeycomb briquettes and honeycomb briquette stoves.

At that time, most families relied on tin stoves or heated brick beds for heating.

To save money, people would usually buy ready-made coal and then have craftsmen manually turn it into coal briquettes for use.

The saleswoman looked at Sha Zhu and said, "At this hour, most of the delivery workers haven't gone home yet, or have already started their shifts to end."

"You ordered a rather large quantity this time. Could you tell me your home address and I'll arrange for everything to be delivered to your door tomorrow?"

"Big sister, I have to go to work tomorrow, and there's no one home. If I keep taking leave, the team leader will start to have a problem with me."

Sha Zhu quickly replied, "Could you see if you can find any workers who haven't left yet? We can deliver some today, and the rest at this time tomorrow?"

As the weather grew colder and people flocked to buy coal, Sha Zhu was afraid that delaying any longer would cause problems.

After hearing this, the saleswoman glanced at the place where the workers usually rested and found that there were still two workers who hadn't left. She quickly called them over and explained the situation.

Seeing the two workers' troubled expressions, Sha Zhu quickly took out two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes and handed them to them respectively.

The two workers immediately beamed with joy and readily agreed to deliver the goods to their door right away.

While they were arranging the loading of coal, Sha Zhu settled the payment with the saleswoman and arranged a delivery time for the next day. He then waited for the two workers to finish loading the truck.

Sha Zhu thought to himself, "Once I get this coal home, I'll buy a truckload of wood for cooking and starting a fire."

There's basically nothing to worry about this winter; I can just live my life as usual.

Buying firewood to burn was also a cover-up; there was far too much wood in Sha Zhu's space, more than he could use.

Anyway, once you've bought it and it's out in the open, how you use it at home is none of the people outside can see.

A little while later, two workers came out pulling a coal cart. Sha Zhu, soaked with rain, led the way, pushing his bicycle.

When Shazhu and Yushui returned to the alley entrance, they saw two figures standing in front of their house in the distance, one of whom was leaning on a cane.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be an elderly deaf woman and an older woman. No, it should be Aunt Yi now. Sha Zhu is no longer a member of their household, so just call him Aunt Yi.

Sha Zhu hurriedly pushed his bicycle, his pace quickening unconsciously, his face beaming with smiles.

She stepped forward to greet them: "Grandma, Aunt Yi, what brings you here? Please wait a moment, I'll open the door first, there are still people delivering coal."

When the old lady and Aunt Yi saw that Sha Zhu was indeed followed by coal deliverymen, they quickly made way for the gate.

After opening the door, Sha Zhu invited the deaf old lady and Aunt Yi into the yard, then turned around and helped push the coal cart through the gate, unloading the coal directly in the passageway, which made things much easier.

To facilitate daily entry and exit, Sha Zhu specially designed a ramp at the main entrance.

With his immense strength and the ability to cheat, no matter how heavy the coal cart was, it was no problem for him.

At first, the two coal delivery workers were not quite convinced and wanted Sha Zhu to find a few more neighbors to help push the cart.

But after Sha Zhu's repeated insistence, they decided to give it a try.

Unexpectedly, the two workers were shocked by Sha Zhu's strength, thinking to themselves: This kid is simply inhuman, his strength is too great! This coal delivery and unloading process was the easiest one they had ever had.

With Sha Zhu's help, the two coal delivery workers quickly unloaded the coal into the designated spot in the passageway.

After agreeing with the two workers to come back at the same time the next day, Sha Zhu finally had time to properly entertain the deaf old lady and Aunt Yi.

Sha Zhu quickly walked to the pond in the yard, hurriedly washed and dried his hands, and then invited the deaf old lady and Aunt Yi into the house to sit down.

The two men had already toured the yard while Sha Zhu and the workers were unloading coal.

Seeing that Sha Zhu had finished his work, he followed him into the living room.

Sha Zhu quickly poured a glass of water for the two of them. After the deaf old lady and Aunt Yi sat down at the table in the living room,

Sha Zhu asked politely, "Grandma, Aunt Yi, why are you here so late?"

After helping the old lady sit down, Aunt Yi replied, "Everyone in the courtyard has come back from get off work. We heard you moved back yesterday, so we thought we'd come and see you and your brother."

The deaf old woman said with a hint of reproach, "Silly Zhu, you've been staying with your master for two or three months, and you haven't even come back to check on things. Have you forgotten all the people in the courtyard?"

Sha Zhu pretended to be relaxed to cover up his embarrassment, and followed the old lady's words, saying, "How could that be? It's just that it's not convenient for me to travel back and forth when I'm staying at my master's place."

Just like when Uncle Yi was injured and hospitalized, I didn't have time to visit him, so I could only ask Teacher Yan to bring some eggs over.

Later, Jia Dongxu got married, and the incident caused quite a stir in the courtyard. Many people asked me if I also had diarrhea.

"I was just too embarrassed, so I told them I'd moved out and didn't attend Jia Dongxu's wedding."

The old lady said somewhat displeasedly, "Are you so ashamed that the people in the courtyard have embarrassed you that you don't want to come back and visit this old woman?"

Sha Zhu thought to himself, "That's true. I've tried my best to stay away from you, but you still came knocking on my door."

But he also understands that this is a characteristic of this era, where everyone looks out for each other and helps one another.

Unless there is a deep-seated hatred, it is really difficult to directly refuse when neighbors or friends ask for your help.

Otherwise, people will point fingers at you and think you are an unapproachable person.

For a modern person, this might not matter.

But living in this era means you can't live as you please, otherwise it would be unfair to your family.

You can disregard other people's opinions and stay away from crowds, but your sister and future daughter-in-law may not understand this approach.

Of course, there are also reclusive and unsociable people in this era, and few people tend to get close to them, but they are only a very small minority.

Sha Zhu still follows the lifestyle of most people.

Alternatively, he could discredit everyone in Compound 95 according to his own ideas.

If we don't associate with them, the neighbors nearby won't say that Sha Zhu has any problems after they find out about the situation.