Chapter 222 Going Down the Mountain to the County Town

The news that Li Dazhuang had almost been crushed to death by a large log while cutting down white pines on a steep slope spread to the other work teams before noon.

When Lao Zhang, the saw-maker from the second work team, heard this, he was terrified.

He should have been over there today, watching his apprentice cut down the remaining trees, but he came back to work instead.

If the leadership investigates, he will also bear responsibility.

But then I thought, thank goodness he came back. If he had been there, he might have been swept away by the tree along with him.

Old Zhang, who had survived the ordeal, was terrified and quickly inquired about the cause of the accident.

The forestry station arranged for people to conduct an on-site inspection and reported it to the bureau. The bureau also sent people up the next day.

However, the final result showed that all of Li Dazhuang's operating procedures were in accordance with regulations and there were no major errors.

The cause of the accident was similar to what Sheng Xiping had imagined. The cold weather made the wood brittle, the terrain affected the wood, and various other factors all came together.

The inspection results were reported to the bureau, and the bureau had nothing to say. In the end, they agreed that the remaining two trees would not be cut down and could be left.

Nonsense, even if they didn't keep them, someone would still dare to go up and cut down the trees. In any case, none of the sawers in Qianchuan Forest Farm dared to go up there.

With this, the educated youth team has completed most of its winter logging operations for this year.

Next, the logs were carried to the vicinity of the ice gully slide and slid down to the log yard at the foot of the mountain.

Then all the branches and timber from the mountains are gathered up, stacked, and transported out, or burned clean. That basically finishes the logging area.

After the snow melts in the spring, we'll go up the mountain again to clean it. Then the bureau will arrange for someone to inspect and approve it, and that's it.

On March 16th, the educated youth team successfully completed this season's timber harvesting and transportation work and descended the mountain ahead of schedule.

Other work teams still have some tasks to complete, which will probably take another three to five days.

Zhou Qinglan was measuring and tallying at the yard, and estimated that it would take several more days before the work was finished.

Fortunately, she doesn't have to live on the mountain and commute every day. She can work a few more days and do her best in her last shift.

After the young people, including Sheng Xiping, took a car down the mountain, the first thing they did was rush to the bathhouse to take a shower and tidy themselves up before going home for a good long sleep.

On March 17th, there happened to be a small train going to Songjianghe.

Sheng Xiping and his brothers had discussed it and decided to go down to sell the furs, musk, and other items they had accumulated before and after the New Year.

"Uncle, do you still have industrial vouchers at the factory? I want to buy a sewing machine. My family has been saving them up for a long time, but we're still a little short."

If they have any on site, consider it a loan we made in advance.

On the morning of the 17th, Sheng Xiping went to the farm headquarters to get a letter of introduction and asked Wang Jiachuan about it along the way.

"Oh, you want to buy a sewing machine? Young man, you're quite serious about this."

Wang Jiachuan laughed when he heard this, opened his desk drawer, rummaged through it, found a stack of tickets and other documents, and handed them to Sheng Xiping.

"Take these and see what's inside. Use what you can, and see what others can get in return for what you don't need."

Sheng Xiping was just asking casually; if it was true, great; if not, oh well.

If you really want to buy one, as long as you have the money, you can exchange it for a ticket on the black market; there's always a way.

Unexpectedly, Wang Jiachuan suddenly produced a stack of coupons. Sheng Xiping glanced at them and saw that there were grain coupons, meat coupons, cloth coupons, sugar coupons, and also a considerable number of industrial coupons.

This stack of tickets alone could fetch a lot of money on the black market.

"Oh, Uncle, I don't need that many. A few industrial vouchers are enough. You can keep the rest."

These are tickets that Wang Jiachuan has been saving for a long time. How could Sheng Xiping possibly accept them all?

Although these are indeed useful, for wedding banquets, cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and tea are all necessary, and many things require coupons, which cannot be purchased without coupons.

"Tch, you're being so polite with me, kid."

We don't really need these in our family. You have to buy everything for your wedding, and it's useless without a voucher.

Take it. When you have the chance, find me another pair of black bear-patterned leather caps.

The medicinal liquor you gave me last year worked well; my legs didn't hurt much all winter.

Putting aside the fact that Wang Jiachuan and the Sheng family had a good relationship to begin with, just consider how much Wang Jiachuan had received from Sheng Xiping that year.

Every time they went hunting, Sheng Xiping would give the Wang family some meat. This kind of social interaction is about giving and receiving; it's not good if you only take and don't give.

"Uncle, don't wait any longer, I'll bring you some leopard bones later."

That stuff is good for treating rheumatism and stuff; it's no worse than tiger bone, and better than bear bone.

Sheng Xiping suddenly remembered that there were still leopard bones at home. Weren't those better than black bear bones?

"Oh my, that's a really good thing! I thought you'd sold it all."

If you have some at home, give me a small amount; I'll just throw it in that wine jar and let it soak, then drink it slowly.

Wang Jiachuan was delighted upon hearing this.

"Alright, it's getting late, you should hurry up and go, or you'll miss the little train."

If you encounter any problems down there and it's inconvenient to call back, just go find Secretary Zhao of the Forestry Bureau.

"He's in charge now, and with my connections, he'll definitely help you."

Wang Jiachuan was pleased and gave Sheng Xiping another suggestion.

"Okay, I know, Uncle. Then I won't stand on ceremony with you. These tickets will really come in handy."

Sheng Xiping chuckled as he carefully tucked the tickets and letters of introduction into his pocket, then told Wang Jiachuan before hurriedly leaving the field headquarters.

After leaving the farm headquarters, Sheng Xiping had a sudden inspiration. He went home and found some more things before rushing to the small train station.

Fortunately, the little train had just entered the station and still needed to be refueled, watered, and assembled, so it was on time.

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