After the first batch of charcoal was burned, all the movable animal carts in the village were mobilized. The cart fences were piled high and covered with straw lids woven from reeds. Fifth Grandpa led the way, and Guan Huashu pushed the cart at the end. They pulled the burned charcoal to the county town in a mighty procession.
When they were two or three miles away from the county town, Guan Huashu asked the convoy to stop. Fifth Grandpa was responsible for staying behind while he went to the county town to find a market.
Guan Huashu arrived in the county town and inquired about the price of coal. He found it was 3 cents for 10 jin (approximately 1000 catties), and he needed a coal coupon. Without a coal coupon, he couldn't buy any. He brought charcoal, which burned longer than coal, was more environmentally friendly, and produced no smoke. Most importantly, it didn't require a coal coupon, so the price was definitely higher.
We first went to the home of Aunt Dong, the primary sales channel. The old lady happened to be home. Guan Huashu had 20 kilograms of cornmeal, 20 kilograms of rice, some vegetables, and apples in his backpack. Seeing him coming, the old lady clapped her hands in delight. The food she had bought last time was almost gone, and she was wondering when they would come! Seeing that only Guan Huashu had come, she hurriedly asked why his niece hadn't come. Guan Huashu said that there was too much work to do at home during the New Year, so she didn't come, but she would definitely come next time. He then explained the main task of this trip, and the old lady said, "No problem, this family compound can consume a lot."
He turned around and went out to call for help.
The aunts and sisters arrived soon and saw that there were too few things to share. Guan Huashu said that there were some more and they were outside the city.
The aunts and sisters are really awesome. They placed large orders for food, vegetables, fruits and charcoal.
Aunt Guan has recently developed some new customers, no, she has developed some new clients, who were also invited over, placed orders, and made appointments for delivery in the afternoon.
The second stop was Uncle Zheng’s house, where they reminisced about the past, and then the old boys placed their orders readily.
Guan Huashu calculated that these two sales outlets had sold all the coal this time, and nodded with satisfaction.
I took the bus back to the county town, walked out of the city and returned to the fleet point of Fifth Grandpa. I told them that I had contacted them and was ready to deliver the goods into the city.
In winter, it gets dark early. The charcoal needs to be delivered quickly, otherwise it'll be hard to get it done in the dark. Guan's father called out, "Let's go!" and set off in front, leading the way.
When we arrived at the textile factory's staff quarters, we again reminded the villagers to shut up and talk less, and to wait by the roadside after unloading the coal.
Aunt Dong has told Guan Huashu the home address of every customer who placed an order, and arranged for villagers to deliver the goods to each customer's home one by one according to the quantity on the order.
This service was rare in the 1960s, and after inspecting the quality of the charcoal, customers expressed great satisfaction.
The ordered grains, vegetables, fruits, eggs, etc. were packed into backpacks by Guan Huashu and transported in several batches to Aunt Dong's house, where the customers picked them up themselves.
After checking out and receiving the payment, both parties were very satisfied with the transaction.
The same process happened in the machinery factory's family compound. Several people who had just heard the news came to ask Uncle Zheng for a share of food or something. Uncle Zheng was completely arrogant, with his head held high and his brows furrowed. Guan Huashu couldn't help laughing when he saw it.
The transaction of the machinery factory was also completed, and Guan Huashu asked Fifth Grandpa to take the convoy and go out of the city to wait for him.
I went to the department store first and bought the list that Professor Dong had written before I came here, and placed it on the coffee table in the living room.
It was almost time to get off work, and the salespeople in the department store had stopped knitting and chatting, packing up and getting ready to go home. It was at this moment that Guan Huashu walked in.
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