Chunxiao was both happy and helpless. She hadn't expected things to turn out this way. If she agreed, she wouldn't be able to sleep for the next three days. If she didn't, she'd be in trouble. She didn't know where in the county town she was. She gritted her teeth and said, "Okay, go get the charcoal on the fourth day."
The old man laughed. "Then I'll bring you the seeds when I get the charcoal. Just so you know, the charcoal must be well burned. Otherwise, not only will I not pay you, I'll make you pay for the wood. I'll also know where your house is when I go there today. You can't escape."
"Don't worry." Chunxiao grinned.
The old man had the wood loaded onto the cart and told the driver to go quickly and come back soon. The driver then drove away with them.
"Chunxiao, I never thought things would turn out like this. This must be a good thing."
"Of course it's a great thing. We are lucky." Although he was worried about the next three days, he was in a very good mood when he thought about earning money and getting cotton seeds. He didn't even feel the cold wind blowing on his face.
Chunxiao got off the car when passing the town. She asked Yan Dashan to take people to send the things back first, and she would come back after buying things.
Dahe wasn't sure if the charcoal was sold out, and she didn't want to bother looking. She went to the mattress shop, hoping to buy last year's old cotton mattresses. Unexpectedly, the price of cotton had gone up again, to 65 wen per jin (a pound), and that was last year's old cotton. She then went to the general store, but it was now 67 wen per jin (a pound). In the end, she bought two 5-jin mattresses directly from the mattress shop.
While walking down the street, she saw a cosmetics shop. After a moment's hesitation, she finally walked in. She hadn't held out much hope, so she casually asked the owner if he had any anti-drying cream for his face. Turns out he did have some. The owner was very enthusiastic and offered her several types of facial cream, ranging from 300 wen a bottle, to 500 wen a bottle, to one liang of silver a bottle. She didn't consider anything more expensive.
She rubbed the sample on her hands to try it out, and finally bought four bottles and paid two taels of silver. The boss was happy and gave her a small box of lard ointment.
After buying the things, she hurried home. When she got home, she found out that Yan Dahe had not returned yet, and Yan Dashan had already told everyone about taking the order.
Today, an oxcart carrying so much wood passed through the village. Many villagers saw it, and some even followed it to peek in. However, the gate blocked the way, so they couldn't enter without permission.
"Dashan said you promised to burn the charcoal for them within three days. This, this should weigh about a thousand pounds. Can you finish it in three days?"
"Dad, it's a full 1,400 pounds, so starting tonight I'm going to ask two people to help me, just like you and Mom helped me last time.
"Then your mother and I will help you. We've done this before, so we still remember what we should be careful of."
"Thank you for your hard work, Mom and Dad. Luckily, I've already bought the mattress today. I'll ask my sisters-in-law to help make the quilt and sheets today."
The two sisters-in-law also nodded, "That's no problem, we'll do it right away.
"Wait." Chun Xiao smiled at them. "I have a gift for you." She took out some facial cream and gave a bottle to each of her two sisters-in-law and her mother. "The weather is too dry. This will make your skin better."
"You are spending money recklessly again, girl." Zhou scolded while holding the facial cream in her hand and couldn't let it go. As a woman, she always likes skin care products.
The two sisters-in-law were also surprised. Tian looked at the bottle from left to right and said, "Little sister, this thing is very expensive."
"It must be expensive." Zhang whispered.
"It's not expensive. If I buy it too expensive, my mother will scold me. We should take good care of ourselves."
"You gave your mother a gift, why don't you think about your father?" Yan Bingfa pretended to be envious.
Chunxiao hurriedly handed the small bottle of lard ointment to his father, "Dad, you have this too. Use this to wipe your hands, and they won't crack easily."
"Where's mine?" Yan Dashan also came to join in the fun.
"You and your second brother don't have any. If you want, go buy it yourself."
The women all laughed. Tian and Zhang went inside to measure the quilts, while the others began to work on the wood, chopping it into pieces for charcoal. Chunxiao prepared the soil, dry leaves, and water.
When she was digging soil on the slope, she saw that her father's chicken coop was half built, and mud bricks were drying on the open space. The speed was amazing.
When Yan Dahai came back, everyone was working in full swing. He soon learned from Zhang what had happened today, and joined everyone in chopping wood. During this time, everyone agreed that Zhou and his wife and Chunxiao would be responsible for burning charcoal, the two couples and Shuwen would continue to be responsible for cleaning the land, and Tian would be responsible for cooking.
When the brothers and their spouses finished their work, they returned home just as dusk was approaching. Zhou simply fried a few pancakes, and after the three of them ate, she set to work in the backyard. 1,400 kilograms of wood needed to be burned in three days, burning about 470 kilograms of wood a day, meaning she had to burn 16 earthen bags a day. The workload was enormous, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it.
She first built a bonfire on the side, fearing that it would be cold at night, and then began to build a clay kiln with firewood. Just like last time, she made five in a batch and six in the last batch. Fortunately, the kiln was dry and there was enough space.
The first batch was supervised by Yan Bingfa, the second batch was supervised by Zhou, and when making the third batch, she had to keep an eye on the condition of the stove in front. The situation now was different, and she was under pressure. The materials belonged to others, and she had to pay compensation if they were burned. The key point was that they didn't have the wood to compensate.
Yan Bingfa and his colleagues were also working very seriously. With the experience from last time, they felt more confident this time and knew what to do in any situation. In short, although they were busy, they were not in chaos. By the time they sealed the first batch of furnaces, it was almost time to turn off the clock.
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