Chapter 99
The desolate and cold silence of late autumn is like a belated horse, galloping at full speed, neighing loudly, sweeping up the autumn leaves all over the ground.
"It's so cold~"
When little Li woke up, his feet habitually poked out of the soft quilt first. He was a little surprised that his father didn't come to wake him up today. As a result, the cold wind pricked him like a little hedgehog, and the child was so scared that he quickly retracted his feet.
He quickly stretched out his two fat arms and hugged Ruijin who was sleeping on the side: "Brother is so cold."
The icy feet blown by the wind sneakily attacked Ruijin's warm belly, waking the sleeping person up from the cold.
Ruijin rubbed his eyes. His face was squeezed like a deformed dough by the little carp who pressed close to him. "Why did you wake up so early?"
“It’s so cold.”
Ruijin was well covered in the quilt, but he was choked by Xiaoli and it was hard for him to breathe. He looked towards the door and said, "Little Daddy!"
At this time, the two fathers had not been up for long. When they noticed the weather change, they didn't even put on their coats and turned around to check in the yard.
There was a thick autumn fog over the countryside. The rain was falling very quickly, as if to make up for the rain that didn't fall in the summer and autumn. From time to time, there was a gust of wind, and goose bumps immediately appeared.
Zhang Fangyuan didn't rub his arms, but instead stopped Xu He beside him and rubbed his shoulders. Both of them were wearing thin clothes, but seeing the weather and the wind and rain, they did not feel cold, but instead felt a sense of comfort in their hearts.
"There is finally hope for a charcoal fire this morning!"
"Not only the charcoal fire, but also the spread of diseases will decrease a lot when the weather gets colder."
Xu He was delighted and snuggled into Zhang Fangyuan's strong arms. The two looked at each other and moved closer involuntarily, but Zhang Fangyuan suddenly felt his trouser legs falling down.
He frowned impatiently and glanced at the trouser leg that was in the way, only to see the short guy with his chin up pulling him.
"What's wrong with Ruijin?"
Xu He followed her husband's gaze and saw the child. He quickly retracted his slightly raised chin and coughed dryly.
Zhang Fangyuan leaned down and picked up little Ruijin: "Are you cold? Come out by yourself."
"Little Li is cold and needs a blanket. I called daddy but he didn't respond."
Zhang Fangyuan touched the tip of his nose and glanced at Xu He. He really didn't hear it. Normally, the two children would get up a little late, but as the weather changed, the couple got up very early. I didn’t expect that the baby would wake up so early too.
The two went back to the room and found Ruili leaning on the edge of the bed, seemingly waiting for his brother to call daddy over.
"Would you like to sleep a little longer?"
Xu He went over and held little Li in his arms. He didn't know how long the two brothers had been making noise in the house. Their bodies had already lost the warmth of the quilt and turned cold. Afraid that the children had caught a cold, he quickly put on a cotton coat for them.
Little Li yawned. He was a bit sleepy to begin with, but his feet got cold and he woke up from the cold, which consumed some of his energy. Now that he was wearing warm clothes, he felt sleepy again.
Ruijin also slumped on Zhang Fangyuan's shoulder: "I want to sleep."
The couple put the two children back into bed and asked Gancao to take out the soft, thick quilt used in the winter to cover the children, replacing the thin quilt used in the warm autumn.
It's suddenly gotten cold now, so not only the quilts in the children's room need to be changed, but also the quilts in their room.
The autumn rain was falling, and the wilderness was wet and muddy. Few people went out. Even a few farmers who went out to collect grass for pigs wore straw hats and thick raincoats. The village, which had been quite lively, suddenly became deserted.
It's not just like this in the countryside, even in the cities nowadays it's not much better.
The long bluestone street was washed shiny by a night of rain. A pair of cloth shoes would get half soaked when walking on it. There were very few people setting up stalls to do business in the city, but all the shops were still open, but they were deserted.
Every now and then a merchant would walk out from under the eaves, standing with his hands behind his back and looking at the rain.
After a long drought, the sudden rain, although cold, brought some comfort to the people in the city.
It was almost noon when Zhang Fangyuan arrived in the city. The rain outside showed no sign of stopping and the sky was so dark that he could not tell the time.
He went straight to the charcoal shop in the city. There was some business at the moment, but it was not good, just better than in summer and autumn. Perhaps the weather had suddenly turned cold, and some families who had no charcoal at home suddenly remembered the cold weather and came to the charcoal shop.
Zhang Fangyuan asked about the price, and it was still the same and had not increased yet. He did not take any other action, but returned to the village and talked to the village chief, asking everyone to stock up more charcoal and firewood when they have time.
"What's there to worry about after one day of rain? Winter is almost here, and autumn rain will definitely make it cold."
The villagers said, "We all have some charcoal and firewood left over at home. We can use them if we have them. Why would we want so much?"
"Besides, even if we want to stockpile, we have to wait until the weather clears up."
The village chief said so, but he didn't try to persuade them much. Even he felt that the weather might get hot again.
However, seeing that the Zhang family had stockpiled a lot of charcoal, he still planned to get some firewood after the weather cleared up, just to be safe.
However, the people had been waiting for half a month for the sunny weather to come, and it never came. It was cloudy and rainy every day, and the best day was the day when there was no rain. But before the sky and the fields dried up, it started to drizzle again.
For the next two or three days, everyone was in a good mood, thinking that the disease could be prevented from spreading. But the rain that lasted for the second half of a month, and it was cold and humid, made the people inevitably a little restless.
Xu He and Zhang Fangyuan went to the city together again.
The village roads are extremely muddy. Few people go out these days. Even so, the dirt roads are soaked by rain and are still covered with mud. The roads are so slippery that people dare not go on them easily.
The couple put chains on the wheels of the carriage and drove Xiao Hei into the city. The official road, which was usually quite busy, did not see a single carriage for an hour or two.
The decline of the tea stall business is visibly evident.
"Twenty cents, twenty cents!"
The couple got off the carriage, holding long-handled oil-paper umbrellas, and as they arrived at the door of the charcoal shop, they saw that there was a lot of noise inside. There were no pedestrians on the street, as if they had all gathered in the charcoal shop.
Xu He glanced at Zhang Fangyuan beside him and said, "The price has increased?!"
"The last time I came here it was fifteen cents. If it's the price of Zhongtan, then it has gone up."
Xu He hurried in and grabbed a waiter to ask him about it, and found out that the prices of various qualities of charcoal and firewood had indeed increased one by one.
Even so, there is still a constant stream of people buying charcoal.
"These charcoal merchants are really taking advantage of the situation. They sell the charcoal at such a high price after just a few days of cold weather. If it's still this cold in the winter, how can I afford it?"
"It's been so hot for so many days in a row, the charcoal shops have not had much business. Now that the weather is getting cooler, how can they not raise the price? Even in previous years, the price would have risen at this time of year. We should buy more now."
"Yes, if it grows wildly like rice, I will have nowhere to cry."
"I just don't believe this. If the weather turns cold and it's not hot anymore, I can go to the village by car when it clears up. I can buy a pound of rice for about ten coins. It will be much more cost-effective to bring a carload back than in the city."
The people in the long queue were cursing and swearing, some insisted on buying, while others asked the price of the charcoal and then walked out.
Zhang Fangyuan and Xu He went to several charcoal shops in the city. Both big and small, the prices were rising, but the price increases varied. The most expensive was five cents, and the lowest was two cents.
Previously, all the large orders of inventory in the charcoal shop were bought by Zhang Fangyuan. In order to prevent another warm winter, the shop could not replenish the inventory. Now, the shops in the city are rushing to stock up on goods by taking advantage of the current weather. However, it is raining heavily and the weather is cold, so the production of firewood and charcoal is poor.
Xu He had some idea in his mind: "Should we open the warehouse and sell charcoal now?"
"No rush, let's wait until winter officially arrives."
"That's fine."
On the way back to the village, the couple saw several ox carts heading towards the village, and some were turning back. Just as the people in the charcoal shop had said, people from the city had now come to the village to stock up on firewood and charcoal.
Not knowing whether the people in their village sold it, the two men were surprised to find when they returned that the city people who had entered their village had returned empty-handed in their cars.
When we went into the village and asked, we found out that the city people offered a low price and everyone looked down on it. Although the price was a few cents higher than Zhang Fangyuan's previous purchase price, with the experience of previous grain price increases, the villagers wanted to wait and see.
Zhang Fangyuan couldn't help but laugh: "Everyone has learned a lesson from their failures."
However, the villagers finally wised up this time. The autumn rain stopped and the sky was sunny for one day. Then, snowflakes fell overnight, making the roofs rustle.
Then came the endless days of falling snow, and without a moment to breathe, it was deep winter.
The people in Siyang City immediately became anxious. There was not much work to do in the countryside in winter, but it was difficult to go out to collect grass for pigs with all the snow. All the vegetables in the fields were hidden in the snow. People's hands would turn purple from the cold when they dug a cabbage or pulled a radish.
In this case, it is even more difficult to go up the mountain to collect firewood and make charcoal.
If this was the case for the villagers, the city was in chaos. On the one hand, rice was much more expensive than in previous years, and on the other hand, dry firewood and charcoal had to be used.
People who saw price increases on both sides were cursing. The high price of rice was due to natural disasters and epidemics in other counties, and the people still had some food on hand, but the cold wave hit Siyang directly, and the people were unprepared. The price of charcoal even exceeded that of rice at one point.
Ordinary people are worried all day long. Even if they can endure the cold and don't buy charcoal to make a fire, they still have to make fire to cook, and they still cannot do without firewood.
The doors of the charcoal shops in the city are so crowded that they are almost trampled. If you think the prices are too high, it’s not a big deal. If you go too late, the charcoal may be out of stock for a while.
At first, the people in the city were just drinking tea and talking about the disaster in other counties. They didn't expect that different places have their own sorrows, and Siyang's disaster was waiting here.
On his way home, Zhang Fangyuan picked two radishes from the field to stew with mutton. Even though he had thick skin and flesh, his hands were stiff from the cold.
There was a charcoal brazier in the room. I'm afraid only their family was so wealthy that they could place a large charcoal brazier in the hall to warm the whole house.
Zhang Fangyuan threw the radish in the kitchen, went to the hall to take off his robe, shook off the snow, and hung it aside. He stretched out his hands to warm them on the charcoal brazier, and said to Xu He, "It's time to open the warehouse!"
…
"Collect the dry wood and charcoal! Collect the charcoal!"
The shouts echoed again and again in the wilderness of the village. The villagers carrying pig feed and shouldering loads seemed to be accustomed to this scene and no one paid any attention to them.
"Brother, do you have any dry firewood and charcoal to sell? The price has gone up again!"
Being stopped by the charcoal seller driving his cart, the villager still asked: "How much is the current price?"
"The middle charcoal is eighteen cents!"
The villagers smacked their lips. Since this was the price they were getting, the market price in the city would probably be outrageous.
However, the more favorable the price was, the more the villagers were afraid to sell. Who knew how long the endless snow would last? The people were also frightened by the weather and would rather save their lives than be greedy for the money.
Although the villagers of Jijiu Village also complained about the unpredictable weather and were trapped in the snowstorm, the silver lining was that they had stockpiled charcoal for Zhang Fangyuan beforehand. At this moment, everyone kept praising Zhang Fangyuan.
Everyone felt that Zhang Fangyuan was very far-sighted and respected him even more.
"Hey, don't go, the price is negotiable."
The villagers walked on the snow, carrying baskets on their backs, towards their homes, step by step, and waved their hands: "No, there's not enough for us!"
The charcoal seller took off the thick felt hat that covered his head. The thick snow had melted and accumulated again, and as he had been out for a long time, his hat was already wet.
He looked back at the empty bag and couldn't help but sigh.
The charcoal dealers could not get any charcoal and the people in the city were running around trying to buy firewood and charcoal. The women and boys carried their empty baskets and covered their faces with their hands to wipe their tears.
"How can we survive without charcoal? Not to mention the children, even the adults in the family can't stand the cold and cough for several days."
"The Tianyan Charcoal Shop in the north of the city has charcoal. Have you gone to take a look?"
"Medium charcoal costs 38 wen a pound. How can I afford it? I bought two bundles of firewood the other day and it cost me more than 100 wen. I can't make ends meet this way."
As she spoke, she sighed. The woman who had been turned down several times in her attempts to buy charcoal even started to cry. The people on this side were dejected, but several women and boys came towards them, talking and laughing, carrying large baskets of charcoal, which made people jealous.
Seeing this, many people came forward to ask questions, and several crying women rushed over immediately.
"They sell it at the southwest entrance of the city, but you have to line up outside. They sell as much as you want."
As soon as he finished speaking, without even asking the price, several women with empty baskets ran towards the southwest entrance of the city without stopping.
Now the southwest entrance of the city was bustling with people, and the line had stretched to the corner of the street. People at the back who didn't know what was going on hurriedly asked, "Is this where they sell charcoal?"
"Exactly! Come and line up quickly, or they might be sold out if you're late!"
"How much is it per pound here?"
"I just heard from the guy who bought it that medium-quality charcoal is only thirty cents."
"thirty?"
Upon hearing this price, passers-by were very tempted. Compared with other charcoal shops selling for more than thirty or forty cents, this price was definitely not high among the charcoal shops in the city.
Of course, there are also products that are only a cent or two cheaper than this, but they are often sold out before they even arrive in the store.
"Is it true or false?"
After much difficulty, we found a charcoal shop with relatively reasonable prices. Everyone was afraid that the prices were fake and that the charcoal would be sold out by the time they got their order. So we queued in the snow, craning our necks to look anxiously forward, without caring at all.
"Don't worry, we'll definitely make sure everyone has one! Don't push, don't push!"
Zhang Fangyuan expected that the opening business would be extremely hot, but he did not expect that there would be so many people queuing up. Some came to buy once or even a second time, saying they were buying for their relatives, while others said they were afraid that the price would go up tomorrow.
He maintained order and shouted for most of the day, and the people were not able to eat or even drink a sip of water.
Later in the evening, Xu He held an umbrella and walked through the long line as if it had not moved. He hired a few people from the martial arts school to help pick up the goods and maintain order. Only then did Zhang Fangyuan breathe a sigh of relief.
After drinking a cup of ginger tea, Zhang Fangyuan moved a full box of copper coins into the inner room and put it away, then took out an empty one.
The warehouse was busy, and Xu He especially enjoyed counting money, so he had no time to deal with the pile of copper coins.
"It's so cold and it's really pitiful to see the people without coal. We can actually sell it at a lower price. But if the price is too low, it will disrupt the financial resources of the merchants in the city, and we will be in trouble."
While Zhang Fangyuan was busy, he said to Xu He: "The price is reasonable, not the highest nor the lowest. The best one is the one that everyone can buy."
Xu He nodded, he also agreed with this statement. Just as he was about to speak, the waiter ran in and said, "Boss, there is a master outside, he said he wants to discuss business with you."
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