They were all strong and capable young men. With so many people, they worked quickly, and before long, the second load of firewood was unloaded.
The driver had work to do and couldn't delay any longer, so he said goodbye and drove off.
Zhou Mingyuan tried to persuade the driver to stay, but he refused. Left with no other option, Zhou Mingyuan gave the driver two packs of cigarettes as a token of his gratitude.
The driver drove away, and Sheng Xiping and the others continued to cut firewood with a chainsaw.
It's a long weekend, and many people aren't at work.
Suddenly, a large pile of firewood appeared at the entrance of the alley, accompanied by the roar of a chainsaw, attracting many people to come out and see what was going on.
"Mr. Zhou, is this your firewood? Where did you get so much of it?"
Wow, there's a lot of good wood here! That's really nice. How much did it cost?
Someone took a closer look at the pile of wood and inquired with great envy.
Everything else in the town is better than in the forest area, but the only problem is getting firewood.
The lumber mill workers were a bit better off; they could buy a truckload of the leftover planks from the wood processing at an internal price, which would be enough to fuel them for a year.
Employees of other factories didn't have this convenience; some paid for it, while others went to the forests around Songjiang River to collect firewood.
Some people have strong connections and can get some timber from the timber yard or Banshihe Forest Farm; otherwise, they can only buy it from the surrounding villages.
No matter where you look for firewood, it can't compare to the rare find of the Zhou family's two cartloads.
You should know that Gao Haining and his group also went into the woods to plant a lot of dry goods.
"Standing trunk" refers to a tree that has withered and died but has not yet fallen, for reasons unknown.
This is basically dried out; you can split it open and use it as fuel.
Gao Haining and his group were quite bold; they went into the woods and found quite a few station cadres.
There were several pieces of wood, about 40 or 50 centimeters in diameter, cut into two-meter lengths for the factory, hidden in those rough bottoms.
Not everyone is knowledgeable about wood. Some people don't realize that the wood is dry and assume it's good wood that can be split open and used for other purposes.
"Oh, Mr. Zhou, these logs are so good to keep! You could use them to make furniture, right?"
Sheng Xiping was working over there. He had sharp ears and heard the conversation, so he quickly came over.
"Uncle, these are just standing logs. They look good, but they're actually dead wood."
This is fine for burning, but let's forget about using it for furniture; it's not a material.
"If Uncle wants to have furniture made, I can find some for him at the forest farm. It's easy; they offer discounts within the farm."
These words, seemingly addressed to Zhou Mingyuan, were actually meant for those people to hear, to prevent them from spreading rumors.
This rumor just gets more and more outrageous as it's spread.
It was clearly just a cartload of firewood, but in the end, it might be rumored that Zhou Mingyuan brought home two cartloads of good timber. That won't do!
"Uncle, look, this is riddled with bug bites. There are probably a lot of these wormholes inside. Don't leave it here, just use it for firewood."
Sheng Xiping deliberately pointed to the insect bite marks on the wood, just to let people know that this was not good wood.
"These are the bottom pieces from dismantling the ridge beams. They've been soaking in mud and water, so they're not very good. Once dried, they're only good for burning as fuel."
Zhou Mingyuan wasn't stupid; he could easily understand what Sheng Xiping meant, so he readily agreed.
"Yes, yes, that's how you burn firewood, I know, I know."
Sheng Xiping nodded, turned around and went back to work. "Haining, come on, let's clean up these few stations first."
This huge pile of firewood was already quite enviable, but these extra dry branches really stood out.
These days, there are many people with conjunctivitis. What if someone is trying to sabotage us?
The journey from Qianchuan Forest Farm to Songjiang River is quite long, and the transportation costs are substantial, so it wouldn't be worthwhile to use less. That's why Sheng Xiping brought so much firewood.
Another point is that Sheng Xiping grew up in the forest farm, which means he was practically living in a wood-filled house, so he really didn't take this little bit of firewood seriously.
After all, in the eyes of those people in the forest farm, these were all commonplace; many people could gather much better firewood from the forest.
He forgot that the town couldn't compare to the forest farm; such a large pile of firewood would be considered quite impressive by others.
Upon hearing this, Gao Haining immediately grabbed a chainsaw and quickly sawed through all the rather thick trunks.
Sheng Xiping pushed the logs directly toward the Zhou family.
Those who were perceptive nearby immediately realized that the tall guy who had spoken earlier was the leader among these young men.
"Mr. Zhou, was that young man a relative of yours?"
Which forest farm is this? You're quite capable, managing to gather so much firewood.
To say I'm not envious would be a lie.
In daily life, firewood is the most important of the seven necessities. What can you do without firewood? You can't even cook.
There's such a huge pile of firewood in front of us, it must be at least ten feet long! It should burn for at least two years.
From what I just heard, it seems like they got it for free, like they just took it? Who wouldn't be envious?
Zhou Mingyuan already had a good impression of Sheng Xiping. The young man was good-looking and capable, and you could tell from his work just now that he was a quick and efficient worker.
Zhou Mingyuan was initially quite worried about Zhou Qinglan dating someone at the forest farm, fearing that his daughter was too young and might be deceived.
Meeting him today, I found that the young man is truly remarkable; he is intelligent, quick-witted, and has excellent interpersonal skills.
Seeing this, Zhou Mingyuan felt much more at ease.
Hearing others praise Sheng Xiping again, Zhou Mingyuan felt quite proud.
His daughter is alright, she has good taste and found a good boyfriend.
"Oh, that's my Qinglan's boyfriend. The young man works at Qianchuan Forest Farm."
Knowing we weren't getting much firewood, we specifically asked the forest farm for some broken logs and managed to find a truck to transport them over.
Originally, Zhou Mingyuan was still hesitant about whether to admit that his daughter was dating Sheng Xiping.
Now that he had met Sheng Xiping, he felt at ease and simply nodded in agreement, which was also a way of showing his family's attitude.
"Oh, so he's Qinglan's niece's boyfriend." Everyone around was surprised when they heard this.
The Zhou family's daughter is famous in this area; she's beautiful and has a good temper, and many families have their eyes on her.
Unexpectedly, less than a year after he went to the forest farm as an educated youth, he found a partner there.
"My niece has such good taste! She found a great boyfriend who knows how to take care of his in-laws," several people around nodded in approval.
Of course, some people were indignant.
"If you ask me, that girl from the Zhou family has bad taste. Instead of looking for a good young man in town, she went to find a boyfriend in the ditch."
What's so great about that ditch? What a waste of that girl's good looks."
Some people, having had their fill of the excitement, started to walk back, muttering to themselves as they went.
"Come on, what's wrong with a guy from the ditch? Is he any worse than anyone else?"
They managed to get such a huge pile of firewood; enough to burn for two or three years. Which of the young people in town has that kind of ability?
In my opinion, the Zhou family girl is the smartest.
She's stuck in the ditch, who knows when she'll come back. Finding a partner from there would be a good thing, someone to rely on, wouldn't that be great?
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