Shen Baogen had been watching everyone move things around. Looking at the woodshed full of timber and coal, he was filled with envy. You see, people in the countryside rarely had any coupons. Let alone coal coupons, even grain coupons and cloth coupons were rare.
So in previous years, apart from Wang Yongsheng's family, whose son died in the line of duty, who could burn a little coal in winter as a special favor from the commune, no one in the village had ever seen so much coal, let alone burn it.
Therefore, although he felt that doing so was somewhat like taking advantage of someone else, he still shamelessly waited for the young man driving the car, wanting to ask him if he could still buy coal, and if so, he would like to buy some too.
Winters in Heilongjiang Province are really too cold. In addition, I heard yesterday that the Party Secretary was sick. When he went to visit the patient, the two of them also discussed it.
The weather this year is getting colder earlier than usual, and the Party Secretary thinks that this winter will probably be even colder than usual. So the two of them discussed organizing everyone to go up the mountain to cut more firewood after the grain tax is paid, and also to inform the villagers to prepare more grain.
If things don't work out, their team will ask for less money and keep more grain this year. Otherwise, if the villagers run out of food when the heavy snow closes the mountains, they might end up like the famine of 1960 where people starved to death.
The reason Shen Baogen was willing to spend money to buy coal was because he felt sorry for his wife.
In winter, even a sauerkraut jar kept in the outer room under a quilt can freeze solid. Yet, his wife still has to get up twice every night to add firewood, otherwise the kang (heated brick bed) will be ice cold when she gets up in the morning.
His wife loves her children dearly, so every winter she gathers all the children to live in their room, and she gets up every night to add firewood.
This way, the children wouldn't be cold, but his wife developed headaches because she often couldn't sleep well at night.
So when he heard that burning one honeycomb briquette before going to bed at night would last until the next morning, the old man decided to buy some.
So he waited by while Du Xiangqian and the others moved the coal. Of course, he didn't help out, not because he was lazy.
Instead, the young men that Du Xiangqian brought were all professional loaders. Some loaded the loads, while others carried them. The division of labor was clear, and they cooperated well. Shen Baogen, who initially wanted to help, was directly refused by the person in charge of loading.
Just kidding, this job was personally assigned by their eldest brother's eldest brother. They're too busy trying to impress him to let this old man steal their thunder.
Imagine a group of young men with only this little old man working among them—who else could stand out the most?
So, unable to get involved, Shen Baogen could only stand aside and watch as everyone carried most of the coal into Chen Shuning's woodshed.
After a lively sharing of food and drinks, they finally got to see Du Xiangqian, who stopped them and asked about buying coal.
So when Chen Shuning went out, he saw the captain and Du Qianjin chatting.
Now that the matter of her asking Tiedan to help her buy autumn vegetables was settled, Du Xiangqian and Shen Baogen had also finished their conversation.
So he took Tie Dan's hand and walked towards where the two were talking.
To Chen Shuning's surprise, Du Xiangqian, who had been chatting and laughing with Shen Baogen, hurriedly said a few words to Shen Baogen after seeing her walk over, and then rushed to the front yard.
In fact, Du Xiangqian had been talking to Shen Baogen while keeping an eye on Chen Shuning's movements.
In other words, Du Xiangqian witnessed the entire process of Chen Shuning deceiving Tie Dan and silently memorized it all.
I plan to tell He Chaoyang when I get back that the girl he's interested in not only scared him, but also fooled children.
Du Xiangqian really couldn't imagine what life would be like if He Chaoyang, a cold and cunning person, and Comrade Chen, a petite and charming but quirky young woman, really got together.
However, upon seeing Chen Shuning walking towards them, Du Xiangqian, who had just been frightened and was now traumatized, cowardly told Shen Baogen the time and address to come to town to find him next time, and then slipped away like a mouse seeing a cat.
Du Xiangqian had only agreed to help Shen Baogen exchange some coal coupons; he didn't actually have any connection with Shen Baogen. The reason he agreed to help him was because Shen Baogen had been quite considerate of his future sister-in-law.
It has to be said that these past few years of traveling all over the country have really been a good experience. Du Xiangqian is quite good at judging people. He could tell from the way Chen Shuning and Tie Dan got along that the captain was taking good care of Chen Shuning.
Otherwise, given the current situation, with snow starting before November, it's likely to be a cold winter this year, and the coal market will probably become tight.
He'll probably have to use his grandfather's connections to get Uncle Dong to approve a slip of paper. As for coal coupons, that's too much trouble. He'd better go all the way and just get a slip of paper for the team leader. Otherwise, even if he gets a coupon, the old man probably won't be able to buy coal this year.
Leaving aside Du Xiangqian's hasty retreat, Chen Shuning, who had just locked her door, turned around and saw Du Xiangqian running faster than a rabbit. Feeling a little embarrassed, she touched her nose and wondered if she had gone too far, scaring the young man.
But I don't think I did anything wrong, right? How could this happen? Actually, it probably isn't my fault. It just means that people in this era are too naive.
Yes, that should be it. In the end, I am still that gentle and kind little fairy.
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