The snow and wind this year are particularly strong.
Wei Yifu stood under the eaves, looking at the heavy snow falling from the sky, his brows furrowed.
"This place has always been dry. I even asked the local elders, and they said there hasn't been a snowstorm in decades. But this year... it's truly abnormal."
It had been snowing heavily for three days straight, and the snow was even higher than a man's knees.
The barn of the cadre school collapsed under the weight of accumulated snow, killing a cow. All the men in the cadre school were working to repair the barn.
But at the same time, the people in the cadre school turned a disaster into a blessing and were able to eat delicious beef.
Before dinner time, the aroma of stewed beef had already filled the entire cadre school. The children gathered at the cafeteria door, staring eagerly at the steaming pot.
The pot was filled with stewed beef offal and minced meat, while Wei Yi-fu arranged for large chunks of beef to be frozen in a cellar at minus ten degrees Celsius, ready to be used for making dumplings during the Chinese New Year.
Wei Yifu even specially assigned several people to guard the cellar in shifts around the clock.
Among the hundreds of people in the cadre school, there are always some with bad intentions and dishonest deeds.
Even if the people in the cadre school have no bad intentions, what about others?
On the day the cow was smashed to death, Meng Shuan Gou came to the cadre school. He said that he wanted to get half of the beef, and he wanted to take advantage of it for free without paying any money.
After being ruthlessly rejected by Wei Yifu, Meng Shuangou's expression was particularly ugly.
While other people in the cadre school were immersed in the joy of eating meat and drinking soup, Lin Wanjun was busy reinforcing the house.
The family housing is a civil structure, and because of the short construction period and simple materials, the house is leaky everywhere and is not warm at all.
Lin Wanjun took out a roll of waterproof and heat-insulating oilcloth from the space, and sealed the windows with Song Zhanjin. They also made a ceiling with wooden strips and oilcloth to prevent dust and wood chips from falling from the roof.
Not only that.
She also laid two layers of thick woolen felt on the kang, and then a fluffy and warm new mattress on top of the woolen felt.
While everyone else in the cadre school was shivering with cold, the Song family sat on the warm kang, eating melon seeds and chatting, living a very comfortable life.
Of course, Lin Wanjun did not enjoy herself without caring about the lives of others.
She went to the manure removal team and saw that Qin Sijun and others were still covered with thin quilts, and even the windows covered with newspapers were leaking air everywhere.
So Lin Wanjun sent a roll of oilcloth and several thick quilts to the manure collection team.
"Xiao Lin, these things are rare goods. Where did you get them?"
Looking at the oilcloth and quilt, Qin Sijun was stunned.
Lin Wanjun smiled and said, "I went to the provincial capital a while ago. I happened to see some unused oilcloth at my aunt's house, so I shamelessly asked for it."
"A few days before the snow started, my aunt sent me some stuff, and it happened to be a few old quilts. Uncle Qin, please don't be disgusted by them!"
How can you dislike this?
Not to mention that this quilt is a semi-new and good quilt, even if it is a torn cotton cover, it is a life-saving thing for them.
In the entire cadre school, the dormitory conditions for the manure-collecting team were the worst.
Lin Wanjun had only sat in the dormitory for five minutes before her feet became numb from the cold and she was shivering all over.
"Uncle Qin, why don't you light a fire to keep warm?"
Qin Sijun smiled bitterly.
"What are you using to keep warm? Firewood? That firewood is for cooking. Except for the women in the dormitory, no one else is allowed to use firewood!"
What to do if you’re cold? Just bear it!
Lin Wanjun thought for a moment, then lowered her voice and said, "To be honest, I got some coal a few days ago and secretly stored it in an abandoned cave."
"After dark, send a few people to go haul coal with me!"
Hearing this, Qin Sijun was delighted at first, but then he shook his head and refused.
"That won't do! Coal is so precious. You have a large family, and Lingyi is a sickly little kid. How can we compete with you for it?"
"These thick quilts are enough!"
How can a thick quilt be enough?
Lin Wanjun insisted, "You still don't believe me? I will only give you money if I can protect our own family."
"And have you forgotten? You are my godfather. When you are reinstated, you must support and take care of me!"
Hearing this, Qin Sijun couldn't help laughing.
"Girl, you're quite good at comforting people! Okay, then I'll take Wang Chuang with me."
Lin Wanjun returned home and told Song Zhanjin about the coal hauling incident.
Song Zhanjin always listened to his wife and agreed immediately.
In the evening, as the wind and snow died down, Lin Wanjun and a group of seven people walked out of the cadre school, one step deep and one step shallow.
The coal was placed in Lin Wanjun's space. If she didn't want to hide it from others, she could have produced it on the spot and saved herself the trip.
But there's no way.
Even Song Zhanjin didn't know the secret that she owned a space, and she would not tell anyone else.
Walking in knee-deep snow, everyone supported each other and moved forward. The journey that should have taken only a dozen minutes took them more than 40 minutes, and they finally entered the brick kiln in the next village.
"I hid the coal in the brick kiln!"
Lin Wanjun smiled and said, "The brick kiln stops working in winter, and it's outside the village, so it's not easy to be discovered."
Hearing this, Song Zhanjin rubbed the top of Lin Wanjun's head.
"My wife is the smartest."
Lin Wanjun entered the cave first. She muttered something silently, and saw a pile of coal appear in the corner of the originally empty cave.
Not much, just enough to fill the backpacks of several people.
Everyone was overjoyed and put the coal blocks into their backpacks. Even the last bit of coal slag was not wasted, and they scooped it up with their hands and put it into the sack.
"That's about two hundred pounds of coal. If you use it sparingly, it'll last until the New Year!"
Qin Sijun was very happy, rubbing his hands and said, "Great, it's good to have coal to burn, but it's a pity there's no rice, otherwise we could make some porridge to warm our stomachs!"
Lin Wanjun smiled.
"Who said there's no rice? Uncle Qin, can you go a little further inside?"
Hearing this, Qin Sijun looked confused.
But he still followed Lin Wanjun's instructions and walked towards the darkest place deep in the cave.
Suddenly, he tripped over something and fell to the ground.
He took out his flashlight and shone it over there, only to see that the thing that tripped him was a bag of white rice!
"Ouch! Ouch! Oh my god!"
Qin Sijun grabbed a handful of rice and was so excited that he could hardly speak.
"This... this is a rare item that you can't buy with money!"
These days, people can barely fill their stomachs with whole-grain flour made from corn and beans, and rice is simply a luxury.
"Xiao Lin, did you stock up on this in advance?"
Lin Wanjun smiled and nodded.
"A few days ago, I specifically asked my aunt to send me a batch of food. Since there were so many people in the cadre school, I had them unload the food here."
Not to mention Qin Sijun, even his partner Song Zhanjin was very surprised.
"When did Auntie deliver the food? How come I didn't know?"
Lin Wanjun smiled.
"That's my aunt. She sent me something. Why should I tell you? What's going on? Do you want to seize power and be the boss?"
After this big hat was put on him, Song Zhanjin immediately became obedient.
What do you do as the head of the family?
He is just his wife's most loyal follower.
"Everyone, please be careful and don't let anyone find out about the coal and food."
Qin Sijun's expression was slightly serious.
"Miss Kobayashi selflessly shared her supplies with us. We can't harm her!"
"Remember this, no matter what happens, you must not betray Xiaolin, understand?"
At that moment, everyone packed the rice into several pockets, tied them to their loose cotton coats with ropes, and walked out of the brick kiln on the snow.
Song Zhanjin also carried a full basket of coal and walked at the back side by side with Lin Wanjun.
Lin Wanjun has her own considerations.
There is no miracle from nothing to something in this world, but going from one to one hundred is not a difficult task.
As long as she had this basket of coal, she could quietly add a little every day and there would be no problem.
While thinking about something, they suddenly heard footsteps behind them, making everyone suddenly alert...
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