Chapter 566 The cannon fodder daughter and her cannon fodder father (6)
Clothes are indeed not cheap.
Shen Yan specially bought fabric for Shen Yaoyao with the cloth tickets her family had saved for a long time, and then asked a tailor to make her such a beautiful white skirt.
In this era, most of the streets are black and gray. Such a white dress is outstanding and eye-catching no matter where you stand. Coupled with Shen Yaoyao's fair face, you can really say that you stand out from the crowd.
Jiang Lai reminded Shen Yan heartbroken.
"Yes, change out of your skirt first and put it on again when you come back."
Shen Yaoyao has never worn dusty clothes since she came to the city. Shen Yan always dresses her up beautifully.
But this time when you go out to dig coal cores, it’s useless to dress up beautifully, because as long as you stand behind the coal yard, the wind blowing over you will cover your face with soot.
Jiang Lai carried the basket to the coal yard and watched Jiang Li take off his clothes and put them on the rocks thoughtfully and diligently.
"Sister Yaoyao, just sit here while I dig out coal cores. If I dig more, I'll give you half of it."
Shen Yaoyao looked around and could only see a few children whose facial features were vaguely distinguishable and wrapped in soot. After some hesitation, he nodded.
"It's all my fault. You keep coughing. Next time, let sister Jiang Lai rest at home. I'll come with you and you teach me how to dig coal cores."
Jiang Li's eyebrows furrowed at the mention of Jiang Lai.
He couldn't remember anything when Jiang Lai was lost. It took two or three years after Shen Yaoyao came to find Jiang Lai.
For Jiang Li, he felt that Shen Yaoyao was the Jiang family member.
So he was wary of Jiang Lai and wouldn't let her bully Shen Yaoyao.
After Shen Yaoyao was settled, Jiang Li carried the basket on his back and held it in his hand
Holding the pliers, he walked into the cinder pile without looking back.
This coal field is located next to the steel plant and has become the economic lifeline of the entire city.
Behind the coal yard, there are piles of cinders like hills. These are the coal burned by the steel mill and transported here to be recycled by the coal yard.
But sometimes the coal yard is not cleaned up in time, so the cinders are temporarily piled here, so the children in the small town will carry baskets on their backs and wander around the coal piles with tongs after meals.
Not every piece of cinder has a coal core inside, so you have to use pliers to break it little by little to reveal the hard stuff inside, which is the coal core.
If you're lucky, you can knock down half a basket in a day.
It's bad luck, just like the original owner came to knock on it before, but every time he couldn't even cover the bottom of the basket, and he was criticized by Shen Yan when he went back in disgrace.
Jiang Li is experienced, has good eyesight and moves quickly. He can dig a lot in an hour of hammering.
In addition, I can sell a little of the coal cores dug out every time, and carry the rest home. Not only can I get praise from Shen Yan every time, but I can also save some private money.
So every time Jiang Li came over carrying the basket without anyone urging him.
Shen Yan also felt distressed, unable to resist Jiang Li's ability and willingness to do so.
Otherwise, she would have no choice but to let Jiang Lailai do this kind of work.
Not far from the coal pile, several boys gathered together and whispered.
Jiang Lai was looking for coal cores when he heard the bored yawn of Little Pudding.
"Go to the third pile. There is a large piece that has not been burned. After digging it out, your work today will be finished early."
Little Pudding didn't want to watch Jiang Lai digging in the coal pile.
Who do you look down on?
How could his little pudding partner ruin himself here.
Jiang Lai walked over and started digging as Little Pudding said.
Soon, a large piece of cinders rolled down. After using pliers to break open the slag outside, it turned out that there was a coal core bigger than a fist.
The pliers couldn't hold it, so Jiang Lai moved it to his basket with his hands.
Coal was a scarce commodity at this time. Although some well-off families had already used gas in the early 1960s, most families mainly used coal for fire, and a pound could be sold for 30 cents.
Knocked-out coal cores like this are not of high purity but can still be sold for 23 cents.
Jiang Lai needs money, so she has to seize every opportunity to make money.
This place is indeed a treasure. One of the workers probably got distracted and threw out the unburned cinders.
Jiang Lai filled his basket directly, but there was still a lot in the cinder pile.
After thinking about it, Jiang Lai took off his coat and put it on his basket. Just as he was about to get up, there was a sound of kicking and fighting behind him.
It was very small, like someone whose mouth was covered and beaten in soot, but Jiang Lai was very sensitive to these sounds.
"Don't look, your brother is being beaten by a group of boys aged thirteen or fourteen."
"Oh, it scared me to death. I thought it was someone else."
If it had been anyone else, she would have acted bravely.
Little Pudding saw her carrying the basket smoothly and getting ready to leave, so he had no choice but to remind her.
"These boys are all orphans. It's not a big deal to hit anyone."
"Yeah."
"What should I do if I beat Jiang Li to death?"
"Then I will have one less brother."
These days, families with many children are eager to send their children away. What’s wrong with one missing child?
Jiang Lai was unusually cold.
Little Pudding almost began to reflect on whether he was too holy.
Just when he thought Jiang Lai was about to leave, he unexpectedly turned around and walked behind the coal pile in the distance.
At this time, a figure screamed and ran past.
Dressed in clean clothes, you can tell it's Shen Yaoyao without even looking at his face.
She ran very fast, and the children did not chase her, but continued to hold Jiang Li hammer down.
One of the boys was particularly tall. Although he was very thin and had a dark face, he could still see the fierce eyes under his sharp eyebrows.
He should have just finished hammering Jiang Li and stood up happily, moving his wrists.
The remaining three boys pressed down together, and they were able to pin the strong Jiang Li to the ground.
Jiang Lai silently picked up two coal cores from his basket.
"Almost done."
Her voice attracted the attention of several people, and the tall boy turned to look at her with sharp and alert eyes.
A boy who was holding Jiang Li raised his head and glanced at Jiang Lai, then shouted something.
"Get out of here, or I'll beat you up too!"
"No way."
Jiang Lai shook the coal core in his hand.
"You are beating my brother. If you beat him to death, it will be difficult for me to do business when I go back."
After saying that, without giving them time to react, Jiang Lai threw the coal cores out, one after another.
Following three screams.
The three boys who were holding Jiang Li down and beating him were lying down and rolling in the soot with their heads covered.
Jiang Li suddenly raised his head and took a deep breath, then spit out coal ash. His whole face was darker than the ash at the bottom of the pot, and he stared at Jiang with two red eyes.
The eyes were a bit complicated, Jiang Lai saw it from inside and was moved.
Pooh!
Worthless things.
The tall boy who had been standing aside did not make a move and looked at Jiang Lai silently without saying a word.
Jiang Lai stepped forward and pulled Jiang Li up.
Then he looked at the boy behind him.
"Next time before you hit my brother, ask me if I agree." (End of Chapter)