Chapter 69: Digging coal, being trapped
Grandpa’s house.
The most excited person to see Tan Shaoyang was Zhang Xingning. He ran next to him and chattered non-stop, not hiding the excitement on his face at all.
It looked like a monkey, wanting to jump up and down.
"Brother Yang, you haven't been here for a long time. I'm so bored that I'm almost getting worms. Have you finished eating the rice at home?"
Tan Shaoyang explained, "Your eldest cousin and father-in-law brought him a lot of food, and he can eat it for a while."
The food was brought here, and it was said that it was free, but no one was embarrassed to eat for free. In the end It was still weighed and paid according to the price.
The second sister-in-law saw that she was imitating it in a decent way, so this year’s food supply was taken care of by the two sisters-in-law’s families.
Tan’s mother was hard-pressed to say anything. Everyone was from a natal family, and it was self-evident that they wanted to take care of their natal family. Finally, she asked someone to help them pass on the message and asked them to sell the grain. .
The price is the same anyway, no matter where you buy it.
Zhang Xingning doesn't care about this. He is just a person who eats, drinks and has fun. He doesn't need to worry about money issues. If he asked, his family would think he wanted to use the money to fool around!
"Brother Yang, how many days can you play this time?"
Tan Shaoyang just wanted to have fun when he saw him, his face was full of words, didn't he learn any lessons from the last time?
There is no sign of growing up at all, and he still loves to play!
“Who are you playing with? I came here just to cut some mugwort leaves and dry them in the sun.”
"Your uncle's legs are in unbearable pain every now and then. I'll cut some mugwort leaves and soak them in water to remove the moisture."
"Have you finished the farm work at home? You just want to play."
Zhang Xingning curled his lips, "Isn't it just that kind of work? In addition to weeding, it's all about weeding."
"How about I take you to the field to pull out two sugar canes for fun? Can the sugar cane grow a length? You can eat it if you want.”
Besides rice, sugarcane is the most cultivated thing at home. When it comes to cutting it, it’s a despair. Fortunately, it can be harvested all year round.
New sugarcane seedlings are planted at the beginning of the year and cut down at the end of the year. The next year they are directly fertilized and buried in the soil. There is no need to replant, otherwise it will be even more busy.
Of course, there is a lot of value in life without planting. Weeding and weeding until despair, except for a little hope of making money, is very despairing at other times.
Tan Shaoyang shook his head without thinking. It was only mid-October and the sugar cane was not sweet enough at all. "Are you greedy? The sugar cane is not sweet yet!"
< br>"Come with me to cut some wormwood, and I'll come back later to fry clams for you to eat."
Zhang Xingning was dragged out of the house like this. Even though he was being dragged, he was not reluctant at all. After all, I still have a lot of fun chatting with my third cousin.
The mugwort leaves at this time are not as tender as those at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. They are now older, but they are just what he wants. He can cut them back home and dry them for use.
The two of them were much faster.
The weather is good, and it will dry in two or three days.
As soon as the two returned home, their aunt burst out laughing when she saw them.
“Shaoyang, why are you cutting mugwort at this time? It’s not easy to do it at this time!”
"The weather is dull and dull. It will probably rain."
Tan Shaoyang explained patiently. Aunt Zhang knew the reason, and the look in her eyes when she looked at her youngest son was even more difficult to explain.
"Look at you, look at Shaoyang, how considerate of your parents. Your uncle's knees hurt and the humidity is heavy. He knows how to find a way. Learn more from your cousin!" "You! It will only cause chaos in the family, and he will grow up that day!"
Zhang Xingning looked confused, why did he talk about him?
"Mom, I'm also very hard-working, okay? Look at the disgust in your tone."
"I didn't help with any of the work at home! Look, I'm thin and dark this summer. Worse than a monkey."
Aunt Zhang looked disgusted, "You are forced to do nothing. If I hadn't been watching you, would you have been diligent?"
Tan Shaoyang? Listening on the sidelines, a rare happy smile appeared. In such a noisy day, it is the most rare peace.
Just after drying the mugwort, Aunt Zhang looked at him and asked out of the blue, "Shaoyang, your uncle and cousin want to sign up to dig coal. Do you think they can do this job?"
"Now that we are not busy at home, that is, weeding, the two of us have discussed digging coal for two months. If we can make some money, it is better than wasting time at home."
Tan Shaoyang listened to the inquiry and was momentarily confused. Confused, I thought hard, did my uncle dig coal in his previous life?
It seems there is none.
He warded off the wild boar for Zhang Xingning and was admitted to the hospital. He had raised it for a long time. It was definitely impossible for him to dig coal.
On the contrary, the eldest cousin Zhang Xingwang died. His father was ill, and he had to bear the burden of the family. In order to make money, he resolutely went through all the hardships.
It seemed like half a year later, after the matchmaker shipped the matchmaker out, he got tired of the money and ran away. They got 20 yuan in the first month, but couldn't get any after that, and they were so tired that they lost their appearance.
He also listened to his mother mumbling a few words in his ear. At that time, he was extremely bored and impatient to listen. He complained to Tan's mother, and all her mumbling words were completely blocked.
As for what will happen next, I don’t know.
Because I don’t care and I don’t want to understand.
But things are different now. He cherishes this simple and unpretentious feeling and is more patient with every relative.
The only thing I remember is that the coal boss is not a safe person. He will default on wages, squeeze the labor of workers, and finally run away with the money.
It is only 1983, private business has just been promoted, and villagers have just divided their fields into households. How can people who have endured hardship during that period become rich?
If you don’t have money and want to make money, you have to ignore your conscience. After all, conscience is worthless. Compared with money, conscience is nothing!
As long as you make a bulging wallet, you don’t have to worry about the hard life of the workers and the hard work.
"Auntie, do you know anything about that boss? It's better to find out more. These bosses are just glamorous on the surface, but in fact they don't have much money in their pockets."
"There are many coal and mining bosses who will cheat workers' wages in order to make money."
"People were not very wealthy at this time. They could contract a piece of land to dig coal, and they also needed all kinds of transportation. Tools, this will cost a lot of money.”
“If you don’t know the basics, you will be afraid that you will not be paid. After all, people are alienated from each other, and who knows how other people feel. ”
“And there are hidden dangers in coal mining. Working underground day and night, if you are unlucky and encounter a collapse, it will be life-threatening.”
“If you live a good life, you won’t be so poor that you can’t take the blame. There is no need to take desperate risks. If you encounter an accident, you will regret it for the rest of your life.”
"It's the end of October now, and we are busy again at the end of the year. Even the strongest people need to rest, otherwise they will easily wear down their bodies when they are busy."
After hearing this, Aunt Zhang's face changed. There was only tension left.
(End of this chapter)