Chapter 129 Briquettes
The sun gradually sets, leaving a colorful afterglow on the horizon.
The streets were bustling with people, and the food shops were packed with people inside and outside.
After Lin Zisu and her friends got their temporary ID cards, they planned to buy some food and go back to their temporary residence.
The five temporary ID cards were repeatedly held in the hands of Old Man Shen, Old Lady Ye, Shen Jingfu, and Shen Jingcai, who looked at them again and again, with shock in their eyes only increasing.
Shen Jingfu: "How come this portrait is so clear, it looks exactly like the real person. Such a small portrait was completed in such a short time, the painter is really amazing!"
Lin Zisu: . . . . .
Lin Xianwen: . . . . . .
Shen Xianglan: . . . . . .
"Let's just sit there for a while, and the portrait will be done." Old man Shen looked at his own photo over and over again. It was good that he had lost weight, but why did he become so dark?
"I saw the woman holding a small box, facing you for a while, and then she said okay. Was that some kind of magic weapon?" Shen Jingcai recalled the scene just now.
Shen Xianglan: "It's getting late, let's buy some food and talk about it when we get back."
"Yes, yes, they must be getting impatient." Old Mrs. Ye looked at her portrait on the temporary ID card. She was really old! Her face was full of wrinkles. Even the wrinkles on her face were clearly visible in such a small portrait. It was amazing!
After buying a bunch of food, the seven of them hurried to their temporary residence.
Along the way, we met many of our own people, who were also carrying food back to the temporary residence. We talked and laughed, chatting about the work and experiences of the day, and unknowingly walked to the temporary residence.
Old Lady Wang and Old Man Lin sat outside the cabin with their stools, waiting anxiously. Brothers Lin Youshan and Lin Youhe heard the voices and leaned out of the cabin.
Seeing Lin Zisu and the other two coming back, the four of them hurried over to ask.
Old Lady Wang slapped her thigh and said, "You guys are finally back, what's done?"
"Grandma and Grandpa, we've got it done for the three of us. After school tomorrow at noon, everyone should hurry up and get their number plates and line up. The sooner you get it done the better." Lin Zisu said as she took out a light yellow temporary ID card from her pocket and showed it to them.
Lin Xianwen consciously handed over his temporary ID card.
"Dad, Mom, haven't Lin Youcai and the others come back yet?" Shen Xianglan stood on tiptoe and looked around. Many people had not come back yet.
"She's out working, and hasn't come back yet. This... she even has a portrait drawn on her!" Old Man Lin's eyes widened, and he put the temporary ID card in front of him, looking at the portrait carefully. "This is a great drawing! I can tell it's Su girl at first glance!"
"This portrait looks just like the real thing." Old Lady Wang touched it carefully. "What's wrapped around it? It's hard!"
There was a noisy sound of people coming, and a large group of people walked into the temporary residence and headed towards this side.
"Dad, Mom, we're back. Have you had dinner?" Lin Youcai came over with a few bags of food, a happy look on his face.
Old Lady Wang: "Not yet, I'm waiting for you! How was your work today?"
Lin Zisu: "Dad, you are so happy, have you made a fortune?"
Old Man Lin: "Why are there so few people missing?"
Lin Youcai: "Big brother and his friends have gone to herd the oxcarts! Today we have sold all the charcoal carts. There is still half a cart left. The village head said that every family should share some, since they can use it anyway."
Lin Xianwen: “Isn’t it easy to sell?”
Lin Youcai: "This car looks like charcoal from a tree. If it were sold in the north, it would fetch a higher price. It's not hard to sell here, but the price is okay compared to the local prices. It's forbidden to burn firewood in the city. People only burn coal and charcoal. Qingshui City sells honeycomb coal."
Lin Zisu scratched her ears, "Honeycomb coal?! Honeycomb coal is used?!"
Lin Youcai: "When I asked the restaurant owner, I was also very surprised."
Old Man Lin said angrily, "We are not allowed to light a fire to cook in the temporary residence, so why are we not allowed to burn firewood in the city?"
Old Lady Wang frowned and said with a worried look on her face: "It costs so much to burn charcoal and coal! Let's find a village to live in!"
Lin Youcai patiently explained, "Dad, Mom, please listen to me first. I understand why we are not allowed to burn firewood! In this city, you have to buy firewood. Where can we find so much firewood near the city? Burning firewood is too smoky, and people live densely in the city! The most important point is that men, women, old and young have to go to school and work. Who has the time to go far away to collect firewood?
This honeycomb coal is sold by the government. The price is not expensive, 3 yuan per catty. The purchase is limited to 30 catties of coal per person per month. If you exceed 30 catties of coal, you have to buy more, which is 10 yuan per catty.
Charcoal is made by ordinary people for their own use or for sale. The price varies depending on the material used to make the charcoal. For example, the price of charcoal made from saplings is relatively high. However, the price is much lower than that in the north. After asking around, it is about 6 or 7 yuan per catty.
Most people buy honeycomb coal from the government. Charcoal is bought by teahouses and restaurants for small stoves to make tea and wine, and for use in the kitchen to bake food. We sold it to the teahouse owner for 6 yuan per pound.
If we weren't short of money and we didn't have a place to live, the charcoal would take up too much space. I wouldn't even want to sell it. I'd just divide it among the families and it would be enough. If we stayed in the city, we would have to buy coal and charcoal in the future. We'll need it anyway."
Lin Zisu: "Charcoal like the one made from the sapling tree is really good, crisp and pleasant to the ear. Good charcoal has the sound of metal and stone, and this price is really cheap. If I had known earlier, I would have found a city over there to sell it before boarding the ship."
"How could we have known so much earlier! It's so dangerous across the Yangtze River! Do you want your life or your money?" Shen Xianglan said to her daughter unhappily. "People are always greedy." Shen Xianglan turned to her parents-in-law and said, "Dad, Mom, let's talk while we eat. The food is getting cold."
Old Lady Wang: "Oh, you were just too busy talking. Come, come, move the table and benches outside, and have dinner first."
Like coal and charcoal, ordinary people cannot afford it. Coal and charcoal are both rare resources, and firewood is also hard to come by. It is common to be scolded by elders for using too much firewood for cooking.
In the south, ordinary people can afford the price of firewood. In the north, firewood is not cheap, not to mention coal and charcoal. Firewood prices in the north will rise in winter, and most people go up the mountain to chop or collect firewood for themselves.
What the people pursued was not warmth, but not freezing to death. Winter was the most difficult season for the people, and the number of people who died of freezing or fell ill was countless. Fire was a precious resource. In ancient times, whether in the south or the north, taking a bath in winter was considered a bad habit.
In the cold winter, even the rich and powerful would not bathe rashly, not because they were reluctant to spend firewood or charcoal, but because they were afraid of catching a cold and becoming ill. Not to mention the common people, whose lives were already difficult and hard, so how could they dare to bathe in the cold winter?
In ancient times, people believed that one's hair and skin were inherited from one's parents. Both men and women had long hair, and it was normal to have lice on their heads. So there were combs, which were used to comb hair and remove lice. Rich people liked to use flower-scented hair oil to comb their hair, and Westerners liked to use perfume. The reason for this was undoubtedly personal hygiene.
Lin Zisu took a bite of the steamed bun, chewed it, picked up a piece of pickled cabbage with chopsticks and stuffed it into her mouth, swallowed it and said, "Does Qingshui City produce coal? Or is the coal-producing area not far from here?"
Lin Youcai: "This place doesn't produce coal, but I heard that it's not far from a coal-producing area. The main thing is that there is water transportation for coal, so it's convenient and fast to transport coal here. I heard that coal is shipped here every day."