Chapter 46 Buying Firewood

After seeing Yan Bugui off, Li Shengli read a book for a while and prepared to take a rest. Winter was coming soon and everyone had a ration of coal. Li Shengli was the only one in his room, which was quite big, so the coal was not enough. He went to the firewood factory to see if he could buy some more firewood.

Sunday came quickly. Li Shengli got up early, exercised, had a simple breakfast, put some sugar and dry food in his bag, filled a military canteen with water and stuffed it into the bag. After packing up his things, Li Shengli locked the door and rode out of the courtyard.

Riding a bicycle and humming a little tune, Li Shengli came to the firewood factory near Dongzhimen under the envious gazes of passers-by.

Most of the people selling firewood in this firewood factory are farmers and mountain people from the nearby area. There is no farm work at the moment, so those who are free start carrying loads of firewood before dawn every day. They have to walk several miles to the firewood yard, and after selling the firewood, they buy some daily necessities on the street and take them home.

Thatch firewood costs one yuan per load (one hundred jin), and stacked firewood is a little more expensive, also costing more than one yuan per load.

The so-called thatch is the branches and needles of small pine trees, branches and leaves of small trees, which are bundled into bundles and carried to the street to sell; Machai is the branches and trunks of various trees that are sawn short and then split into pieces, also bundled into bundles, and they are tied neatly, which looks quite good.

Pine firewood and chestnut firewood are the most popular. Pine firewood is easy to ignite and is also resistant to burning, but it is still slightly inferior to chestnut firewood. As the saying goes: There is no good fire except chestnut firewood, and there is no good relative except uncle-in-law.

Most families usually use rough firewood for cooking. They only use rough firewood to cook big dishes during the New Year and other festivals, or to make fried tofu and fried rice.

Li Shengli hummed a tune as he entered the firewood factory. There were already quite a few people in the factory. To be honest, there was no shortage of firewood for sale. After all, with the current coal production capacity, it was impossible for everyone to burn coal, so firewood became a necessity for the winter. Of course, those who wanted to save money would go out to the mountains to collect firewood.

After parking the car and locking the bicycle, Li Shengli walked into the firewood factory.

"Comrade, how much are you selling your firewood for?" Li Shengli took two steps and saw a dark-skinned man in his forties standing in front of him with a load of firewood in front of him. The firewood was chopped neatly and stacked together in large and small pieces.

"This load is about 100 kilograms. If you want it, take it for 1.5 yuan." The middle-aged man smiled and said, "We picked them all up in the mountains. There are no thin ones with leaves."

"This firewood looks good." Li Shengli looked at the pile of firewood. It was neatly stacked. The inside looked the same as the outside. He reached out and touched the firewood. The firewood was quite dry. "Okay, I'll take it."

"Okay, where do you live? I'll take you home." After hearing what Li Shengli said, the wrinkles on the face of the middle-aged man selling firewood smoothed out.

"Don't worry, this amount of firewood is not enough. Winter is coming soon and I have to stock up some firewood." Li Shengli looked up and looked inside. There were quite a few people selling firewood, so Li Shengli planned to buy some more.

"Please wait here for a moment. I'll go in and buy a few more loads and deliver them to my house together." Li Shengli calmed the middle-aged man selling firewood.

"Okay, I'll wait for you here for a while." The middle-aged man selling firewood smiled. The firewood was finally sold. At this moment, the kind with leaves was easier to sell. After all, that kind was much cheaper.

Li Shengli nodded, went in and looked for a while, and found a few shops selling stacked firewood. They all felt almost dry, and there was no wet firewood that had been splashed with water. Li Shengli bought firewood from these shops together. In total, there was about 500 kilograms of firewood. He didn't know if this was enough, but the firewood plus the supplied coal should be enough to get through the winter.

After leaving the firewood factory, Li Shengli unlocked the car, picked up two loads of firewood and hung them on the back seat. The rest had to be carried back by the firewood sellers. The shoulder pole and rope had to be returned to them as they were their means of livelihood.

Several people were walking and chatting, and people on the road looked at this group of people with surprise. What kind of family is this to buy so much firewood at one time? Li Shengli ignored their eyes. This firewood is for emergency use. If it is not enough in winter, not only will it be urgent, but the price will also be more expensive than now.

Several people came to the gate of the courtyard slowly, mainly because they couldn't walk fast with the things on their shoulders, and Li Shengli had to take care of these hardworking people. When they entered the courtyard, it was almost noon, and Yan Bugui had already returned from fishing. He was shocked to see so many people rushing in from the door.

"Shengli, this is the firewood you bought." Yan Bugui looked at the firewood hanging on the back seat of Li Shengli's bicycle, then at the shoulder poles carried by several people and the firewood hanging on the shoulder poles. Drops of sweat seemed to drip from his head.

"Yes, Third Uncle, winter is coming soon. We should prepare the things needed for the winter now that we have just received our wages." Li Shengli nodded and gestured to Yan Bugui.

"You use this new bicycle to pull firewood!" Yan Bugui looked at Li Shengli in surprise. Li Shengli really didn't know how to cherish it. If he had such a new bicycle, he would definitely not be willing to use it to pull firewood. He would not be afraid of scratching the paint on the bicycle.

"Well, bicycles are used for work." Li Shengli didn't care. The main feature of bicycles nowadays is that they are durable.

Yan Bugui stopped talking and just looked at Li Shengli's bicycle with heartache.

Li Shengli was in no mood to deal with Yan Bugui. He asked a few masters to unload the firewood to the corner against the wall beside the house. After unloading the firewood, he invited the masters to drink some water and paid them.

"Shengli, you don't know how to live. How much did these firewoods cost?" Yan Bugui asked with a painful look on his face when he saw Li Shengli finished his work.

"Not much, a total of seven dollars and fifty cents." Li Shengli took a sip of water and reported the number casually.

"How much?" Yan Bugui widened his eyes.

"Seven dollars and fifty cents." Li Shengli put down the water cup and looked at Yan Bugui in confusion.

"Hey, Shengli, if you had told me earlier that you needed firewood, it would have been great if your third aunt, Jie Cheng and the others and I could have gone up the mountain to collect it for you." Yan Bugui rubbed his fingers and calculated.

"No, that's not possible. How much can your family pick up?" Li Shengli glanced at Yan Bugui. He thought he was being taken advantage of. Yan Bugui's family and children went up the mountain to pick firewood and he lent his bicycle to them. There was no telling what kind of firewood they would pick up. With Yan's stingy personality, it would definitely be the kind that would get leaves mixed in with branches.

What kind of villain am I to make Old Yan scheme against me like this?

"Come on, Third Uncle, I don't dare to use the firewood you picked up." Li Shengli said with a slightly contemptuous tone.

It’s expensive to buy firewood from Yan Bu. Even if the firewood is well-stacked, he will water it before selling it to you. Why would you make things unhappy?

Yan Bugui had nothing to say and had to return home with a broken heart.

After drinking the water, Li Shengli took a rest for a while and then covered the firewood with a straw mat. The straw mat could also be used as a guard if it rained.

(End of this chapter)