"It's here," the old man led Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to a small hill behind the village.
There was a dark pothole here. Above it was some water mixed with coal to form a coal slurry. Below it should be coal.
Around the pothole was a wall built by the villagers with mud and grass. It surrounded the pothole.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't understand the purpose of building a wall. This was a small open-pit mine. They could dig out coal by digging around it.
The old man explained, "When the coal flows into the fields, it can't produce any food. The people in our village built a wall outside to block it. But when there is a heavy rain, it can't stop it. Sometimes it overflows the wall, and sometimes it directly breaks the wall. We can only block it a little."
When the old man said this, his face was full of helplessness. The four people carrying Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan also looked sad.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan didn't know how to laugh when they saw their expressions. Living a hard life in a coal mine. Well, this kind of thing was quite common. Many people didn't know that their poor hometown had something that others were jealous of.
It was not suitable for Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan to directly discuss business with the village chief, so they signaled the person who followed them with their eyes. The person began to talk about what he had learned before coming to the village chief.
"Tamura Masa, it's like this. This coal, our family wants it, that …"
"If you want it, take it. Ask the county magistrate to issue a document. This is your place. If you don't have enough people, our village will help you."
Without waiting for the Zhang family to finish, the old man waved his hand and said generously.
The person from the Zhang family waved his hand, "Tamura Masa, we don't dare to take this place for ourselves. It's fine if it's farther away, but this place is too close to the capital. We can only mine. This place is still your Elm Village's.
We don't have people to dig, so we'll ask your villagers to help. For every twenty dan of coal dug out, we'll give them ten coins. Or we can give one coin for two dan of coal. For every twenty dan of coal dug out, the Zhang family will give one coin to Elm Village and one coin to the county. What do you think? "
The old man was stunned when he heard the amount of money. It was too much. They would give one coin for every two dan of coal dug out. If they dug out twenty dan of coal, they would give the village one coin. People like Gouzi Tian in the village could dig out hundreds of coins a day.
The old man, who thought that digging coal was too easy, shook his head vigorously, "No, it's too much.... We'll help you dig... You don't want the county's money? Doesn't it belong to your family? "
"Tamura Masa, Mr. Tian, Huayuan County doesn't belong to the Zhang family. It belongs to the imperial court. The money we'll give is not much at all. We have a big use for this coal. We can make more money. If we do it well, we can make a profit with one dan of coal …"
"You don't have to tell me how much money you can make. It's your Zhang family's ability to make mountains of gold and silver. It's also what your Zhang family deserves. The Zhang family is a good person, and so is the Wang family. It's settled. We'll help you dig, and you'll give us money. You didn't use it before because you haven't eaten your food.
We'll pay you this amount in the future. Even if you sell the coal you just dug out, we Elm Village won't dig it ourselves. We'll dig it for you. If others come, we'll drive them away. "
The old man was full of heroism. He kept tapping the place where the coal was dug out with the stick. The four people carrying Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were also full of agreement. They combined the unyielding force of resistance with the simplicity of gratitude.
Xiaobao and Wang Juan were moved as well. The old man's intentions couldn't be any clearer. You can use this coal to earn as much money as you can. We'll only recognize you as our family. With that salary, we won't dig it up and sell it ourselves. We'll keep it for you and guard it.
Many people would think that they were stupid, but Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan definitely didn't think so. This was a real person. If everyone in the world could be like this, there wouldn't be so many problems.
"We must protect them and let them live a better life." Wang Juan's lips moved.
"I know. I'll think of an easy and profitable way to let them do it. They'll have to move in the future. Otherwise, they'll get sick if they breathe in too much coal ash. Later, we'll bring some cloth and make masks for them. When Grandpa Bi's cotton comes out, it'll be better to make masks than other things."
Zhang Xiaobao agreed. People like Elm Village would be at a disadvantage if they didn't protect them. The force of 322 people wasn't enough. When more people knew there was coal here, they would come to mine it. There was no way to stop them. They could use any means.
Zhang Xiaobao looked at the person in the inner courtyard. This person understood that he had to say something.
"Tamura Masa, there's no need to stop outsiders. If they want to come and dig, let them dig. For every stone they dig, they'll have to give the village and the county one copper coin. By then, this land won't be able to be farmed. You can bring the villagers to cook for them. The Zhang family will teach you how to cook and give you some ingredients."
When the old man heard this, he was stunned. The first part was still acceptable. Why was it that if other people dug, they'd have to pay one copper coin for every stone they dug? Zhangjia Zhuangzi would pay one copper coin for every 20 stones dug. He could still calculate this. When he heard that they couldn't farm here in the future, he was a little sad. However, he understood that with so many people digging, there would be coal ash everywhere. It really couldn't be farmed.
Fortunately, the Zhang family could help find other jobs in the future. Cooking was indeed good. "Yes, it's settled. If other people come, they'll have to pay more. The more they dig, the richer the village will be. Don't let them bring their own food. They'll either starve or buy our food."
This time, it was Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's turn to be stunned. This old man was tough. In the past, only a few small restaurants didn't allow people to bring their own drinks. They didn't expect the old man to say something like this. He didn't teach his family what to say in this situation. It seemed like they could only let him do it himself.
The person in the inner courtyard didn't disappoint. He immediately said, "Tamura Masa, it won't do if you don't let them bring food. I have an idea. Let them bring it, and we'll hire some people to dig. Then, we'll buy the village's food for them. It'll definitely be better than the food brought by others. Give them more money, and when the outsiders see it, they'll naturally quit."
"Yes, we have to compete. Comparisons are odious. Let's do as you say. Let's go back and wait for dinner. There's a lot of food today. It'll be enough to eat."
The old man slapped his thigh and agreed to the Zhang family's proposal. This made the person breathe a sigh of relief.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were carried back like this. It was easy to deal with now that the matter was settled. As for the salary that would be paid after a month, the two of them were not in a hurry. They would be paid according to the amount of coal they mined. As long as it was enough to buy the delivered food, they would start to pay.
The group of people returned to the village. Most of the people went to repair the road. Only the people in charge of cooking were busy there.
In order to welcome Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan, the villagers cooked the meat that the Zhang family had given over the past two days. After eating the meat on the first day, they put salt on it and hung it on the stove. This way, it could be preserved for a longer time.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan saw that the villagers had taken out almost everything that could be eaten at home. They even killed the chickens that they usually couldn't bear to kill. They felt a little sorry, especially the bacon, which was taken down as soon as it was smoked.
"Xiao Bao, they don't lack salt here, right? Let's ask someone to send some salt over next time. Is it your favorite bacon? Why did I feel that it wasn't delicious before? "
Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao had been placed on the ground. To be precise, they were placed on two big logs, one in front and one in front. The two of them were still sitting there. There were a few children playing next to them. If there was anything, they could just call them.
Zhang Xiaobao thought about the taste of the bacon. "It's okay to eat a little. As long as it's not a critical moment, I usually don't eat it. Every family makes different kinds of bacon. Maybe the taste here is better. I know what to ask the villagers to do in the future."
"What to do?" Wang Juan just asked Zhang Xiaobao to treat the villagers better. Zhang Xiaobao also agreed. In just a short while, he thought of what to do?
"Raise pigs. Raise a lot of them. Raise a few thousand of them. See if there is a barren mountain in the county. When the time comes, let them occupy it and raise the pigs there. After a year, it will be easy. They know how to make sausages, right? Some of the meat can be made into sausages. Some of the pork ribs and spine bones can be sold to the people of Huayuan County. Let the people make these two kinds of bones into snacks and sell them.
Pig head meat is also fine. People nowadays don't like to eat pork, but the smoked pig head meat is really good. We can put it in lunch boxes and sell it. The pig hair can be made into writing brushes for the children to use. The most important thing is the hind legs of the pig. Let them make ham. We can help to export it. "
Zhang Xiaobao listed the benefits of the pig one by one. He felt that it was good.
Wang Juan listened for a while and shook her head. "The first part of what you said is okay. But the last part of the ham doesn't seem good. You have to find a good wood to smoke it. Just like Beijing Roast Duck, you have to use some jujube wood. The cost is too high. "
"Ah? Smoke? This doesn't need to be smoked. Just use salt. When the ham was first produced, it was pickled with salt. Later on, there were more processes. In the beginning, there weren't so many processes. It's just like making sausages. It's not so complicated. Let's try it. "
Zhang Xiaobao didn't think that the ham had to be smoked. He would think about how to make it later. At least, it had to be pickled with salt.
Wang Juan stuck out her tongue. "Then let's try it. If you don't do it well, you will be blamed. Why don't you raise sheep? Everyone likes to eat sheep, especially the mutton soup. You can also make it with some cheap goods."
The two of them discussed for a while and decided to let the villagers of Yushu Village raise pigs. Other than the ham, the consumers would be the ordinary people. If the rich people didn't want to eat pork, they wouldn't consider it.
The sky slowly turned dark as the two of them chatted. At this time, the food was ready. The road workers were also rushing back with their tools.
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