Years: Return to the Leisurely Fishing Village

Chapter 69: Coal Mining, Being Cheated

Grandpa’s house.

The person who was most excited to see Tan Shaoyang was undoubtedly Zhang Xingning. He ran 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 almost bored. Have you finished eating the rice at home?"

Tan Shaoyang explained, "Your eldest cousin's father-in-law brought him a lot of food, which will last him for a while."

The food was brought over and they said it was free, but no one wanted to eat it for free, so in the end it was weighed and paid for according to the price.

The second sister-in-law saw this and followed suit, and this year's grain was all taken up by her two sisters-in-law's families.

Tan's mother felt it was difficult to say. Since everyone had their own family, it was obvious that they wanted to take care of their family. Finally, she asked someone to help pass on the message, asking them to sell the grain.

The prices are the same anyway, it doesn’t matter where you buy it.

Zhang Xingning didn't care about these things. He was just a man who loved to eat, drink and have fun. He didn't need to worry about money. If he asked about it, his family would think he wanted to use the money to fool around!

"Brother Yang, how many days can you play this time?"

It seems that Tan Shaoyang just wants to have fun, and his face is full of indescribable expression. Didn’t he learn any lesson from the last incident?
There is no sign of him growing up and he still loves to play!
"Who wants to play with you? I came here just to cut some moxa leaves and dry them in the sun."

"Your uncle's legs are in unbearable pain every now and then. I'll cut some moxa leaves and soak them in water to remove the dampness."

"Have you finished your farm work at home? You just want to play."

Zhang Xingning curled his lips, "Isn't it just that kind of work? It's just weeding."

"How about I take you to the field to pick some sugar canes to satisfy your craving? The sugar canes are long enough and you can eat them now."

In addition to rice, the most planted crop at home is sugarcane. It's so desperate when it comes time to cut it. Fortunately, this thing only has one crop per year.

New sugarcane seedlings are planted at the beginning of the year, cut at the end of the year, and then directly fertilized and buried in the soil the next year without having to replant, otherwise it would be just endless work.

Of course, there is a lot of work to do without planting. I weed until I feel desperate. Except for the hope of making money, I feel desperate at other times.

Tan Shaoyang shook his head without thinking. It was only mid-October and the sugarcane was not sweet enough. "Are you greedy? Sugarcane is not sweet at this time!"

"Come with me to cut some mugwort. I'll be back to fry some clams for you."

Zhang Xingning was dragged out of the door like this. Even though he was dragged, he didn't seem to be reluctant at all. After all, he still had a lot to talk about with his third cousin.

The mugwort leaves at this time are not as tender as they were at the beginning of the Qing Dynasty. Now they are old, but that is just what he wants. He can just cut them and bring them home to dry before using them.

The two of them were much faster.

If the weather is good, it will dry in two or three days.

As soon as they returned home, their aunt smiled when she saw them.

"Shaoyang, why are you here to cut mugwort at this time? It's not a good time to do it!"

"The weather is so dreary, it's probably going to rain."

Tan Shaoyang explained patiently. Aunt Zhang knew the reason and the look in her eyes when she looked at her youngest son became even more indescribable.

"Look at you, and then look at Shaoyang, you are so considerate to your parents. Your uncle has knee pain and dampness, but he knows how to find a solution. Learn from your cousin!" "You only cause trouble for the family. You will never grow up!"

Zhang Xingning was completely confused. How did they end up talking about him?
"Mom, I'm diligent too, okay? Look at your tone of disdain."

"There's not a single household chores I haven't helped with! Look how skinny and dark I am in this summer, even worse than a monkey."

Aunt Zhang looked disgusted, "You were forced to do that. If I hadn't been watching you, would you have been diligent?"

Tan Shaoyang listened at the side and rarely revealed a happy smile. In such noisy days, this was the most precious peace.

Just after drying the mugwort, Aunt Zhang looked at him and suddenly asked, "Shaoyang, your uncle and cousin want to sign up to dig coal. Do you think this job is feasible?"

"Now that we are not busy at home, we just need to weed, so they decided to go dig coal for two months. They would make as much money as they can, which is better than wasting time at home."

When Tan Shaoyang heard the question, he was confused for a moment and tried hard to recall: Did his uncle go to dig coal in his previous life?
It seems there is none.

He protected Zhang Xingning from wild boars and lived in a hospital for a long time. It was impossible for him to go mining coal.

Instead, it was my eldest cousin Zhang Xingwang who went there. His father was ill, so he had to support the burden of the family. In order to make money, he resolutely went there even though it was hard.

It seemed like they had been there for half a year. After the matchmaker boss shipped the matchmakers out, he ran away with the money. They only earned 20 yuan in the first month, but not a penny after that. They were so tired that they looked extremely thin.

He also listened to his mother mumbling a few words in his ear. At that time, he was extremely annoyed and impatient to listen. He complained to Tan's mother, and her mumbling words were completely blocked out.

As for what happens next, I don’t understand.

Because I don’t care and don’t want to understand.

But now it’s different. He cherishes this simple and unpretentious feeling and treats every relative with more patience.

The only thing I remember is that the coal boss was not a reliable person. He would delay wages, exploit the workers' labor, and finally run away with the money.

It is only 83, and private business has just been promoted. The villagers have just divided the land into different households. How can people who have suffered since that period become rich?

If you don't have money but want to make money, you can only go against your conscience. After all, conscience is worthless. Compared with money, conscience is nothing!

As long as their own pockets are full, they don't care about the hard life and hard work of the workers.

"Aunt, do you know that boss? It's better to find out. These bosses only look glamorous on the surface, but in fact they don't have much money in their pockets."

"Many coal mining bosses will cheat workers out of their wages in order to make money."

"People at that time were not rich. They could contract a piece of land to mine coal, and they also needed various transportation tools, which cost a lot of money."

"If I don't know them well, I'm afraid they will delay paying me. After all, people's hearts are hidden, and who knows what they are thinking."

"And coal mining is also dangerous. Working underground day and night, if you are unlucky and encounter a collapse, it can be life-threatening."

"As long as you can get by and are not so poor that you can't even afford to eat, there is no need to take risks. If something unexpected happens, you will regret it for the rest of your life."

"It's already the end of October, and we're busy again at the end of the year. Even the strongest people need to rest, otherwise it's easy to wear down your body if you're busy."

After hearing this, Aunt Zhang's face was filled with nervousness.

(End of this chapter)