The wicked mother-in-law doesn't try to whitewash herself; she only abuses her awful children.

Chapter 592 The Extreme Cold Weather Has Arrived
"Damn it. Why is the weather so cold this year?"

Master Su yawned as he went out the door and ran into Tong Huaqiong, who complained a few times about the weather.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "The New Year is almost here, why hasn't Master Su given us a holiday yet?"

She remembered that the private schools in the town used to have holidays in the twelfth lunar month. Was Master Su planning to extend the holiday to New Year's Eve?

Tong Huaqiong wanted to say that there was no need to be so demanding of students.

Master Su rubbed his hands and sighed, “Manager Tong, you don’t know, some students don’t have enough charcoal at home, or their families are reluctant to burn charcoal. When they are on holiday, their hands tremble from the cold while they are writing at home, and they even get sick. So I have them all come to the private school. I have charcoal burning here so they won’t get cold.”

Tong Huaqiong understood.

Master Su extended the class time because he was thinking of his students.

He moved all his charcoal to the private school, keeping the room hot and cozy every day, so the students preferred to sleep there rather than go home.

However, Master Su only bought one cartload of charcoal, which was enough for his own use this winter, but not enough for the private school.

Tong Huaqiong admired Su Fuzi's selflessness.

Tong Huaqiong said, "You gave all your charcoal to the private school, but what about your own room?"

Master Su said with a wry smile, "Yesterday I asked the village chief to go to town to buy another cartload of charcoal for me, but there's a shortage everywhere. Now, you can't even buy charcoal if you want to. It's not a matter of whether it's expensive or not, the key is that you can't buy it."

Master Su was a little regretful. Last time, Tong Pandi told him that the weather would be very cold this year, but he did not expect it to be this cold.

He should have stockpiled more charcoal.

Tong Huaqiong looked up at the sky, which was overcast, as if another heavy snowfall was about to fall.

She should put out the charcoal fire.

Tong Huaqiong said, “Master Su, please don’t worry. The private school doesn’t belong to you alone; it belongs to everyone. I have some charcoal here, and I’ll share some with you to ensure the school’s supply. But you also need to keep your own room warm. As the teacher, you mustn’t catch a cold.”

Just as Master Su was about to decline, a voice sounded from behind him.

"Master Su, please don't refuse. Manager Tong is right, you are the most valuable asset of our private school. We can't let anyone else get cold. You can use the charcoal Manager Tong gave you, and I'll take care of the charcoal supply for the school this year. I'm afraid of the cold, so I stock up on a lot of charcoal every year. The charcoal I stocked up the year before last hasn't even been burned yet. It's a waste to leave it there, so I'd rather give it to the school so that the children in our village can study in a warm classroom."

Such a boastful tone must be attributed to Boss Qian of Fenglelou.

Boss Qian chuckled at Tong Huaqiong and said, "Manager Tong, do you agree with what I said?"

Tong Huaqiong naturally agreed with Mr. Qian's charitable activities, echoing, "Yes."

Master Su cupped his hands in greeting and said, "In that case, I will accept it."

Mr. Qian stamped his foot and said, “It’s really cold today. Do you know why I stock up on charcoal so early every year? When I was a child, I experienced extremely cold weather in my hometown. Many people froze to death. The bodies of those who froze to death couldn’t be buried in time, and the stench of their corpses in the spring brought about an epidemic. It really left a shadow on me. I feel like this weather is a harbinger of extremely cold weather. If it really is, then that’s terrible.”

Soon the villagers gathered together, warming their hands with their breath and discussing the weather.

"Mr. Qian, are you telling the truth? It can really freeze people to death?"

Most villagers doubted Mr. Qian's claim about the extremely cold weather.

How cold can it get?

The main problem is that people don't have a concept of extreme cold weather. The coldest temperature in Ningcheng is only around minus ten degrees Celsius. Although water freezes instantly and there are blizzards, people can grit their teeth and endure it.

Mr. Qian said, "If you pour a pot of boiling water out, it will freeze in mid-air. Do you think that level of cold could kill someone?"

Tong Huaqiong said, "Whether it's true or not, everyone should deal with the extreme cold weather that Boss Qian mentioned. I advise everyone to burn charcoal and wear cotton-padded clothes as needed. Don't try to save a few dollars; it's not worth getting sick from the cold."

If you were to ask who the villagers trusted most, it would undoubtedly be Tong Huaqiong. Hearing Tong Huaqiong agree with Boss Qian's assessment of the extremely cold weather, they exchanged bewildered glances.

"In previous years, winters were mild; who would have thought this year would be a cold one?"

"Luckily, my house was reinforced with an extra floor this year."

"I wish I had bought charcoal before winter. It's so expensive this year. Aunt Tong just said that we should burn charcoal. We want to burn charcoal too, but we can't buy any in town now."

"Now, even if you have money, you can't buy it. In previous years, the charcoal I bought could last until the beginning of spring, but I don't know if it will last until the first month of the lunar calendar this year."

Everyone shared their opinions on the extreme cold weather, but ultimately they all came up with something about the charcoal fire.

The problem with charcoal nowadays isn't that it's expensive, but that it's hard to find.

Tong Huaqiong has a clear understanding of the charcoal situation in the homes of the villagers in Qinghewan, and based on the current situation, they can basically make ends meet.

She won't release information about having charcoal at this time.

So she said, "If we really encounter extremely cold weather, Magistrate Liu will definitely find a way to make sure everyone can buy charcoal. I still maintain that everyone should not try to tough it out; if you can't stand the cold, you must burn charcoal."

The inability to buy charcoal is not limited to Qinghewan Village or Yanguan Town.

Tong Huaqiong sent people out to inquire and found that charcoal was unavailable throughout Pingchuan County, and the surrounding counties and towns were experiencing the same situation.

Tong Huaqiong had reason to suspect that the Zheng family had hoarded all the charcoal available on the market.

The Zheng family hoarded charcoal and kept it from being released because the weather wasn't freezing cold yet, and everyone had already bought a batch of charcoal, so there wasn't any panic about a shortage.

In a few days, there will likely be panic about the extreme cold and coal shortage. At that time, the Zheng family will release coal, and people will buy it no matter how expensive it is.

Sure enough, as the weather grew colder and snow became more frequent, rumors of extremely cold weather began to circulate everywhere.

This caused widespread panic.

This news was released by the Zheng family as a publicity stunt to generate buzz before selling off their charcoal.

When news of the impending extreme cold weather spread, Tong Huaqiong was also prepared.

Once the Zheng family starts selling charcoal, she will have Jufulai immediately display its stockpiled charcoal to compete with the Zheng family.

Another heavy snowfall.

Gu Ruinian stood under the eaves, gazing at the vast expanse of white snow outside, and a sense of joy welled up within him.

Finally, God was on his side.

He wished the snow would be even heavier and the weather even colder, ideally freezing a large number of people to death, so that he could prove his worth to the Zheng family and that the historical records of this dynasty in his fabricated later generations would all be correct.

If the Zheng family trusts him, he can turn the tables.

Even if he can't build heavy artillery, as long as he proves he has the ability to foresee the future, the Zheng family will not abandon him.

In the past few days, he had witnessed firsthand the panic among the villagers over the inability to buy charcoal, and he knew that most of the charcoal in Pingchuan was currently in the hands of the Zheng family.

When the time is right, the Zheng family will sell off their shares.

He will benefit from this extreme cold weather.

Gu Ruinian smiled.

May the extreme cold weather come even more fiercely.