Go back to the prosperous days and become a layman

Chapter 422 Buying Coal
A flourishing crop depends on manure.

Chemical fertilizers began to become popular after the "43 Plan", which laid the foundation for grain growth. But in the hundreds of years before that, most of the fertility of farmland came from soil fertilizer.

Everyone knows what soil fertilizer is. The people who pick up manure mentioned in the previous article are mostly farmers.

In the old city of Beijing, the area where manure could be picked up was limited to the roads and villages outside the city, not including the city and its suburbs, because the densely populated areas of the city were artificially divided into manure channels.

The manure ditch is relatively abstract, somewhat similar to a sphere of influence or area.

By smoothing over the relationship, and paying a certain amount of money, only one person in this area will be responsible for cleaning up human excrement.

In the late Qing Dynasty, the person who made the biggest contribution to the human excrement cleaning project was named Yu Deshun, and the people of old Beijing called him "the dung tyrant."

During the Republic of China period, Yu Deshun transformed himself into the chairman of the "Peking Night soil collectors' Union" and still held the top position in the city's human excrement cleaning project.

Before liberation, not to mention sewers, even public toilets were limited, and most residents relied on their own "toilets" to defecate. This toilet was actually a wooden barrel that had to be cleaned regularly.

There was no such thing as "property fees" at that time, but Yu Deshun had many shady tricks.

Ordinary people will not allow the excrement collectors to come to their homes to clean up if they don't give them tips, and will just leave the stench unbearable until they give tips.

They would even openly ask for money from the hosts of weddings or funerals, and if they didn’t give, they would throw manure water at the door;
He did not spare some merchants, and had them push manure carts to block the door, refusing to leave unless they were paid.

Because of the protection from above and the fact that Yu Deshun had a group of thugs, the people dared to be angry but not to speak out.

In addition to oppressing the people in the city, he also did not spare the farmers outside the city.

If farmers want a good harvest, they need fertilizer, but their own production is limited, so they can only buy it from dung tyrants.

The dung tyrants with little conscience would mix some soil into it, but Yu Deshun was cruel and had no conscience at all. It would not do to mix soil into it as it would not increase the weight enough, so he had to mix coal ash and sand into it!
In order to maximize profits, Yu Deshun "eats three kinds of food from one fish". In addition to the above, he also asks his dung collectors to pay tribute.

I didn't make much to begin with, and I had to work all year round. Now I'm causing public outrage and I don't have any support from the masses.

This situation continued until liberation. After senior officials inspected the city's appearance, they issued a number of measures to rectify the construction of grassroots public toilets, clean up the urban environment, and improve social security.

When Yu Deshun was about to use his old tricks to consolidate his "core interests", he was accused by the masses and was naturally sent to jail.

You wouldn't know until you checked. You'd be shocked to find out that this old guy owns more than 100 houses, 1550 acres of fertile land, and 2 shops.

Finally, after the public trial, everyone ate peanuts and felt very happy!

After that, the government moved the manure field from the city to outside the city and built toilets around every alley.

Although the environment has improved, the position of night soil collector has not been abolished. Instead, those hard-working night soil collectors have been incorporated into the cleaning teams in each district.

At the beginning, the night soil collectors still used the old method, pushing night soil carts, carrying night soil buckets, and cleaning public toilets in every alley.

In 1958, the manure carts were replaced with trucks, which greatly reduced the labor intensity of the manure workers.

As old residents of Beijing, although they suffered from oppression by dung tyrants, most of them looked down on dung collectors and often called them "stinky dung collectors."

Although the situation improved significantly after liberation, the complete change did not occur until October 59.

The gathering of heroes was held on the 26th, and it was at this meeting that the phrase “We are all service personnel” was said.

On the 29th, the story was published in a second-rate newspaper. The message “I would rather be dirty myself to keep thousands of families clean” spread to thousands of households, and the image of the night soil collector changed instantly.

In the following years, people from all walks of life continued to come to learn from him, but it is hard to say how many of them would eventually stick to this line of work.

Although Tang Zhitong had never spoken to this fellow Shandong native, they had met many times because he worked in the Chongwen cleaning team and was responsible for cleaning the public toilets at the west entrance of Huashi Street.

It is precisely because of such a group of lovely people that the environmental sanitation of the old city has reached a new level. Tang Zhitong respects their efforts very much. Every time he meets them, he will smile and nod as a greeting, and has never covered his face with disgust.

The day after the newspaper advertisement, October 1959, 10, happened to be a Friday, which was the first day that Class 30 of the Cable Department went to the coal yard to adapt to the site.

This time the college did not send a car, and students walked to the coal yard in groups.

Although Tang Zhitong was not prepared to participate, he had made a promise to Yan Xiongfei beforehand, so he still went to take a look, giving necessary instructions and encouragement for each link.

After encouraging his classmates, Tang Zhitong rode away on his bicycle.

However, Tang Zhitong did not go home, but went to the coal yard on Huashi Street.

Since the normal supply of coal adheres to the principle of "zoning and delivering coal to the door", there are no purchase or sales restrictions. Tang Zhitong plans to take this opportunity to buy more and use it slowly at home.

Tang Zhitong didn’t know whether the supply would be cut off in the future, but it would probably take a long time for the supply to be so sufficient again.

This activity is being carried out simultaneously across the city. Students from other colleges and universities will also enter today to familiarize themselves with the work process. Together with the residents who come to buy coal, the scene will be bustling and lively.

This time, Tang Zhitong ordered 500 kilograms and chose the best hard coal, which cost him a total of seven dollars and forty cents.

After paying, Tang Zhitong returned home and told Zhang Guifang: "Mom, I bought some coal today and it will be delivered tomorrow."

"We already have coal at home, why buy more coal?" Zhang Guifang is used to being frugal, and she is troubled by her son's lavish lifestyle.

"I saw in the newspaper that the coal yard organized a warm-hearted activity, delivering coal directly to people's doors, saving us the trouble of passing out cigarettes and water. Let's take advantage of the big push and buy some." As Tang Zhitong spoke to Zhang Guifang, he took out a broom from the main room and ran to two coal yards, his body covered in coal dust.

"How much did you buy? I'll give you the money." Although the family has not yet divided up, her son and daughter-in-law give her money every month. Now only the main house has coal for burning, and Zhang Guifang thinks there is no reason to let her son pay for it anymore.

"You don't have to pay, I still have more. I'll take 500 kilograms first, and when it's delivered tomorrow, you can buy a few hundred kilograms. We'll have enough to burn this winter, and we'll have a little more." Tang Zhitong handed the broom to Zhang Guifang and asked, "Mom, I'm covered in coal dust at the coal yard, can you help me sweep it up?"

"You prodigal son, why did you buy so much? Just buy as you need." Zhang Guifang hit her son twice with the broom before she started to sweep for him. In all these years, she had never bought so much coal at once. Five hundred kilograms was enough to burn for a whole winter, but her son still wanted to buy more. "I have to buy it. It's hard to say how the coal supply will be in the future. If I can't buy it, I can't just sit there and freeze without burning the stove, right?" The mother's beating was not painful, and Tang Zhitong didn't feel any pain, but he could feel that his mother was very distressed, so he explained.

"Then these five hundred kilograms are almost enough. When the time comes, buy some loess and make some coal cakes yourself, so that you can burn less." Zhang Guifang swept the floor for Tang Zhitong.

"Mom, those who have face have no face, and those who have no face have all face. Usually when we go to buy, most of what is delivered is coal. This time, it is all shipped directly from the coal mine. They don't have time to look at people and serve dishes. It's worth buying just for this, right?" Tang Zhitong still tried hard to persuade Zhang Guifang.

Those with face have no face, and those without face have all face. This is a complaint of residents. The prominent people buy coal in lumps, while ordinary people don't have the face, so most of what they buy are broken pieces.

"Coal dust is coal dust. It's just right for making coal cakes, which saves more coal." Zhang Guifang shook her head stubbornly, took the broom back into the house and hung it up. After a while, she took out ten yuan and gave it to her son.

"Mom, no need. I have money." Although the wing room would be burned with wood in the future, Tang Zhitong did not intend to calculate it so clearly. He always felt that it was natural for his son to take care of his mother and sister.

"Be obedient and take it. You already give more than half of your salary to your family, and you smoke, so how much will be left? Don't let Jingwen have any other thoughts." Most conflicts in the world are caused by money. Zhang Guifang didn't want to leave such a hidden danger, and she didn't want to see her son and his wife having conflicts.

"Jingwen won't..." Tang Zhitong hadn't finished speaking, but his eyes met Zhang Guifang's glaring eyes, so he could only swallow the rest of his words, took the money, and smiled helplessly: "Then I'll keep it."

"Well, put it away. These 500 kilograms are enough. Don't buy any more. If you're short of food, how can you be short of coal? Your father has worked in a coal mine for most of his life. He said there's plenty of coal underground and you can dig as much as you want. Don't always think that this will be cut off and that will be cut off." Compared with her son's opinion, Zhang Guifang obviously believes more in her husband who used to work in a coal mine. There is a sense of confidence in her words, as well as the satisfaction of educating her son.

Tang Zhitong smiled helplessly and thought, if she doesn't agree, then don't agree. He would ask Xiao Wang to make the trip later. His mother might blame him, but she would be more tolerant towards her daughter-in-law.

Now, not only is there no limit on coal production, but high production and over-fulfillment of mining targets are also encouraged. In a sense, Zhang Guifang is right: we can mine as much as we want.

However, underground coal needs to be transported upwards. When the amount of coal mined exceeds a certain amount and reaches the upper limit of the winch capacity, it is difficult to increase production in a short period of time.

Moreover, there are many places that use coal now, not only for civilian use, but also for industrial use. There is a huge gap in coal demand. If coal is transported from other places, the train capacity may not be able to meet the demand.

Taking all the above reasons into consideration, Tang Zhitong thought about buying more. Besides, he was using information asymmetry this time and did not need to ask anyone for help. It was reasonable and legal.

The family's economic conditions have improved, and Tang Zhitong has a strong desire to improve the living conditions for his mother and sister. He doesn't want to use coal briquettes anymore, as that doesn't save much money and is labor-intensive.

From childhood to adulthood, Tang Zhitong has been making coal briquettes for a long time.

If you want to make coal cakes, you have to buy loess first. Since Tang Zhitong was a child, loess has been charged.

At that time, there were people pushing earth carts into the city to sell the soil all year round, especially in autumn and winter.

Some wealthier families would ask those who sold loess to help them make honeycomb coal, coal cakes, etc. Some poorer families who could not afford coal would go to the doors of the rich families early in the morning and pick up coal cores from the coal ash.

Although the Tang family was not wealthy, they were not at the point where they had to pick up coal cores. They bought them and exchanged them for loess to make their own coal briquettes. Because there was a fee for this work, Mrs. Tang was reluctant to spend the money.

To make honeycomb briquettes, a circle is made of iron sheets, and the mixed coal and mud are put into it. It is first pressed into shape, and then holes are pierced with a cleaning rod when it is half dry. It is very troublesome.

Besides, the family didn’t have the money to buy a special honeycomb coal stove at that time. When they could buy coal, they would make do with coal briquettes. When they couldn’t buy coal, they would burn peat.

Peat is also called grass turf and peat coal. Once discovered, there are large areas of it. Many people dig it up and push it into the city to sell. It is a substitute for coal. It is cheaper, but it does not burn as well as coal.

Peat can be burned directly after drying, or it can be beaten into coal cakes and burned like coal flour.

It is not difficult to make coal cakes. Mix loess with the coal surface, soak it in water, mix it evenly, then pat it into blocks, put it on the ground in the sun, stack it up after it is completely dry, and then smash it into appropriate sizes and put it in the stove when burning.

Today's living conditions have improved greatly compared to the past, but people who are used to saving still mainly buy coal. Slightly larger pieces of coal can ignite quickly and are burned when something happens. Coal dust and coal slag are used to support honeycomb coal or make coal cakes.

Whether it is coal, honeycomb coal, or coal cakes, burning them will inevitably cause air pollution. Especially in recent years, residents have been using coal in their daily lives and for heating, and factories have also been using it, and the air quality is terrible.

Relevant departments are also trying various ways to change residents' living habits. The Type 58 civilian dual-purpose stove is one of the measures, but the effect is not very obvious.

In order to adapt to the old stoves in residents' homes, the coal yard also produces and sells coal briquettes.

In the beginning, coal briquettes were made by human shaking, just like making Yuanxiao (Chinese dumplings), with a layer of coal surface and a layer of loess. Not only was the labor intensity high, but the output was also low.

Later, it became a machine-made product. Coal surface was added with water and loess in a certain proportion and mixed thoroughly to make small balls shaped like ginkgo nuts and the size of walnuts. After drying, they could be stored for a long time.

As for the specific effect of use, it’s just so-so. Coal blocks still have the highest combustion efficiency.

After Xiao Wang came back, had dinner and returned to the room, Tang Zhitong told her about his purchase of coal.

"Buy it. This thing will not go bad. No matter whether you need it in the future or not, it is worth buying just for the purpose of bringing warmth to your family now." After understanding the whole story, Xiao Wang firmly stood on Tang Zhitong's side.

"Hehe, if you ask me, it has to be my wife. I've already gone to buy some today. Let's wait until the day after tomorrow morning. I'll make sesame cakes at home. You can go to the coal yard to avoid people recognizing me." Tang Zhitong encouraged Xiao Wang to go.

He went to the coal yard today and figured out the procedures. The cashiers are all people from the coal yard, the invoice issuers may be students doing social practice, and the coal is delivered by coal plant employees and students interspersed, and whichever group's turn it is is responsible.

Although there will be a delivery address on the ticket, most people live in slums these days, so they don’t think too much about whether they are issuing invoices or collecting money. The only thing they need to do is to avoid running into the same group of people when delivering coal.

"Okay, I'll go." Student Wang agreed readily.

"I knew my wife is the best." Tang Zhitong beamed with joy. He took out the ten yuan his mother had given him from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Wang: "This is the coal money my mother gave me."

"Why do I have to pay for buying some coal?" Student Wang frowned and didn't answer.

"Maybe he's afraid that we're short of money." Tang Zhitong told a little lie.

"You want it if I give it to you? Not next time." Xiao Wang didn't believe what her man said, but she accepted it anyway and planned to buy all of it as coal on Sunday.

"Okay, hehe." Tang Zhitong didn't dwell on this question anymore, but leaned close to Xiao Wang's ear and said, "You haven't taken a shower for several days. I'll boil some water for you, and you can wipe yourself."

"Hate it~~ Why don't you go quickly?" Xiao Wang lightly hit her man, pointed at the stove, and smiled...

(End of this chapter)