Back to 1984: Hunting in the Mountains

“What are the main roads and the side roads?”

Yu Qiutang didn't understand, and subconsciously looked at Lao Qin, and found that Lao Qin was also tilting his ears, showing that he was also very interested in this thing.

"The so-called big road refers to the coal that travels on the main road, and the small road refers to the small road.

What are the main roads? They refer to those public coal mines and licensed coal mines. The roads in front of their gates are well built, making it convenient for transport vehicles to enter, so they are called the main roads.

There are also some coal mines that are very small and do not have licenses. Naturally, they dare not go openly on the main road, so they will find a place that is not easily discovered by outsiders and enter and exit through small paths.

Relatively speaking, large coal mines have everything regulated, workers' wages are guaranteed to be high, and the costs are certainly high, so the price of coal is also high.

As for small private coal mines, the cost is very low, so naturally the selling price is also low.

But private coal mines also have problems. The coal they dig out is often of poor quality, and stones are added to make up the difference.

So, many trucks from outside come in to pull coal, and guess what they do, they find a small coal mine, pull some poor quality coal and put it at the bottom, then cover it with some good coal, mix them together and sell them outside.

This is the only way to make more profit. If we only transport coal, the cost will be very high and the profit will be much smaller."

"So that's it."

Yu Qiutang nodded, he deeply agreed with this matter.

When I bought charcoal in the early years, I didn’t notice it when I bought it, but when I took it back to crush the charcoal, I found that there were a lot of stones mixed in it.

The stones in the coal are different from ordinary stones. They look black on the outside, and are even similar in color to coal, but they are very difficult to break open. Even if you try to break them open, there are layers of stone inside, and they cannot be burned at all.

This type of coal mixed with stones is often sold at a cheaper price and appears in some private stores.

At first, people wanted to save money and would buy this kind of charcoal, but as time went on, they gradually discovered that this cheap thing, although it looked cheap, was actually worse than buying charcoal after removing the stones.

The government is constantly regulating this type of mixed carbon, and gradually the amount is reduced.

"If you want to do legitimate business, then go find those public coal mines. If not... you can also find small coal mines, but I'll tell you in advance that this kind of small-road coal will generally not be sold to strangers unless they are acquainted and have no one to introduce it to them."

Zhang Lin continued to explain.

Yu Qiutang: "So, Brother Zhang, are you familiar with these coal mines?"

Zhang Lin: "What kind of coal mine are you talking about?"

"Of course... you know."

Zhang Lin subconsciously looked outside the car and shook his head. "I can't say I'm familiar with it, but after all, I live in the town, so I know some news. But I have a suggestion. Don't go directly to people to talk about the lack of coal on the small road. No one will believe you.

Let me tell you, most of those who bought small-road coal before were originally dealing in big-road coal. Because the price was too high, they thought of dealing in small-road coal and taking unconventional measures.

Similarly, those who sell small-scale coal business will also pay attention to those who do big-scale coal business. They will observe secretly and be ready to develop into their customers at any time.

But if you didn’t start out as a big-name coal dealer, and just appeared in Liukou Town, and you went straight to small-name coal dealers, people would think you were under investigation, and no one would bother you, and you wouldn’t be able to buy anything.”

Yu Qiutang nodded, it turned out that there was such a rule.

Think about it.

The biggest problem for these people who make money secretly is not how much money they make, but how to make it safely and stably. No matter how much money they make, once they are investigated and everything is taken away, it will be meaningless.

The formation of any industrial chain is not a simple accident. After a long period of fighting wits and courage with the government, they have gradually accumulated some experience and unspoken rules for dealing with it.

If you don't understand these principles, you are really blind and can't find anything here.

While the two were talking, the car had already arrived in the town.

Because the license plate was from another place, as soon as he entered the town, Yu Qiutang could immediately see many complicated looks staring at them.

I became more alert.

Zhang Lin also noticed this and whispered, "This is how it is in our area. We are very careful about foreign vehicles.

I just told you that there are only two types of external vehicles. One is our customers who transport coal, but these vehicles are often large trucks.

The other type is people who come to inspect or check, just like you guys driving a small car. People here will pay more attention to small cars and must find out what your purpose is. "

Yu Qiutang nodded.

The car continued to move forward and soon arrived at Liukou Town Hospital.

Although this hospital is a town hospital, it is already quite large at this time, at least much larger than the Qingquan Town Health Center. Perhaps it is because there are many outsiders and industries here, so people are more likely to get injured.

With the assistance of the doctor, Zhang Lin's wife was arranged to be examined by a doctor.

Lao Qin and Yu Qiujiang continued to wait in the car, while Yu Qiutang and Zhang Lin sat on the plastic chairs in the hospital lobby and continued to chat.

Yu Qiutang hesitated for a moment and tried to ask, "Brother Zhang, this place produces so much coal every day, how many workers are needed to dig it?"

Zhang Lin: "It's a lot anyway. It depends on what kind of mine it is. For example, in the big mines, the technology is advanced, and the various machines and mining vehicles are very advanced. I heard that each person can produce about 700 to 800 kilograms of coal every day on average."

"What about the small coal mine?"

"It's a small coal mine, so the amount is much less, probably only about 100 to 200 kilograms, and it's not stable."

“Why is the gap so big?”

"Needless to say, you haven't been inside a small coal mine. The holes inside are very small, and people have to crawl in and out. There are no mining vehicles or transportation tracks. From digging the coal to delivering it, everything has to be carried by people bit by bit. How inefficient is that? That's why these outsiders..."

Zhang Lin suddenly felt that he had said too much, so he quickly restrained himself and smiled, "In short, the difference is still quite large, and it cannot be unified. But the difference is that all the workers in the large coal mines are recorded, and the people in the small coal mines... God knows how many there are, coming in and out, there is no exact number."

"Brother Zhang really knows a lot about this."

Zhang Lin smiled awkwardly and said, "I have a relative who works as a minor manager in a coal mine. I heard all this from him."

"That's it~"

"So what are you doing now?"

"According to what Brother Zhang said, we should start by taking the main road and going on a journey, right?"

Zhang Lin nodded: "I suggest you get familiar with the environment here first, get to know some middlemen who specialize in external affairs, and then consider doing business after you are familiar with the entire process."

"Makes sense."

The two chatted for a while, and Zhang Lin expressed his gratitude again, saying that if Yu Qiutang was busy, he could go and do his own thing first, and if there was a chance another day, he would treat them to a meal to express his gratitude.

Yu Qiutang said there was no rush and that he would send the couple home after the investigation was completed.

Zhang Lin had no choice but to accept the offer.

About half an hour later, the doctor came out and said that Zhang Lin's wife had not yet reached her due date, and it would take about a week. She could stay in the hospital to take care of the fetus, or go home without any impact.

After considering it, Zhang Lin decided to stay at home. At that time, people generally did not stay in the hospital to take care of their babies, nor did they have the habit of caesarean sections. They basically gave birth at home, and it was also convenient for them to stay at home for the confinement period.

If you live in the hospital, you will have to pay a lot of hospitalization fees and bed fees every day. Most people cannot afford it and are reluctant to pay it.

Yu Qiutang just happened to send them home together.

Yu Qiutang was so enthusiastic, of course, not just to help, but more to get into these villages and get to know the situation on the spot.

Before, both Lao Qin and Zhang Lin expressed their feelings. Yu Qiutang himself had no feelings about it, and they could not provide any substantial guidance for his next plan.

There just happened to be an excuse right in front of me, so I could take advantage of it.

While Zhang Lin was going through the formalities, he first returned to the car to check with Lao Qin and Yu Qiujiang. The two felt that there was no problem and that there was no gain without risking anything.

Half an hour later, the car started again and headed towards Zhang Lin's village.

After the car drove for a while, Yu Qiutang saw that the fields on both sides were bare and couldn't help asking Zhang Lin, "Brother Zhang, you are also growing wheat here, right?"

"Yes, it's mainly wheat, but we also eat buckwheat, corn, and sorghum, but wheat is the staple food."

"Then according to the climate, only winter wheat should be grown, why isn't wheat being planted now?"

Zhang Lin smiled bitterly and said, "You don't know what kind of wheat to grow. The land below has been dug out, and the water level has dropped sharply. The moisture in the land can't be maintained at all, and nothing can be grown.

In the past, every household had a well, and water could be found within a dozen meters. But now, even if we dig a well forty meters away, there is still no sign of water.

We can only drink water from the village well, but the water is not very clean. If we drink too much, we will feel uncomfortable. But there is no other way. We have to drink it."

"How can that be possible? Your village doesn't have its own crops. What will you eat?"

“It’s not just our village, if you have time, you can go around and see that many places are like this.

Those rich people are digging coal down there, and we ordinary people can only suffer. Murakami has made up for it a little.

But this money is not enough to support the whole family, so every household has to send its able-bodied laborers to work underground. If they don’t get sick from exhaustion, they definitely won’t get any rest.”

When Zhang Lin said this, he looked at the land outside the window with infinite regret in his eyes.

For farmers of their time, the greatest sorrow was that good land was wasted and could not be used to grow crops.

Yu Qiutang was thinking about how to take advantage of the situation to ask questions, and he thought of a solution.

"Brother Zhang, you just said that all the strong and capable laborers in the village went to work in the mines. Why didn't you go?"

Zhang Lin said: "I can't get away from home right now. My mother is not in good health, my wife is pregnant, and there is no one at home to take care of her, so I have to come out temporarily.

After a while, when my wife has given birth and is out of confinement, I will have to go back. If I don’t go back to earn money, how will the family eat? We have so many mouths to feed, and we can’t just leave them there, right?”

"That's right," Yu Qiutang nodded. "Just now you said your brother-in-law is in the mine. Are you working with him?"

"Certainly not."

Zhang Lin shook his head subconsciously without even thinking about it.

"Why? He's the supervisor, and he can take care of you, so you don't have to worry about anything."

"He is working on the small road coal."

"?"

Seeing Yu Qiutang's confusion, Zhang Lin explained, "Didn't I tell you that the conditions at Xiaolu Coal Mine are very poor, with frequent landslides and water seepage. If things go wrong, people inside might not be able to get out.

So, we locals will definitely not go in there. Those working there are all from outsiders. They don’t know the pros and cons and go in in waves.

If I were to work in a mine, I would definitely go to a large state-owned coal mine, where the safety factor is high and the work is easy. To put it bluntly, even if something happens, my family will receive a lot of compensation.

You said that if you died in a small coal mine, no one would know where you went. "

"So there is such a thing. It's really not easy for outsiders to make some money here."

"It's not easy," Zhang Lin said, lowering his voice, "I tell you, outsiders coming here, regardless of whether they can make money or not, should be thankful as long as they can get out!"

"Zhang Lin, what nonsense are you talking about!"

Yu Qiutang was about to continue asking when his wife in the back of the car suddenly stopped him.

This was the first complete sentence spoken by this woman.

All I heard before were groans of pain.

Yu Qiutang was always trying to get the question right, so he treated the woman as a tool and didn't look at her carefully.

Now that she suddenly spoke, he subconsciously turned his head to look at the woman and found that she looked a little dissatisfied. "How can you talk nonsense about these things? What does it have to do with us? You don't know your identity."

Seeing Yu Qiutang and Yu Qiujiang looking at her, he slowed down his tone and said, "Don't listen to his bragging. He is just like that. He knows nothing and just keeps talking nonsense.

We are actually ordinary people. We don't know anything about other people's coal mines. He is digging coal in the mine and is a loader.

As for what those small coal mines are like, I just heard about it from others, I don’t know anything myself, so just listen to it, don’t take it to heart.”

Zhang Lin was reminded of this by his wife, and perhaps he also realized that he had talked too much today, so he smiled awkwardly and was unwilling to continue.

Seeing this, Yu Qiutang didn't dare to ask any more questions.

Asking too many questions would seem too deliberate and make them wary.

"It's ok, sister-in-law, just chatting for a while. By the way, do you know where the Liukou Coal Mine is?"

"Liukou Coal Mine?" Zhang Lin and his wife were both confused and looked at Yu Qiutang.

"Why, you don't know either?"

Zhang Lin laughed and said, "It's not that I don't know, it's that I know it too well!"

"?"

"That's because in our entire town, except for the largest state-owned coal mine called Liukou Coal Mine, all other small coal mines, especially those private small coal mines, are called Liukou Coal Mine.

Anyway, people outside don’t know, right?

They only want to get coal from Liukou Coal Mine, but they don’t know which one is the real Liukou Coal Mine. Then can’t all the other coal be sold together according to that one?”

"So that's it!"

Yu Qiutang didn't say it, but he was very depressed in his heart.

If what Zhang Lin said was true, and all the coal mines, big and small, were called Liukou Coal Mine, then which small coal mine in a corner did Liu Shufen's husband and brother work in? (End of this chapter)