The days passed slowly, and the briquettes at home were almost burned out. I had to find a way to prepare some. Otherwise, it would be troublesome when the firewood ran out. I couldn't just pick up the slag and burn it, right?

I told my brothers, "I'll go check it out. If coal is cheaper, I'll give it on credit."

Xiaojie: "Brother, I'm afraid it's not easy to get credit. It would be better if we dry some millet first, beat some rice and sell it for money, then go buy it."

In fact, I am reluctant to thresh millet and sell it. Because one hundred kilograms of millet only requires about seventy kilograms of rice. One kilogram of rice only costs about one yuan or two. If you are unlucky and encounter many people selling rice, you will not be able to sell it.

to this price.

Me: "Processed ready-made briquettes may be a little more expensive. Just buy some loose coal on credit, and you can save a little bit."

Xiaojie: "It doesn't matter, brother, we have a coal gun at home. You go and get the loose coal back. We will help you beat it. I can also borrow a coal gun, so that two coal guns can shoot faster."

a little."

Brother Jun: "I can't afford to fight, so I just cook. I'm collecting carbon in the afternoon. You can hold five of them, but I can still handle two or three."

Everyone agreed on the idea of ​​buying loose coal and breaking it ourselves. So I went out to find a way to get loose coal.

There are two briquette processing plants in the village. One is at the head of the village, and the other is at the end of the village. The one at the head of the village is opened by Lu Xiangyang's family, which is a group, and is smaller in scale. The one at the end of the village is opened by several brothers from Deng Xiaohu's family, which is the fourth group.

The scale is much larger.

Let’s ask about the price first. When we arrived at the Dengjia Coal Factory, we saw two briquette machines busy. With the deafening sound of machine processing, pieces of processed briquettes seemed to come out of the machine one by one.

The "eggs" were conveyed out by the belt. When the workers waiting next to the belt saw the briquettes being conveyed, they quickly picked them up and stacked them on the coal pile next to them.

The entire processing plant looks both "orderly" and "disorganized". Some workers are putting large pieces of coal into the crusher for crushing; some workers are scooping the crushed coal into the mixer with shovels and mixing it with water;

Some workers used shovels to continuously scoop the mixed slime into the coal machine for processing; then pieces of processed briquettes were continuously transferred from the conveyor belt... The entire production process was probably this "orderly" look.

.However, there are people coming and going, pulling lumps of coal here and there, pulling briquettes out, people coming and going, people running around, hoes, shovels, dustpans, and plastic water pipes that are still running on the ground.

, people smoking, people spitting, people not wearing masks... it is another "chaotic" production scene.

The huge production noise and thick coal processing dust make people want to stop for a moment. However, there are still workers who are willing to work in such a harsh environment in order to survive.

When I saw these dark workers, I couldn't identify them. I didn't know who was the boss. So I had to ask loudly: "Who is the boss?"

At this time, a worker holding briquettes pointed at the person sitting on the small tractor. I quickly walked over and saw a middle-aged man sitting on the small tractor smoking. Others were loading the tractor into the compartment.

Honeycomb. I guess he is the boss.

Me: "Boss, how do you sell briquettes here?"

When the middle-aged man saw me coming, he first handed me a cigarette. Then he said, "It depends on which one you buy."

Me: "Buy fourteen."

Boss: "If you're 14, it's only 21 cents if you don't get it, and if you get it, it's 23 cents. If it's more than 1,000, it's only free."

Me: "How much is the price?"

Boss: "Nothing less."

I did the calculations. Based on five briquettes a day, there are three hundred and sixty-five days in a year, which means we need 1,825 yuan. If the delivery is included, the cost will be 419 yuan and 75 cents. If the delivery is not included, it will be 419 yuan and 75 cents.

That's 383 yuan and 25 cents, which can save 36 yuan and 50 cents.

I still mustered up the courage to ask: "Boss, can you do credit here?"

Boss: "What?"

I just thought the boss didn't hear clearly and was about to say it again. Unexpectedly, he went on to say: "Young man, you don't want to ask around. We don't do credit here."

Me: "Well, boss, do you sell bulk coal?"

Boss: "We are a briquette processing factory. You see clearly. We process briquettes for sale, not bulk coal. If you want to buy bulk coal, go to the coal mine to buy it. However, you can go pick up the dregs.

Come and burn it, it’s free of charge.”

The other workers laughed when they heard what he said.

Their chatter and laughter made me feel very angry. I felt that he was "laughing" at me. He was just buying briquettes. He was just here to get credit. If he didn't take credit, forget it.

I felt that my "face" was hurt. However, I still pretended to say: "Boss, I will go back and report to the adults. I will buy it later."

The boss said calmly: "Let's go slowly. Everything there is pretty much the same."

I guess he knew that I wanted to ask Lujia Coal Factory. It didn’t matter what he thought. Anyway, if I had money, I wouldn’t buy it from him.

When we arrived at the Lujia Coal Plant, it was smaller. The noise was not that loud. There were not that many workers. There was only one briquette machine. A crusher driven by a tractor head was crushing the coal. The mixer was also larger than that of the Dengjia Coal Plant.

Much smaller.

I saw someone approaching. A man wearing a straw hat stained black by coal and a black face mask came over.

When he took off the black scarf, I saw clearly that she was Lu Xiangyang's wife. I wanted to call her cousin.

Me: "Cousin, why are you processing coal?"

She: "Your cousin and I are both processing, and he is crushing coal over there. What are you doing here?"

Me: "Of course I'm here to buy coal."

She: "Are you buying bulk coal or ready-made coal?"

Me: "What's the difference in price between bulk coal and ready-made coal?"

She said: "One hundred and twenty-one tons of loose coal, 20 cents a piece ready-made."

When I heard that the prices were almost the same, I asked her: "Cousin, how many briquettes can be made from one ton of loose coal?"

She said: "This machine should be a little less tight. The manual one is not as tight as the machine. It may be a little more, only about 700. Each one weighs almost three pounds."

Me: "Can we deliver loose coal in packages?"

She said: "The bulk coal is only delivered per tractor. It's three tons."

I thought about it, three tons is a bit too much, and one ton is a bit too little, so I might as well buy two tons. It’s just that two tons of bulk coal costs 240 yuan. I only have a few dozen yuan in hand and I can’t pay for it.

Qing, I wonder if his family can get credit?

Me: "Cousin, can you buy two tons of bulk coal?"

She: "Okay. It's just that two tons is a bit too little."

Me: "It's quite a lot. My family only burns less than 2,000 pieces a year. It's been half a year. Money is a little tight recently, so I will buy two tons for use first. I will come to your house to buy after the Chinese New Year."

She: "Okay, okay. Taking advantage of the good weather these days, take it back and dry it in the sun for a day. Even if it doesn't dry in the sun for a day, it will dry most of it. It's better to take it back and dry it in the shade."

When I saw her saying this, I still felt a little uneasy. I said hesitantly: "Cousin, there is something I can discuss with you."

She said: "Young man, if you have something to say, just tell me, don't be hesitant."

Me: "Cousin, can you get it on credit first? I will pay you after a while."

She looked a little embarrassed: "You have to tell your cousin about this, otherwise he will blame me. We are all running a small business, and we can't open credit accounts for a long time."

I hurriedly walked to the crusher. Maybe Uncle Lu had finished crushing the coal. He turned off the machine, took off his black mask, and walked over.

He said: "Mu Yi, what are you doing here, young man?"

Me: "Cousin, let me lend some loose coal on credit."

Him: "Oh. Are you going to get a lot of credit?"

Me: "I'm going to give you two tons on credit. If you want the money, I'll buy some rice and sell it to you."

He said: "Two tons is a little too little to load the truck. I'll give you three tons on credit. It doesn't matter the money. You have to pay back that time, but it's really not possible. You can't pay it back until your father comes back during the Chinese New Year."
Chapter completed!