Starting a new chapter in life

Jingyan's eyes lit up and she immediately said, "Yes! Thank you, Sister Liu. Where do we go to pay?"

Sister Liu smiled and said, "Bring your money with you during the afternoon work hours. Go to the logistics department and find the clerk in charge of registration. After you pay, take the slip he gives you and someone will deliver the coal to your home. Do it today. It's best if you bring a family member with you this afternoon to wait at the military base gate. The family member can lead the way. After you pay, take the coal truck to the military base gate and come back quickly so as not to delay your work this afternoon."

"Okay, okay, thank you so much, Sister Liu. I was worried about not having enough coal this year, but now I can rest assured. Um, is there a purchase limit?" Zhang Jingyan asked cautiously.

Sister Liu shook her head: "There should be quite a lot of coal left over this year. My husband said that we'll contact the surrounding villages in a few days to share the extra coal with those who want it. You two should calculate how much you need to buy, just enough for your own use. You two can't possibly buy up all the leftovers. That amount is probably enough for you to burn for eight or ten years, haha."

Jingyan breathed a sigh of relief and exchanged a glance with Chunlai, both seeing the excitement in each other.

After lunch was served, Jingyan and Chunlai ran back to their own home. Her fourth sister hadn't returned yet. She unlocked the door, went inside, and pulled out an aluminum biscuit box from under the wardrobe. Carefully opening it, she found it filled with her wages and savings from over the years. She counted out 50 yuan, thought for a moment, then counted out another 50 yuan before closing the box and hiding it back. She put the 100 yuan in her pocket, patted it down, and then peacefully took a nap.

After lunch break, Jingyan arrived at Chunlai's house a little early. Chunlai had also brought money and took her little brother to the canteen. Jingyan looked at Peng and said, "Brother Peng, my fourth sister should have come into the mountains today, but she hasn't come back at noon. We're going to buy coal together later. Could you please help me guide the coal truck to my house?"

Peng scratched his head and said with a smile, "No problem. My mom is home. We'll go to my house first, and I'll take yours over while they unload the truck. Is the window in your storage room open?"

Jingyan shook her head: "No, no one's home, it's not open. I have the front door key and the key to the storage room window. Here, take these two. Please keep an eye on things for me. I'll go to your house with Chunlai to get the keys after work tonight, okay?"

Brother Peng nodded: "Okay, don't worry, I'll watch them unload the coal. Once it's done, I'll lock the warehouse windows and the main gate for you. Don't worry."

Jingyan smiled and said, "Thank you, Brother Peng. When we have our holidays, I'll have my fourth sister cook at home. You and Chunlai can come over for dinner then."

Peng Xiaoge smiled sheepishly and said, "Thank you, Jingyan. I'll definitely go then."

Jingyan and Chunlai exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.

When the three arrived at the military base, they told the gatekeeper that Peng was waiting at the entrance. The two of them went straight to the logistics department. After entering the office building and asking around, they went up to the second floor. The logistics department was located directly opposite the stairwell on the second floor. The clerk worked in a small room with a window facing the corridor. People could handle their business at the window.

It wasn't the beginning or end of the month, so there weren't many people coming to collect anything. Even when there was nothing to do, the clerk would open the window at a fixed time. The two walked over, and Chunlai looked at Jingyan and nudged her with his shoulder.

Jing Yan glanced at her helplessly and stepped forward to ask, "Comrade, we are temporary workers in the canteen and want to buy some coal. Is this where we pay?"

The clerk put down the forms in his hand, looked up at them, and said, "Are you two companies? How much are you planning to buy? This year, the price of coal purchased by the military is 8 yuan per ton. We can't make money off the people, so we'll resell it for 8 yuan per ton. However, our logistics department will help you transport the coal by truck, so there will be an extra transportation fee. If you have no problem, just pay the fee."

"How much would the fare be? We're from Hongxing Village, not far from here," Jing Yan asked.

"That depends on how much coal you want to buy. Our trucks are big, each truck carries 5 tons of coal, and the delivery fee is 1 yuan. Even if it's less than 5 tons, it's still charged as one truckload," the clerk said calmly.

Zhang Jingyan and Peng Chunlai exchanged a glance. "Chunlai, how many are you planning to buy?"

“My family stocked up on a lot of firewood this year. My mom said she would buy 4 tons, and she gave me 45 yuan based on the village’s coal price. But at 8 yuan per ton, my money could buy a whole truckload,” Peng Chunlai calculated.

Zhang Jingyan thought for a moment and said, "Chunlai, I'm planning to buy two truckloads of coal today, but the warehouse at home can't hold that much all at once. I need to go home and clear out some space. Could you ask Chef Lin for two hours off for me later? I won't feel at ease if he doesn't go."

Peng Chunlai nodded: "Okay, don't worry. I'll work quickly and do more. It's okay if you come back later."

Zhang Jingyan took 41 yuan from Peng Chunlai and then took out 82 yuan from her own pocket, handing them to the clerk: "Comrade, we need three truckloads of coal in total, one truckload per family, two truckloads per family, is that alright?"

The clerk nodded and took the money. After counting it, he put the money into the cash box in the drawer according to the denominations. He took out the receipts, wrote two, and handed them to Zhang Jingyan: "This is the receipt for one truckload of coal, and this is the receipt for two truckloads of coal. Go directly to the warehouse in a while. Give the yellow receipt to the warehouse manager, and they will send you a truck. Keep the red one for your records."

Zhang Jingyan reached out and took it, thanking them repeatedly. The two of them happily walked towards the warehouse. When they arrived at the warehouse entrance, they met their people. After asking a question, they were led inside. They handed over the receipts, and soon three cars arrived. The two of them got into the driver's seat of the lead car. When they passed the canteen, Chunlai got out of the car first, and Jingyan led the three cars out of the military base gate.

Peng was squatting at the gate. When he saw a car coming out, he subconsciously stood up and moved to the side. Jingyan poked her head out of the first car and said to him, "Brother Peng, can you give me my house key? I bought a lot of coal today, and the warehouse can't hold it all. I have to go back. You get on the last one. Your family buys 5 tons of coal per truck. My family bought two trucks. I'll go straight home from here."

After saying that, she handed him a pink receipt: "This is your receipt. The money has already been paid."

Peng obediently handed her the keys he had in his pocket and took the receipt: "Okay, I got it. I'll come help you when I get home."

Zhang Jingyan smiled and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Brother Peng." After saying that, she pulled her head back into the car window, and the coal truck drove away with a chug.

She led the car to the street where the warehouse was located and said to the soldier driving, "Comrade, just drive all the way in from here. I'm going home to open the warehouse windows first."

The soldier said, "Don't worry, comrade. Just wave from the window and I'll drive over. By the way, if your warehouse can't hold all of this, where are you going to put the rest?"

Jing Yan replied, "The warehouse can fit them, but the area blocked by the fence can't hold them all. I'll remove the fence when you unload the trucks, and that will be enough."

The soldier nodded in agreement: "Okay, don't worry, we'll bring them in one by one, it won't cause any delays."

"That will be troublesome." After saying that, Zhang Jingyan jumped out of the car, went straight home, opened the courtyard gate, went into the warehouse, unlocked the lock inside the window, opened the small window, stuck her head out, and waved to the coal cart in the middle of the street. The coal cart slowly drove over.

After adjusting the position of the truck bed, the soldier got out of the driver's seat, opened the truck bed baffle, jumped onto the truck bed, and used a shovel to shovel coal directly into the warehouse window. Zhang Jingyan had already left the window, pulled down the fixing bolts of the fence blocking the coal, folded the fence, and leaned it against the side wall of the warehouse.

Pick up a shovel and dig the coal piled up to half a person's height from the bottom to the side. As the bottom was hollowed out, the coal scattered from top to bottom, instantly reducing the coal pile that was almost up to the height of the window by more than half. The half of the space outside the fence of the warehouse was also occupied by coal.

Zhang Jingyan carefully stood on the coal pile and continued shoveling. When she had unloaded about half a cartload, Jinghuan carried a bundle of firewood into the house. She noticed that there was no lock on the door and wondered, "Jingyan, didn't you go to work this afternoon?"

She carried the firewood to the barn and was about to put it in the designated firewood storage area when she saw her younger sister, Hei Qiuqiu, rummaging through the coal pile. She quickly moved the firewood to the west side of the barn, placing it with the other firewood she had prepared, and stepped over the threshold to come in: "Jingyan, where did all this coal come from? Aren't you going to work this afternoon?"

Hearing the voice, Zhang Jingyan turned around and looked at Jinghuan: "Fourth Sister is back. I have to go to work. The army has a surplus of coal this year, so I bought two truckloads. Now that you're back, shovel down the pile of coal so it doesn't block the windows. This should be enough for us, not just this year, but next year too."

"How much did you buy?" Jing Huan asked in surprise.

"Ten tons."

"Wow, so much! How much did it cost? Have you paid for it?" Jinghuan asked happily.

"82 yuan, I've already paid it. Okay, sis, you take over for me. I'll change my clothes and go to the cafeteria. I'll get you dinner tonight, so you don't need to cook anymore." Zhang Jingyan handed the shovel to Jinghuan and turned to leave.

Zhang Jinghuan happily took the shovel and began shoveling coal with great vigor and enthusiasm.

After returning to her room, Zhang Jingyan washed her face, changed her clothes, and as she turned to leave, she remembered something. She quickly went to the kitchen, opened a jar leaning against the wall, took out a packet of pastries and sponge cakes, took two sheets of brown paper, put two pieces in each sheet, and then, before wrapping them up, added an extra piece to each. She closed the jar, wrapped the paper, and left.

She detoured to the street corner, and before the first truck had finished unloading, she smiled at the soldier in the coal truck parked at the corner and said, "Comrades, you've worked hard today. I've packed two snacks for you to sweeten your mouths. Please don't be shy. I'm in a hurry to get to work, so I won't go in to give them to that comrade. Please pass them on to each of you. It's just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you won't find them too offensive."

The soldier in the carriage blushed and declined, saying, "We cannot take even a needle or thread from the people; it's inappropriate."

“Although I’m a temporary worker, I still work in the army, so I can be considered half a colleague. It’s not unreasonable for colleagues to give each other some food, so please don’t refuse. It’s not nice to push and shove like that,” Zhang Jingyan said with a smile.

The soldier was about to continue declining, but upon hearing this, she felt a little embarrassed to accept it. After all, it was a female comrade, and pushing and pulling wouldn't be appropriate. "Then thank you, comrade."

Seeing the snacks being taken, Zhang Jingyan smiled and waved to him, "Thank you, comrade. These two truckloads of coal will solve a big problem for my family. I'll go to work now. I took leave at the last minute, and it wouldn't be good to go back too late."

After saying that, he turned around and ran away in a hurry. The soldiers left behind took the paper package, looked at it, carefully placed it under the driver's seat, and continued to wait quietly.

It was almost 2 a.m. when Zhang Jingyan arrived at the cafeteria. Dinner time was from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., so she could make it in time if she rushed. As soon as she entered, Sister Liu saw her behind the counter and smiled, "Are you all done? There's not much to do today, so take a break and don't rush."

"I bought 10 tons of coal today, enough for my family to last for two years. Sister Liu, thank you for telling me about the coal purchase. I'm going to the kitchen now, I'll treat you to something delicious later." Zhang Jingyan said as she ran off to the kitchen.

After dinner, Zhang Jingyan took out her money and packed up the remaining three dishes, bought four steamed buns, said goodbye to Chef Lin, and left with Peng Chunlai.

"Chunlai, we were able to buy coal today thanks to Sister Liu for telling us. I was thinking that we'll be on a long holiday soon, so I'm going to take out two yuan to buy some snacks to share with everyone. What do you think?"

“Okay, I bought coal today too, count me in. Here, I’ll give you two yuan. But what do you want to buy? You need coupons to buy anything at the supply and marketing cooperative, right? I don’t have any coupons left.” Chunlai wrinkled her little nose.

"Take the money back first. I should have some sugar coupons and snack coupons here. I'll look for them when I get home tonight and have my fourth sister go to the county town's supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to buy some food. We'll settle the bill later." Zhang Jingyan pushed her hand that was holding the money back.

“Okay, I’ll listen to you. When the tickets are converted into cash, I don’t have any tickets. There are a lot of people in my family, and the few tickets we’ve earned aren’t enough to cover our expenses,” Peng Chunlai said readily.

"Okay~" Zhang Jingyan said gently.

She first escorted Peng Chunlai to his doorstep before turning back home. Inside, Zhang Jinghuan was sitting at the stove, tending the fire. Seeing the front door open and then close again, he stood up, opened the door, and, seeing it was her, smiled and said, "Jingyan's back! Did you manage to get to work today?"

"No, Fourth Sister came back early and dinner wasn't delayed at all." As she spoke, she handed the lunchbox in her hand to Zhang Jinghuan: "Fourth Sister, here, dinner, what time did you finish unloading the truck? Are the windows in the warehouse easy to lock? Our family has never prepared so much coal at once before, so we were a little flustered."

Zhang Jinghuan took the lunchbox, casually placed it on the table in the main room, turned around, picked up a washbasin, scooped some hot water from the pot, mixed it with some cold water, and placed it on the basin stand in the corner: "Come and wash your face, it's quite cold outside."