Siheyuan: I am the Smart Pillar

The four of them walked towards the coal yard, one foot deep and one foot shallow. The weather was very bad today, especially since it was Saturday, and everyone was staying at home for the winter. So there were very few people on the street. Yan Jiecheng shivered and said, "Oh my god, will the coal yard be closed today?"

Yan Fugui looked at his eldest son unhappily and said, "Shut up, kid. Stop saying such bad words. We have finally come here, and we must buy coal today." The youngest son, Yan Jiekuang, was a little unhappy. After all, it would be so nice to sleep at home, but he had to suffer on the street. Even if he needed help, didn't he have his eldest and second brothers at home? Why did he, the youngest, have to be called? This made Yan Jiekuang very uncomfortable.

The white wind blew on the faces of the four fathers and sons, making them shiver. Especially when the wind blew directly into their necks, the four fathers and sons felt as if a knife was slashing their faces. Yan Jiecheng sneezed loudly, tightened his tattered cotton coat and said, "Dad, can you buy me a scarf? You see, it's so cold today, I really can't stand it."

Yan Fugui rolled his eyes at his son. He felt that his son was just daydreaming. This scarf costs two or three yuan. How much does a pound of meat cost? How could his eldest son not be calculating? Wouldn't it be delicious to buy a few pounds of meat with two or three yuan? He snorted coldly and ignored his eldest son. He wrapped his tattered cotton coat tightly and the four of them finally arrived at the coal yard.

Although it was Sunday and very cold today, there were still a lot of people coming to the coal yard to buy coal. The queue was two long lines long, and everyone was shivering with cold, but they were mostly happy in their hearts. There was a small blackboard next to the sales office, and the price of coal was written on the blackboard. It said that coal was 22 yuan per ton and coal slag was 11 yuan per ton.

Yan Fugui wrinkled his nose in displeasure. Why is it one yuan more expensive? He originally wanted to spend 30 yuan to buy 30 tons of coal slag, and forget about coal. But one ton of coal slag costs 11 yuan, which is one yuan more expensive than he thought. Yan Fugui wanted to leave like this. Didn't he collect a lot of wood in the fall? If he could think of a way to save on burning firewood, wouldn't he be able to get through the winter?

However, Yan Jiecheng, who was standing behind him, grabbed him and said in panic, "Dad, please don't leave like this. If you leave like this, the weather may get colder and colder. If you come to buy coal then, the price will definitely go up. Let's buy the coal today, even if it's just some coal slag, which is more durable than firewood."

Yan Fugui's eyes rolled around, and Yan Jiecheng on the side continued to persuade him, "You old man don't think about us three brothers, but you have to think about mom too. What should we do if our sister, who was born some time ago, gets sick? The money spent in the hospital must be much less than the money spent on buying coal."

Yan Fugui nodded in satisfaction. He felt that what his son said was really reasonable. He grinned, thinking that his son had inherited his calculating character. That was absolutely right. You are not poor if you have enough to eat and wear, but you are poor if you can't calculate. The four fathers and sons stood in line at the end. One of them was dressed very shabbily, with snowflakes all over his head. His skin was very dark, and he looked like an old man from the countryside.

The old man curled up his hands and said with a smile, "You guys are here to buy coal." Yan Fugui nodded, and Yan Jiecheng was even more disdainful of this old man. Where the hell did this beggar come from? Isn't this just to disgust Yan Jiecheng? Just want to say something? Let this old man go back to where he came from.

The old man smiled, showing his big yellow teeth. He glanced around secretly, and then said in a low voice, "Brother, the coal in this coal yard is really too expensive. I have cheaper coal, do you want it?"

When Yan Fugui heard that he could buy cheap coal, his eyes lit up immediately. As a person who has enough food and clothing but cannot calculate, what kind of behavior is it to not take advantage of a bargain? If you don't take advantage of a bargain, you are a bastard. Yan Fugui also whispered, "Where did you get the coal? I don't believe it."

The old man didn't think much and said with a smile, "There are too many people here and they are gossiping. Let's find a place to talk quietly. You see, a ton of coal here costs 22 yuan. Isn't this obviously leaving no way for us ordinary people to survive? A ton of coal in our place costs only 15 yuan, and coal slag is even cheaper, only 7 yuan a ton. Don't you think this is so cheap?"

Yan Fugui pursed her lips. Although he was stingy, she still understood that there was no free lunch in the world. Yan Fugui glanced at the old man and said, "Where did you get this coal? Why is it so much cheaper?" The old man looked around and found that no one was paying attention to them. He smiled and said, "Our cousin's family found a small coal mine, and we mined it ourselves. Hey, do you want this brother? I don't want to waste my breath with you. If you don't want it, then I won't force you to find someone else."

Seeing the old man about to leave, Yan Fugui immediately stopped him. He smiled and said, "Don't be so anxious, old brother. How about you take us four to have a look? If it's really like what you said, how about I take 6 tons of coal slag and tons of coal?"

The old man listened, nodded and said, "Then I will take you four to have a look, you can take a look at it on the spot." Yan Fugui nodded, followed the yellow-toothed old man and left the coal yard. After leaving the coal yard, the group walked for about half an hour and finally arrived at the door of a shabby courtyard.

The old man with yellow teeth knocked on the door, and someone from the inside opened it. The old man with yellow teeth smiled and said, "Cousin, these people are here to buy coal. You take them to have a look and see how our coal is." One of them was also over 60 years old, and his face looked very kind. There was a mole at the corner of his mouth, and he smiled and said, "Oh, those guests, please follow me first."

The kind old man led the Yan family father and son to the backyard, which was full of coal. Of course, there was also coal slag. Yan Fugui and the other two looked at the quality of the coal and coal slag, and nodded with a smile.