Qi Yuanshan also told Xiang Tong, "General Liu said this coal is a good thing and he'll buy more in the future. You need to save some for us."
"Mm."
Qi Yuanshan looked at his son again and decided to order two cartloads of coal for their own household. After all, their small courtyard needed firewood, but neither father nor son had time to gather kindling.
Qi He had no objections; he would follow his father's lead.
Xiang Tong, however, immediately offered to gift two cartloads of coal to each family, and so on, every year.
Grandpa Meng politely declined, but Xiang Tong was insistent.
Later, when both parties looked to Fu Xinci, Fu Xinci made the decision. "This year will be like this, but no more gifts next year."
Xiang Tong smiled and didn't press further. If he arranged for the coal to be delivered from afar, Fu Xiaoniu wouldn't refuse to unload it.
After some of the town's prominent families witnessed the usefulness of coal at the Meng residence, they eagerly sought out Mayor Meng to order coal.
Xiang Tong hadn't expected that they would be so busy this winter that their heels wouldn't touch the ground.
Gradually, the people of Qingxi Town learned of the benefits of coal, but the price was still unaffordable for most households.
The Qin family was one of those households. The Qin family had many children, and an elderly grandfather who was bedridden year-round. Even though both of Qin's parents were capable, their lives were still a constant struggle.
One day, Qin Dalang went out to gather firewood with his two younger brothers. Qin Sanlang, being the youngest, walked a bit slower than his elder brothers.
To keep up with them, the little one vigorously pumped his short legs. Unwary, he lost his footing and fell down with a solid thud.
Rubbing his sore bottom, the little one was about to cry when he spotted the culprit that caused his fall.
Seeing the blackish lump, the little one forgot to cry and quickly called his brothers over.
"Brother, brother, come quickly."
Qin Dalang and Qin Erlang turned back and saw their third brother had fallen.
But they found it strange. Usually, their third brother would have cried if he fell. Today, he wasn't crying, and his smile was uglier than a cry.
Worried about their third brother, the two brothers didn't care about the firewood they had just gathered and ran towards their third brother.
Seeing his two brothers running over, Qin Sanlang held up what he had just picked up and showed it to them.
"Big brother, second brother, look, I found coal."
Upon hearing their third brother's words, Qin Dalang and Qin Erlang froze and ran even faster.
When they reached Sanlang, they saw that he was indeed holding coal in his hand, and their eyes lit up.
Qin Dalang, being the eldest, had a more active mind than his two younger brothers. His gaze fell upon the winter path, where patches of black were clearly visible. He immediately assigned tasks to his brothers.
"Erlang, hurry home and get a sack."
"Okay." Qin Erlang agreed and was about to run home.
"Erlang, be careful. Don't let anyone see you."
"Brother, I know."
After Erlang had run off, Qin Dalang put down the firewood he had gathered.
He picked up Sanlang from the ground and gathered the broken pieces of coal that Sanlang had been sitting on.
"Big brother, hehe."
Seeing his elder brother collecting coal, Sanlang also began to pick up the scattered pieces on the path.
When Qin Erlang returned with a sack in a hurry, he saw that his elder brother and third brother had already collected about a basketful of coal.
Seeing his second brother, Qin Dalang grumbled, "There's still all this coal dust. It's a shame not to pick it up."
"Brother, it's okay. At worst, we can come back with a broom and dustpan next time."
"Mm."
The three brothers walked several miles that day. If it hadn't been for the approaching darkness and Qin's father coming to find them, the three boys would have forgotten to go home.
Qin's father was initially angry that the three boys were being so irresponsible.
But when he saw his three sons' red faces and cold little hands, all his anger dissipated.
Qin Sanlang spotted his father from afar and immediately hopped up and down, proudly showing off to his father.
"Dad, look how much coal we collected."
Hearing his third brother's words, Qin Dalang and Qin Erlang realized their father had arrived and belatedly noticed that it was getting dark.
Their earlier joy turned into apprehension, fearing their father would punish them.
"Dad."
"Dad."
Seeing his two elder sons shrink their necks, looking scared, Qin's father felt a pang of sympathy.
But with his large build, he couldn't say any comforting words. He prepared to sling the sack of coal that was placed beside the two children onto his shoulder. "Let's hurry home. Your mother has dinner ready."
"Okay."
"Okay."
"Huh?" Qin's father hadn't expected it. "This half-sack of things is quite heavy."
"Dad, this is the coal we collected."
"No wonder it's so heavy." Qin's father weighed it on his shoulder. "It's over a hundred catties."
The three brothers grinned when their father said it was over a hundred catties.
"Dad, a hundred catties of coal will be worth a lot of money. We'll come back to collect more tomorrow."
"You've already walked so far. You've picked clean everything around here. If you want to collect more, you'll have to go further. But your jackets aren't thick enough, you'll freeze."
Qin's father thought about their family's situation and felt guilty towards his children.
Especially these three sons, who had started working for the family as soon as they could walk, never idle throughout the year, all for the sake of their family having a little more congee.
Alas, he had worried himself sick for this family.
As they neared home, it was already dark, and none of the neighbors saw what they were carrying.
The three brothers were very careful not to be seen, and Qin's father cooperated fully with his sons today.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, dim light spilled from the kitchen. Four-year-old Qin Damei was helping her mother tend the fire, and two-year-old Qin Xiaomei sat beside her, playing.
Hearing the courtyard gate open, the mother and two daughters looked towards the gate. In the dim light from the main hall, they could only see a figure carrying a sack, followed by three little shadows.
Grandma Qin came out from the east room. Seeing her three grandsons running into the house with their necks hunched from the cold, she hurried them to wash their hands and then warmed each of their hands.
As the old woman held Sanlang's icy little hands, she couldn't help but chide, "Where have you three been? Why are you back so late?"
Qin Dalang, afraid his grandmother would worry, said with a touch of pride, "Grandma, today my brothers and I went to collect coal."
"Collect coal?"
"Yes. Today, Sanlang had good eyes and spotted a lot of coal dropped on the main road. We three just kept collecting and forgot to go home."
"Yes, Grandma. Dad said we collected over a hundred catties today."
"Over a hundred catties? That's quite a lot. Mùgēn, hurry and bring that coal in for your mother to see."
"Okay."