Chapter Thirty-One: Searching for Coal 1

  Tongda City in Xishan Province is an ancient big city, in recent years with the growth of national economy, the demand for coal has increased greatly, and it quickly became a gathering place for coal bosses in Xishan Province. Everywhere here is rich people, everywhere here is black color.

  Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei had just exited the train station when they were surrounded by taxi touts and hotel promoters. These people chattered incessantly, and Zhu Xiao Fei grew impatient, waving his hand and saying: "What's going on? Are you guys trying to rob us or something? Scram!"

  These people took one look at Zhuo Xiao Fei's bad temper and shut their mouths, turning around to leave. The two hadn't walked far when a pretty girl wearing a red down jacket came over.

  "Two young men, would you like some service?" The girl smiled sweetly as she spoke, and in her eyes the two of them were just a couple of banknotes.

  Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei were two people, one had just graduated from school, the other had returned from the army for only a few months. Both of them were very innocent, they didn't understand what the girl was saying.

  "What service?" Xiao Fei asked with a smile.

  The girl smiled and whispered a few words in Zhuo Xiaofei's ear, Zhuo Xiaofei's face suddenly turned red, and he hastily waved his hand saying: "No, no, we still have things to do, let's go first."

  Hei Zi looked at them strangely. Xiao Fei pulled Hei Zi and walked away. After walking for over ten meters, Hei Zi asked: "Xiao Fei, what's wrong?"

  Little Fei turned around and saw a girl he had never seen before, saying: "That's Huang Mi."

  Hei Zi burst out laughing and said in a soft voice, "Sir, would you like some service?"

  Xiao Fei was amused by Heizi's perfect imitation, and the two of them didn't dare to talk to anyone else again. They hastily left the train station.

  It was just dawn, and the two of them found a breakfast stall to eat something and asked about the situation here.

  Coal mines, like iron mines, are divided into state-owned and private ones. State-owned coal mines are only a few in number, all under the management of the Mining Bureau. These state-owned coal mines occupy the main mining veins, with good quality coal at a lower price. However, for people like Hei Zi who only buy a few hundred tons each time, they are not even entertained. Private coal mines are mixed with good and bad ones, mostly operated by local tyrants, making it extremely dangerous to do business with them, with a high possibility of being cheated.

  After having breakfast, the two men did not rush to find a coal mine. They wandered around the big city, getting a detailed understanding of the situation. The two were unfamiliar with coal and couldn't tell if it was good or bad. After dinner, they bought several books related to coal from a bookstore and checked into an inn in the afternoon, starting to read.

  The two of them read books for an entire afternoon and gained a preliminary understanding of coal, including terms like grayness and calorific value. In the evening, they bought two bottles of wine and some cooked food, and took it to drink with the old man who guarded the hotel door.

  The old man surnamed Xiao, who was in charge of the hotel's entrance, was over sixty years old with a head of grey hair. He liked to smile when speaking and was very pleasant to get along with. He also enjoyed drinking. The two men brought out their wine and explained their intentions. Old Man Xiao agreed immediately and set out the wine and meat on the table in the gatehouse. The three of them chatted while drinking.

  Heizi and Zhu Xiaofei asked openly about their intentions, and Lord Hou picked up the cup that Heizi had filled for him and said: "You've come to the right person. I'm a retired miner from Tongda Mining Bureau in Datong City, and I've spent my whole life dealing with coal."

  Tongda Mining Bureau is the largest coal enterprise in China, and it's unrealistic to buy a few hundred tons of coal from such an enterprise every time. The two asked Mr. Xiao about his knowledge of coal for a while, combining with the knowledge in the book, the two became familiar with coal.

  When it comes to buying coal, Old Man Xiao shook his head and said: "It's very difficult to buy coal from the subordinate coal mines of the Mining Bureau. The subordinate coal mines of the Mining Bureau have a task assigned by the state every year, and these coals are rarely sold to private individuals. There is no one above who can buy them."

  Both of them were very disappointed, and Mr. Xiao took a sip of wine, put down the cup and continued to say: "If you want to buy coal, go to a private mine to buy it. If not, I'll accompany you on a trip when I'm resting, at least the quality of the coal can be guaranteed."

  Xiao Dàye was a coal analyst before his retirement, he is too familiar with various indicators of coal, and can tell the quality just by looking at it.

  After hearing Old Man Xiao's words, both of them laughed. Hei Zi happily poured wine for Old Man Xiao and said: "Old Man Xiao, then we'll trouble you. You accompany us to run errands for a day and we'll give you 30 yuan."

  Xiao Dàye said unhappily: "Youngster, what do you take me for? If I wanted to make money, I would have become rich long ago. And yet, in the two years since my retirement, many people have come to invite me to work, but I've turned them all down."

  Later, Hei Zi and the others learned that Xiao Dage's wife had passed away early, his son was not by his side, and after retiring, he was depressed and found this job. He came to the hotel just for fun, someone to talk to, and accompany him to drink wine. Today, he chatted with Hei Zi and the others very happily and wanted to help them.

  Hei Zi clearly stated that people can't be used for free, but since Da Ye was unhappy about the money, he didn't mention it again. After finishing their drinks, the three of them discussed and agreed to set off the next day to explore the mining area.

  The large mining area in the southern suburbs is about 12 kilometers away from the city center and has a very large area, known as the Hundred Mile Mining Area.

  The coal mines are mainly concentrated in the Kouquanergou and Yunganggou two narrow and long mountain valleys, where the coal mines gather, and the subordinate coal mines of the Mining Bureau occupy the main mineral veins. In the surrounding gullies of the state-owned coal mines, there are large and small private coal mines of various sizes, with larger ones occupying hundreds of acres of land, employing several hundred to over a thousand workers, and smaller ones having only one mine entrance, with a dozen or so workers.

  The three of them took a taxi early in the morning and arrived at the mining area. After passing by the headquarters building of the Mining Bureau, they got off the car and had breakfast at a street food stall. Then, they hailed another motorcycle, as the roads in the mining area were not suitable for taxis to drive on.

  Mo drove along the bumpy road to Kou Quan Er Gou, Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei were almost thrown up, but Xiao Da Ye looked like nothing was wrong with him, and they both admired him.

  The ditch was full of mine openings, with coal piled up everywhere, and everything was pitch black. Occasionally, a car or a team of cars would be seen hauling coal out of the ditch. Whenever they saw Mr. Coal Xiao, he would point it out to the two of them and explain it to them as if they were his apprentices, teaching them the trade.

  Fat coal, lean coal, main coking coal, poor coal, weak alkaline coal, brown coal... A large number of terms made the two people dizzy, Heizi and Zhu Xiaofei did not dare to interrupt Mr. Xiao's words, fearing that the old man would be unhappy.

  Hei Zi asked, "Uncle Xiao, if buying coal is just for burning boilers, what kind of coal do we need?"

  Mr. Xiao said without thinking: "Buy smokeless coal, smokeless coal has the highest carbon content, heat value exceeds standard coal, reaches more than 8,000, ash content is also suitable, it's just that the price is a bit high."

  Hei Zi and his group came this time to buy good coal, the price is a bit high but that's okay, as long as they can get good coal, they will be able to gain Zhao Wei Guo's trust, and by then, all the coal for the iron mine during winter will be delivered by them.