Chapter Twenty-Six: Reaching a Consensus

I do not know when exactly, but Qin Jun eventually fell asleep.

When he woke up the next day, he was surprised to find that it was already bright outside. Although the traps he set had been yielding very little, there was always a slim chance of a catch. Qin Jun hurriedly began to dress, intending to head out and check them. By now, everyone around the village likely knew the traps were his, so no one should be poaching his haul.

However, before he could finish dressing, Qin Feng pushed open the bedroom door and walked in.

"Don't rush to get up; I’ve already checked them for you."

"Huh?" Qin Jun was momentarily stunned.

Qin Feng curled his lip and said, "They’re just a few holes in the ice. The rats inside are all dead; do you really think any yellow weasels would be foolish enough to fall for that?"

"Second Brother, how did you know?" Qin Jun asked in surprise.

"We sleep in the same bed. You get up so early every day—do you think I could just stay sound asleep?"

Seeing his second brother roll his eyes, Qin Jun felt a sense of warmth. After all, Qin Feng had served in the military for five years; if someone were tailing him, he might not have even noticed.

"Why are you hunting those weasels, anyway?" Qin Feng asked, kicking off his shoes and climbing into bed, wrapping himself tightly in the quilt. The weather had been getting colder, and he truly hadn't expected Qin Jun to be so persistent. Getting up that early every day just for a few weasel pelts seemed, in Qin Feng’s eyes, not worth the effort.

"To sell for money. The pelts are valuable," Qin Jun replied, not hiding anything.

Qin Feng nodded. He had already guessed as much, though he had no idea just how much a single pelt was worth.

"Second Brother, how are things going with your job?" Knowing his second brother’s support for him, Qin Jun couldn't help but show some concern. He knew that next year, his brother would become a worker. In fact, even if he did nothing, in a few months, Qin Feng would be working at the mine as a formal employee.

Qin Feng had enlisted at seventeen and served for five years, returning home after being discharged this year. Next year, a quota would be issued, allowing him to join a newly opened coal mine at the commune. The mine was located right near their production team. However, Qin Jun remembered that there had been some complications with his second brother’s job, eventually costing him four hundred yuan to secure. With his memories from the future, he knew that money shouldn't have been necessary at all! But due to an information gap, being swindled was inevitable. Qin Feng was smart, but living in a rural area, his access to information was too limited. It was because of this "backdoor" deal that Qin Feng’s entire discharge pay and five years of savings were wiped out in one go. If not for that, there would have been no problem building a house for him.

The Qin family had good values and lived very harmoniously. However, there was one issue: the parents preferred living with their youngest son. It seemed to be a tradition; Qin Jun’s grandfather had done the same, and his uncles were no different. Naturally, in their household, his father, Qin Zhihe, favored the fourth son, Qin Mao, and would likely live with him in the future. Qin Zhihe was in a hurry to build a house now, precisely because he wanted to split the older sons off into their own homes.

"Time to eat! After breakfast, everyone head over to the lime kiln. The team leader is calling a meeting," Qin Zhihe shouted before returning inside. Once the whole family was seated together, Qin Zhihe added, "It seems to be because the lime kiln has run out of coal."

Qin Jun had actually anticipated this. After all, not every family could scavenge for coal year-round. That they had managed to keep it running for five or six days was actually beyond his expectations.

"Ask the team leader what he plans to do next. Is the kiln going to stay open?" Qin Zhihe personally handed a bowl of sweet potato porridge to his third son.

Qin Jun took it and asked, "Why ask? Even if it stays open, does it have much to do with us?"

"How can it not? The blue stone used before was pooled together by several families, all helping each other. That won't be the case from now on. For those who didn't go dig for stone, don't they need lime when they build their own houses?"

Looking at Qin Zhihe, it was clear he already had plans to sell the blue stone. He couldn't sell it to just anyone, but selling it to the production team would raise no eyebrows. At three yuan a ton, and with several tons already stockpiled at home, it was a tidy sum. The whole family had been working from dawn to dusk these past two days; it turned out they had been busy digging blue stone.

Qin Jun understood the family's intentions, and his own plans became clearer.

"Once the lime kiln is on the right track, the team can make some money. If the team has money, we can get a bigger share as well!" Qin Zhihe didn't have grand ambitions; he was satisfied as long as they could get a little more money.

"I see." Qin Jun finished his porridge in a few gulps, stood up, and said, "I’ll head over to check it out."

After Qin Jun left, Qin Zhihe looked at his eldest and second sons. "Has the third one been a bit more proactive lately?"

"Yeah, after he came back last night, he was in a bad mood, tossing and turning for a long time. I don't know what happened," Qin Feng said.

"Was he provoked?" Qin Li asked with a smile.

"I just wonder who could have provoked him. Could it be Qin Xia?" Qin Zhihe pondered.

"Very likely. That kid, Qin Xia, has been running around lately—seems like he’s working?" Qin Li suggested.

Qin Zhihe nodded. "He’s a temp worker at the Hongquan Coal Mine, an electrician!"

Qin Feng said, "He doesn't have an electrician's license, right? I couldn't pass the test either, but I know electric welding from my time in the service, and I know a bit about electrical work. I could even try repairing some mining machinery."

"For you, I’m not worried. When the Hongya Coal Mine opens, you can go work there," Qin Zhihe said with satisfaction.

Qin Li added, "I heard some people are buying spots. A coal mine quota costs eight hundred yuan!"

"Exactly! So the four hundred yuan the second one spent wasn't much at all." Qin Zhihe sighed. "We don't have the money; if we did, it would be great to buy a job for the eldest as well."

"I'm not in a hurry. My father-in-law is helping me look for ways," Qin Li said.

"As long as you have a plan. Don't go dig for stones today; take that big pot and deliver it to your father-in-law," Qin Zhihe instructed.

"Alright, I'll go over and ask if they need any more ironware. If they do, the third one can definitely make it," Qin Li said with a laugh.

"He's such a handful, actually trading with his own father for grain!" Qin Zhihe chuckled at the thought.

Qin Jun was unaware of this conversation. He had already arrived at the lime kiln and found Qin Zheng. Qin Zheng was wearing a Zhongshan suit today, looking particularly sharp.

"Is it settled?" Qin Jun asked.

"Not just settled. I went to block Yu Aiguo first thing this morning, and I’ve already received the official approval. It was unexpectedly smooth."

"You should have seen him; he was even more enthusiastic than I was!"

"Haha, starting today, our Xiaohe Lime Kiln Factory is officially in business."

Seeing Qin Zheng so smug, Qin Jun was genuinely surprised. He knew that starting a team-run enterprise wouldn't be too hard, but he hadn't expected it to be this easy. Yu Aiguo’s enthusiasm was suspicious—there was definitely more to this. However, it put Qin Jun at ease. It seemed that while private business was still highly controversial, there was already a consensus on collective business. That was good! If he couldn't do private business, he would just earn a salary!

"Since it’s a done deal, how much of a coal quota are they giving us?" Qin Jun asked.

"Ten tons a month. Is that not enough?" Qin Zheng asked proudly.

Qin Jun frowned. It was definitely not enough. Ten tons a month meant one ton every three days. If they needed a thousand catties of coal per kiln firing, that was one and a half tons every three days. At that rate, ten tons would only last twenty days, assuming they only fired once a day. How much profit could that yield? More importantly, could it cover the wages for the workers? Qin Jun had originally hoped to use the kiln to improve their standard of living once they were earning wages, but it seemed it would be difficult.

"It’s a bit low, but I don’t think there isn't room for negotiation!" Seeing the expression on Qin Jun’s face, Qin Zheng quickly moved to reassure him.

Qin Jun relaxed his brow slightly. He wasn't worried about Yu Aiguo having ideas; he was only worried if he had no ideas at all. The main issue was that ten tons of coal per month was simply too little. Even if Qin Jun were extremely efficient with the firing, if they followed standard practices—where one ton of lime required 120 kilograms of coal—five tons of lime would require 600 kilograms. Over three days, that would be 1,800 kilograms, leaving an 800-kilogram deficit. Over thirty days, that was an eight-ton deficit. If they could secure an eighteen-ton quota, they would be much better off.

However, that wasn't realistic. After all, they were only a team-run enterprise; they couldn't even compare to a commune-run one.