In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 11 Reencounter with Hao Jianqiang

Yu Dawei used the recycling station's cutting machine to cut a round opening in the lid of the oil drum, inserted a broken furnace tube he found in the garbage dump, and then found a few steel bars to weld together a large grate, which he then welded into the oil drum. He also made another opening on the side.

Thus, a simple stove took shape.

With such a large stove, taller than a person, even the largest shed would be quite warm.

The only problem was keeping it away from the plastic sheeting. Yu Dawei deliberately placed the large furnace under the excavator's boom. The small furnace tube was lowered down just for exhausting smoke, and it vented out through an opening in the dilapidated wall.

Duan Dahai was quite impressed when he saw it: "That's amazing, you finished it in no time. Go get some coal from the coal pile in the yard yourself. This guy probably needs a lot of coal. I'll get some more later."

These days, coal can still be used for burning, so there's no such thing as low-carbon and environmentally friendly coal, and it only costs a little over seventy yuan per ton.

Duan Dahai was from the same hometown as the big coal miners in the town, and he sold the coal to them for only fifty yuan, practically giving it away. So even if Yu Dawei made an even bigger thing, he could afford to burn coal.

Let him burn it.

Yu Dawei chuckled. He had built a simple stove more than once in his previous life, and all of those times were in places like Hohhot where the temperature was below minus forty degrees Celsius. He was extremely familiar with it.

With the large stove burning normally, the temperature inside the plastic sheeting was even warmer than inside the small hut. Duan Dahai would occasionally come back here to warm up after finishing his work.

Yu Dawei took off his military overcoat inside and swung a sledgehammer at the cement. With one blow, countless pieces fell off.

Thanks to Yu Dawei's strength, he worked for a full four hours without taking a break.

Of course, he didn't just rely on brute force to remove the dried cement; he also used some clever tricks.

He first filled a large iron basin with water, then placed it on the stove. Once the water was hot, he poured it directly onto the cement, and then hammered it forcefully.

The effect is surprisingly good.

After lunch, Yu Dawei continued to swing the sledgehammer with great force.

However, there was a time when he was physically exhausted. At that moment, Yu Dawei put down his work and stopped putting coal into the oil drum stove. He then turned around and went out to help Brother Duan.

Sorting garbage is much easier than swinging a sledgehammer.

There were quite a few people taking out the trash today, mostly elderly men and women living nearby.

Some were broken pots and pans that were no longer needed at home, while others were wires and steel bars that were picked up on the road.

Just as dusk was approaching and the afterglow of the sunset was spilling into the courtyard, an old man rode in on a tricycle loaded with several sacks of goods.

Behind him was a man wearing a down jacket and a dog-skin hat, who was helping to push the tricycle.

"Oh, Uncle Li, what brings you here?" Duan Dahai saw the old man and hurriedly stopped what he was doing to greet him. "Didn't I tell you? If you have any garbage, just come to me. I'll drive my tricycle to your house to collect it, and I won't charge you for gas."

"Hmph, do you think I, Li Er, am that kind of person? I owe you a favor once, and I'll make you haul my stuff every time." Old Man Li got off the tricycle and took out his pipe. "When did you get an excavator? What? Tired of being a scrap metal yard owner?"

The old man followed the path, lifted a corner of the plastic sheet and went inside. He picked up a wooden stick from the ground, stuck it into the oil drum stove, and then lit the pipe.

"No, this is an excavator my younger brother bought. He's parked here to get it fixed up." Duan Dahai led the man beside him and Yu Dawei in. He then took a closer look at the man who came with Li Er, and was then surprised, "Officer Hao, what are you doing with Grandpa Li?"

"Who told this stubborn old man to insist on riding his tricycle all the way here? He's over eighty and still showing off. I couldn't just ignore him when I saw him on my way home from get off work." Hao Jianqiang took off his hat, looked at Yu Dawei, and smiled. "Brother Yu, we meet again. This excavator isn't yours, is it? How generous!"

"Oh, I just got a good deal. Plus, my family is in the auto repair business, so I have some skills." Yu Dawei smiled modestly. "I'm really worried. If I don't get any work next year, I'll really lose everything."

Duan Dahai rolled his eyes and said, "Brother, if you can fix it, I guarantee I can help you sell it for a good price."

"See those rented excavators outside?" Duan Dahai pointed his thumb out to the wall behind him. "Don't underestimate them just because they're parked there. So many people have called to ask if they're for sale."

Yu Dawei certainly knew the value of excavators these days. Even his old Hitachi excavator, as long as it could work, would have considerable future value.

Officer Hao, who had been silent the whole time, seemed to be deep in thought.

"Sigh, times have changed. Now it's all up to you young people." Li Er finished his cigarette in a few puffs, tapped the pipe against the conveyor belt next to him, and knocked out the ash inside. "Come on, help me weigh my little bit of junk."

The tricycle carried three large sacks, each filled with tattered clothes of various colors and styles. It was probably something he picked up while walking down the street when he had nothing to do.

The other bag contained wooden planks, along with some intact beer bottles and plastic bottles.

The last bag contained books, all of them tattered and worn. Some were so torn that only single pages remained, while others were notebooks used by elementary school students after they had finished their homework.

After weighing it, Duan Dahai very generously gave fifty yuan, though it was certainly less than that.

When he first opened this recycling station, this old man Li helped Duan Dahai promote it a lot, which brought together scrap collectors from all around to this small courtyard.

Duan Dahai has remembered this kindness ever since then, and in recent years he has increased the price of the scrap he buys from Old Man Li. While others get six cents a pound, he gets eight cents a pound.

Whether Old Man Li knew it or not, Duan Dahai could always eat the freshest vegetables and fruits from the garden every year when the season came to an end.

Old Man Li rode away in his empty tricycle, humming a country tune.

The three of them emptied the contents of the sack into the sorting area. Duan Dahai sighed, "Uncle Li is also a pitiful man. His only son in Guangzhou and Shenzhen hasn't come home to visit all these years."

"Perhaps there's something he can't say about it," Hao Jianqiang glanced at Yu Dawei, who was squatting on the ground. "What are you looking for there?"

"Let me see if Grandpa Li has any good books. My wife likes them, so I'll bring some back for her when we get home." Yu Dawei turned around and gave the two of them a simple smile.

"Hey! You really know how to pamper your wife." Duan Dahai teased. "Let's make it clear first, no matter what kind of book it is, it's five yuan a book."

Yu Dawei grabbed two books and stood up: "Brother Duan, look at what you're saying. Even if I gave you five yuan, you couldn't take it. You're not that kind of person at all."

"No, I am."

"No money!"

Hao Jianqiang watched the two joking around and smiled along, then stopped smiling and said, "Dawei, I have a classmate who works in infrastructure. He's always complaining about not having enough excavators. He's treating me to dinner tonight, so why don't you come over and meet him?"

(End of this chapter)