Republic of China: Guandong Ginseng King

Chapter 14 Repairing the Chimney

The man was about thirty years old and had a sturdy build.

He picked up a ten-foot-long opener and deftly stepped on the floating wood in the river. He jumped three times and twice, like a monkey, and ran straight to the woodpile under the rock.

To open a stack, or to lift it up, one needs to find the most critical support point among the thousands of wood in the stack, and use the force to lift it up.

This is a job that relies entirely on talent and luck. There is no opportunity to practice skills at all. If you can do it, you can do it. If you can't do it, you can't do it.

Moreover, it is not enough to just pick them apart. You also have to pay attention to the direction of your escape, otherwise you will be smashed into meat paste if thousands of huge trees fall down.

The man observed for a long time under the woodpile and finally made up his mind. He then used the pickaxe in his hand to move one of the wood.

A moment later, a loud "boom" was heard, like thunder.

The crowd cried out in unison, and saw hundreds of huge trees rolling down layer by layer.

In a blink of an eye, the man was buried by the falling log. He didn't even have time to scream before he was crushed into a pulp.

Only vaguely in the river water, a hint of red can be seen.

The huge tree fell into the water, making a loud noise and causing huge waves that spread out in all directions.

The river water hit the shore, creating layer upon layer of red waves, and the people on the shore retreated with sighs.

The huge trees kept falling for a long time before the river surface calmed down.

The wood piles that originally stood like mountains have all fallen down, and all that is floating on the river is wood.

"It's been picked open, it's been picked open." The crowd cheered, while some people sighed secretly.

If they had known that this pile of mountains could be so easily opened, they would have climbed up long ago. It was all their fault for being too greedy and wanting to take advantage of the situation in one go. Unexpectedly, someone else got there first.

It's a pity that the person who opened the door was not yet ready. He picked it up but failed to dodge and was hit to death by the wood.

When Cao Ergui saw the woodpile being opened, he was overjoyed. He quickly called the people who were eating nearby and hired those who were good at swimming to go into the water and retrieve the floating wood.

These woods need to be gathered together and restrung before the raft can continue to be released.

On the other side, Cao Ergui found the gang’s “grain table” with the documents of life and death.

Entrust the other party to make sure to send the bonus for the shift to the man's home.

People these days are still very trustworthy and are not afraid that the grain bureau will take the money and not do the job.

With the gang's grain station as a guarantee, there is no need to worry about scoundrels coveting the money and robbing along the way.

"Are there any people who can wear a platoon? Those who can can stay, the salary is high. Are there any people who can put down a platoon? We need a few platoon guys."

Cao Ergui was busy with other things, and the leader of the gang couldn't sit idle either, so he limped over with the help of a stick and gathered people to work.

There is so much wood, we have to hurry and put it together.

Their gang lost four platoon members and others were injured, so this job would definitely not be done quickly.

There is no other way at the moment, we can only hire people temporarily. As for the salary, I have to accept it no matter how high it is as long as it does not delay the delivery time.

When the people who were watching the fun on the river bank heard this, some of them actually came forward to sign up.

Li Yongfu, Shui Laowu and others saw that there was nothing they could do to help, so they said goodbye to the people and turned back to their own raft.

"I originally thought that after passing the Hulutao, we would rest at Maoer Mountain tonight, but now it seems that it is not possible. We can only rest here tonight.

Once they have cleaned up the river, we can slowly discharge the waste over there."

Shui Laowu called all the members of his gang to his side and they discussed the matter together.

"Okay, everything will be arranged by the foreman. It doesn't matter if we go slowly. As long as our trip goes smoothly, it's fine."

Li Yongfu was frightened by the scene of carrying the stack just now. At this moment, he didn't want to think about anything else. He just hoped that this trip could go smoothly and safely to Andong. It didn't matter how fast or slow the journey was. It wouldn't cost much to delay for a few days. As long as nothing went wrong, everything would be fine.

The two cabinet members had no objection, so naturally no one else would object either, so everyone decided to rest here today.

Qu Shaoyang led Dazhuizi, Ermaozi and a few others to the nearby villages to buy food and vegetables, and then came back to set up a stove to cook.

Others inspected the raft to see if there were any signs of looseness so they could repair it in advance to avoid any problems during the exile.

Hulutao is only about ten miles away from Maoershan City, and there are many villages and towns nearby.

After the loggers had finished repairing the raft and had their meal, they had nothing to do so they just wandered around.

There was a guy named Cui Fugui in the gang. This was his first time working in the third row.

Cui Fugui's family is poor and he can't afford a wife. He is almost thirty years old and has never even had sex with a woman.

In the Pai Gang, Cui Fugui felt as if he was being scratched by a cat when he heard the second cabinet member and the old woodcutters talking about how good Dandong was and how delicious the red fruits were.

Especially when the Pai Bang stayed in Tadian, Cui Fugui was very envious when he saw everyone else sleeping with Hongguo in their arms.

Later, he heard Zhao Da Kui say that he went to repair a chimney for someone, and Cui Fugui kept this in mind.

The raft was docked at the gourd nest, and it seemed that it would not be able to move for a while.

Cui Fugui's mind became active, and he took the opportunity to wander around the village alone.

"Brother, where are you from?"

At dusk, a woman carrying an earthen basket happened to walk past Cui Fugui. She deliberately slowed down her pace and talked to Cui Fugui with a smile.

"I came from Changbai Mountain."

The sun had already set, and in the dim darkness, Cui Fugui could not see the woman's face clearly. He only saw her slim figure, which moved him a lot, and he quickly replied.

"Brother, are you a woodworker?"

The news about the old piles of bricks being built by the Hulutao River had already spread throughout the area. The woman knew about it. She just asked this question on purpose to make conversation.

"Well, isn't it that the wood rafts ahead are piled up and blocking the river? Our raft can't get through, so we're pulling up to the shore."

Cui Fugui was determined to answer whatever people asked him.

"Brother, can you clean the chimney? It has been blocked for a few days." The woman said with a smile.

This is the jargon used to seduce people. Although Cui Fugui was on the stage for the first time this year, he had just heard Zhao Dagui speak it in plain language a few days ago, so he understood it.

"Yes, there's nothing we can't do. We rafting people are all dexterous and can do any job." Cui Fugui was very happy and nodded quickly.

In this way, Cui Fugui followed the woman into the village and came to a small courtyard at the east end of the village.

"My family passed away last year, leaving no sons or daughters behind. Now I live alone.

Oh, it’s hard to be a woman. I have to do all the work at home and outside by myself.”

The yard was quiet. The woman pushed the door open and walked into the house, talking to herself.

The more Cui Fugui listened, the more excited he became, and he followed the woman into the house without any precautions.

As soon as the two men entered the house, the woman turned around and locked the door, then asked Cui Fugui for money.

Cui Fugui was stunned. "Even if you pay me, you have to do the job first. I haven't done anything yet, and you want me to pay you?"

"Give me the money if I ask you to, or you'll regret it." The woman snorted.

(End of this chapter)