1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 37 Stir-fried Pork with Bamboo Stalks

Peng Gang did not let the matter rest as easily as he had in the past.

Two thousand eight hundred catties of bamboo charcoal and miscellaneous charcoal were sold the day before yesterday, bringing in four taels and two mace of silver.

We started burning two more piles of charcoal today, and we expect to get 3,000 catties of charcoal after it's burned, which will then be sold for more than 4 taels of silver.

Including the stored grain, this means that Peng Gang will not have to worry about food for the next month.

Now he has ample time to educate and even train these young men.

"Do you know why I want you all to gather in the outhouse to relieve yourselves?" Peng Gang's booming voice echoed through the mountain area.

“Boss, you’re a clean person.” Lu Qin thought this was Peng Gang’s personal preference.

"It's convenient for collecting manure and composting." Lu Qian believes Peng Gang did this for composting purposes, so he could use the compost to irrigate the land for growing vegetables later.

Peng Gang received a variety of answers, but none of them hit the nail on the head.

“What you all say makes sense, but none of you have hit the nail on the head,” Peng Gang shook his head.

"I'm telling you to use the outhouse and wash your hands frequently not just because of my personal preference, but also for the sake of everyone, for the lives of everyone in the mountain area."

At the end of the Republic of China era, the average life expectancy of Chinese people was only 36 years. Apart from the lack of economic and medical resources, hygiene conditions and habits were the most important reasons.

At the beginning of the People's Republic of China, intestinal infectious diseases and parasitic diseases related to feces accounted for more than 86% of the total number of infectious diseases. Almost everyone had been infected with roundworms, more than 360 million people were infected with hookworms, and more than 10 million people were infected with schistosomiasis, threatening more than 100 million people in the south, especially in the Yangtze River Basin.

The young men in the group looked at each other, puzzled. They didn't understand how going to the outhouse was related to their lives.

"Do you know about epidemics? Do you know about dysentery, malaria, and cholera?" Peng Gang explained to them in a relatively simple and easy-to-understand way.

"Feces are poisonous. If they accidentally come into contact with our mouths or if we are bitten by flies or other insects that carry feces, the poison will enter our bodies and cause us to get sick. Mild cases may result in vomiting, diarrhea, and general weakness, while severe cases may lead to death."

“I know that. My younger brother died of dysentery last year,” Huang Dabiao replied without hesitation.

The other young men nodded in agreement. They didn't know what cholera was, but they knew very well what dysentery and malaria were. Many of their colleagues had died from dysentery, malaria, and epidemics.

Thinking about it this way, Peng Gang was indeed not exaggerating; urinating anywhere could indeed threaten their lives.

As for how Peng Gang, who was not a doctor, learned about the connection between disease and feces, the younger generation unconsciously associated it with the miracle of Peng Gang's resurrection and his identity as a member of the Catholic Church.

Rumor has it that the owner is someone who has been to hell and even heaven, and knows a lot, which is probably divinely bestowed.

“The boss is right!” Zhang Ze offered a timely assist. “I used to have stomach problems every few days, but since I started working for the boss and listened to him in everything, I haven’t had stomach problems at all. I feel very comfortable all over.”

The young men suddenly realized, and upon closer reflection, they found it to be true.

Since going to the mountain with Peng Gang, I've not only had fewer stomach aches and headaches, but I've also experienced fewer minor ailments. I feel much more comfortable than before.

Facts speak louder than words. The young men gradually realized that the various strange demands Peng Gang made of them were not Peng Gang's personal preferences, but rather a concern for their safety.

The young men felt ashamed that they had taken Peng Gang's kindness for granted, misunderstood him, and ignored his words.

"Dongdong, I was wrong. I... I shouldn't have caused everyone's lives." Hu Daniu slurped back the two strands of clear snot that were slowly dripping from below his nostrils and apologized to Peng Gang.

Hu Daniu is a simple and honest person, not a bad person, but his living and hygiene habits are terrible.

Realizing that his convenient actions would endanger everyone's lives, including his employer, Hu Daniu's attitude towards admitting his mistake was no longer passive and perfunctory, but he genuinely realized that he was wrong.

"Do you accept the punishment?!" Peng Gang reached out to Peng Yi to fetch a bamboo stick.

"I accept the punishment." Hu Daniu nodded, having nothing more to say.

Before long, Peng Yi brought over a bundle of thin bamboo branches and handed it to Peng Gang.

"Extend your hand!" Peng Gang ordered Hu Daniu to extend his hand after taking the bamboo branch.

Hu Daniu gritted his teeth and timidly stretched out his dirty little hand.

Peng Gang raised a bundle of thin, soft bamboo sticks and swung it through the air, the whistling sound of the bamboo cutting through the air sending chills down one's spine. Accompanied by the cracking sound of the bamboo sticks whipping flesh, the thin, soft bamboo sticks struck Hu Daniu's palm one after another, each strike landing squarely on his flesh.

Despite the excruciating pain, Hu Daniu gritted his teeth and endured it, without even asking to switch hands.

Peng Gang showed no mercy and delivered twenty blows with full force.

After the punishment ended, Hu Daniu covered his swollen hand, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes and nose, but he still didn't utter a sound of pain.

Peng Gang couldn't help but look at Hu Daniu with new respect; this young man was indeed a real man.

Watching Hu Daniu being punished, the young men in the group were still shaken, their palms sweating. They were glad that they weren't the ones who got caught, otherwise they would have been in for a beating too.

At the same time, they also reminded themselves that when they needed to relieve themselves in the living area, they should go to the outhouse even if they had to queue. It was not worth getting twenty lashes with bamboo sticks just for the sake of convenience, and it would also cause themselves and others to contract diseases.

"I hope this is the last time." Peng Gang said solemnly, holding a bamboo stick. "Since the excrement is poisonous, the most urgent task is naturally to clean up the poison. All the excrement in the living area, whether it's from chickens and ducks or yours, whether it's on the ground or buried underground by you, you have one hour to clean it up."

One hour later, listen to my gong to assemble. Anyone who fails to line up before me after ten gong strikes will be punished with twenty lashes with a bamboo stick, the group leader with thirty lashes, and the deputy group leader with twenty-five lashes!

The young men thought that the matter was settled after punishing Hu Daniu, and that they could all adjust their clothes accordingly. However, Peng Gang gave them an unexpected order, leaving them stunned and at a loss.

"What are you all standing there for? Are you waiting for me to treat you to stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots?" Peng Gang roared.

After Peng Gang shouted at them, the young men grabbed their winnowing baskets, shovels, and hoes, and went off in groups of three or five to collect the excrement in the living area.

“Master, you can entrust this task to me and my children. Letting these young men collect manure might interfere with the important work,” Zhao said.

Zhao's full name is Zhao Hanwei. Peng Gang only learned Zhao's full name a few days ago when he talked with Wei Shoushan's family.

Zhao Hanwei is not a name that an ordinary farming family would give. It is likely that Zhao Hanwei's family was not so bad before she fled the famine, or that she had some educated relatives or friends in her family.

However, Zhao Hanwei is illiterate, so the latter possibility is more likely.

As for the exact situation, Peng Gang wasn't one to gossip, so he didn't ask for details.

"This concerns the lives of everyone in the entire mountain area, and that is the most important thing," Peng Gang said earnestly. "I don't want the first clothes I make for these children to be their funeral clothes."

Taking this opportunity, Peng Gang reminded Zhao Hanwei and her two aunts to tell their children not to relieve themselves anywhere in the living area.

Zhao Hanwei's entire family's livelihood now depends on Peng Gang, so naturally she listens to Peng Gang's every word.

When Zhao Hanwei and her child were in Qingfeng Village, they had stomach problems every few days. After moving to Honglianping, they only had stomach problems once or twice in a month.

After Peng Gang just said that, Zhao Hanwei vaguely understood why her family had often been unwell in the past.

However, the two aunts-in-law were somewhat displeased that Peng Gang, a junior nephew, was instructing them on matters in the tone of an elder.

Peng Gang observed his two aunts' behavior but didn't pay much attention to it.

Their eldest and sixth uncles are the heads of their household. They won't listen to Peng Gang; they'll talk to the men.

"Boss, my eldest son is eleven years old this year. It's not good for him to stay idle at home all day. Could my eldest son work for you with those young men?" Zhao Hanwei made a request.

She noticed that the young men from Qingfeng Village, who were usually quite wild, were much more disciplined and diligent under Peng Gang's care than they had been in Qingfeng Village. They were also more organized in their work. She wanted to send her eldest son, Wei Xianping, to work under Peng Gang as well.

Not only can it teach this kid about rules, but it can also save one person's food rations.

“Aunt Shoushan? Are you sure? Xianping is still young. Joining the group means doing heavy work, eating and sleeping with the young men in the group, and there’s no pay.” Peng Gang subconsciously turned his head to look at Wei Xianping, who was using a machete to cut tree branches and collect firewood not far away.

Peng Gang was naturally willing to recruit more people into the group, especially those he knew well, but Wei Xianping was too young, only eleven years old.

In terms of age, he's probably not even ten years old.

"Just give me a full meal," Zhao Hanwei said. "These days, it's not easy to have food to eat, let alone ask for wages."

“If that’s the case, I agree. I’ll also make a new dress for Xianping, and I’ll pay for the fabric,” Peng Gang said after thinking for a moment.

(End of this chapter)