Aunt Zhao stood by the door and thought for a while, smiled, and said, "It's nothing inconvenient. I'll just say you're a nephew from afar. What do she know? Besides, she stayed for a while and left. Who would ask her about our family?"

Zhao Tie pondered for a while, nodded, and said, "That's right, I'll go out to meet her and ask about the affairs of the Yaohuzhuang. Well, if her brother comes to sell charcoal, maybe he can build a contact, which will save a lot of trouble."

"Then I'll open the gate of the lower yard, you come out quietly, pretending to be from outside." Aunt Zhao reminded.

"Okay, I'll clean up first." Zhao Tie stood up and checked his clothes.

…………………

Chen Chen felt very comfortable sitting on the warm kang. Of course, he didn't know that Aunt Zhao specially added firewood for her son tonight.

Although the cave where he lived was sheltered from the wind, there were bedding and coats, and firewood, it was still not as comfortable as this hot kang. Unfortunately, the kang could not be worn in the cave, and Chen Chen secretly regretted.

The courtyard gate rang again, Chen Chen lay on the window, looking out through a small piece of glass embedded on it.

He was a young man who was doing business and was laughed in the yard by Aunt Zhao and asked him to the house. It seemed that he was an acquaintance.

The door of the house rang and his voice became clear. When the curtain was lifted, Aunt Zhao led Zhao Tie into the house.

"This is my nephew, named Tiezi." Aunt Zhao smiled and recommended, "This is from Damei, Yaohuzhuang."

Chen Chen smiled and greeted him, "Hello Brother Tie."

Zhao Tie was stunned for a moment. This name was a bit strange, but he smiled and nodded, "Hello."

"Tiezi, sit down." Aunt Zhao asked her son to the other end of the small kang table, hurriedly brought hot water, and sat down next to Chen Chen, looking at this and that, and I didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Damei, how about this white cloth?" Aunt Zhao saw the white cloth she brought in, finally found the topic, put it in front of Shen Chen, and said, "This was woven by my eldest daughter when she was not married. It took only two years to do it, and it was a bit old and strong."

Chen Chen reached out and touched it, grabbed it, nodded and said, "It's called Chen'er's sister. It's so fine. Now I want to buy such handmade cloths. I can't buy them! If I buy them, the lady will definitely be very satisfied."

"My girl has a good memory and can hear her words." Aunt Zhao was so happy that her eyes narrowed, and she almost hugged Chen Chen in her arms and was very interested.

Zhao Tie smiled faintly, drank water, and looked at the girl sitting on the kang.

Big eyes, black and bright, straight nose, white face, crescent eyes with smiles, and shallow dimples on her face. She looks really good, no wonder my mother likes it!

But Zhao Tie felt that the girl was a little strange, and he couldn't say it was specific, but he just felt that it was a little different from the girl he had met or had contacted.

Logically speaking, judging from appearance, I am not too old, at most I am sixteen or seventeen years old, but—

Aunt Zhao talked to Shen Chen for a while, and saw that her son was a little stunned. He remembered that his son had said he wanted to inquire about the Yaohuzhuang, so he simply used it as a chat and talked about this topic. Chen Chen didn't care and answered casually.

"My aunt's house wants charcoal to burn the kang, so I asked my brother to send it. The good charcoal is military coal, and the Japanese are very careful. The bad charcoal picked on the slag hill, but it is okay to cook. I have caused you so much trouble, what's the point of burning some bad charcoal!" Chen Chen glanced at the big man opposite and saw that he seemed to be listening.

"Your uncle also dug charcoal in the mine before, but later he smashed his foot and stopped working." Aunt Zhao said, "It's dangerous to go down the well to dig charcoal. I was worried all day long and went to the door to look forward to it, for fear that the bells and gongs would ring in the mine."

When ringing the bell and gongs, something happened in the mine. It was either a rush or a water run. If anyone goes down the well to work, he is not frightened. He just hopes that his relatives will come back safely!

"Well, my uncle went down the well and smashed his waist and had no money to cure it, so I sold myself. Fortunately, the master's family was fine." Chen Chen said, expressing his deep feelings with Aunt Zhao.

"What a sensible child." Aunt Zhao sighed and took Chen Chen's hand and patted it gently.

"It's winter now, I want to go to the Yaohuzhuang to sell some charcoal to various villages. I wonder if it's easy to do it?" Zhao Tie interrupted in an inquiring tone.

Chen Chen thought for a while and said, "The King of Hell is easy to mess with, but the little ghost is difficult to deal with. The mine belongs to the He family, and the supervisor of the He family is best at extortion. It seems that he is a stranger and honest man, he must be charged with a crime and must cheat some money."

After pausing, he thought more carefully, "If you want to sell charcoal, why not talk about it in the village, let people know first, and then let the charcoal sellers deliver it to a little further outside the village, and then carry it away. If you want to do this business, you will spend more money and make contact with the supervisor and the head. Their hands and feet are not clean, and they often secretly get the charcoal from the mine to sell!"

"The big girl is thoughtful." Zhao Tie was a little surprised. The girl was open-minded and was not afraid of being angry. She spoke in an orderly manner, which was rare.

Chen Chen smiled and did not answer Zhao Tie's words, but continued to chat with Aunt Zhao.

"If you can get good charcoal, you will make more money. I wonder if there is any way?" Zhao Tie found a short while. Although it was not a direct question, he looked at Chen Chen and obviously hoped to get an answer.

Chen Chen blinked his big eyes, lowered his eyelids and thought for a while, and said uncertainly: "There are not many nests of good coal in the mine, and the Japanese can see it tightly. But if they can steal it from the mine and mix some black mud and gangue, maybe they can't tell that it is good coal, right?"

This mind was both smart and clever. Zhao Tie's eyes lit up, he nodded secretly, and said with a smile: "Well, this is really a way."

Aunt Zhao smiled happily, and took Chen Chen's hand and said, "Let's go after dinner here. When I leave, my aunt will see you off. She is handsome and smart. I am walking outside alone, but the aunt is a little worried!"

Chen Chen thought about it and nodded in agreement. This would be good, so he would save himself from being frozen outside and wait until it gets dark before he can sneak back to the forest. Besides, he would not eat for nothing, just give him money!

It was not long since Zhao Laohan came back and took some of the things Chen Chen wanted, some mixed meat and two kilograms of white flour.

At that time, the people basically had two meals, and this was even more so in their spare time. Aunt Zhao got off the kang and worked hard in the stove outside, while Chen Chen opened the small bag, put everything in, and tried it casually.

As for pliers, they are not the kind of vise made by industrially manufactured, but are made by blacksmith shops. They are relatively simple, but their functions are quite good, at least they are better than teeth;

As for the small file, that's the case. Chen Chen didn't use it to do any big work anyway...

"Big girl, what are you doing for these things?" Zhao Tie asked curiously.

"My lady wants it, but the master doesn't buy it. I don't know what she is going to do!" Chen Chen said so easily, and he could block people's subsequent questions. I don't know, it's useless for you to ask.

Zhao Tie wanted to break his head and definitely didn't understand the truth. He smiled awkwardly and couldn't ask any more.

The food was not rich, but it was already a rare good rice. Pancakes, stewed chicken, mixed meat, and scrambled eggs were brought up in a while. The four of them sat around the small kang table, gave in a little humble manner, and then started eating.

"Come on, Damei, eat this." Aunt Zhao picked up a chicken leg for Chen Chen.

"Auntie, uncle, you eat, I'll do it myself." Chen Chen also knew how to behave, although he had not fully adapted to the identity and performance of this woman.

"Tiezi, don't be polite, eat more!" Aunt Zhao greeted her son, looked at this and then that, and felt a little moved. When can we get together like this, and have a warm and reunion dinner together!

Chen Chen tried to slow down the pace, but he ate a lot. In contrast, Zhao Tie was not as relaxed as he was. It was not that he was shy, but that he had something to do in his mind and kept thinking about it, so he was a little bored.

After dinner, Aunt Zhao pulled Chen Chen and talked for a while before Chen Chen said goodbye and left.

Although I had to find a secret place outside until nightfall, the deadbeat was at someone else's house and a girl didn't rush to take advantage of the dawn, it also made people suspicious.

"Hey, you girl, you have a bad look at bullying the aunt!" Aunt Zhao didn't see it, but Zhao Tie even winked at her when he saw it.

She took out the five dollar bills that Chen Chen had secretly stuffed from under the kang mat and insisted on returning them to Chen Chen, "My aunt's house is not a restaurant, so she just has a casual meal. Why are she still keeping the money?"

Chen Chen refused and smiled, "Auntie, no one's family is rich. After eating this meal, how can you leave after slapping your butt? If you don't accept it, I will have no shame to come again in the future. If you don't want me to come again, I will take back the money."

"This girl's clever mouth makes the aunt embarrassed. You-" Aunt Zhao was stopped by these words, and Chen Chen took advantage of the opportunity to stuff the money back.

"Auntie, aren't you going to send me off?" Chen Chen changed the topic and solved the trouble of pushing and making trouble.

"Yes, look at my memory." Aunt Zhao looked at the money in his hand and said helplessly: "Okay, Auntie will keep this money. Come back next time, and you will make delicious food for you."

The ponytail was opened and the bun was tied up, and the black and gray dirt were applied on his face. While Aunt Zhao put on makeup and dressed up Chen Chen, she also expressed regret, "In this world, you have to dress up dirty and ugly, it's true-"

Hehe, Chen Chen smiled, showed a few white teeth, and said, "Auntie, please stop praising me. I am not good-looking at it, and I can't match my handsome face."

"Who said?" Aunt Zhao said dissatisfiedly: "Just like you, let alone our village is full of one foot, and no one in the village is better than you."

"That's because they're all dirty and ugly. If they dress up, you'll know they're better than me."

"This girl, the aunt can't tell you." Aunt Zhao turned to look at Zhao Tie and asked half-jokingly: "Tiezi, do you think Damei looks good?"

Zhao Tie was a little amused and nodded quickly, saying, "It looks good, Damei is indeed a talent."

"Look, Auntie is right." Auntie Zhao had finished packing up, looked carefully, then clapped her hands and said, "I don't wear a hat or something, what if I get frozen?" As he said that, he took Zhao Laohan's three-tile cotton hat and put it on Chen Chen.

Chen Chen obediently let Aunt Zhao play with it, and his heart was warm and deeply moved by this simple, enthusiastic and kind family.

Carrying the bag, Chen Chen bid farewell to Zhao Laohan and Zhao Tie, walked out of the yard with Aunt Zhao and went out of the village.

…………………

How can coking coal be obtained and transported out?

Zhao Tie returned to the utility room and touched his chin and thought hard.

That's right, this is his main task to enter the enemy-occupied area this time, contact Lao Zhou in the mine, and find ways to get good coal that can make steel and iron for the base area.

This task is very difficult. The first step is to steal the good coal from the mine; the second step is to transport it out of the kiln house and hide it in a hidden place.

The last and most difficult step is how to cross the guardhouses and checkpoints set up by the enemy and transport them to the base.

After entering the enemy-occupied area, Zhao Tie did not immediately rush to Yaohuzhuang, but instead acted separately with Zhuzi and contacted several lurking insiders first.

Among them, there are those who work in the Imperial Army, those who go to villages and towns to do business, and those who use other identities as cover.

The purpose is to grasp the situation of the enemy-occupied area as detailed as possible and use all possible relationships to complete this task.

Shilangyu was originally a predetermined path, but there were guard posts and artillery towers along the way, which was obviously unlikely.

After thinking about it, Zhao Tiesi only had one road left, breaking through the blockade of the forbidden mountain, crossing the forest and smuggling coal or other materials out.

But now there are difficulties on this road. The actions of unknown attackers have caused the Japanese and puppet troops to strengthen the efforts to ban the mountain. If they want to break through, they will undoubtedly have to take a lot of trouble.

Zhao Tiesi thought about it and felt that there was not enough manpower. It would be difficult for him and Zhuzi to complete the task no matter how hard it was. The lurking inside line should not be used unless it was absolutely necessary to avoid being exposed.

There was a sound of speaking in the yard, and the gate of the yard also rang. Zhao Tie looked through the wall and said that his mother was back and was talking to her father.

Aunt Zhao closed the yard gate and did not go back to the room. Instead, she went directly to the utility room and wanted to talk to her son more.

"Mom, why are you back so soon?" Zhao Tie asked his mother to sit down with a smile and asked in confusion.

"Oh, that girl doesn't let me take her away. She must ask her mother to come back if she doesn't leave the village." Aunt Zhao shook her head and said, "I'm very smart and courageous. Unfortunately, she is a maid who sells it to a wealthy family. She has no freedom!"

Zhao Tie pondered for a moment and said, "If it weren't for the master's order, would she be able to run outside alone? Seeing that she is so capable, she might not be able to eat and wear and wear in the master's house."

"I am a good daughter, I will pay for my meal." Aunt Zhao paused for a moment and said helplessly: "It's a pity that our family is poor. If I have money, I really want to redeem her. I am sensible and can say, how great it would be if I could accompany my mother all day long."
Chapter completed!