Chapter 191. Make money together
As the village chief of Hua Village, Hua Lao Han looked at the snowflakes dancing all over the sky with a heavy heart, the worries in his heart growing deeper.
Although the temperature didn’t drop further and remained at the coldest time of previous years, the drop was too sudden. Whether it was vegetable seeds or grain seeds, they had just been sown not long ago and hadn’t even begun to sprout. A sudden drop to below freezing could mean some seeds might not even get a chance to sprout, affecting next year’s harvest, especially the vegetable seeds.
Thus, the plan to make money had to move faster.
Looking at his wife sleeping soundly beside him, Hua Lao Han closed his eyes, preparing to take the villagers up the mountain to log in the next couple of days, even if it snowed, to produce the charcoal first.
With charcoal, they could begin planting winter vegetables.
The following days kept Hua Lao Han and his son busy. They organized the young and old men of the village, braving the cold wind and falling snow to chop down one tree after another. They dug several cave kilns on the higher ground behind the village to burn charcoal.
Although it was labor-intensive, it was the most cost-effective method Hua Lao Han could think of.
Then, through continuous experimentation and Hua Jin’s occasional reminders to Hua Lao Han, they finally succeeded in producing charcoal ten days later.
In everyone’s excitement, several charcoal kilns operated simultaneously, producing enough charcoal for everyone for an entire winter within just ten days.
Then the women in the households got to work. The village chief’s house and those who had practiced winter planting last winter were almost overwhelmed by visitors seeking advice and learning from their experience.