Chapter 41: Labor Protection Gear Scavenged from the Mine

"Alright! I know Brother Niu always gives high prices, I've got that much figured out!

I won't beat around the bush, the only thing I need to nag you about is the skin of these gray dogs. When you're skinning them, you need to be a bit careful.

When you make the cut under the neck to bleed them, you have to use a vertical cut, not a horizontal one, otherwise the quality might be affected!" Yue Feng gave a specific reminder.

"Don't worry! I know how to handle this! You'll see when you come to pick up the skins later; I definitely won't let it affect the sale!

Little Yue, your hawks are doing quite well! They've caught so many gray dogs! The fur on these things isn't cheap these days!"

"Hehe, just good luck. Don't let the quantity fool you; these were caught by four or five of us together. Once it's split among everyone, there's not much left!

As for these gray dogs, it's even worse. To catch these few, we had to climb trees and use fire attacks. It's hard-earned money!"

"Haha, no need to worry about me being envious. Going up the mountain is indeed hard work! Here are today's accounts and receipts, take a look!"

Yesterday, Yue Feng basically didn't catch any Flying Dragons or Sand-half Chickens; those were mostly caught by Master Tao and his son and the Zhang brothers.

Because the Zhang brothers had fed the hawks early to catch this large rooster, their harvest yesterday was also mediocre, catching only seven Sand-half Chickens and 17 Flying Dragons.

On the purchase order issued by Master Niu, the unit prices and quantities were clearly written, with a total payment of 73 yuan.

"Just give me 70, let's round off the three yuan!" Yue Feng said generously as he took the money.

Niu Fusheng shook his head, which was rare. "Usually, I wouldn't be polite about rounding down, but I won't round it off today. To tell you the truth, the wild chickens and gray dogs you brought in have been a huge help to me."

"Huh? What happened?"

"The business rivalry between the Second Canteen and the First Canteen! I won't go into details, just know that I owe you a favor! Count the money clearly and keep it safe.

By the way, come with me. I also got you some labor protection supplies! The mine isn't short on these things, so take them back and use them!"

Soon, Niu Fusheng led Yue Feng to his office and dragged out a small cardboard box from under the desk.

When he opened it, Yue Feng was a bit stunned. It was a whole box of labor protection supplies: several dozen pairs of gloves, a stack of towels, and the most numerous were the cyan cotton socks, which occupied nearly two-thirds of the box.

"So many! I hope this isn't causing you trouble?" Yue Feng looked at Niu Fusheng with some concern.

"Rest easy. This was officially issued from the warehouse with approval from the leadership!

Yesterday's hospitality really pleased the big leaders. Our boss gained some face, so I took the opportunity to mention the difficulty of transporting fresh Flying Dragon birds and that we needed some socks, and it was approved! I kept half for myself, and this half is yours!"

"Then I really thank you, Big Brother!"

"Don't mention it!"

"By the way, there's one more thing to tell you, Brother Niu. Starting tomorrow, I want to change the delivery time to evening. I'll bring the wild game caught that day to you the same day. This way, I won't be in such a rush to get to town in the morning, and it won't delay my morning hawk training!"

"No problem. I'll give Old Wang in the guardhouse a heads-up. You can come by anytime before eight!"

"Alright, then I'll head back! Whenever I catch something good, I'll save it for you!"

"Deal!"

...

After settling today's wild game, Yue Feng dragged his sled, carrying a whole box of labor protection supplies, out through the side door of the coal mine's Second Canteen.

By the time he reached home, it was already past seven. After entering the house, Yue Feng unloaded the box and carried it directly into the north room. He set the box on the edge of the *kang*, turned around, left the room, lifted the pot lid, and started eating breakfast.

"Mom, I got some labor protection supplies from the mine. Take some time to count them and then distribute them to everyone!"

"This is... my good son, why are there so many gloves, socks, and towels? We can't be doing anything dishonest!"

Meng Yulan opened the box and, seeing it was filled entirely with labor protection items, felt a bit overwhelmed; she thought her son might have found a way to steal from the mine.

"What are you saying? Where did your mind go? Didn't I mention before that I was running low on old socks? I just mentioned it to the head chef at the canteen, and he was thoughtful enough to help apply for some labor protection supplies! They were officially issued from the warehouse, and there's even a manifest inside!"

"Then, do you plan to use these new socks to bag the birds? Isn't that just a waste?"

In these times, the supply of industrial goods was insufficient. Primary products like socks, towels, and gloves were precious even in ordinary farming households. A pair of socks would be patched and patched again without being thrown away; even if they were unwearable, they would likely be kept to cut patches from them for new socks.

Now, here was her son, bringing back a whole box.

"I won't use new socks to bag the birds, then what should I use? Last time I was lazy and used wire, and Master Niu even gave me advice about it!" Yue Feng muttered while sipping his corn porridge.

"Don't you worry about that. I'll take some old clothes apart and go to the Secretary's house to make some hawk pouches for you! They have a sewing machine. Aside from wearing them, these socks are not to be wasted!"

"Alright! Whatever you say!" Yue Feng didn't dwell on such trivial matters; if his mother wanted to fuss over it, let her, as it was currently the off-season for farming anyway.

After eating and drinking his fill, Yue Feng also put on his hawk and headed up the mountain. His mother, Meng Yulan, rummaged through the *kang* cabinet for several pieces of old clothing, but feeling the materials weren't enough, she went to her neighbor Li Wentong's house.

Li Wentong's wife, Chang Meijuan, also rummaged through her own belongings for a long time before reluctantly finding a few pieces of old children's clothing.

Cloth was expensive these days, and buying it required cloth coupons. A piece of clothing would be worn by the eldest, then passed to the second, then to the youngest; if it tore, it was patched. Even when the children eventually outgrew them, people were loath to throw the old clothes away; the skillful ones would dismantle them and use the scraps with paste to make shoe soles. In any case, nothing was ever thrown out.

A small hawk pouch required cloth pieces at least about 15x25 cm. After the two women finished dismantling the old clothes, they estimated that they had enough; they were still far from running out!

At this moment, Meng Yulan showed her decisive side. Gritting her teeth, she pulled a large piece of light blue printed cotton cloth from the *kang* cupboard.

She had intended to save this cotton cloth to make bedding for Yue Feng's future marriage, but she couldn't worry about that now. Socks were more precious than cotton cloth, so she would use the cotton cloth first.

The two women worked on the *kang* all morning, cutting a thick stack of cotton cloth pieces. After eating lunch, they took a basket and headed to Wang Jianguo's house; with a sewing machine, it wouldn't take long to finish them all.

After lunch, Meng Yulan said goodbye to Yue Lei and headed to Wang Jianguo's house with her basket.

(End of Chapter)