Chapter 77: Early Meeting

In Shanbai Village, the sun had just risen.

Wang Meng woke up on his one-meter-wide bed, washed up, and ate.

He was a transporter driver who came here to pull the coal.

Now, there was a long line of cars outside the coal mine at the back of Shanbai Village every day. They were all there to pull the coal.

The coal mined by Shanbai Village every day did not need to be stored anywhere. It was immediately pulled away by the transporters waiting in line.

The price of the coal also kept changing. It started from 500, and became 1,000, or even higher.

The queue for the transporter at the back of Shanbai Village grew longer and longer. Some people waited all day unsuccessfully. They could only wait another day at Shanbai Village.

Seeing this, Old Wang thought of a way to earn money.

He started a small hotel to accommodate the transporters who came to Shanbai Village to pull the coal. It wasn’t expensive, but it was still an income.

Seeing Wang Meng come out, Old Wang smiled and greeted him, “You’re up. Perfect, the food in the canteen should be ready now. Just in time for you to eat something warm!”

Wang Meng smiled and replied. He then went to a large canteen built at the back of the mountain to eat his breakfast.

Building this big canteen was Xie Zhou’s idea. Building such a canteen made it convenient for the workers to have their meals.

The women in charge of cooking in the canteen were all women from the village. They could receive a salary every month.

Later, the transporters who came here to pull coal also started having their meals here.

Wang Meng walked to the canteen and bought two steamed buns and a bowl of porridge.

He liked the canteen very much. The prices of the food were very cheap, but there was a lot of food. There were both meat and vegetables. Moreover, it was delicious. His appetite was not small, but eating two buns and a bowl of porridge here was sufficient for him to eat his fill.

Wang Meng was eating when he heard the announcement.

Suddenly, there was a commotion outside. Wang Meng hurriedly finished the porridge and held the half eaten steamed bun in his hand as he walked outside to see what had happened.

Wang Meng followed the stream of people and arrived at an empty area. It seemed like a large field.

There were more and more people in the field. There were men and women, both old and young. They were all from the Shanbai Village.

The loudspeaker in the village was still shouting, “The meeting is starting, the meeting is starting. Everyone, gather as soon as possible!”

Wang Meng was only focused on the commotion and did not notice who was standing beside him. He asked, “Does your village have a meeting every morning? This is too troublesome! Besides, how can there be so much to talk about in one day?”

Xie Zhou was also squeezed into the crowd. When he heard Wang Meng’s question, he replied, “It is to discuss some things to take note of when mining. It won’t take a few minutes!”

All the villagers of the Shanbai Village had gathered. The men lined up in pairs on the left, and the women on the right. The lines were very neat.

The former village chief, Sun Chengfu, was standing on the stage at the front. He held a loudspeaker and shouted, “Start counting now!”

The men started counting.

“Shanbai Coal Mine, team one, all in position!”

…

“Shanbai Coal Mine, team six, all in position!”

Then, the women started counting.

“Shanbai Village Apple team, all in position!”

…

“Shanbai Village Strawberry team, all in position!”

Wang Meng laughed when he heard the women call out their team names. The steamed bun in his hand almost fell to the ground.

Sun Chengfu said, “Alright! Then, today’s meeting will officially begin. Firstly, according to the usual practice, let’s recite in our hearts the safety regulations that we need to take note of at work!”

Sun Chengfu held the loudspeaker and loudly recited the safety regulations on the stage. After he finished reciting it, he continued shouting, “Next, it’s time for physical training!”

Wang Meng asked again, “What is physical training? Why is it training? Why is your village acting like it’s the army?”

He had previously transported things to the army and had seen them gather for training. The meeting in the Shanbai Village was similar to that.