Chapter 242 Coal Briquette Scandal

Chapter 242 Coal Briquette Scandal

"There's something wrong with these coal briquettes!" Mrs. Sun shouted, holding a coal briquette as she ran out.

She glared fiercely at Jiang Ting.

"You actually gave us such inferior products! Jiang Ting, you have to compensate me!"

He Tingyue stepped forward, picked up a coal briquette, smashed it, and examined the pieces.

"These are made of coal gangue."

Xu Lihua was stunned and quickly asked, "Little He, what is coal gangue?"

He Tingyue explained, "It's waste material from coal mines. This stuff has low carbon content, but it's hard to tell when mixed into coal briquettes."

With this stuff, how could it ignite?

Xu Lihua cried out, "We've been scammed! My money!"

Besides her, Mrs. Sun and Jiang Li's household had also bought these coal briquettes, and they had bought a lot.

They had originally thought they wouldn't have to worry about coal briquettes for the winter this year.

Now, discovering that the coal briquettes were fake, it was a huge letdown.

Mrs. Sun rushed forward and grabbed Jiang Ting's arm.

"Jiang Ting, we're all neighbors, seeing each other every day. You can't treat us like this!"

Jiang Ting was panicking, at a loss.

"Mrs. Sun, I really didn't scam you. My family bought these coal briquettes too, and we bought a thousand catties! Why would I scam you and involve my own family?"

Mrs. Sun, still thinking clearly, thought there was some truth to this.

"Take us to the seller of these coal briquettes. I don't believe we can't get our money back!"

Jiang Ting couldn't refuse. Her family's television was broken, and she also wanted to find that person.

Jiang Yu watched the commotion without getting involved.

She was busy today, planning to go out and buy a television.

Buying a television was a big deal, so of course, the whole family needed to go.

Right after Jiang Ting and the others left, Jiang Yu and He Tingyue rode off on their bicycles.

Televisions were in high demand, but few could afford them.

When they got there, only two were left, which they and someone else bought.

The family kept their eyes glued to the television, afraid it might get damaged, like Jiang Ting's had.

Halfway there, He Feiyan suddenly stopped.

"Sister-in-law, your article is being published in the newspaper today, right?"

The manuscript she referred to was the one Jiang Yu had written previously, about "spies."

It had been reviewed and polished by Department Head Jin before being broadcast on the radio station.

She also submitted it to a newspaper, and surprisingly received twenty yuan as payment.

Jiang Yu had been preoccupied with thoughts of the television these past few days and had completely forgotten about this matter.

"Seems like it, I didn't notice."

He Feiyan ran out to buy a newspaper, "From now on, whenever a newspaper publishes Sister's work, we'll buy a copy. I can show it off at school later."

Jiang Yu smiled and agreed, even reimbursing He Feiyan for the cost of the newspaper.

"Reading more newspapers is a good thing; learning never stops, and it helps keep up with current events."

Jiang Yu hadn't had the means before, but now that conditions were better, she thought it would be good for the family to buy more newspapers, so everyone could read them.

He Feiyan flipped through the newspaper, originally looking for Jiang Yu's article.

But her eyes caught the word "earthquake," and she paused, scanning the text quickly.

"Earthquake warning?"

These four words made the others stop what they were doing and look at He Feiyan.

This was mainly because a major earthquake had occurred in Yunnan Province a few years ago, causing extremely severe casualties.

At that time, not only did newspapers, but everyone was discussing it, with over ten thousand deaths. Jiang Yu had even donated two yuan then.

Beyond mourning, there was nothing she could do.

He Tingyue took the newspaper from He Feiyan. The earthquake warning was brief, mainly stating that scientists had predicted an earthquake in a certain area of Liaoning Province through monitoring, and the government had already evacuated the public.

He Feiyan gasped in surprise, "Can earthquakes be predicted now? If we had known in advance a few years back, the casualties in Yunnan Province wouldn't have been so severe."

He Tingyue said, "Scientists work around the clock on their research, and their achievements drive social progress. It’s no surprise they can predict it ahead of time."

A snort came from the side.

"If earthquakes could be predicted, they wouldn't be called natural disasters! Newspapers these days just report anything."

Jiang Yu glanced over coldly, "This is the conclusion our scientists reached through monitoring. You can question it, but you cannot deny their efforts."

She thought of another aspect.

Early warnings can reduce losses, but zero loss is impossible.

Once an earthquake actually occurs, rescue and medical care are essential.

But it’s winter, and Liaoning Province is even colder than North City!

Apart from medical supplies, winter coats will definitely be in short supply.

"Fei Yan, take the TV home first. I need to go find Department Head Jin!"

He Feiyan was puzzled, "It’s a day off today. What do you need to find Department Head Jin for?"

"It’s urgent, very urgent!"

He Tingyue tied the TV to another bicycle and had He Feiyan ride it back.

He then turned his bicycle around, "Honey, get on."

Jiang Yu quickly sat on the back seat, and the bicycle sped off.

The two arrived at Department Head Jin's house, knocked on the door, and waited for quite a while.

A woman, who looked a bit older than Jiang Yu, came to open the door.

"Hello, may I ask who you are looking for?"

Jiang Yu said, "We're looking for Department Head Jin. Is he at home?"

The woman asked, "May I ask who you are?"

"I am Jiang Yu, an officer in the Publicity Department."

The woman clearly recognized her name and exclaimed, "So you are Jiang Yu, I've heard a lot about you. My name is Qin Peilan, Department Head Jin is my father-in-law, please come in."

Jiang Yu: "..."

She is Qin Peilan? But the woman who came with Jiang Ting to the compound last time was not her!

She remained calm and followed Qin Peilan inside.

In the study, Qin Peilan smiled, "Dad, Jiang Yu is here."

By this point, Jiang Yu was almost certain that the woman Jiang Ting knew was a fake Qin Peilan, an impostor!

But none of that mattered. She quickly brought up the earthquake warning with Department Head Jin.

She set the newspaper aside and shared her ideas with Department Head Jin.

Department Head Jin pondered for a moment and asked, "What do you mean..."

"What I mean is, if an earthquake really happens, Liaoning Province will be short of supplies. As the capital, our Beicheng will definitely need to provide support. But with the New Year approaching, the warehouse supplies are far from sufficient. Our factory should call on workers to prioritize the production of cotton-padded jackets and pants, and be ready to provide support at any time!"

Department Head Jin stared at the newspaper, rereading the earthquake warning article several times.

He agreed with Jiang Yu’s point, but he wasn’t in a position to decide.

Not just him—even if Factory Director Zheng were here, he couldn’t decide either.

"You two, come with me to see Factory Director Zheng. This matter needs to be decided in a meeting; it's not my call alone."

Without another word, they headed straight to Factory Director Zheng.

But when Factory Director Zheng heard this, he thought it was a no-win situation.

"If an earthquake occurs, the supplies we prepare will be useful, and there's nothing to criticize. But if there's no earthquake, it will seem like we overreacted, and it will delay other orders. This could lead to criticism! Who will take the responsibility if it comes to that?"

Especially with the New Year around the corner, orders from all over are piling up.