Oil

Zhou Wanwan's eyes lit up. No matter how capable she was, she never expected that this governor would actually find a coal mine and then find oil.

The uses of coal are self-evident, and oil is even more valuable; there's a saying about it in the TV series "Justice Bao".

Mountains upon mountains, white mountains embrace a thousand green hills; waters upon waters, black waters embrace ten thousand red hills.

Regardless of the era, oil is always a good thing.

Then the governor said, "Fortunately, we killed everyone in that village, otherwise it would have caused a lot of trouble."

The advisor nodded and said, "That village had over 130 households, including all the married-out girls; they're all dead. Now we can rest easy."

The governor nodded and said, "Let's go inside and take a look now."

The advisor nodded, and the two quickly boarded the carriage.

Zhou Wanwan and the Old Scholar Tree followed behind them. The Old Scholar Tree sighed and said, "So he killed all those people. That old beast, he was ruthless enough to cover up the truth."

It turned out that Broken Kiln Village was the road leading to that mountain. Zhou Wanwan followed behind them, and it took more than two hours to reach the mountain.

The trees on both sides were tall and dense, the mountain path was full of potholes, and every now and then you could step on a piece of black stone, which felt cool and rough to the touch. It was the raw coal exposed in the mountain.

As we walked deeper into the mountain valley, the view suddenly opened up before us.

The entire hillside is covered with large, dark rock layers, layered on top of each other, shiny black, completely different from ordinary rocks.

Coal chunks of varying sizes were scattered on the ground. Not far away, in the cracks between the rocks and beside the low-lying puddles, thick, black oil slowly seeped out and accumulated in the small puddles.

A thick layer of black oil floated on the surface of the water, reflecting light and glistening. When the evening breeze blew, you could smell a pungent, oily odor.

Zhou Wanwan said excitedly, "Yes, this is all oil. It will ignite instantly with just a spark."

The Old Scholar Tree said:

"Now I know what those trees were afraid of. Do you remember those trees in Broken Kiln Village?"

They probably know the truth, so they dare not reveal these things.

"If it gets out and they manage to take this oil back with them, it will be a disaster."

Suddenly, a jujube tree spoke:

"You are right, those trees down the mountain have all survived great hardships."

When the villagers of Broken Kiln Village found out there was black oil there, they mined a lot of it.

At that time, the whole village went crazy, and some people even sold the black oil outside.

When the authorities found out, all 130-plus villagers were burned to death by the black oil.

And many of the trees in the village were burned to death, leaving only those on the outskirts.

"Those trees are scared, so they dare not tell you the truth."

Zhou Wanwan trembled and said:

"I see. So this matter was already known more than 20 years ago?"

Why is the governor only coming to mine now?

A nearby oak tree said:

"Because at that time, the governor had not yet arrived here; it was a county magistrate who discovered it."

Later, in order to curry favor with the governor, he told him about this.

The county magistrate was also very timid. Oil was a very important military resource in ancient times, and if it got out, he would be beheaded.

Later, when the governor took office, the county magistrate, eager to climb the ranks, revealed the secret to him.

Hu Yiming's eyes were filled with excitement at this moment:

"If we can mine these mountains, our Hu Clan will surely rise to a higher level."

"That coal alone is enough to ensure our Hu Clan will never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of our lives."

The aide next to him burst into laughter:

"What you're saying is too conservative. How can it be that you'll never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of your life?"

They'll probably never have to worry about food and clothing for the next few lifetimes.

Hu Yiming laughed and said, "It's just that this black oil is quite troublesome; transporting it is not convenient."

The aide laughed:

"What's so difficult about that? I've already had the necessary items prepared."

I ordered the kilns to fire a large number of thick, coarse pottery jars and small-mouthed earthenware urns.

They also found the most skilled old carpenter to make many reinforced large wooden barrels.

It was repeatedly brushed with tung oil inside and out, and then tightly bound with iron hoops, leaving no gaps whatsoever.

This black kerosene is sticky and prone to leakage, so storing it in earthenware jars or wooden buckets is safe and prevents spillage and leakage.

We'll first carve stone cellars in the mountains to store the oil on the spot, then fix the barrels full of oil onto oxcarts and horse-drawn carts, and transport them out in batches.

"We're not afraid of bumps and spills, nor are we afraid of long journeys and delays. We guarantee we can An'an transport all this black kerosene back from the mountain."

Hu Yiming laughed even louder, "Alright, alright, I'm relieved to have you handle everything."

The aide pointed to the containers of black kerosene not far away and said, "We've already shipped out a lot. Once we find buyers, we'll be rich."

Zhou Wanwan chuckled; this advisor was truly thoughtful.

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said, "It seems we need to dig some stone cellars when we get back, otherwise we'll have nowhere to store all this oil!"

The Old Scholar Tree chuckled softly and said:

"If our family were to build a stone cellar in the mountains, it would be very quick. I'll have them do it right now."

We can build many stone cellars in one night, but where should we choose the location?

Zhou Wanwan chose a mountain hollow and said, "Let's choose that spot! It's a very safe place where nobody usually goes."

The Old Scholar Tree spoke to the trees around it for a while, and then those trees left.

The ravine Zhou Wanwan mentioned wasn't far from here, and those rocks weren't a problem for them.

They built so many houses that these stone cellars were very simple for them.

After these people left, the Old Scholar Tree finally confused everyone present.

Zhou Wanwan said with a smile, "It's our turn to show off our skills. First, let's transport all this coal back. These people have mined quite a lot."

The Old Scholar Tree chuckled, "There's no way we can use up all the coal."

Zhou Wanwan smiled faintly and said:

"This coal cannot be used directly; it must be washed, dried, roasted, and burned into charcoal before it can be used."

However, with this coal, many, many people can be saved in winter.

The Old Scholar Tree nodded, waved its hand, and thousands of trees appeared behind it.

The trees quickly put the coal into the baskets on their backs.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the oil on the ground and said, "Be careful when you carry this. It's all oil. If you get even a spark on it, it'll be a real problem."

The trees nodded quickly, began filling the barrels with oil, and then carried them all back.

Zhou Wanwan and the Old Scholar Tree walked towards home. Zhou Wanwan sighed and said:

"I wonder if anyone in this Broken Kiln Village has survived."

If no one survives, I'm afraid I'll lose this bet.

The Old Scholar Tree returned to the Broken Kiln Village and chatted with the other trees again:

"We already know about the black oil incident and what you've been through, so you don't need to be afraid."

We will not harm you. As long as you are willing to tell us about the survivors, you can walk again, just like me.

You should think about it carefully.