C2 Debt

“Mom, Dad, let's eat!” Chenxuan broke the silence.

Yuehua immediately reacted and dashed to the kitchen. “I still have food cooking on the stove!”

To celebrate Chenxuan's return, Yuehua had prepared a stir-fried green pepper and egg dish, some pickled beans, and a vegetable dish. It was quite a spread.

Chenxuan served his parents some rice and then sat down. “Mom, Dad, I think we should find a way to make some money.”

Xiuyuan felt a bit irritated, thinking his son's words were just empty talk. Everyone knows the importance of making money, but it's not easy. “If making money were that easy, everyone would be rich.”

Yuehua tapped her husband's arm with her chopsticks. “Why are you taking it out on the kid?”

Xiuyuan fell silent.

Chenxuan continued, “What do you think about selling river sand?”

Xiuyuan, who was currently working as a laborer with some cement workers for just three dollars a day, thought Chenxuan's idea was nonsense. Selling river sand requires machinery.

Seeing Xiuyuan remain silent, Yuehua chimed in, “Son, selling river sand requires equipment. Even a small setup could cost several hundred to a thousand dollars, and a large one might be in the tens of thousands. Do you think it's that easy?”

Forget tens of thousands; their family couldn't even come up with fifty dollars right now. They had just returned the last twenty dollars to Zhiming.

Yang Chenxuan already had a plan in mind: "Isn't the river full of sand? I can use a shovel and a basket to gather it, then sift out the stones with a metal screen. Dad knows a lot of cement workers; maybe they can help us find some business. I should be able to earn as much as Dad does in a day."

Seeing his son still thinking about this, Yang Xiuyuan said, "You think you're the only smart one? Others haven't thought of this? Back in '87, someone tried it, but they couldn't sell it!"

Yang Chenxuan was taken aback, not knowing this. He asked, "Why not?"

Yang Xiuyuan patiently explained, "No one was buying! Back then, no one could afford cement and sand; they used lime and mud. Now, people are using cement and sand to build houses, but Hongfeng Village opened a quarry. They have machinery; can you compete with them?"

People aren't foolish; everyone can think of ways to make money. The difference lies in whether they act on it and succeed.

Yang Chenxuan pondered for a moment, "Dad, how far is that Hongfeng Village from us?"

"About six miles," Yang Xiuyuan estimated.

Hearing it was that far, Yang Chenxuan regained his confidence: "It's six miles from here, and some places are even farther. We just need to sell to the people nearby! We're closer; why would they travel six miles to buy from far away?"

Yang Chenxuan's words left both parents momentarily stunned. He seemed to make sense. They had always thought about running a small sand business but never really acted on it.

Zhang Yuehua looked at Yang Xiuyuan. "Xiuyuan, it seems like our son has a point. How much is a truckload of river sand going for these days?"

"Five bucks!" Yang Xiuyuan was pondering his son's suggestion, muttering, "I might be able to find some buyers. We could sell it cheaper if needed. But the river is public property. Are we allowed to dig there?"

Yang Chenxuan replied, "If we're not making money, they won't care. What's the harm in digging a little sand? And if we do make money, it'll be even easier to handle!"

Zhang Yuehua agreed, "Our son is right. Even if the river is public, we should have a share, shouldn't we?"

"But I have to work tomorrow," Yang Xiuyuan hesitated.

Zhang Yuehua, being a decisive woman, said, "Don't we have shovels at home? I'll start digging tomorrow. Once I gather enough for a truckload, you can see if anyone's interested. We'll sell it cheap if we have to."

"Alright, if it sells well, I'll come back to help!" Yang Xiuyuan quickly decided. If they could make some money, it would be a good opportunity.

In their eyes, Yang Chenxuan was still just a kid. Even though he came up with the idea of selling river sand, his parents only thought of him as clever. When it came to doing the work and finding buyers, they didn't expect much help from him. The rest of the conversation mainly involved the couple without consulting Yang Chenxuan.

Yang Chenxuan stayed quiet, feeling a bit disappointed inside. He wasn’t sure how much sand one person could dig up in a day, but at just five dollars a truckload, it was less than he expected. He had thought about hiring someone to help his father, but after learning the price of the sand, he quickly dismissed the idea.

Though Yang Chenxuan was let down by the profit from the sand, his parents were excited and talked about it all night. The night passed without a word from him.

When Yang Chenxuan got up the next morning, it was only 6:30, but his parents had already left. Breakfast was kept warm on the stove. After eating a little, he grabbed a hoe and headed toward the river.

From a distance, he could see his mother working in the river, digging sand with just a hoe, a shovel, a metal sieve, and a bamboo basket, slowly moving it to the shore. The field where they were storing the sand used to grow rice, but Zhang Yuehua had already harvested it.

As Yang Chenxuan approached, Zhang Yuehua wiped the sweat from her face and said, “Son, what are you doing here?”

“I came to help you!” Yang Chenxuan replied, ready to step into the river.

Zhang Yuehua felt her son was truly thoughtful, coming to help so early in the morning. Smiling, she said, “No need, this is hard work. You can’t handle it. Go back and study!”

Chenxuan jumped right into the river: "No worries! My schoolwork won't fall behind!"

Chenxuan wanted to take advantage of the day to figure out how much river sand one person could dig up, to make further plans. Zhang Yuehua tried to persuade him otherwise, but Chenxuan insisted on helping. She had him sift sand on the riverbank, as the freshly dug river sand was mixed with lots of pebbles and needed to be sifted through a metal screen.

While Zhang Yuehua dug in the river, Chenxuan sifted on the bank. Many villagers passed by, assuming Chenxuan's family was preparing sand for building a new house. When asked, they found out the sand was actually for sale.

By the end of the day, rumors spread throughout the village that the Xiuyuan family was selling river sand to make money, and they had even cut down their own rice crops. The villagers were buzzing with talk, mostly skeptical, waiting to see the family's plan fail.

If the sand didn't sell, this venture would likely become a long-standing joke in the village. The mother and son worked tirelessly all day, taking only an hour-long break for lunch. The pile of sand they dug up had grown into a small mountain.

As the sun set, Chenxuan looked at the heap of sifted river sand, feeling the ache in his back and the blisters on his hands, which stung at the slightest touch. "Mom, how many truckloads do you think this is?" Chenxuan estimated there were at least three or four truckloads.

Nowadays, the sand is hauled by tractors, each carrying about 1.6 tons. It's nothing like the later dump trucks that can haul over ten tons at a time.

Zhang Yuehua felt a twinge of excitement and said happily, “About two loads. Tomorrow, have your dad ask around to see if anyone needs it.”

Hearing it was just two loads, Yang Chenxuan felt a bit disappointed.

The two of them had worked for over ten hours and only managed to dig a little over three tons of sand, which would bring in just a few dollars.

Yang Chenxuan found it hard to believe. “This huge pile is only worth a few bucks?”

But Zhang Yuehua was already satisfied. “If we can sell it, your dad and I could dig sand. Even if it's just ten dollars a day, that’s over three thousand a year.”

When she mentioned the potential annual income of over three thousand, Zhang Yuehua’s voice was filled with hope and excitement.

In those days, earning three thousand a year was considered a high income.

Yang Chenxuan was speechless. Selling sand like this needed a better approach. Considering the days lost to heavy rain and the cold winter when it’s unbearable to be in the water, even if his father worked faster and harder, they wouldn’t make more than three thousand a year.

Moreover, to Yang Chenxuan, this income was still too low.

That evening, Zhang Yuehua shared the day's “success” with Yang Xiuyuan, and the couple couldn’t stop smiling.

Yang Xiuyuan decided he wouldn’t go to work the next day.

Yang Chenxuan couldn’t hold back any longer and said, “Mom, Dad, this is just too exhausting. We need to think of a way to make this easier.”

Yang Chenxuan was still excited and didn't pay much attention to his son's words. "Making money is never easy. You just focus on your studies. Your mom and I can handle the sand digging."

"This way, we only make a few thousand bucks a year. It's not worth it!" Chenxuan understood his parents' excitement, but the money was too hard-earned.

However, his parents wouldn't listen. They felt like they'd struck gold and were already calculating their future earnings.

Seeing that his words had no effect, Chenxuan stopped trying to persuade them.

After a day of digging sand, Chenxuan was genuinely tired and went to bed early, thinking about how to make the sand digging work easier.

Hire someone? Become the boss himself?

Chenxuan compared sand digging to working as a construction laborer. The physical demands were similar, but the hours were longer. Laborers even got a lunch included.

With that in mind, the wages would need to be at least comparable to those of a laborer. Hiring someone wouldn't be as effective as doing it himself. After deducting wages, sand storage losses, and tool wear and tear, the profit margin would be less than ten percent, and there were still risks involved.

Hiring help just wasn't profitable enough.

Buying machinery was out of the question since they couldn't afford it.

In the end, it all came down to needing money!

With these thoughts swirling in his head, Chenxuan drifted off to sleep.