The train driver in the courtyard

"Without our Section Chief Wu's order, no one is allowed to step inside!"

When the security officers of Linxi Mine saw Deputy Section Chief Ma from the Production Section leading a large group of people, their faces immediately tightened, and they reached out to block the mine entrance, their eyes full of vigilance.

Behind him, several experts, including Engineer Liu from Jixi, also stood up upon hearing the sound and gathered around him.

The two sides found themselves in an unspoken standoff.

In the previous two instances, Deputy Section Chief Ma would have left with his tail between his legs.

But things are different now.

He straightened his back, his confidence evident. "This is an order from Team Leader Liu of the production increase team! If we delay the mine's production increase target and end up with the lowest output at the end of the month, can you take responsibility for that?"

These words were like a stone thrown into water; the security officers' expressions immediately changed.

Right now, the entire mine is putting in all its effort to increase production, as it's a direct order from above.

Anyone who drags their feet at this critical juncture is jeopardizing the livelihood of the entire mine!

Who would dare to take the blame?

Seeing their hesitation, Deputy Section Chief Ma became even more arrogant and reached out to push the officer blocking his way.

"Get out of the way! If you dawdle any longer, I'll report all your names, issue a mine-wide notice of criticism, and send you all to a study session to reflect on your actions!"

The word "self-reflection" carries a significant weight these days.

But the security officers, once they came to their senses, remained unyielding: "Sorry, we need to go into the mine. We'll talk about it when Section Chief Wu arrives!"

"Hey, you bunch of young comrades, you really don't know your place!"

Deputy Section Chief Ma hadn't expected the other party to be so assertive. His face darkened, and he waved his hand behind him, "All of you, get out there!"

The production staff he brought with him shouted and swarmed forward.

They were all colleagues from the same mine, and the other party was using the guise of a production increase team, so the security officers were hesitant to act, fearing the consequences.

Moments later, chaos erupted in front of Mine No. 6, with pushing and shouting filling the air.

"stop!"

A loud shout suddenly rang out from behind, startling everyone who turned to look in the direction of the sound.

The visitors were Li Aiguo and Section Chief Wu.

Deputy Section Chief Ma's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "This is bad. How come these two are back so quickly?"

His eyes lit up, and a smile immediately spread across his face as he quickly went to greet them: "Comrade Li Aiguo, Section Chief Wu! You've finally arrived! We were just about to go in to investigate the mine collapse, to prepare for the subsequent investigation!"

Li Aiguo glanced at him but didn't intend to expose him: "Oh? What a coincidence! Perfect, let's all go in and take a look together."

“Yes, yes, yes! Let’s go in together!” Deputy Section Chief Ma agreed repeatedly, but he wasn’t worried at all.

Even if you can't tamper with them, finding a few minor, harmless flaws in those machines is a piece of cake.
These days, going down into a mine is no easy task. You have to change into a kiln coat and wear a kiln hat. Li Aiguo thought that the mining area should be advised to switch to safety helmets, the kind with headlamps.

Then he put on high-top rubber boots and picked up the chrome lamp, and that was the end of it.

Li Aiguo, Zhou Ke, Chen Baiya, and experts such as Engineer Liu, Deputy Section Chief Ma of the Production Department, and several staff members lined up from the overpass to the cage entrance.

Getting on the tanker truck was almost like squatting in a cage.

This wasn't Li Aiguo's first time riding in a tanker truck, so he was quite used to it.

Zhou Ke and Chen Baiya looked rather grim, muttering to themselves, "Isn't this just like transporting piglets?"

Everyone was amused.

Actually, they are quite similar. Linxi Mine is a large mine, and the special cages used can hold three layers of cages, with two cages in each layer, for a total of six. From a distance, they look just like pig cages.

Once everything was ready, Section Chief Wu used the electric bell to notify the winch room, where the motor was immediately started. One cage of 12 cages rose towards the overpass, while the other cage, carrying Li Aiguo and the others, plummeted towards the dark bottom of the well.

The rumbling sound, carried by the wind, filled my ears. The further down I went, the dimmer the light became, and the colder and damper the air became.

The coal cutter accident occurred at the sixteenth road, in the thirty-first tunnel.

Mining coal is just like digging air-raid shelters.

First, a vertical shaft is dug out, and then the excavation proceeds horizontally from the bottom of the shaft in all directions.

During the excavation, sturdy arches had to be built using bricks, stone blocks, kiln pillars, and cement to support the kiln walls and gradually create a wide tunnel.

During the tunneling process, whenever coal was encountered, it was cleared out, the ground was leveled, and a road was built that could be traveled on, with light rails laid section by section.

Railway tracks typically extend only along straight tunnels, which are called alleys.

The alley is also known as the main road. The land on both sides is surveyed and dug inward in a "non" shape.

The excavated tunnels also involve building arches, roofs, walls, and roads... These smaller tunnels are called "daoxing" (道行).

The left and right walls of each row are then excavated in a "non" shape, which is the actual coal mining area, called a tunnel.

Different coal mines have different names due to historical reasons.

In Shanxi coal mines, it's called "dongzi," in southern mining areas it's called "longdao," and in other places it's called "kengdao"—they're all the same thing.

I don't know how long we walked, but we passed through more than a dozen forks in the road.

Judging from the depth of the ground, it is already a full three thousand feet.

Section Chief Wu then pulled the brake, and the mine cart came to a stop with a creak.

Li Aiguo knew they had reached the 16th road. The group got into the tanker truck and walked along the road for a while before they saw a large collapsed area ahead.

"This is it," Section Chief Wu said, panting.

Li Aiguo raised his miner's lamp, and the beam of light pierced the darkness, shining straight ahead.

All that could be seen was the sturdy boom and cutting disc of a coal cutter, most of which were buried by collapsed coal chunks and rubble.

The top was piled with a thick layer of coal gangue, which looked shocking.

A large section of the coal pile next to it had been dug up; without a doubt, it must have been caused by the earlier commotion during the rescue of Zong Xianfeng.

But... Li Aiguo frowned.

The collapsed area looked truly chaotic, with piles of rubble and coal scattered haphazardly.

But for some reason, there was an inexplicable sense of disharmony about it.

"So, is our mine safe and compliant?" Deputy Section Chief Ma of the Production Department shone his miner's lamp around the area and said with a sneer.

He had initially worried that the mining team would slack off, but now that he saw that the cave was fully equipped with safety facilities and that the roof was also supported by protective panels, he immediately perked up.

"In my opinion, the problem can only be with your newly arrived coal cutter!"

Unlike later experts, Liu and other veteran experts were true frontline experts, and at this time, it is not appropriate to accuse the cave of having safety issues.

Seeing that the expert remained silent, Deputy Section Chief Ma became even more smug. He turned to Section Chief Wu and said, "Old Wu, stop dawdling and hurry up and call the miners in to clear this collapsed coalfield! I'm going to take a good look at your coal cutter and see what you have to say this time!"

Several production section clerks chimed in, nodding in agreement.

They work in the mines year-round and know a thing or two about how it works. Seeing this scene, they were convinced that the problem was definitely with the coal cutter.

Section Chief Wu's expression turned somewhat grim. He turned to look at Li Aiguo, giving him an inquiring look.

Li Aiguo ignored them and climbed onto the coal cutter with his miner's lamp.

Seeing this, Zhou Ke quickly followed. Although he didn't understand what Li Aiguo was going to do, he took his miner's lamp and shone it over.

"What, are you trying to stall for time now?" Deputy Section Chief Ma said aggressively, arms crossed.

Li Aiguo still ignored him, and only reached out his hand to Zhou Ke: "Gloves."

Zhou Ke quickly handed over a pair of cotton gloves, which Li Aiguo put on. Without saying a word, he reached out and touched the rock strata at the top of the cave.

Sensing something was wrong, Engineer Liu stepped forward with his headlamp and asked, "Aiguo, have you discovered something?"

Li Aiguo looked at it for a while before pointing to the top: "Old Liu, you're an old expert, take a look at this collapsed section."

Mr. Liu hadn't paid much attention at first; weren't all the collapsed sections the same?

Upon closer inspection, his expression changed slightly: "In a normal collapse, the cracks on the top surface should meander along the direction of the coal seam, but the cross-section in front of us doesn't follow the rock strata at all."

As soon as he said that, the experts from the Jixi factory also gathered around with their miner's lamps.

"It really is! Look, the fracture surface is covered with fine, radial cracks!"

"The coal seam's bedding is completely disordered, with no trace of stratification or slippage at all. This is highly unusual!"

"What on earth is going on? This doesn't make any sense at all!"

Deputy Section Chief Ma had already planned to send people in to clean up, but upon hearing this, he became somewhat displeased.

"It's just a fault line, what's the big deal? The situation underground is ever-changing, who can say for sure!"

Engineer Liu was studying the fracture surface. His brows furrowed slightly as he glared at him and said, "Comrade Ma, you come from a construction background, don't you?"

"How...how did you know?" Deputy Section Chief Ma's expression changed slightly.

He was originally a staff member in the propaganda department of Linxi Mine. By chance, he developed a special relationship with Team Leader Liu, which allowed him to rise rapidly in rank and become the deputy head of the production department.

"No wonder. Technicians working in the coal industry should know that mine collapses, especially those caused by rock stress imbalance, aging support, and mining disturbance, cannot collapse instantly. Instead, they collapse gradually, with slag falling first and then the rock collapsing. During this process, the cracks follow the direction of the rock strata, meandering naturally, with traces of layered sliding."

Engineer Liu despised Deputy Section Chief Ma from the bottom of his heart. After the accident, instead of trying to find out the cause and prevent future problems, he was single-mindedly trying to shirk responsibility.

He was a leading technical authority on site and even throughout the entire Linxi Mine.

As soon as he said that, Deputy Section Chief Ma's face turned as red as a boiled pig's liver. He stood there, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal for a long time.

"This could also be a coincidence, hiccup."

"Really? What about this?" Li Aiguo jumped down and pulled out a protective plate from a pile of coal. The broken edge of the plate was charred black, and the edges looked like they had been scorched by high temperatures. You could even smell a faint, pungent odor of saltpeter mixed with sulfur.

Upon seeing the protective panel, Deputy Section Chief Ma's remaining voice choked in his throat.

Even if he was not an expert, he should know that a normally collapsed retaining wall should have torn, rough edges at the break.

"This was caused by an explosion!" Section Chief Wu's expression finally changed.

These words were like a boulder, crashing heavily into the calm water.

The cave fell silent instantly, and even the buzzing of the miners' lamps could be heard clearly.

It is an ironclad rule that explosives cannot be used in coal mines, let alone during coal cutting operations. The fact that traces of an explosion have been found can only mean that it was intentional.

"Could it have been Dieter?" Someone asked first.

The experts and production staff began to whisper among themselves.

"That shouldn't be the case. Ever since we dealt with Xu Zongtang at the last big meeting, our Linxi Mine has conducted several thorough investigations. There's no way Dieter could be involved."

"Now, strict checks are conducted before going down into the mine. Cigarettes, matches, and lighters are not allowed, let alone explosives."

"Besides, even if someone did bring in explosives, how could they possibly detonate them on time? Did they bring an alarm clock as a timer? Those things are easy to detect!"

Amid the murmurs, Deputy Section Chief Ma straightened his back once more, but at this moment he had no way to explain the traces of the explosion, so he didn't speak, just stood there with his arms crossed.

The things happening in this cave are very strange.

Like a kiln god blocking the way, the light goes out and you can't enter the cave. Blood-red coal is discovered, and as you dig, red threads emerge.

A maze of paths, a dead end from which you cannot find your way out.

The first two stories about Deputy Section Chief Ma were hearsay, but he had personally witnessed being trapped in a maze.

Before liberation, a group of miners went missing and were eventually found dead in a mine shaft, with the entrance not far away.

Strangely, the footprints on the ground indicated that they wandered around in the mine and eventually ended up starving to death.

The old miners said it was called "the miner's ghost binding the feet," meaning that the person was to be left in the mine as a substitute.

Deputy Section Chief Ma composed himself.

As long as the cause of the explosion remains unclear, the responsibility for the collapse lies with the coal cutter.

Section Chief Wu looked at Li Aiguo and asked, "Aiguo, how did Dieter set the explosion time?"

"It's hard to say for now." Li Aiguo looked at the collapsed area. The real explosion point should be located at the top front of the coal cutter, which is currently inaccessible.

"Send people in to clear this collapsed area first; the coal cutter needs to be brought out," Li Aiguo said.

“I’ll arrange the people,” Deputy Section Chief Ma said first.

Li Aiguo said coldly, "Leave this matter to Section Chief Wu."

"Why should we? According to the rules of Linxi Mine, production matters inside the mine should be the responsibility of our production department!" Deputy Section Chief Ma refused to budge an inch; this was the best opportunity he could get.

"This is not a production accident, but a security incident involving the sabotage of Dieter. The Security Department has an inescapable responsibility!" Section Chief Wu hadn't expected Deputy Section Chief Ma to be so firm, and he spoke up as well.

"Old Wu, are you the section chief of our Linxi Mine, or the section chief of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot?"

“I am the section chief of Linxi Mine, but I am not the section chief of certain people.”

In the past, Section Chief Wu could make concessions for the sake of the overall situation, but since this matter involves Dieter, a veteran, he cannot make any concessions whatsoever.

These words were like a slap in the face to Deputy Section Chief Ma.

He knew that it was absolutely impossible to get Section Chief Wu to back down today.

"I'm going to find Team Leader Liu now."

After saying that, Deputy Section Chief Ma said to the production section staff, "You stay here and do not allow anyone to clean up."

"Yes!"

Deputy Section Chief Ma ran to the tanker truck, jumped on, rang the doorbell, and hurriedly left.

Section Chief Wu was somewhat worried: "Aiguo, Deputy Section Chief Ma must have gone to the production increase team."

"Really? I think this matter should be reported to our superiors as well."

Li Aiguo asked Section Chief Wu to call the tanker truck down, then got on the tanker truck and left.

Seeing this, Section Chief Wu was somewhat puzzled.

The coal mine is an independently operated mining area, with no connection to the local government. Who can interfere with the work of the mining area?

Li Aiguo led Zhou Ke out of the mine. Considering that the mission here was becoming increasingly complicated, he asked Section Chief Wu to arrange a guesthouse.

It was the same place as last time, and even the receptionist was the same woman.

"Auntie, can I use the phone?" Li Aiguo handed over the money, picked up the phone, and connected to a number at the weather station.

The call was connected, but no sound came from the other end.

Li Aiguo, holding the phone, said to himself, "Uncle, a few rats have scurried into the kiln in Linxi to steal oil. These rats are really wicked; they made a loud noise with a rattle under the kiln. We were just about to catch them by following their paw prints when the people at the kiln blocked our way."

After the call ended, a voice came from the other end.

"I understand. Just hold your temper and don't startle the rats in the warehouse. I'll tell the people at the kiln to clear the way right away."

Li Aiguo nodded: "That's exactly what I've been hoping for."

After the other party finished speaking, they hung up the phone.

Li Aiguo put the phone back on the receiver, lit a cigarette, and slowly smoked it.

At this moment.

Inside the room, a slender woman was speaking to Deputy Team Leader Liu behind the desk; it was none other than Pan Jinyue.

A strange glint flashed in Deputy Section Chief Ma's eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

"Officer Pan is here too."

Pan Jinyue turned around upon hearing the voice, her eyes darting around: "Section Chief Ma, you're being too polite. Does that mean only your leaders are allowed to report on their work, while we junior staff members can't actively get closer to the organization?"

"How could that be!" Deputy Section Chief Ma smiled, but in his heart he was cursing Pan Jinyue to the core.

What are you pretending for, you little slut! When you were clinging to him in bed calling him "brother," where was this sharp-tongued and sarcastic attitude?

Now that they've gotten close to Deputy Team Leader Liu, they dare to act arrogantly in front of him.

Despite his inner grumbling, his outward respect remained undiminished.

Deputy Team Leader Liu, with her large pregnant belly, stood up and waved her hand: "Alright, Xiao Pan, you can go back now. Old Ma looks so anxious, he must have something urgent to attend to."

"Team leader, my cousin is still locked up in the security department. When can you spare some time to put in a good word for him?" Pan Jinyue swayed her body relentlessly, her waist so soft it seemed boneless, and her voice took on a hint of coquettishness.

The sight of that fawning manner made Deputy Section Chief Ma's Adam's apple bob involuntarily.

He quickly lowered his eyes, his mind racing: "Team leader, what a coincidence, the matter I'm about to report is also somewhat related to this matter concerning Officer Pan's cousin."

"Has something happened at the mine again?" Deputy Team Leader Liu's expression turned serious.

Upon hearing this, Pan Jinyue's coquettish expression vanished almost entirely, and she perked up her ears.

"Here's what happened: the people from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot falsely accused us of an explosion in our mine, insisting that Dieter was involved, so they wanted to take over the investigation."

Upon hearing this, Deputy Team Leader Liu's expression changed.

"Where's Section Chief Wu? Is he just sitting around doing nothing? After the Dieter case, he, as the head of the security section, is the first one who should be held responsible. Doesn't he know that?!"

"Section Chief Wu stood on the front gate locomotive depot side, and wanted to personally select a group of people to clean up the collapsed area."

"Bang!" Deputy Team Leader Liu slammed his hand on the table.

“Disorganized and undisciplined. Ever since our labor competition started, these people in the security department have been disobedient. Now the root of the problem lies with Section Chief Wu,” Deputy Team Leader Liu said angrily.

When Pan Jinyue heard that traces of an explosion had been discovered, her expression changed. Fortunately, both people in the room were angry and no one noticed her unusual behavior.

She composed herself, stepped forward, and said softly, "Team Leader Liu, please calm down. This Dieter incident is a huge deal. If it's thoroughly investigated, our mine might have to shut down for rectification. Then, if the higher-ups blame us, where will our production increase team put our faces?"

These words struck a nerve with Deputy Team Leader Liu.

His face instantly darkened to a grim level, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "I'm going to find the mine leaders right now! Section Chief Wu must be suspended from his post!"

After saying that, Deputy Team Leader Liu strode outside.

Pan Jinyue watched him walk away before turning around and slowly following Deputy Section Chief Ma.

There was no one in the corridor. She took out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, shook one out, and handed it to him, her fingertips intentionally or unintentionally brushing against the back of Deputy Section Chief Ma's hand.

"Old Ma, tell me everything about what happened down in the mine, in detail."

Deputy Section Chief Ma was somewhat puzzled: "Jin Yue, this matter has blown up. It's a hot potato; if you get involved, you'll get burned."

“My cousin is still locked up, Lao Ma. Don’t forget, you were the one who got him into the mining team. And how did you become this deputy section chief? Have you forgotten?” Pan Jinyue sneered and lit a cigarette for herself.

Upon hearing this, Deputy Section Chief Ma felt a pang of regret.

Why couldn't I control myself back then? I was bewitched by this woman's seductive charm and got myself into this inescapable trouble.

He dared not hide anything any longer and could only tell the whole story in detail.

The more Pan Jinyue listened, the uglier her face became, until finally, her charming face was covered in frost.

"What's wrong?" Deputy Section Chief Ma asked cautiously, noticing her pale face.

"It's nothing." Pan Jinyue stubbed out her cigarette, threw it on the ground, and rolled it up with the sole of her shoe. "Old Ma, I have something to do, I'll go back first."

After that, he turned around and left.

Seeing this, Deputy Section Chief Ma acted impulsively and called out to her, "How about... how about you come to my dorm tonight? We can discuss it further."

Pan Jinyue paused, then suddenly sneered, "What, aren't you afraid of being caught by Team Leader Liu? If that happens, you'll probably lose your position as deputy section chief for good."

Deputy Section Chief Ma opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word.

"None of you men are reliable."

Pan Jinyue turned around and walked towards the dormitory.

Such a meticulously planned scheme was still discovered; that Li Aiguo from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot is indeed not an easy character to deal with.

We need to discuss how to deal with this quickly.

Otherwise, not only her cousin, but she herself would also be doomed here.

Meanwhile, Deputy Team Leader Liu had already arrived at the mine area leadership office and explained the situation.

"Boss, this is a critical moment in the labor competition, we absolutely cannot stop work."

Furthermore, even if Dieter were to appear in our mining area, it's our responsibility to handle it ourselves. Section Chief Wu's actions have violated the mining area's rules. I suggest that Section Chief Wu be immediately suspended from his post, and the Production Department take over the matter.

Just as the leader was about to give his opinion, the phone rang.

He picked up the phone, and upon hearing the voice on the other end, immediately stood up straight: "Boss, yes, this is Xiao Zhang. You know about this too?"

"I understand, I understand! Rest assured, I will handle this carefully and will never let the organization down!"

I don't know what they said, but the leader's expression turned serious.

After hanging up the phone, he turned around and looked at Deputy Team Leader Liu with a completely different expression than before.

"Team Leader Liu, after careful consideration by the organization, the investigation work at Linxi Mine has been officially transferred to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. Your production increase team must fully cooperate."

"Ah? Leader! This won't do..." Deputy Team Leader Liu immediately became anxious upon hearing this.

Before he could say anything more, the leader said sternly, "Deputy Team Leader Liu, this is the organization's decision."

"Yes, I obey!" Deputy Team Leader Liu lowered his head.

He was filled with doubt. Just what was the background of the Qianmen Locomotive Depot? How could it have caused the mine leaders' attitude to change so quickly?

Not only was Deputy Team Leader Liu baffled, but Section Chief Wu and Engineer Liu were also completely surprised that Linxi Mine's attitude had made a 180-degree turn in just half an hour.

A mine leader personally came to Mine No. 6 to announce the decision of Linxi Mine, appointing Li Aiguo as the head of the investigation team.

"Comrade Patriot, please feel free to contact me anytime if you need anything." The mine leader was particularly enthusiastic.

"Thank you." Li Aiguo turned to Section Chief Wu: "Old Wu, select a group of trustworthy miners to clear out the collapsed area."

"Also, weren't all those people in the mining team taken into custody? Starting today, talk to them one by one, don't miss a single one."

(End of this chapter)