I'm trapped in a block

Chapter 1249 Copper Bargain
“Three or four hundred years ago, people discovered copper mines in the mountains here. You know malachite, right? It was everywhere back then, and the hunters in the mountains took it away. When the government found out, they came to investigate.”

"Then they discovered copper mines. Back then, there wasn't much mining technology; it was all done by hand, and the output wasn't large. They dug up what they could find and discarded what they couldn't because the location was remote and transportation costs were high. Even when they discovered iron ore below, they didn't mine much more..."

"Later, in modern times, the mines here were occupied... The invaders conscripted tens of thousands of laborers and made them mine day and night. During the war, iron ore was a very important resource, and it was occupied land, so those guys carried out crazy predatory mining."

"They dredged over a million tons, and it was all transported by train to the port and back..."

"Later, the invaders surrendered, and the puppet troops came again... Instead of restoring production, they sold off the machinery left behind by the invaders. Mines, railways, facilities—whatever could be sold was sold, and what couldn't be sold was left there until it was abandoned."

"However, all of this ended after the puppet troops were driven away."

"In the second year after the Tonggu Iron Mine was brought under the control of the people, the Ministry of Industry mobilized manpower to repair and rebuild the Tonggu Mine, making full use of all available resources. With the help of outsiders and the joint efforts of the local people, Tonggu resumed production in the same year."

At this point, the leader's eyes shone brightly.

Xu Demin was also filled with excitement. He never expected that such a small town as Tonggu would have such a magnificent history.

"Leader, I will definitely do my best to develop the Tonggu Mine!" Xu Demin made a vow on the spot.

The leader patted Xu Demin on the shoulder: "It's good to have such ambition! But building the Tonggu Mine is not something you can do alone; it requires the efforts of millions of Tonggu people!"

"Boss, when can I start working?"

"You need to learn first. Safety is the most important thing when working in a mine, and efficiency comes second. I'll take you to meet some experienced workers. Although they may not have as high a degree as you, they've all worked in the mine for over ten years and have a wealth of experience. You need to humbly learn from them..."

Xu Demin stayed in Tonggu. As a newcomer, everything was new and exciting to him. Like a sponge, he kept absorbing knowledge. All the masters praised him for learning quickly.

In those days, no one would hide anything from him. They would teach him everything they knew without reservation. When he asked questions he didn't understand, even if the masters didn't know the answers, they would find a way to give him the answers or get him some books to read on his own.

Xu Demin felt the warmth of family from these elders who were not relatives, which strengthened his determination to build Tonggu.

But in his second year here, just as he had begun to work, something unexpected happened.

After the explosion at noon one day, Xu Demin, as usual, finished his meal and planned to go back to his dormitory to rest for a while. At this time, he saw many people running outside.

He quickly stopped a colleague and asked what had happened.

"The explosion hit someone!"

"How could this be?" Xu Demin's head throbbed with a loud bang.

Such an accident had never happened before at the mine. Xu Demin had been there for a year and knew that the probability of such an accident was very low. The blasting process was extremely complicated, and each step was a safety barrier. Although it looked very dangerous, the probability of an accident was even smaller than the probability of being hit and killed by a mining truck while walking on the road.

How many people were injured?

"We don't know yet. Everyone's rushing over there to try and rescue people!"

Xu Demin abandoned any thought of resting and quickly followed the crowd, squeezed onto a vehicle, and rushed to the scene of the accident.

When they arrived at the scene, they found that the accident site had been cordoned off, and all the vehicles that had come were blocked outside.

Xu Demin saw the leader pacing back and forth in the distance. The leader was in charge of on-site production, and with such a big incident, he could not escape responsibility.

Xu Demin quickly ran to the leader to inquire about the current situation.

The leader was already sweating profusely, but he still tried to comfort Xu Demin first.

"It's alright, it's alright, the rescue team has arrived, and the hospital is waiting outside. The emergency response was very timely, there shouldn't be any major problems..." "Sir, how could anyone be injured? Was the demolition not carried out according to the normal procedures?"

"The procedures were all normal, the blasting equipment and supplies had been checked in advance, the blasting time was accurate, everything was correct..."

"How could that have hurt someone?"

"It's still unclear. After the explosion, the command center ordered a response, but then the demolition team went missing. The command center immediately notified the rescue team, and we still don't know what happened over there."

"After the explosion, there was no further news?"

"Hmm," the leader responded softly.

"Has everyone disappeared without a trace?"

"Ah."

The leader sounded like he had something stuck in his throat, and his voice was already a little hoarse.

Xu Demin had no choice but to wait outside the blockade, anxiously watching inside.

Five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes... an hour quickly passed, and the emergency response vehicle slowly drove out, with the ambulance that had been waiting outside also coming to meet it.

However, when the emergency vehicle opened its door, the people who got out looked completely bewildered.

"Where are the wounded?" the hospital staff asked anxiously.

"No wounded."

"No?"

Everyone present turned deathly pale instantly, which meant that there were no survivors.

Realizing his words had caused a misunderstanding, the emergency responder quickly waved his hand: "No, no, no, that's not what I meant... I meant, we can't find them, they've all disappeared!"

He turned his head and looked back in the direction he had come from, his eyes filled with confusion and a hint of fear of the unknown.

"We searched everywhere, including the blast site, the remote command post, and even under the piles of rocks, but we couldn't find a single trace."

"There's no one here, no clothes, the car's just sitting there..."

"The equipment is intact, we checked the blasting marks, everything is normal, but the person is gone, vanished into thin air!"

At this point, the emergency responder became somewhat agitated; he was trying his best to control his emotions in the face of such an incomprehensible situation.

"The explosion was probably too powerful; people were blown to pieces. Let us in; there might still be survivors under the rubble," the hospital staff said anxiously.

"No, it's dangerous inside. No one can go in until the cause of the accident is determined!"

"You're wasting precious rescue time! No one just vanishes into thin air! You're trying to cover up your responsibility for the accident; we've already notified the police!"

Seeing the situation getting increasingly chaotic, the leader quickly stepped in front of the colleague from the emergency department.

"Don't rush, don't rush, colleagues from the hospital. Wait until the people inside are completely safe before you go in. The mine is very dangerous, and we must ensure everyone's safety."

(End of this chapter)