Back in the 1980s, hiking in the mountains was also a way of life

When Wang Daliang and his wife started crying, Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing, who had been furious and indignant just moments before, immediately lost their previous arrogance.

The main problem is that people are difficult to empathize with; as the saying goes, "Don't advise others to be kind if you haven't experienced their suffering."

If Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing were placed in Yao Ping's position, they would definitely not be able to stand it either, and they would definitely try every means to seek justice.

Anyone can bear to see their loved ones suffer and endure injustice and humiliation at the same time.

After a few more minutes of silence, Liu Guilan glanced helplessly at Wang Daliang and his wife, then said to Wang An with a worried expression:

"Xiao An, let's be honest, if you go on this trip, you can't let them keep you stuck in the coal mine forever, can you? Can you come back unscathed?"

Mu Xueqing also said with great concern:
“If it doesn’t work, don’t force it. Our whole family is counting on you. What will happen to us if something happens to you? What will happen to Happiness and Joy? They’re so young.”

It is said that "a virtuous wife brings good fortune to her husband," and Mu Xueqing's behavior at this moment is clearly a model of a virtuous wife.

No matter what impulsive or even life-threatening things Wang An is about to do, as long as Mu Xueqing can persuade him to stop, or make him think more about his family when he acts impulsively, then Mu Xueqing's words will be very meaningful.

At this moment, Wang Dazhu also said:
"Anyway, you'd better think this through carefully. You can't just do something reckless. We can't do something that ends up losing more than we gain."

Wang An smiled and said:

"It's not a big deal. I'll go to the county to ask my older sister, and then I'll ask my brother Wu and the others. We need to find out what's going on at that coal mine first. If I just go there with Lao Wu and his gang, we'll definitely get killed at the coal mine."

After saying this, Wang An turned to Wang Daliang and his wife and said:
"Second Uncle and Second Aunt, I need to make this clear to you beforehand. I don't know if I can help you get this money back, and I don't know if I can help you get it back."

If you can't get out, then you'll have to swallow this insult whether you like it or not. At that point, don't try anything funny with me; it's useless, and I can't do anything about it.

After a pause, Wang An spoke bluntly:

"Besides, Xueqing is right. I have a whole family here. How can we support your lousy and worthless behavior and just give up on our family? Damn it, you guys are really something, sticking to me like this."

"Let's be honest, as elderly people, is this how you treat people? Do I owe you anything? Everyone has parents, right? Don't you have any humanity left?"

Although Wang An understood Wang Daliang and his wife's desire to seek justice for their daughter and son-in-law, their behavior, which resembled "moral blackmail" or "being unable to save face for relatives," was something that Wang An found very objectionable.

Before Wang Daliang and Yao Ping could say anything, looking embarrassed, Wang An chuckled and said to the couple:
"Alright, you two, shut up. You're both so cunning; you're really trying to screw over your nephew."

Wang An's seemingly joking but actually pointed remark immediately made Wang Daliang and his wife even more embarrassed.

Turning his head, Wang An said to Wang Li:

"Fifth Brother, go and call Xiao Zhong over, let's go."

Three minutes later, Wang An and the other two drove towards the county amidst the worried gazes of the crowd.

Wang An felt that even Zhang Shuya was unlikely to be able to resolve this matter; it would probably require Wu Dong's intervention.

The main reason is that all the people in Gong'anju are locals.

The coal mine is full of all sorts of people, armed with knives and guns. They are a group of people who truly value money over their lives. If they were to retaliate in the future, no one could withstand the consequences.

So, under Wang An's direction, Wang Li drove directly to Zhengfu Compound. He lit a cigarette for the gatekeeper, Uncle Cao, who then picked up the phone and made a call.

Previously, the gatehouse only had a crank-operated telephone, but now it has been replaced with a rotary dial telephone.

I have to say, this thing does look much better than a crank telephone.

Most importantly, these phones are directly connected to the exchange, allowing users to dial different numbers to complete the call process without the need for human operators to transfer calls.

Grandpa Cao took the microphone, fiddled with the dial for a while, and then said into the microphone:

"Xiao Wu, come out here for a second, your little brother is here to see you again."

After saying that, Grandpa Cao hung up the microphone.

Wang An, making conversation as he went along, said:
"Grandpa, this phone is great! It doesn't have that crank handle anymore. When was it replaced?"

The old man smiled slightly and said:

"It's only been a few days since the change, I'm not quite sure about the secrets yet."

After exchanging a few more useless words, Wang An saw Wu Dong walk out of the courtyard.

After a few brief pleasantries upon boarding, Wang An went straight to the point:
“Brother Wu, there is such a thing. My second uncle’s brother-in-law, Shi Qinghe, was working at the coal mine in Shimatun, Qing’an Township. He was seriously injured when a piece of coal was thrown out. The coal mine refused to pay for his medical expenses because of illegal operation. I can’t stand this with my hot temper, so I came to you to help me get revenge.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Dong laughed heartily and said:

"I knew you were looking for me because it wasn't anything good."

Wang An said with a self-righteous expression:

"But it can't all be good news when I come to you. I just can't swallow this."

Wu Dong nodded, then pondered for a moment before speaking somewhat solemnly:
"Behind that coal mine, there's a big shot from the city. And the people in our county aren't exactly clean either. Lately, because of the coal mine explosion that injured people, quite a few troublemakers have been arrested. By the way, it was your older sister who sent people to do the arrests."

An open-pit coal mine, with extremely low extraction costs, where you could make money with your eyes closed every day, was contracted out to someone in such a muddled way. This in itself is a big problem.

Upon hearing Wu Dong's words, Wang An immediately realized that he had brought trouble upon Wu Dong, because it was obvious that the coal mine involved far too many people, practically every aspect of society.

After clicking his tongue, Wang An continued, twisting his head:

"The main problem is that my brother-in-law is probably going to be disabled for the rest of his life, and this damn coal mine isn't paying out a single penny. I'm so furious."

Wu Dong laughed and said:

"So you mean you just want to get your brother-in-law's share of medical expenses and compensation?"

Wang An nodded and said with a smile:

"Yeah, money is definitely the most important thing. There's no point in talking about anything else." (End of Chapter)