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

On the way, Wang An said to Wang Li, who was driving:

"Fifth Brother, you've seen the whole thing. Brother Wu can help get the money, but he's also quite wary of those guys at the coal mine. So, this is all he can do to help us."

Wang Li nodded and said in a deep voice:

"Yes, Fourth Brother, I watched the whole thing. It seems like Brother Wu couldn't do anything with those people. He only helped this far because of you. I understand. I think it's already pretty good that I could help this much."

Wang An nodded and continued:

"It's over. My brother-in-law will definitely be able to come up with the compensation money, but it won't be easy for him. We'll definitely have to fight them soon. I just don't know how many fights we'll have to go through."

Wang Li continued nodding:
"Yes, I know Fourth Brother."

Wang An then changed the subject, saying:

"I've paved the way for you to this extent. Now it's all up to you when the fight starts. Whether you beat them up or they beat you up depends entirely on how well you perform. Are you okay with that?"

As soon as Wang An finished speaking, Wang Li was stunned.

Wang An's meaning was very clear: when it came to the actual fighting, Wang An would only watch and not take action, and as for the outcome, whether they won or lost, Wang Li would have to bear the consequences himself.

If he wins, then Wang Li is awesome; if he loses, then only Wang Li will get beaten up, and Wang An won't get involved anyway.

The reason Wang An said that wasn't because he really wouldn't help or care about Wang Li, but because he wanted Wang Li to suffer a bit.

There's no way around it, this kid is just too arrogant, he needs to learn a very profound physical lesson.

Moreover, the meaning behind Wu Dong's words was already quite clear.

That is, although Wu Dong and his group and Chu Laomao and Bai Huozi and their group do not get along and dislike each other, they will give each other face in certain matters. To be precise, they are actually wary of each other.

As for the compensation, after Wu Dong made the phone call, the coal mine would absolutely not dare to do anything too outrageous, such as resorting to guns or knives.

At most, they'll beat up the people who come to collect the money, or more accurately, they'll fight them. Whoever wins is awesome, and whoever loses is a complete idiot. It won't affect their ability to collect the money anyway.

If they dare to use guns or knives, Wang An will definitely not tolerate it; he'll just have to fight them.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Wang Li said to Wang An with a look of astonishment and disbelief:
"Fourth, Fourth Brother, then, then you, then you're not coming with me?"

Upon hearing this, Wang An immediately became displeased, and said with a displeased expression:
"Knowing I'm going to get beaten up, why would I even bother fighting you? You want me to get beaten up with you? Seriously?"

"So, I already did your family a favor and helped them get their money back, and that's not enough? Do you think I have to take a beating with you? What the hell are you thinking? Do you think I owe you anything?"

Wang An was unhappy, mainly because of Wang Li's attitude of asking him to share the burden.

In Wang An's view, there should be a "limit" in everything, whether it's relatives, brothers, friends, or even family members.

You can't expect me to take all the benefits while you bear all the bad ones, can you?
This is clearly shameless behavior! Even if you're close, you can't do this! Hearing Wang An's utterly blunt words, Wang Li finally stammered and said...
"No, no, no, I just, I just said that."

Wang An spoke bluntly about Wang Lidao:
"Get the hell out of here! Where's your old bravado? Always so defiant and resentful, always ready to take on anyone. What's wrong with you? You've already chickened out before you've even had a chance to fight anyone?"

Wang Li's face turned bright red, feeling utterly ashamed after Wang An's sarcastic and insulting words.

About half an hour later, the GAZ truck arrived near the mining area of ​​Qing'an Township Coal Mine.

From a distance, the entire coal mine is actually a very large coal mountain. You only need to remove the top layer of soil, which is only a little over 2 meters thick, to start mining the coal.

The cost of mining such a coal mine is ridiculously low.

Who wouldn't want to own such a coal mine? With such a mine in hand, one could say they'd be set for life for generations.

Unfortunately, good things like coal mines will never belong to ordinary people!
How tragic! How tragic!
Just as Wang An was gazing at the mine and lost in thought, the GAZ truck slowed down and merged into the massive traffic flow.

The entire coal mining area appears quite prosperous, with small restaurants, shops, tailor shops, casinos, and small hotels offering special services—all the amenities one could need in the mining area's residential area.

This place is far more prosperous than a township, and it's almost as bustling as a county.

The only downside is that the people here all look filthy, like they haven't washed their faces. The streets, trees, and everything in sight are covered with a layer of black coal ash, making them look particularly dirty.

However, all coal mines are like this, so it's not surprising that it's like this here too.

About a kilometer past the residential area, we entered the coal transportation and storage area.

Large and small coal piles were casually stored in the open air, with trucks loading and unloading coal coming and going around them in an endless stream, making it look quite busy.

Of course, apart from those carrying guns, most people in the entire production area were very busy, digging, loading, unloading, and transporting coal—all coal-related jobs.

Working here, as long as you have some strength, you're guaranteed not to starve.

Besides the large number of people, there were also many coal transport vehicles, including handcarts, horse-drawn carts, mule carts, hand tractors, four-wheeled vehicles, agricultural tricycles, and large Jiefang trucks, all of which were quite numerous here.

We drove straight to the management office, which was a fairly large two-story building made of blue bricks, and it must have been there for quite some time.

However, the two-story building looked very dirty, covered in a thick layer of coal ash. The windows were also gray and dull, as if the coal ash had fused with the glass.

Several cars, very rare for this era, were parked in the carport in front of the two-story building.

There are Santana, Corolla, Jeep 213, GAZ, Hongqi, etc.

The fact that these vehicles could be found in such a remote place is enough to prove the strength and capability of the people working in this coal mine. (End of Chapter)