Black Gold 1983

"Oops, sorry Sui'er, my hand slipped!"

A shrill female voice came from behind, without a trace of apology in her tone, as if she was deliberately waiting to see a good show.

Tian Sui'er turned around.

Across a table sat four or five young female workers, all of whom were staff members from various departments of the mine and involved in logistics.

The one in the lead was wearing a bright red acrylic sweater, had a trendy perm, and a smug smile on his lips.

"Sister Hongxia, you've gone too far!"

Zhou Shuyao jumped up, her face flushed red: "How could your hand slip and slide this far? You obviously did it on purpose!"

"Zhou Shuyao, stop pretending to be all high and mighty!" Wang Hongxia slammed her chopsticks on the table and stood up, her voice an octave higher than Zhou Shuyao's: "I told you it was a slip of the hand, don't believe me if you don't!"

Several female workers next to her chimed in, "That's right, it's just a little soup spilled, why are you making such a fuss?"

"He's a celebrity now; you can't touch him, you can't say anything about him, the whole mine has to treat him like royalty!"

"Absolutely! It's so different to have a rich and powerful fiancé—oh wait, I mean ex-fiancé, hahaha!"

Zhou Shuyao's cheeks puffed up with anger, and she was about to retort when Tian Sui'er stopped her.

Everyone in the mine knew that Wang Hongxia had always had a thing for Xu Dongsheng. She was always dressed up like a pheasant, but unfortunately, Xu Dongsheng never gave her a second glance. Naturally, all his resentment was directed at Tian Suier.

"What are you doing!" A sudden roar rang out, and everyone turned to look.

Xu Dongsheng happened to be standing at the entrance of the canteen, with a group of staff members from the transportation department behind him.

Wang Hongxia's expression changed.

Xu Dong ignored her completely, strode up to Tian Sui'er, glanced down at the soup stains on her cotton-padded jacket, and frowned: "Who did this?"

Tian Sui'er didn't say anything.

Wang Hongxia stammered, her face turning red and white in turns; her earlier arrogance had completely vanished.

"I...I didn't mean to, it just slipped..."

Everyone at the mine knew that Xu Dongsheng was known for his good temper, but at this moment, his face suddenly darkened: "Whether it was a slip of the hand or not, you know perfectly well!"

Wang Hongxia was speechless after Xu Dongsheng's words, and stood there awkwardly, not knowing how to end the situation.

Xu Dongsheng looked at the somewhat disheveled Tian Sui'er and softened his tone: "Are you alright, Sui'er? Let's go."

As soon as he said that, the eyes of the onlookers in the cafeteria nearly popped out of their sockets.

The two of them made such a scene at their engagement party a couple of days ago, and with Tian Sui'er's public apology just now, who in the entire mine doesn't know about it now?

The affair between Tian Suier and Ren Ye spread like wildfire, and the Xu family lost all face. Normally, if Xu Dongsheng saw Tian Suier, he should at least give her a cold look and pretend he didn't know her, if not avoid her.

But he was different. Instead of hiding, he rushed out to stand up for her. His shout just now shook the entire cafeteria. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought he was really Tian Sui'er's fiancé.

Tian Sui'er didn't look at him, but politely said "thank you", then suddenly picked up the enamel mug in front of her and walked slowly towards Wang Hongxia's table.

"What...what are you going to do?" Wang Hongxia took a half step back, glaring at him with a fierce but weak expression.

Tian Sui'er walked up to her and stopped.

Wang Hongxia instinctively closed her eyes and shrank her neck, afraid of getting her face covered in vermicelli soup.

Just when everyone thought Tian Sui'er was about to throw it away, the jar of vermicelli soup was not thrown out.

"I have a good temper, but an even better memory. I can forgive you for one slip-up, but if it happens again—then you'll have to forgive me."

Wang Hongxia opened her eyes and looked at the murderous look in Tian Sui'er's eyes, and for a moment she didn't know what to say.

The female workers nearby also fell silent, looking at each other with a guilty look on their faces.

"Also, I'd like to advise you ladies that instead of wasting your time gossiping here, you should go back and read more books and learn how to do your jobs well. Our Hongxing Mine is an honorary collective, not a marketplace for gossiping and spreading rumors."

After saying that, she turned to Zhou Shuyao and said, "Let's go."

Zhou Shuyao was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.

Tian Sui'er's words were meant for Wang Hongxia, but even more so for those present who were always gossiping. Several female workers who had been stirring up trouble earlier looked embarrassed and lowered their heads, falling silent.

Once outside the cafeteria, Zhou Shuyao let out a long sigh of relief, her eyes filled with admiration: "Sui'er, you're amazing! I thought you were really going to splash her!"

"Splash her? That would be a complete waste of a whole vat of vermicelli soup."

Tian Sui'er smiled brightly, seemingly unaffected at all: "It's not worth arguing with someone like her."

"But what they said was so awful!" Zhou Shuyao said indignantly.

Tian Sui'er didn't reply.

Of course she heard those words; she heard every single one.

Isn't she angry? Yes, she is.

Doesn't she care? Yes, she does.

But when you are weak, your anger is worthless, and your emotions will only become a laughing stock for others.

As Sister Yingying once said, patience is not weakness, but waiting for the right opportunity.

Just like bamboo takes root underground for four years and grows only three centimeters, but from the fifth year onwards, it grows wildly at a rate of thirty centimeters per day.

So from that day on, she thought that she had to get out of there.

Step out of this seemingly vibrant and lively place, which is actually just a self-imposed confinement.

Therefore, she was determined to take the college entrance examination and go to see more distant places.

"Sui'er! Sui'er!"

Xu Dongsheng's voice came from behind.

Tian Sui'er stopped, without turning around, and simply whispered to Zhou Shuyao beside her, "Shuyao, you should go back first."

Zhou Shuyao glanced at her, then at Xu Dongsheng who was chasing after her, nodded knowingly, and quickly walked towards the family compound with her lunchbox in hand.

Xu Dongsheng caught up with him, took a couple of breaths, and then stopped.

People coming and going at the cafeteria entrance would occasionally glance in their direction, their eyes darting back and forth between the two. At this hour, just standing and talking at the cafeteria entrance was enough for the aunties and grandmas to make up two or three versions of gossip.

"Are you alright?"

Xu Dongsheng's gaze fell on the cold soup stain on Tian Suier's cotton-padded jacket, and the urgency in his tone seemed genuine.

Tian Sui'er shook her head.

Xu Dongsheng looked at her feigned calmness, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke frankly: "Sui'er, I heard everything on the radio."

He paused, then said earnestly with a hint of guilt and apology, "My dad really went too far in this matter. I apologize to you on his behalf."

"But don't worry," Xu Dongsheng quickly added, "My dad is already actively coordinating with the higher-ups to reassign positions to the third team and try to ensure their income is not affected."