Black Gold 1983

Renye walked over and sat down opposite him, recounting everything he had seen and heard in Qingshui Village. He described Gu Guihua's old house, the collapsed courtyard wall, the overgrown weeds, the big locust tree at the village entrance, and the old man's words.

Ren Shouyi listened without interrupting, his expression remaining unchanged. After Ren Ye finished speaking, he remained silent for a while before finally speaking.

"Is no one home at her house?"

"She's gone. She was an only child; her parents died young, and the Gu family line ended in the village."

Ren Shouyi nodded, carefully collecting the blueprints from the table one by one, placing them in the tin box, and closing the lid. His movements were slow, as if he were placing something valuable inside.

"You went to see Han Tianfang?"

"I found him. I told him about the Qinshui incident."

"What was his reaction?"

Renye thought for a moment and used Han Tianfang's own words: "He said that from today onwards, he and Han Changhe are two different people. He will handle his mother's funeral arrangements himself, and Han Changhe doesn't need to interfere."

Ren Shouyi didn't speak. He picked up the cigarette case from the coffee table, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff. Smoke billowed from his nostrils, slowly rising and dissipating under the light.

"Han Changhe came by today," he said.

Renye paused for a moment: "Coming to our house?"

"Yes. He came after you left this afternoon." Ren Shouyi flicked his cigarette ash. "He stood at the door for a while but didn't come in. When I went out, he was squatting by the courtyard wall, smoking, and he looked terrible."

Renye remained silent, waiting for Ren Shouyi to continue.

"He squatted there for most of the day without saying a word. I asked him what he was doing there, and he said nothing, just wanted to sit for a while. I poured him a glass of water, but he didn't drink it. I put it by his feet, and he didn't touch it even when it got cold."

Ren Shouyi finished the cigarette and stubbed it out in the enamel mug.

"Later, as it was getting dark, he stood up, dusted off his pants, said something to me, and left."

"What did you say?"

"Shouyi, I'm sorry to Guihua, and I'm sorry to Tianfang."

Ren Ye frowned slightly. Han Changhe had been a section chief at the mine for decades, and he was always the one talking about others, never the other way around. The fact that he could say "I'm sorry" to Ren Shouyi meant that he really couldn't hold on any longer.

"What did he look like when he left?" Jinye asked.

Ren Shouyi thought for a moment: "His back is hunched. He looks like he's aged ten years."

The room was quiet for a while. The old grandfather clock ticked tirelessly on the wall, round and round. Renye stood up, walked to the window, and opened it to let the night breeze in. The residential compound outside was pitch black, with only a few lights still shining in the direction of the distant mining area, flickering in the night like embers that refused to be extinguished.

"Dad, I'm going to take action on April 1st."

Ren Shouyi glanced at him: "The mining business?"

"Yes. I've inquired about the policy; it should be released by early April at the latest. Ma Dewang from Shigou Village has already given his approval. The villagers are still discussing the fundraising and shareholding arrangements, but the general direction is fine. As for the equipment, I contacted Uncle Han—Han Changhe. He said the old equipment in the warehouse can be sold to us at a discounted price. Tianfang said he'll take care of the explosives."

Ren Shouyi listened and went through each point in his mind.

"What about the funds? Fifty thousand yuan is no small sum."

"We can raise about 20,000 to 30,000 yuan through fundraising in Shigou Village. I'll figure out a way to cover the remaining shortfall."

"What method?"

Renye remained silent for a moment, without giving a direct answer: "Dad, don't worry about it, I know what I'm doing."

Ren Shouyi glanced at him but didn't press the matter further. He knew that his son, from childhood to adulthood, never talked much to him about anything, but when he did talk about something, he never failed to accomplish it—except for those years when he was idle and carefree.

"Be careful," Ren Shouyi said, only this one sentence.

Renye nodded.

April 1st. Wednesday.

Renye got up very early. Li Yue'e had already set breakfast on the table: millet porridge, pickled vegetables, and two cornbread buns. She didn't ask him what he was going to do today, but simply filled the porridge a little fuller than usual, took an extra cornbread bun, wrapped it in oil paper, and stuffed it into his pocket.

Renye took the bag of cornbread out of his pocket, looked at it, and then put it back.

"Mom, she might not be back for lunch."

"I know." Li Yue'e lowered her head to clear the dishes, not looking at him. "Be careful."

Renye went out and went to Shigou Village first. A lot of people had already gathered under the old locust tree at the village entrance. Several old men, including Ma Dewang, Ma Delin, and Ma Decheng, were there, as were Ma Tiejun, Ma Maocai, Ma Xiaojun, and Ma Dehou. There were also more than a dozen household heads from Shigou Village, some standing, some squatting, and some sitting on stones, all with solemn expressions.

When Ma Dewang saw Ren Ye walking over, he took a step forward and nodded to him.

"Rinno, everyone's here. Go ahead and say it."

Renye stood in the middle of the crowd and explained the mining operation from beginning to end. He broke down the policies, reserves, output, costs, and profits one by one. He explained the fundraising method: ten yuan per share, five thousand shares, and fifty thousand yuan in start-up capital. He didn't hide the fact that he and his father were contributing their technology and management expertise, each holding a 30% stake.

"Thirty percent?" someone in the crowd muttered. "They didn't contribute a single penny, yet they take thirty percent?"

It was Ma Maocai who spoke. He squatted at the back of the crowd, holding a blade of grass in his hand, twirling it between his fingers, a half-smile on his face, as if waiting to see how Renye would respond.

Renye looked at him and spoke slowly, "Brother Maocai, let me ask you this: Once the mine is operational, who will manage it? Who will set the rules? Who will deal with the mining bureau and the county coal bureau? Who will guarantee underground safety, tunnel support, and proper ventilation and drainage?"

Ma Maocai opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Do you understand these things? Does Brother Tiejun understand? Does Xiaojun understand?" Renye's gaze swept across the faces of the group. "You don't understand. I don't fully understand either. But my dad does."

The crowd fell silent.

"Ren Shouyi worked at Hongxing Mine for over twenty years. What kind of scene hasn't he seen underground? Roof collapses, gas leaks, water inrushes—he can handle any of them. Go ask around at the mine; everyone knows Ren Shouyi. He's lame in one leg because he was saving people. He dug people out from under the rubble, but he couldn't escape himself and his leg was broken."

Renye's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear.

"Are 30% of people like that a lot?"

No one speaks.

Ma Dewang spoke up, his voice soft but steady: "Renye is right. I trust Shouyi. When my son was trapped in the West Second Well, he was the one who dug him out from under the rubble. His character is beyond reproach. If he wants 30%, I'll agree on behalf of the village."

Ma Decheng nodded: "I trust Shouyi too."

Madeline took the pipe out of his mouth, tapped it on the sole of his shoe, and muttered, "I have no objection."

After the old men expressed their opinions, the murmurs in the crowd gradually subsided. Ma Maocai threw the grass stalks in his hand, spat on the ground, and remained silent.

Ma Tiejun stepped out from the crowd and stood next to Ren Ye: "Brother Ren, whatever you say, we'll do it."

Ma Xiaojun also came over, hugging the big rat named Tiger Vanguard, and chuckled, "Brother Ye, I'll work with you too!"

The fundraising went more smoothly than Renye had anticipated. Although Shigou Village was poor, every household had accumulated some savings over the years. In addition, Ma Tiejun and his group had previously distributed the coal they had mined to the villagers, so everyone in the village knew that there was indeed coal underground in the Xier area, and it wasn't just empty talk.

Ma Dewang took the lead and subscribed to 100 shares. Ma Decheng subscribed to 80 shares. Ma Delin subscribed to 50 shares. Ma Dehou took out all of his 500 yuan savings and subscribed to 50 shares. Ma Tiejun, Ma Maocai, and Ma Xiaojun each subscribed to 20 or 30 shares. The remaining villagers subscribed to some shares, some 10, some 20, some 3, and some 5.

After a morning, the total amount raised was tallied—28,000 yuan. That's still 22,000 yuan short of 50,000.

Renye closed the ledger and looked at the people present: "The shortfall is quite large. I'll think of another way."

After leaving Shigou Village, Renye went straight to the Mechanical and Electrical Department's warehouse without stopping. Han Changhe wasn't there; the warehouse manager said that Section Chief Han had taken the day off and hadn't come to work. Renye stood at the warehouse door for a moment, then turned and went to Han Tianfang's house.

Han Tian was in the yard, not fixing anything, nor smoking. He was squatting on the ground with a small brazier in front of him, burning paper money. The flames were small, and the ashes were blown around by the wind, landing on his hair and shoulders, which he didn't brush off.

Renye stood at the courtyard gate for a while, then came in and squatted down next to him. Han Tianfang didn't look up, threw the last few pieces of paper money in his hand into the brazier, and watched them curl, turn black, and turn to ashes.

"Today is her birthday," Han Tianfang said in a low voice.

Renye didn't speak. He took out the pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, lit it, and placed it next to the brazier. The cigarette burned gently, the smoke and ash mingling and drifting in the wind.

After a long while, Han Tianfang stood up, picked up the brazier, and poured the ashes into an iron bucket in the corner. He washed his hands, took a canvas tool bag from inside the house, placed it on the stone table, and opened it.

Inside were four tubes of explosives, detonators, and fuses.

Renye glanced at it but didn't say anything.

"The transport team's explosives warehouse will be inventoried on April 1st," Han Tianfang said calmly. "I went in and took them yesterday. The ledger hasn't been done yet, but by the time the inventory is done, the accounts will be balanced. No one will notice anything is missing."

Renye reached out and picked up a tube of explosives, weighing it in his hand. It wasn't heavy, but it was hot to the touch.

"Is the quantity enough?" he asked.

"That's enough. The chamber isn't big, and the tunnel is narrow. We'll fire the four explosives in two stages, first blasting the chamber, then collapsing the tunnel. As long as the location and the amount of explosives are calculated correctly, it won't affect the coal seam above." Han Tianfang glanced at Ren Ye. "I've calculated it for a long time, no problem."

Renye put the explosives back into his tool bag and zipped it up.

"When are we going down?"

"The sooner the better. The water level at the bottom of the well is rising every day. If we don't blow it up soon, that cave will be flooded. Then we won't be able to blow it up even if we wanted to." Han Tianfang paused, "Tomorrow night."

Renye thought for a moment and nodded: "I'll call Ma Tiejun. He's skilled at working in the well and is very strong, so he can be a helper."

Han Tianfang did not object.

Renye stood up, walked to the courtyard gate, then stopped and turned around.

"Tianfang, after the explosion, your mother's story will truly be buried underground."

Han Tianfang stood beside the stone table, one hand resting on his tool bag. He lowered his head and remained silent for a long while.

"She won't blame me," he said. "The thing she feared most in her life was causing trouble for others. If we blow up that cave and seal off the tunnel, no one will ever know what happened there. The mine will continue operating, the coal will continue to be mined, and life will go on as usual. It's better for her to stay quietly in the back mountain than anything else."

Renye looked at him, recalling the look Gu Guihua gave him when she turned back under the locust tree at the village entrance. When she left back then, she probably thought life would go on as usual, and things would get better. But life didn't go on as usual, and things didn't get better. She went from one mining area to another, from one man to another, and finally died in the darkness dozens of meters underground.

"Tomorrow night," Jinye said.

"Tomorrow night," Han Tianfang said.

The next evening, just as darkness fell, Renye left. Li Yue'e was washing dishes in the kitchen when she heard the door open and peeked out, only to see his back disappear into the courtyard gate. She opened her mouth, wanting to call out to him and ask if he had eaten, but swallowed the words back, turned around and continued washing dishes, the tap running at full blast, the rushing water drowning out everything else.

Renye went to Ma Tiejun's house first. Ma Tiejun was already prepared, still wearing the same old clothes, rubber shoes, a miner's lamp strapped to his head, and a pair of pliers and a wrench at his waist. He was squatting at the gate smoking, and when he saw Renye arrive, he stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe, stood up, and said nothing more.

"Let's go."

The two followed the dirt road outside the village to the collapsed area in the West Second Mining Area. It was completely dark; there was no moon, and the clouds were thick and low, as if they might collapse at any moment. Ma Tiejun walked ahead, his steps steady; he could walk this ground with his eyes closed and not make a mistake. The shaft opening was still there, covered with tarpaulin, and weighed down with a few more stones than last time, probably to prevent it from being blown away by the wind.

Ma Tiejun moved the stones one by one, lifted the tarpaulin, and the beam of his miner's lamp shone straight into the well, illuminating the bright, shimmering bottom. The water level had risen again, more than a foot higher than the last time he came, and the reflection on the surface resembled a broken mirror, refracting the light from the miner's lamp into countless fragments.

"The water level has risen again." Ma Tiejun frowned. "If we don't blow it up soon, the cave will be submerged in water in ten days or half a month."

Renye didn't speak. He tied the rope to the root of the old locust tree next to the well, gave it a tug, and made sure it was secure. Han Tianfang hadn't arrived yet. He checked his watch; five minutes had passed since the agreed time.

After waiting for about ten more minutes, footsteps could be heard in the distance. Han Tianfang emerged from the darkness, carrying a canvas tool bag on his back. His steps were quick, but his footsteps were light, as if he were afraid of disturbing something. He walked to the wellhead, put down the tool bag, and opened it. Inside were four tubes of explosives, detonators, fuses, a piece of duct tape, and a pair of scissors.