Black Gold 1983

Renye nodded, stood up, dusted off his trousers, and walked towards the village. When he arrived at Ma Dewang's house, the gate was open, and Ma Dewang was squatting in the yard watering the vegetables. In a small plot of land, there were several rows of chives, a few eggplants, and a patch of scallions. He watered them very carefully, scooping water one ladle at a time, making sure every single plant was watered.

Renye squatted down beside the vegetable garden. "Uncle Dewang, the disciplinary inspection team has left."

Ma Dewang didn't stop. He dipped the ladle into the bucket, scooped up a ladleful of water, and poured it onto the leek roots. "What do you mean?"

"Wait."

After pouring the last ladle of water, Ma Dewang put the ladle in the bucket, stood up, took out his pipe from his pocket, filled it with tobacco, lit it, and took a puff.

"Decheng doesn't know about Maocai's situation yet. We'll keep it a secret as long as we can." He exhaled a puff of smoke, looking at the hazy sky in the distance. "That child is disappointing, but I watched him grow up. His father was in poor health, and his mother passed away early, so no one taught him. He went down the wrong path, and I, as his elder, also bear responsibility."

Renye remained silent, gazing at the vegetables that had been watered. Water droplets clung to the chive leaves, glistening in the sunlight like tiny pearls. Each one was round and bright, reflecting a miniature world within.

Ma Dewang squatted down, put the pipe in his mouth, and squinted.

"Rinno, tell me, what's the point of life?"

Renye thought for a moment, then didn't answer. He stood up and dusted off his pants. "Uncle Dewang, I'm going back. There's still work to do at the mine."

Ma Dewang waved his hand, not looking at him.

Renye walked out of the courtyard and strolled along the village lane. When he reached the old locust tree at the village entrance, he stopped, leaned against the trunk, and lit the cigarette he had been holding for so long. The locust tree's leaves were fully grown, lush and green, rustling in the wind. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering on the ground like scattered gold. The large stone under the tree was still there, worn smooth, bearing witness to countless people sitting on it.

He finished his cigarette, stubbed it out on the sole of his shoe, and walked out from under the big locust tree, heading towards the West Second Wellhead. After a few steps, he stopped and glanced back at Shigou Village. The village lay quietly on the hillside, with gray-tiled roofs and earthen walls. Smoke rose from the chimneys, drifting in the twilight like invisible threads connecting the sky and the earth.

He turned around and continued walking forward, his steps steady and firm.

When we arrived at the wellhead, the workers had already finished work. The winch was covered with tarpaulin, the wellhead was also blocked with tarpaulin, the coal pile was covered with a rainproof cloth, and the surrounding area was weighed down with stones. Ma Tiejun was still there, squatting in the shed organizing tools, arranging the shovels, picks, and steel shovels one by one.

Seeing Renye enter, he put down the last shovel, stood up, and dusted his hands. "Brother Ren, are you going down the mine again tomorrow?"

Renye took the headlamp off his forehead and hung it on a pillar in the shed. "Next. Tomorrow, we'll drill through that hard rock; the coal seam should be thicker then."

Ma Tiejun nodded, picked up the safety helmet, put it on his head, then stopped, tucked the helmet under his arm, and looked at Renye.

"Brother Ren, when will the results of Mao Cai's matter be released?"

Renye thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. It could take ten days to two weeks at the fastest, or one or two months at the slowest. Let's wait and see."

Ma Tiejun didn't ask any more questions. He put his safety helmet on his head, walked out of the shed, stood by the wellhead, stared at the dark well shaft for a while, then turned around and walked towards the village. After a few steps, he stopped again without looking back.

"Brother Ren, do you think Maocai can come back?"

Renye stood at the entrance of the shed, watching Ma Tiejun's back. In the twilight, the figure appeared somewhat hunched, not like a man in his thirties, but more like an old man in his fifties or sixties. His shoulders were slumped, his back was bent, and he walked very slowly, as if pulling himself out of a mud pit.

"Yes," Renye said, "as long as he wants to come back."

Ma Tiejun didn't say anything more and continued walking forward, disappearing into the darkness of the village lanes.

Renye sat in the shed for a while, a cigarette dangling from his lips, but he didn't light it. The dim, yellowish light in the shed shone on the tools—shovels, picks, shovels, miner's lamps—each one quietly sitting in its proper place. He took the cigarette from his lips, smelled it, didn't light it, put it back in his pocket, stood up, closed the shed door, tied it securely with a rope, and turned to walk home.

When Renye arrived home, Li Yue'e was sitting in the main room waiting for him. On the table was a bowl of cold mung bean soup, next to a dish of pickled vegetables, and steamed buns covered with a cloth. She hadn't been sewing shoe soles or preparing vegetables today; she just sat there with her hands on her knees, as if waiting for someone very important.

"Have you eaten?" she asked. Renye sat down at the table, lifted the cloth covering his steamed bun, picked up a bun, broke it in half, added some pickled vegetables, and chewed a few times. "I've eaten," Li Yue'e said. She knew he was lying, but didn't call him out. She poured him a bowl of mung bean soup and pushed it towards him. "Eat slowly, don't choke."

Renye took a sip of soup and swallowed the steamed bun in his mouth. Li Yue'e watched him eat for a while before speaking. "Your dad went to the mine again today. When he came back, he was carrying a bulging file folder. I asked him what it was, but he didn't say."

Renye paused, then put down the steamed bun. "Where is he?"

"He's inside; he hasn't come out."

Renye stood up, walked to the bedroom door, and knocked. "Dad, it's me." There was no answer from inside, so he knocked again, and the door opened.

Ren Shouyi stood in the doorway, wearing a faded long-sleeved shirt, his hair disheveled. On the table lay the map of the tunnels in the West Second Mining Area, now with more red circles and the blank spaces beside it filled with writing. Next to him was a bulging manila envelope, just as Li Yue'e had described. Ren Shouyi sat back down in his chair, picked up a cigarette from the table, lit it, took a puff, and said nothing.

Renye sat down next to him, looking at the file folder. "Dad, what's this?"

Ren Shouyi opened the file bag, took out a stack of papers, and placed them on the table. Ren Ye picked them up and looked at them. They were handwritten materials, with neat handwriting, each stroke carefully written. The title read: "Report on the Accident of Han Changhe, the Person Responsible for the Roof Collapse in the West Second Mining Area of ​​Hongxing Mine."

Ren Ye's heart skipped a beat. He turned to the first page, which was dated May 1983. This wasn't the investigation report from three years ago; it was a new whistleblower report. It detailed Han Changhe's responsibility in the roof collapse accident in the West Second Mining Area—substandard support timber, altered quality inspection reports, six lives lost, and Ren Shouyi's leg. Every point was supported by evidence, and every piece of evidence had a source.

"Dad, are you going to report Han Changhe?"

Ren Shouyi finished his cigarette, stubbed it out in the ashtray, and looked up at Ren Ye. His eyes were red, not from crying, but from staying up all night. But there was a light in his eyes, a light that only appeared when he made up his mind.

"It's not that I want to report him, but he should be held responsible for those six lives." Ren Shouyi's voice wasn't loud, but it was steady. "I'm lame, that's not unjust. Those six people died, they were wronged. Their wives and children still don't know how their husbands, their fathers, died."

Renye put down the whistleblower report and looked at Ren Shouyi. This old miner, who had spent his entire life underground, saved people, and was now lame, sat before him like an old tree that had been battered by wind, rain, and sun for many years. Its bark was rough, its branches broken, its leaves fallen, but its roots were still firmly planted in the ground, very deep.

"Dad, I support you," Renye said. Ren Shouyi looked at him, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say something but then swallowed it back. He put the report back into the file folder, zipped it up, and placed it on the table. "After I die, hand this over."

Renye was taken aback. "Dad, what are you saying?"

Ren Shouyi didn't answer. He stood up and leaned on the edge of the table, but his lame leg was weak, and he swayed. Ren Ye reached out to help him, but Ren Shouyi pushed him away. He dragged his leg step by step to the bed, sat down, took off his shoes, lay down, and pulled the blanket over himself.

"Go out, I'm tired," he said.

Renye stood in the room looking at Ren Shouyi lying on the bed, feeling a lump in his throat. He wanted to say something but swallowed it back, picked up the file folder on the table, put it in his pocket, and turned to leave.

Li Yue'e was still sitting in the main room, clutching the shoe sole in her hand, not sewing. She looked at Ren Ye, then at the file bag in his arms, her lips moved, but she didn't ask.

Renye walked over and squatted down beside her. "Mom, Dad's fine. He just needs some time."

Li Yue'e didn't speak. She lowered her head, stuck the needle into the sole of her shoe, pulled it out, and then stuck it back in. She stuck the needle in very hard, as if she were trying to sew something up to prevent it from coming out.

Renye stood up and went back to his room. Lying on his bed, he placed the file folder next to his pillow and reached out to touch it. It was made of rough, prickly kraft paper. He opened the folder, pulled out the accusation report, and read it again. He recognized every word, but each word felt heavy as a stone, pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe.

The next morning, when Renye arrived at the West Second Wellhead, Ma Tiejun was already there. He was squatting next to the winch, tightening screws with a wrench in his hand. When he saw Renye coming over, he stood up and dusted off his hands.

"Brother Ren, there's something I need to tell you today."

"What is it?"

Ma Tiejun looked around and lowered his voice. "Xu Dongsheng came to see me last night."

Renye's heart skipped a beat. "What does he want with you?"

"He said he wanted to see you and had something to say to you. I asked him where we should meet, and he said at the transport team's warehouse, around noon today."

Ren Ye didn't speak, but took the cigarette from his lips and squeezed it in his hand. Xu Dongsheng wanted to see him, so it must be about Zhou Zhilin. The disciplinary inspection team had already intervened in the investigation, and Xu Dongsheng's visit at this time meant that he still had something on his hands.

"Okay, I'll go." Renye put the cigarette back in his mouth, lit it, and took a puff.

Around noon, Renye emerged from the West No. 2 mine shaft and walked along the dirt road towards the mining area. The transport team's warehouse was located on the east side of the mining area, a row of red brick bungalows with tin doors and windows covered in a thick layer of coal dust. He reached the warehouse door, which was open, and inside were piles of old tires, scrap metal, broken oil drums, and other odds and ends.

Xu Dongsheng stood at the far end of the warehouse, leaning against a pile of old tires, a cigarette between his fingers, unlit. He wore a gray-blue work uniform, unbuttoned, revealing a wrinkled white shirt underneath. He hadn't shaved for days, his eyes were dark with bruises, and he had lost a lot of weight, looking like a dried-out tree branch.

"You're here?" Xu Dongsheng's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't had water in a long time.

Renye walked over and stopped in front of him. "What do you want?"

Xu Dongsheng pulled an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Ren Ye. It wasn't an ordinary envelope; it was the kind made of kraft paper, larger than a regular envelope, bulging and filled with quite a few things. "Zhou Zhilin's materials. All the mines he approved over the years, the money he collected, and who he split it with—it's all inside."

Renye took it, opened it, and found a thick stack of papers inside. Some were handwritten, some were printed, some were forms, and some were copies. He flipped through a few pages at random and saw some names, some he knew and some he didn't.

"Where did these things come from?"

"It's my dad's." Xu Dongsheng's voice was low. "He kept a backup plan. He remembered every single thing Zhou Zhilin had helped him suppress over the years, afraid that one day Zhou Zhilin would turn his back on him. Unexpectedly, he didn't have to use these things himself, but he did." Renye put the stack of papers back into the envelope and stuffed it into his inner pocket.

Why are you giving it to me?

Xu Dongsheng held the unlit cigarette in his mouth, head down, staring at his toes. "Because I don't want to take the blame for him anymore. I admit to what happened with the transport team. But these past few years, I haven't been able to sleep at night. When I close my eyes, I see those drivers whose coal was confiscated, those workers who lost their jobs because of me. I'm not human." His voice trembled.

Renye looked at him without saying a word.

"Here, take these things. Use them however you like. Zhou Zhilin has fallen, and so has my father. With him gone, I'm finally free."

After Xu Dongsheng finished speaking, he turned around and walked out through the back door of the warehouse. The door wasn't closed, and sunlight streamed in, casting a square patch of light on the ground. Dust particles danced within the patch, clearly visible in the light, like countless tiny worlds.

Renye stood in the warehouse, staring in the direction Xu Dongsheng had disappeared, for a long time. He took the envelope out of his inner pocket, looked at it again, put it back, turned around, and walked out the front door. The sunlight was blinding; he squinted as he stood on the steps, lit the cigarette he was holding, took a puff, and walked towards the West Second Wellhead.

When Renye returned to the West Second Mine entrance, Ma Tiejun was squatting beside the coal pile, eating a steamed bun. Seeing Renye approach, he stood up, stuffed the bun into his mouth, and mumbled, "You saw him?" Renye nodded, said nothing more, squatted down, and took out a cigarette from his pocket, lighting it. Ma Tiejun didn't ask any more questions, squatted back down, and continued eating his bun.