Black Gold 1983

Chapter 27 Shigou Village

Ren Shouyi exhaled a puff of smoke, his gaze somewhat distant.

"In the early years, when Shanxi suffered a famine, a branch of the Ma family migrated from the Big Pagoda Tree in Hongdong and settled in this gully, making a living by mining coal. Back then, coal mining was still done using primitive methods. They dug out exposed coal, and people would go down and dig with picks and carry it up in baskets. It was very hard work. Generation after generation, the Ma family took root in Shigou Village. Every household was related by blood, and you could make up a family tree by their seniority."

"Later, with the public-private partnership, the small coal mines were nationalized, and the Ma family scattered. Some went to state-owned mines and became formal workers, while others returned to the village to continue farming. Ma Guoliang from our security department is from Shigou Village."

Renye chuckled. Come to think of it, this Ma Guoliang was actually his and Tian Sui'er's "matchmaker".

It turns out he was also from the Ma family in Shigou Village. It seems the Ma clan is indeed numerous and deeply rooted.

"The current village party secretary, Ma Dewang, is the backbone of the Ma family this generation. He was a soldier, not an ordinary farmer, and he's very shrewd. If there's anything in the village that needs his approval, no one can get it done."

Renye leaned forward: "Dad, what's your relationship with Ma Dewang like?"

Ren Shouyi thought for a moment: "It wasn't a deep relationship, but we never really argued. Back when we were in Xi'er, he would come to the team a few times during holidays, we'd eat and drink together. Later, I injured my leg and was transferred away from Xi'er, so we didn't have much contact anymore. But..."

"But what?"

"But he owes me a favor. Ma Dewang has a son named Ma Baojun, and the Ma Tiejun you met yesterday is his second son. Three years ago, during the collapse, Ma Baojun was setting up a scaffold at the working face for support, but he was buried under the rubble before he could get out. I dug him out of there, and this leg..."

Ren Shouyi patted his right leg, which had been aching for years: "It was because I was saving him that I got crippled."

Renye paused for a moment, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

My dad knows his limp is a work injury, that it was from saving someone, but he's never mentioned who he saved.

I only found out today that it was to save Ma Dewang's eldest son.

No wonder Ma Tiejun spoke of his father yesterday with an indescribable respect in his tone.

Ren Shouyi glanced at him: "When are you planning to go?"

"We've already sent Ma Tiejun to inform his father. We'll set off as soon as we get the news from there."

Ren Shouyi stubbed out his cigarette in the enamel mug, remained silent for a while, and then said in a muffled voice, "Okay."

Renye grinned, finally feeling relieved.

With the old man involved, the matter in Shigou Village is at least half resolved.

Ren Shouyi changed the subject, his tone becoming serious.

"What do you think about Uncle Mancang's team being disbanded?"

After saying this, Ren Shouyi was stunned for a moment.

He had never spoken to his son in that tone before.

To be more precise, he never asked his son the question, "What do you think?"

In his eyes, his son used to be a good-for-nothing, good-for-nothing who was always fighting and brawling with people and didn't even have a proper job. What could he possibly think of him?

But the conversation just now made him suddenly realize that this kid wasn't the same naive young man he used to be.

Renno was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke: "Do you want to hear the truth?"

"nonsense."

Renye smiled, a sly glint in his eyes: "I actually hope Uncle Mancang gets laid off."

Ren Shouyi frowned but didn't reply.

"You know about his back injury. You know better than I what it's like down in the mine. His back was never good to begin with, and he's been forcing himself to go down the mine all these years. Sooner or later, something bad was bound to happen. If he gets laid off this time, it'll be a good excuse for him to retire and recuperate at home. It's better than him having an accident down in the mine one day."

That's very true.

Renye had originally planned that once the mine was up and running and he made money, the first thing he would do was take both sets of parents to a major hospital for a thorough medical check-up, which was more important than anything else.

After all, he had worked in the coal industry his whole life and had seen too many people who stubbornly refused to admit their mistakes. They seemed fine most of the time, but once something went wrong, it was a major disaster.

The underground environment is harsh, and the tunnels are uneven. When working, you either have to bend over or squat, and you can stand for several hours at a time. Herniated discs and lumbar muscle strain are the norm.

Another common occupational disease is pneumoconiosis. Coal dust accumulates in the lungs little by little. At first, it's just occasional coughing, and no one takes it seriously. But after ten or eight years, the coughing becomes more and more frequent, and the phlegm is full of black streaks. Over time, chest tightness and shortness of breath become the norm, and you can't breathe when you do even a little heavy work.

"You've got some filial piety, kid." Ren Shouyi looked up at him, his expression darkening. "But this time, with the mine downsizing its mining teams, it's obvious to everyone that Team Three shouldn't be affected."

"I think this whole thing is probably caused by what happened between you and Sui'er."

The smile on Renye's face vanished instantly.

Yesterday, he had already interacted with Xu Dongsheng in public in the corridor of the mining hospital. The father and son were alike; on the surface, they were kind to people, but behind the scenes, they were narrow-minded and vindictive.

Taking advantage of the mine's mechanization reform and the opportunity to shut down the coal mining teams, it was clear that they were settling personal scores and venting all their resentment on Tian Mancang and the third coal mining team.

"It's obvious without even guessing that Xu Hongbing was behind this."

Ren Shouyi nodded slightly: "Xu Hongbing is a man I've dealt with for several years. He's all smiles and friendly on the surface, but when he's scheming behind people's backs, he's ruthless and ruthless."

"When I was the captain of the No. 2 Coal Mining Team, he was the deputy head of the Labor and Wages Department. I remember once when the team was evaluating advanced workers, our No. 2 Team met all the indicators, but he was the one who got stuck. I can't remember what excuse he made at the time, but I later found out that Zhao Dehai from the No. 4 Coal Mining Team was his brother-in-law."

Renye scoffed. He had seen far too many people like Xu Hongbing in his past life.

He's a seasoned veteran who's spent his whole life in government offices. He always talks about rules and regulations, but how those rules are explained and enforced is entirely up to him.

However, the early 1980s was a critical period for rectifying financial discipline in industrial and mining enterprises and strictly investigating cadres who abused their power for personal gain. In his previous life, he had spent seven years in prison and had not personally sent the Xu family father and son to prison. In this life, he would never allow the father and son to abuse their power and take advantage of the collective interests and the livelihoods of the employees for personal gain!

"Therefore, our family absolutely cannot stand idly by in this matter. Emotionally, if you and Sui'er get together, Mancang will be your future father-in-law, and you can't pretend you didn't see him being wronged. Logically, this matter started because of our family, and if we back down, how will we be able to hold our heads high at the mine in the future?"