Black Gold 1983

Chapter 34 Tian Sui'er's Apology

Renye mounted his old-fashioned bicycle and rode along the cement road in the mining area towards the family compound.

There weren't many people on the road. At this time of day, those who were supposed to go down into the mine were down, and those who were supposed to go to work were at work. The whole road was deserted, making him look like an idle person who had nothing to do all day and was wandering around the mining area alone.

He had just ridden to the old locust tree at the entrance of the mine when the loudspeaker suddenly blared.

First came a hissing sound, followed by a brief silence.

Renye squeezed the brakes, braced one foot on the ground, looked up at the large loudspeaker mounted on the top of the utility pole, and smiled knowingly. He knew without a doubt that the voice of Tian Sui'er would soon be broadcast.

"Attention all employees of Hongxing Mine."

"The following is a report on... the handling of the structural adjustment and brawl incident in the Hongxing Mine coal mining team."

Renye frowned slightly.

"Recently, a violent fight broke out between some employees of the No. 3 and No. 4 coal mining teams at our mine over the reorganization of the coal mining teams. Multiple people from both sides were involved, and the scene was chaotic. This not only caused a two-hour interruption of underground production but also resulted in injuries to several employees. This seriously violated the 'Coal Mine Workers' Code of Conduct' and the 'Mining Area Security Management Regulations,' disrupted the mine's production order, and had an extremely negative impact. The relevant units and personnel are hereby publicly criticized, and the following serious disciplinary actions will be taken..."

"First, all employees of Coal Mining Team 3 and Coal Mining Team 4 will be publicly criticized, their monthly collective bonuses will be deducted, and they will be disqualified from this year's performance evaluation."

"..."

"Sixth, Tian Mancang, captain of the third coal mining team, and Zhao Dehai, captain of the fourth coal mining team, were given a public reprimand for mismanagement and inadequate supervision, which led to a fight in their teams. They were also given a 30% deduction from their monthly wages and ordered to rectify their team discipline within a specified period and submit a written self-criticism."

The announcement over the loudspeaker continued. Renye could imagine Tian Suier's feelings as she read those words. Every word, every punishment, was cruel to her. It wasn't that the script was difficult to read; it was that the job itself was filled with an inhuman cruelty and callousness.

The people above clearly knew that it was her own father, Tian Mancang, who was being criticized and held accountable, yet they still made her read the report and forced her to say the words criticizing her own father.

This isn't making her read a script; it's like handing her a blunt knife and forcing her to cut her own loved ones with her own hands!

Renye stood under the locust tree, a restless fire rising within him that he could hardly contain.

He knew this feeling of powerlessness all too well. Watching the person he wanted to protect being deliberately harassed, while he could only stand there and watch helplessly, without even the right to take the blame for her.

At that moment, his resolve hardened: he had to hurry, much faster. He had to accumulate wealth and power as quickly as possible.

In this tumultuous 1980s, without money you couldn't have confidence, and without power you couldn't protect those you wanted to protect.

"After research by the mine department and approval by the mining bureau, given the lax discipline and persistent delays in production tasks of the No. 3 Coal Mining Team, it has been decided to abolish the No. 3 Coal Mining Team. All registered cadres and employees of the team will no longer retain their original team positions. The mine's labor and personnel department will take the lead in conducting unified reassignment and relocation based on the vacancies in various production teams and logistics positions in the mining area."

The broadcast paused.

Renye propped up the old-fashioned scooter, leaned it against the locust tree, and took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it.

Han Changhe had already heard the answer to this matter; the elimination of Team Three was a foregone conclusion.

Renye exhaled a puff of smoke, which was blown away by the wind, leaving nothing behind.

The announcement has been read.

As is customary, the next thing to come should be either "The East Is Red" or a production scheduling notice.

Renye put a cigarette in his mouth and prepared to kick the kickstand to go to the publicity department to wait for Tian Suier to get off work. At this time, she needed someone by her side to give her some comfort, even if it was just to keep her company silently.

But then a static noise came from the speaker.

Then silence returned.

An even longer silence than before.

Renye stopped what he was doing.

"Dear colleagues, the following is a personal statement."

The cigarette in Jinye's mouth fell out.

He could tell.

This isn't in the manuscript.

This is what she herself wanted to say.

"I am Tian Sui'er, a broadcaster from the Publicity Department. Regarding my engagement to Comrade Xu Dongsheng some time ago, which caused reputational damage to the Xu family, I hereby... offer my public apology."

The entire mining area seemed to have been put on pause.

Pedestrians on the street stopped in twos and threes and looked up at the big loudspeaker on top of the utility pole.

One by one, the windows of the mining office building were opened, and heads peeked out.

Han Changhe in the warehouse probably heard it too, but I don't know what his expression was like.

The aunties and older women in the residential compound stood at the door, listening intently.

"Before I got engaged to Comrade Xu Dongsheng, I concealed my relationship with another male comrade..."

Renye stood under the locust tree, his hand still in the position of holding a cigarette, but the cigarette had fallen to the ground.

"This is my fault, it has nothing to do with the Xu family, it has nothing to do with Comrade Xu Dongsheng... It is my personal misconduct that has caused damage to the reputation of the Xu family and had a negative impact on the mine."

In the broadcasting room, Tian Sui'er's voice was trembling, and the last syllable of each word sounded like a tree branch stripped of its leaves in winter, swaying in the wind.

"I voluntarily resign from my position as a broadcaster in the propaganda department... to express my apologies to the Xu family, the mine, and all comrades affected by this matter."

The last sound coming from the loudspeaker was Tian Sui'er's gasp, which disappeared in an instant.

Then came a deathly silence.

Finally, even the static disappeared.

Renye stood frozen in place. For a few seconds, he seemed unable to hear any sound around him, but he could hear his own heart-wrenching screams when he witnessed Tian Sui'er leaping off the building in his previous life.

The wind blew down from the mountain ridges to the west of the mining area, and a cloud of gray mist rose from the distant coal gangue mountain, which was swept eastward by the wind until "The East Is Red" was played on the radio again.

Almost instinctively, he strode onto the 28-inch bar and slammed his foot on the pedal.

He rode the old, worn-out bicycle at breakneck speed, not caring about anything else at that moment.

He just wanted to get to the propaganda department's broadcasting room as quickly as possible!

Moreover, this could never have been something Sui'er did willingly. It must have been the Xu family father and son who pressured and coerced her from behind the scenes.

Just as they were about to reach the entrance of the mining compound, a figure suddenly emerged from around the corner of the roadside wall and blocked the way.

Renye was startled and quickly slammed on the brakes. The tires screeched against the ground, and the car lurched violently before coming to a stop right in front of the man.

The person who came was none other than Ma Xiaojun, whom they hadn't seen for several days.

Ma Xiaojun looked flustered, covered in sweat, and grabbed Ren Ye's handlebars, panting heavily as he said urgently:

"Brother Ye! Something's happened! Something's happened to that well!"