Black Gold 1983

Chapter 63

"The money raised is all in the account. Anyone who wants a refund can do so now, and I will return the full amount."

No one moved inside.

Ma Dewang was the first to stand up and push the ledger back.

"The money won't be refunded. The people of Shigou Village are not cowards."

Ma Decheng, Ma Delin, and Ma Dehou also stood up, neither saying they would retreat nor not, they simply stood there. Ma Tiejun walked to Renye's side, with Ma Xiaojun following behind him. Even Hu Xianfeng was quiet, nestled in Ma Xiaojun's arms, motionless.

Ma Maocai was the last to stand up. He glanced at everyone in the room, then at Ren Ye, spat out the grass stalk in his mouth, and squeezed out two words through gritted teeth: "No retreat."

Renye looked at them, put the account book away, stuffed it into his pocket, and nodded.

After leaving Shigou Village, Renye didn't go home but went straight to Han Tianfang's house. The gate was closed. He knocked twice, but no one answered. He knocked twice more, but still no one answered. He pushed the gate; it wasn't locked and opened.

The courtyard was deserted. A few pieces of work clothes hung on the clothesline, swaying gently in the breeze. An enamel mug sat on the stone table; the water inside was cold, a layer of dust floating on the surface. The tin cabinet in the corner was locked, the padlock still new, its brass-colored gleaming in the setting sun.

Renye stood in the yard for a while, then turned to leave, when he suddenly heard a noise inside the house. He walked to the door and pushed it open.

Han Tianfang sat on the edge of the bed, the oil paper package in front of him. He opened it, revealing Gu Guihua's photo. He didn't look at the photo, but stared at a New Year's painting on the wall. The painting had faded, the image was no longer legible, only a blurry red remained.

"Tianfang," Renye called out.

Han Tianfang didn't move or speak. After a long while, he slowly turned his head and glanced at Ren Ye.

"The security department went to West Second Mine." Renye sat down next to him and recounted the incident where someone had reported him at the mine. Han Tianfang listened without much change in expression, and only spoke after Renye finished.

"I know."

Renye was taken aback: "How did you know?"

Han Tianfang did not answer. He stood up, walked to the table, picked up the enamel mug, and took a sip of the ice-cold water.

"I wrote the whistleblower letter," he said.

Renye's heart skipped a beat. He had guessed that Han Tianfang had written the whistleblower letter, but hearing him admit it himself still felt different.

"You reported Xu Dongsheng to help me?"

Han Tianfang put down the enamel mug and turned to look at Ren Ye.

"Not entirely. Xu Dongsheng knows just as much about the transport team as I do. He's been suspended pending investigation, so someone has to take charge of the transport team's affairs. With a different person in charge, it's even harder to find out about the explosives."

Renye looked at Han Tianfang and suddenly realized that this person was much more profound than he had thought. He was not just reckless or impulsive; he was calculating, scheming, and willing to sacrifice himself to achieve his goals.

"Aren't you afraid of being implicated?" Renye asked.

"I'm afraid," Han Tianfang said, "but some things, even if you're afraid, you have to do them."

When Renye left Han Tianfang's house, it was completely dark. There were no streetlights in the alley, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. He groped his way forward, stepping on a loose stone and almost twisting his ankle. He didn't stop, steadied himself, and continued walking.

Han Tianfang's words echoed in his mind. He had written the whistleblower letter, not to retaliate against Xu Dongsheng, but to muddy the waters of the transport team and prevent the explosives incident from being uncovered. This man, to give his mother an explanation, had also put himself in danger.

Renye didn't know whether to call him stupid or ruthless. Perhaps, in Han Tianfang's eyes, stupidity and ruthlessness were the same thing.

When he reached the entrance of the family compound, he saw a figure crouching against the wall next to the gate. It wasn't Tian Sui'er, but a man wearing a gray-blue work uniform and a safety helmet, as if he had just come up from the mine and hadn't had time to change before rushing over.

The man heard footsteps and looked up. It was Ma Tiejun.

Renye was taken aback: "Brother Tiejun? What are you doing here?"

Ma Tiejun stood up, dusted off his trousers, took a cigarette from his pocket, handed it to Renye, and lit one for himself. The two squatted down against the wall and lit their cigarettes.

"Brother Ren, I've been thinking about this all night, and something doesn't feel right." Ma Tiejun exhaled a puff of smoke, squinting at the dark alleyway in the distance. "Besides us, who else knows about that area in West Second?"

Renye thought for a moment and didn't answer immediately. Many people knew that mining was going to start in the West Second Mining Area. The people in Shigou Village knew, and some people at the mine also knew, but not many people knew the exact location of the shaft or that they had already tampered with it underground.

"You mean, the person who reported it knew the location of the shaft?"

Ma Tiejun nodded: "The security personnel went straight to that shaft as soon as they arrived, and started searching as soon as they lifted the tarpaulin. The location of that well is so remote that outsiders would have no chance of finding it without a villager leading the way. The person who reported it wasn't just making things up; they directly told them the location of the well."

Renye's hand tightened slightly. Ma Tiejun was right. The collapse area in the West Second Mining Area was so large that people who hadn't been there had no idea where the shaft was. The fact that the person who reported it could describe it so accurately meant that they had either been there themselves or heard a detailed account from someone who had been there.

Who has been to that shaft?

The people of Shigou Village. Ma Tiejun, Ma Maocai, Ma Xiaojun, Ma Dehou, and those old men Ma Dewang, Ma Decheng, and Ma Delin. The people from the mine—Han Tianfang had been there himself, and Han Changhe knew the location—but Han Changhe wouldn't report it; that was his Achilles' heel, and reporting it wouldn't do him any good.

There is one more person.

Xu Dongsheng.

Could Xu Dongsheng possibly know the location of that shaft? Renye mentally reviewed the connections between Xu Dongsheng and the West Second Mining Area. Xu Dongsheng had worked in the transport team for so many years, and the team's trucks frequently hauled equipment and materials to the West Second Mining Area; it wasn't surprising that he had gone there with them. But did he know the exact location of that shaft?

Renye shook his head. Xu Dongsheng had never been down that shaft or to that cavern. His understanding of the West Second Mining Area was limited to the transportation routes before the shafts were sealed; it was impossible for him to know where the shafts dug by the mine rats were later located.

It wasn't Xu Dongsheng. Then who could it be?

Renye finished the cigarette and stubbed it out on the sole of his shoe.

"Brother Tiejun, after you go back, please keep an eye out for something for me."

"What is it?"

"Keep an eye out for anyone in the village who's been getting close to people at the mine lately. See whose relative is a manager there, who goes there frequently, and who suddenly has money from unknown sources." Renye looked at him. "The person who reported this was so accurate; there must be a mole on our side."

Ma Tiejun's face darkened. He didn't ask, "Who do you suspect?", but simply nodded.

"I'll be careful," he said, standing up and adjusting his helmet. "You be careful too."

Ma Tiejun's figure disappeared into the darkness at the alley entrance. Renye squatted against the wall for a while before standing up, dusting off his pants, and walking into the family compound.

When I opened the door, the light in the main room was still on. Ren Shouyi was sitting in an old rattan chair, with the map of the tunnels in the West Second Mining Area spread out in front of him. Several more numbers had been added to the map with ballpoint pen markings. He was wearing reading glasses and holding a ballpoint pen, writing something in the blank spaces on the map.

"Dad, are you still awake?"

Ren Shouyi looked up, glanced at him, put down his pen, and took off his reading glasses.

"I've been waiting for you. I heard about the security department going to West Second."

Ren Ye sat down opposite him and repeated what Ma Guoliang had said, as well as Han Tianfang's admission that he had written the whistleblower letter. Ren Shouyi listened without interrupting, waiting for him to finish before speaking.

"Tianfang is too bold." He shook his head. "Whether reporting Xu Dongsheng will be good or bad for him is hard to say. But if the explosives matter is investigated, he won't be able to escape responsibility."

He said he had to do it, even if he was afraid.

Ren Shouyi remained silent for a while, then picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a puff.

"Just like his mother," he said. "Gu Guihua was like that back then too. Once she set her mind on something, nothing could sway her."

Ren Ye didn't reply. Looking at Ren Shouyi's face, etched with the wrinkles of time, he suddenly asked, "Dad, tell me the truth. How much do you really know about Gu Guihua?"

Ren Shouyi's cigarette hovered in mid-air, the smoke rising from his fingers and dissipating under the lamplight. He stared at the wisp of smoke, his gaze drifting far away, as if looking at a road he hadn't walked in a long time.

"She came to see me when she first came to Hongxing Mine." Ren Shouyi's voice was very low, so low that it sounded like he was talking to himself. "She didn't know that Han Changhe had other women at the mine, and she thought he married her because he was sincere. She came to see me and asked me to help her persuade Han Changhe to stop running around outside."

Renye's heart was beating very fast.

"Did you try to persuade them?"

"I tried to persuade him. It was no use." Ren Shouyi flicked his cigarette ash. "Han Changhe is the kind of person who thinks it's your duty to be good to him. He doesn't care if you're not good to him. It's not that he has no feelings for Guihua, but his feelings are so few that he can't give her what she wants."

Ren Shouyi finished the cigarette and stubbed it out in the ashtray.

"Later, Guihua stopped contacting me. She probably realized that no one could help her. She could only rely on herself."

The room remained quiet for a long time. The old grandfather clock ticked away 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 flickering in the distance, pointing towards the mining area.

"Dad, if Han Changhe were to fall from grace one day, wouldn't you feel sorry for him?"

Ren Shouyi did not answer immediately. He put on his reading glasses, then took them off and placed them on the coffee table.

"Whether he falls or not is his business, whether it's a pity or not is my business." He looked at Renye, "Han Changhe is a man of ability, but he also has his flaws. He has helped me and he has harmed me. He owes Guihua a debt he can never repay in this lifetime. But what he owes me, he has already repaid long ago."

Renye turned around and looked at Ren Shouyi.

"So you won't protect him?"

Ren Shouyi stood up, bracing himself against the edge of the table. His lame leg was weak, and he swayed before regaining his balance. He didn't look at Ren Ye, and slowly dragged his leg towards the bedroom.

"I can't protect him. The only one who can protect him is himself."

The bedroom door closed. Renye stood in the main room, listening to the ticking of the old grandfather clock, for a long time.

The next morning, Renye was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door. He opened his eyes; it was just dawn, and the light outside the window was still a grayish-blue. The knocking continued, not just once or twice, but a rapid-fire sound, as if something urgent had happened.

He got out of bed, put on his clothes, and went to the main room. Ren Shouyi was already up and standing at the door, which was open.

There was a person standing outside the door.

It's Han Tianfang.

He looked terrible, his eyes were bloodshot, as if he hadn't slept all night. His work clothes were wrinkled, the collar was open, the buttons were fastened incorrectly, and the collar was uneven, one side higher than the other.

"Tianfang? What's wrong?" Renye walked over.

Han Tianfang looked at him, his lips moved, and his voice was hoarse, like sandpaper.

"Han Changhe is missing," he said. "He left last night and hasn't come back. We've searched everywhere at home and at the mine, but nobody has seen him."

Ren Ye stood in the doorway, looking at Han Tianfang's ashen face, and remained silent for a moment. Ren Shouyi, leaning against the doorframe, moved aside. "Come in and talk."

Han Tianfang didn't move, standing there like a tree about to break in the wind. Ren Ye reached out and pulled him into the main room, pressing him down into a chair. Ren Shouyi poured him a glass of water, which he picked up but didn't drink, then put down again.

"When did you find out he was missing?" Renye asked.

"Last night," Han Tianfang said in a low voice, "After I got back from your place, I wanted to go to his place to get something. The light was on in his room, but no one answered when I knocked. I pushed the door open, and there was no one inside. The bed hadn't been moved, and there were seven or eight cigarette butts in the ashtray on the table, all of them empty. His coat was hanging on the hanger, and his keys and wallet were on the table."

Renye frowned. He wasn't wearing a coat, and he didn't bring his keys or wallet; it didn't look like he was going on a long trip.

"Which places did you search?"

"We've searched everywhere in the mine: the machinery and electrical department's warehouse, offices, dormitories—we've even checked the security department's duty room, and they said they didn't see him leave the factory."

Ren Shouyi sat in the old rattan chair, clutching the enamel mug in his hand, neither drinking nor putting it down. He looked at Han Tianfang with a deep gaze.

Did you call the police?

Han Tianfang shook his head. His head was down, looking at his toes, his hands on his knees, his fingers unconsciously fiddling with the seams of his trousers.

"He's my dad," he said, his voice strangely hollow. "No matter what he did, I can't call the police to arrest him."

There was a moment of silence in the main room. Ren Shouyi placed the enamel mug on the coffee table, the bottom of the mug tapping softly against the wooden tabletop.

"Tianfang, tell me the truth, did you two talk about anything before he left?"

Han Tianfang did not answer, but his fingers paused for a moment.

"Tianfang," Ren Shouyi called out again.

"He came to see me," Han Tianfang finally spoke, his voice seeming to drift from afar. "Yesterday afternoon, after I returned from your place, he was waiting for me at the courtyard gate. He said he wanted to talk to me."