When he returned to the surface, Lu Yiwei subconsciously covered his eyes with his hands. The scorching sunlight pierced his eyes like an awl, burning them with pain. He had only been in the underground mine for less than half an hour, and this half an hour was the most torturous time he had ever had. The omnipresent danger was suffocating and terrifying. The moment he walked out, it was nothing more than a brush with the God of Death. It was a feeling of relief and rebirth.
Lu Yiwei took off his heavy miner's uniform and his well-trained high-heeled shoes. Qiao Jianjun immediately arranged for someone to bring him a basin and a towel for him to wash his face and hands. The moment Lu Yiwei put his hand in, he saw a group of people slowly climbing out of another pit not far away. He was stunned.
The miners' faces were covered in black paint. It seeped into every pore, and sweat flowed down along the ravines that were filled with vicissitudes. The miners' uniforms were covered in mud. Some of the clothes were torn open, and the red clothes were exposed. It was especially glaring.
The miners weakly threw away the tools in their hands. They did not care about the dirt on the ground, and laid down on the ground in exhaustion. They were like fur seals on the beach, resting. Some miners buckled their hard hats on the ground and sat on them. They could not wait to take out inferior cigarettes and puffed on them with all their might. They did not speak to each other, but greedily enjoyed the charm of the sun. Perhaps, they would not see such beautiful sunshine that day.
"Mr. Lu, Mr. Lu!" Qiao Jianjun saw that Lu Yiwei was in a daze, and reminded him from time to time.
Lu Yiwei was shocked by this scene. He could not be bothered with Qiao Jianjun. He withdrew his hand from the basin, wiped it on his body, and walked quickly to the miners. Seeing this, Qiao Jianjun was even more puzzled. After exchanging glances with the others, he quickly caught up to the miners.
When the miners saw Lu Yiwei coming over, and then saw their boss following behind him, they realized that this was the leader coming to check on their work. His eyes were filled with panic, and he stood up in an extremely unnatural manner.
Lu Yiwei walked over and smelled the sweaty smell of pickled vegetables coming from the miners. One of the miners' heads was still steaming, and his hair was twisted into strands as if it was glued together. Lu Yiwei could even see the coal dust in his scalp. A miner stood there awkwardly. The cigarette in his hand had already burned into his rough and cracked fingers, but he didn't notice it at all. Their faces were filled with fear, hesitation, and helplessness. Especially his deep eyes, his eyeballs were rolling around. Sometimes he would look at Lu Yiwei with a glimmer of hope, and sometimes he would look elsewhere with a trace of panic and confusion.
Miner was a lowly and dangerous profession. In the eyes of the coal boss, he was just a tool to make money. His value was far less than that of the big wolfdog that was tied to the coal yard. But in the eyes of others, they were a weak group. They were often ignored and even prejudiced against. However, they used their rough hands to create China's speed. It could be said that the country's prosperity could not be separated from this group of cute miners. However, who could walk into their inner world?
Lu Yiwei stood close to a miner. His face, which looked like a rag, had traces of time left on it. It was as if a sharp knife had been used to erode and carve the steep mountain wall. The carving was vivid and real. His nostrils were filled with black dust, and he kept panting heavily. His cracked lips were embedded with coal dust, like a dry riverbed, waiting for the blessing of rain and dew. His Adam's apple kept moving, and one could even hear the friction between his throat and the filth, faintly discernible.
Lu Yiwei was a sentimental person. When it came to corrupt people and bullies, he was cold and merciless. But when it came to this group of weak people that was ignored by others, he felt sympathy and pity. Who didn't have a family and children? Why did they have to leave their homes and come here to earn this bit of hard-earned money? It was all because of the pressure of life.
Lu Yiwei's eyes were a little wet, and he reached out to shake hands with the miners. When the miners saw this, they panicked and hurriedly waved their hands. "Leader, we can't do this. Our hands are dirty."
Lu Yiwei smiled warmly and patted a miner's shoulder. "You guys are not dirty at all!"
The miner was stunned, and he was touched by these simple and warm words.
Lu Yiwei hurriedly took out his cigarettes and distributed them to the miners. The pack of cigarettes was soon empty. He turned around and said to Shen Pengfei, "Go to the car and take out the cigarettes. Distribute them among everyone."
Shiwan Village had changed leaders a few times, and Shen Pengfei had lost count of the number of leaders he had accompanied down for inspections. However, none of the leaders had taken the initiative to distribute cigarettes to the miners. Lu Yiwei was the first, and this somewhat surprised Shen Pengfei.
When Lu Yiwei saw Shen Pengfei standing there in a daze, he raised his voice and said, "Go quickly."
"Oh, oh." Shen Pengfei hurriedly went to the car to get the cigarettes.
Qiao Jianjun, who was standing at the side, did not know what Lu Yiwei was up to. He could not figure out what he was doing. He went forward and said, "How can I smoke your cigarettes? Pengfei, come back!" As he said that, he arranged for someone to go to his office to get the cigarettes.
Lu Yiwei did not appreciate it and said, "Boss Qiao, this is a small token of my appreciation. If you really want to, just improve the miners' meals and increase their income."
Unexpectedly, Qiao Jianjun mumbled, "We're going to be annexed soon, there's no point in talking about this."
Lu Yiwei ignored Qiao Jianjun and pulled a miner to sit on the floor. He asked with concern, "Old friend, where are you from?"
"I'm from Sichuan," the miner said honestly.
"Oh." Lu Yiwei said, "Are you all together?"
"Yes!" The miner said, "Everyone from our village came out. There's a total of more than 200 people."
Lu Yiwei nodded and said, "What day did you come after the new year?"
The miner smiled embarrassedly and said, "I didn't go home for the new year."
"Why?"
"It'll cost a lot of money to go back. You can still earn money here."
Lu Yiwei was a little stunned, and his heart was especially heavy. He said, "Do you miss home?"
The miner's innocent smile suddenly froze on his face, and his eyes became gloomy. He pursed his lips and nodded. "How can I not miss home? But I'm the only one earning money in my family, and there are three kids who need money to go to school. Sigh! I've thought about it. I'll work a few more years while I'm still young, and when I earn enough money, I'll go back and build a house. Hur hur. "
This miner had such thoughts, but how could the others not have the same thoughts? Lu Yiwei asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Chen Zhuliang. They call me Liangzi."
"Alright!" Lu Yiwei stood up and said, "If you encounter any difficulties, you can come to the village to look for me at any time. My name is Lu Yiwei."
Chen Zhuliang raised his head and looked around, trying to seek help. The deputy village head, Jiang Yucheng, quickly came over and said, "This is the county leader, the secretary of Shiwan Village's Party Committee. You can just call him Standing Committee Lu."
Hearing that the other party was such a high-ranking official, Chen Zhuliang's expression changed drastically. He bowed repeatedly and said, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were the county leader. I was rude just now." In the eyes of the people, officials were always high and mighty, and they were like mysteries.
Lu Yiwei pointed at Jiang Yucheng and said to Chen Zhuliang, "Liangzi, I can only be their official, not yours. You can just call him by his name."
"I … I wouldn't dare …" Chen Zhuliang said timidly.
Lu Yiwei grabbed Chen Zhuliang's hand and patted it. He gave him a firm look and a humble smile.
After that, Lu Yiwei reminded Qiao Jianjun again, "Boss Qiao, safety is our top priority. You can't be careless at any time. In the near future, you'll need to conduct a major training for all the miners. If you really can't do it, I'll find you experts in the relevant fields. You must be very careful with your safety! "
Qiao Jianjun still had an indifferent look on his face as he agreed.
"That's great!" Lu Yiwei said and turned to Jiang Yucheng. "Let's go to the next coal mine."
"You're leaving just like that? Let's have lunch here at noon!" Qiao Jianjun pretended to persuade him to stay.
"It's okay. We'll talk about it later."
Qiao Jianjun winked at the people next to him, ran to the car with a few Chunghwa cigarettes, opened the door, and stuffed them in. Seeing this, Lu Yiwei hurriedly stopped him, "Boss Qiao, I appreciate your kindness, but I can't take these cigarettes."
"They're not worth much. It's just a token of my appreciation!" Qiao Jianjun saw Lu Yiwei's strange behavior. This kind of person was really rare.
Lu Yiwei asked Shen Pengfei to remove the cigarettes and got into the car and drove out of Guoguogou Coal Mine.
As there was no driver, Shen Pengfei drove the car. Shen Pengfei and Jiang Yucheng had the same thought. They were both angry at Lu Yiwei's unromantic behavior. How much money could a township official earn? So what if he smoked a few cigarettes? If he didn't want to smoke, he could just leave. He was very unhappy that he lost his opportunity.
"Mr. Lu, which coal mine are we going to next?" Shen Pengfei asked unhappily.
"To Xuzhaigou Coal Mine."
On the way, Lu Yiwei thought and suddenly asked, "Mr. Jiang, did Guoguogou Coal Mine overstep its boundaries?" When they reached the mine, Lu Yiwei was dazzled by the interconnected tunnels. He couldn't tell which direction was north, south, east, and west. He had not seen Qiao Jianjun's blueprints, so he didn't know much about it as a layman.
Jiang Yucheng immediately said, "No, of course not! Last year, I accompanied the Ministry of Land and Security to inspect the mine. I went down to take a look, and there was no overstep. "
"Oh." Lu Yiwei said worriedly, "Then why did I hear gunshots in the office? Isn't that Guoguogou Coal Mine firing? You have to know that Dong Hua Coal Mine hasn't started production yet. There aren't any other coal mines. "
Jiang Yucheng consoled him. "Mr. Lu, under normal circumstances, the higher-ups wouldn't be able to hear it. Unless the explosion hits a rock, causing the rock to vibrate and quickly transmit to the ground. That's why you heard it. What you heard might happen to be such a situation. Listen again in two days. If you can still hear it, I'll immediately report to the county and get the inspection team to conduct a dragnet investigation. If they find Guoguogou Coal Mine overstepping its boundaries, they will seal the mine on the spot. "
Jiang Yucheng's words were watertight. Lu Yiwei couldn't find anything wrong with it and was satisfied. He nodded and said, "You have to pay great attention to this matter. Don't let your guard down. Overstepping its boundaries and embezzling state-owned assets is a small matter. If there's a flood or a collapse of the ground, no one can bear the responsibility! "
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
