Chapter 419 Coal Hill Explosion
As the saying goes, "If you have a bowl of porridge at home, you won't need to go to the ditch in
Mentougou is a famous mine in the fourteen northern prefectures. Every year there are accidents that cause countless deaths and injuries, but because of the huge amount of coal, it has never been abandoned and high salaries are offered to recruit people every year.
If they weren't so poor, no one would want to risk their life on Coal Hill.
Therefore, coal miners are paid more than some manual laborers, and can generally earn fifty or sixty coins a day.
In ancient times, information was scarce, and the people of Ping'an County rarely read miscellaneous records. As a result, few people knew that coal mining was an extremely dangerous job. Lord Wu offered a wage of forty coins a day, which amounted to more than one tael of silver a month. This wage was indeed very high, and men from the surrounding villages flocked to the area.
“No matter how much manpower and resources are spent, it’s better than death.” Cheng Wanwan’s voice was heavy. “These men are the pillars of their families. If they die in the coal mine, their families are finished. Some disasters that can be avoided should be avoided, and some that cannot be changed can only be left to fate.”
Lord Wu pondered for a long time: "These open-pit coal mines are currently being mined, and it will take about one or two months. During this time, I will write to the Ministry of Works to see what they say."
Cheng Wanwan nodded: "I'll figure out how to draw a few blueprints first, and then Lord Wu can send them over together."
There aren't many open-pit coal mines on this mountain; the majority are buried underground. It's estimated that they can be mined for at least ten to twenty years. With such a long mining period, if safety issues aren't taken seriously, who knows how many people will die over the years.
She came here by chance and has fallen in love with this land. She does not want this land to be stained with blood.
Just as the two were about to leave, someone suddenly climbed out of the mine shaft in front of them.
Cheng Wanwan recognized him as Chang Zhuzi from Xindahe Village. After becoming a resident of Dahe Village from being a migrant worker, he had always been honest and hardworking. Because he had no money to buy land, he had been doing odd jobs to earn money for the past six months, either building houses for Cheng Wanwan or carrying heavy loads in the city. As soon as the coal mine started recruiting, he immediately signed up and became one of the oldest coal miners.
However, the main task now is not coal mining, but drainage.
He emerged, dressed entirely in black, panting heavily, and said, "Sir, there's a really strong, strange smell coming from the mine. I'm almost fainting from the stench. Could you please ask Mine Supervisor Zhou to come down and check it out?"
Zhou, the mine supervisor, was a coal mine technician sent by the Ministry of Works. He was responsible for completing tasks such as mine layout.
Lord Wu was in charge of overall coordination, while Supervisor Zhou was in charge of the details.
“This smell…” Cheng Wanwan frowned. “Chang Zhuzi, quickly call all the men up here, hurry up!”
Methane gas is colorless and odorless. If it has a smell, it means that the sulfide substances underneath have accumulated to an intolerable level. If sulfur monoxide cannot be released, methane gas certainly cannot be released either. As long as the methane content in the air exceeds about 5%, an explosion is very likely to occur.
Chang Zhuzi hadn't climbed out yet when he heard this, he immediately went down. The mine was very deep, and it took about half a cup of tea's time for the people below to line up and climb up.
"Clang!"
One of the men dropped his pickaxe and turned to go down and retrieve it.
"Stop picking them up!" Cheng Wanwan snapped. "Get up here now!"
The man gripped the ladder and hesitated, saying, "This pickaxe cost me six hundred coins. If I don't pick it up now, someone else will take it."
Most of the people who come here to work have to buy their own tools. If they can't afford to buy them, they borrow them from the government and then deduct the cost from their wages. These pickaxes are their livelihood, so they can't bear to just throw them away.
"I'll just pick it up; it won't take any effort."
He started to go down.
Cheng Wanwan could smell a scent similar to apples, which appears when the methane concentration is extremely high.
Her voice grew colder: "I'll say it again, come up here!"
Lord Wu had already sensed the seriousness of the matter from Cheng Wanwan's change in expression. Although he didn't know what it was, he knew it must be very serious.
He said coldly, "Everyone, come up here immediately. This is an order. Anyone who disobeys will be dismissed from the coal mine!"
The man had just stepped down when he heard this, so he had to pull his foot back and quickly climb back up.
Cheng Wanwan turned to look at the people mining coal in the open on the mountain and shouted, "Stop what you're doing and hurry down the mountain!"
Everyone here knows she is Lady Sui, and her words carry more weight than those of the village head. The workers exchanged glances, then picked up their bamboo baskets filled with coal and hurried down the mountain.
The miners climbed up one by one, a total of eight people, all covered in dust and dirt, and ran down the mountain with their tools.
Cheng Wanwan spoke very quickly: "Lord Wu, are there any other people on the mountain?"
Lord Wu shook his head: "Everyone else is in the back mountain. Madam Sui, what exactly happened?"
"Let's go, let's go down the mountain first."
Cheng Wanwan lifted her skirt and started walking down the mountain.
Lord Wu followed behind her, not daring to delay.
Just then!
"boom!"
A loud bang came from behind.
Lord Wu felt a huge wave of air rushing towards him. Before he could turn around to check the situation, he was uncontrollably flying forward.
His body slammed into Cheng Wanwan's back, sending her tumbling down the mountain. The men in front of her were also knocked to the ground by the blast wave.
She tried to grab onto something to steady herself, but she couldn't hold on at all. It was like she was on a roller coaster, her body felt like it was being run over on the mountain road. Finally, her head slammed hard against a rock at the foot of the mountain, and she lost consciousness.
"Madam Sui!"
"Lord Wu!"
The officials and constables at the foot of the mountain immediately went up the mountain after the explosion, and found that the road was full of injured people. The villagers were walking in front. Although they had also rolled down the mountain, they only had superficial injuries and were not seriously hurt. However, Lady Sui and Lord Wu had both fainted.
"Quickly, go to town and fetch a doctor!"
"The coal mine explosion must be reported to the prefect and then to the imperial court!"
The village was thrown into chaos, and the people were filled with fear.
Cheng Wanwan felt a terrible headache. She heard someone crying beside her and felt someone feeding her medicine. She couldn't swallow the bitter medicine and vomited it all up. But the person taking care of her continued to feed her, without even putting a candied fruit in her mouth.
She slept in a daze, not knowing how long she had slept, and when she opened her eyes again, it was pitch black all around her.
"Mother, you're finally awake!"
Cao Yingying, who was by the bedside, was overjoyed and couldn't help but burst into tears.
She quickly turned around and called out, "Sister-in-law, is the medicine ready? Bring it over quickly, Mother has woken up!"
Wu Huiniang, who had been guarding the medicine pot in the kitchen, immediately poured the medicine from the pot into a small bowl and brought it in upon hearing this.
In just a short while, the room was packed with people.
Cheng Yuanyuan was feeding medicine, her two daughters-in-law had tears in their eyes, and her four sons stood obediently by her side. Daya, Erya, Sanmao, Hongying, Hongyan, and Xiaohai also looked worried.
Cheng Wanwan swallowed the medicine with difficulty: "What time is it? How long have I been unconscious?"
“It’s 11 PM now,” Zhao Dashan said. “The coal mine exploded yesterday morning, and my mother has been in a coma for two days and one night.”
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