Chapter 68: Strolling around. A guy who came from a tomb raiding background would just...
Chapter 68: Strolling
Director Wu was shocked.
"What safety hazard? What's the danger?"
Yan Jiuru flipped open the lid of the razor box with a snap, then closed it again. "I was passing by the mining area today and took a quick look. Hmm, there's a support in an underground pit that's in danger of collapsing. If we don't take action quickly, there could be a fatality."
After all, they were treated to a meal. The mutton and rabbit heads were both good. They couldn't just wipe their mouths and leave after eating, right?
However, whether or not this hidden danger should be pointed out directly depends on what the director says.
Director Wu stood there thinking for a while. It seemed that on the way, Deputy Director Li pointed to a place and said it was a mine. He asked how many people were underground at that time.
He scratched his face a few times and washed it. When the cold water hit him, he remembered: it seemed that there were six or seven hundred people at the bottom of the well!
Every day is filled with joy and surprise!
He even doubted whether his old body could withstand such treatment!
***
"Come on, tell me in detail, what's going on?"
Director Wu wiped his face and said that no matter how much pressure he was under, he still had to be as warm as a spring breeze to his subordinates.
There's actually not much to say.
However, Yan Jiuru still explained, "When I passed by the coal yard today, I accidentally saw an underground mining shaft. It must be quite old. The supporting wood inside... has serious problems."
"I estimate that if we dig deeper, we won't have to dig ten meters before the old wood can no longer hold on."
Underground coal mining is different from open-pit coal mining. It is most prone to collapse and dust explosion accidents. People are buried in the tunnels, and the possibility of escaping is less than 50%.
Director Wu naturally wouldn't think Yan Jiuru was talking nonsense.
But this matter also gave him a headache.
They came here to visit and learn. They were not part of the same system, nor were they proper superiors and subordinates, so they really had no control over the Mining Bureau.
You can't just come up and tell them that we've discovered a major safety hazard in your well, right?
How is this any different than visiting someone's home and telling them, "You're going to have a bloody disaster," right after you meet them?!
Not getting beaten means one has a good temper, and getting beaten is a normal behavior.
Even if you are telling the truth, you will not be welcomed.
It was because Yan Jiuru knew this that he reported the matter to Director Wu.
There's no way, isn't this what leaders use at times like this?
However, the old comrade was very experienced, and Director Wu soon came up with a solution.
"Well, we're supposed to listen to a report tomorrow morning, so let's go down to the well and visit it instead. Do you remember which well it is?"
That's for sure.
Director Wu saw Yan Jiuru nod and immediately made arrangements: "We can't just visit one well tomorrow. We need to visit at least one in the morning and one in the afternoon. If that's the case, let's schedule the well with the problem for the afternoon. When we get inside, you can find a way to expose the problem right there and then. That way it will be more natural."
As for how to arrange this well into the tour itinerary, that is Director Wu’s responsibility.
***
Yan Jiuru and Lin Shiyi lived in the room opposite him. After they left, Director Wu thought about it carefully again, called the guards, and made the arrangements.
On the other side, Lin Shiyi saw that Yan Jiuru came back not long after he went out, so he didn't ask any more questions.
He was about the same age as Yan Jiuru, but he was more lively. He urged, "Do you want to go out for a walk? I heard that there were quite a few Japanese officers and traitors here in the past..."
Yan Jiuru looked at the other person with a smile.
Just strolling around?
A guy who came from a tomb-robbing background, would he just wander around casually?
The two of them, one can 'see' and the other can 'take'. If they say they don't do anything, who would believe it?
However, Yan Jiuru still nodded.
The two men greeted Director Wu and said they were going out for a walk.
"Don't go too far and don't cause trouble."
Director Wu is not an old stubborn person. The two young men are capable and nothing will happen. It's just a waste of time to give them some advice.
***
Both of them put on cotton coats and hats when they went out.
There is no way. In early spring, strong winds blow across the entire north. The spring breeze not only makes the grass green and melts the ice and snow, but also blows up dust, making people's heads and faces covered with dust at any time.
I think the word "wind-blown and dusty" was born from this.
There was still some afterglow in the sky at this time.
The two of them didn't walk far, but found a small state-owned restaurant nearby. Seeing that it was crowded, they went in and found a place to sit down.
Yan Jiuru is a big eater himself, and he can only eat half full when he is entertained. If he doesn’t eat something now, he will definitely be dizzy and unable to sleep at night due to hunger.
He ordered a small bowl of knife-cut noodles. The chef used freshly picked spring wormwood to stir-fry the soup and poured two spoonfuls of local specialty aged vinegar on it. Although there was no meat, it was still very fragrant.
Lin Shiyi also ordered a bowl of noodles. The two of them ate slowly, occasionally chatting for a few words, but more often they listened to others bragging and chatting.
The mining area has coal resources and it is a seller's market. Even though it is now a planned economy with unified purchase and sales, there are still buyers from large factories all over the country coming here every day.
Coal is still in short supply now, and having a quota does not necessarily mean you can get coal.
Therefore, these factories and units that hold the indicators have to send people to stay at the coal mines and try every means to get more coal back.
Oh, by the way, getting coal is not enough, we also need to get the train cars.
Transport capacity is also very tight now.
In short, they sat there for less than half an hour, and their ears were filled with all kinds of information about coal.
Suddenly, Yan Jiuru's expression changed slightly.
He secretly kicked Lin Shiyi.
Lin Shiyi was a smart man. He glanced at him and the two of them shut up and ate without talking, but their ears perked up.
***
The two of them were focusing on the table that had just been seated behind them.
It sounded like one of them was treating us, but since he didn't understand the local dialect, he had specially found a few other familiar people to act as part-time translators.
"What do you want?" one of them asked the customer.
After the other party made a few polite remarks, they ordered braised lamb, local specialty braised rabbit head, braised beef with soy sauce, chicken stewed with jujubes, stir-fried wild vegetables, and shepherd's purse and egg soup.
Two more bottles of Fenjiu were opened, and the fragrance of the wine drifted to Yan Jiuru and the others.
"Hiss——" Lin Shiyi took a deep breath in a cowardly manner and was still intoxicated for a while.
The table behind them was very lively, and they were introducing things in local dialect. Neither of them could understand what the guests were saying, but luckily there was someone to translate.
The guest spoke a northern dialect, but when he introduced himself, he was the resident director of the supply and marketing department of a large factory in the south.
It is said that his family was originally from the north. During the war years, his father and uncle both served in the army and were assigned to the south after liberation.
He also served in the army and was assigned to the supply and marketing department of the current factory after retiring.
"...I'm hosting you today. It's a rare honor for Director Zhang to come. We're all from the north, regardless of whether we're from the northeast or northwest. When we meet, I'll drink first to show my respect!"
"Slurp——" the wine in the glass was empty.
"...Speaking of which, I also relied on the help of our mine. If it weren't for this foreign resident from our mine, I don't know when I would have the opportunity to return to our northern part.
There are no outsiders here, but I am telling you quietly, I just arrived at the mine, and apart from anything else, I have to get a clear understanding of the surrounding environment. I can't go back and know nothing when people ask me, hahaha~
Director Zhang, please tell me if there are any places worth visiting here, so that I don't get confused. "
Director Zhang smiled and said, "This is easy to cause trouble."
After translation, I learned that Director Zhang agreed to tell him about the local customs.
The host immediately raised his glass and said, "Thank you. Let me toast you first! I'll drink it. Please help yourself!"
"Slurp——" Another drink.
“There’s a saying that goes, ‘Destiny brings people together no matter how far apart we are.’ It’s fate that allowed us to sit at the same table and drink together.
For the sake of fate, come, let’s do another one!”
"Slurp——" the third cup was finished!
Oh my god, Lin Shiyi lowered his head and grinned. It seems that this job is not easy to do.
I've already had three drinks in a row, and we haven't even started talking about serious matters.
Comrade Liu, who had already finished three cups, started passing out cigarettes. "Here, would you like to have one? This was given to me by a relative during the Chinese New Year. It's a special supply. I usually can't bear to smoke it, but today, thanks to Director Zhang, I'm going to indulge myself for once, hahahaha~"
Although Yan Jiuru had his back to them, it did not prevent him from "seeing" that Lin Shiyi was sitting opposite him. He saw the other person's cigarette as soon as he looked up.
"Fuck you," he cursed softly, "Yunyan, fifty-six cents a box, and the key is that I can't even buy it."
These people are so 'good stuff'!
The two of them ate with other people's cigarettes and alcohol.
A few people ate and drank, without mentioning work, only talking about the local scenery.
Yan Jiuru couldn't help but admire him. This was someone who knew how to get things done. If he had just mentioned how his work was, people would probably have had a couple of drinks to give him some face and then leave.
Perhaps because the hospitality was good and the wine was in their step, everyone at the table was chatting animatedly, speaking a mixture of local dialects and northern dialects.
***
"If you're talking about places worth visiting, the locals all know about the Dai Wang Mansion of the Ming Dynasty. It was huge, but it was burned down when the Qing Dynasty invaded. However, the palace's screen wall, the 'Nine Dragon Wall,' remains. It's said to be even bigger than the one in the Yancheng Imperial Palace."
The palace, Yan Jiuru secretly took note of it.
He really doesn't know this.
However, the Dai Wang Mansion was burned, killed, looted and robbed when the Qing army entered the pass.
All the people were killed and the palace was burned down. It is said that all the property in the palace was looted by the generals at that time.
Yan Jiuru's eyes flashed.
Another table of guests also boasted about this: "Over the years, many people have gone treasure hunting, dug deep into the ground, and found nothing."
After eating and drinking, some people started talking about a big traitor during the Japanese occupation period, who killed many people and actually died before liberation, thus avoiding reckoning.
At this time, the people at the table behind were already talking about how a certain Lin blew up a statue of the Bodhisattva to build a villa in Mount Wutai, but the next year he failed to escape and was killed in the explosion.
It’s been less than two years since this happened, and a lot of news has only recently been revealed.
All the wood used to build the villas was imported from Indonesia. The bathroom mirrors, sofas, carpets, and wire beds were all custom-made. Each room was different, and they were all sets.
In short, they said to the outside world that they were "building a thatched house", but in fact, the construction cost of this so-called "thatched house" reached 700 yuan per square meter!
This cost does not include machinery and labor, because all the people originally mobilized were built by the army. . . . .
"That's nothing. I only dare to talk about it now. I have several villas in other scenic spots.
It's said, I mean it's said, there's a villa, the site was specially chosen by military aircraft, and more than a dozen experts were responsible for the design and construction, it has an electric fence and a military restricted area, just for a few days of stay during meetings."
"My requirements are simple. I've been injured and I'm afraid of cold, dryness, heat, and humidity. I want the room to be kept around 20 degrees Celsius year-round. The mirrors are imported from West Germany, and the flooring is from Vietnam. Tsk tsk..."
They are all generals, but they live the same life.
Yan Jiuru and Lin Shiyi are both small people from the lower class. This kind of thing is too far away from their daily life. They just listen to it and sigh in their hearts, then they will deal with it as it comes.
***
After returning to the guesthouse in the evening, the two went to the bathhouse together.
"Hey, let's find a chance to take a look?"
Lin Shiyi came close to Yan Jiuru and gave him a mysterious look.
Yan Jiuru glanced at him and said, "We have a mission, and there are so many eyes watching us."
It’s two-faced whether there is something or not. Even if there is something, can you take it back in public?
"Tsk, that's true." Lin Shiyi actually understood it, but he just couldn't help but feel itchy.
Yan Jiuru rolled his eyes at him. It would be strange if he didn't get caught. Who would dare to do such a thing with him?
However, Yan Jiuru thought that he would have free time the day after tomorrow in the afternoon, so he wanted to stroll around.
Especially in places where Japanese generals and traitors have stayed, digging three feet into the ground is too lenient.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
