Chapter 613 Changjia Village 28
As the moonlight was chipped into powder and scattered into the mine, the night shift miners were crawling towards the center of the earth with their backs hunched.
Their bony outlines, embedded in their sweat-soaked coarse shirts, looked like a group of wind-dried living skeletons.
As the supervisor walked through the tunnel carrying a kerosene lamp, the halo of light swept across the back of Lao Wu's hand - the purple blood vessels were coiled around the bones like snakes, and his knuckles gripped the pickaxe like a dead branch hooked around a rusty sickle.
"Cough... cough... save your energy and don't cough your lungs out."
The lame man next to him laughed in a hoarse voice, but his own gasps were like a broken bellows.
The belt of his work trousers was tied with three layers of hemp rope to hold his hips. When he bent over to dig coal, the protruding vertebrae on the back of his neck almost pierced through the shiny skin.
The new teenager, A Mao, is the worst off.
As he staggered while holding the basket of ore, the sound of his empty trouser legs hitting his shin bones was louder than the sound of a shovel hitting a stone.
The supervisor deliberately tripped him, and the moment the child fell into the coal pile, the hem of his shirt flipped up at the back of his waist, revealing a sunken waist - where the young man's flesh should have been wrapped, now looked like a sheep skeleton licked by a hungry wolf.
"Oh, this kid's butt is not even as thick as a rat's!" The supervisor kicked A Mao's raised shoulder blade. The dirty water seeping from the top of the mine happened to drip onto the child's protruding eyeballs, mixed with coal dust and flowed into a black tear.
Lame Zhang suddenly hummed a weird little tune:
"The debt to Yama is endless~"
"The fat in the bone that you can never get enough of~"
Sparks from the pickaxe hitting the rock wall splashed into the hollow of Old Wu's collarbone, leaving a red scar. He hissed, extinguished the sparks between the cracks in his palm, and lowered his head to continue mining.
When the midnight shift change whistle sounded, more rugged shadows appeared from deep in the tunnel.
At the moment when the two groups of skinny ghosts were silent, someone's ribs collided with each other, making a dry muffled sound.
Jiang Chen crouched behind the scrap pile, his eyes sweeping over the sentry post—eight armed supervisors, on duty in groups of two.
He glanced at the two familiar figures in the mine, hesitated for a moment, and then sneaked over quietly.
Jiang Chen ran quickly along the shadow of the mine cart. The sound of his boots rolling over the coal slag was drowned out by the noise of the shift change in the distance.
On the other side, Wang Honghong, who was sitting on the pile of ore, looked dejected for the first time.
The oversized helmet kept falling down, pressing on his ears and blocking his eyes. He lowered his head, and the mining lamp above his head illuminated his feet, clearly showing his torn cloth shoes with holes in them.
"Before I left, I met a fortune teller who said I would make a fortune this time..." He grabbed the black coal at his feet and threw it away dejectedly, "But it turned out to be mining. Sigh..."
Meng Guan, wrapped in torn clothes full of holes, fell on the pile of ore, closed his eyes, and wished he could plug his ears - Wang Honghong had been complaining since she was arrested, and his ears were callused from listening to her.
It's really unlucky for both of them.
Brother Jiang insisted that his sister-in-law had also come to Changjia Village and insisted on going down the mountain. Cheng Gang couldn't stop him, so he could only take them and a group of people to wait there.
The rain kept falling, and people were worried because they had been waiting for Jiang Chen for a long time but he still didn't come back.
Just when Cheng Gang couldn't wait any longer and went to look for someone, Brother Jiang sent a signal from the mountain.
After confirming that Brother Jiang was safe, Wang Honghong, Meng Guan and Gao Ming who came with him breathed a sigh of relief.
As a result, after a day, Brother Jiang could no longer be contacted.
Wang Honghong was restless. No one knew the specific situation in Changjia Village. Jiang Ge's skills were indeed formidable, but two fists were no match for a Western hand. Moreover, they might have hidden guns...
Thinking that Brother Jiang might be caught, Wang Honghong could no longer wait and got up and rushed down the mountain.
Cheng Gang, who was staring at this side, saw Wang Honghong move and immediately shouted: "Stop him!"
Two policemen rushed out and grabbed Wang Honghong, one on the left and one on the right.
"Let me go!"
Wang Honghong was dragged in front of Cheng Gang.
Cheng Gang waved his hand to let the two police officers release him. Concerned that this was Jiang Chen's man, he suppressed his anger and asked in a gentle voice, "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to look for Brother Jiang. He hasn't come back yet. Maybe something happened to him!" Wang Honghong had no intention of hiding it from Cheng Gang, so she told him her thoughts right away.
Hearing that he was only going to look for Jiang Chen, Cheng Gang breathed a sigh of relief and said disapprovingly, "You should know Jiang Chen's abilities better than I do. Just because he hasn't come back doesn't necessarily mean something's wrong."
Wang Honghong knew that Brother Jiang might not be in trouble, but she was just in case...
He and Zhao Liang are from Dahe Village, and he was actually the first one to follow Brother Jiang.
Wang Honghong's parents are both dead, and he was driven out by his uncle's family. He had to beg for food everywhere, sometimes hungry and sometimes full. If it weren't for Brother Jiang taking care of him, he would have starved to death long ago.
Although Brother Jiang didn't acknowledge him, in Wang Honghong's heart, Jiang Chen was her brother, closer than her biological brother.
When Wang Honghong thought that Brother Jiang would be in danger, her heart felt like it was on fire, her whole body was itchy, and she couldn't wait or sit still.
Seeing that Cheng Gang had no intention of agreeing to let him go down the mountain, Wang Honghong became more and more anxious and less talkative.
Junxiu's face turned pale with anxiety. He glanced at Meng Guan and immediately began to call for help: "Little Meng, aren't you anxious when Brother Jiang is in trouble?"
Meng Guan is the only one among them who was admitted to university. He is smart and quick-witted, and he will definitely be able to convince Cheng Gang.
"Officer Cheng, it's 4:35 PM now. If Brother Jiang doesn't give us a signal after dark at 7 PM, will you agree that we go find him?"
Meng Guan looks gentle and speaks slowly and leisurely, which makes people feel comfortable listening to him.
Cheng Gang looked at his watch and nodded sternly, "Then wait until seven o'clock."
For the next two and a half hours, Wang Honghong couldn't sit still and simply stood on the hillside, watching the darkness swallow up the mountaintop, the valley, and Changjia Village at the foot of the mountain...
They were afraid of being exposed and did not dare to light any lights. It was pitch dark at night and the clock pointed to seven o'clock!
Wang Honghong jumped up and turned her feet, which were a little sore from standing. She couldn't wait to grab Meng Guan and find Cheng Gang. She said anxiously, "It's seven o'clock, and Brother Jiang hasn't given the signal yet. We can't wait any longer."
Cheng Gang relented and agreed to go find Jiang Chen, but he didn't allow them to go.
"Why?" Wang Honghong's happy expression turned cold when she heard that he was not allowed to go.
"You two have not received formal training. If you rashly go into the mountains, you might alert the enemy." The reason Cheng Gang gave was very convincing.
Wang Honghong's skills are indeed good, but they are all unconventional - when he was a child, he followed a martial arts master from the opera troupe to learn for a few days, but was later driven away because he always stole steamed buns to eat.
After that, he followed Jiang Gexi to fight for territory, and his skills were honed, but it was also a street fighting style, with cruel and vicious moves - hitting the head, stabbing the stomach, kicking the bottom...
His mediocre skills are no match for Brother Jiang who has received military training. They are good enough to deal with gangsters and thugs, but he is not good enough for big scenes.
To be honest, if Wang Honghong were to fight her sister-in-law alone, she wouldn't be able to withstand a single punch.
The reasons Cheng Gang gave were so convincing that Wang Honghong was speechless.
At this moment, Meng Guan suddenly said, "Brother Cheng, that's exactly why you should let us go."
Cheng Gang had a better impression of the intellectual Meng Guan, so he did not deny it immediately after hearing what he said. Instead, he raised his hand to signal him to continue.
Meng Guan said gently, "The police you brought with you are all good fighters. They look like martial artists. If they were caught in the mountains, they would definitely be suspected. But look at us..."
The dim flashlight covered with a cloth swept over Meng Guan and Wang Honghong.
Wang Honghong has fair skin, delicate features with a touch of handsomeness, and a bit of rebelliousness in his handsomeness. Because he often did not have enough to eat and was malnourished when he was a child, his height of 176 cm is not conspicuous.
Meng Guan's family was well-off and he had good nutrition as a child. He was over 1.8 meters tall, but he relied on his brain and didn't like sports. He looked a little weak and had a strong bookish air.
These two people really don't look like police officers.
Cheng Gang frowned slightly, seeming to be thinking about Meng Guan's words.
Wang Honghong was extremely anxious. Seeing that he didn't say anything, she opened her mouth to urge him to say something.
Meng Guan covered Wang Honghong's mouth with his hand and signaled him to wait quietly.
After a while, Cheng Gang shook his head: "What you said makes sense, but it still won't work. You are not the police, and no one knows the situation in Changjia Village. If you rashly go into the mountains and something happens, who will be held responsible?"
Meng Guan smiled and said, "I know you are worried, but don't forget, if what Brother Jiang said is true, there is another person in the mountains."
Cheng Gang raised an eyebrow, "Who?"
"Ye Rou." Meng Guan said, "Let's go in together. My sister-in-law knows us, so if we really run into each other, we can look after each other. You know my sister-in-law's identity. If something really happens..."
Meng Guan didn't say the rest.
But Cheng Gang already understood.
He frowned tightly and asked in a cold voice, "Are you threatening me?"
Meng Guan let go of Wang Honghong and said gently, "I'm just telling the truth."
Of course Cheng Gang knew that what he said was true.
If something really happened to Ye Rou in Changjia Village, he really couldn't afford the consequences if the bigwigs behind her held him accountable.
Having said that, there is basically no room for maneuver.
Cheng Gang agreed with a straight face, waving his hand and saying, "If you want to go into the mountains, go ahead. I have only one request: if you are caught, you must not tell anyone that the police have set their sights on Changjia Village."
"Okay." Meng Guan agreed readily.
Wang Honghong couldn't wait to leave, but Cheng Gang stopped them again.
"What else do you want to do?" Wang Honghong was already impatient.
"You two come here." Cheng Gang casually pointed at two police officers, motioned them to come forward, unloaded their guns, and handed them to Meng Guan.
"Bring a gun, just in case." Cheng Gang frowned when he saw Meng Guan didn't answer: "No?"
"Yes, of course!" When Wang Honghong saw the gun, her eyes lit up and she wanted to take it immediately.
Meng Guan pushed his hand down and said, "You can't have it."
Cheng Gang frowned, only to hear Meng Guan say, "If they really get caught and a gun is found, it will be even harder to explain."
Seeing that he insisted on not accepting it, Cheng Gang sighed and waved his hand.
Wang Honghong and Meng Guan turned around and were about to leave.
Gao Ming quickly expressed his desire to follow, but Meng Guan did not let him.
There will definitely be dangers when going into the mountains. Gao Ming followed them to make money and support his family. Unlike them, he should not get involved in this mess.
Gao Ming knew they were doing this for his own good, so he didn't pursue them. The older man chased them for quite a distance, nagging them: "Be sure to be careful and don't get caught!"
Wang Honghong waved her hands and said confidently, "Who am I? I'm just a little white dragon in the waves. Those rats in the mountains can't catch me. Dream on!"
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