How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

After a sleepless night, everyone only rested briefly in their rooms before getting up early the next morning.

There was still no sound from Boss Fan's main courtyard; he was probably still asleep, so no one dared to disturb him.

Seventh Master was injured and was still resting after taking medicine. Therefore, at this moment, only Qingru, Guo Zixing, Chief Zhang, and Xin Wuhui were sitting idly in the side room.

"Are you really going to say yes to him?" Qingru asked worriedly, as this was no small matter.

Guo Zixing took a sip of cold tea and said, "Whether he agrees or not depends on what conditions Boss Fan can offer. He has been operating in Wushan for many years and has a lot of wealth. However, the personnel, operations, and population of the mine are all lengthy and complicated. How can he expect to 'remain untainted by the mud'? If there is no proper arrangement, I'm afraid he won't leave with a clear conscience."

“He’s so kind?” Xin Wu Hui suddenly interjected.

Qingru rolled her eyes at him. "If he were truly kind, he would have solved this problem himself instead of passing the buck to others. He did this because he wanted to maintain a good reputation but didn't want to spend money to settle the workers who weren't working in the mines, so he resorted to scheming against others."

Xin Wu Hui still didn't understand, "Why can't we just leave? As for the miners, they can just keep mining. What's it to them?"

Police Chief Zhang couldn't stand it anymore and explained, "Haven't you heard people say that mines are finite? Once they're all mined out, there's nothing left. What will the workers do then? They can't just starve to death, can they?"

"If you ask me, you're overthinking it. Before they were miners, weren't they all farmers toiling in the fields? Even when the mines were gone, they just kept farming. They wouldn't starve."

“But not all miners are landed farmers,” Qingru said, growing more and more worried. “Like you, you were abducted. Do you own land? Coal mining isn’t a good job. Are people being crushed to death in coal mine collapses news? It happens every year. Besides, why do those workers come to mine instead of farming? Besides the higher wages, some of them don’t own land. With bad harvests and war, for many, losing the coal mine means losing their livelihood. Throughout history, peasant uprisings have only happened when people were driven to desperation. Is this a good thing?”

Xin Wu Hui was so ashamed that he couldn't lift his head. "I didn't expect it to be this serious."

Sergeant Zhang added, "Moreover, the air quality in coal mines is poor, and many people suffer from pneumoconiosis. These are all problems."

When all the difficulties are laid out, no one can relax; they all end up looking worried and distressed.

Guo Zixing said, "You don't need to be too pessimistic. The coal mine has an end, but the fact that there are only minor conflicts at the moment proves that it won't be completely mined out immediately. At least there is still some buffer time. Boss Fan has gained a lot of wealth from Wushan. It's not unreasonable for him to give back a little now."

Xin Wu Hui squeezed in and said, "Let me interject. Do you think the most important thing right now might be something else entirely?"

Qingru immediately realized, "You mean Huang Laosi?"

The four of them unexpectedly thought of the same thing, but it was a difficult situation. On one hand, there was the problem posed by Boss Fan, and on the other hand, there were the worries caused by Huang Laosi's death. They couldn't distinguish the priorities for the moment.

“We should be safe at Boss Fan’s house, right?” Xin Wu Hui said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a commotion erupted at the front door: "Zhang Qi, get out here right now! You killed my brother, I'll never forgive you!"

It seems that people from the Fourth Mine have come looking for us.

The group exchanged glances, all looking somewhat nervous.

Qingru and Xin Wuhui both felt a little guilty, after all, they were also part of the instigator; if it weren't for them, today's events wouldn't have happened.

Guo Zi walked at the very front.

Seeing that only Old Zhang was holding the gate up, he immediately ran over, saying, "Old Steward, let me handle this."

Old Zhang arrogantly snorted, "No need, let's see who dares to cause trouble at the entrance of the Fan residence."

Looking from the gatehouse, there were indeed four burly men standing at the gate, each incredibly strong and wielding sharp weapons. Luckily, the gate hadn't been opened first, or blood would have been spilled on the spot.

Seeing that the leader looked very similar to Huang Laosi, he asked, "Old Steward, what is that person's relationship with Huang Laosi?"

Old Zhang said, "That man is nicknamed Master Huang, and Huang Laosi is his brother. Bah, weasel."

Guo Zixing ignored the brothers' strange way of addressing each other, quickly thinking about how to respond. Huang Laosi was killed by Zhang Qi, but he was also acting on Zhang Qi's orders, so he couldn't back down now.

Having figured out the key, Guo Zixing said without changing his expression, "Open the door, I'll take care of it."

Old Zhang looked you up and down, then opened the door. "You're not even worth a single blow."

Guo Zixing smiled calmly, "Not everyone needs to use force to solve problems."

The door was opened, and the four men, mindful of Boss Fan, did not rush forward. They just glared at each other and said hatefully, "Tell Zhang Qi to come out."

"No need. I ordered Huang Laosi to be killed. If you have any objections, feel free to ask me."

"You?" Master Huang observed Guo Zixing and saw that he had handsome features, a refined demeanor, and a cold and extraordinary manner, so he knew that he was a wealthy man.

The hatred for killing one's brother is irreconcilable. Since someone has admitted it, he won't be polite anymore.

"Hmph, I didn't expect there would still be someone courting death these days. Brothers, let's go!"

At Master Huang's command, the four men rushed forward.

Guo Zixing pulled out his gun and fired several shots, hitting all four men in the feet.

"Ah!" Master Huang cried out in pain, fell to the ground, his feet bleeding profusely.

"You attacked me by surprise, your victory was dishonorable!" Master Huang cursed, pointing at Guo Zixing. The other three also fell to the ground, muttering curses.

"I didn't ambush them, I killed them openly and honestly. I have a gun, who has a problem with that?" Guo Zixing questioned, though he was just being clever. He had consulted Boss Fan beforehand, and since there was a coal mine in Wushan, and open flames were forbidden in the mine, the workers here didn't carry guns.

When cold weapons meet firearms, even Master Huang has no choice but to admit defeat.

Master Huang clutched his legs, furious. "You wait, I swear I won't rest until I kill you."

Judging from his words and actions, Guo Zixing felt that Master Huang was not as glib as Old Huang, but rather somewhat honest and simple. In such cold weather, he was still wearing short clothes, his face was dark, and even his fingers were filled with black coal dust. He looked like an honest and simple farmer, and there was nothing unusual about him. Even when others called him Master Huang, it felt a bit out of place.

Guo Zixing deliberately kept a backup plan, intending to prepare for the future, hence his explanation.

"Master Huang, if you want revenge, I won't stop you. But you can't understand things without reason. It was clearly your brother who plotted to kidnap innocent women in the middle of the night, which is why he was killed in retaliation. What goes around comes around, and retribution is inevitable. Misfortune has befallen him. What is it that you can't let go of?"

"Shut up, it wasn't your family member who died. Waaah... My brother has always been honest. He liked that woman, so he married her. It's just that they consummated their marriage early, and they can have a wedding ceremony later."

Guo Zixing said coldly, "That's called kidnapping. Besides, he brought the person to Suiyuan Tower. What kind of place is that? You can't be unaware of what your brother is up to, can you?"

Master Huang opened his mouth, but couldn't find the words to refute it. He could only wail about how his brother had died unjustly.

Guo Zixing lost his patience; he should have shot him squarely in the face.

"Who's making a racket at my door so early in the morning?" Boss Fan's wife, Wang, came out with a basin of water for washing her face. When she saw Huang Siye and the other three lying dead on the ground, with blood everywhere, she immediately became disgusted. She poured the water over her head and cursed, "Huang Siye, you dare to act so wildly at my door? You've got some nerve! If you keep howling here, I'll beat you until your own father won't recognize you."

Having lost face, Master Huang choked up and said, "My parents died long ago."

"I'm your father, why am I spoiling you like this? Get out of here! If you have any grudges, don't try to settle them on my turf, or I'll smash your mine to pieces. You just try it."

Master Huang was extremely aggrieved. Not only had his revenge failed, but he had also been insulted like this. He was about to commit suicide when a passerby stopped him, pointing at Wang and saying, "You're too harsh. They didn't come here for no reason. Who told you to harbor the murderer?"

"Murderer? What murderer? You're just a guest in the Fan family. If you have any grievances, you can beat or maim me as you please once you leave this house, but that's not allowed in the Fan family. What, have you forgotten all these years of rules? Is this the first time the Wang family has set rules for you? Are you itching for a beating? If you don't want to stay in Wushan, then get out."

The man reluctantly shut his mouth and helped carry Master Huang and the other three to the clinic.

"Pah!" Wang spat on the ground. "You, you, you, all of you, clean up the blood at the door. It's bad luck to look at it."

The people who were called out were too timid to resist, so they had to borrow brooms and mops from their neighbors to clean up.

Wang was finally satisfied. She clapped her hands and, ignoring Guo Zixing's expression, went into the mansion on her own.

Guo Zixing looked at the fierce woman and secretly wiped away a cold sweat; this was just too unreasonable.

There was a rustling sound outside the door, which Guo Zixing overheard. It was nothing more than people feeling that the Fan family had been too arrogant in Wushan over the years. Guo Zixing kept this in mind. It seemed that the people of Wushan were not without their grievances against the Fan family, but no one dared to resist because of Boss Fan's power.

Huang Laosi's revenge ended just like that, and Zhang Qixing, the person involved, never woke up.

However, Qingru still felt a little sad. Without power or influence, even her revenge was seen as a joke by others, although Master Huang might not necessarily be a good person either.

"Sigh," he couldn't help but sigh.

Guo Zixing looked at Qingru and asked, "Don't you think Master Huang is quite pitiful too?"

"No, it's just that something feels off. But I'm not that unreasonable. It's all Huang Laosi's own fault. If he hadn't been unreasonable first, there wouldn't have been this farce this morning. And just now, when I heard Master Huang trying to defend Huang Laosi, I knew that Huang Laosi's arrogance was partly due to his older brother's doting on him. So, like you said, it's karma, he deserves it."

Seeing that Qingru was not fooled by Huang Siye's honest and pitiful appearance, she smiled and said, "You're right. You reap what you sow. It was Huang Siye's indulgence that made Huang Laosi act recklessly, which ultimately led to this bitter result. If he had properly taught his younger brother, this tragedy would not have happened."

"Moreover," Guo Zixing said to Qingru with a serious expression, "that's why I have to scheme and plot. Without power or influence, every emotion you have is a joke in other people's eyes."

Qingru nodded understandingly. She originally wanted to say that Guo Zixing, as the son of the warlord, was already at the pinnacle of power in this area. However, thinking about Guo Zixing's situation of being controlled everywhere in the Guo family, she felt that people's joys and sorrows are not shared, and he also had his own difficulties.

Qingru asked, "When are we going back to the city?"

"We must at least resolve the issue of Wushan first, otherwise trouble is bound to arise in the future."

Qingru also wanted to leave Wushan as soon as possible, after all, it was too complicated there.