Black Gold 1983

Shigou Village, the main room of Ma Dewang's house.

Three old men were sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed). One was Ma Dehou, another was Ma Decheng, Ma Dewang's cousin, and the third was Ma Delin, who had retired from the mine.

The three people sat around a plate of peanuts, each taking one and holding it in silence.

Ma Tiejun sat on the threshold, a cigarette between his fingers. Ma Xiaojun squatted in the corner, holding the big rat in his arms. Tiger Vanguard was behaving himself today, curled up in a ball, and his tail wasn't wagging anymore.

Ma Maocai leaned against the door frame, his face expressionless, but his eyes kept scanning back and forth across the faces of the elders.

"Everyone's here." Ma Dewang walked in, his face cold and his eyes exuding a sharp and oppressive aura. The main room fell silent instantly, and even the old men on the kang (a heated brick bed) stopped what they were doing.

"Tiejun, tell everyone what happened."

Ma Tiejun stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and cleared his throat.

"Dad, uncles and elders, here's what happened. A while ago, Xiaojun, Maocai, Uncle Dehou and I were doing some business in Xier, and we ran into Ren Shouyi's son, Renye. That kid told us something that I think is quite serious, and we need to get the elders to make a decision."

"What is it?" Ma Decheng picked up a peanut from the plate, put it in his mouth, and chewed it with a crunching sound.

"He wants to partner with our village to start a mine."

"Mining?" Ma Decheng tossed a peanut shell on the ground. "What mine? Wasn't the West Second area shut down a long time ago?"

"Hongxing Mine did seal off that area, but during this time, a few of us have been secretly mining there," Ma Tiejun continued. "Renye said that there is a layer of coking coal with a considerable reserve in the Xier area."

"Coking coal?"

Sitting at the very back of the kang (heated brick bed), Madlin asked suspiciously, "How did he know there was coking coal down there? Even if there was, wouldn't Hongxing Mine know?"

Madelin is a retired mine worker who has spent his entire life dealing with coal. In this industry, his words carry some weight.

"I can't say for sure either. But his father is Ren Shouyi, the former captain of the No. 2 coal mining team. You should all know him."

Ma Decheng frowned slightly: "Ren Shouyi's kid? That Ren Shouyi who's lame?"

"right."

"His father's leg was crippled by the militia back then. Don't forget that," Ma Dehou added unhurriedly.

The atmosphere in the main room suddenly became heavy.

Ma Dewang didn't say anything, picked up the bowl of cold tea, took a sip, and frowned because it was so bitter.

Ma Baojun is his eldest son. Three years ago, during the roof collapse, it was Ren Shouyi who dug people out of the rubble. Everyone in Shigou Village knows about this.

"Go on," Ma Dewang said, putting down his teacup.

Ma Tiejun recounted exactly what Ren Ye had said at the bottom of the well that day.

He said that by April at the latest, the national policy would be relaxed, and then we would be able to mine legally.

"Policy, policy! How many times has our village dealt with the mine over the years? Every time it's been policy! Back then, the expropriation was all set up properly, with compensation settled annually. But what happened? The mining area was shut down, and the compensation stopped. How many times has our village gone to complain? The mine said they'd look into it, but they still haven't come to a conclusion!" Ma Decheng said indignantly.

The score between Shigou Village and the mine is unclear.

Back then, Hongxing Mine requisitioned 70 or 80 mu of land from the village and signed a five-year agreement. The first few years went smoothly. Later, the West Second Mining Area was closed, and the mine stopped providing compensation, saying that the contract had expired and would not be renewed.

According to the contract, the mine is not at fault.

Logically speaking, the land has already been requisitioned, and the land has collapsed to the point where crops cannot be grown. Once the compensation stops, the village's finances will suddenly become tight.

For this matter, Ma Dewang led the villagers to the mine countless times. They went to the labor and personnel department, the administrative department, the mine manager's office, and every place they could think of, and they submitted every possible message.

The mine always received them politely, offering tea and cigarettes, saying, "Secretary Ma, don't worry, we've noted this down and will look into it later."

After all these years of research, they still haven't figured it out.

"Tiejun, what do you mean by that fundraising you just mentioned?" Madelin asked.

Ma Tiejun paused for a moment, then scratched his head.

He didn't quite understand either. Renye had explained it clearly that day, but when he actually relayed it, he felt like something was missing.

Ma Xiaojun, who was crouching in the corner, suddenly raised his hand. Tiger Vanguard was startled by this and squeaked twice.

"Let me speak! Let me speak!"

Madeline glared at him: "You know nothing."

"Dad, I actually know!" Ma Xiaojun stood up, still holding Hu Xianfeng in his arms, and said in a serious tone, "Brother Ye said it's about everyone pooling their money to start a mine. You put in ten yuan, I put in ten yuan, and together we have fifty thousand yuan in capital. Once the mine is up and running, the profits are split according to how much we contributed. What's it called again...?"

He slung Tiger Vanguard over his shoulder, thought for a long time, and said, "That's it, profit sharing based on shares!"

"What?" Ma Decheng stopped crushing peanuts in his hand, tilted his head to look at Ma Xiaojun, then at Ma Tiejun: "Each person can invest ten yuan?"

Ma Tiejun nodded.

Ma Dewang chimed in, "I've done the math. If this really works out, it won't just be our few households; every one of the more than two hundred households in the village will get a share. When it comes time to pool our money, those with more money can contribute more, and those without can contribute less. It won't be difficult to raise ten thousand yuan or so. If the mine really goes up and running, it might just be a real way to get rich."

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment, and the once quiet main room suddenly erupted into chaos.

The discussion lasted from the afternoon until dusk.

During this time, many villagers who were visiting also joined in, feeling that this was a good opportunity for Shigou Village to turn its life around. After so many years of land being abandoned, they could finally earn a real living on their own land.

Some people are worried that they might lose all their hard-earned money. After all, no one has ever been involved in that kind of investment scheme before.

Some people calculated that they were short of money and couldn't afford to invest.

Some people are wondering if their own laborers can be given priority to work once the mine is operational, so they can earn extra income.

As opinions from all sides intertwined and clashed, more and more people gathered, exchanging words and engaging in constant arguments.

The pros and cons, risks, benefits, and potential problems were all thoroughly analyzed and discussed repeatedly. No one was willing to give an easy answer or make a hasty conclusion.

"If this mine can really be established, we need to be clear about the situation. Xier is land belonging to our Shigou Village. If the mine is established, how many people from our village will be employed? How much money will be distributed to our village each year? These things need to be written down, not just talked about."

Ma Dewang nodded: "Delin is right. These points need to be clarified when we talk about it."

The old men on the kang (a heated brick bed) and the villagers who had gathered around nodded in agreement.

Ma Maocai leaned against the doorframe, his voice languid as he said, "We've said so much, but none of us have actually seen whether there's coal down there. What if we invest money, but there's no coal down there? Wouldn't that money be wasted?"

"Mao Cai is right," Ma Decheng nodded. "Whether there's coal down there or not, we'll have to see for ourselves to know."

"Then let's go take a look." Ma Dewang made the final decision: "Tie Jun, is the hole you dug big enough for a person to go down into?"

"Yes, it was reinforced a couple of days ago. However, Brother Ren said there's a layer of sandstone more than 20 meters deep underneath, and you can't find the coking coal without drilling and blasting."

Ma Dewang looked at Ma Delin: "Delin, you've worked in the mines your whole life, do you have any old-fashioned methods you can use to explore this?"

Madelin thought for a moment, then said unhurriedly, "The old folks who explored for coal didn't have any drilling rigs. They just had a steel shovel, a Luoyang shovel, a sledgehammer, and several people taking turns hammering. They'd hammer it down, pull it up, and see what they brought up to find out."

"But if it's twenty meters deep... that's definitely a technical job."

"Then let's go and see for ourselves, seeing is believing."