Black Gold 1983

(I'm going to rewrite it, wait a couple of days)

The two stayed underground for a while longer, looking around the cavern, but found no other clues. Renye took one last look at the remains, tucked his headlamp back into his forehead, and said in a muffled voice, "Let's go up."

Ma Tiejun responded and turned to leave. The two climbed back along the alleyway in silence.

When they came out of the well, it was already quite dark. A number of people had gathered around the wellhead. Several old men, including Ma Dewang, Ma Delin, and Ma Decheng, were there, while Ma Maocai, Ma Xiaojun, and Ma Dehou were squatting to one side. There were also a few unfamiliar faces that Renye had never seen before; judging from their clothing, they were probably prominent household members in the village.

When the two came out, everyone's eyes turned to them.

Ma Dewang took a step forward: "What's the situation down there?"

Renye took off his headlamp, dusted himself off, and described the situation in the mine. He described the high-salt environment, the white crystals, the uncorrupted corpses, the location and size of the cave, and the furnishings inside—the kerosene lamp, the enamel mug, the few candle stubs—he described everything he could.

The crowd remained silent for a while.

Madeline was the first to speak, his tone noticeably relaxed: "I knew it! What mine collapse? It's just a poor woman trapped down there. It has nothing to do with us. Nobody harmed her. The landslide and road closure were a natural disaster."

Ma Decheng nodded: "Since it's not some evil thing, let's just go about our business. It's not unusual for someone to die underground; people die in mines every year. Let's just pretend we didn't see it."

Several villagers echoed this sentiment, and some had already begun discussing expanding the alleyway again tomorrow.

"We can't pretend we didn't see it." Renye's voice wasn't loud, but the crowd quieted down.

"A body was found underground; this is no small matter. According to regulations, this kind of thing must be reported. There's a security department at the mine, and then there's the Public Security Bureau. Investigate it as you see fit, and handle it as you see fit."

Before he could finish speaking, Ma Decheng's face darkened: "Report it? Report it to whom?"

Renye glanced at him: "Report it to the mine's security department first, and have them send someone to check the scene. If it involves a criminal case, the security department will contact the police station."

"And then?" Ma Decheng took half a step forward. "The security team came, saw the shaft, and asked us who dug it, how long it took to dig, and what we were going to use it for—what am I supposed to say?"

Renye didn't respond.

Ma Decheng pointed at Ma Tiejun, Ma Maocai, and Ma Xiaojun, who were squatting to one side: "These guys have been stealing coal in the West Second Mining Area for quite some time now. If no one investigates, they'll just turn a blind eye. But if you call in the security department and the police—do you want them to go to jail?"

Ma Tiejun didn't speak, stubbed out his cigarette, and lowered his head. Ma Xiaojun's face had turned pale; his lips moved, but no sound came out.

Ma Maocai stood up, patted the dirt off his backside, and said in a low but firm voice, "Brother Ren, I'm not trying to contradict you. But it's obvious that we dug that shaft, we dredged the tunnel, and we put up every single wooden stake inside. When the security guards came and saw that hole, the first people they arrested were us."

He paused, then said, "If you want to report it, we won't stop you. But you need to think carefully before you do. What good will it do you if the four of us—Tiejun, Xiaojun, Uncle Dehou, and me—go to jail?"

Ren Shouyi stood outside the crowd, remaining silent. Then he took two steps forward and stood next to Ren Ye, still without speaking, but his meaning was clear.

Renye was silent for a moment, then asked an unrelated question: "Regarding the female corpse, when you were working in the West Second Mining Area, did you hear of any people going missing from the mine? Or any women disappearing from the surrounding villages?"

The group of people looked at each other in bewilderment.

Ma Dewang shook his head: "I was just about to say this. I asked the person in charge of household registration in the village, and there have been no missing persons in Shigou Village in recent years. I also asked around in the surrounding villages, and I haven't heard of any families losing their young daughters."

Madelin nodded in agreement: "I've worked in the mine for so many years, and I've never heard of any female workers going missing at the Red Star Mine. They never use female workers underground, and even if someone on the surface disappears, it has nothing to do with what happens underground."

Renye frowned.

There are no recent missing persons reports. The body is trapped in the collapsed area, which has been sealed off for several years. Who is this woman? How did she get in?

These questions remain unanswered for now, but one thing is clear—if this is reported now, Ma Tiejun and his associates will definitely be implicated. As for the female corpse, whether the security department and the police can find anything after they arrive is another matter entirely.

Renye glanced at Ma Tiejun. Ma Tiejun didn't look up, the cigarette between his fingers already burned down to the filter.

"Let's put this aside for now," Renye said. "Leave the body where it is, and don't go back into that cave. Let me sort things out and think things through before we talk about it."

Ma Decheng's expression softened somewhat, but he still added, "It's okay to keep it down, but not for too long. That shaft is already leaking. If we don't pump it out soon, the water will rise and flood the entire tunnel. At that point, forget about mining coal, we won't even be able to go down there."

Renye nodded: "I know."

The crowd gradually dispersed. As dusk fell completely, only Renye and his son Renshouyi remained on the dirt road in Shigou Village.

Ren Shouyi gazed at the dark mountain ridgeline in the distance, his voice low: "What are your thoughts on the woman's corpse?"

Renye didn't answer immediately. He went over what he had seen down the mine in his mind again, and then said something without a conclusion: "That chamber is in a very remote location. It's not next to the main tunnel, not near the working face, it's hidden in the side wall of the transport tunnel, and people passing by can't see it at all. Unless someone specifically looks for it, no one will ever find it."

Ren Shouyi turned to look at him.

Renye continued, "The person who dug that cave didn't want anyone to know there was a cave there."

Ren Shouyi didn't reply. After a long silence, he said in a low voice, "Let's go back first."

The father and son walked back along the dirt road. The wheels of the old-fashioned scooter made a clattering sound as they rolled over the potholes. It was completely dark, and the lights of the Hongxing mining area in the distance twinkled like a patch of coal dust on the ground.

When they arrived home, Li Yue'e had already set the table. There was a pot of stewed cabbage with vermicelli, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a few cornbread buns. She glanced at the dirt on Ren Ye's clothes, opened her mouth, but unusually didn't nag. She simply said, "Wash your hands and eat."

Ren Shouyi sat at the table without touching his chopsticks. Li Yue'e sensed something was wrong, looked at him and then at Ren Ye: "What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's nothing." Ren Shouyi picked up his bowl. "Let's eat."

Renye buried his head and shoveled down a few mouthfuls, but he really couldn't eat anymore. His mind was filled with the image of the corpse in the well—those mangled, unrecognizable hands, and the way it had been curled up against the rock wall.

He put down his chopsticks: "Mom, I'm going out for a bit."

"Where are you going so late at night?"

"Let it get some fresh air."

Li Yue'e was about to say something more when Ren Shouyi stopped her: "Let him go."

Renye left the family compound and went straight to the old locust tree at the entrance of the mine. It was there that Tian Sui'er had stood during the day, reading the apology statement word by word in front of the entire mining area.

He squatted down at the base of the locust tree, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

Who is the woman's body in the mine? How did she get in? Who dug that chamber? When the West No. 2 mining area was sealed three years ago, did anyone know she was still down there?

These problems are like a tangled mess, all intertwined and impossible to unravel.

But one thing he was certain of—the location of that cave was too remote, too remote to seem like something dug temporarily to rest in. It was more like someone deliberately chose that place, deliberately dug it so well hidden, and deliberately didn't want anyone to find it.

If this conjecture is correct, then the person who imprisoned her there must be extremely familiar with the layout of the tunnels in the West Second Mining Area. So familiar that they would know which tunnels are less crowded, which locations wouldn't be noticed by patrolling safety inspectors, and which roof slabs are stable enough that they wouldn't collapse even if a hole were dug in.

Such a person couldn't possibly be from just any random village.

It can only be someone from the mine. And someone who has worked in the West Second Mining Area and knows the underground conditions inside and out.

Renye stubbed out his cigarette on the sole of his shoe and stood up.

He couldn't figure this out on his own. He needed to find someone who knew the situation in the West Second Mining Area back then—not someone who knew from what others said, but someone who had personally been in those alleys, walked through them, and remembered every fork in the road.

He happened to know one such person.

His father was benevolent and righteous.

Three years ago, when the roof collapsed in the West Second Mining Area, Ren Shouyi was the captain of the Second Coal Mining Team. He could walk through every tunnel, every working face, and every chamber in that mining area with his eyes closed.

Renye threw the cigarette butt into the ditch by the roadside and started walking home.

When the door was opened, Ren Shouyi was still sitting at the table, his bowl of rice barely touched.

Li Yue'e had finished cleaning the kitchen and returned to her room, leaving only the father and son in the main room. The clock on the wall ticked away, like the sound of water seeping from a well.

Jinye pulled over a chair and sat down opposite Jin Shouyi.

"Dad, how many people did you have under your command back in the West Second Mining Area?"

Ren Shouyi glanced at him, but didn't ask why he suddenly asked this. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The second coal mining team has a full complement of forty-two people. Adding in the material transport, maintenance, safety inspection, and technicians, the entire mining area has a total of seventy or eighty people."

"Among these people, are there any who don't get along with you?"

Ren Shouyi remained silent for a moment, then instead of answering directly, asked, "You want to investigate the matter of that female corpse?"

Renye nodded.

Ren Shouyi put down his chopsticks and placed his hands clasped on the table. The dim light shone on his face, revealing deep lines, like the tunnels in a mine shaft worn smooth by countless mining carts.

"The West Second Mining Area has been sealed off for three years," he said. "Some of the people who worked there back then have been transferred, some have retired, and some are still working at the mine. If you want to investigate, you'd have to ask them one by one. But why should these people tell you the truth?"

Renye knew that Ren Shouyi was right.

He's not a police officer and has no authority to investigate cases. Those miners were no relation to him; why should they bring up old stories from years ago to tell him?

"So we need to know who she is first," Renye said. "Only by knowing who she is can we find out who is related to her, and then we can follow the trail."

Ren Shouyi looked at him without saying a word.

"Dad, could you ask around for me? Have any of the old folks who worked at Xier gone missing—not from the mines, but from outside? Or have you heard any rumors that anything shameful happened at Xier?"

Ren Shouyi remained silent for a long time, so long that Ren Ye thought he wouldn't answer.

"I'll give it a try," he said.

The sound wasn't loud, but Renye heard it.

The static from the mine's loudspeakers blared outside the window, followed by the prelude to "The East Is Red." It rang precisely at nine o'clock every evening. Day after day, for decades, more accurate than any clock.

Renye stood up, cleared the table of dishes, and took them to the kitchen. When he returned, Ren Shouyi was still sitting there, staring at the clock on the wall.

"Dad, go to bed early."

"Um."

As Renye walked to the door, he suddenly heard Ren Shouyi say from behind, "You said that cave is on the side wall of the transport alley, just around the corner?"

Renye turned around: "Yes."

"The side wall of the transport tunnel." Ren Shouyi repeated, as if he were drawing a diagram of the tunnels in the West Second Mining Area in his mind, and then placing his finger on a certain spot.

"I know that location." He looked up at Renye. "That cave existed back when I was in West Second."

Renye was taken aback: "You know about that cave?"

"It's not just me who knows." Ren Shouyi's voice was flat. "The old folks in the mining team all know. That was a rest chamber that the workers dug themselves years ago. They've been digging for several years now. I approved the materials for the wooden stakes used to support the shed."

Renye's mind raced: "Before the West Second Well was sealed, did anyone check that cave? Did anyone confirm that it was empty?"

Ren Shouyi did not answer this question.

He stood up, bracing himself against the edge of the table. His lame leg was weak, and he swayed before regaining his balance. He didn't look at Renye, and slowly dragged his leg towards the bedroom.

He paused when he reached the door.

"I've kept the duty log from the day the well was sealed."

The door closed.

Renye stood in the main room, his heart pounding.

The duty log for the day the well was sealed.

It records the time, location, inspector, and results of the last underground inspection before the well was sealed. If that chamber was inspected at the time, it would be recorded there. If someone lied about the inspection results, it would also be recorded there—or rather, it wouldn't be recorded at all.

Ren Shouyi kept this record for three years.

What is he waiting for?

Or perhaps he already knew something was missing from the well from the day he sealed it three years ago.

The next morning, Jinye was awakened by the noise in the yard.

Li Yue'e was already busy in the kitchen, the sounds of pots and pans clattering coming through the wall. Ren Shouyi sat in an old rattan chair in the main room, with a square tin box in front of him. The corners were chipped and most of the paint had fallen off, revealing the gray-black tin underneath.

When Jinye came out of the house, Jinshou was opening the box.

Inside was a thick stack of papers: drawings, forms, and handwritten records. The paper was yellowed and brittle, with curled edges, as if it had been flipped through many times.