Black Gold 1983

Liu Dehou opened his eyes and looked at Renye. There was something in his eyes that made Renye's heart tighten.

"Your father came to see me the night the well was sealed. He said something to me."

"What did you say?"

He said, "Dehou, there might still be someone trapped underground."

Renye felt as if something had bumped into his chest.

Ren Shouyi knew about the well sealing on the very day it was sealed. He knew there was someone trapped underground, but he still wrote "everything is normal" in the inspection log. He contacted Liu Dehou, but did not report it.

"And then? Did you go down again?"

"I went down there." Liu Dehou's voice was so low it was almost inaudible. "The day after the well was sealed, Shouyi and I went down through the materials tunnel. When we got to the transport tunnel, the tunnel had already started to collapse, and rubble blocked most of the entrance. We dug for a long time, but we couldn't get it open."

He closed his eyes again, his lips trembling.

Shouyi stood at the cave entrance and called out several times. There was no response.

The wind blew in from the courtyard gate, making the dry loofah vines rustle like countless hands patting something.

Renye sat on the small stool, motionless.

He suddenly understood how Ren Shouyi had gotten through those three years.

They knew someone was trapped underground, and that person was most likely dead, but they had no way to bring her up. After the mine was sealed, the entire West No. 2 mining area was designated a no-mining zone by the mining bureau, and no one was allowed to enter without approval. Ren Shouyi, a disabled miner who had retired early, had no right, no qualification, and no ability to reopen the mine.

All he could do was keep the inspection record, memorize every detail before the well was sealed, and wait for an opportunity that might come at any time.

Renye stood up and placed the package of Daqianmen cigarettes in Liu Dehou's hand.

"Thank you, Mr. Liu."

Liu Dehou didn't reply, but lowered his head and looked at the cigarette in his hand.

Renye turned to leave, but Liu Dehou suddenly called out from behind.

"Your dad hasn't had a full night's sleep in all these years."

Renye paused for a moment, but without turning around, he stepped out of the courtyard.

After leaving the old dormitory area, Renye didn't go straight home. Instead, he turned and went to the small hill behind the mine. There was an old pine tree on the hill, and under the tree was a big rock. When he was a child, he and Han Tian would play Water Margin after school, and each of them would occupy a rock and be the mountain king, sitting there for an entire afternoon.

He sat on the rock, looking at the entire mining area.

The gray buildings, the densely packed family quarters, the distant coal gangue mountains, and further still, in the direction of the West Second Mining Area, that collapsed wasteland.

There are three lines in his mind, now intertwined.

First clue: Han Changhe said that the woman was a distant relative from his hometown who came to seek refuge with him. He hid her in a mine shaft, but before he could send her away, West No. 2 was sealed off.

Second clue: Liu Dehou said that two days before sealing the well, he saw Han Changhe come out of the chamber and block the entrance with a piece of thorny bamboo. If the woman was only temporarily housed in the chamber, why would Han Changhe block the entrance? Who was he afraid of seeing her? Was he afraid others would see the woman, or afraid others would see the chamber?

Third clue: Ren Shouyi knew there was a person trapped underground on the day the well was sealed, but he didn't report it. It wasn't because of Han Changhe's excuse that "no one was working on the fully mechanized mining equipment"—that excuse was meant for Ren Shouyi, and also for himself, to cover up the real reason.

Renye probably guessed the real reason.

Ren Shouyi did not repay kindness, not because of Han Changhe, but because he was unsure of one thing: did that woman go down there on her own, or was she taken down by someone? Did she stay in the chamber voluntarily, or was she imprisoned inside?

If you went down there on your own and got trapped by accident, that's one thing.

If they were taken down there by someone and locked up inside, that's a different story.

Once the report is submitted and the police get involved, the nature of the matter will be completely different. Ren Shouyi has no evidence to prove which scenario it is; he only has "possibly," "probably," and "maybe." These words can be used underground to determine the direction of the coal seam, but they mean nothing in the face of the law.

So he chose to remain silent.

I kept all my doubts, guilt, and unease buried deep in my heart for more than three years.

Until Jinno appeared.

It wasn't until Renye told him that the government was going to loosen its policies and allow mining in the West Second Mining Area to resume.

The opportunity that Ren Shouyi had been waiting for for three years had finally arrived.

Renye took the unlit cigarette off his ear, squeezed it in his palm, and then put it in his pocket.

He stood up, dusted off his pants, and started walking down the mountain.

When he reached the halfway point of the mountain, he suddenly stopped.

He remembered someone.

Someone he should have thought of long ago, but never considered in that direction.

Han Tianfang.

Han Changhe's son, his childhood friend, Han Tianfang, whom he grew up with, stole sweet potatoes with, and watched people dating from behind haystacks.

If that woman is a "distant relative" of Han Changhe, does Han Tianfang know that?

If that woman stayed in that chamber for almost a month, did Han Tianfang ever go to see her?

Renye slowed his pace.

He didn't want to drag Han Tianfang into this. In his previous life, Han Tianfang was his most reliable brother, who had shielded him from harm, taken the blame for him, and covered for him. In this life, he still owed Han Tianfang.

But if that woman really was locked in the well, then whether Han Tianfang knew about it becomes an unavoidable question.

Renye stood on the dirt road halfway up the mountain and looked up at the gray sky. The clouds above the mining area were thick and low, like a huge ceiling that could collapse at any moment.

He took the unlit cigarette out of his pocket, put it in his mouth without lighting it, and continued walking down the mountain.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he changed his mind. Instead of going home or looking for Tian Sui'er, he turned onto the road leading to Han Tianfang's house.

Han Tianfang lived in a row of bungalows on the west side of the mining area, separated from Liu Dehou's area by two alleys. It was a family house allocated to Han Changhe by the mine, consisting of two rooms and a small courtyard.

When Renye reached the gate of the courtyard, he saw Han Tianfang squatting in the yard fiddling with a radio. He was turning a screwdriver back and forth, and the radio was making a crackling sound, but he couldn't hear a word.

"Is it repaired well?" Renye asked, leaning against the courtyard gate.

Han Tianfang looked up, saw it was him, and grinned: "What are you doing here? My broken radio has been broken for months, and no one has ever bothered to fix it."

Renye walked into the yard, squatted down, took the screwdriver from Han Tianfang, opened the back cover of the radio, looked at the wiring inside, didn't touch it, and closed it again.

"It can't be fixed; the capacitor is broken and needs to be replaced."

"Then what the hell are you talking about?"

Neither of them stood up; they just squatted there in the yard.

Han Tianfang pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket—the cheapest kind—and handed one to Renye, taking one for himself. They lit them, and the smoke slowly dissipated in the yard, drifting past the bedsheets and work clothes hanging on the lines.

Renye looked at Han Tianfang.

Han Tianfang was half a year younger than him, but a size bigger. His face was roughened by the winds of the mine, and his lips were chapped. He seemed rugged, reckless, and carefree, but Renye knew that he was more meticulous than anyone else, and his eyes were sharper than anyone else's.

"Tianfang, I have a question for you."

Han Tianfang exhaled a puff of smoke: "Speak."

"Do you know which tunnel your dad works in in the West Second Mining Area?"

Han Tianfang's fingers, which were holding the cigarette, stiffened for a moment.

The stiffness was barely noticeable; if Renye hadn't been staring at his hand the whole time, you wouldn't have noticed it at all.

"What chamber?" Han Tianfang's voice and smile remained unchanged, but Renye noticed his Adam's apple bob up and down.

"You know which one I'm referring to."

Han Tianfang didn't answer immediately. He finished his cigarette, stubbed it out on the cement ground beneath his feet, stood up, dusted off his knees, walked to the courtyard gate, and closed it.

"Who told you that?" Han Tianfang's voice lowered, his previous ease gone.

"Your dad."

Han Tianfang's pupils contracted slightly.

Ren Ye didn't mention Ren Shouyi or Liu Dehou, only Han Changhe. He needed to know Han Tianfang's reaction and how much Han Tianfang actually knew.

"What did my dad say to you?"

"He said the woman was a distant relative from his hometown who had come to stay with him, and he temporarily placed her in that cave. Before he could send her away, West Second was sealed off."

Han Tianfang stood there, his face like a piece of frozen cement, stiff and cracked, with something seeping out from every crack.

"Do you believe it?" he asked.

Renye did not answer.

He stood up and faced Han Tianfang. The two were less than a step apart, close enough to see the bloodshot in each other's eyes.

"Tianfang, tell me the truth. Who exactly is that woman?"

Han Tianfang closed his eyes.

Standing in the middle of the yard, with his eyes closed, he resembled an old tree bent by the wind, about to fall at any moment, yet stubbornly holding on.

"She's my mom."

The wind in the yard suddenly stopped. Even the work clothes hanging on the clothesline drooped down, motionless, like a row of silent mourners.

Ren Ye stood there, something exploding in his mind, yet nothing seemed to have exploded either; it was just a blank. He looked into Han Tianfang's eyes, trying to find a trace of laughter, but there was none. Han Tianfang's eyes were red, not the kind of red that comes from crying, but the kind that comes from staying up all night—bloodshot, weary, and carrying a vulnerability that seemed to have been weighed down by something for a long time, on the verge of collapse.

"What did you say?"

"She's my mother." Han Tianfang's voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to be squeezed out from his chest. "Han Changhe isn't my father. He's my stepfather."

Renye opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything.

Han Tianfang turned around and walked to a corner of the yard, where there was a dilapidated tin cabinet piled with miscellaneous items. He moved the items aside, opened the cabinet door, and pulled out something wrapped in oil paper from the bottom layer, unfolding it layer by layer. It was a black and white photograph, already yellowed, with curled edges. The person in the photograph was blurry, but it was still possible to make out that it was a woman, young, with long hair, smiling.

Han Tianfang handed over the photo. Ren Ye took it and looked down. The woman in the photo was wearing a floral shirt, standing in a doorway somewhere. Sunlight shone from the side, casting shadows on her face. She was smiling, a beautiful smile, her eyes crinkling, as if she had something happy about her.

"This is her only photo." Han Tianfang's voice was hoarse. "I hid it under the cabinet; Han Changhe doesn't know."

Renye turned the photo over. On the back, a few words were written in ballpoint pen, the handwriting neat and beautiful: "Tenjiro 100th day, taken at home." The date below was 1963.

"Her surname is Gu, and her name is Gu Guihua." Han Tianfang squatted down, took out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a puff, and the smoke blew out of his nose and spread in front of him. "She is from Qinshui County in southeastern Shanxi Province, and she is from the same village as my biological father. My biological father's name is Han Changgen, and he is a cousin of Han Changhe."

Renye squatted down and squatted next to him.

"My biological father was also a miner, working underground at the Phoenix Mountain Mine. In 1965, the mine roof collapsed, and he died. I was just over a year old at the time and don't remember anything. Later, my mother took me with her and remarried Han Changhe. Han Changhe and my biological father were cousins, so they were family. My mother felt that she knew him well and wouldn't mistreat me."

He didn't look at Renye; his eyes were fixed on an ant on the ground, watching it dart in and out of the cracks in the cement.

"The first few years were okay. Later, Han Changhe was transferred from Fenghuangshan to Hongxing Mine, and we moved here with him. He treated my mother less and less, beating her whether he was drunk or not. My mother endured it for so many years, until I grew up, thinking that the ordeal was finally over, but she never expected—"

Han Tianfang's voice trailed off, like a string stretched to its limit that finally snapped.

Renye didn't urge him, but held the unlit cigarette in his mouth and waited.

"In the autumn of 1980, Han Changhe told my mother that he had found an abandoned mine building underground that could be used to store things, and asked her to help him clean it up. My mother believed him and went down the mine with him."

Han Tianfang stubbed out his cigarette on the cement floor, but he did so too hard that the cigarette shreds scattered and stuck to his thumb.

"After she went down, she never came back up."

A bicycle bell rang outside the courtyard, ding-a-ling, approaching from afar and then fading away at the end of the alley. Voices drifted over the wall; the words were indistinct, but laughter was clear.

"When did you find out?" Jinye asked.

"Two days before the well was sealed, Han Changhe got drunk and started talking nonsense in the house, saying, 'West Second Well is going to be sealed off, and no one will ever find that bitch again.' I didn't understand at the time. The next day, I went down into the well, found the chamber, and the entrance was blocked by thorny branches. After prying them open—"

Han Tianfang did not continue.

Renye didn't press the matter. He knew that some things didn't need to be said in full, and some scenes didn't need to be described.

"The entrance to the cave was open when your dad was on patrol that day," Renye said.

"I was the one who pulled her open." There was a strange calm in Han Tianfang's voice, like the deathly stillness before a storm. "After I went down, I straightened her up and tidied her hair. I lit that kerosene lamp. I couldn't bear to leave her in the dark."