How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

Chapter 108 The Wushan Incident (5)

Li Xiaoshan was also carried back to the Fan family. Wang was somewhat resentful, because if it weren't for saving him, her husband, Old Fan, wouldn't have been poisoned and fallen into a coma.

But seeing Li Xiaoshan's thin, bony frame and filthy face, she could only sigh.

"What a pitiful child."

The Fan family consists of only three people, including the master and servants. Now, with two more patients, they are quite busy and unable to keep up with the work. Moreover, there are still matters concerning the mine to be dealt with.

So Guo Zixing naturally moved back into the Fan family home and helped with all the chores inside and out.

Wang saw all of this and gradually lost her initial hostility.

"Husband, let's leave once you're better." Wang wiped away her tears; she was truly terrified.

Boss Fan leaned back on the couch to rest. His physical injuries didn't bother him. Instead, he felt dizzy and disoriented because he had inhaled too much coal gas in the coal mine.

"Alright, call Young Master Guo over first, then notify the foremen at the mine. After you've finished explaining things, the two of us will take Old Zhang south to recuperate." Boss Fan leaned back on the couch to rest. His physical injuries didn't bother him; instead, he was feeling dizzy and disoriented from inhaling too much coal gas in the mine.

"Alright, call Young Master Guo over first, then notify the foremen at the mine. After you've explained everything, the two of us will take Old Zhang south to recuperate." Having gone through a brush with death, his thinking is different now; no amount of money can compare to good health.

He used to be young and strong, so he always thought he was better than other young people. But in reality, years of overwork had taken a toll on his body. He looks tall and strong, but he's not as healthy as he used to be. He should cherish what he has now.

Having passed forty, why be greedy?

"Mr. Fan, how are you feeling?" Guo Zixing arrived quickly, and his question pulled Mr. Fan out of his chaotic thoughts.

"Cough cough~", she wanted to say she was fine, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her throat started to itch and she couldn't help but cough.

"Slow down, slow down..." Wang patted his back tenderly while feeding him water.

After calming down and drinking some water, Boss Fan finally admitted defeat.

He cut to the chase, "Young Master Guo, do you know what the mine means to those workers? If they lose the mine and have nowhere else to go, it's a terrible situation. So, ensuring their well-being is of paramount importance. If I entrust the mine to you, I expect you to do three things. First, provide them with a place to go; second, ensure their survival; and third, establish a school in Wushan Town. As you can see, there are so many orphans here. If we don't settle them down, teenagers or even younger will have to go back to the mines. Although I have strict orders, it's been repeatedly prohibited, not to mention there are several other mines that we can't manage alone."

Guo Zixing didn't agree immediately; he was waiting to see what conditions Boss Fan would propose.

"Sigh," Boss Fan sighed and began to tell Guo Zixing about the past of Wushan Town.

The miners here were divided into "inner workers" and "outer workers." Inner workers were the officially employed workers of the mine; they all possessed technical skills, but they only made up a small portion of the workforce. The rest were outer workers, mostly farmers who were part-time laborers and part-time farmers, some from nearby villages and towns, and others from more distant places. During the off-season for farming, they would come to the mine to work hard, digging and transporting coal—they did all the manual labor.

"They are the ones I worry about the most." Boss Fan frowned, his eyes filled with deep concern.

There are countless casual laborers like this in the mine. They do the hardest and most tiring physical labor, but they are paid the least. Even so, people flock to work in the mine.

With more migrant workers and their wages, there are plenty of idle people eyeing that hard-earned money.

Especially those from other places, many of them went down into the well and never came back, their bodies never seen again.

Third Sister's Suiyuan Tower is a well-known den of iniquity. At this point, Boss Fan sighed again, "Third Sister is cunning and treacherous. If the mine is to shut down, she'll probably be the first to object. You have to be careful of her. Every man who goes to Suiyuan Tower won't be released until their pockets are completely drained. If the mine is shut down and the workers are laid off, she'll lose her source of income. As the saying goes, 'Taking someone's money is like killing their parents,' and that's exactly what it means."

After saying that, she couldn't help but cough a few more times. Wang's face didn't look too good, and she didn't go to pour water for Boss Fan.

Guo Zixing had a feeling there was more to this than met the eye, so he asked, "Could it be that you also suffered at her hands?"

Boss Fan laughed, a rare occurrence, with a hint of self-deprecation. "She's the one who suffered. I won't lie to you, she used to be my maid, the second wife my muddle-headed mother wanted me to take. After I refused, she followed me all the way to Wushan. Later, seeing that I really had no interest, she went with the owner of the Third Mine and started calling herself Third Sister. Later, the two of them fell out, and she opened Suiyuan Restaurant not far from town. I'm afraid she's taken in any woman in town who has a bit of looks."

So that's how it all happened. No wonder that day at Suiyuanlou, Third Sister was both respectful and afraid of Boss Fan, and also harbored some resentment from her secluded life.

Wang said with a stern face, "That's no good person. Some of the women in those brothels have come from afar to find their husbands who haven't returned home for a long time, but she saw that their wives were pretty and just detained them, saying that the wife should pay for the husband's debts, and used their wives to pay for prostitution. She even made a rule that all the women who entered her brothel were her sisters and were not allowed to leave easily. Bah, shameless."

Boss Fan didn't deny it and nodded in agreement. "Most of the men in this town are her guests, especially the owners of several mines. Whether she's deliberately trying to annoy the owner of the Third Mine or just looking for entertainment, she's managed to gain a foothold by winning over these men. So you need to be careful."

Boss Fan repeatedly emphasized this, and Guo Zixing naturally said he would take it to heart.

"Also, you can trust Zhuang Qianfan with all your heart about my mine. He is very capable, but he is a bit scheming. That's not a bad thing. With your status and ability, I'm sure you can subdue him."

Guo Zixing smiled confidently; he was quite certain of his abilities.

"Then there are those scattered mines. The scattered mines in Wushan can be divided into seven factions, some of which you have come into contact with. They all came after me and rely on my connections to transport and sell coal, so they respect me as their leader. In the early years, I was the only one who could do what I said, but in recent years, I have gradually lost my authority. There are also conflicts between the mines. These people are not easy to manage, but they are also easy to control. As long as you control the leader, the people below are just a bunch of loose sand."

After saying these words, Boss Fan coughed violently again.

"Ahem... I can give you an idea. Zhang Qi is a decent guy. He's young, strong, and most importantly, he has principles and is loyal. The Seventh Mine isn't small either. If you can get him under control, you won't have to worry about the other mines. They've been fighting for twenty years, hehe, they won't suddenly unite."

Guo Zixing understood and said, "It seems you were involved in this?"

Boss Fan smiled without saying a word, "Ahem, that's all I can say." Then he waved his hand, "Bring it here."

Wang came over holding a box and handed it to Guo Zixing.

"This is?"

"The ledger, the mine keys, the official seal, and a list of available people. At the bottom are two deposit slips, which are my net profits from the past two years. They're all for you."

Guo Zixing's heart surged with emotion, and he suppressed his feelings as he said, "Boss Fan, you are truly a man of great integrity!"

Boss Fan shook his head. "You don't need to flatter me. I know things won't be easy later on, and this money might not even be enough. But this is all I can offer. I've not only had income, but I've also invested a lot of money. This is probably half of my net worth."

"You don't need to worry, the people of Wushan will be grateful to you in the future."

"Whether I'm grateful or not, I don't care. There's something else I was planning to do tomorrow, but things can change in the meantime, so I'll just do it today."

As soon as he finished speaking, a commotion broke out outside.

Wang stood with her hands on her hips and yelled at the outside, "Shut up! If anyone is so disrespectful again, I'll tear their mouth off!"

The outside immediately quieted down, and everyone obediently followed Wang Shi into the house.

Upon seeing the usually imposing Boss Fan lying on the couch, he immediately rushed over to greet him.

Boss Fan stopped them with a sharp look; the lion, though ill, still possessed a magnificent aura.

Suppressing his cough, Boss Fan handed over all the tasks to the various team leaders at the mine, and in front of them, he also handed everything over to Guo Zixing.

They were about to start arguing, but Zhuang Qianfan was quick-witted and stopped the excited crowd.

"That's all I have to say. You all know the situation at the mine better than anyone else. Wushan is almost completely mined out. Where else can we find more coal to mine? If we just sit around and do nothing, we'll starve to death sooner or later. This incident is a case in point. Li Dachuan was insatiable and drilled downwards on his own. What happened? Several lives were lost. The mines near him can no longer be mined; they're all going to collapse."

Everyone was aware of this situation, but for so many years they had relied on the mine for their livelihood, and suddenly losing their source of income was something no one could accept.

"Aren't there other small mines? Mr. Fan, why don't we buy their mines?"

"Take it? Are the owners of the seven major mines a pushover? If you have the ability, then go ahead and do it yourself, but first you have to leave my mine, and don't say I know you when you leave."

Boss Fan spoke sternly, and the person who asked the question reluctantly shut his mouth.

"Besides, I've also made arrangements for your future. From now on, I'll entrust you to Young Master Guo. With him, you'll only have a brighter future."

Seeing the doubtful looks on everyone's faces, Guo Zixing stepped forward and said, "Please rest assured, everyone. Boss Fan has already made all the arrangements. Let me introduce myself. I am the son of Commander Guo, and I am now the chief of the Sifang City Police Station. Mining in Wushan has been going on for a long time, and the mountain has been hollowed out. The nearby resources have also been depleted. Farmland is abandoned, and the water has been used for coal washing for many years and is no longer drinkable. We have all seen these situations. Now, I have been entrusted by Boss Fan to properly resolve these problems. Please trust me, I will definitely be able to enable everyone to live and work in peace again."