Chapter 1 The Truth Revealed

Inside the mining area's office building, Yang Decheng looked at the leader of the Mining Supervision Department with incomprehension and asked, "What's going on? I don't understand what you mean."

"What do you mean, 'What's going on?' I just finished reporting the casualty data, and then Li Yuan told Li Mingsheng that 113 workers had gone down the mine. The difference between the two was less than a minute." The Supervision Department leader roared furiously, "The news leaked out, understand? Now Old Li wants the judicial department to form an investigation team and move into the mining area. Our entire unit has been summoned for talks."

Yang Decheng was somewhat dumbfounded, "That's impossible. I've arranged everything with the people in the company, and the leaders of the various associations too...!"

"You've arranged your ass! Do you know that Su Tianyu of the Tongji Association has a personal relationship with Li Mingsheng?" The Supervision Department leader interrupted, yelling, "They just make a phone call and they know everything."

Hearing this, Yang Decheng's face instantly turned gloomy.

"Let me tell you, the Supervision Department will not take the blame for you. The data you gave was incorrect and there was concealment. You wait to be dealt with!" The Supervision Department leader turned hostile and left.

"Old Han, Old Han, wait a moment...!" Yang Decheng chased after him, but the latter ignored him, went downstairs, got into his car, and left the mining area.

Yang Decheng, drenched like a drowned rat, gnashed his teeth and returned to the building. He lowered his head, pulled out his cell phone, and saw that Su Tiannan had called him three times, all within the past dozen minutes, approximately after Li Yuan finished his phone call.

Yang Decheng looked at the caller ID, gritted his teeth, and cursed in a low voice, "Fucking idiots! You're filing reports for a few workers, are you?!"

Half an hour later, Baolong Mining Company urgently convened a meeting. Before the investigation team arrived, they preemptively reported the accurate data of the deceased workers and technicians.

At the same time, the public relations department and the municipal communication department of Baolong Group all entered an overtime state, trying every possible means to reduce the impact of the incident.

...

At ten thirty in the morning, Yu Mingyuan and his group arrived at the Tongji Association headquarters.

The group got out of the car in the rain. Kong Zhenghui asked Su Tiannan, "Did Yang Decheng answer the phone?"

"No," Su Tiannan shook his head, "He probably knows about the data and is angry."

Kong Zhenghui frowned and replied, "He can be angry, but we can't collude with Baolong Group to deceive Mayor Li. If we do that, we'd be favoring outsiders over our own."

"That's right," Su Tiannan nodded.

The two walked and talked, entering the Tongji Association office building.

At this moment, the small lobby of the Tongji Association office building was already packed with people. They were all family members of the deceased workers who had rushed over in the rain after receiving the notification.

They were all panicked, constantly pressing the Tongji Association staff, asking about the situation of the deceased.

The temporary notification of the workers' families was proposed by Su Tiannan. He felt that since something had already happened, it couldn't be concealed. Otherwise, the families of the deceased would definitely make trouble if they got wind of it in advance. Moreover, from a responsible standpoint, the workers' families had the right to know.

"Everyone, please be quiet, the leaders are here!" A staff member in the building shouted.

The lobby instantly quieted down, and the family members of the deceased all looked to the back.

Yu Mingyuan strode forward, waving his hand and shouting, "Everyone, listen to me for a moment! First of all, the Dragon City rescue team, the Baolong Mining rescue team, the fire department, and some special police units have all rushed to the mining area to clear the collapsed area and rescue our workers with all their might. Secondly, although the current situation is not good, I have already met with the people from Baolong Group. If an irreversible accident occurs, they will do their best to provide generous compensation..."

"What do you mean by irreversible accident? Are people gone?!"

"I said long ago that it's unreliable for these kids to start an association... My man had to follow them, and now something's happened, right? He's only been gone for a few days, and he's buried under the mine."

"Can people be rescued?"

"Is there any news from the mine?!"

"...!"

The family members inside instantly exploded when they saw Yu Mingyuan and the others arrive. Some complained, some questioned, and some lost their minds and wanted to fight.

The lobby was in chaos. Yu Mingyuan was pushed to the corner. Many family members who were worried about their loved ones grabbed his neck and shouted.

"Everyone, please be quiet, let me finish!" Yu Mingyuan shouted, straining his neck.

"Let me tell you, Yu Mingyuan! You took the people away, you must take responsibility, you must pay with your lives!"

"Bang!"

The shouts rose and fell. Yu Mingyuan was pulled by the crowd and almost fell. Su Tiannan went up to pull a few times, but was hit in the head by an ashtray that flew from somewhere.

The situation in the lobby was about to get out of control.

"Bang!"

Su Tianbei picked up a bench and smashed it directly against the wall, causing a deafening sound.

Everyone turned their heads. Su Tianbei climbed onto the reception desk on the first floor, picked up the loudspeaker below, and shouted, "Who wants this to happen? Us, or the mining company?!?!! You come to the association eight hundred times a day when you don't have work, asking us to find work for you. Now that something's happened, you say we took the people away and we have to pay with our lives! I want to ask, are we few enough to pay for a few lives?"

The room slowly quieted down.

Su Tianbei glared and continued to shout, "At least half of the people here watched me grow up, and they all experienced the preparation and establishment of the association. I ask you, is it easy for us young people to run this association? We put in money, people, and connections... What benefits have we gotten? Who doesn't know that the subsidies you receive are all Kong Family, Bai Family, and President Yu himself taking out their own savings?! Something happened, and it's something no one wants to see, but can fighting, cursing, and infighting solve the problem?"

"I only have one son, how can I live if he's gone?!" A woman murmured in a low voice.

As soon as the words fell, a sorrowful mood instantly spread throughout the room. Those excited and angry family members no longer had the mood to make trouble. They thought of their loved ones being trapped in the mine, and their hearts were cut like knives...

Everyone knew in their hearts that this matter had nothing to do with the association's management. It was useless to vent their anger on them.

Su Tianbei stood on the desk, looking at the familiar faces in the room, and his heart was also extremely heavy.

More than fifty miners meant more than fifty families.

These people were all neighbors in the Zha Nan District, and Su Tianbei also felt sorry for them.

...

In District One, Su Tianyu waited until after twelve o'clock, but the airline still couldn't determine when flights would resume.

"I can't wait any longer. Xiao Hui, get a car, we're driving back." Su Tianyu stood up and shouted.

Driving back was the most time-consuming, but the typhoon and rainstorm were sweeping across multiple regions, and ships and planes might be delayed. It was hard to say when they would resume, so Su Tianyu could only use the stupidest method to rush back first.

Inside the mining company.

Yang Decheng had just finished a meeting with the general group and ran into the head of the mining area project department as soon as he went out.

"President Yang, there's a problem with the worker's insurance..." the person in charge said in a low voice.

"What's the problem?" Yang Decheng asked.

"The insurance materials were submitted on Friday afternoon, and there was no time for the insurance company to review and enter them. Then, on Saturday, they weren't working. In addition, we told the insurance company that the workers would only be employed next week, so the insurance effective date is not within these two days..." The person in charge said, his voice trembling and his face pale.

After hearing this, Yang Decheng's mind buzzed.