hotmtlnovel Chapter 641 Zhang Chuan Spreads the News
Chapter 641 Zhang Chuan Spreads the News
Jiang Hu was secretly hoping Zhao Ci would leave quickly. He had felt extremely uncomfortable under Zhao Ci's seemingly calm yet penetrating gaze; a fine layer of sweat had broken out on the back of his neck, and the cigarette he was holding was half-soaked. He was afraid that if he said a few more words, his shady dealings—hiding substandard support materials, falsifying mine safety records, and detaining the coal mine bureau inspector—would leak out through the cracks in his mouth.
"Of course, your health is the most important thing!" Jiang Hu quickly nodded in response, his warm smile brighter than his miner's lamp. "Professor Zhao, you must get some rest. The mine is very humid, and the tunnels are like iceboxes. Don't let your cold get worse, or it will delay your research—your research is related to the future safety of our mine."
As he spoke, he abruptly stood up, the hem of his canvas overalls brushing against the table, knocking over half an empty enamel mug. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he took a half-step forward and added, "If you need any medicine, just tell me! I recently had the infirmary stock up on some commonly used medications—aspirin, aminopyrine, cough syrup—all from the county hospital pharmacy, legitimate sources, and their effectiveness is absolutely reliable. Please feel free to use them; don't be shy. We're all in the same boat now, it's only right that we look out for each other."
These words sound extremely polite, but every word is actually a trap—your food, drink, and even medicine for minor ailments at this mine all have to go through me, Jiang Hu. If you're smart, just focus on your research and stop staring at things you shouldn't be looking at. Otherwise, if you ever need something and I happen to not have it, you'll have no recourse.
Zhao Ci knew exactly what was going on. She twirled the creases in her clothes with her fingertips, but her face remained calm. She simply nodded and turned to Zhang Chuan beside her, saying, "Then we'll head back first and get some rest. We still need to keep an eye on the equipment debugging tomorrow, so we can't afford to be late."
Zhang Chuan grunted in agreement and followed Zhao Ci outside. As he passed Jiang Hu, he didn't even lift his eyelids, only giving the other man a cold glance. His gaze was like a chisel just pulled from an ice cellar, carrying a chill that made Jiang Hu's heart skip a beat, and he subconsciously shrank his neck.
As soon as the two figures disappeared at the entrance of the work shed, Jiang Hu's smile vanished instantly, his lips curled into an inverted crescent moon, and his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a mosquito. He felt something was off—the way Zhao Ci had pressed his chest while coughing earlier made him look genuinely ill, but the clarity in his eyes didn't seem like that of someone delirious from a high fever; it was more like he was deliberately finding an excuse to escape.
"Have those two made any moves lately?" Jiang Hu turned to look at his trusted subordinate who had been standing by for five years. The subordinate had a scar on his face from when he shielded him from falling rocks years ago. "Have they sneaked out? Especially at night, have they climbed over the mine's wall?"
The younger brother immediately shook his head, his neck stiffening, his tone so certain it sounded like he was swearing: "Brother Tiger, you can rest assured! Old Li, the gatekeeper, is our third uncle's brother-in-law. Even a needle stuck in the gate has to be seen by him. Without your orders, let alone going out, if you even get within three feet of the gate, he'll stop you and interrogate you for half the night. These past two days, I've personally led two brothers to take turns keeping watch. Apart from going to the workshop to check the equipment, they've stayed in the dormitory. They haven't even opened the windows more than a few times, and they haven't stepped outside the area you've marked out."
Jiang Hu trusted his underling's efficiency. The guy was quick and efficient, and his mouth was as tight-lipped as the coal seam at the bottom of a mine. He had never let him down in all these years. He gave a soft "hmm," his fingers tapping unconsciously on the scratched wooden table. The tapping sound echoed in the empty shed, but the doubts in his heart hadn't completely dissipated. It felt like having a lump of unburnt coal stuck in his throat, making him feel suffocated.
What worried him even more was something else—the coal mine inspectors he had detained in the abandoned warehouse. Three days ago, they came to inspect with their equipment, but he used the excuse of a "mine tunnel collapse, temporarily impassable" to detain them, and they're still locked up. Those people hold evidence of his illegal mining. If Zhao Ci and Zhang Chuan really made connections outside and leaked the information, and those people took the opportunity to cause some trouble in the warehouse, his little scheme would truly be exposed to the light of day, like a coal seam that had been blasted open.
At that point, let alone making a fortune from this mine, he might even end up spending his life in jail, which is not the outcome he wants.
Jiang Hu took a deep drag on his cigarette, stubbing it out on the ground with a fierce force, the sparks burning his fingers without him even noticing: "Keep a close eye on them! Especially in the latter half of the night, send two more men to patrol around their dormitory, one every three steps and one every five! Keep an eye on the windowsills and the back walls, and report to me immediately any movement—even if it's just a falling leaf!"
"Yes!" the younger brother responded, turned and walked out, his footsteps echoing rapidly in the alley, as if he were chasing something. Jiang Hu stood there, looking out at the dark mine, feeling as if countless eyes were hidden in that darkness, staring intently at him, sending chills down his spine.
The younger brother nodded, turned and left with light steps, his canvas shoes making a soft "tap-tap" sound on the bluestone slabs, and soon disappeared into the twilight at the end of the alley.
On the other side, Zhao Ci put down the geological map in his hand, which was covered with dense lines and neatly labeled data. He looked up at Zhang Chuan standing at the door and saw that the other man's expression was strange, with a hint of doubt in his eyes: "Zhang Chuan, you specifically called me back from the mine site. Is there some important discovery?"
Zhang Chuan walked to the table, placed his hands on it, and looked more serious than usual. He even lowered his voice: "Our mission is almost over. I called you back because I was afraid that Jiang Hu's group would notice something was wrong. Once they become suspicious, they might catch us like a turtle in a jar, and we'll be in a very passive position."
Zhao Ci nodded knowingly, lightly tapping the location of the ore vein marked on the map with his fingertip, and continued to ask, "What exactly did you find when you were exploring deep in the mine? Judging from your expression, you must have made quite a discovery."
Zhang Chuan relaxed slightly, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes. With a slightly boastful tone, he recounted how he had sneaked into the abandoned mine at night—the rusty iron plate at the entrance showed obvious signs of recent prying, and fresh dirt still clung to its edges; upon closer listening, he could faintly hear the buzzing of machinery inside, like a large generator at work; more importantly, while he was hiding in the shadows, he happened to witness several guards changing shifts, one of whom, with a cigarette in his mouth, said, "This batch of goods needs to be transported as soon as possible, the higher-ups are pressing us hard," while another added, "Don't worry, the passage is all cleared, it can be loaded onto the ship tonight."