Chapter 46: Searching the Mining Area

As he stepped out of the State-Owned Hotel, Li Yi was in high spirits!

It wasn’t just because he’d made a few hundred yuan today; more importantly, thanks to his intervention, those dozen or so children had finally been rescued by the police—which was tantamount to saving a dozen families.

Furthermore, the human traffickers’ hideout would be raided, and those demons roaming the earth would finally receive their just punishment—indirectly saving countless other families from being victimized.

Human nature is imbued with a strong altruistic instinct; our emotions inherently carry an impulse to do good.

This is what Mencius once said: “Human nature is good, just as water flows downward,” meaning that people tend toward goodness as naturally as water flows downward.

And when anyone does something beneficial for others or society, they feel a sense of joy—this is in line with human nature.

Li Yi was no exception. After secretly doing a good deed, he felt incredibly happy, and it seemed as though he was walking with a cool aura around him.

Little did Li Yi know, however, that as he hummed a tune on his way out of the state-run restaurant, Xu Hong was watching him from a shadowy corner nearby.

It had been several days since he’d submitted his tip-off letter, yet there had been no response from the police. That good-for-nothing Li Yi was still going about his business as usual.

Xu Hong felt as if a cat were clawing at his heart, so he decided to head back into town to see what was going on!

He’d arrived in the county town early that morning to wait for Li Yi, and sure enough, before long he saw him pulling up to the state-run restaurant in his bright red mule-drawn cart. Then Xu Hong witnessed a scene that filled him with delight.

As soon as Li Yi arrived, he was led inside by several public security officers who had been waiting at the restaurant entrance. This made Xu Hong feel as good as eating an ice pop on a hot June day—dxmbang—absolutely wonderful!

However, his good mood didn’t last long. In less than ten minutes, the police left without taking Li Yi with them.

Shortly after the officers left, that guy acted as if nothing had happened, driving his mule cart on to the supply and marketing cooperative, and then setting up his stall!

Seeing this, Xu Hong nearly exploded right on the spot!

Furious, he decided to head straight back to the police station to file another report. This time, he was determined to make sure the police arrested the man!

Unaware that he was already being watched, Li Yi went about his usual routine of buying supplies and setting up his stall at the sugar factory gate!

What he didn’t know was that today was destined to be anything but ordinary!

…….

Dahongshan Commune, Mining District!

Wang Anguo suddenly arrived here with a dozen or so experienced members of the Criminal Investigation Team, plus more than twenty Armed Police officers.

They first went to the local commune, where they instructed the commune director to assemble all the local militia, who would then accompany them on the operation.

After all, they were about to search a mining area spanning over 100 square kilometers, home to more than 10 mining enterprises of varying sizes—there was no way their own numbers alone would be sufficient.

Soon, more than 200 militia members from Dahongshan Commune were assembled, and under Wang Anguo’s leadership, they headed straight for the various mining sites.

Wang Anguo did not immediately search the Hongxing Iron Mine, the largest operation in Dahongshan Commune. After all, the Hongxing Iron Mine was the largest iron mine in all of Qingshan County, employing four to five hundred workers alone. It would be extremely difficult for the suspects to hide a dozen or so children under the noses of so many people.

Therefore, Wang Anguo focused the search on smaller mines that were not very profitable or had even been abandoned.

However, after a whole morning had passed, they had searched two iron mines and four quarries with no results. Everyone, including Li Gang, was deeply discouraged.

Yet Wang Anguo remained confident in his judgment. He turned to Chief Zhou of the Dahongshan Police Station, who was assisting with the investigation, and asked, “Old Zhou, how many mines have we not searched yet?”

“Just two left,” replied Chief Zhou. “One is the Hongxing Iron Mine, and the other is a coal mine called Kang’an!”

“I know about the Hongxing Iron Mine, but what’s the story with that Kang’an Coal Mine? Do you know anything about it?” Wang Anguo asked again.

“Not very well. That coal mine used to be a collective enterprise owned by Kang’an Village, but due to mismanagement in recent years, it’s been on the verge of collapse.”

“Is anyone at the mine?”

Chief Zhou replied immediately, “Yes. We sent people there to investigate a couple of days ago and found seven or eight workers there, but we didn’t notice anything unusual!”

Wang Anguo said immediately, “Let’s go take a look at that Kang’an Coal Mine!”

The group then headed straight for the nearby coal mine!

When Wang Anguo and the others arrived, the workers happened to be having lunch.

While Li Gang was explaining the situation to the site supervisor, Wang Anguo quickly counted the workers present and found there were only seven of them—and they all seemed a bit off.

First, the way they looked at them was off—their eyes betrayed not only fear but also intense wariness, which was clearly not the normal reaction one would expect from ordinary people seeing them.

Second, although their clothes were plain, they were still relatively clean.

In most places, this wouldn’t be noteworthy, but in a coal mine, it was suspicious.

Anyone who has been to a coal mine knows that coal mining creates a cloud of smoke and dust; workers emerging from the mine shaft simply couldn’t be this clean.

Immediately, Wang Anguo became on high alert.

After Li Gang had explained the situation to the person in charge there, Wang Anguo walked up to the mine manager, whose surname was An, and asked, “Manager An, how many people are currently at your mine?”

“Eight in total!”

“Why so few? Normally, a coal mine employs anywhere from a few dozen to several thousand people. Is this small crew enough for you?” Wang Anguo asked, frowning.

“I won’t hide the truth from you, Comrade Public Security Officer. We have no choice. The coal here is of poor quality, and the reserves aren’t large, so the coal we mine can only be sold to the local villagers. The profits are simply too low!”

Mine Manager An continued, “Because profits are so low, we can’t afford much equipment. That means every time we go down the shaft, everyone is on edge. As a result, not many people from the village are willing to work here!”

“So, these are all people from your village?”

“They’re… all from here!”

“Alright then. We’re just conducting a routine search. We’re inspecting not only your mine but all the mines in the vicinity. We ask for your cooperation!” said Wang Anguo.

“Alright, alright, we’ll fully cooperate!” Mine Manager An said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Immediately, Wang Anguo led his team in searching the small coal mine.

However, after searching the entire place, they found nothing.

Just then, a hole half-buried in rocks and dirt caught Wang Anguo’s attention!