Chapter 68 of 100

Chapter 68: Black Gold and the Black Curtain

10 min read2,396 words

Fang Tianci smiled bitterly and said, "Officer Du, please spare me. The owner of the Black Gold Coal Mine is Li Wuwei, everyone knows that. As for who is protecting him... I really can't say. Please, spare me. If not, hand me over to the disciplinary committee, at least my fate will be a bit better."

The consequences of telling the truth were more serious for the fat Fang than losing his position or going to jail! It seemed that the waters in Wuxi County were indeed deep. Du Long snorted and said, "Alright, it seems this issue involves too many people. Let's put this aside for now. When you return to Wuxi County, give me a heads-up. See you, Yang, bye."

Du Long put away his phone and said to Ma Guangming, "It seems the situation is very complicated. He dare not reveal any information at all."

Ma Guangming nodded and said, "Of course, it looks like the entire Wuxi County Party Committee and government are involved."

Du Long nodded and suddenly said, "I think it might be even more than that. It's possible that people at the Yuming City or even the provincial level are involved. Otherwise, that guy wouldn't be so nervous."

Ma Guangming's face changed abruptly. He had thought about this possibility, but he wasn't as certain as Du Long. The municipal committee was one thing, but if it involved the provincial level, it was beyond his control. Ma Guangming touched the phone in his pocket but remembered the instructions from Secretary Wang of the municipal committee: it was best not to alarm the provincial committee for now. It would be better to handle the matter properly and report to the provincial committee once there were results. Whether to make the call became another dilemma for Ma Guangming.

Along the way, more than ten vehicles joined the convoy, including those from the disciplinary committee and the law enforcement department, as well as several Dongfeng trucks covered with tarps, hiding unknown contents. The lead police cars were now two BMWs, speeding towards Wuxi County with sirens blaring.

"Wuxi County has thirty-six coal mines, mostly small ones. The three largest coal production groups are Tieling Coal Mine, Black Gold Company, and Hongfa Group. In recent years, the domestic coal price has soared, making the coal industry the largest in Wuxi County. However, the county's management has not kept up, leading to disorderly competition among the coal mines, causing chaos in the coal industry. Last year, eight of the thirty-six coal mines changed hands. Black Gold Company and Hongfa Group were not among the top three, but after merging several coal mines, their production increased, especially Black Gold Company, which claimed it would become the largest coal producer in Wuxi County by the end of the year. To compete for coal resources, various conflicts often erupted in the coal-producing areas of Wuxi County."

Lu Shunyu, seeing that Du Long was more important to Mayor Ma than himself, tried to curry favor by introducing the situation in Wuxi County and passing some internal reference materials to Du Long.

Du Long discovered that just half a month ago, the Tieling Coal Mine had been ordered to stop illegal activities by the land department and the Wuxi County Coal Bureau. This was because the Black Gold Coal Mine had accused the Tieling Coal Mine of overstepping its boundaries. After an investigation, the land department found that the Tieling Coal Mine had overstepped by 500 meters and issued a notice. However, the Tieling Coal Mine continued to mine, leading to the "Black Gold Invasion" on Friday, which escalated into violence.

Du Long quickly read through the materials and said, "The Tieling Coal Mine is appealing, claiming they did not overstep. They believe the land department's investigation was fabricated. The matter has not been thoroughly investigated, yet the Black Gold Coal Mine organized a violent attack on the Tieling Coal Mine, which is a serious violation of the law. Why have the relevant people not been held legally accountable? Perhaps seeing this, the Tieling Coal Mine decided to take revenge on their own. The inaction of the relevant departments indirectly led to the escalation of violence. I believe the Wuxi County Land Bureau, Coal Bureau, Public Security Bureau, and Safety Supervision Bureau are all seriously negligent. We can start small and follow the trail to uncover bigger fish."

"But..." Du Long looked up at Ma Guangming and said, "Uncle Ma, with such a big issue, the higher-ups can't be unaware. I think it's best to report it as soon as possible."

Ma Guangming shook his head slightly and said, "No, let's wait until we have a clearer picture."

Ma Guangming did not explain to Du Long. He had his own concerns. There were no signs yet that the matter involved the provincial committee. As the leader of the Wuxi County coal mine violence incident handling team, if he reported to the provincial leaders too early, would it give them the impression that he was incompetent?

Subordinates always have to guess what their leaders are thinking. Ma Guangming was still undecided, so he decided to follow the advice of Secretary Wang of the municipal committee and suppress the matter for now.

Seeing that Ma Guangming had made up his mind, Du Long did not bring it up again. He continued to study the materials in his hands. After some time, the road suddenly became bumpy. Du Long looked out the window and saw that the originally smooth and clean road was now full of potholes, with dust flying everywhere, making everything look hazy.

Driver Wang Zhiqiang turned off the air circulation and said, "We've entered Wuxi County. These roads have been damaged by overloaded coal trucks."

Soon, Du Long saw the overloaded coal trucks. A Dongfeng truck with a rated load of fifteen tons had two additional layers added to the truck bed, and the coal was piled high and sharp. Even a slight jolt caused coal to roll onto the road, where it was crushed into powder by the following vehicles, damaging the road and causing dust to fly.

"Does this truck carry more than thirty tons?" Du Long exclaimed.

Wang Zhiqiang glanced at it and said, "The coal is wet, so it's at least fifty tons, severely overloaded."

Du Long exclaimed, "Overloaded by more than three times, and these trucks are still running so well. This shows that our domestic car quality is really good."

Wang Zhiqiang chuckled and said, "These trucks are like your motorcycle, all modified from top to bottom. Otherwise, they would have been crushed long ago."

Du Long laughed and said, "Brother Wang, you could tell my motorcycle was modified just by a quick glance. What a sharp eye!"

Wang Zhiqiang looked at Du Long in the rearview mirror and said, "I don't have that good of an eye. I've seen your motorcycle before, so I recognized it at a glance."

"Oh?" Du Long laughed, "Where did you see my motorcycle, Brother Wang? I only got it from the vehicle management office yesterday. I heard it had been impounded for a month with no one claiming it, so I took it."

Wang Zhiqiang laughed and said, "You should be careful. I don't know much, but I heard that the original owner of this motorcycle has some background. I wonder which traffic police dared to impound this motorcycle."

Du Long smiled bitterly and said, "No way! I got it through proper channels."

Wang Zhiqiang said, "I was just saying, don't worry about it."

With the boss in the back, Wang Zhiqiang didn't dare to say more. He chatted a few more words with Du Long and then focused on driving. Secretary Lu was also a bit nervous, and the car fell silent again.

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