A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

Gu Jianguo gripped the wet booklet tightly with his fingers, his knuckles turning white.

He turned to a page; the words on it were blurred by water bubbles, but the circles drawn in red pen and the strings of numbers behind them burned his heart with anxiety.

What is this?

He couldn't understand it, but he could sense that this book contained a huge secret, and it was also very dangerous!

Su Xiulan looked at her husband's deathly pale face, her legs trembling.

"Honey, this...this thing, let's throw it away right away! Let's pretend we never saw it!"

"Throw them away?" Gu Jianguo suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "Hundreds of lives were almost lost, and you just threw them away like that?"

He wasn't a hero; he was just a farmer who longed for a wife, children, and a warm bed.

But every number in this notebook could correspond to a dead miner or a broken family!

He can't handle this, but someone else can!

Gu Jianguo suddenly stood up, carefully tucked the notebook into his coat, and wrapped it up.

"Keep an eye on the house, lock the door, and don't open it for anyone!"

After saying that, he opened the door, plunged into the rain, and headed straight for the village committee where Gao Yuan and the others were staying.

……

In the village committee office, the light from the kerosene lamp flickered dimly.

Gao Yuan and Engineer Liu were looking at the mine structure diagram, their brows furrowed in worry.

Gu Jianguo rushed in, soaking wet, not even bothering to wipe the rain off his face. He pulled out a small notebook from his pocket and slammed it on the table.

"Captain Gao, Engineer Liu, look at this!"

Gao Yuan and Engineer Liu were both taken aback.

Gao Yuan took the notebook and carefully opened it.

Engineer Liu also came over and adjusted his glasses.

At first, the two were merely solemn. But the further they turned the pages, the more rapid their breathing became.

Finally, Liu's hands started to tremble. He pointed to a record in the ledger and quickly found the corresponding position on his drawings. When he compared the two, his face turned pale.

"So that's how it is... So that's how it is!"

Engineer Liu's voice trembled. He slammed his fist on the table, shaking with rage. "I knew the data didn't match! Turns out they replaced the No. 3 grade support steel bars with the cheapest scrap iron!"

He then pointed to another account: "And here! They lowered the grade of waterproof cement too! The money they saved all went into their own pockets!"

Every alarming entry in the ledger precisely matched the problematic points that Gu Da'an had drawn with charcoal!

Now it all makes sense! This wasn't a natural disaster; it was a man-made catastrophe!

"Bastards!" Gao Yuan slammed his fist on the table, causing the kerosene lamp to flicker and nearly go out. "These beasts! They're treating human life like dirt!"

He had served in the army for so many years, been on the battlefield, and seen life and death, but he had never seen such a heartless thing!

For money, they actually sacrificed the lives of hundreds of workers!

"Old Liu, can this notebook be used as evidence?" Gao Yuan's voice was filled with suppressed anger.

"Yes! Absolutely!" Engineer Liu excitedly hugged the ledger to his chest. "This is the most direct evidence! With it, we can wipe out these parasites in one fell swoop!"

Just then, the office door was suddenly pushed open, and a soldier rushed in, looking flustered.

"Captain Gao! Something's happened at the mine!"

Meanwhile, in the small inn in town.

Mine manager Zhang Fugui and his brother-in-law, Qian Laosan, who was also a contractor at the mine, were drinking from a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor).

"Brother-in-law, that old guy surnamed Liu from the province spent the whole day at the mine today, looking at every nook and cranny! Something about him seems off." Qian Laosan took a swig of wine.

Zhang Fugui scratched his head in frustration: "That old man doesn't listen to anyone. I gave him two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes, and he didn't even glance at them."

"Could he have found out something?" Qian Laosan wondered to himself.

"What can they find out!" Zhang Fugui snorted. "The blueprints are fine, and it's buried on site. What can he use to investigate? There's no evidence."

Despite saying that, Zhang Fugui still felt uneasy.

Qian Laosan's eyes darted around.

He leaned close to Zhang Fugui's ear and said, "Brother-in-law, let's go all the way. Since it's already collapsed once, why not let it collapse again?"

"Collapse it completely! Seal off all the tunnels! Even if a god came, he wouldn't be able to find any evidence inside!"

Zhang Fugui's pupils suddenly contracted.

"But the mine is currently guarded; how can we make a move?"

"Hehe." Qian Laosan chuckled sinisterly. "We need to find someone from our own side for this. Didn't that coward Gu Jianping just lose his son? Oh no, I mean, he almost lost his son. He's probably terrified right now, the best person to control!"

"We'll go find him and tell him to go to the mine and say that it's haunted and the spirits of the dead miners are restless! That'll scare away the families and guards!"

"Once the mine is empty, we'll go in and put the explosives we've prepared beforehand..." Qian Laosan made a beheading gesture.

"Okay! Let's do it this way!" Zhang Fugui slapped his thigh, and the two immediately set off.

……

Late at night, at Gu Jianping's home.

He had just finished feeding his son his medicine and was squatting in the yard, munching on a cold cornbread.

The courtyard gate was kicked open with two loud bangs.

Qian Laosan swaggered in with two thugs.

"Gu Jianping, our mine manager needs to speak with you about something." Qian Laosan looked at him with a forced smile.

Gu Jianping's heart skipped a beat, and he stood up, dropping the cornbread he was holding to the ground.

"Mr. Qian... Mr. Qian, what's the matter so late?"

Without wasting any words, Qian Laosan explained their plan in detail, and finally took out a wad of money from his pocket and slapped it on the stone table.

"Once it's done, all of this is yours. But if you dare try anything funny..."

Qian Laosan leaned close to his ear and said in a sinister tone, "Your son is lucky to have survived this time. But a person's fortune is limited. What if he trips over a stone on the road one day, or chokes on his water... then who knows?"

Gu Jianping's body was trembling uncontrollably.

His mind was buzzing, with his son's face on one side and Qian Laosan's threat on the other.

He was scared. He was really scared.

But just as he was about to nod, another image suddenly flashed through his mind.

The little niece who hugged his leg and called him "Uncle".

It was her, Nuannuan, who saved her son's life!

He had just kowtowed in front of the whole village, vowing to repay this kindness. Was he really going to turn around and harm their family just to save his own life?

No! He can't! If he did that, he wouldn't deserve to be called a human being!

Gu Jianping gritted his teeth and made up his mind.

He nodded, feigning fear, and stammered his agreement.

After Qian Laosan and his group left triumphantly, Gu Jianping braved the wind and rain, trudging along on his bicycle towards Gu Jianguo's country that very night!

……

Gao Yuan had just finished assigning tasks and decided to immediately lead his men to the town to subdue Zhang Fugui and Qian Laosan.

He came specifically to tell Gu Jianguo and the others not to go to the town or the mining area for the next two days, and that safety should be the top priority.

The two sides are not far apart, but there is no direct bus.

The bus from town to the mine usually runs once a day.

There has been a major accident recently, and there are more vehicles on the road.

Just then, the courtyard gate was smashed loudly.

"Third brother! Third brother, open the door! Something terrible has happened!"

It was Gu Jianping's voice, trembling with sobs.

Gu Jianguo opened the door, and Gu Jianping stumbled in, knelt on the ground, and told him all about Qian Laosan's plan and threats.

Gao Yuan's face instantly darkened.

"Well, if we're going to do something, we might as well go all the way!" he spat out through gritted teeth. "I'll see if their explosives are tougher, or if the gun in my hand is tougher!"

He turned around and was about to lead the team off.

"Uncle Gao!"

A child's voice called out to him.

Nuan Nuan woke up at some point and was standing at the door of the main room, rubbing her eyes as she looked at him.

She took short strides, ran up to Gao Yuan, and tugged at his trouser leg.

Then, she tiptoed, took out a small package wrapped in oil paper from her pocket, and stuffed it into Gao Yuan's large hand.

"Uncle Gao, have the little animals sprinkle this in the water that bad people eat in."

Nuannuan tilted her little face up and said in a serious, low voice.

"They'll get diarrhea and won't be able to run."

Gao Yuan paused for a moment, then subconsciously opened the small oil paper package.

By the light of the kerosene lamp, he saw that it contained yellowish-brown powder, and a peculiar smell entered his nose.