Qi Tongwei at the start: Not relying on Liang Lu, but winning by a single move against Heaven.

As Li Dayou knocked, the warm yellow light inside the room came on, and the door was opened.

Li Guofu pulled Li Dayou into the house and asked in a deep voice.

"What are you doing here...? Did someone follow you?"

He was wearing a coat and pajama bottoms, clearly having just been woken up.

Li Dayou didn't respond. He plopped down on the sofa, grabbed the thermos on the coffee table, and chugged it down.

Li Guofu frowned slightly as he looked at Li Dayou's disheveled appearance and silently lit a cigarette.

After finishing his drink, Li Dayou put down the thermos and asked softly.

"Old Secretary, is there anything to eat? I'm starving, I haven't eaten all day..."

Li Guofu didn't say anything, but took a box of cookies from the cabinet and handed it to him.

Li Dayou didn't stand on ceremony and took the cookie box, then began to wolf it down.

He ate and talked at the same time, his voice muffled.

"Old Party Secretary... they're all after me... I'm really out of options... please think of something."

Li Guofu sighed and turned to walk into the inner room.

When he came out again, he had three stacks of red bills in his hand.

He placed the money on the coffee table, handed Li Dayou a cigarette, and said in a deep voice.

"None of you give me any peace of mind."

The matter has escalated too much and can't be contained.

You go from the border of Santai to Outer Mongolia to hide for a while.

"Come back when things have calmed down..."

Li Dayou lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and grinned, letting out a bitter laugh.

"Going to Outer Mongolia? Let's not even talk about how difficult it is to cross the border..."

Why would I go to Outer Mongolia when I'm completely unfamiliar with the place?

Besides, what about my family...?

Li Guofu was taken aback, not expecting Li Dayou to refuse.

He glanced at Li Dayou and said in a deep voice.

"What are you thinking? If you don't leave now, getting caught will make things even worse..."

Unauthorized construction that resulted in death is a criminal case and will be punished with imprisonment.

Li Dayou grinned, looked at Li Guofu, and said softly.

"Old Party Secretary... this really isn't my fault. It was Zhang Wei's idea to start construction without permission..."

I'm worried that stopping production will affect the village's income... You can't just abandon me..."

Li Guofu was stunned. He hadn't expected that the unauthorized construction in Dayou Township was actually instigated by Zhang Wei.

He was a seasoned veteran; after a moment's thought, he pieced together the whole story.

But now that things had come to this, he had no other choice but to continue trying to appease Li Dayou.

"Dayou, we're all on the same side. Now is not the time to settle scores..."

Here's what you should do: go out and hide for a while. Don't worry about things at home; I'll have Zhang Wei make the arrangements.

Neither your wife, parents, nor children will suffer any injustice...

Li Dayou snorted coldly, looked at Li Guofu, and said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Old Party Secretary, Zhang Wei took care of my wife? Do you still remember Li Haili's matter...?"

"If I let him take care of my wife, I'm afraid he'd be able to take care of her right up to the bed..."

He paused slightly, then spoke again with a wry smile, his voice soft yet firm.

"You still remember what happened back then, right? More than a dozen lives... I was the one who contributed the most..."

It's been almost ten years, everyone else has mentioned it, and I'm still here watching over your stall...

You can't abandon me. If I get caught, the sky will truly fall...

Li Guofu was taken aback, his face instantly darkened, and his voice rose several decibels.

"Bullshit! What do you mean, 'watch the stall for me'..."

After saying that, he sighed, his voice softening as he continued to comfort Li Dayou.

"Alas, one wrong step leads to another... I shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess in the first place..."

Take the money and hide at Jin Hu's mine for a few days. I'll think of something else...

"Once we have the results, I'll send someone to the mine to find you."

His voice was soft, somewhat forlorn, and even a little tired.

He had been mending and patching things up for decades at Fuyuan, and even in retirement he couldn't find peace. He was truly exhausted.

Li Dayou grinned, stuffed the money on the coffee table into his pocket, and said with a smile.

"Old Secretary, don't worry, I have a place to hide, so I won't go to the mine. It's too conspicuous."

He paused slightly, then added with a cold laugh.

"I'll come see you again in a few days... or give you a call. I'll be going now..."

Having said that, he stopped arguing, opened the door to look outside, and then disappeared into the darkness.

Li Dayou left, and Li Guofu turned off the lights in the room, plunging the room into darkness instantly.

In the darkness, Li Guofu sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette, and remained silent for a long time.

The flickering light of the cigarette cast a shadow on Li Guofu's face, making it appear to light up and darken in turn.

After finishing his cigarette, Li Guofu sighed and dialed a number he hadn't used in a long time.

The phone rang for a long time before it was answered. A deep, somewhat impatient voice came through.

"Who could it be so late?"

The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a unique ferocity, like a sharpened knife.

Li Guofu didn't answer, but frowned and said in a deep voice.

"Li Dayou just left here... We can't keep him around, we need to get rid of him quickly..."

After he finished speaking, he paused slightly and then added another sentence.

"Jin Hu...you've made enough money over the years. Finish this job and leave..."

After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for Jin Hu's reaction.

......

The geological and mineral resources bureau's working group made a big fuss, with large numbers of personnel and equipment entering Huoshaoliang.

As exploration work progressed, Huoshaoliang finally came into the view of many coal mine owners.

The sudden suspension of mining permits in Fuyuan County has already raised suspicions among the business owners.

Now that the exploration work has expanded to such a large scale, they immediately realized that there is a large mine in Huoshaoliang.

Don't let their lack of formal education fool you; these coal mine owners are all shrewd and calculating.

Without anyone's prompting, they followed the tracks of the exploration vehicle all the way to Huoshaoliang.

But when they arrived at the foot of the burning Liangshan Mountain, they were dumbfounded.

At some point, two simple mobile prefabricated houses appeared at the foot of Huoshaoliang Mountain.

What's even stranger is that there's a sign hanging on the makeshift mobile house, which looks quite respectable.

Huoshaoliang Mining Area Temporary Public Security Bureau.

This extremely rudimentary temporary police station, however, proved to be their toughest obstacle.

Want to go up the mountain? No.

Want to make a hole and set off a cannon? No way.

Want to get closer to see the exploration site? Absolutely not.

When asked, the police station's response was very simple, just one sentence.

Huoshaoliang is now a restricted area, and unauthorized personnel are prohibited from entering.

If you can't even climb the mountain, how can you talk about exploration?

These coal mine owners had encountered this situation before, and they quickly devised a solution.

But something even more troublesome happened: Su Lie, the head of the branch office, was too difficult to deal with.

When we offered them money, they refused, threatening to take it to the disciplinary inspection department.

When I invite them to dinner, they refuse, preferring to stay in their makeshift shack and eat instant noodles.

Seeing that the soft approach wasn't working, several coal mine owners from other places couldn't hold out any longer.

If you have a mountain of gold right in front of you but can't get your hands on it, who wouldn't be envious?

One night, several coal mine owners from Xishan discussed the matter and decided to go up the mountain in the dark.

But as soon as the group reached the foot of the mountain, they were ambushed by Su Lie's patrol team.

Fortunately, both groups were relatively restrained and did not use weapons; it was just a verbal conflict and some pushing and shoving.

During the scuffle, a coal mine owner, feeling humiliated, pointed at the group of patrol personnel and shouted.

"How much do you guys make a month? Huh, trying to act all high and mighty with me..."

Remember this, don't get separated from your group! If you do, I'll kill you all...

As soon as he finished speaking, Su Lie laughed.

He took a step forward, his nose almost touching the coal mine owner's face.

Su Lie reached out and patted his bulging waist, sneered, and said in a deep voice.

"I've seen plenty of ruthless bandits, but none of them are as arrogant as you... If you make your move now, I guarantee they won't budge."

"If you dare to make a move, I'll dare to make smoke... Do you want to try it...?"

It was after this incident that Su Lie's nickname, "Black-faced Su," became widely known throughout Huoshaoliang.