He changed Tiwat

"Please spare us, Sister Jinwu!"

"Yeah...and if you do something wrong, you get hit on the head..."

The miners complained bitterly.

"It's better than letting you die in the mine! More testing will reduce the chances of accidents while mining!" Jinwu glared.

Han Fulai quickly changed the subject for the miners, "Hey, Jinwu, do you know why that 'Second Brother' joined the treasure-hunting gang?"

Jinwu paused for a moment, then sighed.

"Sigh, the people of the 'Mingyun Class'... have no home. After the Layered Rock Abyss was sealed off, the miners from other places were laid off. At worst, they could go back to their hometowns to farm. But where can they go? They're just a bunch of people who only know how to mine. Without the mines, what kind of livelihood can they make?"

"I see..." Han Fulai nodded gently.

No wonder he saw some miners dressed among the treasure-hunting group members; they must have been members of the "Mingyun Class" who had left with "Second Brother." Mingyun Town was gone, and these people from Mingyun Town had lost their roots. They used to live and eat at the mine, but now that the mine was closed, they had nowhere to go, so they went astray.

The issue of laid-off miners in Liyue is indeed urgent and needs to be addressed. He could only hope that his trip would yield a satisfactory result… Han Fulai thought silently.

Meanwhile, Lao Tu tilted his head back and downed two ounces of rice wine, then started slurping it down again.

He rubbed his hands together and asked Han Fulai, "Deputy Minister Han, we're practically brothers in the same exploration team. Do you think... you could... give everyone a sneak peek at the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce's Layered Rock Abyss development plan?"

"Huh?" Han Fulai tilted his head, completely bewildered. "The Flying Cloud Merchant Guild is developing the Layered Rock Abyss? I've never heard of it..."

"Hey, I know you're from the government and it has to be kept secret, but... let's all make money together, right?" Old Tu said loudly.

The miners all nodded in agreement, it seemed that Old Tu had already told them about this.

Jinwu, however, didn't hold back in criticizing: "Old Tu, what kind of boasting have you been spouting this time?"

Old Tu patted his chest and said, "I'm not bragging! I overheard that old bastard Mu Ning discussing money transactions today! This Rock Abyss is probably going to be turned into a market!"

"The Flying Cloud Merchant Guild wants to transform the Layered Rock Abyss into a market...? No way." Han Fulai dismissed the idea without even thinking.

The Laminaria is so remote and inconvenient to access that it's simply not a suitable place to build a market—besides, what kind of market can compare to Liyue Harbor? Xingqiu and his friends would be out of their minds to come to the Laminaria and set up a market.

"I heard it all clearly!" Old Tu sniffed, looking very serious. "This noon, when you were down in the mine, I saw people with dice printed on the back of their clothes coming to see Steward Mu Ning. Wasn't that someone from 'Rock Tea House'? They were saying something..."

Old Tu frowned, thought for a moment, then clapped his hands. "Right, Mu Ning said at the time, 'Thanks to the care of the second young master of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce, I finally managed to scrape together this money. And thanks to everyone at the Yanshang Tea House for their concern, even making a special trip to this quiet place.'"

"Listen to this, isn't it... that Yan Shang Tea House and Steward Mu Ning have been in contact for a while and want to work with Fei Yun Chamber of Commerce to make this deserted place lively? Mu Ning has even prepared money to invest in this new market!"

“Hey, Deputy Minister Han, to be honest, we’ve saved up some money over the years,” Ahao chimed in. “I was thinking that if the Laminariat doesn’t open up soon, we’ll take the money and go to Liyue Harbor to do some small business. But if that Jade Capital really has plans for the Laminariat, then we’d like to invest and give it a try…”

“The Rock Tea House… I’m sorry, I’m not too familiar with that… But as far as I know, Yujingtai has no plans to build a market in the Layered Rock Abyss.” Han Fulai shook his head.

Old Tu, however, was not discouraged at all. "Even Vice Minister Han hasn't heard of it, so it might really be a very secret plan. We shouldn't miss it! How about we catch that old bastard Mu Ning tomorrow and ask him?"

The miners unanimously agreed.

Han Fulai was thinking about another problem at this moment—the fact that the Rock Tea House sent people over while he was investigating the Layered Rock Abyss was probably not simple.

Perhaps... Yelan will come too.

Chapter 151 Sister Jinwu, you don't want others to know, do you?

As far as Han Fulai knew, Steward Mu Ning had accumulated a lot of gambling debts at the Yanshang Tea House, so it wasn't surprising that the Yanshang Tea House sent people to collect the debts from him.

Although his father should have paid off his gambling debts, and he promised his father he would never gamble again, even a prodigal son like Mu Ning, who is known for his gambling addiction, can still occasionally have his urges kick in... It's safe to assume that he incurred another debt at the Rock Tea House when he returned to Liyue Harbor.

According to the conversation Lao Tu overheard, Mu Ning had borrowed a favor from Xing Qiu, the second young master of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce, to repay a debt. After all, Mu Ning was a well-known second-generation official, and his father was a high-ranking official in Shenglu Hall, so it was normal for him to have dealings with Xing Qiu. Lao Tu, not understanding the cause and effect, had concocted a plan for the "Feiyun Chamber of Commerce to build a market," which was clearly far from the truth.

But if the Iwagami Tea House... or rather, Ningguang's intelligence agency, were also involved in the matter of the Layered Rock Abyss, the situation might become even more complicated.

Moreover... Han Fulai still remembered his last meeting with Ye Lan at the Yanshang Tea House.

At that time, Ye Lan said to him, "Given Vice Minister Han's meddlesome nature, he'll most likely get involved in some trouble in the future. We might even meet again in the next dangerous place. When that happens, watch your back!"

Could it be a self-fulfilling prophecy...?

Thinking of this, Han Fulai couldn't help but smile bitterly.

Although he didn't know what Iwakami Tea House's purpose was in sending people to the Rocky Abyss, he still made the worst-case scenario plan first—for example, that they were there specifically to hinder him.

If the Rock Tea House is meant to obstruct the opening of the Rock Abyss, or to hinder the exploration of the Rock Abyss... then the laughing and joking miners sitting in front of him are the biggest flaw!

Perhaps the miners thought no one knew what they were doing, but that was just a thin veil that could be easily pierced. If someone investigated seriously, let alone Han Fulai or Ye Lan, even if Ye Lan sent his subordinates Wen Yuan and Shang Hua, they could probably expose the miners' dirty deeds in a few hours...

In fact, if Han Fulai wanted to investigate, everyone in the entire exploration team, except for the bard Talesin who knew nothing, would have to go to the General Affairs Department's detention room to await trial!

"Sigh..." Han Fulai sighed.

In short, in order to ensure the smooth progress of the exploration work in the Layered Rock Abyss and to have enough manpower for his "Liyue's Radiance" project, he can't afford to let anything happen to the miners at this stage... He might have to step in and clean up their mess.

Fortunately, as a civil servant, Han Fulai not only knew how to find problems, but also how to prevent people from finding them.

He stood up and walked towards Jinwu.

"Sister Jinwu, I want to go and check on Qi Ding's condition."

"Oh..." Jinwu understood and nodded. "I'll go with you."

The two entered the medical tent, shutting themselves out of the outside noise.

Qi Ding remained asleep, and it seemed he would need to sleep for some time before regaining consciousness. Of course, Han Fulai hadn't actually come to visit Qi Ding in the first place.

Han Fulai lowered his voice: "Jinwu, you don't want others to know, do you?"

"...What are you saying?" Jinwu was slightly taken aback, raised his hand to his chest, and unconsciously assumed a defensive stance.

"I mean, this exploration team colluded with a treasure-hunting gang, stealing from the mine and lining their own pockets by reselling raw ore and gunpowder," Han Fulai said calmly.

"..." Jinwu's expression changed, but he remained silent.

"What, Sister Jinwu, aren't you going to ask me what evidence I have?" Han Fulai asked with a smile.

Jinwu shook his head. "...Since you specifically pulled me to a secluded place to ask about this, you must already have evidence. And I also know that you don't intend to make it public, otherwise you should be going to inform the General Affairs Department by now."

Han Fulai clapped softly, "Smart."

"Since that's the case, things are easier to discuss. I can teach you how to falsify accounts, how to destroy evidence, and how to deal with possible investigations... In return, I'll exchange all of that for all the information you have about the Abyss of Layered Rock. Isn't that a good deal?"

"It's not a loss, in fact, the terms are too generous. But I don't understand why Vice Minister Han would help us." Jinwu's face still held a hint of wariness. "What benefit do you get from this?"

"What if I said that we have the same interests in this matter?" Han Fulai maintained his smile. "Don't misunderstand, I don't want money... To be honest, if I were to embezzle, I wouldn't care about the small amount of money the exploration team makes."

"Then... what do you mean by 'aligned interests'?" Jinwu's attitude had clearly changed.

“Like you, I also want my fellow miners to live a good life—a decent, respectable life. Believe it or not, I came to the Layered Rock Abyss to ensure that all laid-off workers have jobs and food to eat,” Han Fulai replied.

Jinwu stared blankly at Han Fulai. Han Fulai's expression and voice were sincere, but what he said seemed less sincere.

Jinwu had heard this kind of official jargon many times, but Yujingtai had never actually done it.

"I know you won't believe what I'm saying right now, but that's okay. I can pay a 'deposit' in advance so you can feel my sincerity." Han Fulai's expression was completely un clouded.

"Let's start with the flaws you all revealed in this 'Qi Ding Disappearance Incident'. Only by knowing where we went wrong can we know how to correct them."

As Han Fulai spoke, he raised his hand and pointed in a direction outside the tent.

"The initial flaw was revealed by you, Sister Jinwu. You lied about Qi Ding's disappearance from the very beginning. Qi Ding didn't go down into the mine from this entrance at all. The evidence is the control panel in this main mining area."

"What's wrong with the control panel?" Jinwu wondered.

"When we came down, there was a thick layer of dust on the control panel, and no signs of anyone having touched it. Isn't that obvious enough?" Han Fulai asked with a smile.

"Ah..." Jinwu finally understood what Han Fulai meant by "flaw".

"Sister Jinwu, you said that you discovered someone had used the elevator to go down into the mine without permission when you were inspecting the equipment this morning," Han Fulai recalled. "At the same time, you also pointed out that there was a residual smell of gunpowder on the elevator, and you therefore determined that Qi Ding used this elevator to carry gunpowder down into the mine—but it was all your doing."

“I’m not a miner, and my nose isn’t that sensitive. I can’t smell any gunpowder. Besides, you can argue that the smell of gunpowder has dissipated over time, and only old miners like you can smell it. So I can let you off the hook on this matter… but you should leave some signs of use on the elevator control panel in the mine.”

"The control panel shows no signs of use, which means that Qi Ding did not check the return route after going down into the mine. This is very abnormal. What if the control panel of the elevator in the mine is damaged due to years of disrepair? Wouldn't Qi Ding be able to go down but not come back up? The first thing he should have done after coming down was to test the elevator's function. If there was a problem with the control panel, he could go back before the elevator automatically returned to its original position."

"But Qi Ding didn't do that; he didn't prepare an escape route for himself at all. But we also know that whatever his reason for going down into the mine—whether it was to blast 'spirit stones,' resell gunpowder, or something else... he didn't come down into the mine to commit suicide. How could he not prepare an escape route for himself?"

"Unless, he took a different route. And that route is well-tested, it can go down and up, and it's much more reliable than the elevators we use to go down into the mine now, right?"

Chapter 152 The Civil Servants' Retribution

“…It was my carelessness.” Jinwu sighed.

“As the saying goes, ‘every profession has its own secrets,’ and I really don’t know much about mining. Generally speaking, I respect the opinions of professionals, so you think you can easily lead me by the nose—that’s not entirely wrong. But what you and the miners did next really underestimated me.”

Han Fulai smiled.

"We civil servants are very particular about procedures. It's not because we like red tape, but so that we can clearly distinguish responsibility when an accident occurs. We follow procedures, and there are clear rules and regulations about who does what and what responsibilities they bear. For example, there should be such a system for safety production in mines."

Power and responsibility are correlated; everything is done according to procedure. Whoever issues the order and signs the document is responsible for it. The main reason for establishing a procedure is to reassure grassroots civil servants who are actually handling the work: if you don't have the power, you don't have to bear the responsibility.

—Although if you really encounter an unreasonable boss, it's easy to just shift the blame to your subordinates...

"And the search and rescue operation for Qi Ding that you, Sister Jinwu, led was exactly against the procedures. Although I have never worked in a mine, I have worked in Yuehaiting. We always have a copy of the accident report from Huishan Hall in Yuehaiting... In addition, Zhiqiong also told me about your glorious deeds in the past during our search and rescue."

"Back when the mine was shut down, you led the Qianyan Army's search and rescue team to rescue many missing miners in the Layered Rock Abyss. When a miner goes missing, the Qianyan Army is notified and asked for help. As the safety officer, you assisted in the search and rescue work. That's the proper procedure, right? Besides, there are still Qianyan Army members stationed outside our mine."

"...So you started to have doubts about Qi Ding's disappearance back then? I always criticized Zhiqiong for not going down into the mine for too long... It seems that I've been in the mine for too long, like a frog in a well." Jinwu said self-deprecatingly.

"Hey, you can't say that. Everyone has their own expertise." Han Fulai waved his hand. "You're good at things down in the mine, and I'm good at things up in the mine. We can complement each other perfectly."

"The flaws in this matter are easy to resolve, as long as I'm willing to take charge as the investigator appointed by the 'Shenglu Hall.' This mine rescue of Qi Ding can be considered as my on-site judgment as the chief commander of the search and rescue this month, as the executive deputy director and investigator of Haiting. Anyway, we successfully rescued him in the end, and the procedures were just expedient measures in an emergency. Sister Jinwu shouldn't mind that I took the credit for the rescue, right?"

Jinwu quickly shook his head, "It was you who risked your life to go down into the mine to rescue people."

"Well, regarding the issue of unifying the wording, I'll ask Sister Jinwu to explain it to the miners later."

“No problem,” Jinwu readily agreed.

The reason she bypassed the proper procedures and used her authority at the mine to privately form a search and rescue team was that she didn't want to involve the Chiiwa Army, and most importantly, she didn't want to get the General Affairs Department and the Huishan Office involved in the investigation of the disappearance.

The person was saved, so naturally the matter was minimized. As for the procedural flaws, it was best that Han Fulai was willing to step forward and take responsibility.

As for why she ignored the search and rescue procedures and immediately organized a search and rescue team as if lives were at stake—that's where Han Fulai's "flaw" lies.

Han Fulai held up two fingers.

"The second, and biggest, flaw will turn this whole 'search and rescue of missing miners' drama into a joke—the problem of safety management."

Han Fulai stared intently at Jinwu, who awkwardly avoided his gaze.

“Although Qi Ding is a member of the demolition team and is responsible for managing the gunpowder depot, he still needs safety approval to move things out of the depot. We can’t just let him take as much as he wants. Especially… I remember you said before that the gunpowder in the depot is the new type of explosive from Black Rock Factory. The box of explosives that Qi Ding took away is enough to blow our ground camp into the air. So the safety management issues need to be even more rigorous.”

“Sister Jinwu, you are the safety manager of the mine, and you are in charge of equipment safety, so you know best that if someone comes to investigate this matter, you will be the first to be implicated. If we report to the General Affairs Department and call Qianyan Army for a search and rescue, according to procedure they have to investigate what Qi Ding took down into the mine before they can formulate a search and rescue strategy. —And if they investigate, they will probably find that our exploration team is missing more than one box of gunpowder, and more than one set of equipment, right?”

Jinwu lowered his head.

Han Fulai continued speaking.

"And the solution you came up with... is to blame it on the 'spirit stone.' Just say that the miners were affected by the 'spirit stone,' and lost their supplies while in a dazed state. That would cover it up, since no one can be sure what kind of effect the 'spirit stone' will have. And Qi Ding is the 'actor' you chose. He has always been critical of the existence of the 'spirit stone,' and he even said he wanted to blow it up when he was drunk. That would just make his act of secretly bringing gunpowder down into the mines seem plausible."

"That's wishful thinking, and very naive," Han Fulai commented bluntly. "No matter what, the fact that miners went missing on the very first day the Layered Rock Abyss was unsealed is equivalent to a cave-in on our very first day of mining. The higher-ups will definitely send people to investigate... And as Lao Tu just mentioned, people from the Rock Tea House happened to come today. Guess... did they hear about the missing miners?"

"This..." Jinwu's eyes widened. She was just surprised that Han Fulai had stumbled upon the exploration team's secret, but Han Fulai had already started thinking about holding them accountable.

“You need to understand, when the General Affairs Department and the Huishan Hall come to investigate, they won’t listen to anything you say about the influence of ‘spirit stones.’ The usual practice for civil servants is to find someone to take the blame first… I mean, to hold them accountable. Haidifu, as the team leader, can’t escape the responsibility for personnel management, and Sister Jinwu, as the safety officer, you can’t escape the same responsibility. They’ll ask, who entrusted him with the management of explosives? Who failed to take proper safety precautions at night and let him sneak down into the mine?”

"Then, they will investigate other things, such as whether there are any safety hazards caused by mismanagement in this exploration team? What loopholes exist in the usual management process? What are the causes and consequences of this incident? Are there any problems with the mental state of the exploration team members? Is there any connection between the other members of the exploration team and Qi Ding's behavior?"

Han Fulai counted on his fingers as he "settled scores" with Jinwu. As the person in charge of the Yuehaiting reform, Han Fulai was very familiar with the "accountability process." After all, he and Gan Yu had calculated the responsibility for expelling so many scions of aristocratic families one by one.

Chapter 153 The World's Diversity

With each additional word he spoke, Jinwu's face grew paler, until finally her lips began to tremble. Although Jinwu was the deputy chief researcher of that exploration team back then, and possessed professional knowledge in equipment maintenance and ore research, she was, in essence, still a veteran miner. What Han Fulai was talking about was too far removed from the lives of those living underground… things that only bureaucrats on the Jade Capital Terrace would care about.

But she had to admit that what Han Fulai said was very likely to happen.

"And once the investigation actually begins... this exploration team is finished."

Han Fulai reached out and patted Jinwu on the shoulder, making Jinwu shudder.

In that instant, she thought of the still ignorant miners outside, of the children whose loved ones had died in mining accidents and whom she had taken in to care for, and of her daughter far away in Xumi…

As Han Fulai said, as long as the higher authorities conduct a thorough investigation, the life she is familiar with will be destroyed on the spot.

Because they did indeed do many things they shouldn't have done, and these things cannot be completely concealed under careful and meticulous scrutiny.

"If I'm not mistaken... Huishan Hall will probably send people to investigate soon, and we don't have much time left."

Han Fulai spoke in a low voice.

The fact that the people from the Rock Tea House came to the Layered Rock Abyss at this critical juncture must mean they have some ulterior motive, and Han Fulai has to be wary—especially if Ye Lan might be involved.

Last time at Qingxupu, what he did made Yelan lose face, and he believed that Yelan would definitely not mind tripping him up.

Although such speculation may seem a bit like "judging a gentleman by one's own standards," Ye Lan is by no means a gentleman at all!

“Some things are just too obvious. Anyone who wants to investigate can notice the problem. For example, from the very beginning, it would have been impossible for Qi Ding to go down into the mine with mining equipment and gunpowder without alerting anyone.”