Chapter 57 The Town Mayor Has Arrived

  At the hospital entrance, Heizi called Zhou Yunfei and told him that he was leaving and would come back to see them after a while.

  When I returned to the hotel, Xiao Fei and others also came back. They told Heizi that they had found the coal he needed, which was slightly inferior in quality compared to Zhou Brothers', but the price was 165.

  Hei Zi didn't want to delay any longer, so he had Zhu Xiao Fei call the boss of the Qing Cheng truck team to arrange for a vehicle. They would load coal tomorrow afternoon and depart before lunch.

  At night, everyone returned to their own rooms. Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei talked about what happened during the day. This time they offended a big shot from the same city. They didn't have enough strength to confront him on his turf, so they had to leave as soon as possible tomorrow to avoid trouble.

  The next day went very smoothly, and they didn't have lunch until they reached the outskirts of the big city. By nightfall, they had returned to the small town.

  This is the last time hauling coal in winter, Hei Zi earned tens of thousands of yuan, now this money is not as important to him as before, what he needs to do is to ensure quality and quantity to haul coal well, so that he can gain Zhao Weiguo's trust and pave the way for future earnings.

  Hei Zi introduced Hu Chang Fu to everyone in the small town. Er Cheng and Yin Le, among others, saw that Hu Chang Fu was short and thin, and they looked down on him a bit. Sometimes they would tease him, but Hu Chang Fu wouldn't get angry, he'd just smile and it would be over. Soon, Hu Chang Fu fully integrated into the group.

  Hei Zi couldn't think of anything for Hu Changfu to do, so he temporarily let him manage the long-distance buses with Er Cheng.

  Having money makes things easier, Hei Zi and Zhu Xiao Fei started hiring people to repair the mine entrance, preparing for mining.

  Hei Zi hired five people from the village to dig for red ore. After these five people looked at the mine entrance, they gave Hei Zi a list and asked him to buy back the necessary things as soon as possible. After starting the mining work, the labor cost per ton of ore was 40 yuan. The five people only earned their wages, and all other expenses were borne by Hei Zi.

  Hei Zi didn't understand mining, he thought the request was reasonable and signed a contract with five people. When Hei Zi suggested that they buy insurance for themselves, the five people all showed unwilling expressions, thinking it unnecessary to spend extra money on insurance.

  Not buying insurance is definitely not feasible. Hei Zi had no choice but to re-sign the agreement with them, compressing the labor cost per ton of ore to 35 yuan, and Hei Zi would pay for the insurance.

  Five people have been mining for years and are very familiar with the mining equipment. With the cooperation of the five, Heizi and his team ran for five or six days before buying all the necessary equipment and supplies.

  The weather turned warm, the snow melted, and the coal mine also started working. After half a month, the first batch of coal was mined out, and everything went on track from then on.

  Two more months passed, and spring arrived. The severe winter seemed to have left the earth in an instant. The weather warmed up quickly, and it didn't take long for people to shed their winter clothes one by one. Some people started wearing ultra-short skirts on the streets, various insects began to flutter about in the flower clusters, and migratory birds returned one after another. Everyone knew that a scorching summer was not far away.

  Hei Zi has been feeling increasingly idle since the mine opened, with Zhu Xiao Fei and Yin Le taking care of things. He only needs to go up the mountain every ten or eight days to take a look. For long-distance bus rides, there's Er Cheng and Hu Chang Fu, Hei Zi is very at ease, Er Cheng is extremely honest, handles matters meticulously, never makes mistakes.

  The only time Heizi is busy is when he opens the casino, and it's also the only time everyone gathers together to have a lively time, chatting with each other about their respective situations.

  Heizi, who had nothing to do, often took a bus to the county town to drink with Liu Pengfei. Liu Pengfei and his gang were still doing things like substituting for others to collect protection fees. Heizi didn't quite agree with their way of muddling along. Now it's a society ruled by law, if you want to have a good future, you must do things that are acceptable to society, otherwise, you'll get into trouble sooner or later.

  Liu Pengfei thought about Heizi's words for a long time, he felt that Heizi was right, after discussing with several brothers, they decided to make money and find a place to open a song hall, so they would also have a fixed income.

  Liu Pengfei was the leader when Heizi was in junior high school, and there were five people in their dormitory. Liu Pengfei was the leader, Wu Yu was the second, Zhu Xiaofei was the third, Zhao Bin was the fourth, and Heizi was the fifth. Now only three of them are left, and Heizi wants Liu Pengfei to go on the right path, he doesn't want to see his brother go in again.

  One day in May, Hei Zi was drinking with Liu Pengfei when he suddenly received a call from Zhu Xiaofei. On the phone, Zhu Xiaofei seemed excited and asked Hei Zi to return to the small town immediately, saying there was an urgent matter that needed discussion.

  Hei Zi returned to the town and Yin Le was already waiting for him at the station in his car. After Hei Zi got on, he asked: "Le Er, what's up?"

  Yin Le said happily: "Hei Ge, the mine price has gone up."

  "Hei Zi laughed and said: 'Come on, I thought it was something big, but it's just a rise, what's the big deal?'"

  Yin Le said while driving: "I heard that a yellow sand mine is selling its entrance."

  Hei Zi was delighted when he heard the news, although he has been mining all along, but the output of red ore is too low. The monthly income of Hei Zi's mine is not much, just tens of thousands of yuan, and after deducting expenses, it can't even make a profit of 20,000 yuan per month.

  "Really? Whose mine is for sale and how much?"

  "It seems like six hundred thousand." Yoon Leeseok said casually.

  Hei Zi was taken aback and blurted out: "How can it be so much? Do we have that much money?"

  Yin Le felt a chill run down his spine as he realized that Hei Zi, this careless big shot, actually had no idea how much money he currently had.

  Zhū Xiǎofēi and Heīzi were at the reservoir, where a middle-aged man was fishing by the water's edge. Zhū Xiǎofēi pointed to the man without saying who he was. Heīzi walked over and said: "Brother, are you the one selling the mine?"

  The middle-aged man looked up and Hei Zi was delighted. What kind of mine owner is this? Hei Zi hurriedly stretched out his hand and said, "Director Liu, how did you come here?"

  Town Head Liu didn't extend his hand, but pointed to the stool beside him with his chin and said: "Don't be poor, sit down, it's not bad if you don't call me a local emperor."

  Hei Zi smiled awkwardly, knowing that Liu Zhenzhang was referring to the time after the New Year when they had just started mining.

  At that time, Hei Zi couldn't buy explosives to open up a mine, so in a fit of anger he went to find Liu Zhenzhang. Liu Zhenzhang told him that he must have a blasting certificate issued by the public security department to get it. Hei Zi didn't understand the situation and thought Liu Zhenzhang was intentionally making things difficult for him. At the time, he pointed at Liu Zhenzhang's nose and said that he was just a local tyrant, what was so great about him?

  Later, Hei Zi found out the truth and realized he had misunderstood Liu Zhenzhang. He went to apologize to Liu Zhenzhang, who even invited him to have lunch at the government canteen.

  "Heizi sat down and asked: 'Boss, was it that gust of wind that blew you here?'"

  Liu Zhenzhang turned around curiously and asked: "Why did you call me Lao Da?"

  Hei Zi chuckled and said: "Are you the town head? Of course, you're the big boss in town. The whole town's people are still counting on you, old man, to run that... whatever flour mill."

  The town mayor didn't want to hear Hei Zi's nonsense anymore and said: "Alright, let's talk business."

  Hei Zi heard that there was something important, and immediately perked up his ears to listen. He thought to himself, it must be a big deal, perhaps related to the happiness and well-being of all the people in the town, otherwise why would the mayor personally come to see him, an ordinary citizen.