Chapter 72: Seeking Justice

Chapter 72: Seeking Justice

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Second brother, do you think the mining area will compensate the families?"

Ye Changan shook his head: "It depends on the conscience of the person in charge. Temporary workers not only get less compensation, but it may also be delayed indefinitely."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Is there no other way to help these people?"

Ye Changan thought for a moment: "Didn’t big brother say before that there were safety issues in the mining area?"

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded: "Big brother did say that, but now that the mining area has collapsed, that evidence might’ve been destroyed."

Ye Changan: "We don’t necessarily need evidence, we just need to put pressure on the mining area. If we stir up enough trouble, they might feel guilty and pay up quickly."

Although the people are gone, some emergency money is what those families need most right now.

The sooner they get it, the more it can help them make it through this tough time.

Ye Xiaoxiao had an idea and said excitedly: "We can tip off journalists about the safety issues at the mining area. The more people know about it, the more pressure the mining area will feel."

Spreading rumors without proof is illegal, but if we pass the info to journalists, and if any journalists are willing to go and investigate, then the mining area will definitely sense the crisis.

This could at least put some pressure on the mining area.

Ye Changan: "We can send an anonymous tip to the local paper. As for whether it will be useful, we can only wait and see."

The Donggou mining area is tight with the local government. There have been accidents before, but they always got swept under the rug.

This time, more than ten people died in the mine, making it a major accident.

It was raining on the day of the disaster, and the mining area might’ve broken safety rules.

Ye Changan only hopes that this time, they won’t just brush this off, but that the mining area will undergo a thorough inspection.

After returning home, Ye Xiaoxiao drafted a complaint and mailed it through the postman.

The postman stops by the village every three days. While taking Ye Xiaoxiao's letter, he also gave her a letter.

This letter was written by Xu Jianli; this was his second letter. The first one was addressed to Baichuan County, but Ye Xiaoxiao hadn't received it because she hadn't been back for a few days.

Not receiving a reply, Xu Jianli wrote another letter and sent it to Baishi Village.

But it was held up again because of the heavy rain.

Ye Xiaoxiao felt that if she didn't reply to the child soon, he might show up unannounced again.

The letter first inquired about Ye Xiaoxiao's recent situation, asking when she would return to Beijing after finishing the college exams.

It also mentioned that the previous medicine really helped his health, and Xu Jianli expressed his gratitude.

At the end of the letter, Xu Jianli wrote that since he and his brother returned last time, Xu Jianwen's attitude towards Hao Yanyan had gotten a lot colder. He felt that his brother regretted it.

Ye Xiaoxiao smiled; this was impossible, the main couple was meant to be.

After returning home, Ye Xiaoxiao picked up her pen to write a reply.

She would have to wait until she received the admission letter from Jinghua University before returning to Beijing, and now there were only a few days left before the college exam results were released.

Since the previous Chinese medicine was effective, Ye Xiaoxiao decided to mix up some more and send it over to Xu Jianli.

Even though the road was still a mess, Ye Xiaoxiao decided to head back to town.

Ye Changan said, "I’ll drop Xiao Xiao off and take care of some stuff in town."

Miao Cuifang nodded, "Alright, I’ll feel better knowing you’re with her."

Zhang Erni was the one who’d miss Ye Xiaoxiao the most.

"Wahhh... What am I gonna do without you?"

Ye Xiaoxiao replied, "Keep up with the weight loss, you’re doing great. I can see it’s working—your double chin’s shrinking."

Zhang Erni touched her chin, "Really?"

Ye Xiaoxiao encouraged her, "Seriously, keep using that whitening cream I gave you. Once you slim down, hit up the city for a trendy haircut, and you’ll be stunning."

Zhang Erni instantly regained her energy, "I’ll come see you in town, just wait."

Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Changan went to town. After leaving Ye Xiaoxiao at Miao Fengshan’s place, Ye Changan went to take care of his own business without telling her what he was going to do.

When Ye Changan returned, he came back with a carload of grain—over a dozen bags.

"Second brother, where did you get so much grain?"

Ye Changan replied, "Come on, I bought it, obviously."

Ye Xiaoxiao said, "Grain’s hard to come by—how many coupons did you need for all this?"

Ye Changan whispered to her, "I got it from a buddy, no coupons needed."

Once the grain was unloaded, Ye Xiaoxiao tallied it up: seven bags of flour and ten bags of rice.

"Second brother, did you cover it? If not, I’ve got some cash."

Ye Changan patted his sister’s head, "I took care of it, no worries."

Ye Xiaoxiao was shocked. Ye Changan sent money home every month, so he shouldn’t have much savings. Buying these things would cost at least a few hundred yuan.

"Second brother, you’re not secretly seeing some rich lady, are you?"

Ye Changan was both amused and exasperated, "Don’t go making things up. The army pay’s not much, but missions come with bonuses."

Ye Xiaoxiao nodded, "Why do we need this much grain?"

In her impression, if we keep rice and flour too long, they’ll just get buggy.

Ye Changan explained, "This year’s rains wrecked crops in some places. By autumn and winter, grain prices will definitely be high. This grain’s just for backup."

After everything was unloaded, the car was ready to go.

Ye Changan gave the driver two packs of cigarettes.

Although it was arranged by his friend, he still wanted to thank the guy for the ride.

Miao Fengshan smiled at the room packed with grain.

Ye Xiaoxiao thought about the rewards her second brother mentioned for going out on missions.

"Second brother, you're not carrying out any dangerous missions, are you?"

Her second brother was a fighter jet pilot. In today's China, we shouldn't be under missile bombardment, right?

Ye Changan laughed, "Not dangerous, but some missions are highly confidential."

Ye Xiaoxiao didn't know how to persuade him, because what her second brother was doing was all about defending the country and following orders.

She couldn't tell him to be less active; she could only remind him to be careful.

Ye Changan couldn't transport all the grain he bought back to the village at once; it would be too noticeable.

Although not everyone in the village was bad, people's intentions couldn't be trusted.

When others have no food to eat and they know you still have grain stored at home, the result can be imagined.

Inviting jealousy is just asking for trouble; it's better to stay under the radar.

Ye Changan discussed with Miao Fengshan; he would first send back one sack this time, and then have Ye Changqing and Ye Jianguo bring the grain back bit by bit.

They would cover it with other items so it wouldn't be recognized as grain.

Ye Xiaoxiao sighed; it's tough having to be secretive about spending your own money.

Ye Changan stayed here for one night and then went home. He didn't have much leave left; he had to return in two or three days, he wanted to spend more time with his family.

Ye Xiaoxiao continued her studies at the apothecary.

She asked Song Guangjing, "Master, do you plan to buy grain? Some areas have been hit by disasters this year, so grain will likely be hard to come by."

Especially in areas like Baichuan County, where grain production is already low.

Song Guangjing wasn't concerned, "How much can one person eat? There's no need to stockpile grain. If your family needs to buy grain, Master will provide the funds."

Ye Xiaoxiao shook her head. "My second brother has already taken care of it."

Song Guangjing said, "Once your admission notice arrives, we'll head to the capital, and I'll close this apothecary."