Chapter 1090 Mine Worship

"The boss is really nothing! With so many people dead, can he sleep well at night?"

"If such people had a conscience, they would not open such a black mine. I feel sorry for those workers. Not even a penny of compensation was paid. That month's wages are gone, and so are the people."

Uncle Cui was depressed and his old eyes were red.

"Fortunately, they have a good co-worker like you, Uncle Cui, who visits them every year during the festival." I comforted.

"They all took good care of me back then, as they should. But I was the only one who survived, so I felt unavoidable."

Uncle Cui took a deep breath.

"Where are the other workers' families? Are there many people here?" I asked again.

"Not many, including you, there aren't many in total. Maybe many people don't know they are in the black mine. In those days, communication was not smooth."

That's really pitiful.

He died in a foreign land and no one knew him. The only consolation was that an old co-worker came to visit him on his memorial day.

At this time, the car had already driven far out of the county.

At the end of October, the weather in late autumn is getting colder and cooler.

The fields in the mountains are covered with dead grass and fallen leaves, and everything is desolate.

"We're almost there." Uncle Cui stretched his neck and looked outside, at a barren mountain that was getting closer and closer to us.

There is still some distance from the barren mountain, and cars cannot drive there, so we can only walk.

"Back then, a road was built here for trucks to haul coal, but now you can't see it either." Uncle Cui stood on the grass, his eyes full of regret.

"Then how do you get there every time?" I looked around and saw that it looked like an ordinary barren mountain.

The two cats were attracted by the movement of small insects in the grass and got in one after the other.

"Hey, your cat!" Uncle Cui shouted.

"It's okay, uncle, don't worry, they are very smart and will come to me on their own. How are your legs and feet? I can help you over."

"I can still walk these few steps. Don't listen to my son's nonsense. He is just worrying!" Uncle Cui moved his legs and feet and folded a branch next to him to use as a crutch.

Pushing aside the grass, we walked slowly up the hillside.

I followed closely behind.

If this old man really made a mistake, I wouldn't be able to tell others about it, and I'd feel really bad about it myself.

After walking a few steps, Uncle Cui's legs seemed a little uncomfortable, so he stopped and rubbed his knees with his hands.

"What's wrong, uncle?" I asked quickly.

"It's an old problem, but it's nothing serious. There is one floor in this mine, and the height of the floor is very short. When people work inside, they always squat and kneel. I worked on that floor for a while and injured my knee."

Uncle Cui took a rest, looked up at the sky, and continued walking forward as if he was a little anxious.

"But it's nothing serious. If it hurts, it'll be fine if you rest and take it easy."

"Let's hurry up, leave early and come back early. Suddenly the weather changed and the sun went out."

I also looked up at the sky.

There are very few sunny days in late autumn, and the meager sunshine today was blocked by thick clouds.

The barren mountains towered under the gloomy sky, and the trees grew with arrogant teeth.

There is an inexplicable gloominess in the desolation.

"Uncle Cui, be careful and watch your feet." I went up and helped Uncle Cui.

"Now I am really old and useless. When I was young, I had to carry a large piece of coal home every day. These few steps are nothing."

Uncle Cui smiled sheepishly.

"Uncle, why are you carrying a lump of coal home?"

"There was little firewood at that time, so you could do a lot of things by carrying a lump of coal back home. You could boil water for cooking and keep warm. You couldn't live without it."

"It's a small mine like this. There are a lot of scattered coal outside the mine. You can pick some up for us. The boss keeps a close eye on it, but he doesn't come to the mine often. Anyone who doesn't pick it up is a fool."

"The boss is so evil, you deserve whatever you get." I said.

"You kid, why are you so good at talking! If your home was near here, your dad would carry lumps of coal back like this every day."

Uncle Cui looked at me very fondly.

"At that time, when we came out of the mine, we were all dressed in black and looked like ghosts. They said that we miners were the living dead."

"If you go down, you are dead, but if you come up, you are alive."

"Every time I walk halfway, I run into my wife. It's like she has a telepathic feeling and knows when I'm off work, so she takes the time to pick me up."

"I was very tired when I came out of the mine, so my wife helped me carry the coal. She had clean clothes. For a woman, I always feel sorry for her."

"Marrying me means you have to endure hardships."

I consoled her: "Uncle, don't say that. Good times are coming soon. Just being nice to her is the best way to repay her."

"That's necessary. My goal for the rest of my life is to take good care of her."

Although the environment is gloomy, the words spoken are heart-warming.

The older generation has survived hard times and knows better what it means to cherish.

"arrive."

When he reached a flat slope, Uncle Cui stopped.

Although this soil slope is covered with grass and has many trees growing on it, some traces of excavation can still be seen.

"This is it, the place where I worked my life back then."

Uncle Cui looked around with a sigh of relief.

Between the grass and trees, you can still vaguely see the framework of some mines.

"Old brothers, Lao Cui, I'm here to see you again."

Uncle Cui found a sheltered place, opened the plastic bag, and took out scented wax paper money and wine bottles and cigarettes.

"Brothers, these are your favorite cigarettes and wine."

"Eat and drink to your heart's content, and don't be reluctant to part with it."

Uncle Cui lit the scented wax and burned the paper money.

Amidst the flying ashes, I lit a few cigarettes and placed them on the stone.

Then, he unscrewed the lid of the liquor and sprinkled it onto the grass with tears in his eyes.

I also took out the sacrifices and incense wax paper money I bought, and started worshiping.

"The miners smoke and drink regardless of the family, because life is hard and there is nothing to relieve the stress. How can they survive?"

"At that time, a group of us were smoking and drinking together. How happy we were!"

"Now that life is getting better and we don't lack anything, they can't see it anymore. They haven't even had such a good life for a single day."

Uncle Cui was very sad and burst into tears.

I didn't know what to say, so I patted his shoulder and lit a cigarette in silence.

After the worship, Uncle Cui sat on a stone and wiped his tears to relieve his emotions.

"Uncle Cui, is this the only mine near us?" I asked after seeing that he was feeling better.

"Only this one." Uncle Cui affirmed.

"Is there really no gold mine?"

"No!" Uncle Cui's eyes widened, "There is no such place in this world!"

His reaction spoke volumes.

"What do you mean, Uncle Cui? I came all the way here to find my dad. Can you explain it to me clearly? It's okay to tell me to give up." I begged.

Uncle Cui looked at me without a father and a mother, and still felt soft.

"There used to be a saying that we have a gold mine here that can dig out real gold!"

"Many people have come to this place, crazy and dying."

"No one ends well!"