Chapter 33: I Just Didn’t Want to See You Talking to Her…

Cheng Ye said, “My grades are better than hers. I know more than she does.”

Jiang Shi almost laughed. “So?”

“So you should ask me. I can tell you anything you don’t know.”

“No, Cheng Ye, is there something wrong with you?” Jiang Shi pulled his chair around to half-face Cheng Ye and said in a low voice, “So you’re the emperor, huh? I have to ask you before I do anything? Your words are the imperial edict?”

“That’s not what I meant…” Cheng Ye felt a little wronged. “I just sit behind you, why didn’t you ask me? You two never used to talk before, how did you get so close to her now?”

Jiang Shi gritted his teeth. “Don’t force me to slap you in a crowded place…”

Before he could finish, thump, a piece of chalk hit Jiang Shi on the forehead. He looked up. The physics teacher was staring at them ominously. “Jiang Shi, Cheng Ye, since you two have so much to say, how about I give the podium to you two to talk?”

Jiang Shi: “…”

On a cloudy, windless afternoon, Jiang Shi stood in the outside corridor holding his books, his dream of studying thus interrupted.

He couldn’t stand it anymore and whacked the new physics book on the shoulder of Cheng Ye, who was standing next to him. “Are you sick! Are you sick!”

Cheng Ye knew he was in the wrong and didn’t dare to fight back. He even bent down and offered his head as well.

“I’m sorry.”

The words “I’m sorry” just made Jiang Shi angrier. “All you know how to say is ‘I’m sorry,’ but nothing you do is ever sorry to me.”

Cheng Ye said, “I just didn’t want to see you talking to her.”

“Why? So you’re the only one I can talk to?”

Cheng Ye said, “If you’re willing…”

Jiang Shi: “…”

Jiang Shi kicked him.

The physics teacher’s roar came from the classroom. “If you two want to fight so badly, why don’t you fight in my office?”

Jiang Shi fell silent.

Jiang Shi hated Cheng Ye to death.

The two of them fell into a one-sided cold war that lasted until the May Day holiday.

But this May Day, Cheng Ye didn’t go home.

Jiang Shi was packing his things in the dorm. Cheng Ye put some snacks into Jiang Shi’s schoolbag. “I found a job. I have to work for two days during the May Day holiday. I already told Gao Xinhe, he’ll come to the dorm to get you and you can go back together.”

Jiang Shi took out the snacks Cheng Ye had put in, one by one, his face cold. “It’s none of my business where you go. Are we that close?”

His facial features were naturally cold. When he got angry, his aura was chillingly intimidating. At least for the past two days, none of their roommates dared to speak to Jiang Shi.

Cheng Ye seemed unaffected, happily offering a warm face to a cold backside.

Mainly because he was the one who had made him angry in the first place.

He put the snacks back in again. “Auntie Jiang will probably be busy with farm work these two days and won’t have time to look after you. You don’t know how to cook for yourself. Take these to tide you over.”

Jiang Shi took them out again. “I don’t want your things. I can buy my own.”

Cheng Ye put them back in again, then took the schoolbag from Jiang Shi’s hands and zipped it up to prevent certain thin-skinned people from keep taking them out.

“Alright, if you’re mad at me, just hit me or scold me. Why make yourself suffer?”

Carrying a schoolbag full of snacks, Jiang Shi got on the bus with Gao Xinhe, his face cold.

Gao Xinhe felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

No, really, why was it that every time they went home, either Cheng Ye had a cold face or Jiang Shi had a cold face?

This time Cheng Ye wasn’t here, so he could only offer his warm backside to Jiang Shi’s cold face. “Little cousin, did you and my Brother Cheng get into another fight?”

Jiang Shi let out a cold laugh. “Are you very idle?”

Gao Xinhe: “…”

Am I some kind of masochist?

Gao Xinhe felt wronged. Gao Xinhe didn’t dare to speak.

Once May arrived, the bayberries and cherries began to ripen. Gao Xinhe, having a short memory for pain, happily ran over to find Jiang Shi the next day. “Little cousin, let’s go pick cherries!”

Jiang Shi had moved a table outside and was sitting at the entrance of his house doing homework. The tall pear tree at the gate had borne strings of fruit shaped like little gourds, its branches lush and leafy.

The wind was starting to carry the scent of summer.

The math worksheet on the table was blown up by the wind. He used two pens to hold it down, reached up to scratch his face, and after staring at it for a long time, had only written the word “Solution.”

When Gao Xinhe arrived, Jiang Shi threw down his pen. “Cherries? Where are we picking them?”

Gao Xinhe was holding two popsicles. He walked over to Jiang Shi, handed one to him, and tilted his head to see that Jiang Shi was working on a math worksheet.

He squatted down next to Jiang Shi like a big dog. “At Brother Cheng’s house! There’s a huge cherry tree in his yard. I just passed by and saw some of them are already red. Oh, and the bayberries at my house are also a bit ripe. My mom told me to ask you to come pick some.”

Jiang Shi had been dawdling for a long time without being able to solve a single problem. He might as well go out with Gao Xinhe to pick cherries.

Cheng Ye’s house was dilapidated, but the cherry tree in the yard was in its prime, lush and leafy. Thumb-sized cherries hung heavily, and the ones on top that got more sun were already starting to turn red.

The color wasn’t the deep red Jiang Shi was used to from Jiangcheng, but rather a translucent pink, like crystal clear gems. Just looking at them, you could tell they were full of juice.

Gao Xinhe handed the basket to Jiang Shi and climbed the tree himself. “I’ll pick them from up here. Little cousin, you catch them down below.”

Jiang Shi stood under the tree, holding the basket up, and watched Gao Xinhe scramble up the tree like a monkey. The cherry tree’s branches swayed as he stepped on them. The sunlight was dazzling.

He turned his head and looked. The door of the dilapidated house was still tightly shut.

The midday sun was fierce. Wang Quan went up the mountain for a tour and then returned to the office full of anger.

The person in charge followed behind him, wiping away cold sweat. “President Wang, President Wang… don’t be angry. Today was an accident. We’ll definitely hit a mine next time.”

“An accident?” Wang Quan snorted coldly. “You told me it was an accident before, why is it still an accident now? Do you know how much money I spend for every meter we drill down? All those workers are waiting. It’s been half a month, and not a single bit of ore has been found. You say it’s an accident, but who’s going to compensate for my losses?”

The cold sweat on the person in charge’s face grew heavier. “It’s the technician’s problem. This technician isn’t good enough. I’ll fire him when I get back.”

Wang Quan didn’t speak, sitting in his seat and downing several cups of cold tea.

It had been almost two months since he bought this mountain. He had basically invested his entire fortune into it. If he still couldn’t find any ore…

Thinking of this, his face grew even uglier. He slammed the cup down on the table. “Get me a new person! No matter how much it costs, get me a better technician. I refuse to believe that in a mountain this big, not a single bit of ore can be found!”

“We’ve already found one…” the person in charge said. “He’s on his way. If there are no accidents, he should arrive today.”

Just as his words fell, there was a knock on the office door. A look of joy appeared on the person in charge’s face. “Speak of the devil and he shall appear. It must be the new technician we hired.”

The person in charge pulled open the door. Outside was his assistant, who looked troubled as he saw the furious Wang Quan inside.

“What are you standing there for? If the technician is here, hurry up and bring him in for President Wang to see!”

“It’s not the technician…” the assistant said in a small voice. “There’s a young man outside. He says he wants to see President Wang.”

The person in charge frowned. “See him for what? Can just anyone see President Wang? Can’t you see he’s busy?”

“But…” the assistant stammered, his eyes on Wang Quan inside, unsure if he should say it.

Wang Quan glanced at him. “Speak.”

“He said… he knows where to drill to find ore.”

…

It was hot. Cheng Ye was only wearing a T-shirt.

The kind you get three for ten yuan from a street stall, with a few crookedly printed English letters on the chest:
LIKE.

He sat up straight, tall and well-built, looking much taller than Wang Quan opposite him.

Wang Quan leaned back in his chair, cutting a cigar. “Cheng Ye, is it?”

He laughed. “I know you. Zhang Hongcai has been opposing me for so many years, I never thought I’d see the day he’d stumble over a young calf. I’m not happy with him, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to take you in.”

“It’s not about being taken in, it’s a partnership,” Cheng Ye said. “Surveying costs money. Every meter the drill goes down is a considerable expense. I’ve asked around. You bought this mountain two months ago and still haven’t found any ore. You’re probably more anxious than anyone else.”

Wang Quan’s hand slipped. He lit the cigar and his gaze toward Cheng Ye grew a few shades deeper. “How old are you? How many days have you spent in the mines that you dare to boast like this in front of me?”

Cheng Ye was very calm. “Do you have a better solution right now?”

The person in charge was annoyed just looking at him. “President Wang, don’t listen to his nonsense. The high-priced technician I hired will be here soon. What does a little brat like him know?”

Cheng Ye didn’t speak, just quietly looked at Wang Quan.

Wang Quan fiddled with his cigar, then smiled. “Why should I believe you? You said it yourself, every meter down is a considerable expense. If we don’t find any ore, will you compensate me for my losses?”

He looked Cheng Ye up and down. “Can you afford to?”

“I can’t afford it,” Cheng Ye said. “But if we don’t find anything, I’ll let you do whatever you want with me.”

“By the same token, if we do find ore, you have to give me money.”

Wang Quan stared at him for a while. “You’ve got a bit of my younger self in you. Speak, how much do you want?”

“Fifty thousand.”

The person in charge grew anxious. “Hey, how can you be so young and already have such a big mouth? Fifty thousand, why don’t you just go rob someone?”

No one paid him any attention. Cheng Ye and Wang Quan looked at each other, their gazes like two dark currents converging.

“Good, good, good…” Wang Quan clapped his hands. “If there really is ore, I’ll give you fifty thousand. If not…” His gaze fell on Cheng Ye’s arm. “You’ll leave an arm behind.”

…

It got even hotter.

The workers who had just taken a break were called up again. The sun baked the ground. Countless pits of all sizes had riddled the mountain with scars. Cheng Ye stood on the mountaintop and looked down. “Not here. It’s on the other side.”

Wang Quan followed his gaze.

The person in charge was also looking, then he sneered. “We already had someone survey it before drilling. If there’s ore, it can only be on this side. There’s nothing over there. Kid, this isn’t the way to ask for money.”

Cheng Ye ignored his words and turned to look at Wang Quan beside him. “Drill?”

His gaze was too calm, not at all like someone in his teens.

“Drill.”

The roar of machinery broke the mountain’s silence.

Cheng Ye stood under the sun, sweat soaking his clothes, a dark patch spreading across his shoulders and back.

Behind him, the person in charge held an umbrella for Wang Quan.

Coal mining was like this. Whether you became rich or poor all depended on this well. One well could change the fate of several generations.

But after two hundred meters, there was still nothing.

Cheng Ye’s back grew increasingly tense.

The smile on Wang Quan’s face gradually faded. “Little brother, should we keep going down?”

Cheng Ye gritted his teeth. “Down.”

“If we go any further, it won’t be the price you quoted me.”

Wang Quan sat in his chair and pointed a hand at Cheng Ye. “How about we add a leg?”

He did admire Cheng Ye’s ambition, but sometimes, too much ambition wasn’t a good thing.

Having come this far, Cheng Ye had no way out. No matter what he was thinking, his face remained calm. “Three hundred. Three hundred meters at most.”

The machinery roared. No one on site had the mind to do anything else, their eyes glued to the well.

Two hundred and fifty, two hundred and sixty, two hundred and seventy…

Suddenly, a scream erupted from the crowd. “It’s out! We’ve hit ore! We’ve really hit ore!”

Wang Quan shot up from his chair. He shoved the person in charge beside him aside and walked toward the well they had drilled.

Cheng Ye’s tightly clenched fists slowly loosened. His tense back relaxed. He looked at the crowd gathered together, the sunlight falling on his eyelids.

He slowly let out a breath.