55: Chapter 55 Personal Inspection

Director Liu Yinyin bit her lower lip, her fingers twisting the hem of her clothes unconsciously:

"Xiao Bei, the situation at the coal mine is... complicated. You must be careful."

Xiao Bei stared at her with a sharp gaze:

"Does Director Liu know something?"

"I..."

Director Liu Yinyin stopped herself from speaking, and finally just shook her head gently. "In any case, keep your guard up. There are some things I'm not at liberty to say."

Xiao Bei nodded thoughtfully:

"I understand. Thank you for the warning."

Director Liu Yinyin seemed to want to say something else, but finally just sighed, turned around, and left the office.

Xiao Bei stared at Director Liu Yinyin's graceful retreating figure, unable to help but speculate inwardly:

"This woman speaks in riddles; is she a friend or a foe? Regardless, it's always right to be cautious during tomorrow's investigation."

The next morning, a black Mercedes was parked early at the entrance of the Town Government.

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang was standing by the car waiting personally. Seeing Xiao Bei approach, he immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Xiao Bei, you truly are decisive and swift!"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang enthusiastically shook Xiao Bei's hand. "I have already made arrangements. I will accompany you for the entire inspection today."

Xiao Bei calmly withdrew his hand:

"General Manager Xiang, you are too kind. Let's head straight to the mining area."

Along the way, General Manager Xiang Wenqiang talked incessantly about the coal mine's "glorious achievements" in recent years.

When the car drove into the mining area gate, two rows of miners in neat uniforms stood in line to welcome them, holding a banner that read "Warmly Welcome Party Secretary for Guidance."

"Is all this really necessary?"

Xiao Bei frowned.

"It's only right! It's only right!"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang was all smiles. "This is Party Secretary's first visit, we must show our respect."

After getting out of the car, General Manager Xiang Wenqiang took Xiao Bei to tour the surface facilities.

A brand-new office building, a modernized monitoring center—everything appeared orderly and well-organized.

"This is our newly invested safety monitoring system, which can monitor underground gas concentration in real-time."

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang pointed at the data on the big screen. "Look, all indicators are within the safe range."

Xiao Bei walked closer to the screen:

"Why is there no monitoring footage for this West Zone 3 work face?"

A flash of panic crossed General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's eyes, but he immediately smiled:

"Oh, the equipment there is being upgraded, so it's temporarily disabled."

"Is that so?"

Xiao Bei pointed at the flashing transport data on the screen. "But the belt conveyor is still running."

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his smile:

"Xiao Bei, you are truly sharp-eyed! It's like this: the monitoring equipment is broken, but production tasks are urgent, so we arranged for dedicated personnel to monitor the site."

Xiao Bei was noncommittal:

"Then let's go to West Zone 3 and take a look."

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang hurriedly blocked him:

"The road there is difficult to travel, and equipment maintenance is dangerous. Why not go to the East Zone first? That is the model work face we have prioritized."

"No need, we are going to West Zone 3."

Xiao Bei was firm.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's forehead, and he signaled to his assistant beside him:

"Then... then I will go arrange the safety gear."

Ten minutes later, Xiao Bei was dressed in miner's clothing and safety gear, and accompanied by General Manager Xiang Wenqiang, he took the cage down into the mine.

As the cage descended, damp and sweltering air rushed towards them.

"Xiao Bei, conditions underground are limited. Please bear with it."

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang handed him a bottle of mineral water.

Xiao Bei did not take it, but instead pointed at several cracks on the tunnel walls:

"These cracks look like they've been there for years. Why haven't they been reinforced?"

"This..."

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang wiped his sweat. "We have already included it in the rectification plan."

Continuing forward, Xiao Bei suddenly stopped and pointed at an obvious tear in the ventilation pipe:

"There is serious air leakage here. It will affect the ventilation effect of the entire work face, won't it?"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang gave two dry laughs:

"Xiao Bei, you truly have sharp eyes! I will arrange for someone to fix it immediately."

When they reached the entrance of West Zone 3, several miners ran out in a panic, their faces covered in coal dust.

"What is going on?"

Xiao Bei stopped them.

Seeing General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's gloomy expression, the miners stammered and dared not speak.

"Tell the truth!"

Xiao Bei said sternly.

A young miner finally spoke up:

"Reporting to the leader, inside... inside the gas concentration suddenly increased, we... we didn't dare to continue working..."

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang was furious:

"Nonsense! It's clearly you lot being lazy!"

He turned to Xiao Bei and smiled apologetically:

"Xiao Bei, these workers are of low quality and are always looking for excuses to be lazy."

Xiao Bei gave him a cold look and took out the gas detector he was carrying.

As soon as the instrument was extended into the tunnel, the alarm sounded sharply.

"0.8%!"

Xiao Bei's expression changed suddenly. "It exceeded the safety threshold! Stop operations immediately and evacuate all workers!"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's face turned livid:

"Xiao Bei, this instrument might be inaccurate..."

"Shut up!"

Xiao Bei shouted angrily. "Execute it immediately! Otherwise, I will order the mine to be sealed right now!"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang gritted his teeth, but finally had to pick up the walkie-talkie and issue the stop-work order.

After ascending from the mine, Xiao Bei immediately convened a meeting with the coal mine management.

"The gas in West Zone 3 is seriously exceeding the standard, and there are major hidden dangers in the ventilation system. It must be rectified immediately!"

Xiao Bei slapped the table and stood up. "Before the problem is solved, this work face must not resume work!"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's face was gloomy:

"Xiao Bei, a single day of shutdown means losses of over a million..."

"If an accident happens, what will be lost are human lives!"

Xiao Bei did not yield an inch. "Tomorrow, I will send a working group to move in and conduct a comprehensive investigation of safety hazards."

A flash of ruthlessness crossed General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's eyes, but he quickly squeezed out a smile:

"Fine, fine, we will listen to Xiao Bei. We will definitely cooperate fully with the rectification."

By the time the inspection ended, it was nearly dusk. General Manager Xiang Wenqiang insisted on having him stay:

"Xiao Bei, you've had a hard day. I've prepared a simple meal at the mine's hotel. You must honor us with your presence."

Xiao Bei originally wanted to refuse, but on second thought, this was a good opportunity to observe General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's true intentions, so he nodded and agreed:

"Then let's just have a simple meal, no need for extravagance."

However, Xiao Bei did not expect that the "Bishi Villa" in the mining area was not simple at all.

Crystal chandeliers illuminated the banquet hall, making it magnificent, and the twenty-person yellow pear wood round table was already filled with delicacies:

Australian lobster, Japanese Wagyu beef, wild yellow croaker... The golden patterns on the Moutai wine bottles glittered under the lights.

"General Manager Xiang, is this what you call a 'simple meal'?"

Xiao Bei stood at the doorway, his voice turning a bit colder.

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang smiled and pulled him to his seat:

"Conditions at the mine are crude, and I was afraid of neglecting Xiao Bei. These are all local specialties; they aren't worth much."

Xiao Bei scanned the room and found that several executives of Bishi Coal Mine were also seated.

"Come, let me toast Xiao Bei!"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang raised his glass and stood up. "Thank you for your concern and guidance for our coal mine!"