The next morning, the two were jolted awake by the loud ringing of a telephone. On the mountain, nothing was more dreaded than a phone call—if it wasn’t the Grim Reaper urging you along, it was him urging someone else.
Qin Weidong’s eyes flew open instantly. Fang Li, who’d barely fallen asleep after being frightened the night before, was still half-asleep. He reached out, draping an arm around Qin Weidong’s neck. “Don’t go. Stay and sleep with me a bit longer…”
“It’s a call from the mine. You go ahead and sleep a bit more.”
Fang Li, eyes barely open and lips pouting, let out a sleepy hum. Qin Weidong leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, tucked his warm arm back under the blanket, and went outside to answer the call.
It was Uncle Pan—two of the mine’s pneumatic drills had broken down. Nothing out of the ordinary. Qin Weidong replied simply, rummaged through the storage room for an old drill, detached the bit and the spring, tossed them into the car, and came back inside to find Fang Li.
With Qin Weidong gone, Fang Li couldn’t fall back asleep. He was now sitting on the bed, struggling into a sweater. His grandmother had knitted it for him before winter, back when her spirits were still good. But she’d tightened the neck too much—it was practically child-sized. It took Fang Li ages to tug it over his head, face red from the effort.
Qin Weidong, watching, fetched a pair of scissors from the toolbox in the yard, planning to cut the collar looser for him.
“Don’t! If you cut it, the yarn will start unraveling.”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable, all tight around your neck?”
“It’s fine once I pull it down…” Fang Li said, catching his breath. “What happened at the mine?”
“Two drill springs broke. I’ll take them up and drop them off. I’ll come back at noon so we can take Granny to the hospital.”
“Then I’ll go with you.”
Fang Li hadn’t been to their mine in a long time. Qin Weidong rarely let him go, just like he never allowed him near the leaching workshop behind the courtyard. As a result, even at nineteen, Fang Li was nothing like the other boys who’d grown up crawling around in the tunnels with their parents—his skin was still fair and soft.
Not only that, but he had no idea how to identify ore, mix reagents, or process the minerals. In contrast, Qin Weidong, a year younger, was already capable of managing everything on his own.
Up on the mountain, thin fog hung in the morning light, the temperature noticeably colder than below. When Uncle Pan saw them, he called out, “Young boss is here!”
At his shout, the seven or eight workers eating breakfast all turned to look at Fang Li, who had just gotten out of the car with Qin Weidong.
Some nodded slightly at Fang Li, while others simply ignored him and kept eating.
Fang Hongqing hadn’t shown up at the mine for over half a year, and he’d been withholding the workers’ wages just as long. No one was exactly in the mood to greet Fang Li—the so-called “young master” born to the second wife.
“Young master, just two days until New Year’s Eve. Is your dad ever going to pay us or not?”
“All the other mines finished up yesterday. Their workers already left.”
“Not a good year. Even if we keep digging, we’re not going to find much worth anything.”
Master Yang gave a cold snort. “Young master, who knows if your dad’s made money or lost it with his side business in the county? How about he sells off this equipment and gives us our pay first! No money, and we’re not leaving!”
Uncle Pan stepped forward. “Old Yang, don’t go stirring things up!”
“Stirring things up? We’ve been waiting half a year to take our hard-earned wages home for the New Year! He’s the boss, he’s got money—but we don’t!” A few other workers chimed in.
Uncle Pan tried to calm them. “Don’t be hasty, everyone. New Year’s is right around the corner—Boss Fang won’t shortchange you. Just two days ago, he told Qin Weidong to take two fifteen-ton grinders from Peng San’s family. That means he plans to keep things going!”
Uncle Pan was a veteran at the mine, and his words still carried weight. The workers’ complaints quieted down for the moment.
Qin Weidong lifted the curtain of the makeshift shack, stepped inside, lifted the lid off a pot, and ladled out a bowl of hot food for Fang Li. “Don’t worry about them. Just eat.”
In the big pot, cabbage and glass noodles were stewed with tofu. A few oil bubbles floated on top, but there wasn’t a scrap of meat. Holding the bowl, Fang Li asked, “What’s going on? Why haven’t they been paid for so long?”
Qin Weidong replied, “There’s no money in the account. Your dad took two hundred thousand in the first half of the year—that was last year’s leftover funds. As for the ore we dug in the second half, most of it was taken by some workers your dad hired and sent to a refinery. They said the grade was too low, not enough gold. What’s left, we’ve been grinding ourselves with those two machines in the yard. Barely enough to keep the mine running day-to-day.”
“But didn’t you get a small gold nugget last time? I thought it looked pretty decent.”
“That one we processed ourselves in the yard. The refinery down the mountain—that’s your dad’s connection.”
“So how much money’s left now?”
“Two thousand.”
Fang Li was stunned. “Only two thousand yuan? That’s nothing! How much do we owe the workers?”
“Twenty thousand per person. Twelve people. Two hundred forty thousand.”
Fang Li could hardly believe his ears—two hundred forty thousand! His father actually owed the workers that much? “So what now? And he’s still buying grinders from Uncle Peng? Where’s that money even coming from?”
Qin Weidong kicked over a low wooden stool for Fang Li to sit on, took the bowl from his hands, and used his chopsticks to pick up a steaming bite of cabbage mixed with glass noodles. He fed it to Fang Li, whose mouth was still hanging open in shock.
“Uncle Fang said he’s opened another mine somewhere else and needs equipment. After the New Year, he’ll move the workers over there and settle everyone’s pay all at once.”
“What kind of mine? Where?”
“No idea. He didn’t say over the phone.”
The sweet potato noodles had been simmered on an old wood-burning stove until they were soft and mushy. As soon as Fang Li bit down, they melted in his mouth, sliding down his throat, hot and slippery.
Qin Weidong cupped Fang Li’s chin. “Too hot—don’t swallow, spit it out.”
Fang Li coughed a few times, spit out the noodles stuck in his throat. Qin Weidong caught them in his hand and tossed them aside.
Fang Li took a sip of cold water and chewed on another piece of cabbage Qin Weidong handed him. “But holding back the workers’ wages like this can’t go on. If they don’t get paid, won’t they come after my father?”
“After the New Year, we’re planning to sell off the amalgamated gold we’ve already refined. That should hold us for a bit. The ore mined right before the New Year—I stopped your dad’s men from hauling it off. Once the city lab opens again, we’ll send in some samples for testing.”
Fang Li thought for a moment. “You don’t trust that refinery my dad picked?”
Qin Weidong nodded. “There’s something off with the report your dad gave us.”
Fang Li felt a flicker of unease, but didn’t even know where to begin asking questions. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Qin Weidong. “Nothing bad’s going to happen, right? Qin Weidong?”
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Qin Weidong fed him two more bites of vegetables. Fang Li scrunched up his face and shook his head. “No more veggies, Qin Weidong. I want meat…”
“I’ll buy you some after we take grandma to the hospital this afternoon.”
Fang Li nodded. The worry in his heart soon faded away. Ever since they were young, it was always Qin Weidong who took care of everything—whether it was about him, or the mine. Qin Weidong always handled it all.
Uncle Pan called for him outside. Qin Weidong grabbed a steamed bun, quickly finished off what was left in Fang Li’s bowl, and told him to wait inside while he went to check on things.
Outside, Master Yang and a few others were gathered around playing cards. They weren’t even willing to go down into the mine anymore.
Uncle Pan looked troubled. Qin Weidong didn’t say a word. He strapped on a safety harness and went down into the mine with two trusted workers.
Qin Weidong stepped skillfully onto the iron ladder propped against the wooden supports. His strong, energetic arms—caught in that explosive stage between youth and manhood—braced the rock drill in place. Uncle Pan stood nearby, assisting him. In the narrow tunnel, the noise from the drill was deafening, even with the muffler on. It roared like thunder, filling their ears, sending dust flying everywhere.
The rock was tough, and the drill moved slowly. It took nearly an hour to bore a two-meter-deep hole. When the drill finally stopped, sparks still hissing from its bit, Uncle Pan called Qin Weidong’s name twice—but he didn’t hear a thing.
“Weidong, are we still blasting here?” Though Uncle Pan had worked in the mine for years, the last few blasts had produced nothing but worthless rubble, not a trace of gold. He no longer knew what to think.
Water trickled out of the borehole. Qin Weidong dipped his finger in and tasted it. “No good. We probably drilled in the wrong direction. We’ll have to wait until after the New Year.”
Mining a vein took both skill and luck. Right now, they couldn’t afford the cost of digging even a single extra meter. And with so many workers still unpaid, no one could afford to take a gamble. They’d just have to wait for Fang Hongqing to return in a few days and decide what to do.
At the end of the day, even if he had grown up alongside Fang Li, the so-called young master, Qin Weidong wasn’t the one in charge. In the old days, he would’ve been no more than a hired hand, taking wages from Fang Hongqing and doing the work. He had no authority here.
Uncle Pan sighed. “Alright. Guess we’ve got no choice.”
Qin Weidong climbed back out of the shaft. His right ear was still ringing, unable to hear a thing. He washed the dust off his face with cold water. Uncle Pan followed behind and tried to talk sense into Master Yang—the one who had stirred up the others—telling him to go home and wait until Boss Fang returned to sort out the wages.
Uncle Pan did his best, but these men had worked hard all year. No one was willing to leave empty-handed. Despite the cold, they all stayed put, refusing to budge.
Since they couldn’t keep mining for now, the most important thing was to guard the ore already piled in the tunnel. Their survival after the New Year depended on it. Qin Weidong told Uncle Pan and two trusted workers to keep watch, then took Fang Li to pick up Grandma.
In the past two years, the old lady could barely walk far. Years of working with metal refining had slowly poisoned her body with cyanide and mercury.
Still, she insisted on going up the mountain every few days to pick wild herbs—ones Fang Li couldn’t even name. He only knew they were the kind Fang Hui used to love when he was little.
Carrying a basket and leaning on her cane, the old woman called out, “Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu, Grandma made veggie buns for you…”
Fang Li jumped out of the car, took the basket, and coaxed her gently. “Grandma, we’ll eat them later, okay? Let’s go to the hospital first and get your cough checked. Once you’re feeling better, I’ll go up the mountain with you…”
Old Lady Fang was coaxed into a beaming smile.
The best hospital in the county was the People’s Hospital. The mountain roads were rough, and even with a car, it took over an hour to get there. There weren’t many people at the hospital—after all, the Lunar New Year was just two days away. People could be superstitious: they’d rather tough out minor illnesses at home than come to the hospital during the holidays. And if it were a serious illness, waiting another two days wouldn’t make a difference anyway.
Fang Li helped his grandmother to a row of single seats and said to Qin Weidong, “You stay here with Grandma and hold her hand. I’ll go register with the doctor.”
Grandma Fang’s mind wasn’t right. If she had one of her spells, Fang Li’s slight frame wouldn’t be able to hold her back. Last time they came to the hospital, she’d gone into a frenzy, calling every child she saw “Xiao Wu.” One woman nearly beat her up, thinking she was trying to kidnap her kid. It scared Fang Li half to death.
Thankfully, Qin Weidong was there, and ever since then, he had been the one in charge of looking after Grandma when they went out.
“Alright.”
Fang Li took the money Qin Weidong handed him and headed off to register. As soon as he left, Grandma Fang grew anxious and began calling out, “Xiao Wu! Xiao Wu…!”
Qin Weidong crouched beside her and held her hand. Her eyes followed Fang Li as he disappeared from view, and her anxious cries continued. Finally, Qin Weidong spoke: “Grandma, that’s not Xiao Wu. He’s Fang Li.”
Grandma Fang shook her head in confusion. “He’s Xiao Wu. My sweet Xiao Wu… Sweet Xiao Wu’s grown up now. He knows to care for his grandma…”
Qin Weidong looked at her and said again, firmly, “Grandma, you’re confused. That’s Fang Li. The one who cares for you is your grandson, Fang Li.” He enunciated Fang Li very clearly, stressing each syllable like he wouldn’t allow it to be mistaken.
No sooner had he spoken than Fang Li returned and gave him a sharp slap on the head. “Why are you arguing with Grandma about that? If she doesn’t remember, she doesn’t remember! So what?”
Fang Li didn’t hold back with the slap. There were people from nearby towns in the hallway, and a few women looked over at the commotion. Qin Weidong and Fang Li looked like brothers—though it was rare to see a younger brother smacking the older one like that.
Qin Weidong shot him a glare.
Fang Li wasn’t fazed at all. “What’re you glaring at me for? You think there’s a right or wrong place to hit you? Grandma can’t walk—hurry up and carry her. The internal medicine department is on the second floor.”
Qin Weidong said nothing and lifted Grandma onto his back. Even on his back, she kept holding Fang Li’s hand. “My sweet Xiao Wu’s home…”
Fang Li smiled, too. “Yeah, he’s home. Come on, let’s go see the doctor. You’ll be all better soon, Grandma…”
In the examination room, the doctor looked at the X-ray and said, “This is silicosis. Late stage.”
Cases like Old Lady Fang’s were common—patients came in every day. There was no specific cure for silicosis. Treatment could only ease the symptoms; it couldn’t reverse the damage. The best medical option was a lung transplant. But a transplant cost at least 400,000 yuan. In all the years the People’s Hospital had been open, not one patient had undergone the procedure.
Fang Li asked, “Doctor, for a lung transplant—would we need to go to a major hospital in the city?”
The doctor looked up, a bit surprised. “Young man, I understand your filial devotion. But to be honest, at your grandmother’s age, even putting aside how difficult it is to find a suitable donor, her body wouldn’t be able to withstand such a major operation.”
Fang Li pressed on, “Then what should we do, Doctor?”
The doctor said, “Let the old lady go home and eat whatever she wants. Son, everyone gets old, and we all come to that day eventually.”
After leaving the hospital, Fang Li couldn’t help but cry.
Even though Grandma Fang had never once called him A-Li, had probably never truly recognized him as her grandson since he was small—only ever mistaking him for the deceased Fang Hui—still, it was Grandma Fang who had raised him, feeding and cleaning up after him, watching him grow up. When he had a high fever as a child, she stayed up all night fanning him by hand.
“You stay with Grandma. Don’t worry about me…”
Qin Weidong rolled up his sleeves and wiped his tears away. “Grandma’s in the car. She’s fine.”
“I don’t want Grandma to leave me…” Fang Li bit his lip, then threw his arms around Qin Weidong’s neck, burying his tear-soaked face against him, tears soaking into Weidong’s neck. “I don’t want to, I don’t want to, I don’t want to, I don’t want to…!!”
Usually, Qin Weidong would have something to say about anything that upset Fang Li. But this time… he just held him, patting his back silently.
Fang Li kept crying. Deep down, he knew this was something even Qin Weidong couldn’t change. There was no way out. But Qin Weidong’s silence only made him more anxious—the more helpless he felt, the harder he cried, gasping between sobs.
Qin Weidong adjusted his grip around Fang Li and lifted him off the hospital steps.
The two of them—grown men in such a close embrace—drew a few glances from passersby near the hospital entrance.
Qin Weidong didn’t care about the looks. He carried Fang Li to a quieter corner and gently stroked his trembling back as he cried. “Fang Li, your grandma was always going to leave you one day. Everyone does.”
“E-everyone?” Fang Li sobbed harder. “That means you too? Qin Weidong, you’ll leave me one day too, just like Grandma?”
Just the thought of that possibility made Fang Li feel like something inside him had cracked—shattered—painfully, unbearably so. He opened his mouth and bit down hard on Qin Weidong’s ear. “Qin Weidong! Don’t you dare leave me! Do you hear me?! You owe me!”
Qin Weidong said calmly, “I won’t leave you.”
The sharp, metallic taste on Fang Li’s tongue told him he’d gone too far. He’d bitten hard enough to draw blood. He gave the spot a quick lick and, with a pang of guilt, muttered, “I bit you too hard… you’re bleeding…”
Qin Weidong didn’t mind the blood. Instead, he asked, “Would you follow me no matter where I go?”
Fang Li nodded. “Of course I would.”
“What if I end up with your dad—if you had to choose between us?”
Fang Li had never even considered such a thing. The question stunned him. He paused, thinking. “Choose…?”
Qin Weidong said, “Mm, if you had to choose, what would you do?”
Fang Li sniffled a few times, then gave it some serious thought. After a moment of clarity, he said, “Then… I’d choose you. My dad doesn’t only have me—who knows, maybe he won’t leave me a single cent in the future. But you only have me. You’re willing to spend money on me. Besides… besides, all my money’s with you anyway.”
Qin Weidong paused. He drew in a breath, steadying himself, and squeezed out the next words through clenched teeth: “That’s it?”
Fang Li nodded, then added, “But if you have a son in the future, you’re not allowed to toss me aside! I mean, I’m gonna have a kid too. If you don’t want me anymore, you’d better at least give me my money back…”
Qin Weidong’s face darkened further. He shot back coldly, “Let’s see you try having a kid first.”
Axolotl Translations 
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