When your luck runs out, even drinking cold water can crack your teeth. Wang Xiaohu was beginning to understand that now. The day’s mining had barely begun when the air hose exploded, blasting his face with flying sand and gravel. Then, as if that weren’t enough, the drill broke down. A puff of white smoke billowed out, and the village electrician, blaming the mine’s excessive electricity usage, demanded payment for repairs.
“Damn it—are we the only ones mining on this whole mountain? What rotten luck!”
No wonder Wang Xiaohu was cursing. They’d already drilled over two hundred meters into the rock face without finding the faintest trace of a gold vein. Liuzi, the blasting foreman, had turned up a few thin threads of ore, but the tests had shown it was all worthless. Completely worthless.
Everyone emerging from the shaft looked pale and filthy. Qin Weidong dumped two buckets of cold water over himself in the shed before he looked halfway human again. Wang Xiaohu waved him over and shoved a red envelope into his hand. “Drive to the lab and give this to Xiao Zhao. Tell him to hurry it up—I want that report back by lunchtime today.”
Qin Weidong nodded. “Got it.” After nearly a month of working together, Wang Xiaohu had come to think the young man was pretty reliable.
Before leaving, Qin Weidong went to check on Fang Li. Their traps had been catching game every few days lately. Just now, they’d caught another wild rabbit—plump and fluffy, even fatter than a domesticated one. It huddled there in a ball, unsure what to do.
“Don’t touch it. Wait till I get back and I’ll kill it.”
Fang Li looked up, wide-eyed. “For real?” He reached in and stroked the rabbit’s ears. “It’s huge… might even have some spirit in it. Look how sweet it looks.”
Seeing Fang Li hesitate, Qin Weidong thought he was being picky. “It’s a bit tough, yeah. Come spring, I’ll catch you a whole nest of young ones.”
Fang Li groaned. “You—ugh, never mind. I’m too tired to argue with you.”
Qin Weidong picked up the fat rabbit and tossed it into a cardboard box nearby. “Come on, we’re heading to the county inspection office.”
Fang Li stood up reluctantly. “Again? How many times have we gone back and forth for testing, and still nothing to show for it. Did they even pay out last week’s wages?”
“They did.”
But the pay was half of what they’d been promised. With no productive vein in sight, Wang Xiaohu, the foreman, was so anxious he’d developed three painful blisters on his lips. Honestly, the fact that wages were being paid at all was something of a relief.
The two of them drove to Changding County. At the inspection lab, Xiao Zhao took the red envelope and promised to get the report out immediately—said it would take no more than half an hour. His lab was the only certified facility in the county qualified to test mineral composition, so holding back reports until bribes were paid had become routine.
Qin Weidong thanked him politely.
Fang Li, restless as ever, couldn’t sit still. He’d been to this lab three times already and knew there was a small shop next door. He nudged Qin Weidong. “Since we got paid, go buy me a bag of watermelon candy? Something to chew on while we wait.”
Qin Weidong gave him a look but didn’t answer. Last time they came to the lab, Fang Li had snuck off to buy a bag of candy, and that’s when Qin Weidong found out the guy had been hiding money on the side.
Fang Li flushed a little. “You’re so petty. I wasn’t hiding it on purpose! And it’s not even ‘hiding’… I shoved it in my shoe ages ago—it was only two yuan!”
Still, Qin Weidong said nothing.
Fang Li gave him a little nudge with his foot. “Come on, don’t be like that. You think I’d be sneaking candy money if you didn’t watch me like a hawk at home?”
Expressionless, Qin Weidong stood up and headed for the bathroom.
Fang Li panicked and grabbed at him. “Hey, hey, don’t go!” He turned out every single pocket, pulling them inside out for Qin Weidong to see. When that didn’t get a reaction, he started hopping on one foot, pulled off a shoe, and shook it repeatedly in his hand. “Look, seriously, I gave you everything—even the one yuan fifty!”
Still no response. Qin Weidong’s gaze dropped, calm and cold, straight to Fang Li’s other foot.
Fang Li’s temple throbbed with restrained fury. “Goddammit, Qin Weidong, are you even a man?! You bastard, you’re so damn petty it’s not even funny!”
Cursing him was one thing, but Fang Li knew there was no use arguing. Qin Weidong had always held grudges. When they were kids, Fang Li once stayed late at Peng Chao’s place without telling him, and Qin Weidong gave him the cold shoulder for a whole month. If he didn’t clear this up now, that grudge-holding jerk would definitely drag it up again later.
Muttering and swearing under his breath, Fang Li plopped into a chair, pulled off both shoes, and turned them completely inside out, shaking them back and forth. “See? Nothing! Happy now?!”
He really didn’t have a single cent left.
Qin Weidong noticed the sole of Fang Li’s shoe had come unglued and split open. He frowned and crouched down. “Your shoe’s falling apart?”
Fang Li shoved his head away irritably. “Get lost.”
Qin Weidong held onto Fang Li’s ankle and pressed the front of the sole. It was tight. “Too small. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I grew, obviously…” Fang Li replied offhandedly, pulling his foot back. “It’s not that tight—I can still wear them.”
Qin Weidong glanced at the clock hanging in the hallway. There was still time. He helped Fang Li put the shoes back on, then led him out of the lab and into a narrow alley nearby. Inside was a small wholesale market, filled with street vendors selling everyday household goods.
“What are we doing here?”
Fang Li knew that Qin Weidong hadn’t gotten much pay this time. Originally, Wang Xiaohu had only hired him to drive the truck hauling ore to the refinery. But since there had been no ore so far, and after falling out with Old Fu, Wang Xiaohu had started giving Qin Weidong a regular worker’s wage instead, just to keep him around—so he wouldn’t be short-staffed when things finally picked up.
“To buy shoes.”
With the weather starting to warm up, Qin Weidong didn’t fuss over the choices. He picked a pair of lighter shoes for Fang Li and also bought him a bottle of mosquito repellent—there were lots of bugs in the mountains, and Fang Li’s skin was too delicate to handle the bites.
The new shoes fit perfectly. Qin Weidong always knew Fang Li’s size better than Fang Li himself—or maybe, more accurately, anything Qin Weidong picked out always seemed to fit just right.
The inspection report came back. Qin Weidong glanced at it inside the lab, slipped it into his pocket, and told Fang Li it was time to go.
On the way back, Fang Li started coughing again. He tugged at his collar, complaining that it was stuffy, and asked Qin Weidong to crack a window.
Qin Weidong looked over at Fang Li leaning on the window, head resting on his hand. They had only been out for an afternoon, but he already looked exhausted. Qin Weidong rolled down the window on his own side just a little—just a narrow slit. The breeze didn’t reach Fang Li.
Three inspection reports—and each one worse than the last. On the side, Wang Xiaohu was on the phone with Boss Xu, while the workers were already grumbling and losing confidence. Wang Xiaohu kept insisting wages would be paid, but without ore, where would the money come from?
Two days later, Boss Xu Jianchuan personally showed up, driving a Santana.
Xu Jianchuan had never worked in the mining business before. His brother-in-law was being transferred from the capital to this area, so Xu Jianchuan had come ahead to test the waters. Before the New Year, he had opened a clothing factory, but when he bought the equipment, he got scammed—it didn’t meet production standards. Then, after getting drunk at dinner with a few mine bosses, he impulsively agreed to take over this place. By the time the mining permits were approved, all those bosses had disappeared. His friends had been laughing at him ever since.
“We’re having this meeting today, and I’m not going to beat around the bush. I don’t know mining. It’s been nearly a month, I’ve thrown in seventy or eighty thousand, and I haven’t seen a single return.”
Wang Xiaohu’s face stiffened. He interjected from the side, “Boss Xu, it’s probably because the tunnel’s headed in the wrong direction. But we’re running low on explosives… Might need—need a bit more—”
“Save it!” Xu Jianchuan snapped. “Don’t think I haven’t asked around. You guaranteed me this would work. If you don’t have what it takes, you shouldn’t have taken the job. And now the mine’s in this state—who the hell would want to take it off my hands?”
Wang Xiaohu fell silent. Xu Jianchuan continued, “I heard from him that you guys here are all experienced miners, been doing this for years. So let me ask: does anyone have the skill to find the right path? If you can find gold, I’ll give you five thousand cash on the spot!”
With that, he reached into his leather bag and slapped two thick stacks of red bills onto the table with a solid thud.
The crisp cash, glinting in everyone’s eyes, made several workers hesitate. They were tempted but didn’t dare step up. Instead, they picked cigarette butts off the ground and lit up, whispering among themselves.
They’d seen every round of blasting with their own eyes—three rounds already. And now, with the new year just starting, explosives were pricey. No one knew if failing to find gold would end up costing them their own unpaid wages. They argued for a while, but no one dared to step forward.
Old Fu lit another cigarette for Boss Xu. “Boss Xu, look, Xiaohu’s still new to this. Mistakes are bound to happen. I’ve got a friend who can introduce us to a real demolition expert, but he won’t be available for another month. Plus, there’s the matter of his wages…”
From the back, Fang Li rolled his eyes. What a racket—trying to take advantage and making it sound so righteous.
Just as he was about to tug on Qin Weidong’s shirt to say something, he suddenly heard Qin Weidong speak up from where he was crouched in front.
“Boss Xu, I’d like to give it a try.”
Qin Weidong stood up. The circle of crouching workers all looked up at him.
“Qin Weidong, don’t make trouble,” Old Fu warned.
Xu Jianchuan looked over at him—a tall, strapping young man who didn’t seem quite twenty yet.
“You? Have you done blasting before?”
“I worked on a mine back home.”
“Did you work on your own or learn from someone?”
“Learned from a master at first, then did it on my own.”
Wang Xiaohu, already scolded earlier, was thrown off by Qin Weidong suddenly stepping up. “Qin Weidong, don’t talk nonsense! Do you even know how expensive explosives are right now? We’re already short, and you—”
“That’s enough.” Qin Weidong glanced at the pile of explosives stacked next to the prefab shack—leftovers from recent blasts, not enough for a full charge, which was why they’d been left there.
Xu Jianchuan waved his hand dismissively. “Let him try. Let him try.”
“But Boss Xu, he doesn’t know what he’s doing—!” Wang Xiaohu protested, but Xu Jianchuan cut him off, cursing, “He doesn’t know? And you do? If this doesn’t work, we might as well all go home. I’d rather seal off the mine than keep getting played for a fool!”
Even someone like Xu Jianchuan, who didn’t know a thing about mining, understood that waiting any longer would mean the mine was finished. Government oversight was loose in this region—he’d already seen several operations in full swing on his way here. At this rate, if others blasted their way through and tunneled into his claim, his million-plus investment would be completely wiped out.
Soon, the equipment rumbled to life. Everyone followed Qin Weidong down into the mine—including Xu Jianchuan. Wearing his hard hat, he watched the violent rock drill held steady in the young man’s hands as it punched precise holes one after another into the tough rock face.
Qin Weidong kept calculating as he worked. He didn’t drill many holes. As soon as the bit began to dull, he stopped.
Old Fu looked skeptical. “That’s it?”
“It’s enough,” Qin Weidong replied.
The rock here was dense and hard—brittle, yet prone to shattering. After Liuzi’s last blast, the runoff had already carried a faint metallic tang. Qin Weidong was sure of it: if the drill holes were laid out properly, the chances of success were high. Besides, he didn’t have much explosive to work with.
Once the charges were set, Fang Li—waiting above—suddenly heard a thunderous boom from below. Dust and debris shook the ground. He couldn’t tell if Qin Weidong had succeeded; he was worried. There had been so little dynamite.
He kept peering into the tunnel, about to grab a helmet from the ground and rush in when two or three workers came running out.
“Quick! Push the carts in! That kid really knows what he’s doing!”
“I saw it with my own eyes! Right next to the sulfur line—gold specks, clear as day!”
“Sharp eyes, man! Bring in another cart! Hey, you—go grab two more!”
Xu Jianchuan came up, covered in dust, and lit a cigarette. Then he laughed—loud and hard—so different from how he’d looked at the meeting earlier. Even just looking at the rocks they’d brought out, he could tell there was definitely gold inside. And plenty of it!
With his briefcase tucked under one arm, he pulled out a thick wad of cash and stuffed it into Qin Weidong’s hands. “I keep my word! You found it, so this five thousand is yours—take it! Hahaha!”
Cigarette in his mouth, he slapped Qin Weidong on the shoulder. Fang Li couldn’t hear what Qin said in response, but then Boss Xu shouted again, “Luck or not, I don’t care—if you catch mice, you’re a good cat! Wang Xiaohu, keep an eye on this one. Tomorrow we keep going—we’re counting on him! Hahaha! And get someone to send today’s haul off for analysis!”
Xu Jianchuan was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected this young guy to stumble onto the vein like a blind cat finding a dead mouse. It might just make him rich.
After he left, the mood on the site turned strange. Wang Xiaohu looked like he’d lost his mother. He suddenly lunged forward and punched Qin Weidong square in the face.
“You little bastard—you’ve been hiding your skills this whole damn time?!”
Axolotl Translations 
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