Chapter 865: A Man with a Story

Yuan Hongzhan's mouth hung slightly open, staring at Zhou Andong in a daze. With that sorrowful expression, sincere tone, and final resolute attitude, if he didn't know the inside story, he estimated he would have been moved to tears by Zhou Andong.

*Sigh*, Yuan Hongzhan sighed with deep emotion in his heart. It seemed that Dongzi's current achievements and his journey to this day had not been easy.

The middle-aged man looked at Zhou Andong and suddenly discovered that this young man had become very tall and imposing, radiating integrity from the inside out.

"I'll take you there!" The middle-aged man didn't hesitate at all, turning to walk away.

Zhou Andong quickly chased after him, and those villagers also followed.

"Big Brother, may I ask your surname?"

The middle-aged man said, "My name is Zhou Baoshan!"

Zhou Andong laughed, "What a coincidence, I'm also surnamed Zhou. Five hundred years ago, we were one family."

Zhou Baoshan also laughed, "You are very different from other rich people."

Zhou Andong asked curiously, "How am I different?"

"How should I put it?" Zhou Baoshan pondered for a moment. "You are very rich, but you have great love in your heart. You should be a true entrepreneur, someone those profit-seeking merchants and *nouveau riche* cannot compare to."

*Oh my*, Zhou Andong glanced at Zhou Baoshan in surprise. These words were not something a rural person could say—not that he discriminated against rural people; after all, he was a farmer's child himself and had several acres of land at home.

It was just that such words could absolutely not be spoken without some experience and insight. In this era, there were truly not many who could distinguish between an entrepreneur and a merchant. From this, it could be seen that this brother was a man with a story.

"Brother Zhou!" Zhou Andong took the last puff of his cigarette, then threw the butt on the ground and stepped on it. "Judging by your speech, you must be a man with a story. Can you tell me about it?"

"A man with a story?" Zhou Baoshan chewed on this phrase and laughed again. "My past isn't a story; it's an accident. Better not to talk about it."

Zhou Andong shook his head. "In a person's life, apart from life and death, there are no major issues. Therefore, what you can't get past is called an accident; everything you can get past is a story."

"Chatting with you really makes people feel comfortable." Zhou Baoshan praised Zhou Andong without reservation. "You must be a university student; otherwise, you couldn't say such profound things."

Zhou Andong blinked. He was just chatting casually, speaking off the cuff—there was no depth to it at all.

"We're here!" Zhou Baoshan pointed to a civilian house in front. "That's the one."

Zhou Andong looked over. The courtyard wall was not even a meter high, the gate was tied together with firewood sticks, and the house was low and dilapidated. There wasn't a single piece of glass in the windows, which were covered with plastic sheeting.

Zhou Baoshan removed the gate tied with firewood sticks. "This family is surnamed Zhang. Before the mine disaster, the daughter-in-law fell ill and passed away. A year later, the mine disaster happened, and the son also died.

Now, it's just the old couple living with a grandson and granddaughter. But the old lady's health is also poor; she's been plagued by illness for years and can't do heavy work. Usually, she just tidies up the house, and even the cooking is done by the granddaughter, who is only ten-something years old."

Zhou Andong, Yuan Hongzhan, and Zhou Baoshan entered the courtyard, and the villagers also followed in.

Seemingly hearing the commotion in the courtyard, a teenager of fifteen or sixteen, with skin tanned dark and a very lean frame, came out of the house.

Seeing so many people arrive, he was stunned for a moment before calling out, "Uncle Baoshan!"

Zhou Baoshan asked, "Is your grandfather home?"

"He's home." The teenager turned back and shouted, "Grandpa, Uncle Baoshan is here."

Immediately after, an old man with a full head of white hair and a hunched back came out of the house.

"Why don't you come inside?"

After saying this, he noticed that the courtyard was full of people.

"What's going on? Did something big happen?"

Zhou Baoshan smiled. "It's a good thing. Let's go inside and talk."

"Yes, yes, yes!" The old man hunched his body and lifted the door curtain to let them in. "Everyone come inside."

Zhou Andong wasn't paying attention and stumbled over the threshold, nearly falling.

"Careful!" Zhou Baoshan shouted, then reminded Yuan Hongzhan, "Slow down, the foundation of this house has settled, and the floor inside is much lower than outside."

There was no need for him to say it; with Zhou Andong as a warning, how could Yuan Hongzhan not be careful?

Once inside, Zhou Andong smelled a pungent scent of traditional Chinese medicine. He was all too familiar with this; just a year ago, wasn't his own home like this?

The interior could truly be described as "four bare walls." Apart from two floor cabinets, two long benches with broken legs propped up by bricks, and a table, there was nothing else.

Moreover, the wall plaster inside was peeling off in chunks, looking like psoriasis. The floor was even damp and hard to step on—likely caused by the heavy rain a few days ago, which hadn't dried yet.

It could be said that this house was even worse than the one he had in Tanghezi. That it hadn't collapsed during the heavy rain was simply a miracle.

A few villagers also came in, while the others stood in the outer room because the house was too small to fit everyone.

On the *kang* lay a very thin, gaunt old lady. Suddenly seeing so many people, she didn't know what had happened and sat up, very nervous.

"Uncle Zhang!" Zhou Baoshan introduced, "This is Boss Zhou, a shareholder of the Dongshan Mine. He came to offer his condolences."

At this moment, Yuan Hongzhan took five hundred yuan out of his pocket. "Old man, take this money first."

The old man was stunned. Giving money as soon as they walked in made him somewhat at a loss.

Zhou Baoshan also didn't expect Zhou Andong to give so much money, and he felt even more respect for Zhou Andong in his heart.

"Uncle Zhang, take it."

The old man hesitated for a moment and took the money, but his gaze toward Zhou Andong became somewhat evasive.

Zhou Andong didn't notice, but instead took the old man's hand and said very emotionally, "Uncle, I didn't know before that a mine disaster had occurred at the mine. When I found out, I went to talk to Yuan Hongbiao, hoping to provide compensation to you families of the victims."

"I am a farmer's child; I know the hardships of farmers, and I know even better the despair of a family losing its pillar. Because when I was studying, my father had an accident and was paralyzed on the *kang*."

"I had a younger brother and two younger sisters below me. At that time, our whole family felt like the sky had collapsed. That kind of despair for the future is terrifying, so I empathize with your situation."

"So I went to talk to Yuan Hongbiao regardless of everything. Even if the mine disaster had nothing to do with me, I wanted to fight for compensation for you. But, as a major shareholder, my words didn't count, and Yuan Hongbiao refused without giving me any face."

"But I worry about you; life without a pillar must be hard, so I decided to send you some money in my personal capacity to make your lives a little easier for the time being."

"When I find the time, even if I have to tear my face off with Yuan Hongbiao and risk my life, I will get you justice and put the compensation money into your hands."

Hearing Zhou Andong's words, a look of guilt appeared on the old man's face, and he seemed to have something to say but found it hard to speak. ===== CHAPTER 866 =====