Li Cheng is a small city, and the starting price of a taxi is only five yuan. Huang Chengzhuo paid, and Guo Tie walked over with his bag. The shopkeeper was eating, handmade noodles with a few slices of meat and cabbage floating on top. On the shelves in the store, there are barrels of cooking oil, but the place where the flour is placed is empty, and there is not a single bag of flour.

"What do you want?" The shopkeeper greeted him politely and put down the rice bowl.

Guo Tie deliberately made an embarrassed expression and said, "I want to buy a few bags of flour, why don't you have any goods?" ”

The owner said: "It's not that I don't have goods, the whole Licheng is out of stock." If you want to buy flour, you have to go to Su Xu to buy it. ”

Guo Tiedao: "What's going on, don't we have a flour mill in Licheng, and we can't buy locally produced flour?" ”

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "Don't mention it, those deflated calves are too ruthless to see others." ”

Guo Tiedao: "Who are you talking about?" ”

"Who else could it be, Su Xu's Bright Flour Mill." The shopkeeper complained.

Guo Tie's eyes lit up, and he knew that he had found the right person. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, handed one to the shopkeeper, and lit it for him. The shopkeeper beckoned them to sit down and said, "You are from outside, and the accent is not ours." Guo Tie smiled embarrassedly, although he has a talent for language, in order to almost speak the dialect of the Huanghuai region that he learned last year, but after listening carefully, there is indeed a big gap.

"Flour group, that's what it's all about. Last year, Licheng was hit by a disaster, first a drought, then a rainstorm, and during the summer harvest, only five or six hundred catties of wheat were harvested per acre of land. As a result, the city government reported to the higher authorities and said that grain production continued to increase. As soon as the wheat was received from the field, the people from the grain depot drove in a truck to buy it. The price is thirty percent lower than others, and it is not okay not to sell it, and when they collect a round, the flour mill can go to the countryside to buy it. No, the production has been reduced, where do they go to collect it, they can only go to the surrounding counties to collect it. The grain collected was small, and of course the flour could not be supplied, so I went to the grain depot to buy it, but people did not sell it, so it became what it is now. The noodles we eat in this city are all shipped from Su Xu's side, and the taste is not much different, but the price is half as expensive. ”

Guo Tie patiently listened to the shopkeeper's chatter, and then asked: "Since there is no food, why do you want to increase the production line?" No, I've heard in other places that during the installation of the production line, there was an accident and several people died. ”

The shopkeeper slapped his thigh heavily and said, "If something happens, you can't blame them." Come, come, look. As he spoke, the shopkeeper stood up and took Guo Tie's arm and walked towards the store. After walking more than ten steps, I came to the wall of the storeroom. I saw that on the yellow wall, there were several cracks as wide as a palm, revealing the red bricks inside.

"Look at it again." The shopkeeper pointed to the ground again. There are more cracks on the ground, like spider webs, but the cracks here are thinner, and the warehouse is darker, if it weren't for the shopkeeper's reminder, Guo Tie really didn't notice it for a while.

"What's going on?" Guo Tie asked with a frown.

"The ground is empty, it's collapsing!" The owner said helplessly.

Guo Tie and Huang Chengzhuo glanced at each other, and at the same time were startled, and said, "Collapse? ”

The shopkeeper sighed: "Yes, ten years ago, the flour industry in Licheng was not so developed, and the main economy was supported by coal. At that time, there were dozens of large and small coal mines in Licheng. There are few accidents in large coal mines and many accidents in small coal mines, and mining accidents often occur. Later, the government banned the small coal mines and merged them all under the umbrella of the big coal mines. Our largest coal mine is a suburban coal mine, and the former coal mining plant and coal preparation plant are located in the eastern suburbs of the city, but you may not know that it is now a subsidence area. However, last year, the government re-named it a good name, what is the Chengdong Ecotourism Zone, anyway, we ordinary people don't know much about those doorways. When coal is dug in suburban coal mines, the shallow coal is mined, and the cost of deep coal is too high, and the workers are not safe. After mining for a while, the groundwater was unstable, and in several villages in the east of the city, the courtyard walls of the people were cracked, and some of them even collapsed. ”

Huang Chengzhuo was anxious, and immediately asked, "Then what?" ”

The shopkeeper's eyes widened and he said, "Then the city government issued a notice requiring that coal mines on the outskirts of the city should not dig coal within the scope of residential areas, nor should they dig shallow coal in large quantities. But it's useless, there are policies above, and there are countermeasures below, so it's not wrong. ”

When the cigarette was gone, the shopkeeper opened the drawer, took out a pack of magpie cigarettes, and handed one to Guo Tie. Guo Tie was on fire, but he didn't put it on his mouth, he kept it in his hand. After taking a puff of his cigarette, the shopkeeper seemed to recognize the taste, and then said, "No, in just a few years, the village in the east of the city has collapsed. The suburban coal mine lost some money, and the family would pay tens of thousands of yuan, so they didn't care anymore. The villagers were reluctant and ran to the provincial capital to complain, but the complaint turned back to Licheng. The leader was arrested and sentenced, and the others didn't dare to sue again, so they all went out to work in the south, and I heard that they could earn tens of thousands of yuan a year, and slowly no one made a fuss about it anymore. ”

Guo Tie knew in his heart, and he didn't continue to dwell on this issue, but changed the topic and said, "Then what about your house?" Isn't it a dilapidated house if it is cracked like this? ”

The shopkeeper shook his head helplessly: "There is no way to live in a dilapidated house, the house price is rising too fast, and it is difficult to make a down payment." Five years ago, it was 2,000 yuan per square meter, and now it is 10,000 yuan. How can a county with an average salary of only 2,060 dare to rise so high? ”

Guo Tienunu pouted and said, "Doesn't the suburban coal mine lose money?" ”

The shopkeeper didn't speak, took a puff of stuffy cigarette, and then said quietly: "Who cares if you live or die." ”

Guo Tie didn't ask any more, thanked the shopkeeper, and left a business card to go out. At this time, the owner of the shop knew that these two people were reporters from the capital, and he was so frightened that he trembled, and chased him out and shouted: "What, Mr. Guo, don't say that I said those words, we are the people, and we don't dare to cause trouble." ”

Guo Tie smiled: "Don't worry, I will change my name." ”

Leaving the grocery store, the two found a café to sit down. Huang Chengzhuo lowered his head and drank a cup of coffee, silent for a long time. Guo Tie ignored her, and walked around the snake with a pencil on paper. After writing for half an hour, I looked up and asked, "Are you hungry?" ”

Huang Chengzhuo said depressedly: "I can't eat it." ”

Guo Tiedao: "I can't stand it anymore? ”

Huang Chengzhuo said sullenly: "What if I can't stand it, I'm just a little reporter, and I can't clean up my mess." ”

Guo Tie quipped: "This is not your style, don't be sloppy with me, I know what you are thinking." Okay, let's do a big job this time, not for the distant flour group, not for Cheng Liping, but for these little people who have suffered unwarranted disasters. ”

Huang Chengzhuo's eyes lit up and said, "Potstickers, really?" ”

Guo Tieming knew that Huang Chengzhuo was calling his own reproduced name, but the pronunciation was the same, and she couldn't open her mouth if she wanted to, so she could only smile and nod in affirmation. In fact, there is another reason why he didn't tell Huang Chengzhuo that the above was dealing with the Yuanfang Flour Group, but he was actually dealing with Cheng Liping. From Cheng Liping's point of view, the final result must be repeated encounters. He doesn't have other skills, he has been a reporter for so many years, and he still has a strategy to save Zhao. If you can help Cheng Liping while helping these ordinary citizens, it will naturally be the most ideal result.

The words of the owner of the grocery store are obviously not enough. The two drank another cup of coffee to refresh themselves, and hurriedly rushed to the collapsed area in the east of the city to collect evidence. At the same time, the leaders of the management committee of the subsidence area in the east of the city also learned the news of the investigation by the reporters in the capital, and hurriedly sent staff to arrange for the people there to talk well, and not to poke out any baskets.

The subsidence area in the eastern part of the city was hit by a disaster before the Chinese New Year, and the surrounding embankment is still a simple protective wall built at that time. I asked the villagers who were fishing in the water, if there were a few villages here, and the fishermen said that there were, but now they have all collapsed and are submerged in the water. Guo Tie asked: "Can you give us the direction, in which direction?" ”

The fisherman smiled and said, "Don't ask, just in front of you, it used to be Zhangzhuang, where three or five hundred people lived." Well, come on my boat, you can still see a little in the water in front of you, someone has built two floors, and there is still a roof left. ”

For the sake of safety, Guo Tie got on the boat, but asked Huang Chengzhuo to wait on the shore with a serious face. The fishermen's boat is small, with a trawl net and a bucket in it. There are not many fish and shrimp in the bucket, and they are very small. Guo Tietao almost said: "Such a small fish and shrimp, where is enough to stuff your teeth." ”

The fisherman said, "It's not big, this water can't do it." ”

Guo Tie remembered that Cheng Liping had raised fish in the collapsed area in the east of the city, so he asked curiously: "Then how did I hear that someone is raising fish here?" By the way, the government also said that it would open up an eco-tourism area and engage in aquaculture. ”

The fisherman pouted and said, "You listen to their bragging." As soon as it rains, there will be water here, and the fish farming will not all go to others. ”

After paddling with the oars for more than ten minutes, the boat came to a place about fifty or sixty meters from the shore. The lake is a bit deep, and the boats spin around here. Guo Tie can't swim, and his legs and stomach are shaking. The fisherman laughed and said, "Don't worry, young man." As long as it doesn't rain, the water is safe and fine. ”

Guo Tiedao: "What about the rain?" ”

"Rain? When it rains, water is bound to be released, regardless of whether it is moderate or heavy. The old fisherman said with an affirmative face.

"Nobody cares?"

"Nobody cares." The old man sighed.

Guo Tie didn't speak again, he had already seen a section of the roof looming in the water. It is the most common building on the Huanghuai Plain, a two-story small building, with a roof ridge on it, and porcelain statues carved on both sides. The one on the left has been washed away by the water, and there is a section left on the right, which is in the shape of a sika deer. Guo Tie took out his camera, crackled and took more than a dozen photos, and then leaned on the gang of the boat for a while, and then asked the old fisherman: "What about the other flooded villages?" ”

The old man shook his head and said, "I can't find it." The water was sent a year ago, and it was all flushed. ”

Guo Tieyuan wanted to ask the old man to take another boat to take a look, but he saw a few people surrounding Huang Chengzhuo on the shore, and he couldn't let go, so he hurried back to the shore. Before he could go ashore, he heard Huang Chengzhuo's angry voice: "We have filed a case with the Propaganda Department of your district party committee, where to interview your, where to follow you, are you annoyed?" ”