The White-haired Queen

Chapter 134 Meeting the Mayor

On the way to the farm, the shepherd grabbed a handful of soil and gently smeared it on his cheeks, trying to cover up his original face. He skillfully fiddled with his hair, making it messy, and casually changed his clothes to make his overall image brand new. After doing all this, the shepherd said goodbye to Wen Lanyue and turned around and left their team without hesitation.

After the shepherd left, Jing Li gave Wen Lanyue a thumbs up and said with emotion: "Generally speaking, soldiers are specially trained. They are usually able to keep secrets and never mention any secrets. However, Envoy Wen was able to easily make this 'shepherd' with a military background tell the truth. This is really amazing! I wonder how Envoy Wen did it?"

Wen Lanyue smiled and replied: "In fact, what you saw is that I did not take any special actions during the whole process. I just gave him enough time. Many times, there is no need to force it too much."

Jing Li nodded thoughtfully and said, "Envoy Wen, what you mean is that you have already investigated him in advance and have a deep understanding of his situation, and then let nature take its course and wait for the right time, and everything will fall into place naturally?"

Wen Lanyue nodded slightly to show her agreement and said softly, "Yes, that's right."

Jing Li couldn't help but fall into deep thought after hearing this. He murmured to himself: "Give time, let things develop naturally, don't be impatient, and they will all naturally succeed in the end?!" He seemed to be thinking about the deep meaning behind this sentence. But on the battlefield, it's not like this, you have to race against time. However, Jing Li also saw in Wen Lanyue that she handled things differently from the prince.

Everyone was silent all the way, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the farm. Ruirui ran into the house with brisk steps, and not long after, a couple in their fifties walked out of the door. They were wearing simple clothes and supported each other. The man did look a little listless and was obviously sick.

Jing Li got off his horse and bowed respectfully. After everyone was invited into the yard, Rui Rui's mother enthusiastically brewed some tea for everyone. This tea was very different from the tea we usually see, and the color was obviously lighter. The tea brewed from ordinary tea tends to be brownish yellow, while the tea here is a light goose yellow. Take a sip, and a fresh fragrance fills the lips and teeth. Everyone couldn't help but taste it a few more times.

At this time, Ruirui's father, the mayor of the town, said: "Ruirui has just briefly explained the situation to me. Thank you very much for your trust."

After saying this, the mayor's eyes were instantly moistened, and tears welled up in his eyes. Wen Lanyue saw this scene and looked at him with a puzzled look on her face, her heart full of confusion and worry.

The mayor took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and continued, "To be honest, I actually have two sons. Ruirui has an older brother, and his brother died in a mine collapse while mining!"

There was a slight tremor in his voice, as if the memory of that painful experience still made him feel heartbroken.

"As the mayor of this town, the documents in the hands of these foreigners are indeed complete. According to the regulations, I must fully support and cooperate with their work. My eldest son was one of the first people they recruited to mine. At the beginning, they cared for everyone and took good care of them. However, during the mining process, the mine suddenly collapsed, resulting in a serious accident. Although this kind of thing is difficult to completely avoid, my eldest son unfortunately lost his life. Despite this, I still have a positive attitude towards their work and try my best to provide assistance. But recently, for some reason, some abnormal situations have occurred in the mine. They actually imprisoned all the residents of our town and restricted everyone's freedom. Therefore, the townspeople have been complaining recently."

Wen Lanyue frowned and asked, "So how did the first mining accident happen?"

The mayor gently stroked his forehead with his right hand and said in a heavy tone: "I don't know much about the specific details of this accident. When I went to the scene to claim my son's body, I saw that his body was covered with obvious marks of crushing. It can be inferred that it was a tragedy caused by the collapse of the mine. After the incident, they gave a considerable pension to the family of each victim as compensation. Faced with such an accident, although everyone was unwilling, they could only accept the reality helplessly. After all, after receiving generous pension compensation, the matter gradually became a small matter and nothing happened."

Wen Lanyue then asked, "I heard that the town once recruited two groups of workers. Is this true?"

The mayor nodded slightly to show his agreement, and then responded, "Indeed, the main task of the first batch of workers was to mine rare earth ores, and they were the group that my eldest son belonged to. However, not long after, news came that new mineral resources had been explored, so the recruitment of the second batch of personnel was immediately launched."

Wen Lanyue asked with a puzzled look on his face: "What kind of mine is this new mine? Do you know?"

The mayor was silent for a moment, then frowned slightly, as if thinking about something. After a while, he slowly said, "I have not personally seen any documents related to the second batch of mineral deposits. However, in the process of working with them, I often heard them mention a word that seemed to be called 'uranium mine'."

Wen Lanyue then asked, "Then do you know how many workers they have recruited?"

The mayor fell into deep thought again, and after a moment's thought, he replied, "I don't know the exact number, but I can roughly estimate it based on the current number of residents in the town."

After a pause, the mayor continued, "Our town doesn't have a large population, probably only about 2,000 people. As for young and middle-aged people, I roughly estimate that there should be around 400 to 500 people. But if you want to know more accurate data, I'm afraid you have to ask the household registration department. In addition, our Beicang country is a nomadic nation, so the population mobility is relatively large. It is really not easy to get a very accurate answer."

Wen Lanyue nodded after hearing this, indicating that she could understand the situation. There was a brief silence, and after a while, she asked, "Then can you help us arrange a few people to work there?"

The mayor thought for a moment, then replied, "Well... it's easier to get into the new mine, but the rare earth mine might be a little tricky."