Chapter 63

Two Sides of a Coin

Word had come from the yard yesterday. The foreman would be at the hospital today to talk compensation.

Meng Shoucheng had been waiting outside the ward since morning, glancing toward the stair every so often.

Inside, Meng Xiangyang lay half propped up, the curtain drawn halfway. He was awake. He just didn't say much. Eren set the water pot by the bed. Lila tucked the quilt corner in. They didn't fill the quiet.

Foreman Buckle came with a thin leather folder under his arm and an unlit cigarette behind one ear. The old buckle at his waist caught the corridor lamp once.

He looked more tired than last time, sweat at his temple, but his steps were a little quicker than usual.

Shoucheng went to meet him first.

"Foreman."

"Shoucheng." The foreman came half a step closer. "Sorry I kept you waiting."

He glanced into the ward, like he was checking who else was in there, then said, "Little Meng awake?"

"Leave him out of this."

The foreman nodded once and didn't go in. He only drew Shoucheng a few steps toward the far end of the corridor and stopped under the window.

"I ran it up to the company twice more," he said. "Just got it through. You look first. Keep it quiet."

He pulled a sheaf of paper from the folder. The corners had gone soft in his fingers. Shoucheng hadn't taken it yet when the foreman added a line, throat tight. "The work-injury ruling doesn't come that fast. You know that. But they can advance a sum first. Not a small one. Comes to a little over two thousand Crystone. Fastest, the money can land this afternoon. That'll cover the hospital bills for now."

Shoucheng's eyes dropped to the header: Confirmation of Accident Circumstances and Application for Advance Allowance.

He took the papers and held them close under the window. The first few lines were name, work number, yard, a short note on the injury. The clerk box was printed "Wade Brenner." Shoucheng stared a beat before it landed—that was Foreman Buckle's name. Farther down, the accident write-up packed in. He stopped on one sentence:

"Initial site inquiry: improper operation. Assignment of responsibility pending further verification."

His brow drew tight. He turned the pages. The terms on the second page were long and packed. He didn't read them close. He went straight to the signature block. The line above the signature sat black and hard to miss:

"The applicant confirms they have been informed of the above record and voluntarily waive all rights of subsequent recourse."

Shoucheng crumpled the paper a little in his hand and looked up at Buckle.

Buckle turned his face away, felt for the cigarette behind his ear, and put it back.

"Shoucheng, this version…" he said. "Advances used to run this version too. Came from the clerk."

Shoucheng looked again at that line about waiving later recourse. His lips moved, but he didn't speak. He turned and walked toward the ward door.

He stopped in the doorway and called, low, "Eren, Lila—come out and look at this with me."

The curtain lifted. Eren came first, Lila behind him. They'd barely stopped when their eyes were already on the paper in Shoucheng's hand.

Eren took it. He and Lila stood one on each side and didn't rush the pages. They waited for Shoucheng to point, and looked where he pointed.

"Waive all rights of subsequent recourse. What's that mean?" Lila's finger landed near the signature block.

The foreman put the cigarette back behind his ear, waited a breath, then spoke, quieter than before. "What the clerk told me—it's not saying drop the work-injury claim. Company doesn't want to put the advance out first, then have you take it to the town hall and go after some other liable party, and the whole account turns into a mess."

He added half a line, like he was afraid the explanation wasn't enough. "That's how I heard it too."

"And up front, improper operation. What's that?" Lila asked.

The foreman's thumb rubbed once across the copper buckle on his belt. His eyes slid off. "That's how they wrote the form… company first look… there's still that line after, pending verification, right?"

Eren spread the paper flat. "We don't drop the work-injury claim. We don't drop later treatment and compensation. Can that go in writing?"

The foreman shook his head, voice dull. "Standard contract. Can't change it."

He turned to Shoucheng. He didn't speak fast, and he paused in the middle.

"Shoucheng, Little Meng's one of mine. Something happens, I don't sit easy either. Get the money in hand first and you get through this stretch. The ruling after that… you leave that to me."

Shoucheng finally asked, "We don't sign, this money's gone today?"

The foreman didn't answer at once. His thumb rubbed the buckle again. "You don't sign, you wait on the ruling. When that comes down, I can't say."

"Shoucheng." Eren looked at him. "Little Meng got hit. There was no improper operation. You were there. You know that better than anyone. You put your name on this, they hold this paper as proof later. Then what?"

The color went out of Shoucheng's face. He glanced toward the ward without thinking, like he was afraid the man behind the curtain would hear.

The foreman heard Eren out, and his throat went tighter. "I know talk's cheap. You don't have to take my word. But I did go and ask twice for this money… You're the ones who need it now. Don't hold up the treatment."

Eren didn't pick that up. He only looked at Shoucheng. "We're short, we find another way. Shoucheng—don't sign yet."

Shoucheng's fingers slowly curled. He didn't speak at once. He only stared at that one line.

"I know how it looks," he said, lower. "But he's lying in there. And the money's really short."

Lila took the paper from him and turned it through again.

"This can't just be talk," she said. "Have the clerk write a note. Or you put something in writing yourself, Foreman."

The foreman's tone sharpened a little. "I can't move the company. I can't write a note either. I just work here. A thing this size, I really can't carry it."

"Then we sign, and something goes wrong—who do we find?" Lila pressed.

Buckle waited a breath. "The company. I'm a foreman. Getting the advance out at all is already…"

He left the rest. His fingers rubbed the belt buckle again. "Little Meng's still in that bed. Still needs money. You can't have him live on a few lines of talk."

When he finished, a small sound came from behind the curtain.

Everyone stopped.

After a moment Meng Xiangyang's voice drifted out, light, like he had no strength for it. "Cousin… is it about money?"

Shoucheng stepped forward at once. "It's nothing. You stay down."

"I heard a little," Xiangyang said. "If you can take it first, take it."

Shoucheng's face changed. "Stay out of it."

Quiet a beat behind the curtain. Xiangyang said again, "I can't work like this anyway. Don't all get stuck because of me."

Lila's eyes had gone a little red. She took half a step toward the ward and stopped.

Shoucheng took the paper back from Lila and held it out to Foreman Buckle. "We're not signing yet."

Eren nodded. Lila didn't speak against it either, but the hesitation was still on her.

The foreman looked at their faces and didn't push further. He only waved a hand. "Then you talk it over some more."

"I've got to get back to the yard this afternoon," he said. "Papers stay with you. I'll come get them in a couple days. You want to sign, sign. You don't… I can only report it like it is."

He tucked the empty folder back under his arm and went downstairs.

Only the three of them left in the corridor corner.

Shoucheng looked down at the form in his hand, like those few sheets had suddenly gained weight. He stood a long time before he folded the paper and put it in his outer-coat inner pocket.

They didn't talk it over any further. Shoucheng and Eren both had to get back to work. Lila would stay at the hospital.

From the ward came another low cough from Meng Xiangyang.

Eren waited until Lila had gone in to look at him, then he called Shoucheng.

"Shoucheng."

Shoucheng turned.

Eren took him over by the stair. Half a wall stood between them and the ward. The ward wouldn't hear them.

"I'll think of something for the money," Eren said.

Shoucheng looked at him. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Wait for word from me."

Shoucheng's lips shook once. "Don't do anything stupid."

Eren looked at him and nodded twice, very small.

"Don't sign yet."

Then he turned and went downstairs.

The light outside the hospital was harsher than in the corridor. Eren came down the steps, turned aside first and sat, a hand to his forehead.

Wheels ground over gravel in the street. People called along both sides of the road. The Crystone lamps at the hospital door weren't lit yet.

He sat a while, put his hand down, and started toward the mines.