Chapter 1773: A Model of "When Drinking Water, Remember Its Source"
The report was published on the Message Collection Terminal, and Xu Huo naturally saw it as well. His gaze swept over the old paper documents, but he made no reaction to the District Government's prepared approach.
Pushing aside the report, he once again inquired about Master Solan's experiences around the age of twenty.
No one in Dingding Flower Town could prove that Solan and her companion had ever left the town, and Xu Huo could not find direct evidence to prove that Old Lady Mei or Solan had ever been to Ember Town or participated in the kidnapping and murder case of Xixi Doraiti. Everything he said on the Message Collection Terminal was speculation, unsupported by solid evidence. Even if one could not deny that the "Ember Maiden" was fake, one could not prove the "reasonableness" of the kidnapping and murder case—that Old Lady Mei and Ember had killed Xixi Doraiti to avenge their own wrongfully deceased relatives.
Perhaps some mining groups had deliberately caused mining disasters to obtain human bone gems, but how could it be proven that all the large corporations were doing this at the time? And how could it be proven that the District Government definitely knew about it?
The information on the several involved members and Old Mr. Yue might explain some things, but it did not mean that what they understood was the original truth. Misunderstandings, information gaps, and subjective guesses could all distort the original appearance of events.
Furthermore, regarding the painting "Ember Maiden," if Master Solan had not personally participated in the events, then what she obtained was also second-hand information. The people in the painting were real people, but how could it be proven that her perception was correct?
If Xu Huo could not produce more evidence, then the doubts about him would only increase.
"You publicly claimed that the District Government initiated and participated in the creation of the mining disasters. Do you have any evidence?" Zheng Shijiu brought the conversation back to the main point.
Xu Huo, however, did not directly answer this question. Instead, he said, "Isn't this something your 019 District should be solving?"
"You should be trying to prove that the District Government did not participate in the creation of human bone gems. Even if the number of mining accidents suddenly exploded over those twenty years, and the mining groups repeatedly recruited workers, mostly those without relatives, despite the scarcity of gem resources, and later concealed the true death toll, selling human bone gems that seemed to come from nowhere at high prices to save you all, who were completely unaware at the time."
"Even if you say you were truly unaware and didn't notice a thing, the fact that you concealed the death toll from the mining disasters is still true. Under your governance, such a large number of ordinary people disappeared without a trace. Shouldn't you investigate?"
"As for the direction of the investigation, it's easy enough. The Tian Tian Le Group people probably have no conscience. You can start with the Hiers Group. Hasn't the cemetery built inside their group already been found by players? After a hundred years, not forgetting those who died in the mining disasters—that is the true model of 'when drinking water, remember its source.'"
The last sentence was especially sarcastic. Not only the District Government trying to whitewash itself, but also the Hiers Group, which was belatedly trying to atone, and the beneficiaries in District 019 who had been completely unaware, all felt a sense of shame.
However, after regaining the initiative in the conversation, Xu Huo still did not dwell on this topic. As he said, this was originally District 019's own business. Whether to confirm it or not was entirely up to them. His main goal remained the "Ember Maiden."
"Earlier, I briefly explained the origin of the 'Ember Maiden' from the perspectives of the deceased, Old Lady Mei and Ember. Now I can add Master Solan's point of view."
He said this, looking at Matri who was about to speak, and interrupted him first. "The following content is only my personal speculation. If the District Government has anything to add, you can wait until I finish."
Matri naturally shut his mouth. Since they could refrain from killing him, they certainly weren't afraid of him saying a few more words.
So Xu Huo began to formally sort out the thread related to Solan throughout the entire Instance.
"After Master Solan's father died in an accident, she moved to Dingding Flower Town with her mother. The residents of Dingding Flower Town can confirm that she was very precocious, had a unique perspective on people and things different from ordinary people, and was very self-reliant. Although her mother did not take much care of her, she still grew up healthy under the care of the kind and friendly townspeople."
"Here, I must mention Old Lady Mei. Old Lady Mei was Master Solan's neighbor and the person who took care of her the most. Around the time of Xixi Doraiti's disappearance, Master Solan also went to the hospital to take care of the sick Old Lady Mei. Records and medical staff from that time can confirm this."
"Given that Old Lady Mei's descendants died in accidents, she would have been particularly concerned about the mining disasters. And since Solan's father also died in the mines, it is only natural for her to be curious about her father's cause of death and the place where he died. Therefore, it is perfectly reasonable for her to go and pay respects to her father."
"One point that should be mentioned here is that her father had a formal grave, and Solan's paternal relatives were also numerous. As for why she rarely interacted with her father's family and went to the accident site to pay respects instead of the grave, the first reason should be her mother. Her mother showed obvious signs of depression after her husband's death. Solan was precocious, and it's not hard to understand why she would deliberately avoid that. The second reason is that she also became suspicious of the explosive increase in mining disasters at the time."
"This suspicion is enough to explain why she had to go to the accident site without telling anyone."
"The location of Solan's father's accident was not far from the new grave of Old Lady Mei's son. Old Lady Mei was sick at the time. Solan probably went to Funiu Village with the intention of paying respects on her behalf. It was here that she happened to meet Old Lady Mei, who had also come to pay respects, and witnessed part of the events."
"Why is it said that she only witnessed part of the events?"
"The reason is that if she had known about Xixi Doraiti's death beforehand, it would have been possible for her to stop it out of kindness, or for Old Lady Mei, who treated her like a granddaughter, to pull back from the brink. If any change had occurred in this link, Xixi Doraiti might have survived."
"Since that didn't happen, and Solan returned to the body hiding place years later to place her painting, it shows that she must have seen the body afterwards."
"And her sudden decision to start painting oil paintings around the age of twenty proves that this event had a huge impact on her. Xixi Doraiti was buried two hundred meters underground. Only by seeing the body could she complete the most emotionally impactful part of the whole affair."
"It is possible that she learned the truth about the mining disasters from Old Lady Mei or Ember afterwards, which is why she didn't expose them. Of course, it is also possible that by then Xixi Doraiti was already dead, and her emotional attachment was more towards Old Lady Mei, who had taken care of her for over a decade, so she chose to remain silent."
"Hearing is not as good as seeing. Solan must have done a lot of investigation and evidence gathering later on. Every face she could paint on the canvas was related to the mining disaster events."
Xu Huo paused here. "A side note: Since Master Solan was able to find evidence back then, I believe that if someone wants to investigate now, there will still be traces left. It just depends on whether they genuinely want to investigate."
"Back to the main topic."
"Master Solan witnessed but did not expose the kidnapping and murder of Xixi Doraiti. She placed her painting there years later and never mentioned it during her hundred years of life. Why did she choose to speak out before her death?"
"The best time to expose the truth about the mining disasters was actually right after Xixi Doraiti's disappearance. Finding evidence should have been very easy at that time. After a hundred years, even if the painting is found, the people who died in the mining disasters, along with those related to them, may have already turned to dust. Pursuing it seems almost meaningless... Why did she delay for a hundred years?"
(Chapter End)