Chapter 170: Another Success!
"The article also includes specific figures," Chen Aimin said. "It reports that 500,000 tons of copper and 60 tons of gold have been discovered. It also says that the project is still in its early stages, and that the results will only grow with continued drilling."
Chen Aimin, someone deeply familiar with China's major mineral resources, felt the weight of those numbers. "Whether it's copper or gold, both have reached the threshold for classification as a large-scale deposit. Especially for gold—new large-scale discoveries reported in recent years have been extremely rare."
"Low investment, high difficulty—it's not easy to discover a large gold deposit."
Gold is a precious metal, and the rights to mine it are strictly regulated and require reporting and approval from the central authorities.
Li Zhenbin understood this very well. Hearing that a new large gold deposit had been found, he felt not only uplifted, but also a bit emotional. "Back when Land Mining Company was pressing to get the Gongcun license—and even brought the media along to pressure us—I thought, 'It's just an exploration license. If foreign capital is willing to invest, why not let them have it? It might even help boost domestic exploration.'"
He looked up at Chen Aimin, a hint of regret on his face. "That kind of thinking nearly led to a huge mistake."
"We were just doing our duty," Chen replied, though even he, in hindsight, felt a lingering unease.
"I must commend you. You were firm and clear in your stance during the Gongcun dispute. Now it's obvious—you did the right thing!" Li Zhenbin didn't hold back his praise.
Back then, Chen Aimin had come into this very office, closed the door, and under enormous pressure, stood his ground to protect the rightful interests of a domestic enterprise.
Now it was clear—his resolve had been the right call, one of true backbone and integrity.
"Honestly, I was influenced by Li Tang," Chen admitted.
He couldn't help but recall that moment when, after arranging for the foreign visitors to be kept occupied during lunch, he brought Li Tang into the office alone for a private conversation.
In Li Tang, he had seen an unbending spirit, a sense of clarity, and an unwavering belief in the Gongcun Copper-Gold Mine.
He was truly glad he'd trusted that young man's judgment.
"A deposit this big—even if the rights are held by a private company—at least it's still in Chinese hands. If we'd handed it over to Land Mining, just think how much wealth would've left the country!"
Li Zhenbin picked up the newspaper again. The economic value estimated in the article—40 billion Garan dollars, equivalent to about 200 billion yuan—still made his head spin.
"And that's just based on current progress. With more exploration, who knows how high that number might go? If foreigners had the rights, how much of our wealth would they have taken?"
"It's a blessing to the people that you, Director Li, had the foresight to protect our national resources," Chen said, offering a timely compliment.
Li Zhenbin waved it off but smiled. "Do you know why the higher-ups paid attention to this article?"
"Why?" Chen asked, genuinely unsure.
"Land Mining Company is a publicly traded junior exploration firm. Its entire strategy depends on finding new deposits to drive up stock prices. Shareholders saw that this could've been a 40-billion-dollar asset. If they had secured the rights, the stock would've soared, and they would've made a fortune."
He added with a grim look, "When those shareholders saw this kind of smear article, many became emotionally unstable. Some even went to our consulate to protest—throwing eggs, demanding answers."
Li Zhenbin had originally feared that the incident would damage their reputation and lead to internal consequences. But now, seeing how things had turned out—a major deposit was found, and China still owned the rights—there was nothing to worry about.
The leaders, understanding the situation, wouldn't scold them—they might even reward them.
"It got that bad?" Chen asked, shocked.
"Localized incident. It blew over quickly—nothing serious," Li Zhenbin said nonchalantly.
He shook the newspaper in his hands and sighed, "Honestly, those Garan investors may have overreacted, but when I read this report myself, I also felt a rush. Two hundred billion yuan! And the number is only going to rise."
He looked across the desk. "Have you noticed something? In the past year, we've seen the name Li Tang come up more and more often."
"I have," Chen nodded.
"His name even appears in this article, though not prominently."
There was even a photo attached to the article—Damba giving an interview, with Li Tang, He Runqi, and several Geological Team Six technicians standing in the background. It was black and white, and crowded enough that most people wouldn't notice.
But Chen had.
He stood up, pointed at one of the small blurred faces in the background, and said to Li Zhenbin, "That's him—Li Tang."
"It's hard to make out," Li Zhenbin said, squinting. His eyesight wasn't great, and the photo wasn't clear.
"He's in his twenties," Chen said, a bit emotional. "I've only met him once. He's not talkative—very humble and pragmatic. But there's something about him. He has a kind of unique aura."
"Is that so?" Li Zhenbin chuckled, still looking at the photo. "He used to work for Wukuang Group, right? He helped discover Qulong Copper Mine, Qinglong Copper Mine, and the Yunshang Bauxite Deposit. And now, he's struck gold again with Gongcun—this time with his own money!"
"Do you want me to pass along any message to him?" Chen asked, sensing Li Zhenbin's growing interest.
"No special message," Zhenbin replied. "I just feel amazed by what he's achieved. He's a force to be reckoned with."
He paused, then instructed, "But we must verify whether Gongcun really is a large deposit. We can't rely on foreign media for that. Contact the Land Bureau in Tubo Province. We need solid data."
"I'll get in touch with them right away," Chen said.
"And one more thing—reach out to Wukuang's chairman, Lang Hemin. I want to understand why Li Tang left."
When he said that, Zhenbin's face turned serious.
"Before the Spring Festival, our department planned to publicly commend Li Tang—make him a national role model! But then he resigned and never showed up. How could a major state-owned enterprise like Wukuang fail to retain a talent like that?"
"I'll find out and report back," Chen said carefully, knowing better than to comment on Wukuang's internal affairs.
…
When the Resource Management Division sent a copy of the article and project documents to Wukuang Group, Lang Hemin was puzzled. He thought it might be something about Qinglong again.
But after reading the materials, he immediately went to Niu Fu's office.
Niu Fu's reaction was exactly as Lang expected. His large face twisted in confusion. "Director Chen sent this?"
"Yes," Lang confirmed. "He even called to ask me some follow-up questions."
"Broken Hill's merger with Billiton has already been approved by the Austrian government. This deal will shake up the global mining market. We definitely need to pay attention—see what impact it might have here."
Niu's eyes stayed on the front page. "Could it be that the higher-ups want us to get involved? Maybe we'll have a role to play in this mega-merger?"
Lang smiled and nudged him. "Check page two. And there's a project dossier tucked in the back."
"Oh?" Niu flipped to the second page, scanned it, and then eagerly opened the documents in the back.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
"Gongcun Copper-Gold Project?"
The name rang a bell.
And in the article, he saw the name Li Tang—written in Romanized letters. Still, he recognized it instantly.
"That name sounds familiar, doesn't it?" Lang said, grinning at Niu's rare expression of astonishment.
It was the same look Lang himself had worn when he first saw the report.
"This is the same project Li Tang pitched to us, isn't it?" Niu asked.
How could he forget? Back then, Li Tang had come to their office asking for 50 million yuan to fund the project.
They had trusted his abilities and had prepared 2 million—thinking they'd surprise him.
But when Li Tang asked for 50 million, they had been stunned into silence.
And now?
He'd done it again.
Lang's mind flashed back to that meeting—Li Tang standing in this very office, confidently laying out his plan.
They had felt his energy. They'd seen his rock-solid confidence.
But still—how many people can just sign off on a 50-million-yuan investment for a project with no confirmed results?
Even when Qulong had been proven to be a super-large deposit, their board had agonized over whether to approve just 30 million for further exploration.
It took endless expert meetings and board debates to finally get that 30 million signed off.
And that was for a guaranteed return.
For a then-unproven project like Gongcun, to invest 50 million? Impossible.
Looking back, they still felt their decision had been prudent.
But that didn't mean they could underestimate Li Tang.
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Johanssen