Chapter 69: A Generation's Titan
Han Dexun arrived in Yanjing with Zhou Zhenxing and others, thinking they'd smoothly sign the contract for the Qulong Copper Mine detailed exploration project. But after a week of waiting, they hadn't received a single definite answer. The hotel bills alone were piling up.
"I think they're just stalling us," Zhou Zhenxing muttered, increasingly uneasy. "They probably already made a deal with another unit and are just dragging things out with us."
"What can we do?" Han Dexun sighed, lying on the hotel bed, staring at the ceiling, completely at a loss.
Getting people to help was never easy—especially when politics and big money were involved.
"We signed a preliminary contract for the pre-survey. It was written in black and white: if the project met expectations, we'd have priority for the detailed survey."
"Yes, but that just means priority under equal conditions. The question now is: what counts as equal conditions?"
"I just don't think sitting here waiting will get us anywhere."
They had come to Yanjing thinking the 30-million-yuan project was already in the bag. They arrived happy and hopeful—only to be met with cold silence.
They weren't even being rejected. They were being ignored.
They were stuck in limbo, and it was eating them alive.
"Try calling Li Zaiqiang," Han Dexun finally said after long consideration.
When Qin Jianshe first went to Zhucheng in Guizhou, who would have guessed he'd go directly to Li Zaiqiang?
Now, the only way forward was to reopen that connection, and see if Li Tang could help sway things.
"Will it help to contact Li Zaiqiang?" Zhou Zhenxing asked, skeptical.
A 5-million-yuan project and a 30-million-yuan project operated on completely different levels.
"It's worth a try. Maybe he can talk to Li Tang. After all, Li Tang works for Wukuang Group, and he clearly has some connections. If anyone can get us a straight answer—even just a clue—it's him."
Han Dexun couldn't help but sigh. The young truly are surpassing the old.
"I'll call him right away!"
…
With the preliminary survey work essentially complete and only a few deep holes still being drilled, there wasn't much reason to stay at the site. Many members of the project team had already returned to the provincial capital for a well-deserved break.
Li Tang had been waiting.
Waiting for the first big fish to bite.
And just as he expected, someone powerful came knocking.
What he didn't expect was that the first person to reach out was none other than Xiao Yongyue.
Call it fate.
The man who would later invest 1.5 billion yuan, betting everything on Qulong Copper Mine and ultimately losing it all, was now sitting in front of him—this legendary mining magnate.
Xiao Yongyue came from humble beginnings. At 16, he moved to the small city of Gaolumu in western Tibet to start his career.
According to rumors, he began by opening a hotel there and earned his first fortune in that city of just 200,000 people.
Later, he broke into the mining industry and secured rights to Gaolumu's salt flats—eventually establishing a company that produced potash fertilizer.
In just a few years, he climbed into the ranks of the ultra-wealthy and became the richest man in Tibet.
His boldness was unrivaled. He made huge moves across industries and didn't seem to falter.
To outsiders, his story had a mystical quality.
There were endless rumors about how he earned his first fortune, and about how he secured the salt mining rights.
What's known for sure is that before official extraction began, illegal mining at Gaolumu's salt flats was rampant. The unregulated operations wasted resources—but the potash they extracted significantly boosted crop yields in the east.
Right or wrong, it's hard to say.
After all, eastern and southeastern China's farmland is notoriously deficient in potassium.
To improve output, massive quantities of potash fertilizer were needed.
For a time, as the saying went, "Even mud from a salt flat could fetch a fortune in the east."
Standing on that wind-blown platform, even a pig could fly.
Xiao Yongyue took control of the salt flats, scaled up potash production, took the company public, and became unimaginably rich.
He was ambitious—becoming the richest man in Tibet wasn't enough. He wanted to become China's richest man, even the richest in the world.
He went all in, betting everything on the Qulong Copper Mine.
At the time, every financial analyst and media outlet said the same thing: if Qulong Copper Mine went into production, Xiao Yongyue would effortlessly become China's richest person—untouchable.
He poured 1.5 billion yuan into the project, and barely made a splash.
Forget being China's richest—he lost control of his potash company, and worse, got investigated for embezzling hundreds of millions from the publicly traded firm.
Whether success or failure, the man now sitting across from Li Tang was unquestionably a titan in China's mining world.
"Pleasure to finally meet you!" Xiao said.
He was a burly man with an intimidating aura—he looked like he could punch a bull to death.
Li Tang glanced out the door at several luxury cars. One of them, a Hummer, really stood out.
Inside the room, apart from Xiao, everyone else was a hulking man in dark clothes, silent and still—just like the Hummer, radiating raw force.
"So… why did you ask me here?" Li Tang asked cautiously.
"Don't be nervous," Xiao tried to sound friendly.
But the dozen big men standing silently behind him made the setting anything but comforting.
"Mr. Xiao, what can I do for you?" Li Tang had been told in advance that Xiao Yongyue wanted to treat him to dinner.
He was surprised by the invite. He had read bits about Xiao's background but knew little about the man himself. Still, he accepted the invitation out of curiosity.
"I saw your news story on CCTV," Xiao said, waving a hand for Li Tang to sit down. "And I've heard all about the Qulong Copper Project. I'm in the mining business myself—and I'm very interested in Tibet's copper."
"So you're hoping I can help you find copper?" Li Tang asked bluntly.
"I know you discovered Qulong. If you could find one copper mine that big, you can definitely find another."
"I appreciate your confidence in me."
Knock knock.
Xiao tapped the table with his knuckles.
One of the men behind him immediately brought forward a small leather suitcase and placed it on the solid wood table.
He opened it.
Inside: stacks of crisp 100-yuan notes.
By a rough count—at least a million yuan.
"What does this mean?" Li Tang asked, his face calm.
Xiao made a sweeping gesture. "Just a welcome gift. Take it. Use it as you wish."
Li Tang didn't show any excitement. In fact, his face didn't change at all.
But inwardly, he was getting nervous.
He had no real understanding of Xiao Yongyue—his only knowledge came from scattered reports and rumors. Who could say what was fact or fiction?
Just looking at the scene in front of him made it hard to accept such a simple gift.
Even though he was short on money, he wasn't desperate enough to grab at whatever was thrown his way.
If he took this cash… would he still be free afterward?
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