Rebirth of the Mining Tycoon

Chapter 60: Everyone Has Self-Interest

Thousands of kilometers away in Yanjing, things weren't going quite as smoothly.

After numerous twists and turns, the 101st Geological Team of Guizhou Province had finally signed an entrusted exploration contract with Wukuang Group. The total budget for the first phase was 5 million yuan.

If the initial exploration succeeded, the 101st would have priority for continuing into the second phase—a detailed survey estimated at 30 million yuan.

For Wukuang Group as a whole, a 5-million-yuan exploration project wasn't especially large. Maybe some people didn't care about it at all.

But for the newly formed Wukuang Exploration Company, it was a huge deal.

Yang Xueping sensed danger. She had already met with Zhou Tianqi five times to discuss countermeasures.

Eventually, Zhou Tianqi brought Yang Xueping to the top floor of the office building to meet General Manager Niu Fu.

They also brought along a senior geological expert from the China Geological Survey, someone who had just returned from Tibet Province after participating in a copper exploration project there.

Niu Fu, with his signature curly hair and naturally commanding presence, already knew what they were coming to discuss. "Is this about the Qulong Copper Exploration Project in Tibet Province?"

The project was named after the Qulong Mountain Range, a well-known area in the region where the exploration was taking place.

"I believe the Qulong project lacked transparency during the bidding process," Yang Xueping blurted out, unable to contain her dissatisfaction.

"Unity is important," Niu Fu said sternly, glancing at the geological expert. After all, there was an outsider present.

"Certain individuals made decisions during the tendering process without even reporting to President Zhou," Yang continued, her tone sharp. "They acted entirely on their own!"

Her words were only a breath away from naming names. The person she was clearly pointing to was Qin Jianshe.

Next year, Zhou Tianqi was scheduled to retire. The company's next general manager would likely be chosen between Yang Xueping and Qin Jianshe.

The competition between them had already reached a boiling point the moment the company was founded.

If the Qulong project in Tibet really yielded a super deposit of ten million tons of copper, it would catapult Qin Jianshe to fame. He could very well enter the core leadership circle at Group headquarters.

By contrast, Yang Xueping would be nothing more than a stepping stone in someone else's success.

She felt the threat—and it was urgent.

"This project was primarily funded by the Mining & Metallurgy Company. That's why President Zhao Hepu was responsible for overseeing its key aspects," Niu Fu replied, carefully avoiding taking Yang's side.

There had been talk of Niu Fu being the figurehead of a so-called "Wukuang faction," but internally, they were reluctant to admit to any such cliques.

Yang clearly wanted to say more, but Zhou Tianqi quickly cut her off. "General Manager Niu, actually, when Qin Jianshe came to me with this proposal for a project in Tibet, I initially rejected it. Only then did he approach the Mining & Metallurgy Company and apply through you."

This was the first time Niu Fu had heard such a version of events. "Why did you reject it outright?"

"A projected ten million tons of copper metal? That's the equivalent of building the largest copper mining company in the nation from scratch!" Zhou Tianqi's grey hair trembled with emotion. "I've worked in this field my entire life. I've seen hundreds of mines. I know our country—there's no way such a deposit exists. Many experts say all the key areas have already been explored. A mine that size simply couldn't have been missed."

"Think about it—a kid in his twenties like Li Tang, full of wild ideas… you think he could discover a ten-million-ton super copper deposit?"

As he spoke, even he shook his head at the absurdity.

Clearly, he believed that Li Tang's feasibility report was delusional at best, fraudulent at worst.

Niu Fu furrowed his brow.

He had personally approved Li Tang's project.

Zhou's remarks, while aimed at Li Tang, also cast doubt on his own judgment.

"You make a good point," Niu said neutrally, though his expression darkened slightly. He didn't argue, but neither did he change his mind.

Zhou Tianqi then gestured to the geological expert they'd brought. "This is Nong Pengxin, a senior engineer from the China Geological Survey. He just returned from Tibet and even encountered Li Tang's team during their exploration. Engineer Nong has worked on copper exploration there for years—he knows the area well. Please hear him out."

"We've been working in Tibet for three or four years," Nong began, sticking to the facts. "And we've done extensive surface work within the very zone your company just acquired."

"We didn't see any strong signs of mineralization. Honestly, the chances of finding a big deposit are extremely low."

"You've been working there for several years already?" Niu Fu asked, surprised.

"That's right. To be fair, your team did secure a license over part of the metallogenic belt. And there are isolated signs of mineral presence. But the results are weak—nowhere near economically viable."

"I understand," Niu nodded.

Yang Xueping and Zhou Tianqi hadn't gotten a definitive answer from Niu, but they had planted enough seeds of doubt.

As they left the top floor, Zhou Tianqi entered his office and found Qin Jianshe already waiting for him.

Zhou smiled faintly. "President Qin, looking for me?"

Qin didn't waste time. He tossed a report onto Zhou's desk. "President Zhou, I think the results section of the Mineral Resources Department's annual report has serious issues!"

"Oh?" Zhou lifted his teacup and sipped slowly. "Since when are you so interested in the department's report?"

"Take the Guanling Gold Project—it reported a confirmed reserve of 13 tons this year. That qualifies it as a mid-sized gold deposit!"

"Exactly," Zhou said with satisfaction. "This is one of the company's major successes this year. Group HQ even promised us a substantial bonus for it."

That only made Qin more outraged. "The Guanling project had already been considered a failure! It was Li Tang who proposed a new exploration model that revived it! Without him, we wouldn't have found anything!"

"Well now, you can't just dismiss the hard work of the entire Mineral Resources Department," Zhou replied coolly. "They've been out there for a whole year—away from their families. It's not easy."

"I'm not trying to take anything from them," Qin said, flipping through the report. The sound of rustling pages filled the room. "But explain this—why doesn't Li Tang's name appear anywhere in this report? He should be listed as the key contributor!"

Zhou didn't respond.

As the company's first general manager, he had always tried to balance competing interests fairly.

But he was still human.

And everyone has self-interest. At times, bias was unavoidable.

Also, reversing a decision he'd already made could damage his authority.

"Li Tang was only on-site for a few days. He wasn't even formally part of the project team," Zhou said in a gravelly voice.

"I think this is deeply unfair to him," Qin said through clenched teeth.

"Li Tang…"

Zhou couldn't help but picture the young man's face. He admired Li Tang's talent and potential. But if someone like him couldn't be brought under control, then he would eventually become a threat.

Seeing that Zhou had no intention of correcting the record, Qin Jianshe turned and walked out, clearly angry.

It was obvious now: Zhou had made his choice—to fully support Yang Xueping.

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