Chapter 132: Blessing or Curse
Li Tang walked straight into Qin Jianshe's office.
"What's the latest on the acquisition project?" Qin asked directly.
"It's not happening. The group leadership flat-out rejected the acquisition plan."
Li Tang entered the room, saw that no one else was there, and casually flopped onto the sofa, reclining comfortably.
"I heard it was a good opportunity. The higher-ups were also supportive of going international. Why the sudden change?" Qin sat across from him and asked casually.
"President Niu thought Coastal Resources lacked transparency and was hiding the real reasons for their operational troubles. So, he called it off."
"Well, so be it." Qin wasn't personally invested in the project, so he shrugged it off. "I was just thinking—if the deal had gone through and the group kept seconding you to the International Investment Company, it would've made staffing tough for us. Since it's off the table, it's best you keep working with us.
By the way, how's the copper project with Zise Mining in Tibet?"
"They've struck ore," Li Tang said offhandedly.
"They've struck ore?"
Qin hadn't heard a word about it. In domestic exploration projects, even if a major find is made, it's usually kept under wraps until the reserves are officially submitted.
During the active phase, nobody leaks news to the media.
Mainly because most of these projects are state-funded and not subject to public disclosure.
Li Tang hadn't had the chance to discuss this with Qin yet, so now that it came up, he figured he might as well bring him up to speed.
"The mineralization at Qinglong Copper Mine is excellent. Based on the current drilling data, they've already delineated shallow ore bodies, and the reserve has exceeded five million tons.
Besides copper, there's molybdenum, gold, silver—high economic value."
"Five million tons?"
Qin's eyes widened. He was caught completely off guard. "Is that for real?"
"It's real."
"This is so sudden!"
Qin scratched his head, confused. "You—and your father, Li Zaiqiang—why didn't either of you tell me earlier?"
"I did tell you," Li Tang replied calmly.
"You did?" Qin tried hard to recall but drew a blank. He had too much on his mind.
"Before we signed the technical consulting agreement with Zise Mining, I called you. I mentioned that this collaboration might stir up some discontent from upper management."
"I'm not talking about the project kickoff. I mean—once you actually discovered the ore body, why didn't you inform me right away?"
"Well, you know now. It's not too late. Plus, the discovery just got confirmed."
"What's the full picture here?"
Qin was still trying to process the shock. To him personally, the discovery didn't mean much. It wasn't their asset.
But to Li Tang—it was monumental.
For Zise Mining, it was a massive breakthrough.
But if handled poorly, it could become a disaster for them.
"Worried about pressure from the higher-ups?"
Li Tang tested the warmth of the teapot and poured Qin a cup.
"Our technical consulting agreement with Zise Mining helped them find a major deposit. That's a huge achievement for the nation and the people.
But think about it: we had the technical expertise, we had the insight—yet we didn't develop Qinglong Copper Mine under Wukuang Group's banner. Instead, we handed the mining rights to someone else. How do you think the leadership will view that?
Some might accuse us of betrayal—of feeding others while starving ourselves."
Qin anxiously scratched his head. "I need to think. We need a response plan. If we don't handle this properly, we're finished."
With Zhou Tianqi about to retire and no decision made yet on the next general manager, the succession was still a mystery.
End-of-year internal reshuffles were inevitable.
If this mistake ended up in the wrong hands, it could be fatal.
It could tilt the balance and cost him everything.
If it were his own fault that sank the ship, he'd be ashamed—especially for letting down people like Ou Pingguo and Zhao Hepu, who had been fighting beside him.
This wasn't just about personal gain—it affected the whole faction.
"Qulong had good ore too, but the leadership never really pursued detailed exploration," Li Tang muttered.
He didn't believe either of them should shoulder blame.
If Wukuang Group hadn't been so short-sighted in their handling of Qulong, he wouldn't have taken Qinglong to Zise Mining in the first place.
The real blame lay with the leadership, obsessed with politics and infighting, rather than getting things done.
"So this five million tons—is it officially submitted?" Qin asked.
"No. That's just the result of the first exploration phase."
Li Tang didn't hide anything. "Zise Mining has already approved a fifty-million-yuan budget for detailed surveys. Over the next two to three years, they'll proceed step by step."
"Fifty million, already underway?"
"Fully underway. And the project is being carried out by Geological Team 101 from Qianzhou Province."
"That fast? Geological Team 101?"
Qin was shocked again—and deeply ashamed.
Wukuang had discovered Qulong first, with confirmed reserves of 3 million tons and a prospective resource of 10 million tons.
Yet they'd done nothing further.
Meanwhile, Zise Mining came in later and already launched a full-fledged 50-million-yuan project.
That level of decisiveness and execution was staggering.
The contrast was stark.
"Zise is a smaller company, so they're more agile in decision-making," Li Tang said.
"What's the current progress?"
"Not sure yet," Li Tang shook his head. "But based on the field data, the deposit is shallow and large. It's even better than Qulong. I'd say it's inevitable that reserves will increase."
"What results do you expect before year-end?"
"Even if they only map out the shallow zones, I'd expect over ten million tons of reserves."
"Ten million tons?!"
Qin couldn't stay seated.
That was real, proven ore—not just speculative estimates like Qulong's.
"Maybe even more." Li Tang had strong confidence in Qinglong.
From what he knew, the deposit could easily surpass 20 million tons.
If they explored the deeper and peripheral zones, the total could exceed 30 million tons.
Qinglong was orders of magnitude larger than Qulong.
Qin looked into Li Tang's eyes and saw how calm he was. He let out a long breath. "Don't go broadcasting this yet."
"I have no reason to."
"I'll go discuss this with Zhao Hepu. This could turn into a huge deal.
Luckily, you told me early—we've got some buffer time to prepare."
Qin stood up, and so did Li Tang.
"Oh right, your assistant engineer certificate just arrived. Go pick it up from the office. And check in with HR—your contract's up for renewal."
"Understood."
Li Tang had actually come not only to discuss Qinglong but also with a request. "If there's nothing urgent here, I'd like to return to Tibet. You know my dad is still there leading the exploration team—I want to check on them."
"Back again?"
Qin regretted not clarifying the nature of Li Tang's collaboration with Zise earlier.
If Qinglong had been found by Wukuang, it could've been their second mega copper mine.
He himself would've gotten a huge promotion.
But it was too late.
As he walked out of the office, he couldn't help but sigh. Wherever Li Tang went, he always made waves.
"Qin?" Li Tang saw that he was distracted and called out.
Qin snapped out of it. "Go ahead. Either way, we have a signed consulting agreement with Zise.
You going over as technical support is entirely normal."
Then he hurried up the stairs, three steps at a time, to the Mining and Metallurgy Company's general manager office.
Inside, Zhao Hepu was lounging in his chair, casually smoking.
When he saw Qin burst in, he smiled. "You're here."
But he quickly noticed Qin's grim expression. "What's wrong?"
"I need to tell you something. About Zise's Qinglong Copper Mine…"
Qin recounted the mineralization news and their signed consulting agreement.
Zhao's smile vanished. He sensed the looming crisis.
He smoked another cigarette, eyes narrowing through the haze.
When Qin finished, Zhao spoke in a low voice: "If this isn't handled properly, it could hurt you."
"Should we tell Director Ou?"
"Not yet." Zhao shook his head. "From what you've said, only Zise and the Qianzhou Geological Bureau know. If the project takes two to three years to complete, it'll be old news by then."
"What if the news leaks?"
That was what worried Qin most.
Five million tons of copper placed Qinglong among China's top deposits.
And if, as Li Tang predicted, they hit ten million, it would be impossible to keep quiet.
"As long as the news comes out after Zhou Tianqi retires, it won't matter much."
"Shouldn't we prepare?"
"There's nothing to prepare." Zhao flicked his ashes. "The group's top brass has been locked in endless meetings. There'll be a result soon.
Don't panic—rushing might backfire. If we tell Director Ou now, it might just destabilize everything."
"Let's hope nothing goes wrong." Qin had thought hard and agreed—Qinglong was an uncontrollable variable. There wasn't much they could do to change it.
"They really found five million tons?" Zhao wasn't worried about political fallout. He was more interested in the find itself.
"Yes. Li Tang told me directly. He also said they could easily push it to ten million tons."
"Ten million?"
Zhao jolted, then crushed his cigarette angrily. "Why didn't Li Tang come to me about this?!"
"We were supposed to give Qulong's detailed survey to Geological Team 101.
But given the current mess inside the group, does that even look likely?"
"Yeah…"
Zhao wanted to do more with Qulong but couldn't.
Now he finally understood why Li Tang went to Zise.
"Li Tang's the real deal," Qin said. After a year of working together, he knew the guy inside and out. "We're too distracted to focus on getting things done. We just don't think the same way as him."
"You're right."
Zhao nodded deeply, then muttered, "Li Tang must be blessed by the gods—wherever he goes, he finds ore!"
…
Li Tang had He Runqi pick up his assistant engineer certificate. He didn't go to HR to renew his contract.
He just bought a plane ticket and flew straight to Tibet.
With Qulong on hold, Wukuang's local office had only two staff left, doing nothing.
They had no vehicle assigned, and Li Tang's plan to borrow one fell through.
Fortunately, Zise Mining had an office there. After contacting Tao Mingzhi, Zise sent a car and driver to take him to Gaizhe County in the Ali region.
It was over 1,000 kilometers away. The two of them took turns driving, and after three days, they finally arrived.
They hired a local guide and drove another day on muddy mountain roads before reaching the Qinglong Copper Mine base.
Snow dusted the ground. The wind howled. It was bitter cold.
The driver had to stay the night in the camp before heading back.
When Tao Mingzhi heard Li Tang had arrived, he rushed over. He was bundled in thick clothes and had a scarf over his face—only his eyes were visible.
"Li Tang! You're here!"
"Minister Tao, where'd you come from?"
Li Tang noticed snow hanging from the tech team's coats.
"We've identified four main ore bodies, so we split into four teams. I've been stationed at the second deposit.
I heard you were coming, so I rushed over. Even though it doesn't look far on the map, it takes half a day on foot."
Tao panted through his scarf, which was crusted with frozen breath. But he was cheerful. "I heard from Chief Engineer Li that you went abroad for a major project?"
"I took a trip to Australia to look at some iron ore. Didn't work out."
As Li Tang was talking, someone draped a heavy coat over his shoulders.
He turned—his father had brought out his own coat and placed it on him.
Li Zaiqiang patted his son on the back. "It gets even colder at night. You'll freeze dressed like this!"
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