Chapter 234: A Man Focused on Work Is Most Attractive
Li Tang called everyone together for a meeting.
The attendees included Qin Jianshe, Ren Qingqing, Guo Fengchun, Li Zaiqiang, and Zhang Tao—key leaders responsible for different aspects of the Talego copper-gold mine project.
"The snow and ice have melted. We need to head to Mengguo as soon as possible and aim to complete all exploration work this year." He opened with a firm statement, then looked toward Qin Jianshe. "Minister Qin—oh right, let me first introduce everyone. Qin Jianshe has officially been transferred from Wukuang Exploration Company to the main office of Wukuang Group, where he now serves as Director of the Technical Department."
Li Zaiqiang hadn't heard the news before. As soon as he did, he was the first to start clapping. "Nice one, Jianshe—rising through the ranks!"
"Minister Qin is deeply appreciated by our senior leadership at Wukuang Group. Being able to learn from him is truly our honor." Ren Qingqing added some flattering words.
Sometimes a well-placed compliment could secure a crucial vote when it mattered.
As the applause died down, Qin Jianshe, though clearly enjoying the recognition, quickly composed himself and spoke seriously. "This year, the Talego copper-gold project is under tremendous pressure—tight timelines and heavy workload. Everyone here knows what you're responsible for and the challenges ahead. I'll speak about drilling, since that's my area. We've contacted several drilling contractors and have secured at least ten rigs capable of drilling over a kilometer deep. On behalf of the company, I can assure Mr. Li that drilling preparation is rock solid."
Ren Qingqing also gave a concise update on the financial side. "This project has received top-level attention from the authorities. Our foreign exchange application was specially approved. All funding is ready to go."
"As for food, accommodation, and the various administrative approvals in Mengguo," Guo Fengchun reported, "thanks to last year's groundwork, everything is moving smoothly and by the book."
Geological Survey Bureau Chief Engineer Zhang Tao cleared his throat and spoke up:
"This year, our main focus is the far northern zone. It has two deep ore bodies. The first is between 400 to 800 meters deep. We did some work on it last year and have high hopes for extending the ore body. The second one is more challenging—it's over 1,500 meters deep. That raises major technical difficulties."
Exploring depths under 300 meters is relatively easy.
The deeper you go, the fewer tools and techniques are available.
In fact, deep mineral exploration remains a global challenge for the geological community.
The ore body had already been found—but understanding its shape and direction was a massive undertaking.
Li Tang understood their concerns.
"Then we drill more."
Drilling is the most direct and effective method of exploration. But once you go past 1,000 meters, the costs skyrocket. A single borehole can cost over a million yuan. And whether it hits ore depends heavily on the geologist's placement and expertise.
Zhang Tao looked burdened.
"We've done extensive prep work. The Geological Survey Bureau is confident we can meet the challenge and hit our targets!"
Li Tang laid out the year's official goal:
"We need to confirm reserves of 30 million tons of copper, 1,000 tons of gold, and 7,000 tons of silver."
This target, building on last year's progress, had already been distributed to everyone—putting huge pressure on each team.
If achieved, Talego would be one of the greatest discoveries of the past thirty years.
Any of the three resources alone would rank as a world-class deposit. All three together? Unprecedented.
Li Zaiqiang then spoke up:
"After discussing with Chief Engineer Zhang Tao, we at Qianzhou Provincial Geological Bureau have decided to join the northern zone exploration this year. Previously, we handled the southern and southwestern zones, where ore bodies are shallow—under 1,000 meters. Although the area is broad, the work was relatively manageable. The next phase will be tougher."
He looked toward Li Tang. In this setting, he wasn't speaking as a father, but as a project partner.
"We'd like to apply to join the deep exploration work in the far north. Would that be alright with you?"
"Huh?"
Li Tang hadn't expected his father to volunteer for the hardest part. He scratched his head.
"If that's what you want, then go ahead. Coordinate with the other team and divide the tasks."
"Understood."
Li Zaiqiang nodded firmly.
Zhang Tao was grateful for the help.
"With Mr. Li joining in, our efforts will surely be more effective—like adding wings to a tiger."
…
While they were deep in discussion about technical preparations, Li Xinqi walked into the lobby of Yunding Building with a young female employee.
"Is this Yunding Building?" the young employee asked the security guard at the entrance.
"Yes, it is."
"Do you know what floor Li Tang is on?"
"Li Tang? Don't know him."
"Isn't this the office for Zhenguan Exploration and Li Tang Shengshi Holdings?"
"No. This is Yunding Building."
"Which company owns this property?"
"It belongs to a real estate company."
"You know Zhongcheng Mining?"
"Nope."
"What's going on—did we come to the wrong place?"
The employee ran back to Xinqi, clearly confused.
"This is Yunding Building, but the guard said it's not where Zhongcheng Mining or Li Tang Shengshi Holdings is based."
"Did we get lost?"
Xinqi looked baffled too. She took out her phone and tried to call Li Tang—but it didn't connect.
At that moment, Li Tang was in the meeting and had silenced his phone.
"Well, no one's stopping us. Let's go check inside. Xiao Xi, come on."
Carrying two heavy fruit baskets, they reached the stairwell and finally saw signage for Li Tang's companies.
They took the elevator up, entered the correct floor, and saw people busy organizing files.
"Can I help you?" one of the staff greeted them politely.
"We're here to see Li Tang," said Xiao Xi nervously.
"Mr. Li?" The young male employee had initially thought the two women were attractive and was about to strike up a conversation, but once he heard "Li Tang," he dropped the idea and said quickly, "Please wait in the lounge. Mr. Li is in a meeting."
They passed through the open-plan office and walked by the glass-walled meeting room.
Through the transparent wall, Xinqi spotted Li Tang at the head of the table.
He was sitting upright, serious and focused. Mostly listening, occasionally speaking, and gesturing subtly as he did.
The room was well soundproofed. They couldn't hear the discussion.
They say men are most attractive when they're working seriously.
Xinqi didn't go into the lounge. Instead, she stood quietly across from the meeting room, watching Li Tang's every move through the glass.
Today, he wore a black suit and looked incredibly composed.
Everyone around him seemed engaged in a heated discussion—likely some technical issue or project milestone.
And for reasons she couldn't explain, she thought he looked even more handsome than he had the night before.
Xiao Xi stood beside her and asked curiously,
"Assistant Li, what are you looking at?"
"Nothing. Let's just wait here a bit. He's in a meeting."
Xinqi smiled, and the dimples on her round cheeks made her look even more endearing.
The meeting lasted nearly two hours. By the time it was close to noon, Li Tang declared it adjourned. As he stepped out of the conference room, a staff member jogged over to report, "President Li, there are two young ladies here to see you, and they brought fruit baskets!"
Following the direction the employee pointed, Li Tang immediately recognized Li Xinqi—they had just shared a hot pot dinner the night before.
Walking beside Li Tang, Alice also spotted Xinqi. "She came to see you. Just like you said: if two people keep in touch after a blind date, marriage might be on the horizon."
"What marriage?" Li Tang was speechless. Things don't happen that fast, or that easily.
"Who's getting married?" asked Li Zaiqiang, who was walking behind them. No one was more invested in Li Tang's love life than his father.
Li Tang turned and gave him an awkward smile, gently pushing him toward the door. "The company arranged lunch—go ahead. I'll be down shortly."
Qin Jianshe, who had arranged the blind date between Li Tang and Li Xinqi at the request of Li Xingchao, had met Xinqi the night before. When he saw her take the initiative to come find Li Tang and noticed the curiosity on Li Zaiqiang's face, he understood Li Tang's thoughts. He grabbed Zaiqiang's arm and led him into the elevator. "Come on, let's go grab a drink at lunch. One last toast and a good nap before heading to Mengguo. We won't have this kind of comfort once we're out there again."
Zaiqiang was happy to drink with his old classmate. Their relationship was pure, uncomplicated by interests, and enjoyable.
Still, he wasn't that excited about drinking today—he was much more curious about the identity of the two young ladies who had just come to see his son.
"I thought I heard someone say something about getting married. Was it Li Tang?" he asked, puzzled.
"Good things are on the way!" Qin Jianshe laughed.
"Why keep this from me? I want to go up and see what my future daughter-in-law looks like!" Zaiqiang moved to press the elevator button to head back up.
"Two young people dating—what are you going to do, be the third wheel?" Qin said gruffly. "Honestly, you really don't get romance. Let them have their privacy, don't go sticking your nose into everything."
"Really?" Zaiqiang was still curious, his heart itching with interest, eager to worry about his son's love life.
But after hearing Qin's words, he was actually quite pleased—finally, it seemed his son's romantic future was showing some promise.
"Look, they've just started getting to know each other. They're both probably still shy. You barge in like that and you'll scare the girl away!"
In truth, Qin was thrilled at the idea of Li Tang marrying into the Li Xingchao family. Such a marriage would only benefit Li Tang's future career immensely—there were no downsides.
"You're right. I almost made a mistake just now," Zaiqiang admitted. As a father, at least he hadn't acted too rashly—yet.
"As the future father-in-law, your job is to show her that you come from a good, respectable family. That way she'll feel confident about dating your son!"
"You're absolutely right!" Zaiqiang felt his friend's advice was sound.
…
By lunch, everyone had begun to head down to the cafeteria.
The company had a partnership with the restaurant downstairs. When staff numbers were high, they provided buffet-style work meals—always nutritious and never stingy.
Whether they were project teams or office staff, everyone was used to the lunchtime routine by now.
Li Tang didn't join the group lunch. Instead, he brought Li Xinqi into his office.
Behind them, Xiao Xi carried a heavy fruit basket.
Seeing she was struggling, Li Tang took it from her. Once everyone was seated, he smiled at Xinqi. "What brings you here?"
"Our Shenxia Group is an investor in Zhongcheng Mining, and we also provided you with a 30 million yuan loan."
Li Xinqi straightened her expression and pointed to herself.
"I'm Assistant Director of Finance at Shenxia Group. I've been sent to audit Zhongcheng Mining's use of the loan and verify that the funds are being used properly as outlined in the contract."
"Ah, business?"
Li Tang instantly shifted into serious mode. He pointed to the fruit basket.
"Since you came for work, and even brought us a fruit basket—that's very considerate of you. On behalf of the entire team at Zhongcheng Mining, I sincerely thank Shenxia Group and Assistant Li for your thoughtful gift."
"Alright, alright—enough of that."
In truth, she had indeed been assigned by the Finance Director to conduct the audit, but she wasn't naïve. It was clear her father, Li Xingchao, had arranged for this assignment.
Based on how her parents had acted the day before, it was obvious they were incredibly fond of Li Tang.
They practically wanted to marry her off to him immediately.
She could see through their intentions, but didn't call them out on it.
She was also curious. She wanted to see for herself what kind of presence this so-called mining tycoon had, the man her father spoke so highly of.
So, she played along and brought her assistant, Xiao Xi, to the office.
Just then, Alice brought over a pot of tea and poured a cup for everyone.
She had grown very proficient at this job—no longer needing instruction.
"You should go eat, you've been working all morning—you must be hungry," Li Tang said with a smile.
"I'm not too hungry. I'll wait and eat with you." Alice sat beside him.
As his right hand, it would be inappropriate for her to eat alone while the boss hadn't.
Li Tang didn't mind. He turned to Xinqi and explained in a formal tone:
"Last year, we borrowed 50 million yuan from Huajin and Shenxia Group for one year. As per the contract, the funds were to be used exclusively for Zhongcheng Mining operations and the Talego copper-gold project."
He stood and fetched a document from his desk.
"All the funds were deposited into Zhongcheng's account. This is the proof."
Xinqi accepted the file and flipped through it. There wasn't much, and she finished reading quickly.
"Okay. You've used the loan properly and as outlined in the contract."
"We are obligated to report our financials to every shareholder."
Li Tang looked a bit troubled.
"Zhongcheng's finances are currently managed by Deputy Director Ren Qingqing. She's gone to lunch."
"We can review the financials later."
Xinqi wasn't in a hurry.
"As Shenxia Group's assigned finance rep, I'll be coming here regularly to audit things. No rush."
"Thanks for your understanding."
Li Tang smiled. "It's lunchtime—shall we grab something to eat?"
Xinqi glanced at Xiao Xi and nodded. "Sure, I'm hungry."
"The cafeteria downstairs serves great food—varied and delicious."
Li Tang had arranged to go shopping with his father later in the afternoon to prepare supplies for the Mengguo trip.
"A simple meal okay with you?"
"Of course," Xinqi smiled. She didn't have the air of a spoiled heiress and even looked a bit excited.
"Honestly, I love the idea of eating company cafeteria food."
"I've been eating Shenxia's food for so long—it's gotten old," Xiao Xi added with a grin.
The cafeteria was on the third floor. The elevator ride was quick.
They served fish, beef, chicken soup—nutritious and well-balanced.
From executives to interns, everyone queued up with trays, picking their own meals.
"Ooh, that spicy sliced beef looks amazing!"
"Xiao Xi, eat some greens. You've been putting on weight lately. I need greens too—too much meat gives me heartburn."
"Assistant Li, look at this steamed sea bass—healthy and great for your complexion!"
The two girls chatted and laughed while picking dishes—totally at ease. Clearly close friends as well as coworkers.
Li Tang and Alice grabbed their trays and followed suit.
"President Li, you can sit here—we're done!"
One group had just finished eating and offered up their seats.
The four of them sat down together and began their lunch.
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