Chapter 80: The Mark of the Metallurgical System
"It's fine. If you ever need our help in the future, don't hesitate to get in touch," Han Dexun said as he finished his coffee. The bitterness lingered on his tongue and in his heart, making him feel the coffee hadn't been worth the money. He stood up. "Since that's the case, we'll head straight back to Zhucheng."
The others downed their coffees in one gulp, then stood and followed Han Dexun out.
"Director Han, Captain Zhou," Li Tang also stood up and quickly called out as he saw the group leaving. "I heard that the geological teams don't have any ongoing projects right now, and many technicians have returned to their old trades—some are pedaling tricycles, others farming."
"No projects, low base salary. Sitting around doing nothing doesn't make sense either. Going out to make some extra income to support their families—we understand that," Han Dexun admitted without trying to hide the department's troubles. He even pointed at the middle-aged woman who was their office director. "She's a local from Zhucheng. Her family has two acres of paddy fields. She goes home to farm every busy season, doesn't need to spend a penny on rice. We're all quite envious."
The office director smiled shyly and nodded.
"There'll be projects soon. We need to retain the technical backbones!" Li Tang said seriously. "I also heard some technicians went to coastal provinces to work. That's not good—what if we can't get them back later?"
"As long as there are projects, there'll definitely be people! Our Geological Bureau has 3,000 employees. It's impossible for all of them to run off." Han Dexun laughed heartily.
He thought Li Tang was just offering some comforting words and didn't take it seriously.
But Zhou Zhenxing perked up and asked in earnest, "Is there a project?"
"It's a big one, definitely not smaller than the Qu Long copper mine!" Li Tang replied with a straight face.
Bigger than the Qu Long copper mine?
Discovering a super copper deposit like Qu Long was already a historic first in China's mining history. There couldn't possibly be a second one.
Zhou Zhenxing also thought Li Tang was just being nice and didn't hold out hope.
"We'll wait for your good news!" Han Dexun waved and walked out of the café.
Li Tang wasn't joking.
The Qu Long copper mine was a super-sized deposit with tens of millions of tons, currently ranked as China's largest copper mine.
In the future, though, Qu Long wouldn't even make it into the global top-tier list of super copper deposits. In China, it would eventually rank only second.
There was an even larger super copper deposit, waiting to be discovered.
To put it grandly, it was a "national treasure."
In China, no private individual could control such vast mineral resources.
History has repeatedly shown that resources with such deep economic influence—enough to impact national policy—are beyond the grasp of individuals, no matter how capable.
But Li Tang believed he could carve out a share of the profit.
…
Qin Jianshe had returned from Tibet Province.
From his personal standpoint, whether the Qu Long project's success could be extended no longer mattered as much compared to the current situation.
If he couldn't smoothly take over Zhou Tianqi's position, there would be no vacancies for promotion in the next three to four years.
That would severely impact his career trajectory. After all, life is short, and the older you get, the narrower the room for advancement.
Early in the morning, before work had started, he called Li Tang and headed together to Ou Pingguo's office.
Li Tang didn't even have time for breakfast and jogged all the way to the top floor.
As he stepped off the stairs in a rush, he nearly bumped into someone.
He looked up and, to his surprise, saw Niu Fu!
"Li Tang, what's the rush?" Niu Fu's curly hair was a mess as always, but he exuded an air of authority.
"President Niu, sorry, I was in a hurry," Li Tang apologized repeatedly.
"Young people are healthy, always full of energy," Niu Fu didn't blame him, and judging from Li Tang's breathless state, he already had an idea of what was happening. "The success at Qu Long copper mine has a lot to do with your original proposal to initiate the project. You played a major role. Everyone in the company knows this clearly."
"You flatter me, President Niu. I was just doing my job," Li Tang replied humbly.
Niu Fu brought up the subject on his own, "Since you played such a big part in the Qu Long project, I think your opinion should be consulted for the detailed exploration phase. Your input is important on the technical side."
"I don't have any objections. I will follow the leadership's arrangements," Li Tang gave a formulaic response.
"The group has been having continuous meetings about the detailed exploration phase. After all, it's a 30 million yuan project—massive and influential—so we must be thorough and cautious."
Niu Fu was beginning to view Li Tang's composed demeanor with new respect. "I heard your father works at the Guizhou Geological Bureau. Their representatives came over a few days ago to discuss a collaboration, and the conversation went quite smoothly. The project hasn't been finalized yet, though. I hope you won't develop any negative thoughts because of this."
"I won't," Li Tang maintained a proper attitude.
"Good, that's what I want to hear." Niu Fu nodded with satisfaction.
Li Tang passed by Niu Fu and, glancing back to see that he had gone downstairs, entered Ou Pingguo's office.
At this point, no matter what he personally thought, in everyone else's eyes, he was already marked with the indelible stamp of the Metallurgical System. As long as he remained in the Wu Mining Group, this mark would never fade.
And Ou Pingguo was precisely the number one figure in the so-called Metallurgical System.
Zhao Hepu and Qin Jianshe were already seated in the office, along with three others Li Tang didn't know well.
Seeing Li Tang enter, several of them looked a little surprised.
Qin Jianshe stood and gestured for Li Tang to sit next to him.
Ou Pingguo nodded to Li Tang, then continued the earlier discussion. "Yesterday, the group executives had another all-day meeting. Nothing new came out of it, and no results were reached. Niu Fu wants us to support his decision in the personnel vote. In exchange, the Qu Long project's detailed exploration will be left entirely to the metallurgical company to manage. But since it's a tens-of-millions-level project, higher authorities are very focused on it. So, the group will form a dedicated management task force for the Qu Long project, with a separate office, and Niu Fu himself will lead it."
None of this would ever be said so bluntly in a public setting.
Directly haggling over a personnel vote and offering conditions in return was already outside the bounds of corporate regulations.
This meeting was private and informal.
Li Tang knew he had been fully roped into the Metallurgical System's inner circle.
But none of this was what he wanted.
"He's trying to play both sides!" someone said indignantly.
"My personal opinion is that unless Niu Fu agrees to completely step away from the Qu Long project, we absolutely cannot compromise on the personnel vote!"
"Then maybe let Qin Jianshe take the position, and we don't touch the Qu Long project."
Everyone offered their strategies one after another.
Everyone knew what the real power struggle was over. But it wasn't easy to find a middle ground—each person wanted to gain a little more, or worried they'd lose out by conceding.
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