Chapter 104: Please Accept My Knees
"How's the project progressing?" Li Tang asked.
"Very smoothly!" Ding Shaoying gestured politely. "Let's go inside and talk in detail."
As they reached the doorway, Li Tang spotted He Runqi leaning against a pillar, staring at him with wide eyes. Li Tang chuckled, "What's with you?"
"You still remembered to come back?" He Runqi huffed.
"Hmm?" Li Tang felt a twinge of unease.
Judging from He Runqi's aggrieved and slightly resentful expression, could it be that while he was away, this poor guy had been bullied by the young, wolf-like technicians of the geological institute?
He Runqi clutched a copy of Geology, grumbling as he walked inside, "While you were gone, anytime they had a question, they came straight to me, bombarding me with all sorts of technical problems. I could barely handle it. Thank God you're back."
"That's it?" Li Tang asked, half-disappointed that there was no dramatic story of suffering.
Just as they stepped over the threshold, a shiny bald head suddenly blocked the doorway.
Li Tang took a closer look—it was Ding Shaoying bowing deeply at a full ninety degrees, as if paying homage to a mountain god or local shrine.
Out of instinct and respect, Li Tang quickly sidestepped to avoid receiving the elder's full bow.
But when Ding straightened up, he turned directly to Li Tang and spoke with sincerity,
"Li Tang, I must bow to you—to express my admiration, and also my apology!"
"Me?"
Li Tang was stunned. So that bow wasn't to some distant spirit—it was to him?
What the hell?
At forty-something, Ding was still part of the younger generation of leaders. Compared to Li Tang, of course, he was older, but there was absolutely no need for him to go this far.
"When the Yunyue Bauxite Project began, I repeatedly insisted that bauxite must be sought in shallow layers—especially within 150 meters," Ding said, explaining his bow.
"I was strongly opposed to launching the project at first. But you stood your ground, pushed through resistance, and placed the project here in Tiemu Town. Later, after we carried out microgravity and CSAMT surveys, the results came in. You once again insisted on drilling a 200-meter-deep exploratory hole—despite my opposition. I don't even know what my expression was back then, but I'm sure it wasn't pleasant. Looking back now, my behavior was laughable."
"Chief Ding, no need to take it so seriously," Li Tang said, waving it off, looking unconcerned.
Truthfully, he didn't even remember exactly what Ding had said or how he had reacted at the time.
All that talk about "pushing through resistance" and "bearing pressure" sounded dramatic, even touching—but for Li Tang, it had never been that serious.
He had been firm about drilling here, completely confident in the target area. The opposition voices floated by like a breeze—in one ear, out the other.
He knew with certainty: there was a large bauxite deposit here.
Let others say what they wanted—he was doing what he came to do.
That had always been his attitude on this project.
Nothing could stop his determination to make money.
Ding, unaware of Li Tang's indifference, continued emotionally,
"Since the first drill hole hit ore, we've carried out over ten more, and every single one found bauxite!"
"Excellent," Li Tang replied approvingly.
"This has completely shattered the geological beliefs I've held for decades!" Ding said, looking ashamed.
"Every morning, I wake up and wonder if this discovery is fake—some kind of illusion. But when I see the core samples, and every test result, I know it's real."
"It is real."
"I sincerely apologize for my earlier opposition, my ignorance, and my outdated thinking."
Ding bowed again, solemnly. "In over twenty years of exploration work, this is the most remarkable discovery I've ever witnessed. Li Tang, please accept my knees!"
That line sounded strangely familiar.
Li Tang quickly helped him up. "You'll shave years off my life doing this! Chief Ding, we're all contributing to exploration. You've worked tirelessly on this project too. Finding the ore—you deserve credit too."
"This project has completely overturned my worldview!"
Ding had been drowning in self-blame these days. But he also felt lucky—lucky that someone like Li Tang had come along to correct their course.
"If it had been me in charge—no matter who was advising me, even Old Bi himself—we never would've found this bauxite deposit."
Li Tang waved it off, his cheeks starting to flush from all the praise.
"Let's not dwell on this. Tell me how the project is progressing. I've been gone almost a month—first to Tibet, then Guizhou—so I'm out of the loop."
"Let's wait a moment. Old Bi is on his way."
By now, Ding no longer looked at Li Tang with skepticism or disdain—instead, his eyes were full of reverence.
He had always thought himself one of the province's top experts in bauxite exploration—after all, he became chief engineer of the Geological Survey Institute in his thirties, and he had every reason to feel proud.
Initially, he had firmly believed there was no possibility of finding bauxite here. But not only had they found it—they'd found a major deposit.
He had been completely wrong.
So now, his heart was full of admiration for Li Tang.
Not even Bi Junjie or the older generation of veteran geologists had ever impressed him this much.
No one had ever re-educated him with such a refreshing and convincing lesson in technique.
But Li Tang had thoroughly won him over.
And the thing was, he still didn't understand what theory Li Tang had used to identify this bauxite site.
He was eagerly hoping Li Tang would explain.
Just then, a cloud of dust rose outside as an SUV sped up and screeched to a halt.
Luo Qinzhong personally stepped out to greet Bi Junjie.
"After the first drill hole found ore, I asked Director Luo to contact Old Bi and invite him here to give us guidance," Ding said, glancing at Li Tang.
"When Old Bi saw the initial drill hole, he couldn't say for sure what caused the mineralization. He suspected it might've been luck—a small, lens-shaped ore body created by structural forces. He thought the deposit wasn't large. But now it's clear—he was wrong too."
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