Sail across the sea

Chapter 397 He forgot to write a draft when he was bragging.

"Engineer Liu, I've heard that your new technology can increase the resource extraction rate by three times. Is that true?"

In the crowd, some people began to ask Liu Yanlin questions.

Upon hearing this, everyone quieted down, waiting for Liu Yanlin's answer. This was a question they were all concerned about.

Liu Yanlin pointed to the small hill in front of him and asked, "If you were given the task of mining this mountain, how much ore could you extract?"

Everyone turned to look at the small hill, estimating its size and the thickness of the mineral soil layer on its surface. Having some experience, after a while, someone reported the figures:

“If it were me, I could easily harvest 15 tons a year, and I could continue harvesting for seven or eight years, which would add up to about 120 tons.”

Upon hearing this, several people made an "uh" sound, as if they wanted to say something, but then another person chimed in, saying, "I think if the mining is done more carefully, 130 or 140 tons is also possible."

"Yes, yes, around 130 tons, anything more would be a bit difficult."

"Yes, yes, if it's less than 130 tons, it'll be a complete loss."

Liu Yanlin had prepared a speech, but upon hearing everyone's response, he was taken aback, and all the words he wanted to say suddenly became stuck in his throat.

Wait a minute, this isn't the script I wrote. Why did these extras change their lines?
Just then, someone nearby said loudly:
"Who was it that said 130 tons of ore could be mined from this mountain? Anyone who said that can go back now. Get out of here and don't delay your chance to make a fortune."

Everyone looked and saw that the speaker was the young man who had been standing not far away watching. No one knew who this young man was, but some people recognized the middle-aged man next to him. They knew that he was Deputy Director Pei of the Zeyan Institute, who was said to be as powerful as a county magistrate.

Deputy Director Pei seemed to sense everyone's thoughts. He gestured to the young man and introduced him to the group:

"This is Comrade Gao Fan, the special assistant sent by the province to supervise the rare earth development work. He has brought the latest instructions from the province on rare earth development."

This statement caused another uproar in the audience:
"What? This person is a special assistant?"

"It seems to be some kind of assistant."

"Isn't that the special envoy they talk about in the movies?"

"Special Envoy, isn't that a bad guy?"

"Shh, are you out of your mind..."

Upon hearing the term "special envoy," everyone felt a chill run down their spines; the sweat that had been produced out of excitement upon seeing the new technology began to cool.

The mine owners were mostly in their thirties and forties, not highly educated, but they had at least seen some old movies. In those old movies, whenever a "special envoy" appeared, he was always going to stir up trouble, the kind of person who wouldn't consider it a success unless he ruined the revolutionary cause.

The special envoys in the movies are all refined and handsome young men, and they do bear a striking resemblance to the young man in front of me.

Gao Fan didn't know what everyone was thinking, but he could sense a mixture of fear and wariness towards him. He stepped forward and said coldly:
"What, not bragging anymore? Go ahead and keep bragging. This little hill, if any of you can extract 120 tons of rare earth, I'll talk to the provincial government and get your county magistrates fired and replaced with yours. You'll lead the whole county out of poverty overnight, a feat for generations to come." Everyone fell silent. Good heavens, one sentence and the county magistrate's gone! This special envoy is truly remarkable; at the very least, he must have carried bags for so-and-so before.

I'm just a farmer who's made a little money; how could I possibly offend such a powerful person?

Most importantly, everyone knows perfectly well that the claim of extracting 120 tons of rare earth is pure boasting. With current production technology, a mountain like this can only yield about 10 tons a year, and even six years of operation would be considered a model of meticulous management. Generally, rich deposits are no longer found after the fifth year, and extracting a total of 60 tons of rare earth would be considered a success.

Sixty tons of rare earth, at a price of 23,000 yuan per ton, can be sold for a total of 138 million yuan. The cost is 700,000 yuan, the contract fee is 300,000 yuan, and you still need to bribe various people. In the end, you can pocket more than 300,000 yuan, which is much better than farming or working.

People came to Youtang hoping to learn a new technology and make a fortune. They had heard that the new process developed by Zeyan Institute could double the output.

Zeyan Institute will definitely charge for teaching new technologies. And the standard for this fee depends on how much the new technology is worth.

The mine owner who spoke first understood this principle, which is why he doubled his production figures. This made Zeyan Institute's new technology seem less sophisticated, allowing them to lower their technology transfer fees accordingly.

Some of the other mine owners hadn't thought of this at first, but after being given a hint by others, they understood and echoed each other, each one more boastful than the last, which silenced the honest and taciturn Liu Yanlin.

Gao Fan had already investigated the situation beforehand and had just confirmed with Pei Hengxue that the mine owners were exaggerating. Seeing Liu Yanlin stumped, he finally stepped in to challenge them.

"I can tell you clearly that the country attaches great importance to the chaotic rare earth mining situation in Gu'nan County. The leaders have issued important instructions, requiring the rectification of all rare earth mines that are being illegally mined. The contract fees for all rare earth mines in the county will be recalculated on the original basis, and will at least double. For such a mountain, the contract fee will rise to at least 60 yuan."

"What?! 60!"

"No way!"

"Isn't this life-threatening?"

The scene erupted in chaos once again.

Zhong Nairong, who had been lured there by his nephew, couldn't hold back any longer and shouted:
"Special envoy, you can't be telling the truth, can you? If we charge 60 yuan for the lease of a mountain like this, we won't make a single penny. We'll even lose our principal!"

Gao Fan sneered, "Didn't you just say that a mountain like this could yield 120 tons of ore? Let me do the math for you. One ton of ore costs 2.3 yuan, and the cost, at most, won't exceed 1.3 yuan. On average, you'd make 1 yuan per ton. 120 tons would be 120 million yuan. After paying the 60 yuan contract fee, you'd still make a net profit of 60 yuan. How could you be losing money?"

This time, everyone fell silent.

Damn, I forgot to write a draft when I was bragging.

When the township calculates the contract fees for everyone, it's based on the actual output of the ore. If a mine can produce 60 tons of ore, the township charges 30 yuan. If it can produce 120 tons, the township charges 60 yuan.

If all you're thinking about is driving down the price of the Zeyan Institute and exaggerating your claims, what if this all-powerful special envoy actually believes you and charges you the contracting fee based on the exaggerations you've made? You'll really be losing money hand over fist.

(End of this chapter)