Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 256 How many more surprises do you have that I don't know about?
Du Anrao's answer was both unexpected and reasonable.

In fact, after opening that rough stone that day, Du Anrao excitedly ran to find Du Desheng.

Taking this rough stone from which two top-quality raw stones were cut as an example, she thought she had convinced Du Desheng with her silver tongue that the reason she spent a huge sum of money to buy the two plots of land in the southern and northern suburbs was because she had calculated that there was a gold mine buried under the wasteland in the northern suburbs.

After hearing Du Anrao's explanation, Du Desheng showed a surprised expression and then asked the same question as Xi Jingyue.

Du Anrao was more inclined to sell the land at the time. After all, although she had the land use rights, she did not have the gold mining rights. Even if the gold mine appeared on the land she bought, it would be useless if it could not be mined. It would be better to resell it to developers who had mining rights.

After hearing her plan, Du Desheng remained silent for a while before telling her something embarrassing: minerals are natural resources, and once discovered, they must be handed over to the state and cannot be bought or sold privately.

Du Anrao: "???" Is that so? Does that mean all the money I spent on buying the land has gone down the drain?
Du Desheng: "...That's not true. You can contribute your land as equity. You might not be able to recoup your investment in the short term, but the advantage is that you'll at least be registered with the authorities, which will give you some preferential treatment in the future."

Du Anrao didn't think as far ahead as Du Desheng, but she trusted the old man's judgment. After listening to his analysis that night, she calmed down and waited for the gold mine underground to be discovered before submitting the relevant documents.

Upon learning the whole story, Xi Jingyue was surprised but also quickly made a decision.

"It seems I need to go in with you again to find Old Master Du."

Du Anrao was taken aback for a moment. Remembering his great-uncle's disdain for the person in front of him, he couldn't help but ask, "Is there something important you need to discuss with him?"

If not, maybe we shouldn't go? My great-uncle is looking down on you for some reason; if you go, you'll probably just get a cold shoulder again. Why bother?

Xi Jingyue: "..." It's okay, I'm thick-skinned, I'm used to it.

"Didn't you just say I'm well-informed? Do you know why I'm so well-informed?"

"why?"

"Because my family owns gold mining rights, I pay special attention to this kind of news. That's what you call having a relevant expertise."

Du Anrao: "???" Although I don't go to school, I've read quite a few books. This isn't how you use that word, is it?!

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"Relevant to your major?"

"The previous sentence..."

“My family owns the mining rights to a gold mine.”

"Is there anything else your family doesn't have?"

[Hospitals, jewelry, land development, and now gold mining rights... How many more surprises do you have up your sleeve that I don't know about? Mr. Xi, are you Doraemon? Can you just call out and pull anything I need out of your pocket?]

"I'm sorry, I have quite a lot of assets, and sometimes I often forget how many businesses I still need to inspect and manage."

Du Anrao: "..." What a scathing Versailles-style remark! Suddenly I understand why my great-grandfather disliked Mr. Xi so much. This guy is such a good actor.

Xi Jingyue: "..." I didn't, I didn't, don't talk nonsense!

"So, Mr. Xi, the reason you sought out my great-uncle this time is..."

“Since you’re interested in transferring it, and my family happens to have the mining rights, you can just casually mention it when you hand it over, and ask them to give me the mining quota.” Du Anrao didn’t understand the intricacies of the situation, but was greatly shocked: “You can do that?”

Xi Jingyue chuckled: "You've already handed over the land, so making such a request isn't unreasonable. After all, once the gold mine is handed over, it can't just be left as a decoration; it definitely needs to be mined to have any value. To them, it doesn't matter who mines it; they might as well give you face."

"Is that so?" Du Anrao stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Du Anrao's initial purpose in acquiring this land was to prevent it from falling into the hands of unscrupulous individuals, which would needlessly strengthen their power and cause them trouble for him.

But if we follow Du Desheng's logic, if gold is found on this land now, it must be handed over, and it might end up back in that person's hands after a while. Wouldn't all her efforts have been in vain?
But if we specifically designate Xi Jingyue to manage this gold mine...

“Alright, Mr. Xi did help me win the bid for this land. Since Mr. Xi’s family has the mining rights to the gold mine, I’ll try to mention it when the time comes, but I can’t guarantee whether I’ll succeed.”

"That's enough. My family has a lot of experience in this area, and there aren't many competitors who can rival us in this matter. Your few words are enough to widen this advantage and give us the upper hand."

"That's good."

[It doesn't matter who it goes to, as long as it doesn't go to those guys who are eyeing my great-uncle's fortune. Giving it to Mr. Xi is like keeping the wealth within the family.]

Xi Jingyue was stunned for a moment, feeling both helpless and amused.

So, in this little guy's eyes, he's no longer considered an outsider?

Fortunately, Du Desheng and the others could only hear what Du Anrao was thinking, but not Xi Jingyue's thoughts, otherwise they would probably have been so angry that they called the police overnight.

Even though he didn't know what Du Desheng was thinking, Du Desheng's attitude towards him wasn't much better.

Upon learning the purpose of his following Du Anrao into the room, Du Desheng laughed in anger and cursed mercilessly, "Are you a dog? You come running for meat as soon as you smell something. I've lived this long and I've never seen such a shameless person!"

"First you took that lakeside land in the South District for development, and now you even want a gold mine. Aren't you afraid of choking on your own efforts?"

"An'an will receive half of the mining profits."

Du Desheng choked, then became even more furious: "Stop trying to bribe me with these sweet words, she doesn't lack money!"

“I know she’s not short of money, but nobody complains about having too much. Besides, I think it’s what you’d want to do: let her sit back and collect money without taking any risks.”

Du Desheng narrowed his eyes, a hint of coldness creeping into his expression.

This is why he rejects the person in front of him from the bottom of his heart. Although his little granddaughter is very clever, if she encounters a cunning fellow like this, who could make a water bottle leak out of her, she would probably be devoured without a trace.

Du Desheng stared at Xi Jingyue for a long time. Seeing that Xi Jingyue remained calm and composed, Du Desheng felt that he was the one who was being aggressive and bullying the younger generation.

He immediately snorted coldly and said, "Don't blame me for not warning you, kid. There are quite a few people eyeing this gold mine. You already attracted enough attention by taking over that piece of land in the South District. If you really take this gold mine as well, you'll truly become the target of everyone's criticism."

"Isn't that what you're here for?"

Du Desheng: "???"

Xi Jingyue smiled innocently: "With you here, I believe no one will dare to touch me easily. You wouldn't let me down, would you?"

(End of this chapter)