Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

"Uncle, there's no one else around now, so let's be frank. We have the money, the licenses, and all the advantages. Do you think we're absolutely certain about building the mine?"

"Old west, I won't beat around the bush with you. My second uncle has been hesitant to give his opinion, but I can talk to him about it again. There shouldn't be any problems. It's just that there's still a big problem, that guy, that..."

At this point, Qin Laishun hesitated and was unwilling to say more.

Lao Chengxi was no ordinary man. He had long since figured out Secretary Qin's tactics. At this moment, he smiled calmly and said, "Uncle, you mean Qin Aimin, right? I heard he got a chrysanthemum field in Shuangxitian? What? Are you afraid he'll ruin our plans?"

"Hey! We're all relatives! You can't say that. Aimin is my cousin, he definitely won't cause trouble. However, he's well-educated and stubborn. Besides, my aunt's grave is right above the old mine pit. In the current situation, even if you moved a mountain of gold for him, he wouldn't let you pass through the ground, let alone move the grave later! You should understand what I mean now, right?"

"Understood!" Lao Chengxi exhaled a smoke ring, squinted, and said, "Aimin and my second son are like-minded, both stubborn. No one can stop him from doing what he wants, and he can't be moved even if he doesn't want to be carried in a sedan chair. So let's put him aside for now, and I'll show you something else."

After saying that, Lao Chengxi took the file bag back into his hand and took out a folded engineering drawing from it.

As the blueprints were slowly unfurled, Qin Laishun's eyes widened in astonishment. Although it was a copy, the gullies and ridges on it were drawn clearly; if he wasn't mistaken, it was a detailed geological map of Shuangling Mountain!

"This, this is a map of the mineral veins in Shuangling Mountain? Where did you get this from?" Qin Laishun was shocked, and his throat tightened.

"Uncle, you have a good eye! Take a closer look here!" Lao Chengxi didn't answer the question directly, but instead pointed to a few conspicuous black triangles on the drawing with his finger, a smug smile on his lips.

Three black triangles were stuck on the mountaintop, which resembled a fish spine, clearly a deliberate design by the cartographer. To get a better look, Qin Laishun carefully held the drawing in his hands, as if he were holding a treasure map.

"Old west..." Qin Laishun swallowed hard and asked nervously, "Don't try to fool me, these... these little triangles, you don't mean the mine pit, do you?"

Qin Laishun couldn't understand the dense, closed contour lines on the drawing, but who didn't recognize the two fish-shaped ridges on the east and west sides? These were clearly the two peaks of Shuangling Mountain!

The other party had already figured it out, and Lao Chengxi laughed and said, "Underneath the East Ridge is an abandoned mine, but the real big fish is on the West Ridge!"

"Xiling Peak?" Qin Laishun's mind was filled with images of mountains covered in cypress trees. He stared intently at the other person and asked, "You mean, you can find minerals beneath the cypress forest of Xiling?"

The old mine pits in Dongling were created by the previous batch of mining bosses. The aluminum ore inside wasn't of high quality, otherwise it wouldn't have been abandoned for so many years. But now, the map shows that there are mineral veins on the top of Xiling, which means that new mining sites can be established!

"Yes, that's right!" Lao Chengxi nodded. "The Land Bureau has already thoroughly investigated the mineral veins on our mountain! This time, we won't touch that broken pit on Dongling. We'll just build a new road and mine directly on the top of Xiling. We won't need to touch your second uncle's land at all!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Laishun understood everything—it turned out that they had planned it all along and never intended to touch the Qin family's territory!

Lao Chengxi knew Qin Laishun was the type to act without expecting anything in return, so he had gone to great lengths to recruit Qin. First, he spent money to get the mine map from Director Gao, and then he came up with this brilliant plan—bypassing Qin Yunhai and his son's territory, let's see what they can do then!

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Qin Laishun licked his lips and gave a thumbs up. "With this treasure in hand, let alone mining, we'll have the confidence to acquire land! From now on, just watch your uncle; he'll definitely help you build a beautiful mine!"

Lao Chengxi offered him a cigarette and chuckled, "Haven't you been eyeing that little bit of mineral in the mountains for a while? Those idiots used to drive GAZ trucks all over the hillsides probing for minerals, but now we're digging according to the blueprints. If this still doesn't work, even God won't stand for it!"

"That makes sense!" Qin Laishun slapped his thigh. "As long as we don't touch their land and ancestral graves, this matter will be easy to handle!" Even "Second Uncle and Cousin" were now being referred to as "them." This old fox had completely boarded the pirate ship.

Both of them were prominent figures in the village, one rich and the other powerful. When they got together, there was probably nothing that could stop them.

After the conversation ended, Xiao Hongjuan, as usual, arranged a full-service package for the two men. The muscular Lao Chengxi wasn't particularly outstanding, but Qin Laishun's performance tonight was a qualitative leap!

Even with medication, he usually struggled to maintain his stamina, but this time he managed to drive Xiao Hongjuan to the point of begging for mercy. There's a saying that's true: power and money are the best aphrodisiacs!

Upon returning to the village, Qin Laishun immediately convened an "expanded meeting of the village committee".

The so-called expanded meeting was actually just a gathering of influential figures from each village and clan to get their opinions discussed. In the past, these representatives were called "gentry," but now they can be called "rural elites."

The meeting was ostensibly about mining in Shuangling Mountain, but the focus remained on the distribution of profits, a matter of utmost concern to them.

Qin Laishun knew perfectly well: land acquisition required compensation, road construction required land, and nothing could be done without the approval of these "elites." If these big shots were appeased, things would go smoothly; but if any troublemaker objected, their extended family and relatives would cause a ruckus and ruin the mine!

The clever Qin Laishun certainly knew how to manage these elites; this was one of the basic qualities of a village leader.

"The people up there can eat meat, that's their ability, but I, Qin Laishun, guarantee you! As long as they start quarrying stones on the mountain, I'll make sure you get a bowl of soup! I've said my piece, now it's your turn to speak. Who agrees? Who disagrees?"

Faced with enormous benefits, all the delegates voted in favor, which meant that the entire mobilization meeting had a good result. From this moment on, the Shuanglingshan mining project was officially put on the agenda.