Forced to marry a disabled man in the countryside? I'll repay you tenfold!

They acted as if it were none of their business.

Old Zhang snorted and simply started to act spoiled: "Anyway, we have to wait for that girl to arrive before making a plan! How to explore and how to set up the points this time, we need to hear her opinion. If the few of us make the decisions, who will be responsible if there are any changes later?"

Su Wanqing hasn't arrived yet, what's the rush? They're arguing so heatedly here, only to have her arrive and, with her sharp eyes, completely overturn everything and start over. Wouldn't that be a waste of effort? Besides, he went to great lengths to recruit this girl, not to have her run errands and do odd jobs—he's counting on Su Wanqing for this exploration.

Standing opposite me was Li Guodong, one of the top geological exploration experts in Xinjiang, who had been specially transferred from Karamay. Beryllium ore is a national strategic material, indispensable for the manufacture of missiles, satellites, and the nuclear industry. Finding new veins would not only alleviate the domestic shortage but also reduce dependence on foreign powers and save a significant amount of foreign exchange.

But these things are so hard to find. Geological teams across the country have searched for years and only found a handful of places.

Li Guodong was furious, slamming his fist on the table. "Old Zhang, what time is it? The country urgently needs these materials, and you're still throwing a tantrum! They're already hard to find, and you're pinning your hopes on some young girl? What kind of spell has she cast on you? You think you're an expert just because you found a mine once by chance?" He became increasingly agitated. "Time is tight and the task is heavy, and you insist on doing things this way? Fine, you guys go find it yourselves, I'm not getting involved!"

After saying that, he made a move to leave.

He refused to believe that a veteran geologist with twenty years of experience, whose students had all become technical backbones, could be inferior to a young man in his early twenties. Mineral exploration relies on experience, knowledge, and solid skills, not luck!

Old Zhang snorted: "Go if you want, I'll wait for that girl to come first."

"Alright, alright, you'll regret this!"

Just as Li Guodong turned to lift the curtain, Zhou Yanshen walked in with Su Wanqing.

Old Zhang's eyes lit up, and his face broke into a wide smile: "Girl, you've finally arrived!" But in his heart, he was secretly pounding with anxiety: Little darling, I've offended everyone. If you don't find the mine, I'll lose all face.

Su Wanqing had heard the arguing inside from outside, and could only give an awkward smile: "Old Zhang, I'm late."

Li Guodong snorted coldly: "It's good that you know you're late. The whole team was waiting for you. If you hadn't come, we wouldn't have even dared to decide on a route. I think without you, we probably wouldn't have found anything this time."

Su Wanqing: "..."

The resentment was almost solidified.

Zhou Yanshen calmly shielded Su Wanqing behind him, stood at attention, saluted, and said in a voice that was neither humble nor arrogant: "Reporting to the commander, Zhou Yanshen and Su Wanqing are reporting for duty! We departed from the regiment at six o'clock this morning, drove for more than five hours to reach the camp, and completed the mission within the stipulated time!"

This was clearly telling Li Guodong: My wife said we were late just to be polite; we actually arrived on time and were not delayed by a minute.

Commander Zhao quickly stepped in to smooth things over: "Alright, alright, it's good that we've arrived. Zhou Yanshen, go settle your luggage first. Comrade Su, stay for the meeting."

Old Zhang chimed in, "Yes, yes, that's good, they're here. Old Li, now that they're here, let's get the plan going. Weren't you in a hurry to find minerals?"

Li Guodong gave a cold snort, crossed his arms, walked to the table, and plopped down. If it weren't for the organization and the country, he wouldn't bother arguing with these people.

Commander Zhao poured hot water for the two of them, and Zhou Yanshen quietly slipped out to pack his luggage. Commander Zhao waved his hand, indicating that he understood.

Inside the tent remained Su Wanqing, Li Guodong, and two young people brought by Commander Zhao—a man and a woman, both Li Guodong's students. At that moment, the two were secretly observing Su Wanqing, their eyes filled with curiosity: Who was this person? Wasn't she just a contracted staff member on temporary assignment? Why was Old Zhang paying so much attention to her?

What they didn't know was that Old Zhang's feelings for Su Wanqing went beyond simply "valuing" her—it was downright obedience.

Li Guodong unfolded the map and pointed to the two red lines marked on it: "I have studied the geological structure of this area, and these two lines are the most likely. This one has obvious landform features, with magmatic intrusion zones around it, a typical beryllium-associated environment. I suggest taking this route."

He paused, glancing at Su Wanqing: "Of course, this is just my opinion."

Old Zhang nodded without refuting, then looked at Su Wanqing and asked, "Little Su, which path do you favor?"

He sighed and explained, "Finding this stuff is incredibly expensive. Each trip, with all the equipment, manpower, and resources, costs at least several thousand yuan a day. And many of the instruments are very delicate; they can't be bumped or damaged, so each transport requires a special escort. The worst part is that this place is mountainous and has deep valleys; if vehicles can't get in, we have to rely on our own two feet, and a round trip takes several days. So we can only search along one line at a time. If we choose the wrong route, we'll waste money and time, and have to start all over again."

Su Wanqing stared at the map, her gaze falling on the two lines.

She initially had no clue, but the line Li Guodong pointed to was the very path she had taken to get there. Along that path, she had spent five hundred grams of precious gold energy to expand the scanning area five times, covering the surrounding mountains for dozens of kilometers, but found nothing.

If a beryllium ore vein exists, it is impossible for the Eye of Insight not to miss it.

and so.

She looked up, her tone resolute: "I'm more optimistic about the other route. This one—" She pointed to the one Li Guodong had chosen, "This is the route we took when we came here. I observed the geological features along the way, the rock strata structure, and the distribution of alteration zones, none of which meet the mineralization conditions for beryllium ore."

Li Guodong's face darkened, and he gritted his teeth: "But the surface features along this line and the distribution of surrounding mineral deposits all point to minerals here! I've been a geologist my whole life, I still have that much judgment!"

The two students behind him exchanged a silent glance and quietly gave Su Wanqing a thumbs up—what a brave soul to stand up to the teacher like that!

Old Zhang nodded: "I also favor the route that Xiao Su pointed out. It's settled then, we'll set off this afternoon."

"Old Zhang!" Li Guodong slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Can't you be serious? This involves national strategic resources! If we choose wrong, we'll lose tens of thousands of yuan and a month's time! Have you even calculated how much we spent just transporting the equipment on this trip?"

Old Zhang also frowned: "I'm very serious. I think what Xiao Su said makes sense, so I'm going to choose this option."

The atmosphere froze again.

All eyes turned to Commander Zhao, who was feigning death.

Commander Zhao was holding a thermos, studying the suspended state of the tea leaves inside, wishing he could disappear into the ground.