Chapter 157: The Road to Becoming the Richest Man! ...

Wang Zhuo brought Meng Kang back to the peach grove, where Qi Fei and Guan Yingying were still sorting the harvested petals. "Where are the others?" After setting Meng Kang down, Wang Zhuo asked.

"We're having roast lamb tonight. Sheng Nan and Sheng Di went to help.

Xiao Dan and Xiao Lan just left." Guan Yingying spoke, her expression betraying nothing unusual. "I gave them a compact mirror and a hairpin." Wang Zhuo understood immediately, patting Xiao Kang on the rear: "Little Kang, hurry home for dinner too." Xiao Kang scampered off happily.

Qi Fei smiled and asked, "What did you give him?" "My Swiss Army knife I use for cutting fruit." Wang Zhuo chuckled. "How about that?

Am I generous?" "Pfft, yours is a knock-off." Guan Yingying pursed her lips. "My compact mirror and hairpin are authentic French goods, worth over three thousand yuan combined." Why spend so much on a mirror and a hairpin?

Too extravagant! Wang Zhuo almost blurted out "spendthrift woman," but that was the past; he wouldn't dare say it now even if given the courage.

"Let's talk business." Qi Fei waved her hands, afraid the bickering pair would waste time. "What did you two actually discover?

You’ve been so secretive." Qi Fei had been curious when Guan Yingying was bribing the two little girls earlier, and now that there were no outsiders, she could finally ask. Guan Yingying shook her head.

"I don't know anything. Let him tell you." "Sister," Wang Zhuo said, settling onto a large rock with a smile, "do you know about malachite?" "Malachite?" Qi Fei paused, then her eyes suddenly widened by a fraction.

"You saw malachite?" Malachite itself wasn't valuable enough to catch Qi Fei's discerning eye; what made her tense was the potential copper ore deposit that malachite suggested. Seeing Qi Fei's reaction, Wang Zhuo was instantly certain—this woman knew her stuff!

"That's right, malachite. And also azurite." Wang Zhuo scanned the area, ensuring no one was nearby, then pulled a stone the size of a peach pit from his pocket and tossed it to her.

"I brought this back from where those kids found the malachite. Take a look." Qi Fei quickly reached out to catch it.

Guan Yingying leaned in close, and the two examined the stone carefully. Guan Yingying asked tentatively, "Is there anything special about this rock?" "You'll know once you feel its weight," Qi Fei said, handing the stone to her while she first looked around, then quietly asked Wang Zhuo, "Is this copper ore?" Wang Zhuo gave a thumbs-up, nodding.

"You guessed right. And it’s high-grade ore, at least thirty percent content.

I looked around; the area is huge." Qi Fei was momentarily stunned. Guan Yingying had also weighed the mineral specimen, pondering, "It feels quite heavy, much heavier than a normal stone.

Is this really copper ore?" "It is copper ore," Wang Zhuo confirmed firmly. "Malachite and azurite are copper ore byproducts.

When I saw them, I guessed there might be a copper deposit nearby, so I went to check specifically, and sure enough." "Wang Zhuo," Qi Fei said in a low voice, "Do you realize what this discovery means?" "We're rich," Wang Zhuo said with a grin. "Copper is a highly conductive metal with huge demand.

Selling this information to a mining conglomerate or the like should fetch a good price." "Do you really think so?" Qi Fei shot him a half-smile and pointed at him. "Of course not," Wang Zhuo chuckled, his smile widening.

"Sister, what do you think?" "Selling the information directly might be worthless," Qi Fei analyzed. "Someone else in the village might already know, so the confidentiality isn't strong, making a trade difficult.

This information only gains value if we can secure the exploration rights." "Meaning a deal worth a few million, maybe ten million, right?" Wang Zhuo laughed. "A few months ago, that would have been a lot of money, but now, it’s hardly anything for us." "You're not thinking of digging it up yourself, are you?" Guan Yingying looked at Wang Zhuo, feeling it was highly likely he would attempt such a thing.

He went from stone gambling to owning a jewelry store; becoming a mine owner after discovering a deposit wouldn't be out of character! Wang Zhuo gave a wry smile.

"I was just thinking about it. We can't really afford an industry of this scale yet, can we?" Guan Yingying also smiled.

She knew a thing or two about mining. Any foreign trade businessman knew how rich China Railway Group was, constantly chartering ships to buy expensive iron ore from Australia every day, only to process it into steel and sell it at a loss due to overcapacity?

In her view, the mining industry was dominated by giant corporations with assets in the hundreds of millions, either treating government money as nothing or backed by powerful political figures operating behind the scenes. Their deals involved billions upon billions; they played the game of policy and international climate—not something newcomers like them, who had just struck it rich, could easily join.

Wang Zhuo held much the same view, which is why, despite his ambition, he dared only think about it. After a moment of silence, Qi Fei suddenly said, "It might not be impossible to try." "Huh?" Guan Yingying was caught between laughter and tears, asking, "Sister Qi, are you seriously considering how we could mine it ourselves?" "This matter requires long-term planning." Qi Fei cleared her throat and stated solemnly, "Regardless, we must keep this news secret first, then immediately return to Jiangzhou to discuss the financing in detail." Guan Yingying and Wang Zhuo exchanged glances.

Wang Zhuo asked, "Could you give us a heads-up first?" Qi Fei looked at the two, then laughed and said, "I'll make it brief. There’s a company in Australia that started with just a government-approved exploration agreement.

The owner took that agreement to China Railway to negotiate; China Railway provided the money and manpower for the exploration. Turns out, he really did strike a rich iron ore deposit.

Then he used the exploration certification to raise capital, go public, and used the funds to build the mine, the railway, and the port, eventually selling the ore to China." Wang Zhuo stood open-mouthed for a long time before asking, "This guy didn't spend a single penny?" "He spent other people's money; what he personally invested would never exceed our current assets," Qi Fei said with a chuckle. "That’s why I say this needs long-term planning; it might actually be feasible!" The three looked at each other, and in their eyes, they saw a burning intensity.

It was ore! Mine owners in Shanxi could pool money to buy airplanes for fun; if they became copper mine owners, what would that be like?

Since it was still a while until dinner, and Qi Fei and Guan Yingying had eaten some packed lunch brought up the mountain, Wang Zhuo was too excited to feel hungry. The three gathered under the romantic peach blossoms, guarding against eavesdroppers while exchanging useful information.

With this discussion, three heads proved better than one. Qi Fei understood the knowledge aspect, Guan Yingying grasped the market intelligence, and Wang Zhuo had already conducted a preliminary survey of the copper mine.

Together, they quickly sketched an imagined blueprint of the current situation. Domestically, any deposit with a copper content exceeding five percent was worth exploiting—that was information provided by Qi Fei.

The newly discovered copper mine had a content of about thirty to forty-five percent, a rare super-rich deposit, which was data Wang Zhuo possessed. The current international copper price was ten thousand USD per ton, or ten dollars per kilogram—that was the futures market information provided by Guan Yingying.

Ten dollars per kilogram was equivalent to over thirty RMB per jin. Even with only thirty percent content, this ore was more valuable than the mutton in Taoyuan Village!

"So, even if the reserves aren't huge, just a small vein, the value is staggering," Guan Yingying was completely swept away by the surprise, even forgetting the earlier indecent advance made by Wang Zhuo. Qi Fei also struggled to suppress her excitement.

"Exactly! And it’s not just that.

Copper mines aren't as pure as iron ores; they often accompany other precious metals. Even gold or silver are common.

If this vein is accompanied by a large reserve of precious metals, the value could skyrocket." Wang Zhuo harbored a figure he couldn't easily mention: thirteen million tons. He had already calculated this based on thirty percent purity, equaling four million tons of copper.

Calculated at the current USD price, that was forty billion USD! He then considered the extraction and transportation costs, areas he knew absolutely nothing about and couldn't calculate.

But just as Qi Fei brought up the matter of associated minerals, he optimistically mused: if the byproducts could cover all the costs, wouldn't forty billion USD be pure profit! Lying back on the big rock, Wang Zhuo envisioned the Forbes and Hurun rich lists.

The richest man, Chen Tianqiao? That was from some other century.

A richest man with ten billion in assets was nothing compared to the future King Wang! Li Ka-shing?

Buffett? Bill Gates?

They were somewhat more impressive, but they were already sixty or seventy years old, right? They might pass away any day, and their assets would be divided among their children, diluting their wealth.

King Wang could easily surpass them later! Wang Zhuo was already fantasizing about the name "Wang Family" appearing on the future wealth rankings, though one issue remained tricky: who should be listed in the spouse column?

It was then that Wang Zhuo truly understood: gambling, jade—compared to mineral resources, these were merely tufts of hair shaken off an ox's back, not even worth bending down to pick up! "No!" Wang Zhuo suddenly jumped up, startling the two women.

"We must first confirm whether any outsiders know about this mine, and that Sun Jinshan—he definitely knows it's copper. I must find him immediately and ask him clearly!" "Yes, yes," Guan Yingying immediately recalled the children mentioning Sun Jinshan and quickly agreed.

"Not only must we stabilize Sun Jinshan first, but Director Kang and Secretary He, who came with us, must also be kept in the dark. If those two find out, it will cause huge trouble!" Guan Yingying's words served as a reminder to everyone, including herself: the news of a copper mine near Taoyuan Village must be kept secret from the county for now.

If the information leaked and was sniffed out by capital predators or political giants, it wouldn't be their turn; moreover, it was predictable that if those people controlled the extraction, the people of Taoyuan would not only gain little benefit but might even face the disaster of heavy metal pollution or even lead poisoning! Though they hadn't been in Taoyuan Village long, the three had already deeply fallen in love with this land and its people.

Even for the sake of the Taoyuan residents, they could not let others seize the copper mine!