Bite. ...... Having confirmed the two outsiders were up to no good, Wang Zhuo offered them a casual wave, a brief acknowledgment, before pretending to search for someone and calling a young married woman out of the house.

This woman, thinking Wang Zhuo needed her for something, followed him out curiously. However, he merely led her outside, handed her over to two gossiping older women, told her to wait there, and then left by himself.

The two outsiders had no idea their identities were exposed with a single glance, before they had even exchanged a word. The young woman, naively believing Wang Zhuo genuinely needed her, was thus unwittingly drawn into the chat session with the two older women.

Leaving the courtyard, Wang Zhuo went directly to where the villagers were gathered and stated plainly, "Those two have problems. The man is a severe drug addict, and the woman is not far behind. They are not here to recruit workers."

Everyone was startled. Wang Zhuo smiled faintly and added, "I studied medicine; I can spot an addict instantly. There's no mistake. Furthermore, at his level of addiction, he must spend tens of thousands of yuan on drugs monthly—income from honest work could never cover it."

"Even if he uses drugs, does that directly relate to recruiting workers?" Secretary He hesitated slightly.

"Manufacturing, trafficking, carrying, or possessing drugs are all illegal acts. Therefore, he must have some connection to criminals to obtain narcotics," Wang Zhuo looked at him and asked, "Can Taoyuan Village trust leaving people in the care of someone who deals with criminals daily?"

"You say he's an addict; do you have proof?" Meng Mingliang asked.

"First, bring Meng Yu here and question her thoroughly. If that doesn't yield anything, I have other methods." Having said this, Wang Zhuo seriously added, "Be careful not to alert them." …… It didn't even take an hour before Meng Yu spilled everything she knew. It turned out the two were key enforcers and a modern brothel madam from a nightclub. Having lost their manpower during a crackdown, they intended to recruit a crew from Taoyuan Village to make a comeback.

Meng Yu naively thought she was doing this for the villagers' sake; just working for a while would earn her wealth accumulated over several lifetimes. Then they could move to the city, eat well, dress nicely, and live a rich life.

She hadn't been in that line of work long, hadn't even brushed against its darker aspects before stopping. Moreover, being uneducated and inexperienced, she had no real idea what she was doing.

"I knew something was fishy," Secretary He frowned, shaking his head repeatedly. "Tell me, could they not find workers locally? Couldn't they recruit in Liuhe County? Why specifically come to our Taoyuan Village? There’s clearly an issue."

No one paid attention to his hindsight remarks. Meng Mingliang, especially, was furious; nearly a dozen villagers had almost been swindled right under his nose by human traffickers. Where was the Village Chief's reputation now? How could he command respect in the future?

"Baoyuan, Mingliang, what should be our next step? Should we report to the county first?" Although Deputy Director Kang was only a sub-section chief, on Taoyuan's small patch of land, he was merely a guest offering suggestions. When it came to making real decisions, even Secretary He Baoyuan, who held the official title of Village Party Branch Secretary, wasn't effective; Meng Mingliang still held the final say.

Meng Mingliang snorted heavily. "Control them first. I will personally report to the county tomorrow and bring the police to arrest them!"

Taoyuan Village didn't even have a security patrol team. Meng Mingliang was the local strongman; with one word, he gathered seven or eight sturdy young men and executed a swift arrest operation.

Wang Zhuo, Qi Fei, and Guan Yingying had assumed Meng Mingliang's "control" meant house arrest. Who knew he didn't have such gentle means? They simply tied the two up with straw ropes and locked them in a villager's storage shed.

A search of their belongings provided conclusive evidence: two types of drugs were found in their backpacks, along with syringes and smoking paraphernalia. Their phone records confirmed their plan: after swindling people back, they intended to "transfer" a few, taking the rest themselves, and hire a few thugs to stage a resurgence.

Meng Mingliang was not highly literate, but Sun Jinshan and Deputy Director Kang were educated. They analyzed the text messages for him, instantly igniting his temper.

As the sun set, Wang Zhuo and the others gathered around a bonfire eating roast mutton when King Meng, along with the young men, carried up the mountain something resembling the prisoner carts seen in old movies.

Seeing Wang Zhuo craning his neck to look, Sun Jinshan explained nearby, "Those are the cages pig farmers use to lock up piglets at night so wolves can't reach them."

Guan Yingying asked curiously, "Where are they taking them?"

"There are several water-filled grottoes up in the mountains; have you seen them?" Sun Jinshan whispered, "That's the village's water dungeon. They even held Japanese devils there in the past."

The three outsiders, sipping peach wine and eating delicious roast mutton, exchanged glances. The difference in treatment between guests of Taoyuan Village was stark—one could only imagine how the human traffickers would fare that night in the pig-cage water dungeon.

That night, Wang Zhuo behaved exceptionally well, bothering neither Guan Yingying nor teasing Qi Fei. Around midnight, faint sounds came from the adjacent wing. Wang Zhuo opened his eyes to see Meng Mingliang quietly slipping out. He didn't return until the moon had set.

Wang Zhuo vaguely guessed where he had gone. During the interrogation earlier that day, the man was defiant, while the woman feigned surrender but harbored malicious intent in her eyes. Wang Zhuo had subtly pointed this out to Meng Mingliang, who had seemed rather dull-witted at the time.

Wang Zhuo now suspected that Meng Mingliang might have believed that no matter how vicious a person's heart was, everything would end upon death.

Daybreak arrived, and everything seemed as usual, but soon someone came to summon Meng Mingliang away. He didn't return until just before breakfast was nearly finished, grumbling that the pair of scoundrels had escaped.

Meng Shengdi immediately cried out, "Dad, why aren't you chasing them quickly?"

"Chasing what? The mountain is huge; where would we even chase them?" Meng Mingliang gestured irritably, making a sweeping motion to indicate vastness.

Wang Zhuo smiled inwardly. Where there are humans, there is never a lack of cunning in conflict; even in a place like Taoyuan Village, this truth would not change. It seemed the notorious brother and sister were gone from this world forever—they hadn't escaped; they had evaporated. …… Loaded with their harvest, newly gained life insights, and perhaps a tangled emotional mess, the three of them embarked on the journey back.

Meng Mingliang arranged for four strong young men to escort the two ladies using pole stretchers. Both ends of the stretchers were laden with tightly secured small bundles—gifts from the people of Taoyuan for their distant guests.

These gifts might not have been valuable, but a feather sent from a thousand miles away, though light, carried deep sentiment.

Although Qi Fei hadn't managed another soak in the hot springs before they left, with that copper mine discovered, they would certainly return one day; there would be future opportunities.

After resting a night in Liuhe County, they boarded the 4500 truck again the next day, heading straight for Jihua City, taking an evening flight back to Jiangzhou.

The rewards of this trip far exceeded the expectations of the trio. They had only intended to check on the progress of their donation, yet they unexpectedly stumbled upon a rich copper mine—it was almost unbelievable.

Furthermore, Wang Zhuo gained a troublesome complication: he had inadvertently taken Guan Yingying's virginity—a truly headache-inducing matter.

The plane landed near midnight. After retrieving Wang Zhuo’s Land Rover, which had gathered a fine layer of dust in the parking lot, they drove straight to Qi Fei's residence, the closest one to the airport.

Returning suddenly from the remote mountain village to the bustling metropolis gave them a feeling of having passed through worlds. Thinking of the ore samples in the trunk brought a surge of heat to their chests.

It was already the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, but none of the three felt like celebrating the New Year; their excitement had been entirely eclipsed by the copper mine.

That night, Qi Fei and Guan Yingying, exhausted from two days of travel, quickly fell asleep. Wang Zhuo sat alone at the desk in his small study, researching online.

China is a country relatively short of copper resources globally. The US, though the world's largest copper producer, still requires massive imports, highlighting the strategic and economic importance of copper to China.

Wang Zhuo grew more excited the more he read. A copper deposit exceeding five million tons is considered a giant mine; there are only about sixty such mines worldwide. His preliminary estimate for the mine he discovered was over ten million tons—an immeasurable treasure!

The cost of copper production ranges between five hundred and one thousand eight hundred US dollars per ton. A quick check revealed that the mine he found was absolutely among those with the lowest smelting costs. Because the ore grade was high enough, even the transportation cost for the concentrate was greatly reduced.

If they could use the route via Guangxi, the ore could be transported directly by water to smelters across the country!

Unintentionally, Instructor Wang became so engrossed that when he searched for the contact details of the Mineral Identification Research Institute, the sky was already turning pale with the dawn.

Qi Fei, getting up for the restroom, passed his door and heard the sound of furious typing. She pushed the door open to find him staring wide-eyed, listening to pulsating music through headphones, and swaying to the rhythm.

"Hey, hey," she stepped forward, pulled off his headphones, and said with a wry smile, "Why are you this excited? Didn't you sleep all night?"

Wang Zhuo turned and saw her, immediately grinning, and patted his thigh saying, "Come, sit down and talk."

Qi Fei hesitated for a moment, then stood up, gently closed the door, and returned to sit on his lap.

Wang Zhuo buried his face in the beautiful older sister's full bosom, taking a deep breath, feeling utterly intoxicated by the pleasure. Without restraint, he slipped his hand inside her clothes and began to fondle her freely.

His agitation immediately softened her body by seventy percent. She blew a puff of air onto his face and said, "Don't you have something to tell me? What are you doing?"

With no bra in the way, Wang Zhuo was enjoying himself immensely, smirking wickedly. "I've been (stifled/cooped up) for days. Relax me first. We can talk when Yingying wakes up."

As he spoke, he lowered Qi Fei down and then busied himself hurriedly undoing his belt.

Qi Fei gave him a reproachful look. This little rogue was getting more outrageous; without even a kiss, he was demanding service!

Thinking of Guan Yingying sleeping right next door, she felt a thrill and excitement akin to illicit desire. Pulled along by Wang Zhuo's hand, she half-heartedly squatted down in front of his chair...