Chapter 4: Narrow Escape
Qin Jianshe had already pulled out a newly released "senior model" mobile phone. Pressing the buttons, he dialed a number and spoke in a deep tone, "Chen Lang, take a team to the Pizigou Coal Mine immediately. Find a core sample warehouse and examine every drill hole's core. Compare them one by one with the cores from the Qianshan project."
A technical team was still stationed at the Qianshan site for field verification. Since Pizigou wasn't far away, they could stop by for an inspection.
Pizigou was a long-mined area. Chen Lang knew roughly where it was, so he gathered a few colleagues and drove out at once.
The mountain roads stretched about thirty kilometers and were rugged and treacherous. It took them about two hours to reach the destination. With help from a friendly local villager, they quickly located an old and abandoned core storage warehouse.
The warehouse was built from cement bricks with a plasterboard ceiling, now covered in thick dust.
It hadn't been guarded for years and was basically in a state of neglect.
Chen Lang and his team pried open the padlock. Inside, the core sample boxes were still stacked in neat rows.
"Lift open every single box!"
Soon, they discovered the issue: at the deepest sections of the drill cores—where the coal seams were located—all the coal layers had been removed.
Chen Lang walked to a spot with a stronger satellite signal and used a satellite phone to call Qin Jianshe.
"Director Qin, there's definitely something wrong with the Pizigou core storage. All the cores from the coal-bearing layers and their immediate surrounding strata have been removed. Whoever took them clearly did it with intent."
"Do you see any similarities between the Pizigou cores and the ones from Qianshan?" Qin Jianshe asked.
"I can't say for certain. But you saw the Qianshan cores too. The core recovery rate for the Niutitang Formation was extremely low. Most of the core boxes only had a few small pieces. At the time, we all thought it was odd."
When drill cores intersect mineral seams, half of the sample is removed for chemical analysis. The remaining half is kept in the core storage.
If someone had taken leftover cores from Pizigou, transferred them to Qianshan, and then again removed half for lab testing, what remained would indeed be just tiny fragments.
At the time, the team had specifically asked the exploration technicians about it and were told that the core recovery was low due to fragmentation.
But even with low recovery, the documented data listed recovery rates of over 80% across the board.
If too many holes had recovery rates below 80%, the project wouldn't even pass inspection.
Now, it all made sense. The fog had lifted; everything became clear.
"No need to remain stationed there. Go join Deputy Director Yang Xueping's gold mine project team. We'll be over shortly."
After hanging up, Qin Jianshe stood by the window, gazing outside for a long time.
The overcast sky looked ready to pour at any moment.
Though the truth had come to light and Li Tang's claims were confirmed, sweat still seeped down Qin Jianshe's back, soaking his shirt.
A chill spread through his spine, the kind that comes only after surviving a close call.
"Well?" Liu Kaisheng asked anxiously.
Everyone was eager for the verdict.
"There's definitely a problem. We can't proceed with the Qianshan project," Qin Jianshe declared, making his decision on the spot.
"They really faked it?" Hu Chuanlai couldn't believe it had come to this. "Should we report this to the police?"
All eyes turned toward Li Tang, and the room fell into deep silence.
"Let's eat first," Qin Jianshe said abruptly and walked out of the conference room without looking at Li Tang—the very person who'd saved them—or even acknowledging his old classmate Li Zaiqiang.
The fraud in the Qianshan coal exploration project was brazen and nearly flawless. They had come dangerously close to falling for it.
Was this a deliberate trap set for Wukuang Exploration, or had they just stumbled into it?
And what exactly was Li Zaiqiang's role in this elaborate deception?
Was Li Tang's revelation an act of conscience—choosing integrity over family ties?
These dark and uncomfortable questions lingered in everyone's minds.
The sound of many footsteps descending the stairs alerted those in the guest lounge downstairs.
"Director Qin, finally! We've been waiting a long time," said the boss of Jiajia Coal Mining Company, checking his watch. "Right on time at 2 p.m. Shall we get started?"
"Not today," Qin Jianshe replied, walking past the group with a blank expression.
"Director Qin, if you've got urgent matters today, how about we meet tomorrow?" another member of Jiajia called out.
"Director Qin!"
Watching the Wukuang group walk away, the people from Jiajia Coal Mining were left confused. Just days ago, Qin Jianshe had been very enthusiastic.
But as the Wukuang team disappeared into a small restaurant nearby, the people from Jiajia had a sinking feeling—the deal was likely off.
The restaurant was small, and ten people at one table felt a bit crowded. The meal was simple—five dishes and a soup, standard home-style fare.
Everyone was heavy-hearted. They ate in silence and finished quickly.
With their stomachs filled, Li Zaiqiang felt rather satisfied with how his son had performed. Barely on the job, and already he'd saved the company from a massive loss—his future looked bright.
He was in a good mood. Although he noticed a change in Qin Jianshe's demeanor, he didn't think it had anything to do with himself.
As a seasoned geologist with over twenty years of experience, he was a pure technician—unskilled in reading people or playing politics. Despite holding the title of senior engineer, he was still just a mid-level staff member in his unit.
"Jianshe, like we agreed earlier, once everything wraps up, you must come to my house for dinner!"
He slung an arm around Qin Jianshe's shoulder like old friends do. "I asked someone to bring two free-range chickens from the countryside. Tonight, we'll cook some spicy chicken for you—authentic local flavor! I promise you'll love it!"
Qin Jianshe turned to glance at the hand on his shoulder and replied in a low voice, "There are a lot of urgent matters I need to take care of. If I can find the time, I'll come by."
"I'll have the food and wine ready. If you don't come, you'll be a heartless man!" Li Zaiqiang chuckled as he walked away. He didn't stop to see his son and just reminded Qin again, "Have Li Tang bring you over."
Hu Chuanlai left in a hurry.
If the Qianshan project was officially confirmed as fraudulent, the experts who had signed off on its approval would also be held accountable.
He couldn't afford to wait. He needed to gather the rest of the evaluation team and plan a response immediately.
Qin Jianshe gave Liu Kaisheng a few quick instructions about the team's next steps, then promptly called his superior to report the situation and discuss what to do next.
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