Qin Weidong stood quietly at the edge of the river, his expression now completely different from the urgency he’d shown when speaking with Xu Jianchuan earlier. The tension was gone—his entire demeanor had settled into calm focus.
He pulled a cigarette from the pack but didn’t light it—just held it between his fingers, turning it slowly. The slender stick rolled between the joints of his long fingers as he idly rubbed it. Ever since he’d discovered the deliberately obscured irregularities in the Jinjian survey report, he had been planning—planning how to turn this situation into the perfect springboard for something bigger. And now, the opportunity had come.
Xu Jianchuan was anxiously speaking to Wei Jianghe not far away.
Soon after, Wei Jianghe’s secretary received an instruction. He made a quick phone call, then approached Qin Weidong. “Mr. Qin, the Director would like to speak with you.”
Qin Weidong tucked the cigarette back into the box. “Got it. Thanks.”
The secretary studied him for a moment, a strange sense of familiarity tugging at him. He felt like he’d seen this young man somewhere before. His features were familiar, but the memory wouldn’t quite surface.
Wei Jianghe held his fishing rod steady. When Qin Weidong approached, Xu Jianchuan quickly said, “Brother-in-law, this is the guy I was telling you about—Qin Weidong. Qin Weidong, go ahead and tell Director Wei what you just told me.”
Wei Jianghe waved a hand. “Just the key points. I heard from Jianchuan that you believe the Jinjian experts falsified data in their report—underreported the real figures and overstated the gold reserves?”
“Yes,” Qin Weidong replied.
Wei Jianghe kept his gaze on the floating bobber far out in the water. “It’s good for young people to be bold, but do you realize that Jinjian is a model enterprise in this province? If a project of this scale involved fabrication, do you know how many people—up and down the chain—would be implicated?”
Hearing that, Xu Jianchuan froze, suddenly realizing what he’d overlooked.
Jinjian had been named a provincial model enterprise for years. Every year, the discipline commission and inspection teams scrutinized it top to bottom. Countless officials had signed off on that project. How could they possibly dare to falsify something as massive as the Nanpan mine?
This wasn’t some minor investment—this was tens of millions on the line.
Regret suddenly settled in Xu Jianchuan’s gut. Why had he acted so impulsively? Why had he brought Qin Weidong here so directly? If this turned out to be a misunderstanding, wouldn’t it look like he was deliberately trying to cause trouble for Wei Jianghe?
Qin Weidong clearly anticipated the objection. “Director Wei, it’s precisely because Jinjian has been a model enterprise year after year that its survey reports are seen as highly credible. But I believe that credibility becomes worthless the moment something goes wrong.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the fishing bobber in the water gave a small twitch.
For the first time, Wei Jianghe lifted his head and studied the young man standing beside him. What surprised him was that, despite his youth, the young man’s manner was calm and composed—neither servile nor arrogant.
“Go on.”
Qin Weidong borrowed a pen and notebook from the secretary and swiftly sketched out four large sections on the page.
“Director Wei, according to Jinjian’s survey report, the northern area is designated as the core mining zone. Based on the actual field data, there are twelve boreholes there, all of which—except the Nanmufeng site—show signs of mineralization.
Furthermore, the lab results show that all samples from this area exceed the industrial-grade threshold for gold, reaching 5.7 grams per ton.”
“Correct,” Wei Jianghe nodded.
He knew the Nanpan project well—his office had a detailed scale model and full documentation of the development plan.
“The issue lies in the number of boreholes,” Qin Weidong said.
Wei Jianghe raised an eyebrow as he watched the young man quickly mark out the approximate positions of each borehole across the zones. The Nanpan mine covered over ten thousand hectares, with more than a dozen large-scale drill rigs, and dozens of scattered boreholes. He remembered all of them?
“Director Wei, the ore samples from the southern and western zones barely meet the minimum economic threshold for gold—under 3 grams per ton. Yet those zones had thirty-six boreholes drilled. Meanwhile, the north—the core zone—has the fewest boreholes, accounting for less than twenty percent of the entire project.”
Wei Jianghe’s secretary interjected, “Director, Jinjian did address the low borehole count in the core zone in their report. They said the initial exploration budget was only three million, and the funds were limited. But the number of boreholes still meets industry standards.”
Qin Weidong gave a faint smile. “If they hadn’t met the minimum standard, Kunshan’s people would’ve flagged it immediately. And Kunshan would’ve arranged more funding. In that case, their report would’ve been useless—nothing but scrap paper.”
Wei Jianghe furrowed his brow, deep in thought. After a moment, he turned to his secretary and said, “Call Zhao Guoping. Tell him to bring his assessment team over to Yicheng.”
The secretary nodded.
With a few swift strokes, Qin Weidong sketched a rough stratigraphic map in his notebook.
“Director Wei, the reason they didn’t invest further is simple—they couldn’t drill any deeper.”
“The geological map Jinjian included in their report is flawed.” As he spoke, Qin Weidong drew a horizontal line cutting through the layers. “They couldn’t continue drilling because there’s a massive transverse fault here—it cuts straight through the entire vein. If they sent in samples from this section for testing, it would immediately give them away. So in the report, they manipulated the scale on the vertical axis to fold this transverse layer into the rest of the profile.”
Wei Jianghe had a technical background himself, and at this point, he finally began to realize there might be a real problem with the Nanpan project.
“That’s why the actual gold reserve at Nanpan isn’t fifteen tons. It’s unlikely to be more than three.”
The secretary beside them couldn’t help but gasp silently at Qin Weidong’s conclusion. Three tons versus fifteen—that was a staggering difference.
If Kunshan had already started investing—building factories, paving roads, bringing in heavy equipment—the minimum investment would have reached fifty million yuan.
And if this really was just a three-ton mine… they’d be losing over a hundred million in the first year alone. Not to mention—it was Director Wei’s office that had greenlit the project…
Wei Jianghe’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Director Wei, there’s one more thing.” On the technical side, Qin Weidong didn’t have the exact geological survey diagrams, so this was as far as he could go. He knew very well that just this wouldn’t be enough to overturn the entire survey and approval process for the Nanpan project—not in front of Wei Jianghe.
“Director Wei, the team leader who signed off on the Nanpan exploration report—Zhang Manshan—left for the airport today.”
Xu Jianchuan was shocked. “What? When did that happen?”
But at this point, no one cared about when. Wei Jianghe turned sharply to his secretary and scolded, “You didn’t get any notice about something this important? Find out!”
Moments later, the secretary returned, his face pale. He leaned in and whispered to Wei Jianghe, “Director, they boarded the plane at 10 this morning.”
Upon hearing this, Wei Jianghe gripped his fishing rod tightly. His expression darkened as something clicked in his mind. He ordered, “Bring me the person in charge of this project from Kunshan. The signing ceremony this afternoon is postponed.”
The secretary quickly jotted it down.
Soon, Wei Jianghe’s expression returned to normal. He stood up. His daughter came running over, unaware of what had just happened. She called out, “Daddy,” and Wei Jianghe bent down and scooped her into his arms.
The secretary approached. “Director Wei, the car is ready.”
Wei Jianghe nodded. Just as he was about to leave, he paused and turned back, asking kindly, “Young man, what’s your name?”
“Qin Weidong.”
“Where are you from?”
“Chongsi.”
“You’re meticulous. That’s a good trait.” Wei Jianghe nodded approvingly. He didn’t ask further, but turned to Xu Jianchuan and said, “What he mentioned just now—I’ll have someone verify it. If we need his cooperation then, I’ll need you to release him.”
Xu Jianchuan, sweat beading on his forehead, immediately replied, “Of course, Brother-in-law! No problem, no problem!”
Wei Jianghe and his entourage got into the car and left. Having seen Wei Jianghe’s face earlier, Xu Jianchuan was still a bit shaken—his legs even felt a little weak. “If what you said turns out to be true… damn, that was way too close…”
Thank God Wei Jianghe was his brother-in-law. Xu Jianchuan had to admit, even knowing him for so long, Wei Jianghe’s demeanor just now had startled him. A man like him—who climbed his way up from a junior technician to a department head with real authority—was far from simple.
“By the way, how did you know that expert went to the airport?”
“I was watching him,” Qin Weidong replied.
Xu Jianchuan didn’t get it at first. Was that where Qin Weidong had been disappearing to every day, out early and back late—staking out the guy? But Xu Jianchuan didn’t have the bandwidth to dwell on it now. He reached out to steady Qin Weidong, only to realize Qin Weidong was standing straight, not even a drop of sweat on his brow.
In the days that followed, the original head of Kunshan’s inspection team was disciplined for accepting bribes. No one knew exactly why it happened so suddenly, but the approval report for the Nanpan mine was nullified as a result.
Kunshan sent a new inspection team from headquarters. This time, instead of appointing someone from within the company, they brought in Zhao Guoping, a renowned expert from the Geological Research Institute, to lead the team personally. Naturally, Qin Weidong was called in as well.
When Wei Jianghe picked up the new report in his office, written in stark black and white by his old colleague Zhao Guoping, the figure printed there—2.8 tons—left him, a seasoned official who had weathered many storms, with a rare feeling: like he’d narrowly escaped disaster.
Zhao Guoping was also in the office and said, “Jianghe, looks like someone set this whole trap just to bring you down.”
Of course, Wei Jianghe understood—the report had an appendix: a list of names, along with detailed records of large fund inflows for each of them over the past year. Among them, besides the experts who had signed off on the original report, there were even several individuals from within the Kunshan Group.
Well then… Liu Chongyue had really gone to great lengths. To think he had managed to bribe people operating right under Wei Jianghe’s nose. If Wei Jianghe had taken just one wrong step, all the effort and careful groundwork he’d laid over the years would have gone up in smoke.
His thoughts turned to that young man named Qin Weidong.
Zhao Guoping said, “This issue with Kunshan is a historical one. Many of their current mid-level managers were promoted back then by Liu Chongyue himself. These people don’t hold high positions… But if they want to sabotage something, they’re like a nest of rats—enough to give you a headache. You’re new here, and this is the toughest time. But maybe it’s a blessing in disguise—it’s brought the problems to the surface.”
Wei Jianghe thought for a moment. “Old Zhao, what’s your take on that young man Qin Weidong?”
Zhao Guoping replied, “He’s sharp, capable—promising talent.”
Wei Jianghe smiled. “If Director Zhao himself says so, then he must really be something.”
They had once worked together at a management station. Zhao Guoping chuckled. “Why don’t you have your brother-in-law transfer him over and let him work for me? I’m short on people.”
Wei Jianghe laughed and shook his head. Zhao Guoping sighed, but quickly understood what Wei Jianghe meant. “You’re planning to use him?”
Wei Jianghe said, “If he’s got talent, why not use him?”
Kunshan’s power base was rooted in Jin Province. That had always been Wei Jianghe’s biggest concern as an outsider. The network of relationships behind Kunshan’s personnel was complex. Whether he wanted to promote someone, groom someone, or make an example of someone, he had to proceed with extreme caution.
If he was going to reshuffle the deck, the best approach was to start with a blank slate—turn him into a sharp blade, one that could probe and eliminate those who no longer served a purpose. The only requirement: this person had to be capable, and more importantly, someone he could firmly keep under control.
That afternoon, the landline phone in Qin Weidong’s room rang. It was the secretary from Wei Jianghe’s office. The inspection of the Nanpan mining area was to be postponed for another month. The official reason given was the need to rearrange drilling sites and re-submit samples for testing. Wei Jianghe would also be returning to Jinyang.
The secretary asked if he was available—Director Wei wanted to see him. Qin Weidong said yes, and a car was immediately dispatched to pick him up.
Once he arrived at Wei Jianghe’s office, the secretary served him tea, then quietly shut the door behind her.
Wei Jianghe beckoned to him. “Sit. You’re Qin Weidong, right? The issues we uncovered in the Nanpan mine are serious. I have to say—we owe a great deal to your keen eye and steady nerves.”
“Director Wei, I don’t deserve such praise.”
Wei Jianghe smiled. “I heard from Xu Jianchuan that you’ve been working on-site for quite some time. You’re only twenty this year, right? Young, capable, and bold. But to truly accomplish something, a man needs more than just ability—he needs a stage where he can show what he’s made of.”
Qin Weidong listened attentively as Wei Jianghe picked up a business card from his desk. “Kunshan Group has just established a new exploration company in Jinyang. It’s still in the early stages, and they’re short on talent. If you’re willing, I can appoint you as a deputy manager of the project department—no problem at all.”
Qin Weidong took the card and glanced at it. Chaojiang Exploration & Development Co., Ltd. A small smile formed on his lips. “Thank you, Director Wei.”
Seeing this, Wei Jianghe knew he had accepted. He chuckled. “Not even going to ask about the salary? Young people these days aren’t like we used to be—compensation is usually the first question.”
Qin Weidong looked up. “The salary doesn’t matter. If Director Wei is willing to give me a chance, I won’t let you down.”
Zhao Guoping had been right—this young man really was sharp. Wei Jianghe smiled. “Alright then. Work hard. You’ve got a long road ahead.”
Axolotl Translations 
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