Chapter 151 — Discovering the Deception

After all, no one could guarantee how long General Karls would remain in power this time, so the mine still faced the risk of being seized. They had to maximize extraction and generate as much profit as possible within the limited time available.

Hearing his father's vision and analysis, Huang Rongtian gradually came around to his father's approach. If things turned out as projected, then this venture was still worth doing.

"Father, matters have come to this. I think we should at least give Lele a heads-up—after all, this money is hers," Huang Lin said. Having heard his father's plan, though he didn't understand business matters well, it sounded as though it could turn a profit, so he had no choice but to accept his father's course of action.

"Fine. I suppose Lele should be told. Go and fetch him." Huang Ce was no longer afraid that Huang Yan would go back on his word—the money had already been wired out, and even if Huang Yan changed his mind now, it would do no good.

When Huang Yan learned what had happened, she did not fly into a rage at Huang Ce as expected. She merely said, flatly, "I understand," and went back to her room.

At that moment, Huang Yan was utterly disillusioned with her father. She had never imagined he could sink so low as to swindle money from his own daughter. She had no heart left to listen to his grand schemes either—let him do as he pleased.

If this could buy her father's guilt and keep him from meddling in her affairs ever again, Huang Yan would count herself content.

Yet two days passed without a single call from Li Shu, and Huang Ce grew anxious. He promptly dialed Li Shu's number.

By now Li Shu had already moved the money from the account into a safe one through his own channels, and he no longer feared whatever Huang Ce might do.

"Hello—Mr. Huang. What can I do for you?" Li Shu said, going through the motions.

"Mr. Li, how are things with the gold mine? When can we set off for Country X in Africa to take over the mining operation?" Huang Ce asked urgently.

"Ah, that—General Karls hasn't gotten back to me yet, so I can't say for certain. Soon, I imagine," Li Shu said, suppressing a smile. Mining, he thought. Mining my ass.

"Well then, give General Karls a nudge for me. The sooner we set off, the sooner we start making money, no?" Huang Ce said.

"Mm, true enough. All right, I'll get in touch with General Karls again on my end," Li Shu said.

"The moment you hear anything, let me know right away," Huang Ce instructed.

"No problem." That was what Li Shu said aloud; inwardly, though, he thought: Just you wait. Wait a lifetime—even after you're dead, there'll be no news.

After another day of fretful waiting, still no word from Li Shu. Huang Ce's heart began to panic, and he hurriedly summoned Huang Rongtian and Huang Lin to talk things over.

"Rongtian, Rongjin, help me think this through. Why is there still no word from General Karls's side? It's been days since we signed the contract—by all rights, there shouldn't be any problem now, should there?" Huang Ce said, eyeing his two sons with some anxiety.

"Father, what does the Li family say?" Huang Rongtian asked.

"The Li family—I just called them. Li Shu says General Karls hasn't contacted him yet," Huang Ce said. "I told him to take the initiative and reach out to General Karls. He said he'd get back to me once he had."

"Then all we can do now is wait for news?" Huang Rongtian sighed. "My worry is that the Li family isn't reliable."

"You warned me before and I didn't take it seriously. Now that I think about it, it does seem a bit shaky. No—I'd better press the Li family again." With that, Huang Ce picked up the phone once more and dialed Li Shu's number.

"Hello—Mr. Huang! Look at that, I was just about to call you," Li Shu's voice came over the line.

"Oh? What, you wanted to call me too?" Huang Ce said quickly.

"Yes, that's right. I called General Karls, and he brought up the matter of the gold mine," Li Shu said.

"How is the gold mine? When can we go?" Huang Ce asked anxiously.

"The gold mine—there's been a bit of a problem. General Karls is working on a solution," Li Shu said.

"A problem? What kind of problem?" Huang Ce's heart tightened, and he pressed for an answer.

"The gold mine has been seized by a band of unidentified armed forces. General Karls is trying to drive them out," Li Shu said.

"What? Seized? How can that be? We're the lawful contractors!" Huang Ce cried in alarm, pressing him further.

"We are indeed the lawful operating contractors—General Karls never said we weren't. But the mine has been contracted to us, so by rights this now counts as a private dispute, and it should be us who drive these armed forces out. The fact that General Karls is willing to help us resolve it is already quite generous—and he's only doing it out of consideration for me."

"Then when can we get to the gold mine?" Huang Ce asked hurriedly.

"That I couldn't say. It all depends on word from General Karls's side," Li Shu said.

"Good heavens, how did this happen? How could such a thing come up?" Huang Ce said helplessly.

"There's nothing I can do either. Who could have known? How did such a thing happen?" Li Shu said, equally helpless.

"All right then. The moment you have news, tell me as soon as possible," Huang Ce had no choice but to hang up.

"Father, how did it go? What does the Li family say?" Huang Rongtian, too, had sensed that something was off. Once Huang Ce hung up, he pressed for an answer.

"Li Shu says the gold mine has been seized by armed forces, and General Karls is trying to drive them out," Huang Ce said with a sigh.

"That won't do. If the mine's been seized, who knows how long it'll be before we get it back—and we've already paid the contracting fee. We'd better get the money back first, before anything else," Huang Rongtian said, growing worried. This wasn't going to end up thrown down the drain again, was it?

"You're right. No—I have to call Li Shu again and talk this over with him." Huang Ce nodded, picked up the phone once more, and dialed Li Shu's number.

"Hello—Mr. Huang, calling again?" Li Shu had a vague sense that Huang Ce might have caught on to something, though he couldn't be sure. So he kept his tone amiable.

"It's like this, Mr. Li. You see, Country X in Africa is in the midst of war, isn't it? Do you think you could talk to General Karls and have him refund our money first?" Huang Ce ventured. "Once things are settled over there, we can wire the money again—would that work?"

"How could that possibly work? Do you think this is some children's game—wire it over, wire it back, just like that? General Karls isn't a man with nothing to do; where would he find the time to handle such things for us?" Li Shu rejected it flatly. "Besides, he's already contracted the mine to us at a very low price. If we keep going back and forth like this, won't we just become a nuisance? What if he decides not to contract it to us at all—then what? And what's more, being so fickle—if General Karls takes offense and simply refuses to contract the mine to us and won't refund the money either, won't we just have to swallow our loss in silence?"

"Ah—this—" Hearing Li Shu's words, Huang Ce began to worry as well. True enough, a country at war could not be judged by ordinary standards.

"So I say, we'd best just wait quietly for the outcome," Li Shu said, inwardly delighted to see Huang Ce left speechless.

"I see. Well, all right then." Indeed, Huang Ce did not know what to say, and had no choice but to agree glumly with Li Shu.

"Mm, that's settled then. I have things to attend to here—if there's any news, I'll notify you at once," Li Shu said.

"Fine. Then that's all we can do," Huang Ce said with a sigh. The initiative was now entirely in the other man's hands, and there was nothing at all he could do about it.

"All right, enough talk—I'm in a meeting," Li Shu said, and hung up the phone.