Chapter 61: Preparing to Pick Up Ore

  The next day after returning to the town, Hei Zi and Wu Xiao Fei, Zhao Bin handed over the money to Li Qing Tian, the disciplinary officer. Li Qing Tian agreed that the reduced sentence quota for next year would also be left for Wu Yu.

  After they finished this matter, Hei Zi and the others were happy for several days. Wu Mei saw Zhuo Xiao Fei being foolishly happy for a day and asked him what he was so happy about. Zhuo Xiao Fei told her the situation, and she pouted, saying: "How silly, you guys just figured this out? Money can make ghosts grind mills, money is really useful."

  Wu Yu's commutation made Hei Zi reevaluate his views on money, he never thought that using money could actually buy someone out, this kind of thing had been mentioned before but he thought it was just others bragging.

  In the summer, Hei Zi opened a gambling den less often and stopped hauling coal. They put their main efforts into that mine entrance. After several months of maintenance, the mine entrance was finally able to produce stably.

  Xiao Fei and Hei Zi's task is to rent a car in a few days, sell the ore, collect the money, and go to the bus company at the end of the month. The bus company has its own account and accountant, so he doesn't have to worry about calculating accounts. He just needs to look at the business situation.

  As for Liu Zhenchang's proposal to collect the ore from the nearby Hongkuangkou and find a buyer, Hei Zi did not do it. This kind of thing has little profit and is not worth doing. If he were to make a lot of money by taking advantage of the price difference, he would be afraid of offending Liu Zhenchang. So, not doing it is the best solution.

  As the ore price rose, even the twenty-odd grade iron sand mine began to be wanted by people. Many privately-owned ore dressing plants also emerged around the mining area like bamboo shoots after a spring rain. Hei Zi decided to go with Zhuo Xiao Fei to the open-pit mining area of the iron mine again to take a look, they wanted to find a place there to pick up some ore.

  Picking up minerals doesn't actually make much money, Hei Zi was negative about this method after seeing it last year, but recently his thinking has changed, and his understanding of human nature has deepened further. Humans are creatures that seek benefits and avoid harm, they consider the cost of everything they do, as long as the benefit is greater than the harm, they will do it without hesitation.

  Mining is not profitable because the ore grade is low. The open-pit iron mine produces ore with a grade that is not low, generally above 30, and the rocks discarded occasionally contain some ore with a grade of around 10, which is of no value to large concentrators. Only small concentrators, due to their outdated equipment, have to mix these low-grade ores with high-grade ores to increase the concentrate grade.

  Hei Zi would never be foolish enough to waste time and money on equipment to pick up something close to trash, what he wants is high-grade ore from the open-pit mine.

  Doing business requires market research, and mining also needs to be investigated. Heizi gave the mine to Yin Le, who took Zhou Xiaofei and Da Kui to conduct an in-depth investigation of the open-pit mining area of the iron ore mine.

  The open-pit mine is very large, covering a small mountain and surrounding areas of about three or four kilometers. The small mountain has been stripped of more than half, with dozens of mining platforms. Every day, vehicles shuttle back and forth, the mined ore is transported to the crushing workshop at the foot of the mountain for crushing, and then transported to the ore dressing plant for screening, and the iron powder is transported to the steel company in the county town.

  The open-pit mine is located at the junction of two counties in the heart of Yanshan, with surrounding villages belonging to both Xinglong County and Xuancheng County, resulting in an extremely complex environment.

  There is an old saying that "poor mountains and evil waters produce wicked people". Xinglong County is located in a mountainous area, with no significant economic resources. In the past, some families were so poor that they only had one pair of pants for three people. Entering the 1990s, with the large-scale development of mineral resources, local villagers all set their sights on mining. Rich families invested in mining themselves, while poor families had to make a living, relying on the mountains and rivers, and began to sneak into state-owned mines to steal and rob minerals.

  The workers in this open-pit mine all live in the staff quarters of the small town, and most of the blacks are familiar with each other. Even if they don't know each other, mentioning Heizi makes everyone aware, so the three of them entering the mining area is like a fish in water, and within a week or so, they roughly figured out the situation.

  The open-pit mining area is rampant with hooligans and thugs, all the locals who come here are bandits, the security department is busy every day but to no avail, every night there are more thieves than workers.

  Hei Zi was delighted by this chaotic environment. As the saying goes, "wealth and honor are obtained at risk", only by entering these dangerous environments and adapting to them can one accumulate funds at the fastest speed.

  During the week of investigation, Hei Zi and his three friends got to know many thugs in the open-pit mine area. After several big drinks, these guys shared their experiences, and finally Hei Zi summed up his own approach: take the regular channel, do not engage in crooked or evil ways.

  Hei Zi returned to the town and began his activities through regular channels.

  What is called a regular channel is to get the approval of the relevant department, he wants to take over the slag field through legal procedures, so that he can enter the open-pit mine area in a legitimate and upright manner. He doesn't do things like stealing or robbing, if he mixes, he will mix with his own style. In Heizi's words, I am just a hooligan, not a thief or a bandit.

  Hei Zi's first visit was to Zhao Bin's father. During Zhao Bin's summer vacation, they would often go to Zhao Bin's home every now and then. Zhao Wei Guo, Zhao Bin's father, cared about Hei Zi and his friends very much and would often ask about Hei Zi's situation, understanding his current state well.

  Heizi suggested going to the open-pit mine's slag heap to pick up ore, but Zhao Weiguo hesitated and didn't agree.

  As the mine owner, he was very familiar with the situation of the open-pit mine. Contracting the slag field was a good thing for the iron ore, which could bring in an extra income. However, the situation at the mine site was not optimistic. In recent years, several people had died from mining, but the news of their deaths had not been spread outside. Zhao Weiguo was very clear about this. The people who stole and mined did not pose a great threat to the miners, but they often fought among themselves. If someone killed another person for 200,000 yuan, no one would report it to the police, and the matter would be settled with money. This was the rule of the game. Here, it was a world where people were bound by rules, and those who did not follow these rules would be despised and excluded from this circle.

  Hei Zi knew that Zhao Wei Guo disagreed with him for their own good, but in order to rise quickly, Hei Zi had no choice but to take this step. The greater the danger, the greater the benefit.

  Zhao Weiguo disagreed, and Heizi could only go find Wu Mei's father, Secretary Xiao.

  Xiao Secretary is a conscientious and stubborn person. Although he also knows that the open-pit mine is in disarray, he believes that evil cannot suppress good, and Hei Zi and others went up to pick up the ore and maintained the interests of the iron mine. So after listening to Hei Zi's idea, he was very supportive and promised to negotiate with Zhao Weiguo to reach an agreement.

  Hei Zi brought gifts to visit Liu, the deputy mine director of the mining area, just in case.

  Liu, the deputy mine director, is a very easy-going and intelligent person. As soon as he heard Heizi's introduction, he knew what Heizi was going to do. He has a special fondness for gifts, and Heizi had not been stingy in sending him presents during the winter. When he saw Heizi arrive, his face lit up with a smile like a blooming flower.

  Looking at the bank card on the tea table, Deputy Mine Director Liu readily agreed to help and promised to help Hei Zi make this happen.

  Hei Zi then ran another trip to the steel company in the county town, and the mine in the small town belonged to a branch of the steel company. If someone from the steel company supported Hei Zi's help, it would be very helpful.

  Hei Zi didn't have many friends in the county town. He only knew a group of people by the train station entrance and Liu Pengfei's gang.

  Hei Zi called Liu Pengfei and told him his thoughts. Liu Pengfei said he knew a mid-level leader of an iron and steel company, asking him to come to the county town immediately, and would take him out for dinner that night to get acquainted.